Chapter 322: Problem
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The blue flame spread outwards quickly, and everything down below burned up into hell on earth. It was hell for the mutants! The mutants shrieked unceasingly as the blue flames blossomed. The flame slowly but surely unfurled outwards!
Interestingly, there was no smoke. The blue flame burned silently. Amidst the silence, the devastating mutant shrieks were chilling. One by one, mutants were reduced to ashes, leaving only their skeletons intact.
It was chaos down there. The insects that came into contact with the liquid were even more pitiful. Once the blue flame caught onto any of them, it would quietly burn with tenacity. No matter how they rolled on the ground, or jumped, or screamed, the flame would not die down. The blue flame would slowly eat into their skins, and the rats would shriek even more miserably. They would burst into a rage and bite anything around them in a frenzy, but gradually, their lives would be drained from their crimson eyes. The blue flame would continue to burn through muscle and flesh, until they turned to ashes.
Everyone was shocked!
What an eerie spectacle! What a strange blue flame! Even Valiance looked eerie, quietly hovering in midair!
Everyone was stunned by this most curious scene.
Even though the mechs were already flying high above, the heat rolling off the flames forced them to climb up even higher.
Even Ye Chong was shocked! He had only wanted to produce a strong flammable liquid, since he knew that almost all organisms would be wary of fire. The Bluefire chemical was the most usable of all the formulas he remembered.
In Lunatic Guan’s chip, the introduction to this liquid was simple. "Bluefire is a highly flammable liquid, suitable for combustion. It originated from the Fei Family." In Lunatic Guan’s chip, anything that did not originate from the Guan Family would be specified clearly.
Ye Chong did not know of any Fei Family or whatnot, but since Lunatic Guan had described it as a strong flammable liquid, it should not be a problem.
In fact, the description was too simple that Ye Chong was beginning to worry about its effectiveness. However, he never imagined that the liquid would be so resistant. It was a good thing that Ye Chong had thrown the bottle of liquid far from the school building, or he would have hurt the students.
A long time ago, the Bluefire chemical formula was a well protected secret of the Fei Family, which enjoyed a long history in alchemy. The flames burned blue, and served as a defense measure for students of the Fei Family. Back then, the Bluefire chemical was so famous that Ye Chong would never have imagined it. As time passed, powerful families withered, and energy weapons rose to become weapons of the new age as it predecessors faded into history. Lunatic Guan had precisely searched for the formula for this long forgotten Bluefire chemical because she had seen it mentioned more than a few times in the literature left from long ago, speaking of its great power.
However, times had changed. Even the once rare materials used to synthesize the Bluefire chemical were now but the most basic materials for alchemy. Lunatic Guan did not study the Bluefire chemical any further. She had much too many options for self defense, most of them safer and more effective than the Bluefire chemical.
Once, the Fei Family would only produce small bottles of this chemical. No one would produce tons of it like Ye Chong did!
The world was silently mesmerized by the quietly burning blue flames. Everyone watched the holographic screen before them speechlessly!
Mi De could feel the goosebumps all over him. He was sweating all over, as if he was in a desert. However, his extremities were ice cold. Even his heart was nearly frozen. The thought of his mech carrying such a dangerous chemical made him shudder.
All the students and teachers at the school building paled, be it those in the building or the ones in their mechs. They were the ones closest to the blue flames. Some of them even felt their hair curling and drying up due to the heatwave from the flames.
The ferocious mutants were slowly quieting down now. The blue flames continued to burn silently.
Ye Chong had already recovered from his shock. He spoke to Mi De and Fatty through the comms channel, "Throw the bottles in your hand down below, take care to aim carefully."
Ye Chong’s words startled them, and Fatty nearly lost control of his mech. The two of them moved ever so slowly and carefully, flying towards the two other corners of the school building and dumping the bottle of liquid in their hands down to the ground, before sprinting back to Ye Chong.
Bi Bo’s face was white as a sheet, and even missed a few shots. Fortunately, he lit up the chemicals in the end.
Perhaps people would slowly get used to mech battles; perhaps a battle between warships would not be staggering anymore; perhaps even a planet exploding would not be shocking news. Nevertheless, they were all afraid of this blue flame.
This was a primeval and mysterious force, burning so strongly that the mutants were reduced to ashes right before their eyes. It took only minutes, from just a blue flame.
Humans will always be afraid of the unknown.
The students and teachers in the school building all stopped whatever they were doing and watched in stupefaction.
From high above, three blue flowers burned, forming a triangle around the school building. Beside the blue flowers, little wisps of blue flames were scattered about. These came from the mutants that were burned, scurrying away madly, but quickly losing their lives to the fire. The blue flame did not stop then, but continued to burn.
The rats retreated. All the mutants retreated, running away faster than the way they first entered the scene.
