Chapter 231: Since I’m Leaving, Might as Well Blow Up the Steel Brotherhood

After annihilating all the Level 1 Sanctuaries in succession, the mutants of the Steel Brotherhood were in high spirits, despite their immense casualties.

It was as if they were dazzled by the victories before them, advancing triumphantly without any regard for their losses.

Meanwhile, the pureblood Sanctuary factions, panicked by the complete annihilation of the Level 1 Sanctuaries, fell into disarray and began fighting on their own.

They didn’t even understand what had happened. A war that had been in their favor suddenly turned into a desperate rout.

By the time they recovered, the Level 2 Sanctuaries had been wiped out as well.

This time, they were utterly dumbfounded.

Normally, Level 3 Sanctuaries were considered just mid-tier forces. But now, they were suddenly expected to carry the banner.

Of course, they couldn’t handle it. With their morale shattered, they ceased to be a cohesive force on the spot.

Qi Suian, on the other hand, had profited immensely from this wave of events. With a massive number of Fireseeds as fuel, the Tai Sui God’s armor value shot up rapidly.

A preliminary estimate suggested he had enough for at least three evolutions.

However, Qi Suian didn’t plan to use these three evolutions. He was saving them for the next Doomsday World.

This was to avoid being hampered again by a harsh environment and high difficulty.

Although he had reached a reluctant truce with the Doomsday Game, its desire to see him dead had never wavered.

’He couldn’t entrust his life to the Doomsday Game. Relying on himself was the only way to survive longer.’

"What a shame I couldn’t kill Bruce," Qi Suian said with regret.

During their many collaborations, he had tried to ambush him more than once, but Bruce’s vigilance was incredibly high. Qi Suian had never succeeded.

But despite these failures, Bruce’s reaction afterward was always to make a big show of it before letting the matter drop.

He was remarkably tolerant of Qi Suian’s actions.

’But the more tolerant Bruce was, the more certain Qi Suian became that Bruce had a grand scheme involving him. Otherwise, how could he have endured it for this long?’

’It’s not like Qi Suian was his father. Why on earth would he put up with so much from him?’

As a result, his actions grew even more brazen.

Bruce, in contrast, rarely flew into a rage.

’This was getting on Qi Suian’s nerves. If Bruce had a scheme, he should just get on with it instead of dragging things out.’

’Therefore, he thought, why not detonate the explosives in the Steel Brotherhood?’

’He had been in the Steel Brotherhood for so long; how could he not have taken some precautions?’

While the explosives weren’t enough to blow the entire Steel Brotherhood sky-high, they were all placed on load-bearing structures.

Once detonated, the entire Steel Brotherhood was guaranteed to be reduced to a pile of rubble.

Striking first would not only destroy the entire Steel Brotherhood but also deal a blow to Bruce to some extent.

After all, watching his life’s work turn to ruin, it would be a lie to say he wouldn’t be angry.

It might even expose some of Bruce’s weaknesses, which Qi Suian could then logically exploit to kill him.

’It’s been long enough. The preparations should be about complete,’ Qi Suian mused, fiddling with the Immortal Emperor’s Fireseed in his hand. He had no plans to use this Level 1 Fireseed as fuel for now.

Instead, he was preparing to use it as the key to the Triumphant Eden.

That had been the plan all along.

"Speak of the devil. That was fast." Qi Suian casually stored away the Immortal Emperor’s Fireseed.

Just then, Bruce pushed the door open and entered. His expression was... unreadable. How could you read any expression on a skull?

"It’s about time. We should be going," Bruce said directly, wasting no time on pleasantries.

Qi Suian looked seriously at Bruce’s skull head and then said with a grave expression, "Before we leave, can I ask you a question?"

Seeing Qi Suian’s demeanor, Bruce grew suspicious. ’Could this be about something important?’

"Fine, ask away," Bruce agreed, though he resolved to be selective in his answers.

"I’ve been trying to figure this out. How does a skull like you make sounds? You don’t have vocal cords. It seems a bit unscientific," Qi Suian asked, finally voicing the question that had been on his mind.

They were about to head to the Triumphant Eden, and he was certain they would end up turning on each other.

So, before that happened, Qi Suian figured he might as well get his curiosity satisfied. Otherwise, even if he asked later, Bruce wouldn’t answer him.

Faced with Qi Suian’s question, Bruce fell silent.

If he weren’t a skull head right now, but had the face of a normal person, his expression would surely be a sight to behold.

Bruce would never in a million years have imagined Qi Suian would ask such a bizarre question.

"I’ve observed you. Your voice isn’t produced through air vibrations, and it’s also not..." Seeing that Bruce wasn’t answering, Qi Suian pressed on.

"It’s my soul," Bruce interrupted. "My former power involved the soul. You know of the Skeleton Soldiers among the Undead? I use their method of vocalization."

Bruce understood now. If he didn’t give him an answer, Qi Suian would never let it go.

Of course, he could have chosen not to answer, but then Qi Suian could have chosen not to leave.

