Chapter 134 - 84 Secret Energy Path

Chapter 134: Chapter 84 Secret Energy PathThe sky had turned completely dark, and streetlights were flickering on. The port was still bustling; workers were doing shifts, keeping the river flowing. Bologue watched it all from afar, countless lights lighting up the river, cranes lifting cargo boxes, the piercing noise unending. Returning his gaze, their target tonight wasn’t there but was instead the factory hidden deep in the port, filled with blood-stained goods. "Remember what I told you? Palmer, stick to the plan." They were about to reach the anticipated location. The voice echoed from behind Bologue’s grim mask. At this moment, the two looked like they were about to rob a bank, except the bank was long closed by this hour. "I understand, I understand... but can splitting up really work? I feel like you’re just scared I’ll bring you bad luck or something," Palmer asked. Bologue’s plan was decent, but considering he needed to keep distance from Bologue, Palmer felt it was Bologue showing disdain for him. Anyway, Bologue wouldn’t die; what does bad luck matter? "No, I wouldn’t joke about work." Bologue answered seriously. Bologue found that perhaps his usual serious expert demeanor meant that as long as he maintained an absolutely serious attitude when telling lies, he could easily deceive others, like now. Part of it was necessity for the plan, but part of it was because Bologue really didn’t want to act with Palmer. It wasn’t about fear of death; thinking about stumbling into pitfalls made his mindset deteriorate. Mindset is crucial when working. "Alright, alright." Palmer halted the sidecar motorcycle. They had reached the location, just a street away from the factory. Walking there was fine, and Palmer didn’t want his beloved motorcycle getting caught in crossfire. "First field operation, to be honest, I’m a bit excited." Palmer stepped off the motorcycle; it was his first field operation, and he felt slightly uneasy. Like Bologue, Palmer was carrying a briefcase, inside of which were things he specially returned to the Order Bureau to retrieve under Bologue’s instructions. Palmer wasn’t sure if these items would work tonight, but Bologue insisted on bringing them along, just as an extra layer of preparation. He found it hard to comprehend the expert’s thinking, but based on previous incidents, following Bologue’s lead was never wrong; in this aspect, he was highly reliable. "It’s nothing, just an official, approved action. I don’t think there’s anything special." Bologue felt nothing special; if his previous demon hunts counted as field tasks, Bologue was already a veteran, yet he didn’t relax his vigilance because tonight he faced not only demons but also potential Condensers. "So, how does this ’Whistle’ work? Just stick it on?" Bologue picked up a silver patch, a communication device needed for mission execution, named "Whistle." Though called a communication device, unlike the communicators Bologue was familiar with, this seemed just a regular iron patch, dim light flowing over it, marking it as an Alchemy Armament. Bologue and Palmer adhered the Whistle to their ears, standing in shadows on the street, making final preparations. A sharp pain pulsed in their minds, a faint voice arose. "Whistle connected." Inside the Order Bureau’s command room, Yuriel stood on the ceremonial platform. With the activation of Secret Energy·Heart Core Net, the beacons previously implanted in their minds by Yuriel were triggered, establishing the invisible link. However, this communication was only one-way; Yuriel required assistance from the ceremonial platform beneath her to convert it into two-way communication. Brilliant patterns sparked on Yuriel’s body, amidst glimmering light, rings around the ceremonial platform began to hover and rotate, currents flickered across metal surfaces, transforming into several rings, quickly spinning around Yuriel. Yuriel’s Secret Energy inclined towards functionality, existing solely for "communication." Condensers like her comprised the majority within the Order Bureau. Ether surged and extended, forming invisible lines that connected scattered beacons together. Communication through Secret Energy·Heart Core Net was unstable, but under the support of Alchemy Armament·Whistle, the connection became tight and stable. "Secret Core Ceremony initiated, Heart Core Net structuring..." Yuriel whispered, beneath her, the ’Secret Core Ceremony’ burst forth luminous, and meanwhile, her voice sounded in the minds of all those wearing Whistles. Lebius, Geoffrey, Bologue, Palmer... An invisible mental network, under the assistance of Secret Energy and Alchemy Armament, linked everyone together. What was initially one-way communication transformed into two-way dialogue, constructing into a mental network capable of communication. "Palmer Clarks connected." "Bologue Lazarus connected." Yuriel’s face was