Chapter Seventy: Gathering Autumn Winds

Zhou Yi nodded, then shook his head, a look of confusion on his face.

"Tell me first, what level are my metal and water abilities at right now? Not compared to all the Chosen in Spacetime City, but just within the base. For abilities alone, if I were ranked, where would I stand?"

Sophia pondered for a moment before raising her eyes to look at Zhou Yi.

"With your concealed strength, you rank eighth."

Zhou Yi's smile froze, and he blinked in disbelief. Wasn’t it said that his two attributes were exceptional? Even after being suppressed, using slightly inferior metal and water abilities, he had still risen a whole level. How...

He realized he had perhaps been a bit arrogant. In an instant, Zhou Yi adjusted his mindset. When he looked at Sophia again, the arrogance had faded, and he was much calmer.

Only then did Sophia offer a reassuring smile as she looked at Zhou Yi.

"You are indeed formidable. Many people lose themselves after becoming Chosen and take a long time to regain control of their hearts. Of course, some remain in a state of madness—arrogant and self-important. Such people often die easily on missions. The six who are left here in the base are like that—eyes higher than their heads, their abilities mediocre."

She paused before continuing:

"As for rankings, don't worry about them. When it comes to a true confrontation, it’s not about comparing levels to determine victory or defeat. I once heard that the Lord of the City was only a third-level Chosen back in the day, when two bases were overrun by the Hunter Clan.

The situation was dire. The Lord led his fourteen slaves and several groups of Chosen straight into the Hunters’ Wangqiu Mountain, attacking from the north. The entire mountain rose in resistance. The Hunters who had conquered the two bases were urgently recalled, as they were the elite forces. The Lord did not linger in battle; he destroyed two cities within Wangqiu Mountain and withdrew his forces.

That campaign kept Wangqiu Mountain quiet for sixty years. Since then, the Hunters have only snuck into various worlds, never daring to confront us head-on. Both the Chosen and the Hunter Clan suffered losses. It’s said that at the time, the Lord was a third-level Chosen, fighting against three Hunter Clan leaders, each at level five.

Though the losses were heavy, he managed to bring most of his people out intact, achieving a decisive victory. Such ability cannot be measured by level alone. Do you understand what I mean?"

Zhou Yi nodded, putting away the control panel on his wrist and answering seriously:

"I understand. The Lord is also someone skilled at hiding his strength, preferring to play the underdog!"

Sophia stared at Zhou Yi, struggling to process his phrasing, and nodded helplessly.

"That’s about right. For now, the time isn’t ripe. Once people’s attention shifts away from you, I’ll take you to Spacetime City and see if you can meet Dr. Laura, and whether Fatty and Cheng Zhi can acquire marks through other means."

Zhou Yi grinned—this was something he cared about.

"If they become Chosen and can level up, things will be easier for me, too."

"Good. By the way, in the meeting room last time, when my mark was burning—whose voice was that?"

With a wave of Sophia’s hand, all debris and puddles on the floor vanished, and the gold coins were collected. She looked at Zhou Yi with a serious expression.

"That was the Sage. The Sage is everywhere. As long as you use any equipment or machinery within the base, or if you act outside the upgrade shield, you can be monitored. Only the mission worlds are beyond their reach.

You must warn your companions—especially Fatty. His loose tongue can cause trouble. He should keep things to himself and not speak carelessly. We cyborgs are all kept in check by the Sage. If we fail to follow its commands, we’ll be swiftly hunted down and dealt with."

Zhou Yi shivered. Sophia was also being controlled. Then, would anything he said to her...?

He glanced at his wrist control panel—this was also a system terminal, present everywhere. If that were the case...

"So, our conversations, and the storage function you just gave me—can these also be monitored? What if I store something private...?"

Sophia paused, looking at Zhou Yi in confusion, clearly not following his train of thought.

"Our conversations aren’t a problem. I don’t harbor improper intentions and have submitted to the Sage. But what do you mean by ‘something private’?"

Zhou Yi blinked. He couldn’t just say he wanted to store spirit stones—that would be too direct.

"Well... men have physiological needs to consider. Three men together can’t exactly... handle things for each other, can they?"

Sophia averted her gaze, waving a hand dismissively.

"As long as you’re not in the base, and Natasha is connected to your storage function, it can’t be seen. The Sage isn’t that nosy. All right, that’s enough questions for now. I’ll remove the upgrade shield."

Zhou Yi cleared his throat; the topic had indeed gotten awkward. He quickly nodded to Sophia.

With a wave of her staff, the white protective shields vanished completely.

Without the barrier, Zhou Yi instantly sensed many people’s auras. He glanced around. People in the nearby rooms seemed to stand up as well. Clearly, as Sophia had said, those of different levels could sense and perceive things quite differently.

Just then, Sophia’s control panel flashed. She hurried to answer, and Waldner’s image appeared before them, rather like a video call but without a screen.

"Lord!"

"Not bad—two attributes, and a direct upgrade to level one!"

Zhou Yi didn’t dare act proud. He placed his right hand over his chest and bowed deeply. Without strength, one had to keep their head down, or risk dying without knowing why. Such caution was only natural.

"Thank you for your favor, my lord. If not for the extra allocation of energy, I couldn’t have leveled up this time."

Waldner smiled, picking at his ear with his little finger, and spoke calmly.

"Very good. Now that you’ve leveled up, sort the tasks for group eight as usual. Sophia, take care of that. Also, there’s news from Spacetime City—the Hunters have been especially active lately.

Base 131 was raided and suffered heavy losses. The mission world they oversee is in chaos as well. I’ve asked Carter to strengthen our base’s defenses. Keep an eye on all mission worlds—make sure there are no problems on our end. I’ll see if I can help Base 131 share the burden."

Sophia and Zhou Yi hurriedly agreed. Waldner’s image then vanished. Sophia turned to Zhou Yi.

"Rest for now. Talk to your teammates. Once tasks are assigned, Natasha will notify you immediately."

Zhou Yi nodded, and Sophia departed.

Narrowing his eyes, Zhou Yi understood that Waldner had left Sophia to guard the base while he went to see if there were any benefits to be gained. A base controlled at least a dozen mission worlds, sometimes over a hundred. With trouble at Base 131, many people would go not to help, but to scavenge. If he were in Waldner’s position, he might do the same.

Shaking his head, Zhou Yi let the thought go and headed straight to Fatty and Cheng Zhi’s room next door.

As soon as he entered, the two of them crowded around, visibly anxious.

After all, they were now tied to Zhou Yi. If anything happened to him, they’d be the first to die—a most humiliating end. They looked him up and down; sensing that his aura seemed even stronger, both broke into excited grins.

"Boss, did you level up?"

Cheng Zhi stared at Zhou Yi, silent but clearly concerned.

Zhou Yi smiled and nodded slightly.

"Straight to level one!"

Fatty pressed his lips together and smashed his fist into his palm, as if he were the one who’d leveled up. Controlling his excitement, he leaned in and asked in a low voice:

"And the attributes?

We just spent some time eavesdropping at the door. All the nearby rooms sent their slaves to listen in. From what they say, just having one of the seven attributes is impressive, but the most powerful are water, fire, and metal. Boss, what are yours?"

Zhou Yi held up two fingers.

"Water and metal!"

Fatty’s eyes sparkled, and Cheng Zhi clenched his fist and pumped it in the air, grinning widely.

"Awesome!"