Before returning to Qu Shi's lab, Qi Yuan first went to see Master Luo. He killed the Ahn 'Qiraj bug controlled by the Blazing Angel and gave it to Master Luo as a side dish.
Then, Qi Yuan went to Ling You's residence and used the excuse of asking about the Black Gold Merchant Guild to test Ling You. After confirming that she couldn't detect the presence of the Blazing Angel, he leisurely returned to Qu Shi's lab.
Seeing that Qi Yuan had returned, Qu Shi was obviously relieved. What he was most worried about was that something happened to Qi Yuan. If something happened to Qi Yuan at this crucial time, all his previous preparations would be in vain.
With his own strength, he couldn't fight against Feng Qian at all.
"The Shelter's assessment is coming soon. Don't wander around and prepare for the assessment. Be careful that Feng Qian doesn't do anything to you." Qu Shi couldn't help but remind him.
Qi Yuan nodded. He had already checked in at all the checkpoints, so he didn't need to wander around anymore.
"There are still a few days left. Let's do one last optimization and test on the berserker. Let's try to defeat Feng Qian's berserker in battle!" Qu Shi said.
As the time approached, Qu Shi felt a little uneasy. Other than the pressure from Feng Qian, he was also worried about Qi Yuan.
This time, Qi Yuan would be at the forefront of the battle against Feng Qian. If something happened, Qi Yuan would be doomed.
Compared to Qu Shi's uneasiness, Qi Yuan was much calmer. Other than his biggest trump card, the Blazing Angel's existence also gave Qi Yuan a lot of confidence.
Just as Qi Yuan and Qu Shi were making their final preparations, Feng Qian in the Black Steel Shelter was also making his final arrangements.
In the private training room.
Feng Qian and Ke Shoulin stood side by side, preparing to watch the battle between Ke Long and another pinnacle rank 3.
Ke Long's body was enveloped in a layer of golden light. He held two extremely condensed golden longswords in his hands, exuding powerful and violent energy fluctuations. He was like a war god emitting the light of the sun.
Below the back of his neck was a metal module that was only half the size of a palm. Its appearance was 90% similar to the Berserkers made by Qi Yuan.
Ke Long's opponent was a middle-aged man with a gloomy expression. Half of his body was covered in scarlet armor, and scarlet lightning was swimming around his body like a living creature.
The two of them faced each other from a distance, and a battle was about to break out at any moment.
In the observation area, Ke Shoulin, who had short gray hair and eyes as sharp as an eagle's, glanced at the two and asked, "Who do you think will win this round?"
"Of course it's Xiao Long!" Feng Qian said with a smile.
"As a tier-3 genetic warrior, Ji's body is slightly stronger than Xiao Long's. However, Xiao Long's berserker armor is even stronger than Ji's Thunderclap. The gap between these two pieces of mechanical equipment is not something that can be compensated for by a slight difference in body strength.
The berserker armor is an entire generation ahead of all active tier-3 mechanical equipment.
The Thunderclap that Ji is wearing is the latest tier-3 mechanical equipment released by Quicksand. In all aspects, it is much stronger than our current tier-3 mechanical equipment, "Ke Shoulin said.
"In front of a berserker, any active tier-3 mechanical equipment will not be able to withstand a single blow.
At least for the next 10 years, it will be impossible for a mechanical equipment more powerful than the berserker armor to appear, "Feng Qian said confidently.
"Thunderclap might be better compared to other mechanical equipment. However, in front of a berserker, it is not even qualified to challenge him. Before this battle, the berserker armor has already undergone 47 battles. The berserker armor has faced 29 different types of tier-3 mechanical equipment. The berserker armor has not lost a single battle. Furthermore, all of the battles were one-sided victories."
"Since Xiao Long is wearing a berserker armor, defeating Ji is an inevitable result. The only difference is how long Ji can last."
"Haha!
Hahahaha! "Ke Shoulin laughed out loud.
"You're still as confident as before."
"If you didn't even have this much confidence, I wouldn't have suggested for Xiao Ke to use the berserker armor," Feng Qian said calmly.
"If the berserker armor that Xiao Long is wearing is really as powerful as you say, after it is released, it will definitely crush all the existing tier-3 mechanical equipment. The orders from the outside will also go crazy. When the time comes, remember to reserve 200 sets for my combat division first!" Ke Shoulin said.
Feng Qian smiled slightly.
"After the berserker armor is mass-produced, I will definitely prioritize the combat division's needs."
Ke Shoulin nodded, then said to the two people in the training room, "Let's begin."
"This will be the berserker's 48th victory!
It will also be Xiao Long's 17th victory, "Feng Qian said faintly.
