Ice Age Apocalypse: I Hoard Billions of Supplies Chapter 1570: Shadow Troop

Meng Yuanjun's words naturally referred to Qin Qigong's unauthorized use of Houtu to strike at Chaos.

He spread his hands: "An Epsilon-class is the highest level of combat power a nation possesses! Even space-based weapons aren't as important as them. Yet you provoked a conflict between them. I have to say, that was extremely foolish!"

Qin Qigong let out a cold laugh.

"Meng Yuanjun, I may have fallen flat this time! But you remember this," he raised his proud head high, his eyes brimming with arrogance: "I haven't done anything wrong! Men plan, heaven decides!"

"My judgment regarding the Epsilon-class had no issues whatsoever. A nation needs balance; we cannot allow any single individual to become too dominant!"

"Heroes disrupt the law with their martial prowess, and Transcendents, wielding immense power, are likewise prone to stepping out of line."

"You'll come to understand this even more deeply once you take office."

Meng Yuanjun fell silent for a long moment, then smiled and shook his head.

"I'm different from you."

Meng Yuanjun chuckled: "You know, whether now or in the past, you've always had the same old flaw! No matter how big or small the matter, you must personally involve yourself in it, never trusting in the abilities of others."

"Perhaps we're both getting old now. We keep trying to control everything, yet in doing so, we often end up failing to accomplish anything properly."

Qin Qigong sized Meng Yuanjun up with a deep, penetrating gaze.

"What are you trying to say? That I don't trust them?"

"You don't trust anyone."

Meng Yuanjun said with profound meaning: "None of us know what this world will look like in the future. Can those stale, outdated experiences of ours truly cope with the world as it is today?"

"You wish to restore order and bring everything back to how it was before the apocalypse. But you've forgotten, nothing can ever truly go back to how it was."

Qin Qigong's heart trembled violently.

As an old friend and old rival, Meng Yuanjun had seen right through his thoughts with a single sentence.

He feared young men like Zhang Yi.

Because young people acted with more reckless abandon, making him feel like he couldn't keep everything under his control.

Perhaps that was the real reason he made a move against Zhang Yi.

Qin Qigong's gaze turned somewhat unsettled.

Could it be that he was truly acting only for his own personal interests, rather than for the greater good as he had convinced himself?

"When you reach Ning City, take some time to think this matter through!"

"The times are changing, and we should change too. Don't fear all of this; only then can you better integrate with this world."

Meng Yuanjun patted his shoulder, then turned and walked away.

After he left, Qin Qigong's guard carefully approached and supported the dazed Qin Qigong.

"Marshal Qin, let's go!"

Qin Qigong said nothing, merely turning around in a daze and, supported by his guard, ascending the airplane's boarding stairs.

But his silhouette seemed to have aged by a dozen years in an instant.

...

Zhang Yi's conflict with the Shengjing district had come to an end for now.

But everyone knew that once a rift was created, even if repaired, the scars of the past could never be completely concealed.

This incident served as a warning to Zhang Yi.

Only when one's own strength was formidable could they face all dangers with composure.

One must never place their hopes of safety on others.

"I must build a safe kingdom of my own. Right here in Tianshui City!"

"Without relying on anyone, I can face whatever external crises may come."

Zhang Yi firmly solidified this conviction.

Soon, he brought everyone back to Tianshui City.

Upon this return, he proactively took charge of Tianshui City's construction efforts.

Lu Keran was tasked with building an ultra-defensive fortress centered around the shelter.

And the scope wasn't just the shelter itself; it was to expand outward, enlarging the safe zone.

In addition, the trip to Edo City also served as an alarm bell for Zhang Yi.

For a long time, he had too few people around him, with only a handful like Liang Yue able to assist him in combat.

And when facing a massive army, it was easy to suffer losses.

For instance, when fighting the Ultimate Evil Boy, that bastard's personal power was at most no more than 16,000 points.

Yet by leveraging the entire population of 500,000 in Edo City, he was actually able to pose a certain threat to Zhang Yi through his Nomadic World ability!

He began to cast aside his inner disdain for ordinary people and low-level Transcendents.

Even in wars between high-level Transcendents, low-level Transcendents weren't entirely useless.

Special ability users could create unexpected effects.

And as for large numbers of ordinary ability users, as long as there were enough of them, they too could influence the tide of battle.

This was Zhang Yi's current understanding.

So, he decided to build his own Transcendent troop, the Shadow Troop.

The Shadow Project was spearheaded by Yang Xinxin.

The training grounds were established one hundred kilometers southeast of the shelter.

Using a chemical factory as their base, they built a Transcendent Training Academy.

The first batch of trainees numbered only thirty, all elite picks with the best aptitudes selected from across Tianshui City.

Among these people were the former leader of the survival base, Xiao Honglian, as well as Xing Tian and Lu Dahai.

After all, among Tianshui City's Transcendents, they were considered the ones with relatively exceptional talent.

If properly trained, they had great potential to become Deputy Captain-level, or even Captain-level Transcendents in the future.

The training instructors were Bai Li Changqing, Wu Di, and others summoned by Zhang Yi.

Yang Xinxin served as the principal, responsible for overall training and, most crucially, the brainwashing.

According to Zhang Yi, having great strength wasn't the most important thing; loyalty was!

They had to possess the absolute resolve to obey Zhang Yi's orders, even at the cost of their own lives! Only such people were usable.

Otherwise, cultivating a bunch of strong but rebellious ingrates who refused to follow Zhang Yi's orders would only bring trouble to him instead.

For training, Bai Li Changqing and Wu Di brought the most orthodox Yan Cloud Guard training methods.

Physical fitness, weapons, close-quarters combat, and special skill training. They would undergo foundational ability development as well as individualized capability enhancement.

And to show their support for Zhang Yi, Deng Corporation Technology, which Zhang Yi had spent a long time nurturing, also provided mature genetic medicines to help them rapidly improve their strength.

The more exceptional Transcendents could even receive Ground Centipede Essence from the Ground Centipede farm.

In short, all the resources the Shadow Troop could obtain were the absolute top-tier of the Huaxu Nation! They even surpassed the standards of the district-level Survey Teams.

Soon, the strength of the first batch of thirty people underwent a tremendous leap.

A few of the most talented Transcendents even skyrocketed, reaching an ability index of 7,000 points!

In addition, cultural courses were naturally indispensable.

Of course, these weren't ordinary humanities or geography knowledge, but rather standard brainwashing courses.

As for the instructor, it was the merchant Zhang Yi had rescued from Rock Stream Island, Ma Wenzheng.