99: Chapter 99 Am I worthy?
"Because only you can do it."
Mentor Murphy's voice was not loud, but every word was exceptionally clear.
"Only me?" Wang Pingan was filled with confusion.
"That's right." Mentor Murphy nodded and pointed again at the dark red nebula filled with an aura of destruction.
"The energy field of that Subspace Storm is extremely chaotic and violent."
"No conventional detection equipment can function normally within it. Even our most advanced 'Quantum Ghost' unmanned probe lost contact completely less than three seconds after entering its outer perimeter."
"Powerful spacetime turbulence interferes with the structure of all matter and energy. Even high-rank martial artists of the Sixth or Seventh Rank cannot hold their protective qi for more than ten minutes in there."
"Therefore, if we want to go deep into the core of the storm to find that 'core of spacetime', charging in head-on is absolutely impossible."
Mentor Murphy's expression became incredibly grave.
"Our only method is to 'trick' our way through."
" 'Trick'?" Wang Pingan was even more confused.
"Although that Subspace Storm is violent, it is itself a 'cosmic phenomenon' that operates according to certain specific laws."
Wisdom flickered in Mentor Murphy's eyes.
"After a month of observation and calculation, I have roughly figured out the operational laws of its internal energy tides."
"When its energy tides are in a 'trough period', I can open an extremely short and fragile 'safety window'."
"This window can only last for ten minutes at most."
"What we need to do is, within these ten minutes, pilot a specially modified small spacecraft through the most dangerous area of turbulent energy and reach the core of the storm."
"And this places an almost perverted requirement on the pilot."
Mentor Murphy's gaze fell on Wang Pingan once again.
"He must possess superhuman reaction speed and the ability to control the spacecraft with extreme precision."
"More importantly..."
"He must possess immense and extremely pure spirit!"
"Because in that chaotic energy field, all electronic equipment on the spacecraft will malfunction. The only thing he can rely on is his own spirit!"
"He needs to use his spirit to 'perceive' those omnipresent spacetime rifts, to 'predict' those fleeting energy tides, and to 'correct' every subtle flight attitude of the spacecraft!"
"The difficulty of this operation is no less than having a person dance and juggle on a tightrope while blindfolded!"
"Looking across the entire Xuanyuan University, people who can meet these conditions simultaneously are extremely rare."
"And you..."
Mentor Murphy stared fixedly at Wang Pingan, a raging fire burning in his cloudy, old eyes.
"You are the only one I have found who perfectly meets all the conditions!"
"The spirit control precision you displayed when repairing Array 03, which can only be described as perverted, gave me hope!"
"Only you have the possibility of piloting the 'seagull' through that death storm!"
Wang Pingan fell completely silent.
He finally understood why Mentor Murphy had approached him.
It turned out that the "skills" he had unintentionally displayed while trying to earn those eight thousand credits and freeloading twenty thousand pay-to-win points had become, in this eccentric old man's eyes, proof of being some sort of "chosen one."
What the hell... where is the logic in that?
"How about it, kid? Do you dare to take this gamble with me?"
Mentor Murphy's voice was full of temptation.
"As long as we succeed, I will give you 1 million credits for that 'core of spacetime', which is equivalent to 100,000 Low-Grade Spirit Crystals!"
Wang Pingan's heart thumped wildly, much to his own chagrin.
The massive temptation echoed in his ears like the whisper of a devil.
But Wang Pingan was ultimately not some hot-headed youth who would be blinded by profit.
He forcibly suppressed the greed in his heart and asked the final, and most crucial, question.
"Mentor, does the school... know about this mission?"
When Mentor Murphy heard this question, the smile on his face froze instantly.
He coughed twice, somewhat awkwardly.
"Ahem, well... currently, it is still just a personal 'research project' of mine."
"You know that once a discovery of this level is reported, it will definitely arouse the covetousness and interference of countless forces. By then, whether this big cake can fall into our hands is hard to say."
"So, I plan... for us to act first and report later!"
Wang Pingan: "..."
Good grief.
After all this, this damn thing is a "private project"?
And an illegal operation of "acting first and reporting later" at that?
This old man looks like an immortal sage with high moral standing, so why is he more like a desperado in his bones than even me?
Wang Pingan's mouth couldn't help but twitch.
He felt like he had boarded a pirate ship.
And a pirate ship that could sink at any moment, at that.
"What? Scared?"
Mentor Murphy saw his hesitation and began using reverse psychology.
"Where did that fearless attitude of yours go just a moment ago?"
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! If you miss this village, you won't find this shop!"
"Wealth is sought in danger! If you don't even dare to take this little risk, why bother cultivating martial arts or practicing the Dao? You might as well just go home and hold your children!"
