451: Bold guess, training a successor? (two in one)

…silence.

When Cai Fei’s voice came through the communication device, Lin Yang and Que Tian instantly fell silent.

Then, they looked at each other.

Gulp.

Que Tian’s throat bobbed a few times. He stared intently at Lin Yang, disbelievingly asking, “Team… Team Leader, did I… mishear just now? Was that Cai Fei calling us?”

Lin Yang also swallowed, suppressing the excitement in his heart, and whispered, “I shouldn’t have misheard. It’s Zhuque calling us!”

“…”

After speaking, both fell silent again.

The call from Zhuque was an immense surprise, so much so that they both felt it wasn't real!

After spending more than half a year in the Unknown Space, they felt isolated from the world.

Now, suddenly hearing a call from Zhuque, the excitement was beyond words.

The next moment, Lin Yang took a deep breath and immediately began to respond: “Zhuque, this is Lin Yang. I have received your call and have simultaneously activated wartime positioning authorization. Requesting a fix!”

After replying, Lin Yang couldn't help but rub his hands, full of anticipation.

The fact that they could receive Zhuque’s call proved that Zhuque was not too far from them now.

Through wartime authorization, Zhuque should be able to vaguely pinpoint their current location!

Now they just waited for Zhuque’s next response.

If they could receive another response from Zhuque, it would mean they were basically rescued this time.

At the same time, just as Lin Yang sent his reply, in an Unknown Space an unknown distance from them, the Zhuque warship was sailing steadily in the darkness.

Inside the ship's cabin, Cai Fei, Yuan Hao, and Ding Hui were making calls separately.

Their calls were almost continuous.

There was a hint of fatigue on each person’s face.

Although not obvious, the weariness and worry between their brows were still discernible.

Clearly, they had been making these continuous calls for a considerable time, so long that everyone’s voice was a little hoarse.

After another call ended, Yuan Hao picked up the water cup next to him, took two big gulps to moisten his throat, and glanced at the date and time, sighing, “Ugh, we’ve been calling continuously for several months, but we still can’t get in touch with Team Leader and my Senior Brother. I wonder how they’re doing now.”

Hearing this, Ding Hui said nothing more and continued to call.

Cai Fei, however, stated firmly, “I believe Team Leader and the other won’t be in any trouble.”

Yuan Hao nodded, glanced at the communication device, and made his nth complaint: “This damned anti-enemy lure design! We can’t use any pre-recorded voices or devices for communication; we have to shout ourselves. My throat is almost giving out!”

Cai Fei looked at him: “This design is also to prevent the battleship and communication equipment from being used by the enemy to lure friendly forces with audio if they get hold of them. If your throat can’t take it, then rest for a bit.”

“It hasn’t reached the point where I can’t hold on!”

Yuan Hao took another drink of water and continued calling.

Cai Fei sighed, also took a drink of water, and prepared to continue calling.

But, the next moment, a familiar voice came from the device.

“Zhuque, this is Lin Yang. I have received your call and have simultaneously activated wartime positioning authorization. Requesting a fix!”

It was Lin Yang’s reply after he had just received the call.

Cai Fei’s actions paused.

Yuan Hao and Ding Hui also instantly turned their heads to look.

Then, expressions of intense surprise appeared on all three of their faces simultaneously!

“It’s Team Leader! It’s Team Leader’s reply!” Cai Fei shouted excitedly.

“Team Leader and the others received our call!”

Yuan Hao and Ding Hui couldn’t help but high-five, repeatedly saying, “That’s great! Team Leader and the others are fine!”

“Quick, quickly try to pinpoint Team Leader’s location!”

Cai Fei shouted again and immediately made a second reply: “Team Leader, this is Cai Fei, and this is Zhuque. We have received your reply and have initiated a positioning search. We will initiate rescue as soon as possible! Please try not to move over a large area!”

He repeated it three times in a row, then looked at the positioning system.

“As soon as Team Leader’s position is located, we will immediately make a jump!”

…“Team Leader, this is Cai Fei, and this is Zhuque. We have received your reply and have initiated a positioning search. We will initiate rescue as soon as possible! Please try not to move over a large area!”

On the other side, as Lin Yang and Que Tian nervously and expectantly waited for Zhuque’s second reply, Cai Fei’s voice once again came from the communication device.

Hearing this reply, Lin Yang and Que Tian were completely relieved.

“We’re saved, Team Leader, we’re truly saved this time,” Que Tian’s mood brightened.

Lin Yang nodded: “To respond so quickly, it seems Zhuque isn’t too far from us. We’ll just wait here for their rescue.”

“We can finally leave this cursed place,” Que Tian sighed.

The mission to enter the Unknown Space this time was to investigate the location of the Mingye Clan’s base.

