Chapter Eleven: Grade B Skill - Particle Wave

With a long, piercing howl that shattered the stillness of the night, Wood’s voice echoed far into the distance. Zi Gui understood at once—Wood had successfully advanced. Inside the base, Baldy and Gu Feng exchanged a knowing smile, both aware that Wood had finally become an F-rank warrior. In that moment, Wood, standing on the plaza, felt an inexhaustible surge of strength coursing through his body. His speed suddenly increased, and the high-energy oscillation blade danced in his hands, turning the battle into a one-sided massacre against the swarming bug-like beasts surrounding them.

There weren’t many bugs in this place to begin with. The two men, fighting in tandem, quickly wiped out all the monsters that had beset them. Judging by the direction Baldy and Gu Feng had taken, they followed after them. Their delay had lasted at least half an hour. Drawing near the base, they found that Gu Feng, Baldy, and the others were nowhere to be seen. Clearly anticipating this, Zi Gui drew out a detector from his person. The illuminated dots on the screen flashed, indicating their quarry was not far off.

Zi Gui murmured, “Strange, how have they already left the base’s perimeter?” He beckoned Wood to follow, and they set off in pursuit, guided by the detector. Though freshly advanced, Wood felt exhausted from the fierce battle, but seeing Zi Gui press on, he gritted his teeth and kept up. Along the way, the base’s interior was a scene of desolation—corridors riddled with bullet holes or gaping rents from bug claws, severed wires flickering with cold blue light here and there, evidence that the backup power sources had not suffered catastrophic damage.

The deeper they went, the more bug carcasses and severed limbs littered their path. Clearly, Gu Feng and Baldy’s group had carved a bloody trail. Following the device’s guidance, they reached the end of the base. Zi Gui let out a soft exclamation. “Where have they gone?”

They looked around. Wood, sharp-eyed, spotted a man-sized hole in the corner. He pulled Zi Gui along and squeezed inside. This tunnel, no doubt burrowed by the insects, branched in all directions. Without the detector, they would have been hopelessly lost. After some time, the passage abruptly opened into a spacious chamber where, suspended in midair, a dazzling orb as large as a soccer ball hung, radiating light. Gu Feng and two women lounged in a corner, chatting idly, Gu Feng’s hands wandering, leaving the women’s cheeks flushed, their eyes glazed with desire.

Yet the rest of the chamber was a study in chaos. Waves of bugs surged from every tunnel, encircling Baldy and his five bodyguards. Noticing Wood and Zi Gui’s arrival, Gu Feng signaled them to stay put.

Confused, the two halted. Suddenly, Baldy vaulted into the air with a booming shout, drawing a deep breath and raising his arms overhead. Instantly, the cavern rang with a chorus of ethereal chants. A blinding white light burst from Baldy, pouring out like a tidal wave. Screams erupted as the bugs were struck, flung aside as if battered by invisible blows, their bodies torn asunder, reduced to ash in moments.

Yet the white light did not harm Wood and Zi Gui. Instead, they felt as though they were soaking in hot water—languid, relaxed, supremely comfortable.

With that one move, the world fell silent. No more bugs poured forth from the tunnels. Wood could sense that Baldy was somewhat drained after unleashing such power.

A round of applause broke out. Looking back, they saw Gu Feng finally release his grip on the two sisters, Neon and Rainbow, and, shaking his head with mock admiration, remarked, “Not bad! Baldy, what’s that move called?”

“Divine Judgment,” Baldy replied coolly. “Don’t flatter me. Your forbidden spells are no less powerful.”

“True, but what’s remarkable is that this move not only harms the enemy, but gives allies a positive effect. What level skill is that?” Gu Feng asked, for once serious.

“Heh! It used to be an A-rank skill,” Baldy said proudly. “Originally, it affected friend and foe alike, but I spent a fortune to have a mysterious figure modify it—turning the side effect into an aura that restores allies’ stamina. The recovery isn’t huge, but it solved the skill’s biggest limitation. Now, it’s rated S-rank.”

Now Wood and Zi Gui understood why they’d felt so comfortable earlier—the skill had restored some of their strength. Gu Feng was visibly moved. “What? There’s actually someone who can do that? That’s a rare talent! Which dimension is he from?”

Baldy shook his head. “No one knows. He’s shrouded in mystery, only seen a few times in the dimensional trading hub. I was just lucky to meet him.”

