Chapter 315: Leaving Dawn Base
Inside the underground basement of the Special Operations Bureau, Zhou Ming wore a lab coat and was dissecting a Vampire on the operating table.
As for why the Special Operations Bureau’s basement contained a complete set of dissection equipment, that was unknown.
In any case, every piece of equipment was the latest model developed within the Alliance, and Zhou Ming found them extremely convenient to use.
On the operating table, specially made anti-magic shackles firmly restrained the stripped Vampire in place.
To ensure the accuracy of his research data, and adhering to a rigorous and truth-seeking attitude, Zhou Ming did not administer any anesthesia to the Vampire before him.
The surgical knife, flickering with a faint cold glint, sank into the Vampire’s skin. The moment the blade pierced through, dazzling crimson blood immediately flowed out.
However, before Zhou Ming could continue cutting, the wound on the Vampire’s body healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.
“Pure physical damage seems to have little effect on Vampires.”
Seeing this situation, Zhou Ming moved over a mechanical arm equipped with an electron microscope.
While continuing to slice the Vampire’s body, he observed through the electron microscope. The damaged cells rapidly gathered and fused, allowing the injuries to heal at an astonishing speed.
This unimaginable regeneration was supported by a special blood-colored energy, instantly piquing Zhou Ming’s interest.
Meanwhile, the tortured Vampire had his mouth already stuffed. The pain surging through his body could only be expressed through his twisted expression.
Unfortunately, the Vampire still did not know that the one he was facing was Zhou Ming in his research state.
On one side of the basement, the walls were entirely partitioned by one-way glass. On the other side stood the Director of the Special Operations Bureau, Edward.
“It seems our young Transcendent Master truly has a heart for exploration.”
As the Director of the Special Operations Bureau, Edward had chosen the profession of War Knight. Compared to the other three mainstream Beast Tamer systems, the path of the Beast Knight was far more pure.
It focused on guiding the evolution of one’s beasts while continuously tempering one’s own physique and will.
Watching Zhou Ming dissect the Vampire, Edward spoke in a relatively calm manner, though his tone carried a subtle, indescribable meaning.
Behind him, several high-ranking officials of the Special Operations Bureau, upon seeing Zhou Ming’s skilled research methods, had their impressions of him completely overturned.
As time passed, after confirming that no new discoveries could be made, Zhou Ming condensed a cluster of Shadow Energy Particles in his hand. Using their corrosive properties, he halted the Vampire’s regenerative ability and proceeded with further dissection work.
……
Two days later, inside the Special Operations Bureau basement, the Vampire used as a research subject had already become a dried corpse.
Its body was covered in various wounds, and there was even a fist-sized hole in its chest.
At this moment, in Zhou Ming’s hand was a beating heart—his harvest from these two days.
Through brief research, Zhou Ming discovered that a Vampire’s heart was the source of their power, and also their only fatal weakness.
Due to limited time, Zhou Ming used special methods to condense all the blood essence, bloodline, and energy within the Vampire’s body into the heart.
He planned to consider how to utilize it after returning to his camp.
In addition, Zhou Ming had collected a considerable amount of detailed data regarding Vampires.
After placing what he named the “Vampire Heart” into his Spatial Ring, Zhou Ming finally revealed a satisfied expression and left the basement.
“Director Edward, thank you for your hospitality over the past two days. I hope you will have the opportunity to visit my Snake King Fortress.”
Upon seeing Edward again, Zhou Ming exchanged a few polite words, indicating that he was about to return to the northern region of the Alliance.
“Lord Zhou Ming is leaving so soon? I had planned to host you properly.”
“Thank you for your kindness, Director Edward. My camp has only recently been established. Being away for too long could lead to unforeseen incidents.”
Hearing Zhou Ming’s reasoning, Edward could only sigh at his bad luck.
As Edward once again spoke in his peculiar tone, Zhou Ming did not linger any longer. He bid farewell and directly flew toward the outer region of Dawn Base.
Before leaving the Alliance Headquarters, he also made a detour to visit the commander of the City Defense Army, Lieutenant General Feng Tianyun, to thank him for his previous assistance.
One hour later, above the safe zone of Dawn Base, Zhou Ming’s figure shot toward the northern region of the Alliance.
This trip to the Alliance Headquarters had been exceptionally smooth—no battles, no conflicts. The attitudes of all the powerful figures toward him had been quite favorable.
This was the benefit of advancing to the Transcendent Master level. As long as there were no fundamental conflicts of interest, everyone maintained mutual respect.
Background and origin meant nothing in the face of absolute strength.
Even Legendary Saints would show a degree of respect.
Otherwise, given the top-secret project that Lei Yuan was involved in, it would have been impossible for her to obtain a one-month leave.
Three days later, Zhou Ming successfully returned to the Snake King Fortress outside Qinghui Base.
Upon receiving the news, Su Mei and the others immediately came to meet their lord.
“During my absence, did anything unusual occur within the camp?”
“Reporting to my lord, the camp is currently operating normally. However, hunters and Beast Tamers who entered the Gloom Domain reported encountering subterranean cave spiderfolk of the foreign races.”
“In addition, a cavern with spirit-type creature activity has been discovered. The environment there is extremely eerie, and no one dares to enter it lightly.”
Hearing Su Mei’s report, information about the subterranean cave spiderfolk immediately surfaced in Zhou Ming’s mind.
In the underground regions of Tamu World, there also existed a subterranean world similar to the Gloom Domain, but on a far larger scale.
Within that dark, vast underground world lived numerous races of varying sizes.
Among them, the subterranean cave spiderfolk were considered one of the more powerful races.
This race had the lower body of a spider and the upper body of a human. It was said to have been created by an unknown powerful being.
They were cruel and bloodthirsty, relying on plunder to obtain resources, making them infamous bandits of the underground world.
“Anything else?”
Zhou Ming planned to personally investigate the cave spiderfolk, so he temporarily set the matter aside.
“The Bai Family of White Deer, the Qin Family, and two other factions within Qinghui Base want to secure more shops in the Night Market. Forces from other regions also wish to obtain more shop usage rights.”
“How many shops in the Night Market remain unleased?”
“Reporting to my lord, following your instructions, one-third remain unleased.”
After a brief moment of thought, Zhou Ming made a decision.
“Take half of the remaining shops and auction them—highest bidder wins.”
“Additionally, starting from the end of next year, aside from cooperative partners who pay fixed rent, all remaining shops in the Night Market will be allocated through auction.”
“However, there must be restrictions. Once a party owns more than the designated number of shops, they can no longer participate in further auctions.”
After handling the miscellaneous matters reported by everyone, Zhou Ming then summoned the Catwoman Aina to inquire in detail about the subterranean cave spiderfolk.