expressionless, transformed into an unconscious tool, at this moment she was a living mental hub. Far away in the Landling District, Bologue and Palmer both heard the voice. They exchanged glances but didn’t speak; the voice resonated directly in their minds. "This is the ’Heart Core Net’, a unique communication method of the Order Bureau. Compared to wireless communication, it’s efficient and convenient, and most importantly, it doesn’t attract the enemy’s attention." Geoffrey’s voice echoed in their minds, "The only drawback is that it requires a communicator as the hub and needs the Secret Core Ceremony to operate, making it impossible to run continuously." It was at this point that Bologue truly understood Yuriel’s role in the Special Operations Group. He had always thought she was merely Lebius’s assistant, handling trivial matters, but now Yuriel’s importance was fully revealed. "Is this the path of Yuriel’s ascension?" Bologue asked. The Alchemy Matrix of a Condenser is like a tree rooted in the soul; as the Condenser ascends, it grows in the required direction, which is called the ’path’. For example, Bologue, after his ascension, his ascension would strengthen his Secret Energy, gradually lifting the restrictions of ’Narrow and Sharp’. Secret Energy·Summoning Hand would no longer require touch to activate the Secret Energy, or rather, the materials it could summon were no longer limited to solids. With ascension, the Secret Energy with a ’Narrow and Sharp’ tendency would have some restrictions lifted, while the ’Wide and Blunt’ would become more powerful based on its original state. Furthermore, ascension would distort the Secret Energy in a certain direction. Simply put, Bologue’s main school is the ’Commanding School’, and after ascension, he could distort his Secret Energy towards another school, thus deriving a subsidiary school. Just like Balder, whose main school is ’Illusion Creation’, creating steel materials out of thin air, and the subsidiary school is the ’Commanding School’, allowing Balder to control the ’Illusion Creations’ he makes. Just as when Bologue sparred with Balder, he created multiple round shields out of thin air, manipulating them to hover in the air or strike fiercely. Therefore, each Condenser’s ’path’ involves various permutations and combinations, and the Secret Energies that emerge are bizarre and unpredictable. Geoffrey was very curious about what form Bologue would ultimately shape the Power of Dominator. In fact, Bologue was also curious, from the seed sprouting, growing into a massive tree trunk, and then finding his path among countless branching twigs, until reaching the canopy. "No, Yuriel doesn’t have a ’path’ yet; she is just an ordinary First Stage Condenser," Geoffrey said. A First Stage Condenser is still in the trunk phase, without branching out. "Ascension is unnecessary for many functional Condensers; only those like the Field Operations Department who need to fight on the front line require ascension to continuously improve combat power. For functional Condensers, reaching the usage standard is sufficient," Geoffrey explained. Bologue nodded, although he was far away from Geoffrey, under the influence of the ’Heart Core Net’, it felt as if Geoffrey was conversing with him right there. "Secret Energy is a tool, as long as the tool is sufficient," Bologue murmured. After a brief thought, Bologue and Palmer were ready, both fully armed. "Is this fate?" Palmer muttered softly. "What?" Bologue asked. "My family initially wanted me to join the Field Operations Department. I persuaded them to switch me to the Crow’s Nest... and now I’m back here; this feeling is really awful." Palmer checked the firearm in his hand; apart from the Undead like Bologue, firearms were very lethal to most Condensers. "You thought you escaped, but in the end, you still came back here." A hint of sadness flashed across Palmer’s face, the stark contrast when this comedic character turned serious was truly bewildering. Fortunately, this sadness didn’t last long; to be precise, it flashed by, and Palmer’s eyes were soon filled with excitement. Traveling with danger, this kind of thing is always both frightening and thrilling. Bologue thought Palmer was the same; no matter how far-fetched Palmer seemed, ultimately he was a Clarks, with the blood of extraordinary nobility flowing in his veins. Palmer wasn’t a coward or a waste. Bologue didn’t think any coward afraid of dying would charge into a hail of bullets, gambling on that elusive ’Blessing’. This guy was a danger-loving adventurer from the beginning, only to be filled with fear and regret after every pursuit, then after a few days, unable to bear it, falling into a curious cycle again. "Do you need a pre-action speech?" Palmer asked curiously, "I see a lot of movies depict it that way!" "Begin the operation." Lebius’s cold voice pierced through, shattering all of Palmer’s flights of fancy.