338: Chapter 330 (Anti-theft Chapter) (Text will be updated in a few hours)

Mobilizing twenty nuclear warheads required some tedious procedures. Even with Neo pushing for a green light with all his might, it would still take a considerable amount of time.

Zhang Mu naturally wouldn't just wait around. He first delivered a batch of supplies to Lake, then returned to Blue Star, preparing to implement Russia's transcendent plan.

To ensure the process went smoothly, he didn't rush to show himself after arriving in Russia. He found a park at random and sat on the grass to sort through possible variables.

The entire plan actually wouldn't encounter too many obstacles.

The existence of transcendents had already been accepted by everyone on Blue Star. Unless a fatal flaw appeared, no one would suspect that the transcendents were fabricated.

Therefore, to guide Russia according to his own ideas, Zhang Mu didn't need to do much. He only needed to find the President and make up a title like "contacting you on behalf of Seventeen."

The only point that might cause trouble was if the President requested to "visit Seventeen."

Construction of Seventeen had not yet begun, and Zhang Mu did not intend to start construction in Gur City in the short term.

The war to besiege Lake was approaching. If the Kingdom took action, it would inevitably cross the Silent Forest. By then, any half-finished projects would be completely destroyed, resources and manpower wasted, and nothing would be achieved.

As such, Zhang Mu could not agree to the President's request.

True, he could find an excuse like "the master of Seventeen does not want outsiders to visit" to decline politely, but in that case, the President would most likely harbor suspicions.

Look at who was communicating with China and Ying Country: Immortal Xu, one of the main figures of the Mountain Gate. While the Sect Master was in seclusion, all internal affairs were handled by him.

Then there was Dumbledore—no need to emphasize this one—the Headmaster of Hogwarts, the undisputed number one figure in the magic world.

As for his side, if Seventeen sent someone who couldn't even make decisions to contact them, would it seem like they didn't care about the deal with Russia at all?

Then, would this deal proposed by Seventeen be worth his attention?

Russia would be giving its all for this. If the harvest was unsatisfactory and delayed construction in other areas, it would be a massive loss.

While Russia wouldn't give up on the deal with the transcendents because of this, they would inevitably have many concerns and wouldn't dare to commit resources fully, leading to a slow construction speed for the spacecraft project.

Zhang Mu didn't want to see this. He hoped the President wouldn't mention visiting Seventeen, but the President most likely—almost certainly—would, so he had to think of a countermeasure in advance.

After pondering in the park for a long time, he finally had an idea. Zhang Mu stood up, activated his Transformation Technique to turn into Tevan, and hurried toward the "Seventeen Entrance."

...

Farid's life today was the same as usual. After getting up early in the morning, he moved a wooden chair and sat by the large-bellied wine barrel, staring straight at it.

The Soldiers standing guard around him were all a bit helpless.

Was a transcendent something that would just come out because you stared at it every day?

A Soldier didn't just complain in his heart but asked directly, "Sir, doing this has no effect."

Farid waved his hand without looking back. "You don't understand."

Farid wasn't making excuses for his somewhat irrational behavior; he truly believed they didn't understand.

In his view, if he were like the Soldiers—only seeing the transcendent from afar without speaking or developing some rapport—then he could maintain a calm mind regarding when the transcendent would reappear.

After all, even if the transcendent returned, his own life wouldn't change accordingly, so why care?

The problem was that Farid was different from the Soldiers; he could be considered friends with Tevan.

If Seventeen planned to recruit new students on Blue Star like Immortal Xu and Dumbledore, he, relying on his relationship with Tevan, would have the best hope of being selected.

Out of billions on Blue Star, the lucky ones selected would number no more than ten.

As long as Tevan came out of Seventeen, Farid had hope of being one of those lucky ones. How could he not look forward to the moment Tevan appeared before his eyes?

He looked forward to it so much that, aside from the few hours he spent sleeping, he spent the rest of his time watching the wooden barrel, just so he could see Tevan the moment he stepped out without waiting for someone else's notification.

Even in the modern age with Mobile Phones, where a notification from others only took ten seconds, Farid felt that learning the news a second late meant enduring another second of torment.

Farid tried his best not to blink while watching the barrel, but the human body has its limits after all. After staring for an hour, his eyes were a bit sore, and he raised his hand to rub them.

When he lowered his hand, he was stunned to see Tevan standing next to the barrel, smiling and waving a greeting to him.

Had his constant longing caused a hallucination?

He mumbled silently, rubbing his eyes even harder than before.

