Chapter 17 "Brother Ding?"

"That Brother Ding?"

"Ding Ning is a professional fifth dan, working for a national conglomerate, backed by an entire support team."

As he spoke, he tapped an option on the light screen, unfolding new content.

"How big is the gap between amateur and professional dans?" Li Cheng Yi didn't know much about this, as there was no record of this information online.

"Only amateur ninth dans are qualified to apply for professional dan evaluation. And professional dan requirements, aside from military literacy and Feiyi (flying device) strength, are almost on par with the army's Zhiren Shi (cyborg pilots). How big do you think the gap is?" The bespectacled man chuckled.

"Nationally, your Brother Ding is a force to be reckoned with. Someone like Ding Zaocheng wouldn't last a single round against him. It's not just about consciousness; the key is equipment. Feiyi and matching force field generators, pharmacological enhancements, and exoskeleton protection. Fully armed, Ding Ning could wipe out the entire Suiyang Security Department single-handedly, and might not even get hurt."

Li Cheng Yi's heart grew cold.

He didn't know how powerful the Suiyang Security Department was, but judging by Ding Zaocheng's ability to track him from so far away and launch an attack, he knew they were definitely not weak.

"Come on, choose your modules. I have plenty of green ones; the ones I don't have are gray. If you're sure you want them, you'll have to wait. Oh, and you pay for the modules yourself."

The bespectacled man pushed the light screen in front of him, flipping it around to face Li Cheng Yi.

On the square light screen, there were a dozen or so modules to choose from.

'Yi Control Module', 'Fire Control Module', 'Anti-Interference Module', 'Range Enhancement Module', 'Emergency Treatment Module', 'Area Reconnaissance Module', 'Temporary Analysis Module', 'Offensive and Defensive Pattern Analysis Module'.

The number of modules, a dozen or so, wasn't much, but the prices behind them were staggering.

From tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands. Li Cheng Yi's eyelids twitched.

Being a Zhiren Shi (cyborg pilot) was just burning money!

No wonder every Zhiren Shi (cyborg pilot) was inevitably backed by an organization; they simply couldn't afford it on their own.

Aside from the necessary Yi Control and Energy modules, he could choose three more.

He chose anti-interference to avoid being hacked and controlled.

Then, area reconnaissance and emergency treatment.

"Good choices. Weapon modules aren't allowed in the city, so Feiyi usually rely on their own physical rushing power to kill enemies. Anti-interference and reconnaissance are very necessary. Of course, in the city, it's best not to use Feiyi if you get into a fight; exoskeletons are more suitable," the bespectacled man said with a smile.

He hadn't smiled much before, but the selection of modules made him beam. Clearly, that was where he really made his money.

"Also, these are all standard modules. If you need something more advanced, you'll have to go to an arms company or a national department for customization. Good luck, young man. I hope to see you again in the future."

Before leaving, after recording his fingerprint, iris, and voiceprint, the bespectacled man earnestly encouraged him.

Li Cheng Yi could tell he was sincere, especially after he scanned the QR code to pay.

Lifting the somewhat heavy Black Whirlwind Bullhead, he walked out of the brainpower calculation center, feeling incredibly fulfilled.

This was the first time in his life that he had owned his own Feiyi (flying device).

Although, according to the bespectacled man, he wasn't even an amateur, just a novice Feishou (pilot).

Feishou (pilot) generally referred to skilled drone operators.

Perhaps he couldn't even compare to a Feishou (pilot), but it didn't matter. As long as he could use the Feiyi (flying device) to protect himself, that was enough.

"Next is the exoskeleton armor. Poor Zhiren Shi (cyborg pilots) use exoskeletons; force field generators are for high-level and professional-grade big shots. The maintenance costs are too high, the energy consumption is too fast. Without super-capacity batteries and super-fast charging equipment for logistical support, they're just expensive, one-time-use toys. Can't afford them."

Carrying the Feiyi (flying device) case, Li Cheng Yi felt like everyone was eyeing his case on the street.

Twenty million was condensed into such a small box. If it were to be snatched.

He hadn't walked more than a few steps from the calculation center when he was about to hail a cab to his botanical garden.

Suddenly, a black and white police car slowly drove over from not far away and stopped beside him. www.

The car window rolled down, revealing a stern, square face.

"Li Cheng Yi?" The man raised his hand and showed his police badge. "I'm Chen Qiao Wen from the Security Department's Control Division."

"Officer Chen? Is there something wrong?" Li Cheng Yi became alert. He had been busy lately; could it be that his actions had been discovered and they were coming for him??

"It's nothing. You're a Dead End individual, and now that you possess a Feiyi (flying device), you've been registered. Be careful not to use your Feiyi (flying device) casually in public, or the Security Department might lock onto you immediately," the officer named Chen said solemnly.

"Officer, are all Zhiren Shi (cyborg pilots) monitored like this?" Li Cheng Yi frowned.

"Yes, but some are monitored by us, and some are monitored by the Association. As long as you're using a officially registered Feiyi (flying device) within the city limits, it will be recorded in the archives. So, you can't just use a Feiyi (flying device) casually. It's similar to firearms," Chen Qiao Wen explained.

"Here, let's exchange contact information." He took out his phone to scan.

Li Cheng Yi cooperated and added him as a friend.

"Officer Chen, don't worry. I bought the Feiyi (flying device) to save my life. You must be aware of our situation."

Chen Qiao Wen shook his head slightly.