Before Feng Qian finished speaking, the two people in the training room moved at the same time. Two glowing figures, one gold and one red, collided with a loud bang.
The two different types of energy, gold and crimson, exploded with a loud bang. Energy shockwaves that could be seen with the naked eye instantly swept through the entire training room.
In the first collision between the two, there was an obvious difference between the stronger and the weaker.
Ke Long controlled the berserker armor and retreated half a step before regaining his footing. The pale gold energy arc was as hard as a rock. It only trembled slightly before quickly recovering.
Compared to Ke Long's strong defense, Speed, who controlled Thunder, was forced to retreat a few meters before he managed to regain his balance. The crimson electric arc instantly scattered into countless electric snakes that spread out in all directions.
Just as Feng Qian expected, the berserker armor had the absolute advantage right from the start.
"Not bad!"
Ke Shoulin's eyesight was amazing. With one look, he could tell that there was a fundamental difference between the two mechanical equipment. Feng Qian was right. The berserker armor's powerful performance was an entire generation ahead of all the tier-3 mechanical equipment currently in service.
In the training room, Ke Long and Speed battled like a storm. The difference between the two was obvious to the naked eye. Ke Long completely suppressed Speed. Whether it was speed, strength, defense, reflexes, or even energy burst, the berserker armor completely crushed Thunder.
Looking at the battle between the two, Ke Shoulin nodded in satisfaction. Suddenly, he changed the topic and asked,
"I heard that you and Tanqiu have some small conflicts recently?"
As an ally, Feng Qian did not hide anything and nodded.
"Tanqiu also has her sights set on the position of chief. However, she is still inexperienced, so she tried to climb up by attacking me."
"I heard that Tanqiu will also release a berserker armor. When the time comes, there will be a direct confrontation with your berserker armor," said Ke Shoulin.
"That is indeed the case." Feng Qian nodded.
"At a critical moment in the production of the berserker armor, there was a leak of the design blueprint in my laboratory. After that, Tanqiu spread the news that she is preparing to release a berserker armor to compete with me. It's just a small trick. Don't worry about it."
Ke Shoulin frowned. Although the shelter had a population of hundreds of thousands, at their level, the entire circle was only so big. When Tanqiu became a tier-4 researcher, she also entered their circle. Ke Shoulin had interacted with this newly promoted tier-4 researcher a few times. His impression of Tanqiu was not bad.
Was Feng Qian's words just to make things difficult for Tanqiu, or was it true? He could not figure it out.
"Someone asked me to advise you not to fight with Tanqiu so fiercely. If you continue to fight like this, it won't do either of you any good. In the end, don't fight until both of you are injured and others take advantage of you."
After a moment of silence, Feng Qian sighed softly.
"It's not that I want to fight with Tanqiu. It's Tanqiu who wants to use me as a stepping stone. But don't worry, as long as Chief Mo Lin is still here, our fight will not escalate to the point of no return."
Hearing Chief Mo Lin's name, Ke Shoulin's expression changed slightly, but he still nodded.
The special status of the biological and mechanical laboratory was not only due to the continuous production of the laboratory, but also due to Chief Mo Lin.
Chief Mo Lin firmly controlled the entire laboratory and blocked all the people who tried to get their hands on it. Even the directors were blocked outside by him.
Now that Mo Lin was old and was about to step down from his two important positions as the laboratory's chief and a member of the board of directors, the position he left behind had become a highly coveted steamed bun. Countless people in the dark had their eyes on it.
However, with Mo Lin's ability, as long as he did not step down, those evil wolves in the dark could only watch helplessly. They definitely would not dare to make a move openly.
Originally, Feng Qian was the most likely candidate to take over Mo Lin's position. Now that Tanqiu had appeared out of nowhere, there were many changes to the situation. Tanqiu obviously had the support of others behind him.
But until now, Feng Qian still did not know who was behind Tanqiu.
Was it the other directors or Mo Lin himself?
"Mo Lin seems to have noticed the battle between the two of you. Will there be any accidents?" Ke Shoulin asked.
A vicious look flashed across Feng Qian's eyes, but his expression was as calm as water.
"With Ke Long's strength and the strength of the berserker, there can't be any accidents in this battle. You saw this battle with your own eyes. Is it not enough to dispel your worries?"
Inside the training field, Ke Long finally seized the opportunity for Speed, who was struggling to hold on. Ke Long's full-powered punch landed on Speed's chest like a golden meteor. Under the violent power, the tough mechanical armor shattered, and Speed was sent flying by Ke Long's punch like a toy.
After that punch, Ke Long turned his advantage of suppression into victory. He kicked Ke Long until he fainted. Then, with another punch, he smashed Ke Long's head, easily obtaining the 48th victory for the berserker.
