Angel Yan clearly understood Earth's current general situation. After staring at Ren Kurogane for two seconds, she didn't press him further to join the Angelic camp.
"The Gates of Justice will always remain open to Earth."
With that, Angel Yan left. Just as she had appeared abruptly, she flew away just as suddenly, leaving the group of super soldiers staring at each other in a daze.
"Seriously, these Angels come and go as they please? Where are their manners?" Liu Chuang grumbled, feeling a bit slighted.
"It's because she's a Third-Generation God Body," Ren remarked. "Alright, forget about the Angels. Making yourselves stronger as quickly as possible is the only thing that matters!"
The group felt Ren had a point. Then, they asked in unison, "Brother, how are we supposed to get stronger from here?"
Ren blinked. That was a very good question! He had a rough idea about upgrading to a Second-Generation Super Soldier, but a Third-Generation God Body... that was currently a blind spot in his knowledge!
"Well..."
Ren's gaze eventually drifted toward Leina.
"What are you looking at me for? I don't know how to upgrade either!" Leina shrugged with an innocent look. "You know my upgrades depend entirely on civilization heritage. I don't research this stuff myself!"
Seeing the confusion on everyone's faces, Lian Feng—one of the few researchers at the Academy standing firmly on Earth's side—stepped forward to explain the general concept of a Third-Generation God Body.
"Continue advancing in the domains you are currently familiar with. Once you develop those domains to a certain depth, you can ascend to a God Body. Of course, what you initially condense is only a First-Generation God Body; you'll have to upgrade it yourselves to reach the Third-Generation level. By the way, the energy required to ascend is astronomical."
"Energy again..." Ren sighed helplessly. Earth was just too poor.
After introducing the God Body, Lian Feng continued, "Warriors, your first stage of training is officially over. According to our intel, the Taotie Civilization won't launch their attack for another six months. We will spend this time aboard the Giant Gorge (Juxia) carrier!"
"We're moving?" "Do we get our own private rooms? Like Brother Ren?"
Stared at by several pairs of sparkling eyes, Lian Feng's lip twitched.
"Well, I'm actually not entirely sure. After all, I've been with you guys for the past month, so I don't know much about the situation over there..."
Seeing Lian Feng's obvious lack of confidence, Ren said dominantly, "No worries! If there aren't private rooms, I'll gift every brother their own private cruise ship!"
"Holy crap! Brother Ren is a boss!" "I knew Brother Ren was the greatest!"
While everyone was celebrating, Qi Lin asked, "As far as I know, you don't have that much money, do you? Where are you getting cruise ships? You're not going to hijack them, are you?"
A month ago, Qi Lin had been pursuing Ren and was quite familiar with his background. To her knowledge, Ren didn't have a company under his name and didn't seem particularly wealthy. She truly couldn't fathom how Ren would obtain a fleet of cruise ships through legal channels.
"Hehe! Sister Qi Lin, you're underestimating me, aren't you?" Ren bragged. "I still have quite a few cruise ships stored at the North Star Shelter. I'll just head over and take them!"
Upon hearing this, Qi Lin was enlightened. "Oh, right! I totally forgot about you tricking those rich second-generation kids into building that shelter!"
Thinking they were about to own their own cruise ships, everyone's faces beamed with joy. Under Ren's lead, the group boarded a military plane and shortly arrived at a mountain range near North Star (Beijing), where the shelter was built.
They jumped from an altitude of several hundred meters, landing softly on the ground.
"Being upgraded is really something else—we can even defy the laws of gravity now," Qi Lin noted in a faint tone. Currently, she and Wei Lan were clinging to Leina like "accessories," drawing envious looks from the boys.
"Alright, you guys will upgrade to Second-Generation in a few days. Stop radiating resentment like a scorned woman!" Leina's tone was full of doting, making the atmosphere between the three of them look quite "citrusy" (yuri-esque).
Ren led the group into the shelter, taking the elevator deep underground.
Clack~
The elevator doors opened to reveal a group of muscular men.
"Who are you?" Ren frowned. These men in suits and sunglasses were definitely not the rich kids who had been suppressed here. Ren even saw several Western faces among them, which shocked him.
My shelter was invaded?
Ren immediately used his Dark Plane System to seize control of the base. In an instant, everything that had happened here flooded into his mind.
"I see. Because they didn't want to lose money, they started a 'survival simulation' business."
The men in black were equally stunned. Could anyone tell them what was up with these armored, dangerous-looking people? Just standing there, the newcomers made the guards' bodies tremble. This was the instinctive fear of the weak facing the strong—the helplessness of a "skinny dog" standing before a giant!
"Who are you?" one of the suited men asked tentatively.
"Tell Xu Wen to come out," Ren ordered. Xu Wen was the primary investor here and a famous "waste" in North Star. Of course, before building this shelter, he hadn't been known as a waste—he was just a rich kid who liked games. Even if his abilities were lacking, he could have lived a wealthy life under his parents' wing. Unfortunately, Ren had talked him into spending a fortune on this shelter, pushing him onto a pedestal of infamy!
The men in black didn't dare delay and immediately sent for Xu Wen. Since the stranger could name their boss, it was certain they weren't people to be trifled with.
During the wait, Ren led the group to the bar and opened several bottles of liquor. Liu Chuang held a bottle of white spirits, his eyes gleaming.
"Holy crap! I couldn't even dream of this stuff before! Now I can drink as much as I want!"
"Look at you!" Ren scolded with a laugh. "You can drink this stuff like water now. With your current constitution, you'll never get drunk."
Liu Chuang took a swig. Aside from a rich aroma and a warm sensation, it felt like nothing. "That's it?" Disappointed, Liu Chuang set the bottle down, feeling as though he had lost one of life's great pleasures.
