Chapter 87: Super Industrial Power

At nine o’clock in the evening, Zhou Shu and the experts conducted another thorough inspection of all the systems in the “Super Soldier” exosuit. Once they confirmed that the battered-looking armor was functioning perfectly, their task was complete.

Despite its ragged exterior, the damage was only superficial—scratches on the polyethylene plating from testing and from monster attacks during battles. The frame, servos, weapons, power unit, and all auxiliary systems remained intact.

The “Super Soldier” powered exoskeleton stood in the center of the room, bristling with cables, and the technicians who had spent over a month here felt a twinge of reluctance to part with it. For the veteran engineers, especially the leading experts who had worked on the first-generation “Pioneer” exosuit, this was the culmination of years of effort. Who could have expected that, on the very day of its first test, the suit would be put into action and play such a critical role?

Its performance during the recent attack would be a milestone recorded in history.

And then, within a single day, the senior experts received notices from the institute, the academy, and their company: the nation’s first funding installment had been transferred. Judging by the sums allocated to each system, the first-phase fund of ten billion had been distributed in full.

This had all happened in just one day.

That ten billion wasn’t being spent from scratch. The “Super Soldier” had not started from a blank slate; it was an upgrade of the first-generation “Pioneer,” with many components and systems already in pre-research, and eighty percent of the production lines ready to go.

The most critical auxiliary systems had been prepared by Zhou Shu himself, ready for immediate deployment.

As for weapons and ammunition, they could be churned out at the push of a button.

The only real challenge was the mass production of graphene batteries. However, the principle had already been solved, and laboratory-scale production was not an issue. Even if industrial-scale manufacturing was not yet possible, coordinated lab production would suffice, albeit at a higher cost.

But compared to the threat monsters posed to humanity, spending extra money hardly mattered.

With such resources unleashed, and backed by the Grand Qin Empire’s immense industrial system, ten billion could rapidly be transformed into “Super Soldier” exosuits.

Just like the world in “Edge of Tomorrow,” most of their exosuits’ components had been produced in much the same way.

“Sigh, we’re leaving tomorrow. It’s hard to say goodbye to you,” someone murmured.

Li Decai looked at the exosuit in the center of the room, then turned to Zhou Shu. “With your talent, you should have just become my student. Your director is so stubborn, refusing to let you go—what a waste!”

“Please, don’t start,” Zhou Shu replied, exasperated. “For weeks, my director was constantly having heart-to-hearts with me, terrified I’d run off with you. It drove me crazy.”

Li Decai had apparently said something to the director, because for a while, the director sought Zhou Shu out every day, asking how he was settling into the Demon Suppression Division and assuring him that any needs would be promptly met.

There were all sorts of rewards and permissions, too. The director was diligent with applications; as long as Zhou Shu met the requirements, the rewards were delivered immediately.

At seventeen, Zhou Shu had become a demon slayer—not the youngest ever in the history of the Grand Qin Empire, but the youngest still alive today.

If you narrowed the scope to Dongyuan City, he was undoubtedly the “youngest in history.”

He was also the core figure in the “Super Soldier” upgrade project. There was no way the director would let him go easily.

Besides, the director hadn’t stopped him from pursuing his studies. Zhou Shu simply didn’t want to leave so easily. With just a few days left until the college entrance exam, he couldn’t bear to miss the chance to add “top scorer” to his resume.

Once his collector’s itch kicked in, nothing could stop him.

He wondered, though, in these turbulent times, would the exam even be held as scheduled?

After chatting with the old experts for a while, Zhou Shu began watching the Federation of Eagles’ press conference. They made several announcements, including revealing their own organization for handling abnormal events: the “Men in Black.”

They also displayed some powerful advanced weaponry, which was met with enthusiastic applause from the public.

But while laypeople were dazzled by the spectacle, Zhou Shu and the veteran experts recognized that, beneath the flashy presentations, the weapons were not much different from standard infantry arms.

Still, it was enough to impress the general populace, and their Men in Black had indeed demonstrated effectiveness, boosting morale across the human alliance.

The exoskeleton improvement team left overnight, needing to return and oversee mass production. Time was of the essence.

As day broke in the Federation of Eagles, it was already late at night in the Grand Qin Empire. Even at this hour, the director had gathered everyone for a meeting.

This was a luxury, really. With the military handling patrols, they finally had time for meetings; otherwise, they’d be out on the streets constantly.

The meeting covered Zhou Shu’s proposal. Team 47 had been out all afternoon and still hadn’t returned, but their collar showed vital signs were normal.

Zhou Shu wasn’t worried. A “Super Cat” surely had better survival skills than he did, so he let 47 roam freely.

As the meeting drew to a close, the director mentioned reinforcements arriving from headquarters the next day, as previously promised: two second-tier warriors and five first-tier warriors.

Such numbers and combat power exceeded Dongyuan City’s own superhuman forces.

Within Dongyuan, counting Zhou Shu—the newcomer—there were only six demon slayers: one second-tier warrior and five first-tier warriors.

So, upon hearing this, the five veteran demon slayers looked uneasy; being assigned to “receive superiors” had never been a light or easy task, especially when the newcomers were so formidable.

The director noticed their apprehension and reassured them that everything would be handled, and that the reinforcements were here to support them. With monsters as the common enemy, there should be no issues.

The support team had been assembled specifically for Dongyuan’s operational needs, including a beast speaker to enhance search capabilities.

However, headquarters seemed a step behind in understanding Dongyuan’s current situation—or perhaps things were changing too quickly for timely reports—because search capability was no longer their main concern.

Still, having more hands was no bad thing. With so many reinforcements, if they really did locate the Ascension Society’s stronghold, they might just be able to wipe them out in one fell swoop.

The meeting ended with everyone lost in thought. Zhou Shu washed up and went to “sleep.”

Entering the “virtual battlefield” was no different from sleeping for him. He was an old hand at this by now, so he didn’t care much where he was.

According to the Hunter, this session’s virtual battlefield would be terrifying, but extremely valuable for his growth.

It would be a long process, so it was unclear how many rounds he could manage in a single night.

For now, he’d spend 0.1 credits to play, restarting each time he died, until his mental energy was exhausted.