The heat from these three sources of blue flames soon began to overwhelm some members of the fairer sex. All the mechs now served as transport, since no one dared to walk close to the blue flames.
The fire burned on for three days and three nights. Just as the people learned to fear the fire, some of them also began to realize its worth. They had all heard Ye Chong pronouncing all the ingredients for this chemical. When the blue flames began to burn, almost every alchemist began to look for the ingredients that the mysterious young man had listed down.
However, no matter how they tried, they could not replicate the power of the Bluefire chemical. D*mn that Bi Bo! Why record only the face? Why? They did not see how the young man produce the chemical, nor the amount of each ingredient used.
From that day on, a new problem was introduced into the field of alchemy. The problem was so well known that almost every alchemist knew about it, and can even easily recall the eight ingredients for it.
If was not until three decades later that an alchemist called Charles solved the formula for the Bluefire chemical and gained instant fame.
Of course, Ye Chong would not know about all these. Looking down at the blue flames, he began to calculate its effective range and possible applications.
Students who were left in the school building were escorted by the remaining mechs to the medical block, where Fei Si was. The truth was, no one wanted to stay in the school building any longer. The terrifying blue flame had left a deep mark in their psyche. The medical building had a more solid structure, so there was no danger of the freaky insects entering the building.
Everyone still looked taxed from their experience. Just the day before, they were but normal teachers or students, but in the past few hours, they were plunged into a battle of life and death. They watched their comrades being engulfed by the wave of mutant rats, or their beloved teachers swallowed up by the mutants.
It was horrible! Everyone’s eyes were filled with fear. Just what was happening to them?
Never had they been so close to death!
Since Ye Chong was here, there were not many casualties. Most of the victims were students who tried to stop the insects from entering the building. The teachers and students who were fighting against the rats were protected by mechs, so they were mostly safe. However, the mechs were covered with chilling bite marks. The old man himself was only slightly injured, mostly because his combat style was simply too bold. Once he began fighting, he would be oblivious to his own safety.
Ye Chong remained silent, sitting in his corner.
However, no one dared to be disrespectful to him. In some ways, he was everyone’s savior. His excellent combat skills and the terrifying Bluefire chemical he produced left him shrouded in mystery.
The most curious thing about him, though, was the fact that no one recognized him. No one knew his name or specialty.
Ye Chong closed his eyes for a very simple reason. No one would be happy to see blue lines dancing everywhere. More importantly, he was considering something. This being the matter of how to return to the planet of Yi Ju safely.
Sang Pu and the rest did not know about Ye Chong’s situation, and Ye Chong did not try to contact them. They would not be of help, being far away on Yi Ju. It would take some time for them to reach him. He would to have to deal with his problems alone. As Ye Chong suspected, Sang Pu and the rest were indeed ignorant of his situation. As Ye Chong had ordered for them to learn how to hide their aura before being allowed to leave the base, none of them had left.
While Ye Chong had supplied plenty of resources for the base, they did not include any kinds of entertainment or virtual world connection facilities. Of course, the Sang Tribe had no concept of entertainment; Hai Lian and the others were being trained harshly under Sang Pu, who could not stand having mediocre subordinates, so they did not even have time to consider such luxuries.
Ye Chong would have flew away in Han Jia in search of a starship, if it were him alone. He was not afraid of the mutants in the skies. However, he had decided to bring Old Jalopy and Fei Si with him. The old man was the most important and Fei Si was only a bonus.
As he reached the school building, Ye Chong finally sighed in relief. The old man and Fei Si were safe for now. That meant he was finally able to head out and find a starship.
Ye Chong deployed Valiance, ready to search for a starship. Without a starship, escape was impossible. Bi Bo, being a professional, wanted to tag along with Ye Chong, but Ye Chong’s unfriendly glare had him sitting back down quietly in his corner. He would not dare to fight against this killer. Besides, the fact that they had so many survivors was largely due to this mysterious young man. It would be unwise now to invite public wrath.
Zhou Jian planet’s docking zone was a wreck. Bodies lying here and there bore testimony to the disaster that had struck this place. Numerous starships were left at their stations. The hustle and bustle long associated with this place was absent, leaving only a dead silence.
Ye Chong searched the bodies carefully, and soon found a starship’s signkey. Based on the identity number on the signkey, he took only three minutes to find the corresponding starship. It was an ordinary midsized starship. He activated the signkey and opened the hatch to the starship. Ye Chong went inside. The ship was empty. Everything looked organized inside. It seemed that the starship’s crew did not make it.
However, Ye Chong quickly discovered a significant problem. He was only a single person. Even with the old man and Fei Si, they were only three. How could three people fly a starship? Once, Ye Chong did not have to worry about these problems. It was only now that he realized how blessed he was before!
What a quandary!