Now, not only had they found the base’s location, but Lin Yang had also used the Stone Statue to completely destroy the Mingye Clan’s base.

This mission could be said to be a complete success.

No, more accurately, it was an overachievement!

Therefore, now they only needed to wait for Zhuque to arrive before they could return and leave the Unknown Space.

“We not only completed the investigation of the Mingye Clan’s base location but also directly destroyed that base. I wonder how many merit points and contribution points we’ll get,” Lin Yang murmured.

“Team Leader, you seem particularly concerned about merit points and contribution points?” Que Tian couldn’t help but ask upon hearing this.

If he remembered correctly, Lin Yang had also chosen to risk entering the ruins for merit and contribution points before.

But merit points and contribution points actually didn't have much use.

Of course, for Lin Yang, Que Tian believed that merit and contribution were not of much use to him.

Merit points and contribution points are two scoring rules within the Human Alliance, somewhat similar to a currency system.

Merit points are only obtained from some special missions and more difficult missions.

Contribution points can be obtained from any mission.

Both, when accumulated to a certain number, can be exchanged for resources within the Human Alliance.

For example, Gene Potion, extraordinary characteristic material, and so on.

However, although some relatively rare and valuable resources can be exchanged, the higher the level of the resource, the higher its value, and the more merit and contribution points required for exchange are very, very large.

For example, high-quality extraordinary characteristic material sometimes cannot be exchanged even after decades, centuries, or even hundreds of years of accumulation.

For Lin Yang, he had a powerful Master and even more powerful elders.

He could easily obtain high-level resources that would require a great deal of contribution points to exchange for in the Human Alliance.

Those high-level resources were mainly for other ordinary members. For Lin Yang’s Master and elders, they were not considered high-level.

Therefore, in Que Tian’s view, Lin Yang didn't need to risk his life for these few merit and contribution points.

What merit and contribution could exchange for, the White Fatty Old Man and that Silver-haired woman could obtain for Lin Yang in a more cost-effective way.

So he didn't quite understand why Lin Yang cared so much about merit and contribution.

Aside from exchanging some resources, this stuff basically had no other use.

It was even less cost-effective than some benefits obtained during the mission process.

“This…” Lin Yang hesitated for a moment, then truthfully stated, “To be honest, I don’t care much about it myself. It’s mainly Director Song Qingfeng who seems to really hope I can get a large number of merit and contribution points.”

He and Que Tian had also shared life and death.

There was nothing that couldn't be said about this.

He himself genuinely didn't care about merit and contribution.

On one hand, he had the system, and on the other, he could rely on his elders.

Relying on the White Fatty Old Man, his nominal master.

At least at this stage, all the resources he needed would be perfectly prepared for him by the White Fatty Old Man without him even having to ask.

He really didn't need contribution points to exchange for resources.

But before the mission, Director Song Qingfeng had emphasized that he hoped Lin Yang could obtain as many merit and contribution points as possible.

Therefore, he also paid more attention to these things.

Hearing this, Que Tian’s eyes narrowed: “Is that Director Song’s intention? He wants you to get as many merit and contribution points as possible?”

“Yes,” Lin Yang nodded in response.

“Director Song has shown me a lot of care. After joining the Alien Management Bureau, he gave me great convenience and help with missions and never asked me to do anything. This is his first request of me, so I also want to try my best to get a bit more.”

“Oh… If that’s the case, then I do have a guess,” Que Tian suddenly smiled mysteriously.

“What?” Lin Yang was curious.

“Haha, Team Leader, you’ve only been in contact with the Alien Management Bureau and the Human Alliance for too short a time, and you don’t understand the Human Alliance and the Alien Management Bureau well enough, so there are some less-known rules that you’re not aware of.”

Que Tian laughed and began to explain:

“Merit and contribution, aside from exchanging resources, basically have no other use. This is common knowledge, but in reality, merit and contribution do provide a certain degree of bonus points when running for high-level positions.”

“So… combining Director Song’s various special considerations for you before, his request for you to get more merit and contribution, and other factors, I boldly speculate that Director Song might want you to succeed him as the next Director of the Alien Management Bureau in the future.”

“Ah?” Lin Yang was directly stunned.

Que Tian’s words… “You… are you kidding me?”

Lin Yang was silent for a moment, then couldn't help but say.

Director Song Qingfeng intended for him to become the next Director of the Alien Management Bureau?

This speculation was overly bold!

“Hehe, I’m just speculating,” Que Tian laughed.

“Is it a bit too far-fetched and bold to speculate that Director Song intends for me to take over based solely on these points?” Lin Yang slowly said.

“Moreover, Director Song is still in his prime; it’s impossible for him to be thinking of abdicating so early, right?”

