Actually, if you look back at his adventures over the past year, you'll find that there are quite a few usable materials. Last month, at the camp, everyone killed quite a few mid-level demons and one high-level demon; their remains are all very powerful magical materials. Karen also gave Hayden a lot of the magical plants produced at the camp.
Besides, Hayden also possessed some very valuable items—that's right, the fragments of the vajras left over from the [Mara] incident more than half a year ago!
Unfortunately, crafting equipment in real life isn't like playing a game; you can't just dump all the powerful materials in and experiment. Hayden still needs to figure out what to do next.
First and foremost, the most important thing to consider is the [attributes].
Hayden's scepter, which he used to use, symbolized fire, one of the four elements, representing will, courage, passion, anger, and intuition; his scepter was made of bronze, and bronze corresponds to Venus in alchemy, symbolizing the element of wind, representing thought, reason, intelligence, and judgment.
The scepter symbolizing fire, combined with bronze symbolizing wind, creates a composite elemental attribute.
He still has a rowan wood moonlight staff that he's used several times. The moon's attribute is "water," and the key word for rowan wood as a staff is "protection." Hayden also incorporated fragments of Vajra Warrior armor as the core material, further emphasizing its protective and barrier properties.
Therefore, Hayden now needs an offensive scepter, preferably one with fire or wind attributes...
...But just as he reached for the vajra fragment, Hayden suddenly had a strange idea.
Vajra = Thunder
In classical Eastern magic, the Thunder God is the pivot of heaven and earth, in charge of life and death, the ultimate principle of life and death.
Yin and Yang, the root of all things, can be described as life and death... the pivot of life and death... thunder... the change of creation and destruction...
The half-dead goddess Hela, the Peacock King who controls the power of destruction and regeneration, Vajrapani... several powerful divine beings flashed through Hayden's mind at this moment.
"Oh no, a deadly inspiration has struck!"
Like many scholars who have made their mark on history, Hayden had a classic flaw: once a new idea entered his mind, he would immediately become completely captivated by it.
As a result, he stayed cooped up in the studio for three days and three nights straight. Even when Karen came to find him, Hayden didn't come out. Only Angela calmly brought him three meals a day and urged him to go to sleep every night.
It wasn't until early morning of the fourth day that Hayden emerged from his workshop, beaming with pride, holding a new scepter: "Behold the power of darkness! Unlimited powaaa!!"
Needless to say, Angela stared at him with a strange look for a long time, completely unaware of what trick her master was playing.
Hayden, having made a fool of himself, had no choice but to put the scepter away for now. As for just how powerful the scepter was, everyone would see when it was needed.
Has anything important happened in the last few days?
He then turned to ask about serious matters.
Angela nodded in agreement.
"The contract with Smoke Mirror Company has been signed in the last few days, Master. I've also selected some men from the unemployed mercenaries in New Asia. Miss Karen has been busy building a base, a complete stronghold, which will be perfect for absorbing manpower."
As she spoke, she handed Hayden a tablet.
"These are tasks commissioned to us by the Smoke Mirror Company. I've already arranged for the commune comrades to do most of them, but a few seem a bit strange. I think it would be best if I showed them to you first."
Hayden nodded and took the tablet, but the first title displayed on the screen made him frown: "...Looking for a pet?"
"Yes. This wasn't a job that Smoke Mirror Company officially outsourced to us; it was a commission made privately by one of their senior assistants."
Angela tilted her head and said,
According to the assistant, the project director who came to North America to discuss cooperation with the Mitra Group brought dozens of her pets with her. Two weeks ago, one of them went missing while walking in the wild.
"The project director at Smoke Mirror Company hasn't realized the pet is missing yet. Her assistant hopes our community can find it privately, especially before the project director himself finds out."
Hayden rubbed his temples, feeling that this was truly absurd.
"Why did you take on this troublesome job that can't be brought to the table and wasn't commissioned by Smoke Mirror Company?"
He couldn't help but ask.
Angela, however, looked puzzled: "Master, didn't you want to steal the life magic development data from Smoke Mirror Company? And now you're secretly cultivating a relationship with one of their senior assistants..."
Before she could finish speaking, Hayden had already realized what was happening and inwardly cursed himself for being stupid. It's easier to see the devil than his underlings. This was indeed doing a favor for a high-ranking nobody at Smoke Mirror Company, and this favor would be easy to get back in the future—Hayden's current background meant he no longer needed to fear an assistant at Smoke Mirror Company, no matter how high-ranking the person was. Once the other party owed Hayden this favor, they would most likely repay it.
Because everyone now thinks that Hayden might be the son-in-law of the Peacock King.
So Hayden picked up the coffee Angela had prepared for him, took a sip, and then opened the details of the private commission to take a look... and then he almost sprayed the coffee directly onto the tablet.
Because he finally saw what this so-called "pet" actually was. The senior assistant sent over several photos, which left Hayden completely dumbfounded.
Because it was a monster as big as a building... no, as huge as a skyscraper.