He knew the plight of Dead End individuals. Most of them didn't live past a year.

With a sigh, he added.

"I've heard some things about you people. It's really not easy."

He paused. "A word of advice: no one cares about the suburbs; Silent Fortress only cares about the city. The dividing line between the city and the suburbs is the charging station when you drive out. There's a black line connecting all the charging stations on the ground. Once you cross that line, you're in the suburbs."

"Thank you, Officer Chen!" This was the first time Li Cheng Yi had learned such details. Knowing that the other party was kindly reminding him, he thanked him sincerely.

"Well good luck." Chen Qiao Wen waved his hand, drove away, and merged into the traffic.

Clearly, he had come specifically for Li Cheng Yi.

Dead End individuals were inherently unstable, and if they went berserk with a Feiyi (flying device).

So, it wasn't an overreaction to be nervous.

Watching the other party leave, Li Cheng Yi sighed and reached out to flag down a cab.

Now, he should go absorb the wisteria variant to complete the second evolution of the wisteria scale armor.

At the botanical garden, the batch of wisteria variants he had ordered online had arrived. He had been too busy finding a way to escape the Dead End situation to absorb them, but now that he had time, he could go deal with it immediately.

Soon, a taxi stopped, and he quickly got in, sat down, and took the time to check the status of the wisteria in the Flower of Evil.

'Wisteria Scale Armor: Second evolution, 15%, Malice: 0%. Flower Language: Intoxicating Hand (enhancement), Evolutions available: 4.'

'Hopefully the wisteria variants I ordered will fill up the evolution and the new sunflowers. This annual plant is now the easiest to handle.'

Sitting in the car, he kept touching the Feiyi (flying device) case next to him, feeling a novelty like a man getting a new toy, and couldn't help but want to take it out and try it out.

Although the energy module was the most basic type and could only be used for three hours at a time. At most an hour of high-intensity use.

But this thing was powerful.

Don't look at him beating Zhiren Shi (cyborg pilots) like it was nothing, if someone else were to go up against one, they'd be sliced to pieces before they could even get close.

It was only because his flower scale armor was tough enough; if it couldn't withstand the attack, he'd be killed instantly.

Sitting in the car, Li Cheng Yi, somewhat excited, kept looking up information about Feiyi (flying devices).

Unknowingly, drowsiness surged, and he leaned back in the leather seat and fell asleep.

These past few days, his nerves had been on edge at all times, from going to find Zhong Hui, to searching for the notebook, to fighting a battle, and then rushing back overnight to complete the Feiyi (flying device) certification, preparing fully.

He had been in a state of high tension.

Until now, with the Feiyi (flying device) complete, most of the preparations were basically done, he could absorb the flower energy while waiting for the third Dead End to appear.

Only then did he relax a little.

The taxi driver was an older aunt wearing sun-protective gloves, listening to songs on the radio.

Seeing Li Cheng Yi leaning his head back and falling asleep, she carefully lowered the volume and drove as steadily as possible.

*

*

*

Somewhere in the mountains, thousands of kilometers away from Suiyang.

Amidst the dark green sea of trees, two tall figures wearing all-black combat uniforms stood quietly against the tree trunks, waiting for something.

If it weren't for the rustling of fallen leaves being blown by the wind, these two motionless people could easily be mistaken for a still image.

About fifteen minutes later.

A metal-armored figure mixed with black and gray quickly approached from the depths of the dense forest.

The armored figure had a triangular object like a backpack on his back, and thick metal plates covered all the joints of his body. The helmet on his head looked like a white skull mask, ferocious and terrifying.

Every step he took made a subtle hissing sound, as if some kind of liquid was being squeezed, which was very strange.

"Where's Zhou Yan from Eleventh Division? Why isn't he here?"

The armored figure shook his white skull helmet, scanning the surrounding empty spaces, trying to find the third person.

"His body was destroyed by a mysterious modifier. According to feedback, experiments in both Seventeenth and Eleventh Divisions have been interfered with by this mysterious modifier. The source is likely a White Star Company called Hong Jin." One of the figures answered in a low voice, the voice was a crisp female voice, sounding young.

"The Seventeenth Division suffered a loss in Suiyang before, and the minister didn't report it in time. Now the Eleventh Division has been affected again. This is due to the lack of timely internal intelligence exchange." The other person followed up. "Zhou Yan failed to recover the losses and is now being closely pursued by the Security Department in Tongfeng City."

"It's normal. You're new, so you don't understand the situation. Each division is essentially an alliance. We're comrades with common aspirations, with no clear hierarchy." The white skull armored figure replied calmly.

"Even so, we should cooperate. Operation Ice Seal is imminent, and we can't afford to have any setbacks," the female voice said in a low voice.

"Forget it, anyway, all experiments will be discontinued after the operation," the white skull said, "I'm not here because of the experiments."

"Are you going to take action?" The female voice immediately became tense.

"Yes, the Association's power must be weakened. I'm here to preemptively contain the forces in these few cities," the white skull nodded.

"What do you need us to do?"

"I will attack the several Associations in Fengnan Province one by one. You find out the whereabouts of the Association's president and vice president. Confirm it, and I'll handle it as soon as possible. Whether it succeeds or not, our goal is to attract the attention of the Provincial General Department and the Provincial Association," the white skull explained.

"What about the experiments"

"Ignore them for now, since they're going to be cut off anyway. If there's any spare time, deal with the troublemaking mysterious modifier. Anyway, their company is there, we can always follow the clues."

(End of Chapter)