The three "G-bros" weren't interested in booze and stuck to sodas. Qiangwei tried a couple of sips to look cool but gave up immediately. "Tasteless! This stuff isn't as good as fruit juice!"
While they were idling, a large group of people arrived. Ren looked over to see Xu Wen leading the way, looking ecstatic as he ran over with small, hurried steps.
"Brother Ren! You finally came to save me!"
Ren held up a hand to stop Xu Wen's embrace. "Brother Xu, I remember there were several large cruise ships in the shelter? I came here to get a few for my comrades."
Only then did Xu Wen notice Ge Xiaolun and the others. They were all in armor with determined expressions—clearly not ordinary people! Seeing this, Xu Wen was even more certain his original decision had been right!
"What are you saying, brother? You have the highest authority in this shelter. If you want something, just take it!"
"Great! Thanks, brother!" Ren smiled. "By the way, try to stay inside the shelter for the next few years. Before long, the world is going to turn into a mess!"
Fear flashed in Xu Wen's eyes. "Brother Ren, do you have some inside info? Can you tell me anything?"
Ren hesitated then shook his head. "I can't tell you much, but remember: the future isn't safe. If you can stay here, try not to go out to play."
Ren's gravity made Xu Wen take it seriously. He nodded solemnly. "I understand. I'll bring my family in tomorrow!"
Just then, Qiangwei's cold voice rang out behind them, "The yachts are ready. Let's go."
"Alright!" Ren nodded, then said to Xu Wen, "Brother, I'll see you in the future!"
Before a confused Xu Wen could respond, the group vanished into thin air, leaving only half-finished juices on the table as proof they had been there.
Holy sh—!!!
Ignoring Xu Wen's shock, Qiangwei used wormholes to transport the group out of the shelter. After two long-distance jumps, they arrived at the coast. With a ripple in space, several yachts appeared before the group. They had only ever seen luxury items of this caliber in pictures; now, they were within reach.
Everyone happily picked a yacht they liked. Shortly after, the small fleet left the shore, heading for the Giant Gorge.
Out at sea:
"Yachts ahead, listen up! You have entered our territorial waters. Stop your vessels immediately for inspection!"
A fleet of warships surrounded Ren and the others. Ren stepped out onto the deck, saw the flags on the warships, and shouted, "Brothers! Come out and test your skills!"
The Blackfury warriors stepped onto their decks. Seeing the surrounding warships, Liu Chuang immediately grew energized.
"Good! Today, I'll use these 'Bald Eagle' (US) flags to let the world know the existence of the Blackfury Squad!"
"Brothers! Kill!" "The spear remains!"
Zhao Xin was the fastest, charging onto a Bald Eagle warship. His spear swept out, creating a golden storm that pulverized everything in its path! In the blink of an eye, a warship was destroyed.
Then, Liu Chuang, Ge Xiaolun, and Rui Mengmeng unleashed their power without reservation. Liu Chuang's axe suddenly grew massive, cleaving downward and instantly splitting three warships in half! He then twisted his waist and swung the axe back-handed, flattening another three ships!
Ge Xiaolun swung his greatsword repeatedly, waves of sword-qi sweeping through the field and leaving the warships riddled with holes. Rui Mengmeng unleashed a massive dark-green shockwave, destroying the obstacles in front of her.
Seeing his comrades in action, Ren didn't want to be left behind. He condensed a light-blade, and with several flashes, decomposed a few warships into scrap. The Bald Eagle soldiers didn't even have a chance to fire before they were wiped out.
"Hahaha! These Bald Eagles are nothing special!" Liu Chuang laughed heartily. For the first time, he truly felt his own strength. This so-called "world's strongest fleet" was nothing but trash before them; a little bit of effort was all it took.
Back on the boats, Ren said to Mengmeng and Xiaoli, "It seems our movements have been leaked, otherwise a fleet wouldn't have been here to 'welcome' us."
"You mean this ambush was arranged?" The clever Su Xiaoli immediately understood the subtext. After all, China wasn't the only country on Earth. Though there was an alien threat, the aliens hadn't arrived yet. Thus, the Blackfury Squad's first battle was to intimidate the other nations on Earth.
Rui Mengmeng sighed. "With external enemies so close, we're still calculating against each other internally..."
Ren laughed dismissively. "What calculations? Before our absolute strength, other nations can either submit or disappear. There is no third choice!"
"It's a pity this is a special period, otherwise... hmph hmph~"
The two women nodded in thought.
Meanwhile, aboard the Giant Gorge.
Seeing the combat footage, Dukao's face lit up with a smile. "I didn't expect that in just one month, they would become such qualified warriors!"
"It's thanks to Ren's training plan," Sun Wukong said, standing beside Dukao. "If we had used your 'gentle' training methods, these kids would probably just be finishing their physical fitness drills right now, wouldn't they?"
Dukao coughed awkwardly and smiled. "Well... I did underestimate our warriors previously. I kept thinking of them as children and wanted to use gentle means to ease them into it."
Sun Wukong shook his head, moving past the topic. "How is the second team coming along? Can they be trained before the war starts?"
Dukao laughed. "The people have been found, and they are willing to answer the call. However, we can't replicate the first team's training this time."
"Oh? Why?" Wukong looked at the general, puzzled. From the Monkey King's perspective, Ren's plan had succeeded, so the second team should follow the same model. Even if their quality was lower, they could graduate in two months at most and be ready to guard cities when the Taotie arrived.
Dukao looked bitter. "Great Sage, you don't understand... Earth is... poor..."
"Training the first team consumed a massive amount of resources. The second team won't even have a full set of Black Armor, and they'll have to prepare their own weapons..."
Wukong's lip twitched as he said helplessly, "I have to ask, what exactly have you been doing for the past tens of thousands of years?"