Stepping through the door and into the board of directors' hall, Molin and Ming Ming's gazes landed on him at the same time.
This time, Qi Yuan purposely didn't bring the Blazing Angel.
Although Ming Ming's gaze didn't contain any malice, facing a rank 7 Heaven Awaken powerhouse, Qi Yuan still felt the pressure of facing a top predator.
There seemed to be an invisible force field around Ming Ming, enough to obliterate him just by getting close.
Qi Yuan's body suddenly stiffened, unable to escape Ming Ming's eyes. A hint of surprise flashed through his eyes.
Qi Yuan was actually able to sense his own Heaven's Awakening Force Field. This wasn't a sensitivity that a rank 3 ability user should have. Under normal circumstances, let alone rank 3, even a rank 4 ability user would find it difficult to sense the force field of a high rank powerhouse. Only those at rank 6 or rank 5 with the Perception Domain would be able to sense this kind of pressure.
Ming Ming glanced at Qi Yuan. A rank 3 ability user had no secrets in front of a rank 7 Heaven Awaken.
Qi Yuan didn't grasp a rank 4 core ability, he was indeed only rank 3!
Ming Ming withdrew his Heaven Awaken Force Field and smiled.
"Qi Yuan, congratulations on receiving the Leader Medal!"
"You are the second person in the Black Steel Shelter to receive one of the three prizes. You are also the youngest person to do so. Not only have you received a great honor, but you have also made history," Molin said.
Qi Yuan suppressed the waves in his heart, after expressing his gratitude to Ming Ming and Molin, he glanced at the center of the long table. The light of the checkpoint was right in front of him, the door to rank 4 was already open for him.
"The battle between the frontlines and the Mechanical Palace is intense, so I can't give you the award at the Gate of Truth. Grandmaster asked me to express his apologies!" Ming Ming said.
"I'm too weak, Grandmaster is considering my safety," Qi Yuan said.
Ming Ming nodded. Qi Yuan was so tactful, this kind of EQ didn't seem like a typical researcher at all.
"For the Leader Medal this time, other than you, Feng Qian also touched the threshold. In the end, the committee members voted and chose your thesis. In order to prevent Feng Qian from losing his composure, today's award ceremony didn't have much fanfare. The only witness is Chief Molin, I hope you can understand," Ming Ming said.
Qi Yuan shrugged.
I could understand it all too well. Feng Qian was about to explode on the spot!
Ming Ming took out an exquisite pure white wooden box. After opening it, there was a golden badge lying quietly inside. The badge was engraved with fine patterns, and it was filled with a mysterious beauty.
"This is the medal that Councilman Qin personally made for you," Ming Ming said.
"This medal is an Intermediate Energy Creation. It can store all kinds of energy and then release it in two ways. The first way is to turn it into an energy shield to resist the enemy's attack. The second way is to turn it into an energy spear to attack the enemy."
It doesn't sound like anything special, Qi Yuan thought to himself.
Qi Yuan picked up the badge and observed it for a while, but he didn't find anything powerful about it.
Ming Ming seemed to have seen through Qi Yuan's thoughts and said, "It might be more powerful than you think. You can try it first."
Qi Yuan raised his eyebrows. This is an Intermediate Energy Creation. Can I try it now?
However, since Ming Ming said so, he must have his reasons.
Qi Yuan tried to inject a strand of energy into it. He saw the golden badge turn azure in an instant. At the same time, an energy shield flashing with blue lightning appeared around him, like an eggshell covering him.
Qi Yuan felt the strength of the energy shield and found that it could actually withstand his full power attack!
His attack was enough to destroy any Third Stage. How could this energy shield be so strong?!
Very quickly, Qi Yuan realized that this was not its limit!
Qi Yuan tried to inject more energy into it. The strength of the energy shield could be seen with the naked eye.
The strength of the energy shield was completely dependent on the amount of energy he injected. Moreover, he couldn't find out its limit!
"According to Councilman Qin's design, its strongest defense can withstand the full power attack of a Fifth Stage powerhouse," Ming Ming said.
"Of course, if you want to control the energy shield of this strength, your strength must at least reach the Fourth Stage."
Qi Yuan nodded. Right now, he was still only at the third rank. No matter how powerful this emblem was, it still couldn't allow a third rank ability user to cross two ranks and block a fifth rank powerhouse's full power attack.
This was something even Blazing Angels couldn't do.
Qi Yuan dispersed the energy shield and switched it to attack mode.
