How Am I Still Alive?-Chapter 1320 - 1306: Return to Hometown
Lu Ping’an originally thought he had a long "holiday" ahead, at least until he laid out the political situation.
But just when he had a breakthrough with the "Fire Seed," with a preliminary plan and a prototype, he wasn’t in a hurry, yet others truly were...
"...Please set off immediately, we’ve communicated with Lord Xiuyi, and there will be a Divine Ship temporarily dispatched here within three days."
Lu Ping’an could wait, but it seemed the whole world’s grand situation and the frontline conditions couldn’t... The Salvation Army’s anxiety was one aspect, on the other hand, the Quasi-Gods were also getting restless.
In fact, more and more "flee-ers" had begun to appear.
Their departure created a power vacuum... naturally, the hostile Exotic Races would not miss this opportunity, and the pressure on various frontlines noticeably increased.
At the same time, those who left did so without settling their affairs... The hollowed-out territories also spurred a new wave of refugees and unrest among the people, causing headaches for those determined to hold their ground.
And even more uncomfortable were the "neutrals (fence-sitters)," who, seeing the dire situation, had plans to slip away too.
Sometimes, you really can’t blame them for their lack of resolve... Your front is the enemy from the Exotic Realm, and the regions to your left and right are guarded by your comrades. Now the left has fled and the right has vanished; if you’re not scared, are you waiting to be slaughtered?
Hence, quite naturally, while the Fire Seed project needed to be kept secret, the Quasi-Gods announced plans for "going back for reinforcements" and "introducing foreign investment" to stabilize the public sentiment... Thus, the sooner Lu Ping’an set off, the better.
"Alright, I’ll get ready..."
So, when the Divine Ship (private jet) arrived, Lu Ping’an could only put down his work and head home first.
"Leave it to me, I’ll handle the remaining work..."
Fortunately, with Guan Xinxian around, Lu Ping’an felt quite relieved.
If he traveled back and forth at full speed, it should only take a month or two. By that time, the Fire Seed project would just be starting to unfold, and leaving the early-stage work to Brother Guan should pose no problem.
"It’s just your vacation..."
Most of Lu Ping’an’s "companions" chose to return with him... They were all young people, and most had families. With "ten years" gone by, even if there were no changes at home, they wanted to go back for a look.
"I don’t have many people to go back to... Can you take a letter to the rescue team for me..."
Looking at Guan Xinxian’s calm face, he seemed genuinely unconcerned, and Lu Ping’an nodded.
He knew about Guan Xinxian’s situation. In the past, he had spent his vacations in training, and except for his colleagues, he didn’t have much family... But if not for the importance of the work at hand, he probably would still want to take a trip back, at least to see the hometown from his memories.
"I will deliver it."
Lu Ping’an didn’t waste words, just took the letter and promised to do so.
Still, Lu Ping’an planned to check on the situation of the rescue team when he got back and see what he could do to help Brother Guan.
This time, the return would be completely different... When nearly a double-digit number of Rule-level individuals came together, there should be few things left undone in the Ancient City.
Lu Ping’an also collected some intelligence; although other forces had many young warriors and elite members who made progress, none had seen the surge of New generation Rule-level individuals as the Rebirth Club did all at once.
In the group of senior Decree-level individuals in the southern islands who had received Lu Ping’an’s "Blessing," several had also emerged as Rule-level... They probably thought it was the result of their hard cultivation and advancement.
While validating the hidden Trait of his abilities, Lu Ping’an became even more cautious about keeping it a secret—at least for now, this secret was not suitable for widespread dissemination...
"We should start by increasing the number of Benefactors..."
Lu Ping’an vaguely realized that in a certain sense, those lucky ones who received the Blessing were also ’controlled’ by him.
Not just because of the prerequisite of two Life Coins, but also the ’cancellation right’ of the ’Newborn’... Lu Ping’an didn’t dare to imagine what would happen if those Newborn Strongmen, who had only attained Rule-level with the help of the Newborn, suddenly lost it.