The man was using this opportunity to corner him.

"Would you mind giving me a—" Qi Suian’s Spirit surged. ’The power of the soul, he wanted it!’

"No. This is a power from a profession in the Era of Lords," Bruce refused without hesitation. "Unless you become a lord in the Era of Lords, I can’t give it to you."

"Besides, the Doomsday Game backing you is sure to have similar abilities. You could just get it from there."

"You and I have never been part of the same system. Our Extraordinary powers are not compatible."

’Hearing this, Qi Suian had no intention of giving up. Now that he’d started coveting it, how could he give up halfway?’

’But on second thought, the chances of obtaining it were slim. After all, Bruce’s head and right arm were truly powerful.’

’Unless he used the Floating Cannons, his chances of winning were too low.’

’That was precisely why Qi Suian wanted those two body parts—they would surely make for potent fuel.’

’As for using them as modules? That was clearly problematic. With a soul dwelling within, they definitely couldn’t be used as modules.’

’Besides, Qi Suian hadn’t done any research into souls yet.’

’He wasn’t sure if Death Reforging could counter soul attacks like possession.’

’So, it was best not to take risks. He should aim for a direct kill whenever possible.’

"Alright, I won’t press the issue," Qi Suian said, feigning surrender and hiding his true intentions for the time being. He then asked, "Before we leave, would you mind sharing some intel on the Triumphant Eden?"

"And while you’re at it, tell me your plan so I can be prepared."

In response to Qi Suian’s words, Bruce spoke directly.

"Thanks to my efforts, the Triumphant Eden has been restored from its original twelve fragments into the Black Crystal City."

"It is supported by radiation nodes—what the purebloods and mutants call forbidden zones—and exists in a spatial crevice."

"Those complacent traitors and their descendants have already become a part of the Black Crystal City."

"If they were to appear in the wasteland, they would be the so-called Wasteland Kings, comparable to a Level 1 Fireseed."

"Our goal is simple: kill the leader of these Wasteland Kings," Bruce said. "The creator of the Fireseeds."

After hearing this, Qi Suian was speechless.

"Do you think things aren’t hard enough, so you’re deliberately raising the difficulty for yourself?" ’This guy has to be insane,’ Qi Suian thought.

’It was already divided into twelve separate areas. Couldn’t they have just cleared them out one by one?’

’But no, you just had to restore it, cranking the dungeon’s difficulty up to a level that even Bruce himself couldn’t handle.’

"The one who did it was another part of me—an obsession formed from my dismemberment." It wasn’t that Bruce didn’t understand this; he simply couldn’t control it.

"Then what about the rest of your bones? Are they scattered, or are they in the hands of certain Wasteland Kings?" Qi Suian continued to ask.

’He finally understood why they couldn’t find the radiation source in the forbidden zones back then. It was because the source was emanating from within a spatial crevice.’

’Neither he nor the Tai Sui God had much experience with spatial phenomena, which was why they couldn’t find it.’

"They’re in... the hands of the Wasteland Kings’ leader," Bruce said hesitantly.

Qi Suian’s eyes widened. ’The final boss has end-game gear? Ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous.’

’Is the boss on the other side the protagonist of this world or something? How else could he be so strong?’

"Forget it, let’s go," Qi Suian said, thinking, ’If I can’t beat the enemy, I can still make a quick escape, right?’

"There’s more intel. I’ll tell you on the way. It will take some time to get there," Bruce said, leading Qi Suian away.

The two of them soon left the Steel Brotherhood without taking anyone else.

The mutants’ strength was too low; they weren’t even qualified to be cannon fodder and would only be a burden.

「About half an hour later.」

Cummings received a report.

"Strange noises, and quite a few of them? What could that be?" Cummings wondered, then notified the engineering department to run a check.

’Don’t tell me they cut corners when building the Steel Brotherhood.’

Cummings’s expression turned very strange. The person who had supervised the construction was their leader, Bruce.

’Theoretically, that shouldn’t have been possible.’

"It’s probably nothing serious, anyway..." Before Cummings could finish his sentence, he heard the roar of an explosion.

And it wasn’t just one; a chain of explosions roared, one after another, spreading all the way to his office.

"Explosives!!!"

In that instant, he understood what the strange noises had been.

But it was too late. The person who planted the bombs was incredibly methodical; the entire Steel Brotherhood collapsed as a result.

Being quite powerful, Cummings withstood the blast wave and building fragments to escape the Steel Brotherhood.

The explosions weren’t overwhelmingly powerful; the saboteur had targeted the structure of the Steel Brotherhood itself.

"Survivors! Find the survivors!" Cummings roared, then began to methodically organize the rescue efforts.

Many had managed to escape, but many more were buried beneath the rubble.

Thankfully, the mutants’ regeneration, self-healing, and vitality were all tenacious enough that as long as they weren’t killed instantly, they could generally hold on until they were rescued.

The death toll was not high, but the losses were by no means small.

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