39: Chapter 39: All Actors, Just Waiting for the Fish to Take the Bait
Another half a month passed.
The atmosphere inside the "Kuafu" base grew stranger by the day.
On the surface, the project seemed to have come to a complete standstill. The two old men, Chief Engineer Wang Heshan and Chief Engineer Wang Jianguo, sighed and groaned in the command center every day. They called everyone they knew, begging for help from all quarters, but to no avail.
New equipment couldn't be put into operation, and even the first batch of crops planted in The Oasis was wilting one by one due to the lack of specialized nutrient solution.
The entire base exuded an air of being at a "dead end."
Chief Engineer Wang Heshan even took a remote interview with the state media. On camera, his hair had turned much whiter. With a face full of sorrow, he told the reporter: "The 'Kuafu Project' has run into big trouble. Some key components are being throttled by others using commercial means. We... sigh, we've tried our best, but it's hard to say what will happen next."
When this news aired, Chairman Qian Boan's side was absolutely overjoyed.
“Look at this!” In the meeting room of the Huanyu Group, Chairman Qian Boan pointed at the news on the screen and shouted at his group of executives. “I told you, without us, they can't do a damn thing.”
“The Chairman has great foresight!”
“That bunch of techies are just a bunch of nerds. Just trip them up a bit, and they'll have to come crawling back to beg us.”
Amidst the chorus of flattery, Chairman Qian Boan leaned back comfortably in his chair.
He felt that the timing was just about right.
Those people must have reached their limit.
...
But inside the base, things were actually quite different.
Everyone was holding their breath, waiting.
During the day, everyone followed Chief Engineer Wang Heshan's arrangements, acting listless and dejected.
But as soon as night fell, the entire base seemed to come alive.
In the "Artifact Refining Factory," Chief Engineer Wang Jianguo was leading several core young engineers, huddled around a few new blueprints Jiang Ning had left before her seclusion, studying them day and night.
“The Chief Consultant is simply a god! The structure of this 'Energy Gathering Rune' is beautiful! As long as it's engraved on the energy storage equipment, energy loss can be reduced by ninety percent!”
“And this 'Heart-Clearing Array'! If we install it in our communication system, never mind hackers—even if someone detonates an electromagnetic pulse weapon right next to it, the signal won't drop!”
“Look at this! A 'Micro-Gravity Traction Array'! The blueprints say that if installed on a transport truck, the load capacity can increase tenfold! My god, if we pull this off, who needs a logistics company!”
In the factory, these people were jumping for joy with excitement.
The materials they used for experiments were all "transformed" from sand and stone by that "All-Things Furnace."
Although Jiang Ning wasn't there and they couldn't produce in large quantities, it was more than enough for small experiments.
They were like a group of children who had suddenly stumbled upon future technology, making new discoveries every day and feeling like their brains weren't big enough to handle it all.
Meanwhile, Director Zhao Lixin became the busiest person of all.
He presided over the command center, coordinating with Chief Engineer Wang Heshan and the others to put on an act to fool Chairman Qian Boan on the outside, while simultaneously mobilizing the forces of The Ninth Bureau and National Security to tighten the net.
“Report! 'Anda Logistics,' a subsidiary of Huanyu Group, has been confirmed to have evaded over three billion in taxes over the past three years.”
“Report! The 'Northwest Special Steel' they acquired has serious safety and pollution issues; we have all the evidence.”
“Report! Chairman Qian Boan's son, Vice President Qian Feng, is suspected in several cases of financial fraud and insider trading; the chain of evidence is complete.”
One piece of lethal intelligence after another was funneled to Director Zhao Lixin.
He just listened and then gave the same order: “Keep investigating, don't move yet.”
He was waiting.
Waiting for Chairman Qian Boan himself to take that final step.
...
At the center of The Oasis, atop the hundred-meter-high tower.
This place was now completely covered by an invisible force field; neither sandstorms nor sound could penetrate it.
Jiang Ning sat cross-legged in the center of the platform.
A few items floated before her.
One was a pure black alloy ingot from the "All-Things Furnace."
Another was a handful of colorful pollutant crystals she had asked Chief Engineer Wang Jianguo and his team to dig up from the bottom of the purification pool.
There was also a small bottle of golden liquid, which was the essence she had refined after using her own spiritual power to grow the first spirit plant in The Oasis, the "Goldthread Grass."
These were the "Dharma-protecting" tools she had prepared for her Foundation Establishment.
In the world of cultivation, Foundation Establishment was a momentous event, not much different from facing a Heavenly Tribulation.
Because going from Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment meant a complete transformation of the person, which would stir up violent changes in the surrounding energy.
Those with weak wills would be invaded by inner demons and go mad on the spot.
Those with weak bodies would be blown apart by the pouring spiritual energy, dying a gruesome death.
Therefore, before Foundation Establishment, preparations must be thorough.
One either needed a powerful elder guarding them or a top-tier formation for protection.
Jiang Ning was now all alone and could only rely on herself.
She adjusted her breathing and formed hand seals.
The spiritual energy within her body surged from her fingertips, turning into an invisible carving knife that moved rapidly across the black alloy ingot.
The alloy ingot emitted a soft hum, and complex golden patterns appeared on its surface.
That was a defensive formation—the "Black Tortoise Ocean-Suppressing Array."
This was one of the most basic yet most resilient formations she had learned from the "Azure Cloud Art." If mastered, it could withstand a single blow from a Golden Core Stage expert.
Her current cultivation was still shallow, so she could only carve a simplified version, but it was enough to block the out-of-control energy impact during Foundation Establishment.
After finishing the formation plate, she picked up the pollutant crystals.
In others' eyes, these things were toxic waste.
But in her eyes, they were excellent materials containing mixed Five Elements energy.
Using the same technique, she refined these crystals into thirty-six marble-sized beads, exactly corresponding to the thirty-six nodes of the formation.
Finally, there was the bottle of "Goldthread Grass" essence.
With a flick of her finger, the liquid flew out and was evenly sprinkled over the formation plate and the beads.
There was a soft sizzling sound.
The golden liquid instantly seeped in, connecting the formation plate and the beads into a single entity.
A palm-sized formation plate, pitch-black overall but with golden light flowing on its surface, now hovered before her.
After doing all this, Jiang Ning's face turned a bit pale, and sweat appeared on her forehead.
With her current cultivation, creating such a low-grade magical tool was still quite taxing.
Looking at the formation plate before her, she finally felt reassured.
The protective formation tool was ready.
The spiritual energy environment was sufficient.
Her cultivation had also reached its peak.
Everything was prepared.
It was time.
She closed her eyes, and her entire aura gradually grew silent.
At the same time, an invisible wave of energy that made every living creature in The Oasis feel a sense of dread began to quietly spread outward from the tower.
A storm was quietly taking shape at the top of the tower.