Chapter 9: The Underground Armory

The three strode down the stairs like a boss. Zhou Qi and Cheng Shi opened a path, giving the ultimate Fatty some space. Fatty Jhin's hands were on his back, acting like a general watching his soldiers do the battle.

"What's up?"

The face of Sasa was as blank as a white paper. "I wanna learn how to beat your fat-ass."

Fatty simply ignored her. "Did you realized that you could have ended up dead like this a few hours ago? I know you hate their guts. It's your turf. And the blah-blah."

"But what are we here for?" The eyes of the fatty wiggled, his fats hiding his stern brows. "For flimsy design? What if you died?"

With her mouth agape, Sasa wanted to say something but closed her mouth midway. Her face turned crimson like a freshly picked tomato. Her self-righteous anger, gone after getting reprimanded. She resembled a shriveled eggplant.

Though she was a boar, she was not stupid. Fatty was teaching her something that could not be learned in common schools.

A life lesson.

She sat and bowed her head.

"I'm sorry." She sat on the floor and drew circles with her fingers. Her head lowered.

"Will your sorry do us any good? Look at the damn face of Zhou Qi, remember that once you die this guy is going to level your whole turf!"

"Ehem, I won't"

"Just, follow me for a bit."

"Fine."

Zhou Qi threw a serious look at Sasa, putting his scary face on.

"Sasa, I'll level it." The loan shark then turned his head on Fatty with a 'was that enough face?'

"Anyway, you get my drift Sasa?"

Sasa raised her head, looking as pitiful as possible. She nodded.

The Fatty sighed.

"It's good that you understand. Please don't do anything stupid like that. Now we even owe that Lieutenant a debt."

Sasa's eyes turned sharp, she was back online once again.

"I don't like debt."

Zhou Qi raised his hand in the air. His buddies seemed to have forgotten that he was a loan shark.

"Neither do I. USI you still dare?"

[Welcome Masters! USI had managed to successfully finish the mission! Saving the video to top-secret!]

"You got nice sense USI!" Sasa scoffed.

[Affirmative! USI is smart. Even my creator, Lord Jhin praises me every time.]

Sasa rolled her eyes. Like fathe-. Wait. I don't even care anymore!

Zhou Qi walked towards the fridge, ignoring everyone. Then, he tapped something and muttered a few words. "Code: Armory."

Soon, the underground shifted, turned, split, and transformed. It looked like a scene in the transformer movies. The freezing underground storeroom flipped, replaced with cocktails of glasses filled with different types of weapons. It was a fully-stacked armory.

Cheng Shi and Sasa looked at the weapons lined up. The armaments were covered like museum artifacts. Fully glassed. A great number of cold weapons laid in wait. There were katanas, knife blades, axes, broad swords, and the like.

On the other side, it was full of hot weapons. The intrinsic design of M16, Magnum, and Desert Eagle. There were also AK-47, Mossberg Pump Shotgun, AR-15, and other collectibles.

It was worthy of being called an armory. Or rather a collection room.

This time fatty took his time sitting on the couch. Zhou Qi, Sasa, and Cheng Shi were mesmerized as they circled the weapon racks. Eyeing the weapons like candies.

"Bring out only the things you need! Put it on the side, I'll check it first. Ready for tomorrow. Oh, I don't want to hear anyone being shot to death due to heavy baggage okay?" Fatty threw a sharp gaze at Sasa once again. The two sets of eyes met, fire and sparks burned in their midst.

Sasa gritted her teeth, huffing, and puffing. "I know! I'm not a kid."

Nevertheless, Fatty only sneered before opening a large gigantic screen out of nowhere.

Cheng Shi took light bulletproof armor plates. He also took the katana. Pulling the katana out, he saw its sharp edges. He plucked a thin strand of hair from his head, throwing it to the sharp edges. The hair strands were neatly cut in half. He took a couple of handguns. And he was done.

On the other hand, Sasa took knuckled gloves. An army knife. An uzi, her favorite. A light bulletproof vest. A simple Taurus G2S pistol. Now, she was ready to go.

Zhou Qi brought grenades, flashbangs, and smoke grenades. He also brought a hammer used for construction, a heavy-duty mallet. He also picked a metal bat. And of course, some bulletproof vest and a handgun, a Sig-Sauer P365.

Zhou Qi looked at the things picked by his comrades, nodding his head. He gazed at the Fatty, signaling him to take his pick.

Fatty Jhin stood up, striding around the weapon racks. Soon, he was at the end of the weapons. He tapped something on the walls, four times. A nice fruity bubble gum came out. Four pieces to be exact.

Fatty Jhin gave the three, one bubble gum each with a smile on his face. He saw the three making a 'what-the-hell' face.

"What? That's for nerves! You're not thinking that I could join in the raid right?!" He sneered, holding the big fatty chunk above his belt.

