Chapter 115 The Threat of the Tree Branch and the Venomous Tongue

“Uncle Black! Tree Man Beta and Shaman have left the plane.”

“You handle it as you see fit. I have a working meeting here. In principle, as long as they don’t harm the humans inside the fortress, surveillance is sufficient.”

The black instructor fell silent after he finished speaking.

Wang Jixuan used his spiritual sense to investigate and found that the old man was tapping his fingers in the air, but there was no projector in front of him.

‘Is this another interface that only Grandpa Black can see?’

‘The Black Grandpa’s half-human mecha is fundamentally different from the Peony’s fully autonomous mechanical body, but their forms are quite similar.’

‘Amazing technology.’

Master Wang quickly donned the X-armor and activated the stealth device.

He wasn’t very interested in that Shaman, but he was very interested in the tree-man Beta.

If possible, he would try to take appropriate action to collect some branches and leaves pruned by the tree spirit Beta in order to determine their specific value.

Wang Jixuan had just stepped out…

Huh?

He turned to look at the loyal wingman, R99 Peony, with its long, dark golden hair and perfect female figure, who was obediently squatting in the sandpit outside the door, alertly watching all directions…

‘He doesn’t look very bright.’

Master Wang abandoned the idea of ​​taking a wingman on the mission and crouched down to dart into the desert.

Peony turned its head and glanced in the direction Wang Jixuan had left, then continued to carry out its previous orders, squatting in the sandpit to perform its guard duties.

There are three core principles behind the concept of a loyal wingman.

First, protect your superiors.

Second, obey the orders of your superiors.

Third, when the first two principles conflict, the first principle shall be the core principle.

This is significantly different from the three core principles of civilian autonomous machinery, namely the famous Three Laws of Robotics.

…

The desert is arid and receives little rain; most of the time the sky is clear, dotted with stars at night and scorching sun during the day.

Shaman glanced at the bright sun in the sky, pursed her lips, frowned, and muttered a few words of complaint.

Since the two were not skilled at infiltrating and investigating, they were only equipped with holographic belts and psionic shielding devices. Now, they only needed to get a little closer to the surface camp of Fortress 82 so that she could use her own abilities to explore.

“Let’s stay here, the distance should be enough.”

Shaman raised her hand to wipe away the sweat, and said with a mournful expression:

“We only get this little bit of allowance a month, and we still have to work our lives off it. It’s really tough!”

Beta the Tree Man asked, “Are you sure we’re here?”

“Um.”

“Then I’ll settle down here, coo coo coo coo.”

Beta the Tree Man put his legs together and slowly inserted them into the sand. In just a few breaths, a network of roots resembling capillaries formed beneath the sand dune.

These fibrous roots extend downwards and outwards continuously.

This is Beta the Tree Man’s third unique skill!

Beta the Tree Man can use this method to observe the movement of grass and trees within a 300-meter radius. Moreover, the longer it takes root, the more roots it will have, and the farther it can explore.

This sounds a bit like a double-edged sword. The preparation time is quite long each time, and it can only be done on natural ground. He is helpless when he encounters cement or metal surfaces.

However, when exploring the underground caves of the Blade Beasts, Beta the Treant often achieves unique results with his third special skill.

His first and second special skills are even more ‘powerful’.

【First unique skill: Photosynthesis】.

As long as there is light and air, he will not feel hungry and can even improve the oxygen content of his environment.

【Second special skill: Emergency food】.

This isn’t something he did by picking some tree bark and boiling it in water.

Beta, the tree-man, can sprout branches from his head, arms, and back. These branches can be grafted with fruit tree branches or vines. He can use psionic energy to nourish them, causing these branches and vines to quickly flower and bear fruit. A large amount of fruit and vegetables can be harvested in two hours, and supplies can be repeatedly provided later.

These three unique skills are Beta the Tree Man’s three signature moves, allowing him to firmly hold the position of the top logistics officer in Aunt Dragonfly’s investigation team.

—Although he was the only logistics officer in the entire operation.

“The soil moisture content is so low.”

Beta the Tree Man took out a bottle of mineral water he carried with him, tilted his head back and took two gulps, then squatted down, deactivated his optical invisibility and maintained his psionic shield.

The ‘hair’ on his head began to grow continuously, and soon branches appeared, resembling miniature willow trees, providing a shady canopy.

Tree-man Beta took out a cushion from his backpack and gestured for Shaman to sit down.

Shaman muttered, “Do you really need to prepare this thoroughly?”

“I’m a logistics worker, it’s my duty,” Beta the tree-man quickly explained. “Please don’t misunderstand, I have no interest in normal human women. My current method of reproduction is asexual reproduction.”

Shaman rolled her eyes, sat cross-legged on the cushion, and faced the surface camp of Fort 82 across the sand dunes.

