Nine Star Burden - Chapter 131

Chapter 131: So-Called Arsenal

Soon, two days passed.

Jiang Xiao’s team assembled in front of the school gate while Hai Tianqing, the teacher in charge of the trip this time, stood in front of them.

Hai Tianqing was dressed normally today, in a light blue thin quilt jacket and a pair of light-washed jeans. He finally looked like a normal person and was no longer like a groomsman who had come from a wedding.

What puzzled Jiang Xiao was the fact that the school had clearly stated that they could be focusing on nurturing and training three teams, but in reality, only one team was going to the Arsenal this time.

In fact, Jiang Xiao did not know that even their team almost couldn’t go for the trip.

Due to the fact that Li Weiyi almost failed to persuade his mother, he may not have been able to take part in the training, thus causing his team to be disqualified for the trip, if it weren’t for Li Qingmei’s help.

What Jiang Xiao and the rest did not know, was how much much effort Li Qingmei, who usually had a sweet smile, had put into this and how hard she had to convince herself.

Li Weiyi had never told his teammates about it because he didn’t want them to be worried. Instead, he pretended that everything was fine as he stood in front of the team.

The Arsenal was different from the snowfield—they were not rampant in Beijiang Province.

They were most commonly found in Zhongji Province.

The arsenal that the school managed to contact and liaise with was in Nansheng County, which was about a two-hour drive away from them.

Originally, the teacher in charge was supposed to lead the children to the bus stop and take a coach to the venue. However, Xia Yan requested for them to travel in her own car instead.

Hai Tianqing naturally became the driver while Li Weiyi sat in the passenger’s seat.

Xia Yan sat in the middle of the back seat, separating Han Jiangxue and Jiang Xiao.

The interior of the Land Rover was relatively spacious and there was even more room for Jiang Xiao because Xia Yan was pressing herself against Han Jiangxue and pushing her towards the side.

During the journey that did not seem too long, Li Weiyi brought up the topic that they had yet to finish yesterday. “I went home to discuss it with my family.”

Xia Yan, who was seated in the backseat, glanced at Li Weiyi while the rest paid attention, all ready to hear what he had to say.

“My father hopes for me to be admitted to military school. He wants me to go to the China National Defense Technological University,” Li Weiyi said apologetically.

“The one in Xiangnan?” Jiang Xiao asked.

In this world, most Awakened students would go to the Star Warrior University of every province. Although there were limited places, the education standards of every school were different because every province was different.

In addition to the Star Warrior University of every province, some military schools and police schools would also recruit Awakened students.

Apart from those special cases, other universities normally accepted ordinary students. After all, ordinary students were the mainstream of the world.

“Yes, the one in Xiangnan,” Li Weiyi answered.

“Qingbei Military? That’s a prestigious and elite school. You do need extra points,” Jiang Xiao said, feeling slightly stunned as the name of the school was indeed rather shocking.

“How about you guys?” Li Weiyi turned around and asked his teammates behind him.

“I don’t want to go to a military school. The rules are too strict. It’s good enough to go to an ordinary Star Warrior University,” Xia Yan said as she shook her head.

Seemingly feeling accomplished, Hai Tianqing said in a warm and mellow voice, “I’ve seen all your effort and hard work. Compared to the school, you guys are much stricter and harsher on yourselves. So, you don’t have to worry about that.”

Xia Yan sneered and said, “The Awakened students in the China National Defense Technological University would basically join the various armies of the nation after graduation. I don’t want to determine my future profession prematurely. I still want to go abroad to further my studies for a few more years and have fun.”

“All you do is play and have fun.” Han Jiangxue chided.

Xia Yan chuckled and rubbed her head against Han Jiangxue’s affectionately. “I’ll work hard and do my best. Rest assured, if I don’t become a good Awakened, I’ll have to go home to inherit my family’s wealth and billion-yuan legacy. I don’t want that.”

Jiang Xiao was speechless.

Hai Tianqing was at a loss for words too.

Li Weiyi remained silent.

Xia Yan chuckled and leaned against Han Jiangxue. “Are there any schools that you have in mind?”

Han Jiangxue said gently, “I haven’t thought about it yet. We’ll talk about this next semester.”

“Okay.” Xia Yan nodded. It seemed that the team would be splitting up and pursuing their own interests after the national college entrance examination.

Hai Tianqing, who was driving, seemed to have also noticed it and realized that that would be the situation. At last, he had no choice but to sigh.

Everyone had their own ambitions and that was something that could not be changed.

After all, it was a team of four and everyone had their own goals and came from different family backgrounds.

There had been past examples of teams going to the same university together, but those instances were not many.

The two-hour drive was soon over and they arrived at the woods in the north of Nansheng County.

That section of the expressway was usually quiet and free of people, with only vehicles driving past.

Ever since the Arsenal of this mountain was officially developed and opened, the road became a muddy path that led to the mountain.

The cars traveled along the road and moved into a shabby car park that was empty and vast. Numerous vehicles were parked there, many of which were of the luxury type. Jiang Xiao reckoned that they should be the cars of the Awakened from society.

Hai Tianqing led them out of the car and they trod along the muddy road before finally reaching the campsite in the woods.

