Chapter 160: "Factional Strife" and a Critical Shortage of Ingredients

"Old Li! Are you deliberately going against me?"

"I am merely stating facts. In the extraordinary domain, Olina is the equivalent of a Li Zhiyuan—a genius among geniuses! If I give up on her today, we will become sinners against the Republic! Our spines will be pointed at by future generations!"

The "bald monsters" argued until their faces turned red, rolling up their sleeves as if about to throw punches. They bore no resemblance to scientists whatsoever, looking instead like a group of old men in a park whose chess game had grown too heated.

In truth, they had been debating this topic for nearly half a year, and the argument had intensified ever since Irene entered the base for studies. While nothing was finalized, anything was up for contention; but once a decision was made, it had to be absolutely executed, even by those who disagreed.

This was the style of Xuanlü: anyone could voice an opinion, the minority submitted to the majority, and once a decision was reached, no dissension was permitted from anyone.

"Li Zhiyuan has already reached the first tier, taking merely half a year or so from start to finish. As for the vanguard troops, the vast majority have reached the first tier, and other units together account for nearly a thousand soldiers who have stepped into the extraordinary threshold. What we lack is not extraordinary individuals, but time, and weapons targeted at the extraordinary."

"Irene possesses a sufficient foundation to inherit the throne without any hindrance. Furthermore, the girl is clearly interested in the Colonel, and the Colonel does not reject her. A political marriage is entirely feasible."

"Pui! You shameless old man, what era is this, and you're still pulling stunts like political marriage? If you ask me, Comrade Olina has a righteous ideology; though her roots aren't the reddest, I believe she will initiate the first step of the New World's revolution. Olina is the most suitable candidate!"

"That's right, even if there really has to be a political marriage, Comrade Olina is a bit more suitable."

"Bullshit! Irene is the most suitable for the Colonel."

"Olina!"

"Irene!"

The two factions rolled up their sleeves, pressing against each other and glaring fiercely.

Historically known as: "The Two-Party Dispute."

Caught in the middle of a group of bigwigs arguing, the surgeon shivered slightly.

Why did the topic feel increasingly bizarre?

"Lady Amyra, what do your think?"

The Irene faction posed a question to Amyra, and mid-sentence, one of the bigwigs pulled out a junior high school chemistry textbook.

Suddenly addressed while eating, the elven lady did not hesitate for a second and stood firmly on the side of the [Irene Faction].

Raising her fist in the air, she shouted, "Irene is the greatest in the world!"

Qin Le or whatever, get lost, don't you dare lay a finger on my Chinese cabbage.

The chemistry grandmaster nodded with satisfaction, looking triumphantly at the opposing side.

"Li Zhiyuan, what do you think?"

Unawares, both factions focused their gazes on Li Zhiyuan, who had been watching the show all along, their intentions clear without words.

You brat better be on my side.

With his signature smile, Li Zhiyuan said, "Everyone, the Republic doesn't roll that way. I'll listen to the Colonel's opinion."

Nice shot! He kicked the ball right back out.

He had no desire to join the battle of these stubborn old codgers.

Unfortunately, the old gentlemen were not buying it.

"None of that nonsense. What is not forbidden by law is permitted; Xuanlü's laws do not forbid political marriages, and besides, this is called mutual affection."

This remark caused the "Olina Faction" members to roll their eyes. These old scoundrels were completely shameless, playing entirely with word games.

"Li Zhiyuan, as a fellow member of the Li family, you should know the importance of Olina, shouldn't you?"

Faced with the pressure from both parties, even Li Zhiyuan had to take two steps back.

In the eyes of outsiders, scientists were knowledgeable, wore white lab coats, were refined and courteous, and worked quietly in laboratories.

Real Xuanlü scientists worked 996, were bald monsters, climbed mountains of swords and plunged into seas of fire, and could down a jin of white liquor without a change in facial expression. They could advance to carry guns and fight wars, and retreat to make contributions through scientific research.

At that moment, a figure walked straight through the wall.

Standing two meters tall, built like a bull, wearing a black tactical suit with a dagger hanging at his waist, his gaze was cold and stern.

Fishhead glanced over the crowd and said, "Dr. Li Zhiyuan, the commander asks you to hurry up; the bodies of some of our brothers are reaching their limits."

Upon seeing Fishhead, Li Zhiyuan instantly put on a saved-by-the-bell expression and nodded. "I have already completed various clinical trials on my own body to ensure there is no danger. We can inject the Spirit-Awakening Agent shortly."

The Spirit-Awakening Agent was a preliminary modified spirit-awakening potion developed by Xuanlü. Compared to the Spirit-Awakening Pill, it was more easily absorbed by the human body, with a slightly increased success rate.

Through a year of research, Xuanlü discovered that the Spirit-Awakening Pill contained certain unknown trace elements, temporarily named spirit essence. Absorbed through the digestive system and circulated throughout the body via the bloodstream, it stimulated the brain domain to achieve the awakening effect.

The specific process remained unclear; for now, Xuanlü had only hypothesized a rough process without much substantive evidence.

