204: Chapter 204 Principal Wu Tian?

"Here." Shen Ye tossed the chip to Chen Xi. "This is the core database of this base. It should have things you are interested in."

"As for this teleportation disk..." Shen Ye fiddled with the golden disk. "This is a good item; it can perform cross-region fixed-point teleportation. I'll keep it as a service fee. No objections, right?"

"No objections. Take it."

Chen Xi took the chip and gripped it tightly in his hand. He could feel that a massive secret was hidden within this tiny chip.

"Beep—!!" Just then, Chen Xi's wristband suddenly rang. It was an emergency communication from the military.

After connecting, Commander-in-Chief Lei Zhentian's deafening yet excited voice boomed through: "Chen Xi! How is the situation over there?!"

"Just now, we detected that the high-energy reactions inside the ruins suddenly disappeared!"

"Are you all still alive?!"

Chen Xi glanced at the surrounding ruins, looked at his teammates bandaging each other's wounds, and then looked at the heavy chip in his hand.

He smiled brightly at the communicator: "Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief."

"Mission accomplished."

"Whether it was the monster or that lunatic..."

"They have all—been reduced to ashes!"

In that moment, sunlight poured through the massive hole in the dome that Su Xiaoxiao had blasted open, casting its light upon this group of young people.

Though covered in wounds and utterly exhausted, their eyes were brighter than ever before. This was their victory. It was also the dawn of a new era.

...

Zhennan Pass, the steel behemoth standing at the edge of human civilization, had shed its usual grim and oppressive atmosphere today.

Tens of thousands of fully armed soldiers lined up on both sides of the fortress's central plaza, and hundreds of federal military flags snapped in the gale. All the searchlights were switched on in broad daylight, their beams intertwining at the exit of the tarmac to pave a path of glory.

"Salute—!!!" Following a thunderous roar that pierced the clouds, tens of thousands of military boots stomped the ground simultaneously, emitting a dull, thunderous boom. It was the highest tribute to the strong.

At the end of the path of glory, the four members of the Nirvana Battle Team walked slowly forward.

Although their battle suits were still stained with undried blood and their faces bore the exhaustion of days of fighting, a flame as bright as the stars burned in everyone's eyes.

The Southern District Commander-in-Chief, Lei Zhentian, a Tier 9 powerhouse who usually didn't even put the regional commanders in his eyes, was currently standing personally at the end of the red carpet. His weather-beaten old face was filled with undisguised admiration.

"Good! Good! Good!" Lei Zhentian stepped forward and patted Chen Xi's shoulder heavily. The force was so great that an ordinary person would likely have suffered a fracture on the spot, but Chen Xi remained motionless, his back straight.

"Chen Xi, and the little ones of Nirvana."

Lei Zhentian turned around to face the tens of thousands of soldiers in the plaza, his voice echoing throughout Zhennan Pass via the loudspeaker: "If not for you all in this 'Operation Star-Shatter,' our casualties would have been immeasurable! That damned underground factory, that mechanical monster attempting to subvert the human defense line—you ended it with your own hands!"

"The military is never stingy with rewards for heroes!"

Lei Zhentian waved his hand, and the adjutant behind him immediately brought up a tray covered with red silk.

"In view of the outstanding contributions of the Nirvana Battle Team in this operation, the Southern District Military High Command has decided—"

Lei Zhentian picked up a medal that emitted a silvery glow, engraved with crossed swords and a shield emblem, and solemnly pinned it to Chen Xi's chest: "We hereby confer upon Chen Xi and his team members the rank of 'Honorary Major' of the Federal Military! You shall enjoy the treatment of a full regiment-level officer! And possess the authority to mobilize local garrison troops at any time!"

"Whoa—!!!" The entire audience was in an uproar.

A Major! And a Major with actual mobilization authority!

One must know that even for top graduates from military academies, climbing to this position requires at least ten years of accumulated military merit. Yet these few First-Year University Students had achieved it in just a single mission!

This was proof of their strength; this was dignity earned with their fists!

"Thank you, Commander-in-Chief." Chen Xi gave a standard military salute, his expression calm and composed.

After the ceremony ended, having declined Lei Zhentian's invitation to the victory banquet, Chen Xi took his teammates back to the Villa No. 8 that temporarily belonged to them as soon as possible.

Although they had attained supreme glory, Chen Xi's mood did not relax in the slightest.

Because that chip snatched from the Mechanist was like a hot branding iron, constantly reminding him—it was not over yet.

"Xiao Xiao, Mu Rou, A-Fei, guard the door well." Chen Xi sat at the tactical table, his expression grave: "I want to see what kind of hellish thing is hidden inside this chip."

"Understood!" The three women immediately dispersed to stand guard, and Su Xiaoxiao even set up a lightning barrier around the room.

Chen Xi took a deep breath and inserted the chip, which was flickering with a ghostly blue light, into the portable tactical terminal.

"Bzzt, bzzt..." The screen flickered with static; that was an extremely advanced encryption algorithm resisting the read.

"Want to stop me?" Chen Xi sneered, his eyes instantly turning pale gold. 【Miracle Deduction】!

Massive mental energy, like a battering ram, brutally smashed open the chip's firewall.

"Beep—decoding successful!"

An old, blurry holographic image with a distinct sense of age slowly projected into the air.

The background of the image was a desolate plain. But in the center of the plain stood a silver tower that soared into the clouds and was full of a sci-fi aesthetic. The tower body pierced straight into the sky, as if connecting heaven and earth.

"What is that?" Li Murou, who had leaned over, covered her mouth.

"Tower of Heaven." Chen Xi's voice was a bit dry. Although he had never seen it, that feeling of oppression that struck straight at the soul made him recall this name instantly.

In the image, there was no doomsday scene with ferocious beasts running rampant. On the contrary, it was a sunny afternoon. A group of researchers wearing white coats were surrounding the base of the tower, seemingly conducting some kind of experiment.

"Test subject vital signs stable..." "Energy output power 30%..." "Beginning to inject Origin Stone energy..." The voices were noisy, but Chen Xi still keenly caught a few keywords.

The camera zoomed in, focusing on a young researcher standing at the very front.

The man looked only in his twenties, handsome and upright, holding a record book in his hand, and was sternly directing the scene.

When Chen Xi saw the man's face clearly, his pupils instantly contracted to the size of pinpricks, and his heart seemed to skip a beat.

That young man... Although he had no wrinkles, although his hair was black, those brows, those eyes, that expression... It was unmistakably the current Jiangcheng University Headmaster—Wu Tian!