Chapter 402 - 344: Nuwa’s Sub-base in the Imperial Capital

In the Ecological Garden.

Chu Bamboo opened his eyes. He took out his phone; the time was still 6:00 AM.

’Although, I was already mentally prepared...’ Chu Bamboo got up. He had known he was going to die, but what surprised him was that he hadn’t died from the Destiny Golden Dragon’s attack. Instead, he had been assassinated by the Governor of Jiangnan.

’Still, this proves one thing, at least!’ Chu Bamboo analyzed calmly. ’The Destiny Golden Dragon isn’t something that can be used at will... Or rather, the cost of using it is enormous.’

Given the choice, the Heavenly Monarch was clearly more willing to use other methods to kill him. This also showed that his last surprise attack on the Imperial Capital had truly pushed the Heavenly Monarch to the brink.

’We’re at a bit of a stalemate!’ Chu Bamboo rubbed the Little Mushroom Head. He didn’t have the Hive repair the drone aircraft carrier, instead beginning to seriously organize the information he currently had on hand.

Yes, a stalemate... but for Chu Bamboo, this was far from a dead end!

If all he wanted was to save his own skin, Chu Bamboo could easily come up with three or five different ways. But if he wanted to survive while ensuring the shantytown redevelopment zone remained unaffected, and also gain some benefit from it... that would be incredibly difficult!

’From the looks of it, if I want to conquer the world...’ Chu Bamboo fell into deep thought. ’Considering the situations in both the Imperial Capital and the Celestial Capital... if I had a few more drone aircraft carriers and unmanned machines... I could follow the same method I used to attack the Celestial Capital. I could personally board a drone carrier, force an assault on the Imperial Capital, and have a twenty percent chance of capturing it directly! At that point...’

Chu Bamboo closed his eyes, lost in thought. Although the Imperial Capital and the Celestial Capital were known as the two capitals, it was obvious that their political statuses were not equal.

The reason Ji Lan had killed him, to put it bluntly, was because the Emperor wasn’t dead. He could hold meetings of the Imperial Court, formulate a solution, and then dispatch people to execute it!

But if he assassinated the Emperor right from the start... and occupied the Imperial Capital! That would plunge the world into true chaos.

With the support of the Great Goddess Nuwa’s righteous cause for the world... and with the Emperor already dead... although it wouldn’t be as simple as inheriting the Daqian legacy and establishing a new nation, without the interference of Extraordinary Power, it would just be a matter of taking a bit more time to reconquer the world...

’But there’s a crucial problem...’ Chu Bamboo’s expression grew grim. ’Is the Emperor a Transcendent? If not, everything is simple... but if he is... how do I kill him? I can’t possibly send Huo Qiming and Hu Kaikang to do it, can I? Even setting aside their own willingness... they wouldn’t be able to. After all, if the Emperor is a Transcendent, he must be a top-tier one!’

’I could test it...’ Although Chu Bamboo felt the chance of the Emperor not being a Transcendent was slim, and the possibility of this method succeeding was almost nil, he still thought it was worth a try. The only problem was... ’Twenty percent... that’s too low!’

The reason it was only twenty percent was... he couldn’t get into the Grand Ancestral Temple! Under these circumstances, he couldn’t get Nuwa’s support. Relying solely on the forces he could bring with him... they were far too inadequate!

As for why he couldn’t enter the Grand Ancestral Temple—the drones he sent in were destroyed beyond recognition. It didn’t take a genius to know that a top-tier Transcendent was definitely lurking inside!

’I could use mortals to attack... but!’ Chu Bamboo shook his head. He doubted it would be of any use. The Grand Ancestral Temple was almost certainly a relic of a previous civilization, and it surely held a large number of pre-civilization armaments. Even setting that aside, the temple was bound to have its own defense systems... whose strength couldn’t possibly be lower than C Company’s headquarters.

It would be a miracle if mortals could fight their way in!

’Wait!’ A flash of inspiration struck Chu Bamboo. He suddenly looked at the Little Mushroom Head. "Nuwa No. 17, are there any other sub-bases or anything for the Nuwa Mainframe in the Imperial Capital?"

