Chapter 1164
Chapter 1164 - 1150: Trainee
1,358 words
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7 min read
After the initial excitement of arriving at Mercury 42 dissipated, the beautiful clouds and seas seemed to have lost their charm.
Perhaps, on the contrary, it was the constant uninterrupted view of water and sky that numbed people instead.
Watching the sunrise on the deck in the morning, and the sunset in the evening, the day flickered by without feeling any different, as if my time and life were being wasted away. No wonder many sailors suffer from psychological diseases...if everything was limited to travel by ship.
"Today’s lunch guarantees a full serving of vegetables, 2nd District holds the Dark Hotpot Contest, warriors with ingredients can try for free... there’s a warning for Zhi Xi hiding in the front row. 3rd District continues the game console competition, the prize is canned yellow peaches from home, and 4th District is showing a movie..."
The level of entertainment in Lu Ping’an’s courtyard probably far surpassed that of most "aircraft carriers". Hence, although it was just a "small ship", it surpassed other species’ ships in terms of sailors’ physical and mental endurance.
Even so, Lu Ping’an was still getting a bit fed up...
"Too boring..."
He had never managed to enjoy two peaceful days, running businesses every day, fighting Fishmen, gathering a bit of intelligence. Although these activities were clearly profitable, he was almost bored out of his mind.
He also knew that now was the time to train new sailors and, at the same time, to carry out experimental training on the Long Hand Clan, exploring their most suitable development paths... All these were effective investments that required time to accumulate and reap results.
But when all the work was done by others and his main job every day was to watch the sun rise and set, he still found it somewhat unbearable.
"...If you’re so free, why don’t you take over some of my responsibilities?"
Xia Qin said with a tone lacking in enthusiasm, as she was now the chief instructor of the "Rookies Crash Course", dealing with an overwhelming number of new sailors under great pressure.
Part of it was the group jokingly referred to as "Mantis Shrimp Spearmen" known as Long Arm Javelin Throwers, whose numbers had exceeded 120 people, consuming an astonishing amount of spears each day.
And they earned this reputation due to their "muscle structure", those Hydraulic Muscles with terrifying burst power, similar to those that existed on Earth... like the mantis shrimp whose punch needed a high-speed camera to be seen clearly (the legendary hundred punches per second).
In fact, many insects have similar physiological structures; they are more like a "muscle trigger" or "muscle rocket" rather than the "soft muscle" found in humans.
The characteristics include extremely fast burst speed, but they are not very good at small movements and precise controls, and they are relatively frail.
"Mantis shrimp? We’ve heard of it, the legendary animal with a hundred punches per second, said to be able to throw punches that generate lightning, creating temperatures over 6000 degrees around its fists... It must be the number one beast in your world."
The Long Hand javelin throwers, after an (misguided) understanding of what a mantis shrimp was, gladly accepted this "reputation".
Being too naïve, it made Lu Ping’an embarrassed to admit that the roasted prawn strips they ate at noon were of the same kind.
But the results showed these brave "Mantis Shrimp Warriors" to be unexpectedly fierce. Although they had the lowest ammunition capacity of any shooter, with only two to five spears per person, the accuracy, range, and power of each shot were quite reliable.
They were now the core formation of Lu’s Legion and the most numerous among the Long Hand trainees.
"Do we need more Beastmen?"
"Sure, I’ll see if any of them are willing to transform."
Inside Lu Ping’an’s courtyard, the Beastification statues had always been quite popular since, for humans, any Beastification was a guaranteed enhancement.
And the Beastification Power drawn from the Beast God bloodline was also trustworthy in quality. Even if one didn’t draw a Mythical Species or Fantasy Species, it was a stable improvement.
"Another twenty spots for Beastification..."
No sooner had Lu Ping’an uttered the words than they were instantly filled.
For the Long Hand Clan, despite the Mantis Shrimp Sharpshooters being quite dominant, they are practically useless in close combat... After two ranged attacks, their arms, even if not completely wrecked, become limp and weak like noodles.
At this point, if they are approached closely, even an ordinary Fishman could take down a group.
So, not throw Long Spears? That would actually be an even worse choice. Their melee abilities in perfect condition, those slow and clumsy combat skills, are enough to make one cry.
Even after undergoing Gunner training, some things just cannot be changed.
"After Beastification, the muscle structure changes too..."
Beastification is actually a curse, it’s the evolution of humans towards "Beasts," a directed Beastification originally belonging to the species of Otherworldly Silent Mountain Range.
As long as the endpoint is fixed, the starting point doesn’t really matter for this Divine-Blood Curse.
But for the Long Hand Clan, the strength of the Beastmen is simply like that of another species... Although they would clearly lose their underwater breathing capabilities and burst power, this type of all-around evolution is impossible for anyone to reject.
"But Beastmen, their water combat is trash..."
However, in the current environment, it was impossible for Lu Ping’an to accept a large-scale transformation into Beastification.
The chances of transformation into rare categories are too low, and the four great Legions—lion and tiger, Wolf-Rider, Mouse-man—are not suited for the current environment at all. Transformation into Vulture-Man is possible, but its success rate is also too low.
And those of the "Beast-transformed Long-Handed Clan" who have completely chosen this path often quickly lose their underwater breathing traits. In such an environment where they can’t even submerge, it’s difficult to say whether it’s evolution or devolution.
"The total number has again reached two hundred..."
After several adjustments, Lu Ping’an finally managed to form a two-hundred strong Long Hand Clan troop, becoming the most numerous part of the team and also the backbone of the battlefields as designed.
On the other hand, even though many had been exposed to Contamination, the "Awakening" went quite smoothly, and of course, some failed in the evolution from "Mortal" to "Extraordinary", losing everything.
"There will be Death..."
Lu Ping’an did not hide the fact that the reality of numerous deaths occurred just at the first threshold.
But still, no one quit...
On the other hand, while they lived a leisurely life and Lu Ping’an and his Team played and relaxed, these fellows were also learning vigorously.
Eastern Country philosophy and history, tactics skills, especially various historical battle cases were extremely popular, but what they watched the most recently was the theories and research successes in Sociology.
They were not only warriors but also showed the aspect of "Civilized Life forms." They seriously deliberated whether their civilization took a wrong turn to have arrived at this moment, and through repeated deducing, they confirmed a fact that had long been known to the world...
"Turns out we were just plain unlucky..."
Indeed, it’s an uncontested achievement to face such a calamity at the doorstep; any who encounter it are doomed.
In sharp contrast were the Fishmen/Merfolf troops who also reached a scale of a hundred people, who are nowadays also native residents, and in terms of numbers, might still be countless times more than the native Long Hand Clan.
Here, a concept exists... Deities do indeed exist, and Their influence not only involves Spirit but also spreads to bloodlines.
But in this Otherworldly realm, when the power of "Octopus" cannot reach, Their control over bloodlines naturally slackens a bit, allowing these "escapees" more rationality and Self Cognition.
And through communication and training with them, Lu Ping’an came to understand all the more the terror of this arch-enemy of his.
— End of Chapter 1164 —