80 *Chapter 80: Striking Gold Just Like That?

[Skill 8: "Dark Energy Matrix". The Licker (Black Claw) can infect other Lickers with dark energy, significantly enhancing its combat power, and can simultaneously summon and bind all infected creatures. No cooldown time.]

It wasn't until the moment when Black Claw brought all the loot dropped by the boss to Zheng Mu, swathed in a black mist full of ominous aura, that Zheng Mu finally managed to wrap his head around the creature's sudden promotion.

Today's Black Claw was almost unrecognizable, aside from being a beast-shaped robot that walked on all fours, much like the original Licker. It was nearly impossible to find any other traces of the Licker within it, especially in terms of its attributes and skills.

"Little Heizi, you're really making strides! Haha!" After the initial shock subsided, a wave of exhilaration washed over him.

He held Black Claw's head, no longer ugly but now exuding a wild beauty, shaking it vigorously.

The Talon, having been upgraded to the Red Hero class, appeared to have an improved intelligence core. Upon hearing Zheng Mu's praise, it excitedly wagged its head and then, as if recalling something, let out a roar.

With a kingly roar that reverberated throughout the chaotic secret realm, the surrounding Lickers obediently approached Black Claw and prostrated on the ground.

The latter's energy suddenly surged, sending out strands of dark energy that instantaneously infused the bodies of these Lickers.

In just a blink of an eye, the Lickers, originally standard silver and white, were coated in black, with dark energy similar to Black Claw emanating from their bodies.

But it wasn't over yet.

As Zheng Mu's shadow quivered, Black Claw darted into it. Before Zheng Mu could react, the Lickers affected by Black Claw's [Dark Energy Matrix] charged into the shadow beneath his feet one after another.

"Damn!"

Suddenly, Zheng Mu understood the binding effect mentioned in the [Dark Energy Matrix] skill.

Initially, the [Shadow Mechanics] skill could only conceal a single mechanical creature, but this skill turned him into a leader of a horde of Lickers.

From the perspective of skill information, there were no restrictions on the number of Lickers Black Claw could bind.

"Which means...wow..."

Zheng Mu's eyes sparkled at the thought of summoning tens of thousands of Lickers from the shadows with a wave of his hand, forming a wave of steel beasts overwhelming the enemy.

Who wouldn't be taken aback by such a spectacle?

Shaking his head, he collected everything he could from the secret realm.

Then, he exited directly from the secret realm.

As he emerged from the cave outside, followed by a burst of light, he slowly faded from reality to illusion before disappearing entirely.

While riding atop Optimus Prime towards the teleportation portal in the nearby city, Zheng Mu silently began to inspect his loot from the secret realm.

He barely glanced at the low-grade material before nonchalantly tossing it into storage.

Firstly, there were gem fragments dropped by the seven cult members...

There were seven glowing orbs of Purple Rare-level light. The moment Mu brought them out, they shone brightly, merging together.

"[Aspia Orb]: A Purple Rare-level special artifact, one of the passcodes to the underground world. Holding this artifact allows for unhindered entry into the underground world. Note: It has an internal tracking system, please avoid being detected by the Aspia cultists."

Zheng Mu scrunched up his eyebrows. The underground world? What was that place?

Aside from this mysterious underground world, Zheng Mu also remembered seeing three items when he was collecting materials at the resource office. They all seemed to originate from a place called a different dimension.

"Also, avoid detection by Aspia cultists? So, the Aspia cult isn't just a mindless monster group? They're organized and can hold their own against professionals?"

More and more questions piled up in Zheng Mu's mind. But for now, he could only set these items aside.

"[Blood of the Evil God]: Red Hero-level material. The blood of the Evil God Aspia, brimming with intense malevolent power and harboring a curse too potent for ordinary individuals to bear. Usage not recommended."

"[Soul-Eating Blade]: A growth-type Red Hero-level weapon. It grows stronger by slaying creatures and consuming their souls, increasing its attack strength and skill amplification. Note: This weapon is cursed by the Evil God. Users will inevitably suffer soul-scorching agony, eventually becoming a puppet controlled by the weapon."

"[Make It Better MAX]: The ultimate skill of a mechanic, can be applied to any mechanical creation. It has a chance to transform the creation into a higher-level model, mechanical parts, or break it down completely. Cooldown time: 1 hour."