“Hehe, Team Leader, I’m not just speculating out of thin air,” Que Tian smiled again: “Nor am I making this speculation based solely on those two points.”

“Then what is it?” Lin Yang looked at Que Tian.

“Ahem, Team Leader, the Human Alliance is not a monolithic entity; it also has factions. You should be aware of this, right?” Que Tian asked.

“I know, but I don’t understand it very well,” Lin Yang nodded.

He knew that the Human Alliance and the Alien Management Bureau had existed for too short a time, and he hadn't had the opportunity to learn more about the internal situation.

“Then it’s much simpler to explain to you,” Que Tian said with a smile upon hearing this.

“Those Old Monsters who fought against your Master and that Senior Silver-haired woman in front of the Universe Alliance building that day, they form their own faction.”

“Director Song and some other people belong to another faction. The factional struggle within the Human Alliance has been going on for many years, and Director Song’s faction has been at a disadvantage for a long time.”

“The Alien Management Bureau is a particularly important and special department within the Human Alliance. The faction of those Old Monsters really wants to take over the Alien Management Bureau.”

“But the Alien Management Bureau has always been firmly controlled by Director Song’s faction.”

“And Director Song’s faction, in terms of strength, is inferior to the faction of those Old Monsters. They have paid a great price to control the Alien Management Bureau.”

“Therefore, even though Director Song is currently in his prime, he must plan for the long-term future.”

At this point, Que Tian paused, looked at Lin Yang, and leisurely said, “And your appearance, Team Leader, has accelerated Director Song’s current plan to cultivate a successor.”

“Me?” Lin Yang’s eyes flashed.

“Yes, it’s you, Team Leader!” Que Tian nodded.

“Your Master, Senior Zhu Cang, originally didn’t belong to any faction. He was somewhat of a free agent, and his own strength was extremely powerful, so no one dared to force him to take sides.”

“But because of your appearance, because of the battle in front of the Universe Alliance building that day, Senior Bamboo has completely stood on the opposite side of those Old Monsters’ faction.”

“For Director Song’s faction, if Senior Bamboo were to join, it would be an enormous help.”

“Plus your elder sister, that mysterious Senior Silver-haired woman, her strength is boundless; she can fight several Old Monsters by herself.”

“Team Leader, with these two powerful backers, joining the Alien Management Bureau is enough to reverse the disadvantage of Director Song’s faction.”

“And having powerful backers also means that you, Team Leader, can withstand the immense pressure from the Old Monsters’ faction and can more firmly control the Alien Management Bureau.”

“Therefore, I speculate that Director Song has already started paving the way for you to become the next Director of the Alien Management Bureau.”

“He wants you to acquire a large amount of contribution and merit, presumably because he doesn’t want you to have any shortcomings in this regard, giving the people from the Old Monsters’ faction a clear enough reason to target and make things difficult for you.”

“After all, you’ve only been a member for a short time, and the Old Monsters’ faction certainly has candidates already prepared to compete for the position of Alien Management Bureau Director.”

Saying this, Que Tian softly sighed: “Currently, it seems Director Song wants you to take the position of the next Alien Management Bureau Director in an almost perfect state, without any discernible flaws.”

Que Tian articulated all of his analysis in one breath.

Lin Yang's eyes flickered: “Que Tian, you have a very deep understanding of the internal situation of the Human Alliance; you know all the little secrets and dynamics clearly.”

Que Tian smiled slightly: “Team Leader, it’s not that I understand it deeply, but rather that you’ve been involved with the Human Alliance for too short a time. This really isn’t some true secret.”

“Alright,” Lin Yang shrugged, then asked in confusion, “Even so, shouldn’t it be that whoever is stronger has the greater advantage when it comes to individual strength?”

Que Tian’s analysis would be extremely applicable in the world of ordinary people.

With a background and a perfect resume, there would indeed be nothing to criticize.

However, the Human Alliance was not the world of ordinary people.

Here were Super Gene Warriors, Extraordinary Warriors who wielded extraordinary power, and those Old Monsters who were even more powerful than ordinary Extraordinary Warriors.

In a world where individuals could possess extremely powerful strength, did a perfect resume really matter that much?

To put it bluntly, in the face of sufficient strength, everything else was illusory!

If one's strength wasn't enough, even if they forced their way to the top, the members below would not be convinced!

In a world with extraordinary power, whoever had the biggest fist was king!

This was what should conform to the survival rules of figures in the extraordinary world!

However, upon hearing this, Que Tian merely smiled: “Team Leader, you’re absolutely right. In the extraordinary world, whoever is stronger, is right!”

“But, you’ve overlooked one problem!”

“What problem?” Lin Yang frowned.