Just like the energy shield, the energy spear's attack strength was directly proportional to the energy input. He couldn't find out its limit either.
Ming Ming said, "The upper limit of the energy spear's attack is also the full power attack of a Fifth Stage powerhouse."
Qi Yuan smiled. This badge came at the perfect time. It was worthy of being the symbol of the highest honor in the Energy Domain.
He had already completed all the Third Stage check-ins and could advance to the Fourth Stage at any time. With the strength of his innate ability, his Fourth Stage ability wouldn't be weak. When he advanced to the Fourth Stage, he should be considered a powerhouse among the Fourth Stage. With this badge, even if he faced a Fifth Stage powerhouse, he would be able to fight.
Moreover, he had Energy Control and the existence of Blazing Angels, which could perfectly match the display of this badge. He could use both the energy shield and the energy spear continuously.
This was the truly terrifying part of this badge!
"Councilman Qin told me that in order to thank you for your contribution to the Annihilation Weapon, this badge can not only carry any energy below the Fifth Stage, but also the power of annihilation."
Qi Yuan's heart was moved. Since this badge could carry the power of annihilation, it could only mean one thing. When Councilman Qin made it, he optimized the energy matrix inside the weapon.
As expected of a top researcher, he actually understood the energy matrix he designed for the power of annihilation in such a short time!
This function didn't seem very useful normally, but when the enemy was a machine, its power would make the enemy tremble.
When he stepped into the Fourth Stage and used the power of annihilation to condense the energy spear, all machines below the Fifth Stage would have no defense in front of him.
"Please thank Councilman Qin for me," Qi Yuan said sincerely.
"The one who should be thanking is you!" Ming Ming said.
"The Mechanical Palace's machines are too powerful!
They pressured our soldiers on the frontline to the point that they couldn't breathe. After several clashes, we paid a lot of casualties. The appearance of the Annihilation Weapon is enough to reverse the situation on the frontline!
This result of your work has saved the lives of many soldiers! "
Molin looked at Qi Yuan with a smile.
"In every laboratory, there is a convention. Every winner of the Three Great Awards, whether he is a Third Stage, Second Stage, or First Stage researcher, can be directly promoted to a Fourth Stage researcher."
"So, congratulations!
You have broken the record of being the youngest Fourth Stage researcher held by Tanqiu! "
Qi Yuan silently calculated in his heart. After he stepped into the Black Steel Shelter as an assistant researcher and published a paper, he directly jumped from a First Stage researcher to a Second Stage researcher.
After receiving the Leader's Medal, he jumped from a Third Stage researcher to a Fourth Stage researcher.
With just two papers, he had jumped three levels from an assistant researcher to a Fourth Stage researcher.
Not only was this record unprecedented, it would probably never be broken in the future!
"After you go back today, you can choose a floor below the twentieth floor to be your independent laboratory," Molin said.
"According to the rules, Fourth Stage researchers need to take the initiative to apply and file with the Academic Committee, so your official promotion will have to wait for a few days. You don't need to worry about these procedures, someone will take care of it for you. You just need to wait patiently."
Qi Yuan smiled slightly. Unknowingly, he was already standing at the top of the pyramid that was the Black Steel Shelter. The benefits of authority were slowly showing.
"The Mechanical Palace will soon see your paper and will definitely see you as a thorn in their side. They will definitely think of ways to eliminate you. For your safety, you must advance to Fourth Stage as soon as possible. Only after you advance to Fourth Stage will you barely have the ability to protect yourself," Molin said.
Qi Yuan nodded.
"Committee Member Tanqiu has already told me that I am prepared to advance to Fourth Stage."
"In that case, I will arrange for your subsequent advancement," Molin said.
"According to the rules, Fourth Stage researchers are already qualified to apply for the Three Star Glory Trial. Although your Fourth Stage researcher evaluation has not been finalized, I can help you apply for the Three Star Glory Trial in advance."
"Thank you, Chief," Qi Yuan said.
"If you have no other arrangements, your Glory Trial will be temporarily set for ten days later," Molin said.
Ten days later?
Qi Yuan's heart skipped a beat. Given Molin's status, applying for a three-star Glory trial for him definitely wouldn't take 10 days. Therefore, he wanted to use him to lure out the hidden spy from the Mechanical Empire!
Using me, a Stage 3 ability user, to fish for a spy from the Mech Dynasty, doesn't your conscience hurt at all?
Qi Yuan silently complained in his heart.