Zheng Mu was speechless. Both Red Hero-level items were unsuitable for him. Fortunately, there was a unique mechanic's skill that caught his eye. He could already think of countless applications for it.

Then, Zheng Mu casually skimmed through the "Aspia Cult Journal". Aside from detailing some biological transformation experiments, it also contained a startling revelation. The cursed snake from the boss fight was merely a fragment of the Evil God's body. On Blue Star, there were many other hidden bases in the secret realm conducting similar research and rituals.

"Man, are these troubles never-ending?" Zheng Mu muttered to himself. Even after returning to Southwest Military University via the teleportation portal, thoughts of the Aspia cult still haunted him.

"Boss, are you finally back?!"

In the dorm, Cai Shengkun appeared to have been waiting for him. As soon as Zheng Mu showed up, he stepped out of his room, followed by several S-level males from this year's class, including Gu Ming.

Zheng Mu nodded in affirmation.

"I heard you went on a mission. How did it go? Did you score any loot?"

Zheng Mu was just making small talk, but Cai Shengkun responded with a strange chuckle.

"Boss, you missed out big time! You didn't even take your phone when you left. We stumbled upon a secret realm! A tough six-man team secret realm, hahaha."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Mu paused, his hand hovering over the lock. He frowned at the grinning figures.

"You made it through?"

"Yeah, it was a bit challenging, but only a bit...

Cai Shengkun gave a quick blink, then patted the gear that Zheng Mu had crafted for him.

"Boss, you're unbeatable. But, thanks to the gear you gave me, we managed to knock the boss out of the park, hahaha, we really kicked his butt."

Zheng Mu nodded, keeping his thoughts to himself. But inwardly, he was certain that there were definitely some issues with the two secret realms he'd come across. Both were tough-level secret realms, and if folks like Cai Shengkun stumbled upon them...

Well, Zheng Mu figured he'd have some vacant rooms in his dorm in no time.

"Boss, were you on a business trip this time?"

Zheng Mu nodded. "Yeah, I went into a secret realm, too. Got lucky and scored some loot."

With that, a mischievous grin spread across Mu's face.

"I couldn't reach you back then, you and Leng Bingyue were both preoccupied."

Cai Shengkun: ...

In high spirits, the last thing he wanted was to be compared with a freak like Zheng Mu. After a moment of hesitation, curiosity got the better of Cai Shengkun.

"Boss, how big was the score?"

Zheng Mu shrugged: "Decent enough. Red Hero Class."

"Whoa!!!"

Not just Cai Shengkun, even Gu Ming and the others were looking at Zheng Mu like he was some kind of alien.

Red Hero Class?

Who else on this entire campus, besides Zheng Mu, has ever snagged something of that caliber? That's way out of their league, right?

Everyone looked jealous, especially Cai Shengkun, who felt like he had just lost the lottery.

"A secret realm that drops Red Hero Class loot must be hell-tier. Man, just tagging along with the boss for that kind of experience, I mean..."

Seeing Cai Shengkun's overblown reaction, Zheng Mu chuckled and shook his head. After all, tagging along once or twice for such experiences would be fine, but if it became a regular thing, even Cai Shengkun would lose face.

Haven't you started taking on external assignments on your own during this period?

Zheng Mu decided not to talk about the secret realm anymore and turned to Ge Feng, who was gazing at him with admiration.

"Did you get that job done?"

Hearing this, Ge Feng immediately produced two documents from his storage backpack.

"The guild location is temporary, as per your instructions, boss. I just rented an empty storefront, it's not big, just about a thousand square feet."

"And this one, this is the information you wanted, boss. Details on all the guilds on campus and their respective presidents."

Zheng Mu nodded, and took the list of guilds.

The campus being in such disarray wasn't without reason. There were numerous guilds of all sorts. Aside from a few reputable guilds that offered support and shelter for the everyday folks, most were akin to the Sea Dragon Guild - a conglomerate of rogues and misfits formed by a group of pros.

In total, there were 128 companies, a real talent pool, all gathered up like carrots at a convention.

Zheng Mu gave it a quick glance, then nonchalantly tossed the list aside.

"Head to the Guild Management Office. Starting from the bottom of this list, register me for a guild president challenge with each one. Each challenge will be a wager of 100,000 contribution points."

"Schedule a match every half hour, and cram in as many as possible."

Ge Feng: "???"

Zheng Mu's words left everyone feeling like they were in a mental fog.

Ge Feng was even less sure, wondering if he had misunderstood.