She played with the crystal ball in both hands, her movements graceful and fluid, adding a touch of holiness to her beautiful face, while she hummed a tune.

Not far behind the two, Wang Jixuan quietly approached to within ten meters.

Wang Jixuan squinted at the back of Shaman and the tree-man Beta beside her.

Branches brimming with spiritual energy!

I wonder if his spiritual power will immediately dissipate if these branches are plucked off his head.

Master Wang pondered for a few moments, then squatted down and thought carefully.

That Saman…

Wang Jixuan’s spiritual sense made it clear at a glance.

She was a psychic among the four categories. At this moment, some ripples appeared between her brows, and some of these ripples merged into the crystal ball, receiving a certain amplification, and then spread to the military camp on the surface of the fortress.

Soon, Shaman’s slender body trembled slightly, and she suddenly began to murmur incessantly.

Beta the Tree Man took a voice recorder and pointed it at Shaman’s mouth.

Shaman’s voice was sometimes deep, sometimes light, and she spoke in different tones:

“Sigh, I wonder if that damn biology department head, Hamanaka Nagi, will be sentenced to death.”

“The death penalty is unlikely. He might be shot in the back in prison and then announced as having committed suicide, which would be less politically risky.”

“She actually allowed a psionicist to take control of our commander.”

“Sigh, the commander committed suicide after breaking free from these constraints. I don’t know who the new commander is. I heard that the governor is also going to resign. It’s all the fault of those trash psionicists. Why should the governor bear the responsibility?”

Shaman paused, stretched her arms forward, and held the crystal ball in her palm, which slowly floated to the surface.

She expanded her exploration area further, to reiterate:

“The Task Force’s X-armor is so cool!”

“Yes, he really was like a devil who came out of hell. He wiped out dozens of psionicists and several C-level psionicists all by himself.”

“Seeing that the war zone is still developing such high-end combat capabilities puts my mind at ease. Maybe we can really create miniaturized terrifying mechs and wipe out all the King-level Blade Beasts.”

“It’s not optimistic. We still have too little information about the Blade Beast Horde.”

“It’s because our rank is relatively low and we have less access to intelligence. The higher-ups might already know where the Blade Beasts came from, but they haven’t announced it for fear of causing panic. Let’s keep working on it…”

Shaman kept repeating it, while Beta stood nearby, providing shade and recording.

Wang Jixuan almost laughed.

This method of exploration is somewhat similar to the use of spiritual awareness. Every psychic has the opportunity to develop spiritual awareness, but they do not have this kind of technique or path.

Master Wang was still trying to find a way to pluck some branches from the top of the tree-man Beta’s head.

How do I do this?

Taking direct action is somewhat risky. Although the X-Armor is not connected to the Black Storm, there is a Dragonfly Captain more than 200 meters behind these two people.

The Dragonfly Captain’s abilities are unknown, but both the Mane Bear and the Black Instructor have said that she is somewhat terrifying.

Wang Jixuan recalled the enormous ice and fireball that had fallen from the sky.

‘Not to be underestimated.’

Wang Jixuan raised his left arm, activated a small projection screen, and operated it for a while before finally entering the garrison command system of Fortress No. 82.

Since he didn’t know how to command, Wang Jixuan didn’t act recklessly. Instead, he found an officer on duty on the surface and sent him a few messages.

A few minutes later, more than a dozen quadcopter drones took off from the base and began to explore the surrounding area.

Two drones flew toward Shaman and Beta the Tree Man.

Wang Jixuan’s X-armor automatically connected to the two drones, activating two rapid-fire machine guns.

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“There’s a drone!” Beta the Tree Man shouted anxiously.

“Get down!”

Not far ahead, Beta and Shaman simultaneously lay down, their holographic belts working in sync, instantly making them optically invisible, though the surrounding light was somewhat dim.

Shaman suddenly kicked Beta: “Look at the top of your head!”

The newly grown branches of the tree were all pointing outwards and were not within the holographic coverage area of ​​the holographic belt.

Against the backdrop of the desert, this patch of green stands out conspicuously.

Beta acted decisively, taking out his military dagger and slashing it over his head. Then, he used both hands to dig and quickly buried the branches.

The drone had actually already spotted them;

However, Master Wang chose to clear the drone’s real-time data to help them hide, allowing the drone to circle around the area where the two were hiding.

Master Wang waited quietly, his heart burning with excitement.

Shaman and the Tree Man didn’t investigate further. After the drone flew away, the two carefully returned to the plane.

After they rounded one of the sand dunes, Wang Jixuan went straight forward, pulled out the branches, attached demon-suppressing talismans, completely enveloped them with his qi, and then turned and ran back to the vicinity of the temporary supply station.

Beta the Tree Man might be able to sense these branches, so Wang Jixuan was still being extra careful.

