Chapter 1511: Gu Dongcheng
Meng Chao found Ai Lei in that atmosphere of “black clouds pressing down on the city and wanting to destroy it.”
At first, Ai Lei did not recognize him.
Right then, Meng Chao had changed his face again.
He was now wearing a monocle with night vision and microscopic functions for precise work.
He was also wearing a work uniform full of stains, as well as scorch and corrosion marks, everywhere.
He looked like a hardworking, ordinary, and low-level superhuman who was engaged in technical work.
Among the crowd that was ready to attack, the humble scions who were dressed in similar clothes were the most numerous.
They were different from those wealthy scions that were surrounded by spirit flames and could release extremely cool sound, light, and electricity just by raising their hands. They brought their own spotlights wherever they went. They were like a group of gray worker ants, leaving a particularly lasting impression.
Ai Lei’s eyes widened only when Meng Chao greeted her in a low voice.
Just as she was about to scream, Meng Chao waved his hand and pulled her into a corner of the street.
“You have quite a lot of energy. You actually made such a huge scene?”
Meng Chao looked at Ai Lei in a different light.
He did not expect this young reporter, who was greedy for money and mainly reporting gossip, to actually cause such a huge wave.
Meng Chao vaguely sensed that the brain waves and vitality magnetic field oscillations of countless people in the surging crowd were gradually approaching.
That meant their brain waves could resonate at any time.
Once the brain wave resonance reached its peak, the wills of numerous people would gather together, and it could possibly give birth to the legendary Battle Souls.
The Battle Souls could cover a radius of hundreds of meters or even several kilometers, providing temporary benefits to the warriors within the range.
They could greatly increase the speed, strength, and endurance of an ordinary person, as well as the chances of delivering a critical strike or even awakening extraordinary strength.
They could also greatly increase a superhuman’s combat ability and chances of breaking through to a higher level.
They could even integrate the strength of hundreds of ordinary people and blast out a full-strength attack comparable to a railway gun or a peak Heavenly Realm warrior.
In the past, a brain wave resonance could only be triggered and condensed into a Battle Soul when the people of Dragon City faced the overwhelming beast horde and united against the common enemy.
Unexpectedly, they had won the Monster War.
However, there was still something that could stimulate the people of Dragon City to condense a Battle Soul and fight to the end.
“No, it wasn’t me.”
Although Ai Lei wanted to brag, the scene before her had gone entirely out of her control. Even if she wanted to brag, she did not know how to do it. She could just honestly say, “I told the leaders that there was something strange in Xinhui Business Center according to your instructions, Senior.
“After that, things went out of control like an avalanche.
“I didn’t even have time to inform my old friends about it. All the major media outlets in Dragon City had already arrived.
“Look, do you see those who are wearing blue armbands and cheering?
“They’re all members of the Azure Alliance. The Azure Alliance is driving and leading the whole thing now!”
Meng Chao’s heart skipped a beat.
According to Gao Chuang, also known as Giant-toothed Crocodile, the Azure Alliance had been formed by Broken Star Club, Battle G.o.d Palace, the Red Dragon Army, Blue Home, Superstar Company, and other forces. It was an organization that represented low-level and mid-level superhumans from humble families as well as ordinary citizens who were unable to awaken their extraordinary powers. It was an organization that fought for benefits from the nine mega corporations and the nine great cultivation families. It was also an organization that fought for the initiative of Dragon City’s civilization.
In the two futures that Meng Chao and “Jackal” Ka.n.u.s saw respectively, Dragon City, which was firmly controlled by the nine mega corporations and the nine great cultivation families found it difficult to escape the arrival of the apocalypse no matter how hard they struggled.
If in reality, the Azure Alliance controlled the direction of Dragon City’s civilization, would the ending be better?
Thinking of that, Meng Chao squeezed toward the members of the Azure Alliance who were the closest to him, stepping on a luxury car. Their faces were red, and they were full of pa.s.sion.
Meng Chao saw a man that was dressed almost the same as him.
Although he was a superhuman, he still looked like a technician who was fighting on the front line.
His clothes were full of burn and corrosion marks. His palms and fingertips were full of calluses. His fingertips were yellow, and a few of his fingernails had fallen off. It was probably because he was often exposed to corrosive liquids.
Unlike a young master who partic.i.p.ated in the underground auction, he did not wear any valuable ornaments. He did not even have a ring or tie clip that was polished from monster bones. In fact, he did not even have a tie.
He only had a blue armband on his strong arm.
The logo on the armband was somewhat similar to Blue Home’s badge.
They were all based on the United Nations badge of the Earth’s era. It was an image of Earth from the North Pole.
However, a white scale had been added to the back of the image of Earth.
Behind the white scale, two golden wings spread out.
There was a glistening star inlaid on each side of the wings.
The star on the left was intact, while the star on the right was missing a corner.
One could see that this insignia combined the characteristics of Broken Star Club, Battle G.o.d Palace, Superstar Company, and Blue Home.
The white scales symbolized the equality between the superhumans and ordinary people, between high-level superhumans and low-level superhumans, and between the strong and the weak.
No matter how many times stronger the superhumans were than ordinary people, they were always equal in terms of personality, law, and the rights that G.o.d had given to all mankind.
The golden wings symbolized the unity of all mankind and the glorious future that would be created.
The missing corner of the golden star was a symbol of Broken Star Club.