Fatty walked out of the door going back to the kitchen. He acted quite cool today. From a normal fatty, he became a happy fatty.

***

Zhou Qi went back to his room. All of his weapons were going in for maintenance. The weapons would be waiting in the underground storeroom for now. Fatty will check them later to assure their quality.

He waltzed inside, lying on his bed contented.

They still needed weapons. Even though he knew that Cheng Shi and Sasa were hidden wielders. A weapon in hand was as good as having another limb. A wielder with his guard down could still be shot dead.

It's also a type of protection to avoid their gifts being revealed. He believed that humans couldn't hide any secrets. Even so, in his mind, weapons could.

Gift wielders could kill a lot. Still, they needed something to power them up. In the past few years, Zhou Qi studied the secrets of wielders. Checking information from journals and various works of literature. Analysis and books created during the very beginning of the void shocks.

It was one of the reasons why the Law Bar dipped their hands with information gathering. A few books, literature, and researches they managed to collect revolved around. Some documents were even smuggled from the other cities through his connections.

The nature of wielders.

The zealots.

Theories about the origin of void quakes.

The opening of the void gates.

The Void Calamities.

The Rankers and Association of Gift.

The Law Bar collected almost all the information it could get about these. Fatty Jhin collated the information to USI (Universal System Interface Program). It allowed them to fully process and understand such a great number of data.

Zhou Qi and Fatty Jhin built USI. The two of them scrapped up knowledge from everywhere. Then, they concluded everything through USI.

Based on the information, gift wielders could be differentiated into three kinds.

The first type is the warrior types – those possessing strengthening gifts. In a simple explanation, it would make them faster, stronger, and deadlier in any battles. Don't underestimate the potential of these types. Their Gifts might sound simple and too brutish. But, HELL! They can raise hell.

I'll give you an example, one of the most powerful wielders of these types could punch a hole on Everest! The only things that the guy feared were the Void Calamities and other Wielders.

The second type was the wizard type. That's what Fatty likes to call them. He said that some of his childhood dreams were fulfilled through them. But, I like to call them Casters or Conjurers.

Some could conjure one of the four major elements. Water, earth, fire, and wind. Some conjurers or casters even traced their abilities to the four major elements. They could alter a certain element or elements to their will.

A good example is those who controlled lightning or electricity. There were people controlling magma. People wielding quicksand, the air vapors, and even blood. Of course, those the one who used blood was already killed. The guy went nuts and killed a lot of people. Making him a dead man in the eyes of the top rankers.

Top rankers were the cream of the crop. They were the most powerful individuals protecting humankind. These individuals' status was even higher than any other person. Not even presidents, prime ministers, or even dictators could compare to them.

The one who dared to punch the remains of Mt. Everest was also one of the rankers. He's the current 10th seat.

Let's go to the last ones. The third type. The real bosses who decide the fate of all humans. The protectors. The upper ranks. The top seats. The honchos. These individuals were known as the paragons! Uniquely powerful individuals on the same level as the void calamities is an apt description.

Even so, USI which Fatty created still lacked a lot of info about these people. Based on Fatty's analysis, he concluded that these people were living like kings. Their gifts reaching a certain level that even science or reason is not good enough to describe it. It was more apt to describe them as a type of demigod.

These types of wielders were very rare. One thing was that their abilities were even very hard to understand. A few rankers claimed that they could only grasp in darkness concerning their skills.

Let me give you an example. The most popular doctor in the whole world today.

Lady Agatha, The Saint.

She's the 8th Seat. As Fatty described, lady Agatha bends the rules by healing what was deemed impossible. She could heal diseases, plagues, and anything as long as it was still living. She could even regrow missing limbs.

Despite not being freakishly strong, she still sits at the 8th rank. Her strength lays in the influence she wields. And according to her, she doesn't really understand her ability.

Even so, the monsters in the upper five wouldn't think twice if she suffers from any harm. They would level cities like it's nothing. People included. That's why many wielders and politicians fear her.

Aside from that, who wouldn't want to get on the good side of a doctor who could snatch you away from death? Some screwed information even says that if she wants to, she could also extend the human lifespan to an unknown extent.

Zhou Qi understood that the system could be categorized within the third kind. And like the other rankers, he doesn't know much about the system's origin. He tried asking it a few times but the system simply ignored him.

Zhou Qi knew his abilities had high potential. Still, it follows some rules. No work, no pay. I mean that it would only give rewards to those who are hardworking. He knew his growth potential could be infinite.

Zhou Qi closed his eyes. His mind slowly falling deeper into the abyss of slumber. But before he slept, he muttered.

"Scale Breaker."

That's what Zhou Qi described himself.

Ding!

The system loved the new name.

Ding! Please check your new status.