Soon, Wang Jixuan waved his arm excitedly.

it works!

These tree branches, imbued with psionic energy, are rich in spiritual power and made of special materials, making them excellent talisman paper for crafting talismans!

The problem is that his current magical power is not enough to suppress the spiritual energy fluctuations of high-level talismans, so this thing is temporarily useless.

‘Something is better than nothing. Which great cultivator doesn’t possess a collection of storage treasures filled with their accumulated cultivation knowledge?’

Wang Jixuan tore the branches into small pieces, locked their spiritual power with his qi, put them all into a box, and began to think about how to get more branches from ‘Tree Man Beta’.

This is a rare opportunity.

When he returned to the temporary supply station with his suitcase, the plane had not left. Clearly, Shaman and Beta the Tree Man still thought they had not been exposed.

that is……

Wang Jixuan looked at the peony that was still squatting in the sand pit outside the door, observing the peonies everywhere without any sign of fatigue.

‘Ultimately, it’s just a machine; it lacks sufficient sentience.’

Master Wang stopped and asked, “Do you know how to use those instruments inside?”

Peony immediately looked up, her peach blossom eyes filled with anticipation, and said cautiously:

“Peony can be loaded with any operation manual and maintenance manual.”

“That’s good. Come in and keep an eye on those instruments, and help me inspect the armor.”

“Peony is happy to serve you.”

A slight smile appeared on its lips, expressing its happiness at the opportune moment.

The old man was still in a meeting.

There aren’t many second-generation humanoid mechs left. Each second-generation humanoid mech plays a crucial role in the D5 war zone, so it’s normal for them to be busy.

Wang Jixuan wasn’t idle either. After observing Mudan’s work for a while, he discovered that she was a hundred times more skilled than him, a complete novice, in operating those radars and detectors. Reassured, he went back to continue his cultivation.

Although he has no shortage of crystal cores for the time being, the conflict between the Psionic City and the D5 war zone is escalating, and he also has an urgent need to improve his strength.

Wang Jixuan had only been cultivating for two hours when Mudan gently knocked on his door.

“Sir, there’s an issue. I’ve intercepted communications between the target investigation team and the Psionic Capital, and I’m eavesdropping on their conversation.”

“They’re here.”

Wang Jixuan immediately perked up, turned off the spirit-releasing array, and put on comfortable shorts and a shirt.

When he came out, the black instructor was already standing behind the control panel with his hands behind his back.

Peony, the loyal wingman, dressed in a black maid outfit, black stockings, and a cat hair clip, was intently watching the instrument panel.

Wang Jixuan: ……

No, these instruments have so many interfaces that he hadn’t discovered before!

He stood with the old man, his hands behind his back. The old man nudged him with his shoulder and laughed, “How’s this wingman?”

“That’s amazing.”

“Many skills require humans to learn, while machines only need to load them,” the black instructor chuckled. “This is just the tip of the iceberg of her abilities… Did you touch it? Doesn’t it feel just like a real person?”

“Can you be serious for once…?”

Wang Jixuan frowned as he looked at this disrespectful old man.

Without turning her head, Peony retorted in a calm tone: “Humans always become obsessed with what they desire but cannot obtain. This old instructor, who failed in his attempt to evolve into a mechanical life form, has lost the ability to enjoy such pleasures. Sir, you should be more understanding of him.”

The black-clad instructor couldn’t help but raise his hand to his forehead: “Could you please turn off her venomous tongue system?”

Wang Jixuan’s smile was barely contained: “Peony, what’s your current’sharp tongue system’ rating?”

Peony immediately replied in a sweet, coquettish tone, “Forty percent, sir, that’s part of the humor system.”

“Adjust this part separately to 60%.”

The instructor kicked at Wang Jixuan, who nimbly dodged, and Mudan immediately carried out the order.

Just then, a buzzing noise appeared in the instrument, and the voice of Aunt Dragonfly talking to an old man could be heard again.

It was the old man who started talking:

“How have you thought it over? Dragonfly, you’re not young anymore. If you can’t reach S-class, you might only have ten or twenty years left to live. This is an opportunity. We’re not asking you to do anything else, we just need you to submit a report.”

“Report that Fortress 82 is rated S in danger.”

“As long as you give it, you can come back immediately, get a promotion and a raise, and I’ll apply for an S-level resource access ticket for you. Our entire control system won’t have to bear any extra burden… Even if you don’t give it, it will only be a little more trouble for me, and the result won’t change. But you will be completely out of luck with S-level resources.”

Sizzle.

“Sir?”

Grandma Dragonfly took a deep breath, as if letting the smoke fill her lungs, and then said in her hoarse voice:

“I will only do my job. That’s my principle and my professional ethics. Oh, right, there’s one more thing…”

Fuck you!