And then...

"Yes!"

Chu Bamboo’s eyes lit up. ’Excellent! I can’t get into the Grand Ancestral Temple... but other places should be fine, right?’

"Mark their locations!"

And then...

Chu Bamboo’s expression gradually froze. "...Sometimes, I seriously suspect you do this on purpose!"

The Little Mushroom Head tilted its head.

"...It’s nothing." Chu Bamboo rubbed it vigorously, trying to relieve his frustration. In the Imperial Capital, there were currently three sub-bases that could connect directly to Nuwa! The problem was...

He had been to two of those bases! Yes, he had...

"But the first base has already been destroyed." Chu Bamboo sighed, looking up at the sky.

He had been to the Imperial Capital before, and this first base was now open to the public... the kind you could pay to enter and tour.

This base’s location was the site of the Great Chu Dynasty’s Imperial Palace. Of course, the palace had been burned to the ground in a great fire during the final years of the Chu Dynasty; otherwise, the Daqian Dynasty might not have opened it to the public.

Back when Chu Bamboo visited as a tourist, he’d listened to the tour guide’s narration and was led to the ruined underground remains beneath the Chu Dynasty’s Imperial Palace... Chu Bamboo remembered it vividly. The guide had said that these Ancient Ruins were rumored to be the origin of Great Chu’s rise to power. According to legend, Great Chu had discovered vast wealth and Ancient Relics inside, which was how they slowly got their start and built a dynasty...

However, like the Imperial Palace of the Great Chu Dynasty, the ruins had been completely destroyed due to their age and the wars that had passed. ’It was strange, though, that they were demolished despite being under Nuwa’s protection! Or perhaps it was destroyed from the inside, like the nuclear facility in that one previous worldline?’

Regardless, it was open to the public and anyone could enter, so there was obviously no longer a Nuwa Mainframe inside to communicate with. And considering the Mo Family’s capabilities, it must have been destroyed to the point that not even they could repair it...

As for the other one... that was even better! Because its location was the current Imperial Palace!

Chu Bamboo realized almost instantly where it had to be—it could only be that sealed room inside the Emperor’s bedchambers, the one that absolutely no outsiders were allowed to enter... He had tried to approach that room many times. But every single time, the moment he touched the door, he would die violently...

’With my current status, to get inside openly and legitimately!’ Chu Bamboo’s eye twitched. ’Wouldn’t I have had to conquer the Imperial Palace by then? But if I’ve already conquered it, would I even need to go in anymore?’

"So!" After a moment’s thought, a sharp glint appeared in Chu Bamboo’s eyes. "First, I’ll go back to reality... and see if I can break this stalemate!"

After a moment’s hesitation, Chu Bamboo decided to first replicate some Divine Techniques to fill his two slots... The first was naturally the Crimson Sky Fire Divine Technique, and the second was Thousand Shadows and Transformations—the Shadow Windbreaker was right beside him, making it quite easy to replicate!

Then, Chu Bamboo crushed the poison capsule hidden in his molar. He quietly experienced the feeling of suffocation. ’...After reaching the Second Realm, I feel like I’m getting more and more resistant to this poison! Now that I’m almost at the Third, I can last ten seconds, and that’s with my physique not even having reached the Second Realm yet...’

’I have to find a way to get... a stronger one! Hmm, the Five Poison Sect would definitely have something... Forget it, I’ll just ask Hai Mingyue for one!’

Chu Bamboo remembered that the relationship between Hehuan and the Five Poison Sect... was quite close! Or rather, Hehuan had connections with all the other sects... They could even get in touch with the crazy All-Powerful sect, and even accept commissions from them...

As he thought, Chu Bamboo slowly closed his eyes...

Then, he awoke abruptly in reality.

The car had already stopped. In the distance, a white glow was gradually rising on the horizon. Hodges was currently using the car’s power supply to boil water and eggs for breakfast...

"...You’re awake?" Hodges seemed to sense something and turned his head, a look of delight on his face.