Chapter 217 Harvest, the Other Two Major Forces

Su Ze was startled and fixed his gaze on Lu Jiaming.

perfect quality?

This term made it impossible for him to suppress his inner excitement any longer.

A quality even higher than Rare grade—what kind of heaven-defying existence would that be?

"What is the use of the energy converter?" Su Ze asked directly, his voice carrying an unquestionable urgency.

Intimidated by Su Ze's Halo, Lu Jiaming didn't dare to hide anything and quickly explained, "Boss, this energy converter is the core of the Research Center. It uses copper coins as fuel and converts them into stable basic energy like electricity, heat, and light, which can even be supplied to the entire area."

He paused, pointed to the destroyed offices around them, and continued.

"Without these energy sources, our Research Personnel wouldn't be able to work at all. It's because of it that I can provide sufficient energy to the production lines for simple explosives and molotov cocktails, enabling mass production."

After listening, Su Ze nodded with satisfaction.

This thing was indeed a treasure; with it, the research capabilities of the Jinghai University Dormitory buildings would have a chance to develop.

"I have to take this thing with me," Su Ze thought to himself.

Upon hearing this, Lu Jiaming's face soured.

But how could he dare to oppose Su Ze's decision?

"Boss, can this... this Special Building be traded?" Lu Jiaming asked cautiously.

With a thought, Su Ze tried to add the Research Center and the energy converter to the trade list.

The system notification sounded quickly.

[Ding! Special Building [Research Center] cannot be traded.]

[Ding! Item [energy converter (perfect quality)] can be traded.]

Su Ze's eyebrows quirked up slightly.

It was within his expectations that Special Buildings couldn't be traded.

After all, if Special Buildings could be traded at will, annexing other forces would be too simple.

But the fact that the energy converter could be traded made him breathe a sigh of relief.

"Give me the energy converter first," Su Ze said.

Lu Jiaming immediately complied, removing the energy converter and handing it respectfully to Su Ze.

Su Ze took it and placed it directly into his player inventory.

As for this Research Center...

Su Ze's gaze swept across the glass laboratory in front of him and then looked at the entire World Financial Center.

If Special Buildings couldn't be traded, then the only way to acquire them was through the most direct method—annexation and merger.

Just like how he had annexed the Taoyuan Residential Area before, he would bring the entire building into his sphere of influence.

This meant that the other players in the building would either have to be recruited or... completely eliminated.

"Lu Jiaming, are there other forces in this building besides yours?" Su Ze asked.

Lu Jiaming didn't dare hide it and quickly replied, "Yes, Boss."

"Besides me, there are two other forces."

"One is led by a woman named Ye Qingqing. She is very mysterious and has never shown her face, but her Special Building is the [Explosion-Proof Trench]."

"The Leader of the other force is a man named Shen Jie. He's very capable, but I don't know what his Special Building is."

He added, "These two forces have been joining hands both openly and secretly to resist me."

"Originally, we had reached an agreement not to use the Explosion-Proof Trench lightly and placed it at the building entrance to... defend against external enemies."

He felt a bit embarrassed because it was originally intended primarily to defend against Su Ze.

Thinking of this, he quickly continued.

"But perhaps the situation was unexpected, and they couldn't resist the supernatural entities. Now they have most likely relocated this Special Building to their base on the 18th floor."

"As for the other force led by Shen Jie, I'm currently unsure how he's resisting this wave of monsters."

Hearing this, Su Ze nodded thoughtfully.

He knew about the Explosion-Proof Trench; it was a purely defensive building, which was exactly what he currently lacked.

If he could take it as well, the defensive capabilities of the Jinghai University Dormitory buildings would reach a new level.

"In your area, can one region have multiple Special Buildings?"

Su Ze asked; he had actually been feeling a bit puzzled.

Logically, Special Buildings were rare rewards, and each area should only have one.

Yet three had appeared in this building.

Lu Jiaming was stunned and said in confusion, "Boss, isn't that normal? As long as the number of people under your command exceeds ten thousand, you can immediately select a Special Building."

Su Ze understood; it seemed the regional rules were indeed different.

Over at Jinghai University, Special Buildings were rewards for clearing dungeons or appeared as rare rewards during the settlement.

But here, they could actually be unlocked once the number of subordinates reached a certain scale.

Perhaps it was because the survival difficulty here was higher?

"What about the settlement rewards?"

"For the settlement rewards, only the strongest force can choose an Halo. I chose the [Universal Prosperity] Halo, which permanently increases the production efficiency of all mechanical production lines by 20%."

Su Ze nodded; this Halo was also quite good.

...

Meanwhile, on the 18th floor of the World Financial Center.

This floor had been transformed into a massive defensive fortress.

Players were huddled in the inner hall, a dense crowd of people all shivering together in fear.

Outside, there was only a specially reinforced door,

and beyond the door, a visible energy shield enveloped it, blocking all Wandering Ghost that tried to approach.

The energy shield of the [Explosion-Proof Trench] was like a transparent barrier; no matter how the Wandering Ghost scratched or slammed against it, they couldn't budge it an inch.

Even those shrill ghostly wails became faint and blurred after penetrating the shield, no longer able to directly assault people's minds.

In a spacious office at the very back,

a woman sat in an executive chair with her back to the door.

Her long hair draped over her shoulders, revealing only a graceful silhouette from behind.

Standing behind her were two people.

One was a robust man with a cold expression.

The other was a tall woman dressed as a secretary in a well-tailored black professional suit.

The woman did not turn around, only speaking in a commanding tone.

"Shen Jie, Qingqing, report the current situation..."