Chapter 453 - 449: The Global Superpower Academy’s Gift

Lifting his wrist to glance at his bracelet, Li Weide smiled urbanely. "It’s still half an hour until noon. No need to be in such a rush."

Gu Chen smiled and raised an eyebrow at him, looking the impeccably dressed Li Weide up and down. "Judging by your attire, Mr. Li Weide, anyone who didn’t know better might think you were heading to a banquet."

"Ahahaha." Li Weide didn’t seem to mind Captain Gu’s sarcasm, his smile remaining amiable. "Captain Gu, you misunderstand. I won’t be accompanying you."

"I’m sure your director has already given you a copy of the personnel list for this mission."

"I really would like to get to know you young folks better. But this old man knows his own limitations!" Li Weide said with a laugh. "So I won’t tag along and be a burden."

"But before you depart, on behalf of our Global Superpower Academy, I’d like to give something to everyone participating in this mission."

Gu Chen raised an eyebrow, looking behind Li Weide.

Wang Gangfei led a group of people over, carrying dozens of boxes that they lined up one by one in front of the crowd.

"This mission is fraught with danger. With these newly developed binding bracelets from the X Realm, I’m sure they will help everyone better communicate with each other and conduct search and rescue operations."

"This new X Realm binding bracelet, once bound, can record everyone’s various physiological data in real time and issue timely warnings."

"Plus, they’ll make routine communication much more convenient."

"Captain Gu, please don’t be so quick to refuse the Global Superpower Academy’s kind offer," Li Weide said with a smile. "After all, besides your Team A members and the personnel from the official Superpower Team, there are also quite a few civilian Superpower Teams participating, are there not?"

"I know that your official Satellite Bracelets can help everyone with real-time positioning and the like."

"But they just aren’t as powerful in their practical applications as these new X Realm binding bracelets," Li Weide explained with a smile. "Plus, many of the civilian teams don’t have official Satellite Bracelets. If you have to split up for missions, that’s bound to be a major inconvenience."

Gu Chen’s smile was full of wry amusement. "In that case, I suppose we must thank Mr. Li Weide for his generous gift."

"Oh, no, no, Captain Gu, please don’t misunderstand. This isn’t a personal gesture from me. I am merely representing our Global Superpower Academy, extending our support to the heroes of this operation."

"Captain Xie!"

Xie Ning hadn’t expected to be singled out, sitting so far away in a corner of the rest area.

"Captain Xie, please come over for a moment." Li Weide waved at her, his eyes crinkling into a smile.

Xie Ning pretended not to hear, turning her head to present the back of it to them as she silently hugged her thermos.

"Captain Xie Ning, get over here!" Wang Gangfei shouted in his gruff voice. "Stop pretending. With your hearing, you could hear that from a hundred meters away."

The others silently stifled their laughter and turned their heads away.

Called out once more, Xie Ning stood up, her face tense. She shot Wang Gangfei a sidelong glance before reluctantly shuffling over.

"Captain Xie, this bracelet was specially customized just for you." Li Weide presented a gift box with both hands.

Xie Ning remained expressionless.

Gu Chen reached out and took the gift box first, his own face just as devoid of expression. "Mr. Li Weide, I’ll thank you for your kind gesture on my girlfriend’s behalf. If there’s nothing else, we’re about to depart."

Li Weide looked up at Gu Chen, a meaningful smile playing on his lips. "Very well, very well."

He didn’t press the issue, just nodded amicably. "Well then, I hope you’ll distribute these new bracelets to everyone, Captain Gu. I also hope your mission goes smoothly and you all return to the base soon."

"We’ll take your well-wishes to heart." Gu Chen’s handsome face remained as still as a statue, except for the corner of his mouth, which twitched into a sneer so forced it was practically transparent.

Xie Ning pursed her lips and rolled her eyes dramatically at Li Weide’s retreating back.

Everyone saw it clearly but still didn’t dare to laugh, bottling it up.

"Alright, is everyone ready? Form up." At Gu Chen’s command, the quick-acting official Superpower Team immediately fell into formation.

Xie Ning looked up at Gu Chen. "So, boyfriend, how are we getting there?"

"By car." Gu Chen squeezed her hand. "The sandstorms are too intense, so flying is out. We’ll drive. Before the apocalypse, it would have been a three or four-hour trip, but under the current conditions... it’s hard to say."

Xie Ning nodded. Her eyes flickered to the pile of boxes on the ground and she frowned slightly. "Are you really going to hand those things out?"

After a moment’s thought, Gu Chen nodded. "The Superpower Teams going on this mission have already been warned about the dangers of the binding bracelets."

"All we need to do now is tell them the truth of the situation."

"This black-tech bracelet from the X Realm really is helpful for communication and tracking data," Gu Chen said calmly. "This is all we can do."

"Besides, even if we hide them now and forbid their use, it’ll be unavoidable once these bracelets become globally widespread in the future."

"It’s a matter of self-control. But as we’ve already analyzed, the number of Crystal Cores ordinary people have is certainly not very high," Gu Chen said in a low voice.

"For the most part, we just need to keep a close eye on the members of these Superpower Teams."

"Our side is also hurrying to roll out various programs, like providing benefits for the Superpower Teams, establishing mutual oversight, and so on."

"I believe that as long as the official benefits we provide are sufficient, we should be able to stop most people from using Crystal Cores to buy goods from the X Realm."

"Besides, we’ve looked through the X Realm’s system store, and it doesn’t even have the most basic fruits or vegetables. Other than some appealing firearms and ammunition, the rest... probably doesn’t hold much attraction for our people."

"But the basic-version Nutrient Liquid they sell isn’t expensive. Some people might still find it too tempting to resist."

’After all, when it comes to survival, most people can only worry about themselves, without considering the long-term consequences.’

Xie Ning wasn’t about to lecture anyone on morality.

After all, her own living conditions were excellent; she had no need to redeem supplies from the X Realm’s system store. That didn’t mean the struggling masses felt the same.

"Right, that part is more problematic. But the basic-version Nutrient Liquid still costs two points, which is two Second-order Crystal Cores. For an ordinary person, that’s still a steep price."

"I don’t know the situation elsewhere, but our country should establish a basic social safety net in the future to deal with this."

Gu Chen’s head throbbed slightly. "At the very least, we must ensure everyone in the base has food to eat and work to do. That’s the only way they won’t be tempted to spend two Second-order Crystal Cores on some flashy but insubstantial Nutrient Liquid."

Gu Chen squeezed her hand, then ordered his men to distribute the bracelets. Very calmly, he once again explained the likely purpose behind the X Realm’s binding bracelets and their absorption of Crystal Cores.

Many of the Superpower Users immediately slapped their chests in assurance. "Don’t worry, Captain! We’ll only use them for communication!"