Wang Pingan looked at this old man who was spouting spit and could swindle better than a pyramid scheme leader, feeling speechless.
But he had to admit.
He was tempted.
And he was deeply tempted.
The risk was indeed huge.
But the reward was also so huge that he couldn't refuse!
Furthermore, he had confidence in himself.
He had confidence in his [Eye of Truth], which could be called a bug!
He had confidence in his system, which was very dark but could always bring him surprises at critical moments!
"I'll do it!"
A flash of determination crossed Wang Pingan's eyes!
He stood up abruptly from his chair and extended his hand toward Mentor Murphy.
"Mentor, I hope we have a pleasant cooperation."
"Hahaha! Good! Good kid! You have guts!"
Seeing that he finally agreed, Mentor Murphy was so excited that his face turned red, and he gripped Wang Pingan's hand tightly.
"Don't worry! As long as you are responsible for piloting the ship, all other technical problems are on me!"
"Three days later!"
"When the energy tides of that Subspace Storm enter their lowest trough, we will set off!"
The two also had a simple discussion about some details of the operation.
For example, where the "seagull," the spacecraft specially used for "courting death," was parked, the preparation of supplies before departure, and how to sneak out of the academy's defense perimeter without anyone noticing, etc.
Listening to Mentor Murphy's meticulous yet crazy plan, Wang Pingan only had one thought in mind.
This old man is definitely a repeat offender!
Coming out of the control room, Wang Pingan politely declined Mentor Murphy's enthusiastic invitation to "have a casual meal together and deepen our relationship" and rushed back to his Heaven Character Number One Villa without stopping.
He was in no mood to eat right now.
He had more important things to do.
"friday, activate the highest level of security mode; do not allow anyone to disturb me." Wang Pingan gave the order to the intelligent robot butler.
"Very well, Master."
The heavy alloy door slowly closed, and the metal shields on all the windows in the villa descended, instantly turning the entire Heaven Character Number One Villa into an isolated steel fortress.
Wang Pingan walked straight into the cultivation room, where the spiritual energy was so thick it was almost liquid, and sat cross-legged on the central cultivation platform.
He did not immediately start adding points.
Instead, he first forced himself to take a deep breath to completely calm down his heart, which was somewhat restless due to the upcoming crazy adventure.
He carefully re-simulated the entire plan in his mind.
This operation was a narrow escape from death.
His greatest reliance was his system.
But at the same time, his biggest weakness was his "fragile" physical body, which only had 200 points in attributes.
When repairing Array 03, just lifting a toolbox weighing a few hundred kilograms almost caused him to "crash" on the spot.
If he were in the Subspace Storm, facing that terrifying pressure capable of tearing spacetime apart, could his small body really hold up?
The answer was: it was doubtful.
Therefore, he must raise his physical strength to a whole new level before departure!
He opened his system panel again.
[host: Wang Pingan]
[Realm: Fourth-Rank Martial Artist (Mid-stage, blood qi value 2000/5000)]
[Strength: 200.0]
[speed: 200.0]
[Physique: 200.0]
[spirit: 500.0]
[recovery: 200.0]
[pay-to-win points: 46265]
Forty-six thousand two hundred and sixty-five points.
But he was still more than twenty-five thousand points away from his "small goal" of raising all four attributes to 499.9 points.
"Just a little bit, just a little bit..."
Wang Pingan's brows locked tightly together.
Should he go take another mission to fill that gap of over twenty thousand?
As soon as this thought popped up, he rejected it himself.
No, it was too late.
Only three days left.
Jobs with "high cost-effectiveness" like repairing arrays were rare and hard to find. He didn't have time to look for a needle in a haystack.
"Since that's the case..."
"Then I can only exchange credits for them; 10 credits for 1 Low-Grade spirit Crystal, so I need over 2,500 Low-Grade Spirit Crystals."
Wang Pingan made a decision instantly; he still had over 70,000 credits, so he immediately spent 26,000 credits to exchange for 2,600 Low-Grade Spirit Crystals.
In a little while, the Low-Grade Spirit Crystals were delivered by the intelligent robot.
After absorption, Wang Pingan's pay-to-win points balance became 72,265 points.
He no longer hesitated, and his intent exploded in his mind like thunder!
"System!"
"Distribute my pay-to-win points evenly among the four attributes of strength, speed, Physique, and recovery, so that the values reach 499.9!"
"Immediately! Right now!"
[Command confirmed.]
[Total pay-to-win points: 72265 points.]
[According to the ratio of 60 pay-to-win points for 1 attribute point for a Fourth-Rank Martial Artist, each attribute will increase by: 299.99 points.]
[Attribute enhancement started...]
The moment the voice fell.
Boom—!!!
A golden torrent of energy, far more magnificent and vast than any before, erupted in his dantian sea of qi!