Chapter 131 - 131 114 The Strange Professional

131: Chapter 114: The Strange Professional 131: Chapter 114: The Strange Professional Lu Ping’an had never seen an ability user like this before. It wasn’t about the intensity or the strangeness of the abilities… although he had already noticed that Brother Guan was among the top-tier of the 2-tier Elite that he had seen. “….I really didn’t expect there to be ability users who have all non-combat-oriented abilities…” This was what Lu Ping’an found the most unbelievable. Although many ability users had shown their day-to-day lives in front of him, most of their abilities were either combat-oriented or served combat purposes. To some extent, he had almost equated the terms “professionals” and “warriors.” “It’s okay, it’s okay, you’ll be fine soon…” Guan Xinxian, who was busy at work in front of him, had obviously broken this self-cognition of his. “Get up.” He floated in the water, his huge protective suit seeming to have no weight at all, and then with a slight slap, he lifted the boulder from the water, rescuing the victims underneath. The astronaut-like “heavy-armor” suit was even lighter and more comfortable on him than a diving suit. He walked, floated, and jumped back and forth among the collapsed buildings, as if he had no weight at all. Even when he heard cries for help from the floors above, he eventually began to float as he climbed up. “…A flying ability?” “No, it’s a talent ability of the Protection system. His target is gravity.” The senior brother’s answer made Lu Ping’an understand. “Then, this armor?” “It’s both a diving suit and armor, and includes oxygen tanks. At the same time, it’s also a counterweight to prevent him from accidentally flying into the sky. When he’s not wearing the armor, he’ll sleep with weights tied to him.” At this moment, Lu Ping’an realized why sometimes when “Little Sang” was stuck somewhere, all he had to do was knock the obstacle, and he could easily pass it. What amazed him even more, however, were Guan Xinxian’s extremely proficient rescue skills. Rescuing was actually a technical job, as people trapped under debris could be further injured if just slightly moved, causing a total collapse. However, Guan Xinxian always seemed to be able to easily choose the best rescue path among countless possibilities. His skills in underwater and high-altitude rescues were even more impressive. His seemingly ridiculous heavy armor seemed to be all-powerful, as he moved swiftly and easily through the skies and on the ground. But strangely, when faced with the attacking Magic Monsters, he would retreat at the slightest touch, showing no intention to fight. At such times, Deputy Captain Yi would usually take action, accurately targeting the monsters with the ship’s harpoons. “…Does this ship, or rather, this ‘scenery’ have no other armed forces?” Finally, Lu Ping’an asked the question. This had always been his most puzzling question: the ship had no armament. As the Ark delved deeper, they inevitably encountered more Magic Monsters. From a hardware perspective, this was incomprehensible: the colossal rescue forces were sufficient, with efficient and fast cranes and search tentacles, but not even defensive equipment to prevent the Magic Monsters from boarding the ship. Lu Ping’an noticed that this was not due to space constraints. The Ark, Little Sang, had comfortable living quarters and storage areas, fishing tools, Magic Plant fruit production, and even a small kitchen for boiling water and cooking. Lu Ping’an even saw a lavender colony that could remove excessive pollutants, but still no defense force beyond the harpoons. “Nope, we don’t really need them either, as we’re rescue teams. If we do need to enter a combat zone or war-torn area for rescues, we’ll be assigned fighters from above.” The senior brother’s calm answer left Lu Ping’an somewhat puzzled. From his current understanding, the world was never safe, so wouldn’t having more armaments be better? If this ship was his, he would definitely place a bunch of offensive Magic Plants on it. “Don’t be so surprised; this is Old Guan’s personal preference. He truly focuses all his abilities on rescue work. Didn’t you see me on the ship? Nothing will go wrong.” Deputy Captain Yi who was at the third-tier level was quite confident. Seeing that Guan Xinxian wasn’t paying attention, he even complained a bit. “…He’s an influential figure who comes with his own lifeboat. Especially in highly polluted waters, Team 3’s Ancient Wooden Ark is much more useful than any military ships. But other rescue teams use modified gunboats. I’ve said before that even if we don’t use them to scare people and ensure safety, it’s still a good thing…” In most cases, rescue teams don’t need weapons. However, this ship has no weapons at all, which is obviously due to personal reasons. “Don’t be fooled by my rank as the third-tier Deputy Captain; the one with the most say in our team is actually the crazy Old Guan, even our captain is somewhat afraid of him. I heard he had already done an internship at the rescue team five or six years ago, his experience is even older than mine…” Lu Ping’an nodded subtly, just from Guan Xinxian’s extremely skilled underwater salvage actions and