This enormous creature had a gaping maw large enough to fit a large fishing boat with plenty of room to spare. Each of its fangs was taller than Hayden, who was actually 1.8 meters tall. It had six claws, each ending in a huge webbed toe. It had two legs, one in front, one in the middle, and one in the hindquarters, as well as a powerful tail covered in sharp spikes. It also had a thick, hard shell covered in barbs on its back, making it look somewhat like a dinosaur with a spiky tortoise shell, only at least ten times larger than any other dinosaur.
In short, this is a gigantic monster, as large as a skyscraper.
And what's most terrifying is that Hayden, a mysterious wizard who is well-versed in many ancient myths and legends, knows this monster and knows its name.
"Are all those rich people crazy?! Why would they keep Terasque as a pet?! Huh!?"
Tarasque
It is also known as Tarasque, or the Terasque behemoth. The word may originate from Ancient Greek and means "fear".
However, the name is not the main point.
The key point is that it is a unique, one-of-a-kind, terrifying monster that has roamed Eurasia for thousands of years—an ancient dragon. Although its intelligence is probably only slightly higher than that of an ordinary dog, it is recorded to possess true immortality.
No matter how much damage or destruction the body suffers, Terasque can quickly regenerate and return to its original state, remaining intact and never dying.
That sounds incredibly powerful! Right?
But now, the executive of the Smoke Mirror Company, Shenming, keeps it as a pet.
"Why would anyone keep a Terasque as a pet?! Or rather, why would an ancient dragon the size of a skyscraper get lost as a pet?! Why hasn't the owner noticed that such a pet has been missing for two weeks?!"
It's not surprising that rich people keep exotic animals; didn't Kallen keep a serpent dragon? Last year, Alastor also told Hayden that the Warcraft pet market was extremely profitable.
But Terasque is a unique, truly one-of-a-kind magical beast. It… is being kept as a pet? And it's been lost and hasn't been found yet!?
Hayden is practically going crazy.
In contrast, Angela seemed very calm: "I've heard that rich people these days might not realize their car is missing for two or three years, so it's not unusual for their pets to go missing for two weeks without the owner noticing, right?"
Hearing Angela say this, Hayden felt even more terrified—if the executive from Smoke Mirror Company brought dozens of her pets, and Terasque didn't even notice when one went missing, didn't that mean the remaining pets were probably also beasts of the same level…
"The key is, Master, this Terasque might just be the source of the original dragon blood you're looking for, isn't it?"
108: The Wasteland Adventure Begins!
The weather in New Jersey is great today; it's sunny and the air is fresh.
Actually, the environment and climate in New Jersey have been quite good recently. And it's not just the city center, business districts, and areas where wealthy people live that have a good environment—I don't know why, but even the lower-income residential areas, and even the city's slums, have recently stopped experiencing acid rain or toxic smog overhead.
What was the air like in the New Yatu low-income residential area six months ago? Even if two buildings were only ten meters apart, you couldn't see the opposite building when the air pollution was severe.
In comparison, the air quality in New Jersey has been really good lately.
Hayden knew why, and in fact, there could only be one reason. The climate of the entire metropolitan area of New Jersey was determined and controlled daily by the Mitra Corporation's climate control system... but that was indeed very strange.
Without climate control, the environment will deteriorate. The air will inevitably become polluted because new industrial areas are emitting pollutants every day. But then again, if we were to eliminate pollution not just in commercial and upscale areas, but throughout the entire city, the energy consumption would increase dramatically.
Stepping out of his house and gazing at the bright morning sky over the bay area, Hayden couldn't help but fall into deep thought.
Could it be that the recent successful development of the new industrial zone has made the Mitra Group a lot of money, so they have set aside some of the profits to address the air pollution problem for the residents of New Yatu?
This might sound unbelievable at first, but upon closer examination, it's not entirely impossible. Currently, three major companies are vying for market share and influence in New Asia. It's quite normal and plausible that the Mitra Group might want to invest some money to gain a better reputation and public image.
In fact, among the world's largest giant corporations, Mitra Corporation is the most adept at managing its public image.
Anyway, no matter what they argue about, it's still a good thing for ordinary people! At least the air quality has improved.
So Hayden came to a better view and walked happily toward the commune.
The “Retribution Military Employment Agency” rented a small building in the Gulf region to handle many tasks that required physical space.
Firstly, the remaining twenty-one members of [Bo Xun], led by Yolanda, are all former students now living here, using this small building as the commune's dormitory. They were all university students last year, so they didn't have much to complain about; in fact, they were quite comfortable—Angela assigned them single rooms, even larger than the student dormitories.
The remaining "punishment" employees all have their own places to live. Angela doesn't require them to actually come to the commune every day. She can basically explain any work assignments directly online, and then let everyone go to the site to do them themselves.
Even so, everyone still needs a shared space.
Twenty-one former students of [Bo Xun], twenty former gangsters from the Volkov family, Eric, who was in charge of leading the team, and several unemployed freelance mercenaries that Angela had selected in the past three days... The total number of mercenaries in "Retribution" is now less than fifty. They can be considered "community comrades" selected by Angela.
In addition, there were a few other people, including Professor Albion and the hacker "Shadow Man" Dulin, who were considered external employees, totaling less than ten people.
This is the current size of the entire "retribution military employment agency".
