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thINKer: A new status for Chen Liu and a new mission for “elites”...Are you seeing what I’m seeing?
Yuyu: Yeah... I can see it alright...
Challenge Goals
Challenge 1 - Reach 15 votes on NU
Reward - 3 bonus chapters
Current progress - 7 (+2) / 15
In Huacui Residential Complex, Chen Liu sat cross-legged, clutching two eight-star white crystals. Wisps of smoke rose from his head. He was deep in meditation. To reach nine-star Awakened status, he needed to form a vortex core in his dantian, a hub for the source energy vortex. A ping-pong-ball-sized energy mass hovered in his dantian. They looked like chaotic threads swirling unstably. Liu had to use his peak nine-star mental power to compress the ball, stabilising it into a solid core. The silvery threads of his mental sea were nearly spent, teetering on collapse, but Chen Liu stayed composed, following the refined method of his bloodline inheritance.
He was entering a transcendent state. After another half-hour, as the last silver thread faded, the quail-egg-sized core began to rotate, emitting a magnetic pull. He drew energy from the crystals, hitting exactly 262,144 threads. At last, he had ascended to nine-star status with a surge in physical power. That number’s no coincidence, he thought, his scientific mind sensing a hidden truth. Though it eluded him. His dantian could hold no more until he formed a vortex to become a one-star Evolver. His vortex, modelled after the Milky Way with nine spiral arms, demanded perfection to maximise his copy-based ability’s potential.
Three arms is the average; nine is my destiny, he asserted, unwilling to settle. Compressing the core further was daunting; each thread was exponentially harder. At night, he rose, adjusting to his enhanced body, and gazed out at the darkened city. No electricity, no gas, no internet, he thought. There had been a marked decline in the past week. Communal kitchens with canned gas kept survivors cooking, but hot showers were a lost luxury. Candles and alcohol fuel were now prized. We’re living like ancients, he thought, resuming visualisation to replenish his mental sea’s silver threads.
At the Command Centre’s top-floor office, the three giants—General Zhao, Advisor Liu, and Director Xu—tackled the electricity crisis. “It’s not that hard,” Xu said. “Hong City’s Xincheng Power Plant, in Meishan Town under Liao City’s jurisdiction, supplies half its power.” Zhao’s eyes lit up. “If we reclaim it, will the base’s power be restored?” “More than restored,” Xu replied, smiling. Zhao decided instantly, “Tomorrow, we send a team to Meishan.” Liu frowned. “Zombie hordes are stronger—seven-star walkers everywhere. Redeploying troops risks our defenses.” He’s right, Zhao thought, aware the command’s diesel generators were a stopgap. “Your recommendation?” he asked. Liu suggested, “A 20-man elite squad, plus adventurer teams to minimise risk.” Meishan’s small population of under 5,000 made it manageable, even if all were zombies. Liu’s preparedness raised Zhao’s suspicion—How did he know about Xincheng?—but he hid it, saying, “High-risk mission, higher rewards.” Both nodded, the plan set.