well-honed rescue techniques, he didn’t seem like a newbie who just found an internship. Lu Ping’an saw that Guan Xinxian’s movements underwater were even more agile than on land, and his clothes seemed to be enhanced after going in the water. Rejecting gravity, Guan Xinxian could easily adjust his armor’s gravity to speed up, change direction, and bounce, moving in ways that were no longer human, rolling around underwater like a happy ping pong ball. The more familiar Lu Ping’an became with the ship, the more he understood how exceptionally strong Guan Xinxian was in certain aspects. “…Under normal circumstances, a rescue team with a ship needs at least ten to twenty people. He can run it all by himself, don’t you think that’s impressive?” In this team of three, one second-tier sailor served as a lookout, a navigator, and a backup fighter, the third-tier Deputy Captain was the only pure combatant, and the rest was done by Old Guan. “Actually, even if we didn’t come, he could have handled it all by himself…” Inflatable boats? Heavy equipment? Transport ships? Food and logistic reserve lines? None of them were needed. It seemed like even electricity wasn’t needed! Lu Ping’an spotted tentacles pedaling a bicycle generator! With food from the orchard, numerous water-purifying magic plants (cactus-type), and the ship seldom needing additional power, as well as being able to catch fish, it seemed fairly self-sufficient. Lu Ping’an guessed that based on the current performance of the Ancient Wooden Ark, a month of sea drift might be a stretch, but half a month was definitely doable. “Actually, under the worst conditions (no sunlight), they can last at least half a year. If they encounter an island to replenish magic plants and resources, they should be able to last for seven to ten years, and in theory, even longer…” Not fully understanding, Lu Ping’an asked about this answer that left him dumbfounded and disbelieving. Was this ship a nuclear-powered submarine? “You still don’t understand Bonsai Masters. Bonsai is its own little world, with the most important aspect being self-sustenance and growth. I’m not armed for two reasons; one is personal preference, the other is because it breaks the self-balance of my ‘Ancient Wooden Ark’. “Oh, I’m not a fan of fighting. I actually have four second-tier professions, although none are related to combat. But when it’s necessary for me to stay away from combat, there’s no problem at all. When I really need to fight, I’m part of the Protection system; you know what that means…” Well, Lu Ping’an didn’t really understand, as the number of people in the Protection system (Binding system) was just slightly more than those in the Rule System. It starts weak, and needs the support of a professional system to perform well… He might have slapped them in tests without even knowing they were part of the Protection system. For this rare ability system, Lu Ping’an had only seen some written materials. “My protection target is ‘gravity’. Even with this armor, I can fly when it’s required. Moreover, the Protection system can naturally enhance the defense capability of weapons and armor.” Lu Ping’an knew about this. As a result of the infusion of “pollution,” taboo and near-taboo items were not easily damaged. The Protection system is good at infusing their own pollution into certain items, creating such “enchanted” armors. Many of these Ability Users became craftsmen as a result. Moreover, during temporary buffing, since they are covered with pollution, they can resist enemy attacks and are extremely hardy. Protection system users are essentially like turtles, which is part of the origin behind their name. With this, Lu Ping’an could now picture it in his mind. When Brother Guan was indeed cornered, he would squat down and reinforce his armor all over, then roll around and hit everything, eventually taking flight. “As for my professions, I am a second-tier craftsman, sailor, gardener, and painter, and I have three first-tier professions where my cultivation isn’t quite as proficient.” Okay, with four second-tier professions and seven total, he wasn’t just one of the top second-tier professionals Lu Ping’an had seen; he was the top! Xia Qin wasn’t even that outrageous. Through their conversation, Lu Ping’an learned that Guan Xinxian had been a professional for at least ten years, despite only being a few years older than himself. He hadn’t become a third-tier professional to avoid accidentally succeeding too much, and because his current level of ability was more than sufficient. Advancement might not help him achieve his work goals more effectively. “My Ancient Wooden Ark is meant to save lives. What about your future Bonsai? Think about it. Think about what you really want to do, what you need, and then decide on what magic plants to choose as the main character of your first Bonsai…” “Heh, thinking about it, this seems a bit too far-fetched for newcomers. Just use whatever is available. High-level magic plants are expensive, hard to obtain, and difficult to raise.” “If you come across a second-tier magic plant that can be the main theme of your new Bonsai, don’t hesitate, join the profession. You can worry about the quality of the second Bonsai after that.”