"The luckiest ones would probably just fall back to Decree-level, and since they’ve already touched the Rule level, with a few years of hard cultivation, they should be able to return. But the unlucky ones... might directly perish or even lose control. You see, the Twin state actually controls a double pollution limit; if you remove one of the Pillars..."
This was Big Cat’s conjecture, but Lu Ping’an estimated it to be highly credible.
The Strongman who possessed "Contamination" at the Rule-level suddenly had their ’capacity’ reverted back to Decree-level, and if their bodies did not burst from the expansion, they could consider themselves lucky.
But even though Lu Ping’an now wielded this formidable weapon, he had no intention of revealing, let alone using it... Once the truth came out, it’s likely that no one would want to acquire this ability anymore.
"...There are no walls without chinks, but just wait until there are enough Blessed, especially when many of them are at the Rule-level... hehe."
By then, the situation would naturally be quite different, and those people would probably become Lu Ping’an’s dogs... cough, natural allies.
"Let’s go, home..."
Even Lu Ping’an, when he set foot on the Divine Ship, let out a sigh of relief and completely relaxed.
Not to mention the other Walkers, each one grinning from ear to ear, either discussing the specialties they would take home or boasting about their gains over the years.
This time, Lu Ping’an did not bring everyone into his courtyard... Those Rule-level "young talents" also needed to stand on the stage of history.
Although it was a Divine Boat dispatched on short notice, it was still slightly overloaded, because, after ten years of seclusion, there were just too many people wanting to return.
"Rebirth Commerce, so many at the Rule-level? Isn’t that a bit outrageous?"
During this shared journey, Lu Ping’an’s team was naturally regarded much higher by others.
"I’ve heard of them, the ’Great Saviors’, really impressive... Going against the tide in the whole world, if they hadn’t been strong enough, they would have been finished by now."
"Or on the contrary, if they recklessly engaged in frequent battles, surviving the journey naturally made them stronger." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎
"I heard their captain, Lu Ping’an, has a growth trait. Didn’t expect him to be so strong..."
There were discussions, but as long as it wasn’t definitively proven that "Lu Ping’an could greatly increase the chances of entering the Rule-level, even allowing the hopeless to leap through the dragon gate," Lu Ping’an was not worried about trouble arising.
This journey on the Divine Ship was different from the past, where previously, most people stayed to themselves.
But this time, most passengers were the "senior Mercurians" who had spent ten years together. Gathering together, they naturally had too many topics to discuss, and there was much less estrangement and caution among strangers.
"Hey, you going home for the holidays too? Bringing back so many New Year’s goods and specialties?"
"Yeah, our team did quite well this time, we hit the jackpot..."
With such exchanges, any awkwardness between them dissipated, and talking about returning home naturally led to many topics and generally good moods.
In the past, these people had to worry about whether there were any changes at home upon their return, but this time only a few months had passed back home, so they were more at ease with fewer anticipated changes.
The journey felt like a train trip home for the Spring Festival, with the majority in good spirits and often quite chatty.
Xue En and other "finely dressed returnees" of the new generation were in good moods, chatting with anyone they could find or gathering for picnic parties.
On one hand, it was to strengthen relationships... there would be many opportunities for cooperation among families later, on the other hand, there was a bit of a boastful motive...
"When we all started, we were roughly at the same level, but now, I’m at the Rule-level while you’re still stuck at the third/fourth-tier." No need to speak such offensive words out loud, a glance might be enough to convey the sentiment.
This put Lu Ping’an in a somewhat awkward position.
"A bunch of Rule-level subordinates, and I’m just a Sixth-tier boss..."
However, the looks from others were slightly strange toward Lu Ping’an... Consequently, most of the Rule-level members received various offers to jump ship and private meeting invitations.
Lu Ping’an wasn’t worried someone would actually be poached away, but this constant feeling of someone trying to underpin you was still quite subtle.
"Perfect, I can use the journey for some arduous cultivation..." So, he took along a companion who was still only at Decree-level and plunged into overtime work daily.
"Meow? Why is it my bad luck meow?!"