However, through various clinical studies, the intravenously injected spirit-awakening potion had effects visibly superior to the pill form, being much more stable and safe.

"Everyone, I have matters to attend to and must take my leave. I'll leave the remaining experiments to you. Also, Kongkong's homing missile indeed has its merits; you can go to the Red Tide Academy and find a few high-tier extraordinaries."

"That student named Rhodes is very suitable; he looks thick-skinned and should be quite durable. Right, start with blank cartridges, no explosives; getting someone killed wouldn't be good."

Having said that, Li Zhiyuan bolted, running out of the laboratory in a flash.

The fairy floating in the air snapped out of her daze and flew after him, shouting at the top of her lungs, "Wait for me, master!"

By the time the others reacted, he was completely out of sight.

"Break time is over, everyone disperse. There are still many research topics waiting for us."

Arguments were arguments, but when it came time to work, no one slacked off; this was merely a disagreement of opinions.

Fishhead had heard these people argue countless times and had no interest in it.

Their vanguard troops were dead serious and possessed not a shred of gossip in them!

Without lingering, he turned and walked out of the laboratory. To guard against the Shadow Step of assassin-class professionals, most important buildings had virtually no large shadows, with small and large lights illuminating every angle without dead zones.

Even the closets were fitted with lightbulbs, and every crack was sealed, physically isolating the Shadow Step.

Leaving the experimental area, Fishhead plunged into the shadows and swiftly returned to the vanguard unit's garrison.

Just as he entered the shooting range, he saw a large group of people gathered together, bustling noisily and wondering what they were up to.

"What are you all doing? Are your training sessions finished?"

The burly men's "delicate" bodies shuddered with a start, and turning their heads to see it was Fishhead, they collectively breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, it's Commander Fishhead."

"Scared the life out of me, I thought the Sergeant Major had come."

"What are you being so sneaky about?" Fishhead walked closer and saw a long table at the center, covered with all sorts of bizarre objects.

There were monster teeth, stones, a few vials of extraordinary potions, money, and gold. These items were piled into two heaps on the left and right sides, with two large characters written underneath each:

[Irene] [Olina]

If an outsider were to witness this scene, they would undoubtedly be extremely confused. It looked very much like a high-low gambling table, but the items staked on top were far too bizarre.

Fishhead twitched the corner of his mouth and said, "You guys... if the commander finds out, you're all done for. And Hammer, stop hiding; you're so huge, how could they possibly cover you?"

Amidst the crowd, Hammer, who had been half-squatting, slowly stood up, his 2.5-meter height making him look like a miniature giant.

Rubbing his round, bald head with an awkward smile on his face, he said, "Heh heh heh, I came to stop them, absolutely not..."

Before he could finish his sentence, with a smack, a hundred-yuan bill was placed on [Irene].

"I bet on Irene."

Ironfist blinked and raged, "Fishhead, I misjudged you! I thought we were good brothers with the same mindset. Who would have thought?"

He pulled out all his savings and placed them on [Olina].

"Olina is bound to win."

...

Inside the study, Qin Le rubbed his slightly itchy nose, feeling as though someone was talking about him.

Knock, knock, knock.

Three knocks sounded on the door.

"Come in."

The door opened, and a middle-aged man dressed as a chef pushed a cart inside, laden with three dishes and a bowl of rice.

A rich, heavy aroma hit them head-on, a fragrance that seemed to possess a magical power, causing saliva to secrete uncontrollably.

"Colonel, this is your lunch today."

With smooth and seasoned movements, the chef placed the dishes onto the table. Every plate was a feast of color, aroma, and taste, prepared entirely to state banquet standards.

"Braised prawns in oil, boiled spirit grass in spring water, and stewed colorful chicken soup. These ingredients are the absolute finest from the Dawn Kingdom, possessing extremely abundant spirituality that aids in your extraordinary advancement."

The chef professionally introduced each dish, the cooking method, the flavor, and the origin of the ingredients.

"And this Jade Corn, transported all the way from the distant Victoria Elven Empire, contains rich spirit essence and also has a certain mind-clearing effect. Although it's only a small bowl, it can provide over a hundred thousand calories of energy. I suggest eating slowly to avoid bloating."

Although there were only three dishes, each one was worth a fortune, something even high-ranking nobles couldn't afford to eat regularly. Yet here, they seemed like everyday home-cooked meals, appearing at least once a dish per meal, morning, noon, and night.

If the consumed labor and material resources were converted into currency, a single dish would cost anywhere from 50,000 to 100,000, and a single meal would start at a minimum of 300,000. With the purchasing power of the current currency, 300,000 was enough to buy a very decent house in a major city.

In other words, the cost of Qin Le's meals for a single day was enough to buy about two houses—and that was even excluding the massive amount of free labor involved.

However, according to a certain elf, these extraordinary ingredients actually carried at least a two-fold markup; buying them directly in the region where the empire resided wouldn't cost nearly this much. In other words, Xuanlü was effectively being fleeced by the major merchant guilds and merchants outside the Dawn Kingdom.

Yet Xuanlü did not care about this at all. As long as it could increase the speed of Qin Le's extraordinary advancement, no matter how much money was spent, it was worth it.