However, when he moved his hands away, Tevan was still standing there perfectly fine.

Farid turned back to look at the Soldiers' expressions. Judging from the shock in their eyes, what he saw was likely not a hallucination.

"Mr. Tevan!" His listlessness instantly vanished, and he stood up with high spirits.

"Mr. Farid, it's been a few days."

"Are you out this time because Seventeen is on break?" Farid didn't lose his composure and reveal his desire to become a transcendent; he just greeted him like an ordinary friend.

"No." Tevan shook his head, then, as Farid's eyes filled with excitement, he said slowly, "Teacher will be coming over soon. Um, it seems to be for the matter of Seventeen recruiting students on Blue Star."

Recruiting students! On Blue Star!

Farid's head felt a bit dizzy, his vision blurred, and he was in a daze for quite a while.

"Hmm? Mr. Farid, what's wrong?" Tevan asked in confusion.

"I... I'm fine, uh... that..." Farid felt that asking directly if he could be selected would seem too impulsive, but after hesitating for a moment, he couldn't help himself. "How many spots are there? Can I sign up?"

"Seventeen's recruitment doesn't accept active applications."

Hearing this, Farid felt a wave of disappointment, but he immediately perked up again. "What are the recruitment standards?"

He considered himself somewhat of an elite among humans; there was hope in a fair competition.

"Seventeen has left this matter to Teacher. We'll only know when Teacher arrives. Oh, one of my tasks for coming out this time is to receive Teacher."

"When will your teacher arrive?"

"Tomorrow, probably." Tevan scratched his head. "Before that, I need to go see your President first. There are some things I need to discuss with him."

Farid turned to order the Soldiers to prepare a car for the Kremlin Palace, but as the Soldier turned around, the President had already pushed open the bar door and strode in.

"Mr. Tevan, hello." The President could hardly hide his excitement as he shook hands with Tevan. "Since our last parting, I have been looking forward to meeting you again."

"Let's talk business first."

The President glanced at his assistant, who understood and ordered the Soldiers to retreat outside, following them out himself.

Farid had originally planned to leave as well, but Tevan raised his hand to stop him, leaving only three people present.

"We can ensure here that our conversation won't be heard by a fourth person. Mr. Tevan, you may speak."

Nodding, Tevan said, "Reasonably, Teacher should be the one communicating with you, but the situation is a bit complex, and Teacher is very busy. To save time,

I will be responsible for describing the general process. For the parts that require negotiation between both parties, let's wait until Teacher arrives."

Pausing for a few seconds to let them digest this, Tevan continued, "China and Ying Country are building spacecraft. Are you aware of this?"

"Of course, we received news of it long ago." The progress of those two countries' cooperation with the transcendents far exceeded his own, and the President's face showed some anxiety.

"Then, do you know the purpose?"

The two of them were stunned; they really didn't know this.

They had only heard that the two countries were building spacecraft with great fervor. As for the specific reason, the President couldn't find any relevant intelligence at all.

When the President received the report that the investigation was fruitless, he didn't care much. Those two countries weren't idiots; investing everything into a deal with transcendents must have massive benefits.

Now, hearing Tevan speak, it seemed the matter wasn't as simple as just having benefits.

Seeing the two of them looking at him eagerly for an explanation, Tevan didn't keep them in suspense. "The transcendents in your concept—that is, us—have materials in our hands that can help you improve your technology."

So that was it!

The President's whole body shook. No wonder China and Ying Country were putting everything into their spacecraft projects!

Understanding what the benefits were, a new confusion arose in the President's mind. "But... what is the relationship between those materials and building spacecraft?"

Tevan organized his words in his mind and quickly explained the intricacies.

Listening intently, Farid said in realization, "There are high-value exchange items on the moon, so China and Ying Country are in a hurry to build spacecraft to go to the moon and mine them to exchange for materials from the transcendents."

"Yes, it's basically as you said." After speaking, Tevan looked at the President. "Teacher instructed me to tell you that using Blue Star items to exchange for materials is a transaction in name, but in reality, it can be said to be free."

The President agreed in his heart.

He didn't think that anything on Blue Star was necessarily something transcendents craved, so this deal should be mutually beneficial rather than one-sided poverty alleviation.

Only one thing: if a transcendent reached out to 'take,' did humanity have the ability to refuse?

Or fight to the death?

There was no need to consider hidden powers. Just based on the combat power the transcendents had currently shown, Immortal Xu alone could destroy humanity. What did humanity have to resist with?

"What should we do? Should we also build spacecraft to go to the moon?" After learning that technology could be rapidly improved, the President asked impatiently.