The soldiers lined up in a row gave off a strong military vibe and everything there seemed to be so solemn, with no birds or flowers in sight since it was late autumn.

Hai Tianqing stepped forward alone and spoke to a soldier about something. After repeated confirmation, he waved at the team of four.

Han Jiangxue suddenly said, “Xiaopi, what types of creatures of other dimensions are there in the arsenal?”

Of course, she knew what was inside and merely wanted to test Jiang Xiao, or perhaps, she wanted to remind him about what they would be facing soon.

“Male and female savages, male and female Savage Sorcerers, male savages with spears, female savages with bows and arrows, Ape Ghouls and Ape Ghoul Kings that are extremely rare,” Jiang Xiao answered, giving an all-encompassing answer without pausing.

Compared to the snowfield where there was only one species of creatures of other dimensions, there was a huge variety of creatures of other dimensions in the arsenal, and the more terrifying thing was that they lived in clusters in the arsenal.

Unlike White Ghouls that traveled around, they didn’t need to have a powerful individual or a White Ghoul Witch in order to gather in a team.

They were born to live in clusters and hunt for life. Cannibalism was rare because the two greatest forces there were hostile to each other.

The savages were at odds with the Ape Ghouls, and they were both equally strong.

In terms of physicality, the savages were far inferior to the Ape Ghouls.

However, the savages were somewhat wise and knew to use tools. In a sense, they made up for the difference in abilities.

While walking, Han Jiangxue continued to ask, “What are the Star Techniques of the different species and forces?”

Jiang Xiao answered, “Male and female savages: Brass Quality. Star Techniques: Sharp Fangs and Sharp Claws.

“Males with swords and spears, females with bow-and-arrows: Silver Quality. Star Techniques: Sharp Fangs, Sharp Claws, Resentment.

“Male Savage Sorcerer: Silver Quality. Star Techniques: Explosive Corpse, Corpse Spirit.

“Female Savage Sorceress: Silver Quality. Star Techniques: Nostalgia, Dawn.

“Ape Ghouls: Silver Quality. Their Star Techniques coincide with those of the Lava Ghouls in the volcanic area. Their Star Techniques are namely Hard Strike and Brutality.

“Ape Ghoul King: Gold Quality. Silver Quality Star Technique: Brutality. Gold Quality Star Technique: Body of Star Power.”

Han Jiangxue nodded and said with satisfaction, “Yes. Remember, after you go in, you must get a grip on your emotions and bear your goals in mind.”

Jiang Xiao expressed assent and entered the dense forest together with a few soldiers leading the way. Finally, they arrived at a large egg-shaped building.

After the soldiers inspected and carried out checks, they finally opened the door to allow them inside.

The interior of the building was like a whole different world and it seemed like a military base.

Hai Tianqing brought two male students to change out of their clothes. After clarifying their identities and going through the administrative processes where they confirmed that the team did not need soldiers from the base to be their guides, Hai Tianqing brought the two of them back to the door.

Soon, Xia Yan and Han Jiangxue also walked out of the changing room at the side.

The suave Xia Yan suddenly became even cooler and heroine-like. She looked just like a serious and proper female soldier while Han Jiangxue became the military belle, making Jiang Xiao’s eyes glisten.

“Let’s go.” Hai Tianqing waved and gestured for them to follow along, after which the soldier led them to a large and round door.

It was like the gate of the sewers.

After the guards conducted checks, everyone entered the “sewage”. When they exited, they were greeted with the sight of a deep pit that had a diameter of more than 50 meters.

In the building, there was a high defensive wall. The soldiers looked at it solemnly while being equipped with guns, focusing all of their attention on the portal in the pit that they could not take their eyes off.

It was also not presented in the shape of a “door”, but rather, a series of overlapping layers of space that was also intertwined with each other.

“Go,” Hai Tianqing said, leading the team down the stairs. He was the first to enter the overlapping portal.

Jiang Xiao took a deep breath, adjusted his military cap, and finally entered the so-called “Arsenal”.

The first thing he felt was warmth.

Next, there was some light and brightness.

The place where everyone appeared was a grassland. The world there was particularly bright and it looked like the grasslands of China and Mongolia at 9 AM.

Is that… a sun in the sky?

Is it the Sun in the solar system?

So this arsenal shares the same sun with Earth?

Has this arsenal never appeared in the range of human control and detection simply because it doesn’t exist on the same dimensional layer as Earth?

Or perhaps, the sun in the sky now is a star of some other galaxy?

N light-years away from Earth? Not discovered by humans from other planets yet?

Jiang Xiao squatted down and grabbed the grass beneath his feet with one hand, only to realize that it was neither dry or moist, which was rather similar to Earth.

Why does this feel like a vacation?

This scenery, this weather, this air quality, isn’t it all too wonderful?

If Earth becomes overpopulated, won’t this be a good place to migrate to?

Dimensional Spaces are indeed wonderful and interesting. There might be plenty of resources here.

Will there be minerals and oil?

Jiang Xiao didn’t think this much when he was in the gloomy and cold snowfield back then.

However, now that he was in this warm and spring-like grassland, he could not help but let his imagination run wild, especially after seeing the sun in the sky.