Meng Chao was pensive. “What happened later?”
“The situation gradually stabilized, and large scale monster invasions reduced in number. After a few expeditions by the Red Dragon Army, Dragon City regained order, and we didn’t need that many temporary hospitals and unlicensed nurses anymore,” Bai Suxin said. “Many of the temporary hospitals were either combined together or upgraded to big public hospitals, and most of the underground clinics were shut down. I remember that my hospital was shut down in the end, and everyone was laid off.
“I wanted to apply for a position in a public hospital after I got my license, but there were too many people in the same position as me at that time. The competition was incredibly fierce. While I was studying, there was a monster invasion, and my house collapsed on me. I was buried under the debris for a long time, and the nerves and bones in my legs were crushed. Naturally, I couldn’t be a nurse anymore.
“It’s been years. If Little Cao didn’t find this notebook, I would have even forgotten about being a nurse in the past. I don’t understand a single word in the notebook now. It’s as if it wasn’t written by me at all. Ah, my brain has regressed so much, am I useless now?”
“Of course not!” When Meng Chao saw how dejected Bai Suxin looked, he quickly shook his head. “You’ll always be the greatest mom in Little Cao and my heart! But do you really not remember a single detail about that hospital? Even a name or a doctor you know from there will do!”
“A’chao, enough.” Meng Yishan sighed. “That year, you and your mom were both buried in the debris for too long. You were a baby, so it’s only natural that you don’t know anything, but she went through a great shock.
“She was in a daze for a few months in the hospital before she slowly recovered. The doctors said that it was PTSD, which is very common in Dragon City.
“Anyway, it has been many years, and it doesn’t affect her daily life now. A few days ago, Dr. Su Yuan from Fengshui Medical Center gave your mom a full body check, and he didn’t find anything wrong about her. Is there a reason why you must make her remember this?”
Meng Chao did not know how he should explain it.
When he had just returned to the past, he thought that his younger sister’s Night Demon Blood came from the Other World. He thought that she was infected or had it implanted after she came into contact with Dragon City or the Other World’s civilizations.
But from what he saw now, it seemed like it was related to some force of power from twenty years ago.
Did it mean that a mysterious power from the Other World had invaded Dragon City twenty years ago?
The fog was not a natural chasm, even though it could stop the major civilizations from coming into contact with each other at a large scale. With fate playing a hand and creating coincidences, individual intelligent life forms could get through the fog and into the city.
‘This hospital and this picture of the overlapping eyes should be the main reason behind why my sister’s corruption rate just won’t go down.
‘Could it be that twenty ago, some Other World resident discovered Dragon City by accident and made home in it in secret?
‘Or perhaps Dragon City itself has some sort of secret that no one knows and our transmigration wasn’t actually pure coincidence?
‘No matter what, monsters aren’t our only enemy…’
Meng Chao rubbed the bridge of his nose and thought about it for a long time.
“Alright, let’s set this matter aside for the time being. Dad, Mom, Little Cao, don’t breathe a single word about this to anyone else. Don’t draw this picture outside casually either, understand?”
Meng Yishan and Bai Suxin exchanged a glance before they nodded. “Aside from our family, who else would we mention this to? But what does this picture represent? Is it very dangerous?”
“This is…” Meng Chao thought about it. “It means certain things, but we don’t have to be in a hurry to figure them out. When I get back from the northern frontlines, I will get to the bottom of this and get rid of it.”
He swore in his heart that once he went to the northern frontlines, he would train madly to increase his strength so that he could gain the strength to protect his family as soon as possible.
Fortunately, he finally had the initiative and had learned of the X-shaped eyes’ existence in advance.
When the picture appeared again, no matter which bastard dared to extend their claws toward his family, he would definitely cut off those claws and behead those bastards!
After resting for a night at home, Meng Chao went to meet up with Luo Hai at Supernatural Tower.
“Good news. The alpha version of the new saber that’s based on the Strengthened One Hundred Saber Techniques has already been created.”
Luo Hai grinned as he brought out two rectangular wooden caskets in the cultivation room.
Once he opened a lid, Meng Chao saw a black blade that had gone through light extinction. His eyes lit up when he saw it.
“This is a good blade!”
Meng Chao picked up the saber and executed a few of the slashes from the future One Hundred Saber Techniques. His movements were really smooth, as if there was some sort of power guiding him. His saber technique was even more refined than before.
“The blade, spine, and the center of gravity have all been designed meticulously, and they perfectly fit the characteristics of the One Hundred Saber Techniques. We used various monster materials to create this. The research team went all out with this, and we suffered a bit of a loss to create them, but if we can gain popularity with them, it’ll be good!”
Meng Chao admired the brand new sabers and extended two fingers to flick the tip of the saber. He brought his ear closer to it, and he heard a sound that resembled waves but also thunder.
This meant that the monster materials resonated with the spirit energy in the cultivation room. It was the unique sound of that resonance.
“That’s right. This saber’s name is Surging Lightning, and it’s aimed at the youngsters in the middle-range and low-end of the market. Even though we intend to sell them for a cheap price so that we can sell loads of them and earn major profits from large sales, we didn’t slack off in terms of design and the creation process.”
