15 Book 3 Chapter 11 (1/2)
The time it took to return to Sanctuary 06 was even faster than it took to reach the secret facility, and it was all thanks to the power of the multipurpose contact lens. While multivision was certainly useful, the benefit of having twenty percent increased critical strike chance against common monsters couldn't be understated. The only downside was the critical strike chance fell to ten percent against elite monsters. It was sure to be even lower on bosses.
Hours later, Jason's party reached Sanctuary 06 safe and sound. After passing through security and making their way to HQ, they talked to the receptionist before riding the elevator up to Cable's lab. As soon as the doors opened, Cable excitedly rushed up to Shenlong. ”Did you get it?”
”There was a mishap with the security system,” Shenlong said as he calmly handed over the USB, ”but we succeeded in the end.”
”This is great news! Wonderful news!” Cable's cheeks flushed. He forced himself to calm down before grabbing the USB as carefully as one would handle a baby. He held it with two hands as he shuffled his way over to a large computer with hundreds of wires connected to different systems, before slowly inserting it in one of the ports. Simultaneously, a message appeared in front of every member of Jason's party.
You have received 25,000 reputation points with Sanctuary 06.
The GMS or Gene Modification System in Sanctuary 06 has been unlocked.
25,000 points?! Jason sucked in a breath. He'd never heard of an additional reward for unlocking the GMS, so this was an unexpected surprise. Twenty-five thousand points was just enough to purchase a Rare-grade serum. While Rare might seem low, serums weren't on the same level as equipment. They weren't even in the same ballpark.
”Gene Modification System?” Roy pointed at his notification as he turned to Jason. ”Does this mean we can get m-serums and become as strong as Cable?”
Before Jason could respond, Cable tripped over himself. With a red face, he pointed at Roy and reprimanded. ”Young man, what do you think the m-serum is? Some cabbage you can find at the local market?”
”Er,” Roy looked at his companions before nodding naively. ”It isn't?”
Cable's anger flared, only to remember he was speaking with a layman. With a heavy sigh, he explained. ”Lad, the m-serum requires extremely delicate equipment and a quantum energy core.” He shook his head. ”Sanctuary 06 was originally meant for civilians. I might be able to gather parts to build the required machinery, but getting a quantum energy core is beyond my capabilities.”
”We need those m-serums.” Shenlong stated firmly. ”Where can we acquire a core?”
Cable turned to Shenlong with a solemn expression. ”From a noble.”
”Not just any robots.” Cable's shoulders drooped. ”They are the only robots in the entire world with A.I.. Only twenty were created before they took control of manufacturing facilities and declared war. The human equivalent of a brain, for them, is a quantum energy core.”
”So we just need to hunt down these so-called nobles then.” Shenlong now understood. Hundreds of field and raid bosses had already fallen under his hand. What was one more?
Jason sighed inwardly when he saw Shenlong's confidence. He knew things weren't that simple. Unlike most monsters in the tower, nobles grew stronger as time passed. Even in the alternate timeline, not a single one of them had been killed. Baal, the final boss of the tower, had the same ability.
Cable chuckled bitterly. ”You said you can sense my strength, right? Tell me: do you think you can defeat me?”
Shenlong narrowed his eyes. ”Are you saying they're as strong as you?”
”Me?” Cable scratched his head. ”I might be able to kill one of them if I'm prepared to lay down my life.”
”Okay, I understand.” Shenlong smiled. ”So we just need to bring you a core and you'll handle everything else?”
”Uh,” Cable raised an eyebrow, baffled at Shenlong's nonchalant attitude. ”I think you're misunderstanding something. It's one quantum energy core per m-serum.”