To repair skill flaws and even turn them into positives was unheard of in the entire dimensional space. Many powerful skills came with severe restrictions. If that mysterious figure could lift or even reverse such drawbacks, it was a game-changing talent, and no wonder Gu Feng was so astonished.

Gu Feng pondered a moment. “Probably not an agent from the Magic dimension. Maybe from the one that produces skill cards?” Baldy nodded. “That’s my guess too.”

He then turned to Wood. “So, you’ve advanced. Here—a little gift.” He produced a card.

Wood examined it. The card depicted a pebble shooting forward, sending out rippling waves. At that moment, Little Dingdang’s mechanical voice intoned:

“Scanning… B-rank skill card detected: Particle Wave. Linear attack skill. Range: 10 meters. Consumes: mental energy, magic, vital force, or energy. Current level: 1. Upgrade requirement: fusion?”

“Fusion!” Wood exclaimed joyfully. As he spoke, the card vanished from his hand, and an image formed in his mind—a cold figure waving an arm, releasing concentric particle waves. Instinctively, Wood mimicked the motion, firing a transparent wave of energy. But before he could celebrate, a sharp pain stabbed through his mind, nearly knocking him out.

Seeing Wood’s face suddenly pale, Baldy rushed to steady him. “What’s wrong?”

Wood forced a smile. “Maybe I can’t use this skill?”

Baldy was baffled. Gu Feng, however, laughed. “Check your mental energy!”

Wood, having not checked his stats since advancing, summoned Little Dingdang:

“Analyzing agent’s physical attributes… Base Material Dimension agent: G-virus evolution serum injected, DNA evolved. Physical strength: 125; Agility: 120; Mental energy: body possesses immunity. Result: agent’s attributes meet F-rank warrior standards.”

Wood realized at once that using the Particle Wave had drained his mental energy, causing the stabbing pain. Baldy apologized, “My mistake—forgot you’d just made F-rank. This skill is a bit much for you; you can’t use it too often.”

Zi Gui chimed in, “That’s not fair! When I advanced, you only gave me two cards—”

Baldy shot him a glare. “What would a sci-fi dimension agent need with ranged skill cards? Isn’t that laser cannon on your mech just for show?”

Zi Gui merely grinned and turned to Wood. “Brother Wood, your mental energy is your greatest strength. Let me give you a Psychokinetic Drone.” He produced a floating turret the size of a helmet.

“Psychokinetic Drone: Sci-fi item, comes with auto-targeting. Consumes energy crystals.”

“This isn’t a product of our dimension—I only have three. You need 200 mental energy to use one,” Zi Gui said with a sigh. “If you could control a squadron of these, the power would be terrifying. But every additional unit doubles the mental energy requirement.”

Gu Feng then handed over a belt. “From the Magic dimension—storage belt, with 24 slots, each holding 15 cubic meters. Lets you organize your inventory by category.”

Although Wood already had a storage bracelet, the belt’s utility was greater. He accepted it with delight. “Thank you! I don’t have much to offer right now, but when I do, I won’t forget your kindness!”

Hearing this, Zi Gui threw an arm around Wood’s neck. “Number One, about that Transformer—get me one and you’ll have my eternal gratitude!” Wood could only glare at him; now he understood how rare such things were.

Gu Feng stroked his chin. “What I really need right now is a Divine Core…” Wood nearly fainted. That was an S-rank item—where could he possibly get one?

Baldy waved his hand expansively. “I need nothing.” Wood was about to breathe a sigh of relief when Baldy added, “But I do have a few skills with flaws—if you ever find that mysterious fixer, help me out, will you?”

With a thud, Wood collapsed to the ground, forcing a wry smile. “You all really have high expectations for me…”

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After a short rest—mainly to let Wood recover his mental energy—Gu Feng recounted what had happened so far. “Looks like the base was breached from the inside. There’s not much damage outside, but inside, bullet holes are everywhere. The bugs must have dug a tunnel in, catching the defenders off guard. They fought as they fell back, and probably made their last stand in the plaza, where the bugs overwhelmed them.”

“We ran into a leader bug here, but it was too timid—fled as soon as we charged. Its minions threw themselves at us, but you saw the result: Baldy wiped them all out!”

Just then, the transparent scroll in Baldy’s hand beeped. He unrolled it, puzzled. “Huh! The bugs are retreating!”

The message had come from the mechanical bees. Inside the mountain, the tunnels dug out by the bugs were crawling with insects, but they weren’t heading towards the group. The bees followed their path and discovered the bugs were moving straight for the mother base where Wood and his team had just landed…