However, Qi Yuan did not refuse. Not only did he have the Blazing Angel as his trump card, but he could also complete his advancement at any time. If the spy really took the bait, even if the other party broke through Molin's trap, he could still give the other party a huge surprise.
Thus, the Leader's Medal that had been vacant for five years was awarded in the simplest way in the board of directors' hall.
Before leaving the board of directors' hall, Qi Yuan walked around the long table and took the opportunity to complete the last check-in.
"You have completed your check-in!
You have received a Third Stage talent point!
You have received a shattered Fourth Stage Entry Pass! "
The familiar feedback came as expected!
The two shattered Fourth Stage Entry Passes quickly merged together. Then, the fog that shrouded the Fourth Stage talent quietly dispersed.
From then on, the door to Fourth Stage was completely open to Qi Yuan. There were no longer any obstacles.
Qi Yuan could not help but look at the Fourth Stage talent. Just as he had guessed, the structure of the Fourth Stage talent was indeed different from the Third Stage talent.
The Fourth Stage talent was not as simple as simply lighting up the talent tree. The Fourth Stage talent tree also had differences between core Fourth Stage abilities and non-core Fourth Stage abilities.
Every core Fourth Stage ability required the support of many low-level abilities.
Non-core Fourth Stage abilities did not require any prerequisites!
Seeing Qi Yuan walk around the long table, Molin thought that Qi Yuan also wanted to enter the board of directors. He smiled and said, "You're still young.
Although you're already the youngest Fourth Stage researcher in the laboratory and one of the only two winners of the Three Great Awards, your foundation is too shallow and your personal strength is too weak. Therefore, you can't enter the board of directors for now.
You still need time to accumulate personal strength!
"The individual strength I'm talking about is not only your individual strength, but also your supporters and followers."
The reason why the eleven of us in the shelter can become the board of directors is not because we're strong individually, but because we have a complicated network of relationships behind us. The real support for us to enter the board of directors is the people we recruited and recruited. We've already formed a community of interests.
In the competition for the board of directors, the collective strength is more important than the individual strength! "
Qi Yuan shook his head.
"I'm not in the mood to chase after the board of directors. What I'm interested in is experimental research and individual strength!"
After the three of them chatted for a while, Ming Ming got up and said goodbye.
"It's a long journey from the Gate of Truth to here. Why don't you stay for a few more days?" Molin asked.
Ming Ming shook his head.
"Before leaving the Gate of Truth, I've already received orders to rush to the frontline after the award."
"With the publication of this issue of Truth, the Mechanical King Court should also be aware of the threat of the annihilation weapons. So, they'll definitely attack us before we can mass equip the annihilation weapons."
"The pressure on the frontline is too great. Every minute I delay, there might be a soldier dying under the Mechanical King Court's attack."
Molin nodded with a serious expression.
The Mechanical King Court's fighting style had always been aggressive. They were very likely to do so. Not only the frontline at the Gate of Truth, but also the frontline of the Black Steel Shelter. They had to be prepared to defend themselves.
"I'll give you a ride!" Molin said.
Ming Ming nodded and did not refuse.
The door of the board of directors' hall slowly opened, and the three of them walked out side by side.
Feng Qian's gaze swept past the three of them and landed directly on Qi Yuan's chest.
There, he was wearing a shining golden badge!
The Leader's Badge!
Feng Qian could not help but be dazed.
Although he had already expected this, when he saw Qi Yuan wearing this badge with his own eyes, Feng Qian still could not suppress the tumultuous emotions in his heart.
Feng Qian felt that the badge on Qi Yuan's chest had suddenly become faintly discernible. The world in front of him had suddenly become so unreal. The Leader's Medal that he had painstakingly pursued and worked so hard for so many years had actually been worn on the chest of a level two researcher.
Feng Qian felt a great sense of irony and humiliation.
Feng Qian only came back to his senses after Qi Yuan's back disappeared from his sight.
Most of the level three researchers that gathered around had already left. Only a few of his most loyal subordinates did not leave.
Feng Qian, whose face was pale, looked around.
From the eyes of the remaining few people, he could only see fear and regret.
Feng Qian opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, all the words turned into a knot in his chest. He could not say a single word.
Feng Qian's vision suddenly turned black, and his entire body fell straight to the ground. The few people around him who were also in a daze even forgot to support him. It was only when Feng Qian fell to the ground that they seemed to wake up from a dream and immediately surrounded him.