"Boss, wait, what do you mean?"

"You're going to challenge a guild president every half hour? Non-stop?!"

Zheng Mu nodded, a serious look on his face.

"Yeah, a war of attrition."

"War... war of attrition?"

Cai Shengkun and the others were dumbstruck by Zheng Mu's plan and didn't know how to react.

Boss, a war of attrition usually means people come to beat you one by one. If you're the one challenging others in turn, that should be called... well, what should it be called?

Saying it's like picking a fight with everyone seems a bit off.

Ge Feng tried to convince him otherwise, but Zheng Mu was resolute.

A match every half hour was more than enough time for those guys to prepare.

He had made this seemingly outrageous decision mainly because his team's skills had leveled up. Plus, when he planned to challenge the Sea Dragon Guild in a month's time, he wanted every other guild on campus to be below the Wheel of Truth Guild.

In the meantime, he had gained a deeper understanding of guild contribution points.

At the Weiguan Campus of Southwest Military University, a well-managed guild with balanced income and expenses might look impressive.

But apart from the regular distribution of contribution points and resources to members, being able to keep a million contribution points was already a big win.

And for guilds like the Sea Dragon, accepting Zheng Mu's previous 10 million contribution point betting challenge would require some time for planning and preparation.

Simply challenge and defeat these 128 guilds one by one, and they would instantly be strapped for cash.

If there was a second round...

Then, it would be smooth sailing, and before any new professionals who had completed the assessment could arrive, the whole atmosphere here would be reset.

The Weiguan Campus of Southwest Military University would undergo a complete transformation.

Guild Management Office.

When Ge Feng arrived at the guild challenge application office with the certificate Zheng Mu had given him, the staff immediately asked which guild and time they wanted to challenge.

Ge Feng gave an awkward smile.

He asked, somewhat unsure.

"Um, can I challenge multiple guilds in succession?"

The staff seemed taken aback, but still nodded.

"There's no restriction on that. As long as you're confident and strong enough, you can challenge more than twice a day."

Ge Feng looked at the list of guilds in the Lieutenant Campus handed over by the other party, then coughed awkwardly.

Given his nature, he wasn't one for grand gestures like this.

Once he voiced his plan, he'd undoubtedly be the center of attention, maybe even the butt of a few jokes.

If it wasn't for his deep-seated faith in Zheng Mu's abilities, Ge Feng would have stopped him right there and then.

"Ahem, we're not here to challenge just one or two, we're challenging them all!"

"Okay, all battles..."

The staff member nodded, about to get to work on the computer when he froze.

"Did you just say... all?!"

The staffer's voice echoed, attracting the attention of the many people in the office, their confused eyes turned toward Ge Feng.

"Student, I hope you realize guild challenges aren't simple training bouts. Injuries can happen, even serious ones, and uncontrolled fights can result in death!"

"You've only had your guild for a few days. I recommend you go back, research the other guilds. Challenging all guilds? Are you trying to waste our time?"

The stern reprimand from the staff member made Ge Feng's face go red. He could feel the strange looks from everyone around him.

They were looking at him like he was a fool, a madman.

Just as he was considering backing off and trying to reason with Zheng Mu, he remembered the resolute look in Zheng Mu's eyes.

With renewed determination, Ge Feng slammed his hand on the table.

"Slam!"

"What our guild president of the Wheel of Truth has said, is final!"

"I appreciate your well-intentioned advice, but we won't be needing it. Please proceed with the challenge application!"

After saying this, Ge Feng felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

He firmly pointed at the list in front of him.

"Starting from the bottom with the Assault Rain guild, our Wheel of Truth challenges their guild leader to a duel at 8 o'clock tomorrow morning. The wager will be 100,000 contribution points."

The staff members were stunned.

Some onlookers, who had heard about the newly formed Wheel of Truth's audacious claim to challenge the strongest guild on campus, the Sea Dragon Guild, were even more shocked.

A fresh guild was going for the big leagues?

Their minds started buzzing with thoughts and speculation.

The chattering and whispering filled the room, but Ge Feng, with a small upward gesture, pointed to the list and pulled it up.

"Starting from 8:30, schedule a challenge for us every half hour. Just follow this list, from bottom to top! Fill all slots!"

Upon hearing this, the crowd was instantaneously enlightened.

"Damn it! Are all the newcomers this defiant nowadays?"

"What's their deal? Did they hit their heads on the door or something?"