Luo Hai picked up a Surging Lightning and brandished it casually. He created a thunderous boom that was even stronger than Meng Chao’s. He gasped in amazement and continued, “Dragon City Steel Organization’s metal research center recently came up with a Special Alloy No. 3642. We used it as the raw material for the blade, but that’s not all.
“When we refined it, we also added the tailbone powder of a Grade One superbeast called Thundertail, whose tailbone is the sturdiest part of its body. Compared to other sabers of the same type, it’s lighter by 15%. At the same time, it’s 5% more durable and sharp. It can bring out even greater power at a faster speed.
“Look at the fine patterns on the blade. That’s a unique tiger cowry pattern that is only created after the blade has been refined for more than three thousand five hundred times. It can destroy shell-type monsters’ defense even more cleanly and smoothly.
“Our competitors use this sort of technology on their flagship models. We will be the first in the market to use it on a saber tailored for beginners!
“Also, there are three indentations on the blade for us to embed crystals, superbeast crystals, or neurospheres. While they’re missing, the three indentations use the principles of aerodynamics to guide the air by the sides and suppress the saber so that its slashing trajectory is more stable. The drainage groove on the spine can even slightly push the blade forward.
“After embedding crystals or neurospheres of different properties, the saber can release different spirit energy magnetic fields, which allows the saber to have its own skills. It has a lot of room for improvement, and it has high value.
“I believe that when the first batch is sold in the market, we will be offering four different colors as well, which are silver moonlight, volcano ash gray, refined metal red, and starry sky black. We’ll also give the option to choose the material for the hilt.
“We’ll also offer an option to carve seals on the saber with lasers. We can carve words or pictures on the blade, sheath, or hilt. We’ll even allow the buyer to use a picture of their lover or idol on their sabers.
“It’ll allow us to fully satisfy the youngsters’ desire to create their own blade and be unique. With this, we’ll definitely live up to our brand of creating the first saber for youngsters!”
Meng Chao stared at the PowerPoint on Luo Hai’s tablet computer.
There were introductions for four sheaths on it, along with the rendering of a saber with an incredibly cute 2D picture of an idol carved into its blade.
There was an advertisement as well. It was presented by a well-dressed, handsome boy and a beautiful girl. They looked like white-collared workers who had just joined the ranks of society and were dating in a cafe that provided a very pleasant ambience.
They chatted with two Surging Lightnings on the table beside their coffee. Three monster heads lay by their feet.
The slogan was: From now on, killing monsters is easier than drinking coffee.
“Um…”
“This is just something I threw together while searching for random source materials. Anyway, the saber is still in its testing stage. When we gather fighting data and decide on the final version of the saber, we’ll definitely look for a professional advertising agency to help us create an advertisement.
“Our main market will be high school students and the grassroots forces of the Red Dragon Army. As for undergraduate students who have already awakened to supernatural abilities like us, we’re more suited for the flagship model!”
He brought out another wooden casket, which was even more dazzling than the previous one. When he opened it, a grave, murderous presence shot out, and a faint rumble of thunder could be heard in the air.
“Whoa.” Meng Chao took the flagship model of the Surging Lightning in his hands. Before he even swung it, he already had the urge to get a monster so that he could kill it to test out the saber.
“Compared to the youth version, the materials used to create the flagship model are even more lavish. Not only did we upgrade from Special Alloy No. 3642 to Special Alloy No. 3724, but we also upgraded the tailbone powder of the Thundertail to the spine powder of the Lightning Ghost, a Grade Two superbeast,” Luo Hai said.
“Aside from that, we also provide seventeen different versions of the saber so it would match the user’s personality. Take this saber for an example. It has a Fire Crystal, Green Frost Stone, and a crystalized neurosphere from a Terror Dragon.
“If you inject a bit of spirit energy in it, you can strengthen this saber from its molecular level. It can release heat that is hundreds of degrees Celsius or super-low temperatures that drop straight to negative one hundred and twenty degrees Celsius. The length and strength of the saber’s glare can also be increased up to five times. You’ll then be able to swing this saber like a T-rex!
“Regardless of whether it’s the youth version or the flagship model, we’re going to sell them at cost price. We’ll also be teaching the Strengthened One Hundred Saber Techniques without taking any money, which is what you wanted. So, where will we be earning our money? We’ll be earning it from the three embedded crystals and monster cores.
“The power contained in the crystals and monster cores is limited. You can only release it a limited number of times. Once you release all of it, you need to get a new one.
“When the customers buy the sabers, they will definitely look for someone to polish crystals and monster cores to embed them into the sabers, but they won’t be as perfect as the ones embedded by our factory.
“If they leave behind a gap, it might affect the balance, which will affect fighting power. Those people will then have to send the saber back to the factory to embed the crystals or monster cores, upgrade them, and maintain them. It’s only like that that they will be able to release their full power.
“The business model has been cleared, and we won’t have any problems securing channels in secondary schools, elementary schools, and the Red Dragon Army. Now, the key is to verify Surging Lightning’s power in real battle. We must bring solid data to show off Surging Lightning’s advantages when compared to sabers used by high school students, normal citizens, and grassroots units.
“And what a coincidence, both of us are going to the northern frontlines. Let’s use the Surging Lightning and kill to our hearts’ content!”