Under One Person, Engage in Black Technology

Chapter 169 Waiting
The situation in Village Chief Ma's room is now rather delicate.

Meanwhile, Old Ma's behavior seemed off; he kept asking where his sister, Qu Tong, was. The female officer from the Yaoxing Society opposite him was also talking to herself.

The two of them seemed to exist in two different worlds and two different dimensions, talking nonsense and not interfering with each other.

"As requested by the president, I have to give you a massage. Of course, you can refuse if you don't want to."

This female cadre was articulate and spoke clearly, exuding the air of a social elite.

But Village Chief Ma has quite a presence; he now manages several hundred people and is a 'battalion' level cadre.

Seeing that the other person didn't answer the question, and ignoring what they were saying, Old Ma continued his tirade, coldly saying, "I'm the one asking you, where is my sister..."

But just as he was halfway through his questioning in this "round," he was interrupted. The female officer reached out and touched Ma Xianhong's head.

"Since you didn't say 'no,' I'll start treating you right away, patient."

As a blue light emanated from her body, a surge of spiritual energy soothed Ma Xianhong.

If Liu Ke were here, he would recognize that this blue light was exactly the same as the technique used by Lü Liang, whom he had encountered before. In the world of supernatural beings, the Lü family called their technique the 'Soul Enlightenment Technique'.

However, this person from Yaoxing Society definitely doesn't have the surname Lü.

"Relax, don't resist. This is all for your own good. My 'hand' is too strained; it wouldn't be good if something went wrong!"

The moment Old Ma realized something was wrong, he instinctively tried to remove the other person's hand that was pressing down on his head, but before he could muster any strength, he lost his grip.

After more than ten breaths, as Village Chief Ma's mind became more 'stable', his vision was no longer chaotic and became clearer and clearer.

In his eyes, the woman opposite him was no longer the female agent of Yaoxing Society, but clearly his sister Qu Tong herself.

"Sister! You're here! I thought..."

As if Qu Tong's arrival brought him a sense of 'peace of mind', Ma Xianhong's mental state calmed down once again, and all the doubts and confusion that had filled his mind disappeared.

Upon hearing his question, Qu Tong replied directly, "What did you think? Did you think I had left?"

Seeing that Ma Xianhong did not deny it, Qu Tong just chuckled and replied, "I'm still near the village, but... I've been having a lot of trouble lately, so it's not good for me to show my face."

Upon hearing this, Ma Xianhong seemed to have forgotten what he wanted to ask. His eyes softened and lost their light as he said, "Sister, Biyou Village is my territory. How could there be any trouble?"

Upon hearing his question, 'Qu Tong' simply replied expressionlessly, "Chen Duo, whom you recruited, has brought your village into the sights of Na Du Tong. Helping you cover up your tracks is quite a busy job."

Upon hearing this, Ma Xianhong immediately adopted an apologetic posture and said, "I'm sorry, sister, I've caused you trouble."

Seeing Lao Ma's attitude, Qu Tong's eyes flashed with blue light again, and she said, "It's nothing. After all, it was my suggestion that you make this stove."

"It's just that you've been too impatient and high-profile; this is the result of your ostentatious behavior."

Then she asked, "By the way, what did you want to see me about?"

Strangely, when he heard this question, Ma Xianhong seemed confused and said, "I...Is there something wrong?"

After wondering for a while, a flash of blue light appeared in Ma Xianhong's eyes, prompting him to say, "I'm sorry... Sister, I seem to have forgotten."

"I seem to be quite seriously ill lately."

Hearing this answer, Qu Tong nodded in satisfaction and said, "Really? It's alright. As long as the Body Refinement Furnace is completed, everything will be fine, including your illness."

"in addition……"

"Can Liu Ke really help you take the furnace to the next level?"

After the question was asked, Ma Xianhong's eyes once again filled with deep blue light, and he said without hesitation, "Yes... he definitely can. The furnace's potential can even be stronger than before."

After receiving an affirmative answer, Qu Tong narrowed her eyes with an inscrutable expression, and after a while, she said in a very 'mechanical' tone, "Okay, but you also need to be careful, lest..."