The golden light dissipated, revealing a young and arrogant face.
"Weak!" Ke Long said disdainfully.
Ke Shoulin was unmoved by Ke Long's tyranny. A tier 3 genetic warrior like Ke Long had no hope of advancing to tier 4. He was purely a consumable. If he died, so be it.
As the deputy head of a combat division, he had killed even more people. This kind of small matter could be easily dealt with.
Feng Qian, however, shook his head inwardly. Ke Long's tyranny and bloodthirstiness had actually brought him a lot of negative influences. It was only because of Ke Shoulin's existence that these negative influences did not erupt. Once he lost Ke Shoulin's protection, with Ke Long's temperament, something big would happen sooner or later.
Ke Shoulin did not notice the slight change in Feng Qian's expression. After witnessing the strength of the berserker, he started thinking about what to do next.
The berserker's performance surpassed any tier 3 mechanical equipment he knew of. There was indeed no possibility of failure. However, Tan Qiu was not easy to deal with either. With his understanding of Tan Qiu, she would definitely not participate in a battle that she would definitely lose.
"Who's piloting the berserker on Tan Qiu's side?
The combat division did not receive Tan Qiu's request. There's also news from the Desolate Exploration Department, "Ke Shoulin asked.
Although the Black Steel Shelter had many pinnacle tier 3 combat domain aptitude users, the combat division was definitely the strongest, followed by the Desolate Exploration Department. The other departments were much weaker in comparison.
In the past mechanical equipment testing, the candidates were all selected from either the combat division or the Desolate Exploration Department. Now that the battle was imminent, neither side had received a request from Tan Qiu. This made Ke Shoulin somewhat puzzled.
"Since I'm sending Xiao Long, Tan Qiu will definitely have some reservations and might not choose from the shelter," Feng Qian said.
As the strongest department in the Black Steel Shelter, the combat division had the most combat personnel. It had a strong voice within the Black Steel Shelter. Ke Shoulin was the deputy head of the combat division and had the potential to become the next head. Since his only son had chosen to participate in the battle, no matter who Tan Qiu chose, the other side would definitely be wary of Ke Shoulin's existence.
This was Feng Qian's scheme. He and Ke Shoulin each took what they wanted. If Tan Qiu wanted to break the situation and completely avoid Ke Shoulin's influence, he could only choose from outside the shelter.
Ke Shoulin was well aware of this point. However, the reason why he agreed to let Ke Long fight was because the new Berserker in Feng Qian's hands was of great significance. It could push the entire Level 3 Mechanical Equipment forward by a generation. Ke Long was bound to it and would bring many intangible benefits.
Since Ke Long was bound to the new berserker, this time, Feng Qian could only win the battle between Tan Qiu and Feng Qian.
Although Feng Qian's berserker had shown great performance, in Ke Shoulin's eyes, even if there was only a one percent chance of failure, it still meant risk.
If Tan Qiu chose from within the shelter, Ke Shoulin had thousands of ways to ensure that this battle would be foolproof. However, Tan Qiu chose from outside the shelter. This was something he did not expect.
Ke Shoulin's eyes flashed. Although he could not influence the people outside the shelter, he could influence the examiners of the Danger Management Department. If the people outside the shelter wanted to participate in this battle, they would have to be able to enter the shelter first.
"Do you have any more detailed information about who Tan Qiu chose?"
Feng Qian laughed. Ke Shoulin was just as he expected. He had high hopes for Ke Long and did not want him to take any risks.
This battle had already attracted the attention of Mo Lin. If he put pressure on Tan Qiu's candidate, even if he could prevent Tan Qiu's candidate from entering the shelter, it would make Mo Lin unhappy.
At such a critical time, Mo Lin's recommendation would play a crucial role in determining the next leader of the lab. Feng Qian could not do anything that would make Mo Lin unhappy.
However, if Ke Shoulin put pressure on Tan Qiu, the situation would be different.
"According to the information I received, the berserker chosen by Tan Qiu is a hunter called Qi Yuan. He is a tier 2 hunter!"
"Tier 2?" Ke Shoulin was stunned.
Although the difference between tier 2 and tier 3 was not insurmountable, the upper limit between tier 2 and tier 3 was huge.
Ke Long had 9 types of Type 3 abilities, and could be considered an absolute powerhouse amongst Type 3 experts. A Type 2 Ability User, no matter how strong he was, would not be able to catch up to Ke Long.
The difference between a tier 2 ability user and Ke Long was so great that it could not be closed with a single piece of mechanical equipment.
Even if Tan Qiu randomly chose a peak tier 3 from another department, it would be more reliable than a tier 2 refugee.
Why would she make such a stupid choice?