Chapter 273: 273, Thoroughly investigate the missing nanobot case

The war had not ceased, and after Ren Xiaosu returned with Chen Wudi from a circuitous detour through the rear, the frontline battle still raged with unrelenting fury—though once the Qing soldiers stormed the heights, the conflict had begun to bog down in a stalemate.

Yet, while other units clashed in desperate combat, Ren Xiaosu had already returned to their highland post, preparing to light a fire and cook, for the pots and pans had been brought along, and it was indeed time for a meal…

Ren Xiaosu reasoned that war was war, but meals could not be delayed, especially now that Chen Wudi craved braised pork fried rice.

Li Qingzheng, listening to the thunderous artillery fire from the adjacent heights, hesitated and asked, “Is it wise to dine at such a moment?”

“What’s the harm?” Ren Xiaosu ignited the kindling and hoisted the iron pot. “We’ve completed our mission, and besides, you see our battle still rages—the infantry regiment remains holed up mid-slope.”

The regimental commander had not yet perished, yet he no longer sought to assault the heights. The crux lay in their initial charge to the mid-slope for rear missile laser guidance, only to be ambushed by Qing Zhen. Now, any upward glance meant a hail of bullets, and without rear fire support, retreat was impossible!

The regimental commander, worn down by the fight, had grown desperate to die!

At this, Li Qingzheng said, “The infantry regiment is nearly depleted. Shall we charge down and finish them off?”

Ren Xiaosu firmly refused, “Our task is to hold this highland—holding it suffices!”

Leaving aside the peril of a downhill charge, Ren Xiaosu had no desire to court danger, for they had been dispatched to the most perilous sector, a decision that left him deeply displeased.

Earlier, the medical staff had cursed Chen Wudi, but had they considered whether the Hero Camp’s presence on the frontline was their own choice?!

Even without Ren Xiaosu, Qing’s assault on the 313 position was but a feint—a feint, yet one waged with live ammunition, merely with reduced firepower, still claiming countless lives.

A feint was no mere shouting match!

As they spoke, Ren Xiaosu had already set the rice to boil and begun slicing the cured pork.

Hero Camp soldiers stood guard over the heights in shifts, while others crouched beside the cauldron, awaiting their meal…

Ren Xiaosu, as he cooked, diverted some attention to the palace, recalling its earlier words—but Chen Wudi had been rebuked then, and he had not heard it in full.

Now, glancing at the palace’s brass typewriter records, Ren Xiaosu froze. The line read: “Due to strength and agility surpassing critical thresholds, skill ‘Cai Cheng’ activated: doubles strength and agility for 30 seconds, cooldown one day.”

What sorcery was this?

How had such a skill suddenly manifested? Though brief, its activation would grant Ren Xiaosu the equivalent of 21 strength and 20.2 agility.

If wielded well, its impact would be immense—perhaps catching the enemy off guard.

Yet what constituted the palace’s critical threshold? Ten points? Would future thresholds of ten unlock similar skills?

It seemed physical prowess beyond a certain degree bore such hidden rewards!

With this thought, Ren Xiaosu added the pork to the pot, stirring with the spatula.

Li Qingzheng watched nearby; the meal remained unfinished, yet the adjacent heights had changed hands twice already, the fighting fierce indeed.

Yet strangely, Qing had dispatched no further forces their way…

The braised pork fried rice was ready. Ren Xiaosu served Chen Wudi first—a deliberate act, for upon lifting the bowl, Chen Wudi stirred his chopsticks to find the bottom piled with meat!

“Enough,” Ren Xiaosu tossed the spatula into the pot. “Serve yourselves—do you expect the captain to ladle your meals?”

Afterward, he seated himself beside Chen Wudi: “How is the taste?”

“Delicious,” Chen Wudi laughed, oil glistening on his lips. “Master, why treat me so kindly?”

Ren Xiaosu had long observed that the more nefarious deeds Chen Wudi encountered, the clearer his mind became.

No longer did he shout “Benboer Ba” at Luo Ran upon sight, nor drift into prolonged silences.

Thus, Chen Wudi’s speech now resembled that of a normal man.

Ren Xiaosu knew not whether this was blessing or curse, sighing, “When I once heard Mr. Zhang lecture, I too aspired to be a good man—but later learned goodness was no easy feat, so I abandoned it.”

Chen Wudi fell silent, burying himself in his meal.

Ren Xiaosu continued, “At times, seeing you fills me with shame, for the flame within me should have long since guttered out. So though I am no good man, I wish you to be one, perhaps making me seem hypocritical. Yet in protecting you, I feel a delusion—that my own fire still burns.”

…

In a corner of the 108 Bastion, deep beneath a garment factory, lay a vast underground secret base. Hu Shuo had once sought to probe its mysteries, yet his agents never breached its depths.

It answered solely to Chairman Li’s faction, overseeing all nanobot-related affairs.

Few knew of the small army hidden in its subterranean chambers.

In a chamber below, an incandescent bulb hung from the ceiling. A middle-aged man sat before a blackboard, lost in contemplation, clutching a file—the case of the stolen nanobots.

The man was Li Dingding, a shadowy figure unknown to most, a hidden blade of the Li clan, like Qing Zhen, tasked with deeds best left unseen.

Yet unlike Qing Zhen, who basked in the open light and commanded armies, Li Dingding remained ever in the shadows.

Gazing at the file, he noted much evidence pointed to a transcendent named Xu Xianchu, suspected of being a spy for the Yang consortium, here to harvest nanobot samples.

But upon finishing the file, Li Dingding sensed something amiss—if mere samples were sought, why steal so many?

For dozens of corpses retrieved now had their nanobots pilfered, an impossibility for mere sampling! What folly had the previous investigators committed?

Li Dingding sneered, “Fools.”

His file was meticulous, detailing Lin Qi and others’ entry into the mountains, the Divine Machine Battalion’s preparations to strike Qing, daily intelligence reports, and more.

Yet after hours of scrutiny, he found no leads.

A knock echoed outside. Li Dingding said, “Enter.”

A figure entered, bearing a new file: “Sir, this is a fresh case from above—reports of nanobot destruction, seemingly due to a synchronization coordination rate of zero.”