Just as Village Chief Ma subconsciously moved closer to the other party, wanting to hear what Qu Tong would say.

Swish!
He only saw 'Qu Tong' on the other side wave her hand, and then he lost consciousness.

……

After Village Chief Ma fainted, the female secretary of Yaoxing Society standing opposite him also groaned while clutching her head, looking as if her head was about to split open.

It took about ten minutes for the female staff member to completely suppress the pain and stand up straight.

Then, she took out a small notebook from her pocket, wrote and drew on it for a while, and when the writing on the notebook gradually disappeared, she packed up her things and went outside.

Nowadays, one or two new villagers join Biyou Village every day. In addition, the villagers' clothing is not uniform, so the female cadre's extremely capable attire did not attract much attention, and she went out very easily.

------

The next day, Liu Ke, who had spent the whole night on the phone, felt that he had rested very well. He first had breakfast in the village, and then took a stroll around for a while.

Once he regained his energy, he set off again for Biyou Village, to the location of the cultivation furnace.

It's worth mentioning that perhaps Lao Ma thinks Liu Ke is now familiar enough with the village, so he no longer has a dedicated guide.

And Liu Ke's movements in the village are indeed now free of any 'obstacles'. After all, no matter how big the village is, it's still just a village.

When he saw Ma Xianhong, he found the man meditating in a strange posture by the stove. Compared to his near-mental breakdown yesterday, Old Ma's mood was visibly much more stable today.

"Tsk, is its self-regulation ability really that strong? It can stabilize its mind in just one night? The 'cultivation' method attached to the Divine Machine Hundred Refinements is not bad."

Seeing the village chief's composed demeanor, Liu Ke couldn't help but complain, after all, the difference in the other party's state over the past two days was quite significant.

If we were to describe Village Chief Ma's state of mind yesterday using a metaphor, it would be like...
A poor old smoker, whose entire "storage" was stolen on a train, could only helplessly endure his nicotine addiction on a long, green-skinned international train journey.

As for Village Chief Ma's current state, it's as if he's picked up a cigarette butt someone left by the toilet. Because he's had some 'nicotine,' his energy and spirit have become much more stable, even to the point of being 'enlightened.' Of course, Liu Ke's half-baked description is quite exaggerated, even bordering on 'juvenile,' and that 'enlightened' state isn't entirely true.

When Liu Ke reached Ma Xianhong's vicinity, he noticed that Ma Xianhong looked much better than yesterday, no longer as anxious as he had been the day before, and looked like a high school senior who had solved the 'last math problem'.

"Old Ma, Master Ma? What do you mean? Judging from your energy and spirit, could it be... that you can really come up with a new idea in just one night?"

Liu Ke and Ma Xianhong have met several times now. Although they are not exactly "close friends" yet, they have had a heart-to-heart talk.

Therefore, in Liu Ke's opinion, there was no need to be so formal in how they addressed each other, and since they were the same age, he addressed them quite casually.

Of course, to Ma Xianhong, this title seemed rather presumptuous, especially the title of 'cult leader'.

"Brother Liu, there's something I forgot to tell you before."

When Old Ma heard Liu Ke's question, he couldn't help but shiver. After smoothing the goosebumps off his arms, he said:

"We are actually called 'New Intercept' not 'New Intercept Sect.' I don't know what Jin Yong told you, but..."

“Our organization is not a ‘teaching’.”

"So you'd better not call me 'Master' anymore. The people in the village are all brainless weirdos who love to stir up trouble. I'll accept it if they call me that."

“But you’re a smart person. I always feel very uncomfortable when you call me that, like I’m being executed or criticized in front of my eyes.”

"In this day and age, who would want to be called a cult leader? It's so low-class!"

Liu Ke initially thought Ma Xianhong was having another attack of his illness when he saw him shivering, but he never expected that the reason for Ma Xianhong's shivering was actually this.

Finding this rather amusing, Liu Ke cleared his throat and said directly, "Your organization's name, 'New Intercept,' is already quite 'chuunibyou' (a Japanese term for someone with delusions of grandeur), it's hard not to make people mispronounce it."