For the sake of Qin Le's extraordinary path, Xuanlü scattered vast amounts of gold, letting the major merchant caravans of the Dawn Kingdom travel to other regions, procuring extraordinary resources by any means necessary—both openly and from the shadows (the black market), sparing no cost.

Due to Xuanlü's massive procurement, extraordinary materials in the surrounding areas had more or less inflated in price, especially the ingredients with the smallest side effects and the mildest nature, which had at least doubled. The chain reaction was that high-ranking nobles could not afford to eat precious extraordinary food during this period; even if they managed to get their hands on it, their first consideration was to sell it.

Of course, Xuanlü was not merely scattering money away; by purchasing extraordinary materials at high prices, they helped the major merchant caravans of the Dawn Kingdom open up routes to surrounding regions, preparing the ground for future industrial product promotion. Xuanlü had already prepared a massive inventory of glass marbles, spices, music boxes, colas, and other luxury goods waiting for the nobles to buy.

Just as Qin Le picked up his rice bowl, a very familiar scent wafted over from beside him, and he turned to see an elf wearing a flattering expression.

In a trance, he felt as if he were looking at a Husky.

Here to freeload a meal again.

Qin Le turned his head and instructed, "Add another pair of chopsticks and a bowl of rice."

Anyway, this elf didn't eat much, basically getting full after three bites, whereas he usually couldn't finish his food anyway. Besides, sometimes he needed this fellow to help him digest the excess spirituality in his body, otherwise his stomach would ache from bloating for half a day.

"Thanks, boss, the boss is so handsome," Amyra said in a sweet voice.

The chef brought over the bowl of rice he had prepared in advance; by now, he was long used to this situation.

Half an hour later, Qin Le and Amyra slumped against the sofa, leaning against each other like two salted fish, their postures identical.

"Too full, I can't take it anymore." Amyra knitted her delicate brows.

Qin Le glanced at this scummy elf and said, "Who told you to be so greedy and insist on taking two bites of every dish?"

In truth, he was in no better shape himself. For Qin Le, eating had become a matter of pain and pleasure intertwined.

While eating, the flavor made him crave more, unable to stop. But once he finished, the aftereffect would hit, and the terrifying spirituality would continuously assault his body, filling him with an overwhelming sense of fullness. It felt as though several hundred kilograms of rice had been stuffed into his body, making him feel as if he were about to tear apart.

Still, the effects were stellar. In just a short month, he had already traversed a tenth of the journey from the first tier to the second tier.

"A child from a poor family has never eaten such things, how could I not eat a few more bites?" Amyra whined. "I'm too stuffed, I'm going to take a nap..."

Her voice grew weaker and weaker, until she finally closed her eyes and emitted a steady snore.

"You eat your fill and then sleep, are you part pig?" As Qin Le finished speaking, a strong wave of drowsiness also surged into his mind, and he closed his eyes and drifted straight off to sleep.

As usual, he would now sleep for an hour.

Xuanlü had yet to figure out this phenomenon, suspecting it might be a bodily stress response, accelerating the digestion of spirit essence through sleep.

The chef cleared away the remaining pots, bowls, basins, and ladles, while outside, ten fully armed soldiers had been waiting for a long time. The group carried the items back toward the kitchen as if transporting cash.

Inside the massive kitchen spanning several thousand square meters, a team composed of hundreds of Xuanlü's finest chefs was researching various ingredients.

Every single ingredient had to undergo rigorous inspections by specialized soldiers—checked once upon entering the kitchen, and checked once again when the cooking was completed. The chefs were no exception; every time they entered, they were searched and poked with silver needles to prevent cultists from mingling in.

"We're running out of ingredients."

The personnel in charge of inventory looked at the nearly empty freezer.

Ten minutes later, a material shortage report was dispatched. Passing through the hands of the relevant departments, a series of commands were issued to various parts of the Eastern Territory.

...

Five minutes later, in a distant place far away, a fully armed hundred-man company, leading over a thousand able-bodied men armed with old-fashioned rifles, stepped into a dangerous zone.

They were to sweep the region, gather all extraordinary materials, and simultaneously train these able-bodied men.

"Mission begins, sweep this region. Anyone encountered who looks suspicious is authorized to shoot on sight."

"Anyone who gathers a share of extraordinary materials will be rewarded according to category."

...

Ten minutes later, in the bustling construction site of Qingyang City, Xuanlü raised the acquisition price of extraordinary materials by 0.5 times.

All the monster hunters drawn by fame went wild. The news spread rapidly, and tens of thousands of people marched into the dangerous zones, vowing to dig three feet deep.

In the span of just over ten minutes, the entire Eastern Territory suddenly sprang into motion.

All because there weren't enough ingredients.

...

Three days later, surrounding regions of Dawn received word that the prices of extraordinary materials had skyrocketed once again.

...

Five days later, due to the exorbitant prices of extraordinary materials in the areas surrounding Dawn, an increasing volume of extraordinary materials poured in from all directions.

Powerful monster hunter squads also arrived, drawn by the reputation.