It meant that even if they lost part of their limbs and abilities, the Broken Star superhumans would still do their best to contribute to their homes and compatriots.
It also meant that the people of Dragon City would never forget how many heroes and martyrs there were on the road to survival and progress. They had once suffered great losses and sacrificed everything.
As for the owner of the armband, Meng Chao felt that his slightly shrill voice was somewhat familiar even before Meng Chao saw his face.
He looked up and saw that it was indeed his partner and the owner of a small business called Gu Dongcheng.
Meng Chao remembered that Gu Dongcheng had originally been an engineer in a large cultivation equipment research and development factory.
Later, he developed two patents and was unwilling to sell them to the company at a low price, so he decided to leave the large factory to set up his own business.
When Meng Chao and his mentor developed the Ultimate Style together, they needed to customize a few special training instruments according to the characteristics of the style.
Their funds were limited in the beginning, and the volume of their order was too small. They also needed to adjust the demand at any time according to the characteristics of the Ultimate Style. Hence, they needed the full cooperation of the training instrument manufacturers.
At that time, the big factory mainly made training instruments that were compatible with the Overkill Style. They did not care about their small, low-profit, high-demand, and particularly troublesome order.
Only Gu Dongcheng, who had just set up his own business and was desperate for food, saw “even the smallest gra.s.shopper as meat.” He clicked with Meng Chao and the others at once.
Meng Chao remembered that Gu Dongcheng was a standard technician.
Although it was for the survival and expansion of the company at first, he was still very excited.
However, when he learned about the characteristics and prospects of the Ultimate Style, he threw himself into the research and development of the relevant cultivation equipment with great enthusiasm. It far exceeded the contract amount.
He ate and lived with Meng Chao and the others in Agricultural University’s Martial Arts Department. He did not sleep or sleep for three days and three nights. They brainstormed, collided pa.s.sionately, and argued with each other. Those were all common occurrences.
In the end, the result of their collision was not bad.
The Ultimate Style ended up being very popular in the circle of martial artists.
Gu Dongcheng’s business gradually became mainstream.
However, just as Gu Dongcheng was rubbing his hands and getting ready to expand his ambitions, he ran into trouble.
A few types of training equipment on the market were obvious imitations of his patent.
They were not from an underground workshop or fake or shoddy products without a brand.
Instead, they were from his old boss, a large-scale manufacturer of training equipment that belonged to one of the nine mega corporations. They were openly-released brand-name products.
It was a big brand. Whether it was in terms of exposure or product strength, it was a level higher than Gu Dongcheng.
Thanks to the advantage of integrating the upstream and downstream industry chains, as well as impeccable cost control, the products were also sold at attractive prices.
Naturally, Gu Dongcheng’s products were beaten to a pulp.
Gu Dongcheng was so angry that he was ready to sue his old boss for infringement.
However, he did not expect his old boss to file a lawsuit first and take him to court, accusing him of stealing the patent and violating the compet.i.tion agreement.
According to his old boss, all the patents that Gu Dongcheng had developed while he was working, even if they had nothing to do with his job, should belong to his old boss.
Within three to five years after Gu Dongcheng left his job, he was not allowed to work in related fields that overlapped or competed with his old boss.
Since his old boss was in the business of developing training equipment, Gu Dongcheng’s work with Agricultural University’s Martial Arts Department to develop a special training cabin for Ultimate Style was obviously a violation of the contract.
After Gu Dongcheng graduated from university, he had started working for his old boss.
At that time, he did not have any experience. Back when he signed the employment agreement, there was a stack of contracts that was thicker than an encyclopedia. He did not study them carefully, so he did not realize how many pits and land mines were buried in the doc.u.ments.
If the lawsuit went through, it would be extremely troublesome.
His old boss also handed him an olive branch in a timely manner, saying that they were all on the same side. There was no need to make such a mess.
His old boss suggested that they settle the case out of court, and he also bought over Gu Dongcheng’s company. In the future, his old boss would take over all Ultimate Style projects.
Gu Dongcheng could sit back and enjoy the profits. He could have a large sum of money that he had never dreamed of before and retire comfortably.
He did not expect Gu Dongcheng to be like a stone in a latrine, though. He was off-putting and hard headed.
He rejected his old boss’ kind offer andinsisted on making things clear.
Gu Dongcheng had a hard time during those two years.
Putting aside the victory and loss of the lawsuit, his boss stole almost all of his customers.
His old boss even suggested to Agricultural University’s Martial Arts Department that if they were to provide a special Ultimate Style training cabin, the factory price could be 15% lower than Gu Dongcheng’s cost price.
However, because of the apocalyptic nightmare, Meng Chao had been very vigilant against the nine mega corporations from the very beginning.
Moreover, when the Ultimate Style had just been born, his priority had been the degree of cooperation, as well as primary and secondary relationships, when it came to the problem of the training equipment suppliers.
After all, the Ultimate Style was just a seedling at that time, and it could not withstand the storm yet.
If, due to a temporary price discount, a large factory whose strength far surpa.s.sed his was brought in as the most important partner, who could guarantee that the shop would not bully the customers?
Would it be like bringing a wolf into the house and letting it take over the magpie’s nest?
Once that happened, would the training cabin be a supporting equipment for the Ultimate Style, or would the Ultimate Style be a supporting cultivation method for the training cabin?
As such, Meng Chao never stopped working with Gu Dongcheng even when he was down and out of luck.