"And there are still quite a few people who are called 'cult leaders' these days."

Upon hearing his words, Ma Xianhong's face twitched visibly, and veins bulged slightly. He asked, "Ah? A lot? Then... you tell me, I really don't know where there are so many cult leaders."

Seeing that the other party was determined to get to the bottom of things, Liu Ke chuckled a few times, then cleared his throat and said, "Huang Xiaoming's nickname is 'Master Huang.'"

“Um, Cyndi Wang—'Sweetheart Queen'.”

"And... a certain vegetarian Hong Kong and Taiwan celebrity, Barbie Hsu, who is known as the 'Beauty Guru'."

Rainie Yang – 'Queen of Cuteness'.

"Now, having one more 'new leader of the Jie Sect' like you isn't such a big deal..."

Upon hearing this, Ma Xianhong trembled again, shaking uncontrollably as if he had been to Antarctica.

After a while, he finally calmed himself down and said, "I never expected Brother Liu to have this kind of personality..."

"It seems that my choice to ask Wu Kui to be your 'guide' was the right one. The personalities of the other people with superior aptitude don't seem to be a good match for you."

After saying that, as if unwilling to continue joking, Ma Xianhong waved his hand and said, "Alright, let's get down to business. Last night, I drew up a design and made a... small change."

"Of course, it seems you're the kind of person who values ​​'material things' and might not care as much about blueprints. So, I'll just give a brief explanation."

As he spoke, Ma Xianhong pulled a design drawing out of his Devouring Pouch and handed it to Liu Ke, saying, "Actually, the problem with the Body Cultivation Furnace has been troubling me for a long time. Even though it has been making progress, the extent of that 'progress' is clearly not up to expectations."

"And the question you raised yesterday, Brother Liu, just happened to remind me and let me know where the problem lies."

"I think... I think I've accidentally forgotten the 'key' that I figured out a long time ago."

As he spoke, a look of confusion appeared in Ma Xianhong's eyes again, but it only lasted for a moment before returning to normal, and he continued:

“Relying solely on that ‘core’ is indeed not enough, far from enough.”

At this point, he took out another picture and handed it over. After Liu Ke looked at it for a while, he said, "This is... something I remembered. It was an idea I had before. After we talked about it yesterday, I thought about it all night and came back to it."

"The inspiration for this comes from the greatest extraordinary person in history—Huang Yueying, the wife of Zhuge Liang."

"According to the legends among the supernatural, Huang Yueying's skill in divination was extraordinary, and I deduce that the reason she was able to produce such 'epoch-making' works was related to her husband, Zhuge Liang."

"I believe that these two complement each other and achieve success together."

"And Zhuge Liang's extraordinary identity is actually that of a [sorcerer]. Pairing him with a [sorcerer] might be a direction for divine strategy and weapon crafting techniques."

Although Liu Ke felt that Lao Ma's words were very strange and there were obvious loopholes in them, he nodded and took the blueprints for fear that the other party might suddenly "go on a tantrum".

After looking at the blueprints for six or seven minutes, although he didn't have a clear enough concept of the 'warlock' class, he roughly understood what the other party meant.

He asked, "Finding a new direction is indeed the right thing to do, but talented people are hard to find. I don't see anyone among your superior talents who would follow the path of a 'sorcerer'."

"So, do you want to hire one? Or do you want to find someone from the [Shu Zi Men]?"

"Excuse my bluntness, but your village is indeed quite nice. However, if we're talking about it within the industry, it might be a bit difficult to recruit people, right?"

"Or do you already have a specific goal?"

Upon hearing Liu Ke's words, Ma Xianhong nodded noncommittally and said, "Indeed, we have candidates, and we will make contact with them tonight."

"Of course, if neither of them is willing to come, I will try to find another way."

After saying that, he stood up, patted his head, and said, "Brother Liu, even if those two are willing to come and join us, it will probably take four or five days before I can modify the furnace accordingly."

"I'm so sorry, you came here to help, but it seems I have to keep you waiting for a while."

(End of this chapter)