"How is it possible for them to produce so quickly? The output of the science academy in one day doesn't match up to theirs in just an hour! Not to mention the quality gap too."
A sharp-eyed officer said, "The other side must have mastered some kind of secret to achieve this. I think we need to find out what it is, even if it means taking some tough measures!"
"Taking measures? Don't forget their strength! And don't forget your identity as a soldier!" another person at the meeting responded with a contrary opinion.
"Hmph, if the science academy could have their output, our military could equip our soldiers with that kind of equipment in no time. Don't tell me you aren't envious!"
"So what, there are some lines that shouldn't be crossed…"
Both sides had their points, and it looked like an argument was about to break out in the meeting room.
Lu Jianjun patted the table, "We indeed need to find a way to obtain the technology for rune equipment, but there's no need to resort to overly forceful measures."
Not wanting the manufacturing technology for rune equipment, Lu Jianjun felt, was deceiving oneself.
If all the Awakeners in the military could be equipped with rune equipment, their overall combat capability could increase by at least two levels. Not to mention, rune technology, as a brand new field, definitely had a lot of room for development in the future.
After a Demon-slaying Longsword had appeared on the Black Market, he had already sent people to investigate, but unfortunately, they couldn't gather any effective information. If it hadn't been for the major incident involving Lin Wei, he might not have noticed this Green Shadow Sanctuary so soon.
"The people from Green Shadow Sanctuary had already sold a batch of rune equipment to the science academy and had some technical exchanges, so we can try to gauge their attitude and obtain the rune technology via trade; I believe we can offer something they urgently need..."
Rune technology must be controlled by us.
If Green Shadow Sanctuary were too weak, his approach would definitely be more aggressive… There's never been an equal conversation between the strong and the weak; though Lu Jianjun wasn't one to act unscrupulously, if Green Shadow were weak, he would definitely pressure them to transfer the rune technology, at most providing Green Shadow with some compensation.
But now, he already regarded the leader of Green Shadow as being on the same level.
"However…" Lu Jianjun contemplated, "Given that Green Shadow Sanctuary possesses such strong power and its influence is growing, we must keep tabs on their first-hand dynamics."
The head of the Intelligence Department immediately responded, "Don't worry, commander, I will assign enough personnel to closely monitor Green Shadow."
"No, isn't Green Shadow Sanctuary planning to build a large commercial district?"
The latter part was directed at Captain Chen.
Captain Chen nodded, "From their planning, the scale of the commercial district is quite large."
"In that case, let's buy a shop in the commercial district. It will not only allow us to monitor Green Shadow but will also serve as a good gesture. If I'm not mistaken, due to their research and manufacturing of rune equipment, Green Shadow's Source Crystals must be very scarce..."
In a region far away from Lindong.
The ground is parched, cracked in every inch.
Even the most resilient plants are scarcely seen here, with the landscape dominated by a dusty yellow.
A gust of wind blows, lifting a cloud of sand.
At the edge of visibility, a giant black beast seems to loom over, but on a closer look, it turns out to be an imposing city wall made of reinforced concrete, standing fifteen meters tall, firmly guarding the sanctuary behind it.
At this moment, gunfire was heavy on the city wall, accompanied by ongoing alarm sounds.
Below loomed the dense Demon Tide, which had reached the foot of the city walls. Soldiers could clearly see the gruesome faces of the Demonized Beasts.
A soldier operated a heavy machine gun, shooting at will without needing to aim. The weaker Demonized Beasts fell instantly in the hail of bullets.
Occasionally, a powerful Demonized Beast would leap onto the city wall but would quickly be dispatched by the Awakener experts stationed there.
Behind them, in the city, the constant sound of cannons firing echoed; cannonballs would drop into the Demon Tide and clear out a large swath of Demonized Beasts in an instant.
"These Demonized Beasts, why can't we just kill them all?"
City Defense Soldier Lin Yanrong casually chatted with his comrade.
He was a new recruit who had enlisted after the apocalypse; however, at that moment, there was not a trace of fear on his face. In the past month, he had encountered Demonized Beasts too many times. Initially panicked, he soon discovered that, relying on the tall city walls, the Demon Tide, which made many survivors pale, posed no significant threat.
"It's also because we're in a large sanctuary that the Demon Tide isn't much of a threat. I heard that small sanctuaries facing such Demon Tides are nearly doomed."
"Yes!" his companion nodded, "but we can't say that the Demon Tide poses no threat. After all, what we faced this time is just a common level-one Demon Tide. It's said that the most terrifying level-five Demon Tide can bring forth City Destruction Level Demonized Beasts. If not handled well, even large sanctuaries might be doomed."
"Don't worry." Lin Yanrong wasn't concerned, "It's not that easy to encounter a level-five Demon Tide. Besides, since the level-five Demon Tide appeared, the Military's high command has already devised specific strategies to handle it. Haven't you seen those weapons? There are rumors that they're super weapons meant to combat City Destruction Level Demonized Beasts."
"I'm not worried anymore. Defending the city and killing Demonized Beasts every day might be a bit boring, but it's safe…"
At that moment, the Demonized Beasts below had nearly been eradicated. Lin Yanrong moved his somewhat sore arms and suddenly rubbed his eyes, "Do you feel like it's getting foggy?"
His companion paused, "It does seem to be getting foggy."
Instead of looking outside the city, he looked towards the sanctuary behind them. The fog seemed to be spreading from inside the sanctuary.
Not just the two of them, many City Defense Soldiers looked toward the city center, noticing the fog growing thicker.
"Why does this fog look a bit red?" mumbled Lin Yanrong.
"A bit red?" His companion widened his eyes as he looked at the thickening mist, which was changing from colorless to light red. It felt familiar, and after a moment, he couldn't help exclaim, "Red fog!"
Lin Yanrong was startled.
He recalled the terror dominated by the red fog at the beginning of the apocalypse.
His mind suddenly went blank.
Suddenly, a sound like shattering glass echoed.
It was as if some barrier had been broken.
In an instant, the already light red fog seemed to take on a color and, in the blink of an eye, turned as red as blood.
Just like when the red fog first appeared at the start of the apocalypse!
Suddenly, a huge booming sound came from somewhere within the city.
The City Defense Soldiers couldn't help but look in that direction, standing rooted to the spot.