Chapter 476 308: Tinder Terminal, a Belated and Huge Salary

East Sea Garrison District, military spaceport.

With a deafening sonic boom exploding over the runway, the ink-black X-01 Ghost prototype didn't circle around for a conventional landing.

The ventral thrusters violently spat out ethereal blue exhaust, using terrifying reverse thrust to come to a dead stop in midair, transitioning from extreme motion to absolute stillness.

Then, the fighter jet landed vertically and steadily on the tarmac.

This maneuver, which defied the laws of aerodynamics, left the ground crew staring dumbfounded.

The canopy slid open. Han Feng took off his helmet, and before he could even jump off the wing, the military communicator on his wrist began to vibrate.

There was only a single, short line of text: "My office. Now."

The sender was Li Tiecheng.

Han Feng raised an eyebrow.

'Looks like the two bigwigs are getting antsy.'

He didn't delay. Without even changing out of his combat suit, which reeked of salty seawater, he hopped on an internal district shuttle and headed straight for the administration building.

He pushed open the heavy, solid wood door to Li Tiecheng's office.

The atmosphere in the room was far more somber than Han Feng had expected.

Li Tiecheng sat imposingly behind his desk, his single eye shot with blood. He had clearly just finished cleaning up the mess at Dragon's Fang Port.

Meanwhile, Vice-Dean Chen Beixuan was on the sofa in the guest area, rolling two Iron Gall balls in his hand.

His old face was expressionless, but his eyes were exceptionally sharp.

"Sit."

Li Tiecheng pointed to the chair opposite him.

Han Feng didn't stand on ceremony. He pulled out the chair, sat down, and casually grabbed a bottle of special-issue herbal tea from the desk, downing a mouthful.

"What's the situation?"

Chen Beixuan was the first to speak, his voice steady.

Han Feng put down the tea and his expression turned serious.

He knew this was no time for jokes. Whatever was hidden beneath Broken Star Reef concerned the safety of all of East Sea City.

"It's a trap,"

Han Feng said succinctly.

"Or rather, a slaughterhouse designed specifically to harvest life."

As he spoke, he pulled two items from his clothes and placed them on the mahogany desk.

One was a thumb-sized crystal that emitted a soft, pale golden halo.

The other was a special sealed test tube containing a dark red liquid.

Even through the high-strength glass, one could feel the unsettling, rich Vitality within.

Li Tiecheng and Chen Beixuan's gazes were instantly drawn to the two items.

"I got these from the underground ruins at Broken Star Reef."

Han Feng pointed to the golden crystal.

"The place has been converted into a factory by a faction called the Child of the Mist."

"They use Mind Control to treat Sea Beasts and even humans as raw materials, tossing them into a Blood Pool to be smelted, extracting their Life Force, and finally converting it through some kind of Array to produce this crystal."

"This thing is called a Divine Grace Crystal. It's said to be able to increase one's Spiritual Power, bypassing any bottlenecks."

At the mention of the words "Divine Grace Crystal," Chen Beixuan's hand, which was rolling the Iron Gall balls, abruptly stopped. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes.

"What an audacious plan..."

the old fox muttered to himself.

"Refining living beings into pills... Those lunatics actually dare to do it."

Li Tiecheng, however, picked up the tube of dark red, blood-like water, his brow deeply furrowed.

"This is the water from that Blood Pool?"

"Yes, a diluted version."

Han Feng nodded.

"The original fluid is far more volatile than this. An ordinary person would probably Mutate on contact. The core of those ruins is that pool."

"As for the workers..."

Han Feng paused, his tone turning cold.

"They're a group of Corpse Puppets, long dead but forcibly driven by Spiritual Power."

A brief, dead silence fell over the office.

Li Tiecheng slammed his palm on the desk, making the teacups rattle.

"It's those sewer rats again! Dragon Abyss is about to open, and for them to pull something like this at such a critical time... they're definitely up to no good!"

"Whatever they're planning, I've already wrecked half their operation."

Han Feng shrugged.

"But then people from Kunlun Holy City showed up, along with thirty or forty Celestial Prides from the Tier Two and Three Fortress Cities."

"When that group saw what was in the caverns, their eyes went red with greed."

"I figured I was outnumbered, and our mission was reconnaissance anyway, so I didn't confront them. I just took the items and withdrew."

Hearing this, a smile broke through Chen Beixuan's previously stern expression.

"Well done."

The old fox nodded in approval.

"In that situation, a direct confrontation would have been reckless.

Letting them fight it out among themselves while we secure the firsthand intelligence and samples for research—that's how we maximize our gains."

Li Tiecheng also nodded, his gaze toward Han Feng softening considerably.

'This kid might seem unreliable most of the time, but he's truly dependable when it counts.'

'Not only did he rescue Zhao Tianlan, but he also managed to scout out the situation.'

'The intelligence and physical evidence he brought back this time are far more valuable than killing a few Sea Beasts over there.'

"These items, especially this crystal, must be sent to the research institute for analysis immediately,"

Chen Beixuan said in a low voice.

"With Dragon Abyss about to open, for the Child of the Mist to produce something that can rapidly increase Spiritual Power at this juncture, they definitely have a specific scheme in mind."

Han Feng nodded in agreement.

That was also why he had been in such a hurry to hand over this portion of his spoils.

'It's better to let the big guys handle a hot potato like this.'

'As for the several thousand he'd stashed away for himself...'

'He'd earned those with his own skills. That was a different matter entirely.'

With the official business concluded, the atmosphere in the office relaxed slightly.

Chen Beixuan sat back down on the sofa, took out a palm-sized, silver metal box from his coat, and casually tossed it to Han Feng.

"Catch."

Han Feng caught it reflexively.

"What's this?"

"Open it and see,"

Chen Beixuan gestured.