BXBX NOVEL Chapter 347: 129. Cutting off Life_5
Chapter 347: 129. Cutting off Life_5
The motorbike flies on, the sun and moon alternate, and the starry night arrives.
After midnight, the convoy sped on, finally reaching the outskirts of the Savage Stone Wasteland.
They turned off all the lights and approached the route through which the Tatis Empire transports the Life Elixir in the dark.
A line marked on the map was, in reality in the Savage Stone Wasteland, an endless sea of sand.
With sand and dust lingering in the dry air, and a faint smell of the Aberrations mixed in.
Nothing but sand dunes.
Searching for the team of Military Intelligence Department Five transporting the Life Elixir in this environment was akin to finding a needle in a haystack.
If the Military Intelligence Department Five deployed special vehicles adapted for the sand sea, the difficulty in intercepting the Life Elixir would be even greater.
Thankfully, Derek Davis and his team had made preparations beforehand.
Within their Alchemy Stones, each of them stored four to five Bell Beetles.
Usually, the Golden Merchant’s Sword would carry out tasks in the areas below layer 20 in the Fissure Corridor, needing the Bell Beetles to maintain vigilance.
Using these bugs as tools to search for the Military Intelligence Department Five was also a fine idea.
At Derek’s command, the team members dispersed. Each was responsible for monitoring a section of the sand sea about ten kilometers wide and jointly set up a west-to-east alert area.
They activated the Alchemy Runes on their Alchemy Cloaks, disguising themselves as rocks on the sand dunes or simply lying on the sand, blending in.
Time passed in the tedious vigilance.
The sand sea was vast, the air was dry, and the surroundings were quiet.
On the second day of their stakeout, after dark, a flutter from the sky broke the peace of the sand sea.
A flock of double-winged mutants flapped their wings and flew over the heads of Derek and his team.
They were in a hurry, with no intention of lingering, flying straight towards the dark silhouette of the mountain range far to the south.
“Our target has appeared.”
Derek crouched on the ground, watching every movement of the double-winged mutants through a telescope.
He crushed the mother bug in his hand and called his comrades to gather.
In a short while, the team members, using Alchemy Cushion Shoes, moved quickly across the sand sea and gathered around Derek.
Derek glanced at his team members and asked,
“Those of you close to me, you saw the double-winged mutants flying towards the south, right?”
“Yes, boss.” Angela Anderson, looking eager to give it a go, clenched her fists and hovered one over the other in front of her. She spoke in a husky female voice,
“Those weird-acting double-winged mutants are definitely heading for the Blade Mountain Range to take over the Life Elixir. Only flyers like them can traverse the sand sea… I would never have thought that these mutants could be people from the Military Intelligence Department Five.”
The teammates at the side looked surprised and amazed.
Before the watch began, Noland had explained to them about these artificially induced double-winged mutants.
They found it incredible at the time. It was only now that they fully agreed with the intelligence Noland provided.
“I suspect that the ‘Imperial Fist ‘ won’t be in the team escorting the elixir to the Fissure. Because that would slow down the double-winged mutants.” Derek asked,
“What do you think, Ray Lee?”
Noland pondered for a moment before replying,
“Here’s the thing, Derek. I’ll follow them and check the situation. As soon as I have an understanding of the team’s status, I’ll come back immediately to relay the information.”
Derek stroked his beard,
“Can you make sure you won’t be spotted? If you alarm them, all our previous efforts will be wasted.”
“Rest assured, I won’t be caught.” Noland replied with confidence.
“Very well, off you go.”
Noland nodded to his temporary teammates. Under their astonished gaze, he transformed into a floating white skull.
He flew south close to the ground, leaving behind hushed exclamations from his team.
“Magic sure is amazing… Ray Lee turned into a skull…”
“This is way more convenient than our Alchemy Flying Wings…”
“The wizard is indeed skilled…”
Derek put his palm down, stopping the chatter, and ordered,
“Hush now, guys, enough chit-chat. Start checking your alchemy equipment and ammunition. If it’s just the double-winged mutants in that team, we’ll use alchemy cannonballs against them…”
Noland glanced back at his teammates pulling the cannon barrels out from their Alchemy Stones, then turned back around and focused on tracking the double-winged mutants.
He pulled out the ‘Mind Beacon’ in his mind and leveled it up from 10 to 20 at once.
[System Message:]
[You have consumed 1450 Energy Points.]
[‘Mind Beacon’ leveled up by +10, now at Level 20.]
[‘Mind Beacon’s’ perception range +100%, now at 29 kilometers.]
[‘Mind Beacon’ level has broken through to Level 20, triggering a level-up reward.]
[Choose one from the following three options:]
Option one:
[‘Mind Beacon’s’ perception range +50%, upgraded to 34 kilometers.]
Option two:
[Further enhance ‘United Action’ Feature. The number of Mechanos that can be controlled at the same time +10, upgraded from 0/2 to 0/12.]
Option three:
[Turn ‘Mind Beacon (Level 20)’ to ‘Mental Tracking (Level 20)’].
[You can simultaneously track the minds of 10 targets, with unlimited tracking range and duration. You need to continue consuming Energy Points to maintain this spell. The number of Energy Points consumed per hour = 1 point * number of tracked targets.]