"Yes. Although you are a bit slower than them, the problem isn't too serious. With Teacher here, you don't have to worry about being invaded. Just focus on catching up."

"I'll get on it immediately!"

"No rush." Tevan smiled. "The first thing to be done now is recruitment."

"Recruitment?" The President had rushed from the Kremlin Palace, and Farid and Tevan had already finished their conversation, so he didn't know Seventeen was going to recruit students.

Tevan was about to explain, but Farid quickly stopped him and took it upon himself to explain the whole thing.

"What are the selection standards? Can I meet them?" The President was so excited he felt hot all over, and he loosened his tie a bit.

"We have to wait for Teacher to arrive."

After explaining everything, Tevan stated that the two of them could do as they pleased while he would wander around. He would immediately head to the Kremlin Palace once he received Teacher.

The President asked if he needed a guide but was politely declined, so he didn't linger any longer. He immediately returned to the Kremlin Palace to start preparing for the spacecraft project and promoting Seventeen's recruitment.

As Tevan went out to play, Farid also lost his reason to stay by the wooden barrel. He planned to go home and exercise, striving to get himself into peak condition for the recruitment assessment.

Just as he reached home, Tevan appeared in the room, stuffed a wolf fang into his hand, winked his right eye, and said with a mysterious face, "It can grant your wish. This is a gift from me as a friend."

Farid was stunned. When he recovered, he quickly asked, "How do you know my wish?" but halfway through his question, Tevan had already vanished on the spot.

...

The President would not neglect any matter related to transcendents, let alone such a major event as recruitment on Blue Star.

Getting into the car back to the Kremlin Palace, he immediately instructed his assistant to contact media companies, set aside all other work, and focus on promoting Seventeen's recruitment.

Thus, in just one hour, everyone in Russia with a television at home or a Mobile Phone in their pocket knew that Seventeen was going to take students.

However, what made them curious was that the news didn't mention how to apply.

Unable to restrain their desire to become transcendents, they all called the TV stations to inquire, but the reply they received was—Seventeen does not accept independent applications.

The public was bewildered. If it wasn't to encourage us to sign up, then what was the purpose of releasing this recruitment brochure? To make us drool?

The TV station staff, whose phones were ringing off the hook, were also helpless. What could they do? The instructions from above were to answer this way.

As time passed, more and more people called the TV station. The employees answering the phones didn't even have time to eat. They were all dizzy with hunger, and those with weaker constitutions even fainted from hunger and were sent to the hospital.

After learning of the situation, the assistant ran to ask the President in confusion. Since Seventeen doesn't accept independent applications and likely plans to find students among the people personally, what was the point of their promotion? Isn't promotion all about attracting more people to sign up?

The President was composed and calm as he explained that he had his own considerations.

It wasn't complicated; it was all to show Russia's attitude.

When Hogwarts and the Mountain Gate recruited students back then, which of China or Ying Country didn't make a grand spectacle of it?

With TV promotions and setting up professional departments to interface with the transcendents and assist students in passing exams, if he didn't show some importance, it would be bad if Seventeen felt he was being negligent.

As he spoke, the President slapped his forehead. His own Transcendent Department was still nowhere to be seen; he had to hurry up and set it up.

Thus, the assistant who had rushed over not only didn't reduce his workload but also received a new task—setting up the Transcendent Department.

While it was noisy over here, Zhang Mu was quite leisurely.

He said he was going out for a stroll, and it wasn't an excuse to get away. He really turned into an ordinary Russian-looking man and wandered through the streets and alleys of Mosco.

It wasn't until dark that he entered "The World" through the wine barrel entrance and reached his workshop through the exit located in America.

Tomorrow, two transcendent figures would appear—Tevan and Tevan's teacher.

Zhang Mu didn't know any Cloning Techniques, so one of them could only be replaced by a puppet.

In this meeting with the Russian President, the main character was Tevan's teacher. When the time came for the two sides to talk, there would inevitably be some display of divinity, so it was naturally more convenient for his true body to be there. Zhang Mu then spent a few hours making a Tevan puppet.

It didn't need many functions; being able to speak was enough.

With the preliminary work ready, Zhang Mu passed through the light gate of "The World" in both places and arrived on the streets of Mosco from America.

Scanning left and right, everyone nearby was enthusiastically discussing how many lucky people from Russia would enter Seventeen.

"How many? Five, probably. Everyone is the same," Zhang Mu muttered. He activated his Shadow Technique and headed toward the Kremlin.