When Hayden entered the public hall on the first floor of the commune, three former student mercenaries were playing basketball. Of course, there was no basketball hoop in the hall, so the three of them were just practicing some difficult skills. Their intricate dribbling and passing were dazzling, and their movements were relaxed, graceful and fluid.
What's even more amazing is that Hayden discovered they mostly didn't need to look at each other. They chatted and joked while dribbling, everything so smooth and natural, without any need for conscious effort.
...Could Angela have used some kind of sympathetic connection to link their consciousnesses together?
Regardless, the former students immediately stopped playing basketball when they saw Hayden and Angela enter, and looked at Angela with awe. It wasn't the look of a normal employee looking at their boss, nor was it the worshipful gaze of Karen's employees who regarded her as a living goddess.
Even the gods are not incomprehensible beings. Yet, in some ways, Angela truly baffled these employees. She guided them to create wealth, bestowed upon them power, but took almost nothing, taking only a similar share as everyone else—money she intended to take home to feed Hayden.
Rather than looking at the gatekeeper of the living bodhisattva, it would be more accurate to say that these former members of Mara now look at Angela with the same eyes that ants look at a giant handing out candy.
Hayden sometimes felt that way too.
"By the way, you signed contracts with those young members of the Volkov family before, right?"
After Hayden hurried past the three young men, he casually asked Angela,
"You also signed contracts with these former students of the [Bo Xun] organization, and shared your life essence with them?"
Angela nodded in agreement: "Yes. Now that I have the heart of [Valkyrie] installed, I asked Miss Karen about how the Capital Gods send blessings to their employees, and I roughly understand now."
"But the essence of the benevolent rule of capital is simply the redistribution of the resources produced."
Hayden frowned and said, "You obviously didn't distribute the life force to them like that, did you?"
“Of course not. I don’t need them to help me produce energy.” Angela tilted her head. “For these selected comrades, I made a roster and had them sign their names. In this way, the contract is established, and I can distribute life energy to them through the sympathetic connection.”
Hayden found this increasingly strange: "What if they turn against us later?"
"Then I'll just cross the names off the roster."
Angela answered calmly.
"But I think everyone here is a good kid, so there shouldn't be any problem."
For some reason, Hayden felt a little terrified. However, now was not the time to dwell on it.
He hurriedly led Angela to a conference room on the first floor. Eric was already waiting for him there.
"master."
Unlike the [Bójū] people at the door, Eric's respect was clearly directed at Hayden. As soon as Hayden entered, he immediately bowed to him with his hands clasped.
After these past few months, Hayden had become somewhat numb to this kind of thing. Without saying anything, he went straight to the point: "Angela has already told you about the requests that Smoke Mirror Company sent us, as well as that private request to find the pet, right?"
The pet-finding request sent privately by the senior assistant shouldn't have been known to too many mercenaries. However, Eric was already a mercenary leader who had "retributed" for his actions, and also Hayden's "professional disciple." Keeping this from him would be foolish of Hayden himself.
Upon hearing this, Eric immediately nodded, but his expression looked somewhat ashamed: "I have already had Yolanda and the others cast a spell to prophesy the lost Terasque, but we haven't found any trace of it."
Hayden, however, was unconvinced: "If these college dropout hackers can actually find the Terasque using sympathetic prophecy, I would suspect that the private commission itself is a trap."
Eric was taken aback at first, but he wasn't stupid and immediately realized: "The senior assistant who privately commissioned us is also a god. Even if she doesn't dare to use too many company resources for fear of being discovered by the boss, she is still an assistant to a senior executive. It's impossible that she can't conjure up the prophecy spells that even we have."
Even if this senior assistant doesn't know how to use the student-hacker level of sympathetic prophecy spells, she'll always find a way to get them, and she'll probably be able to get something even better.
So, if she herself can't find the missing Terasque behemoth...
"Basically, it's either protective magic that blocks the location of sympathetic prophecy, or a particularly strange natural environment that can resist prophecy."
Hayden stroked his chin and said,
"If the gods can't find the Terasque with divination spells, then we certainly can't find it with divination spells either."
Eric nodded, but asked with some doubt, "Master, everyone says you are a true prophet..."
However, Hayden immediately shook his head: "First of all, even if I were a real prophet, I couldn't be sure. Secondly, even a real prophet can't just predict what they want to know."
The prophecies of gifted prophets are mostly random.
Rather, it's precisely because the prophecies of prophets are largely random that magicians sought to develop controllable divination techniques. However, even today, for the modern New Gods, the old adage still holds true—the gods of the Mithraic Group may be omniscient, but they don't know what they know…
"A monster the size of a skyscraper couldn't just get lost."
Hayden glanced down again at the message his assistant had sent him detailing the events.
"She said she got lost while teleporting Terasque to the wasteland to walk the dog... Damn it, why would these lunatics take a hundred-meter-tall monster out for a walk, God."
Compared to real "skyscrapers," the 100-meter-tall Terrasque... might not seem that tall. But Hayden still thought it was utterly absurd.
In short, according to the senior assistant herself, she lost Terasque while walking her boss's "dog." However, she didn't say how she lost it, only that she told the news agency the location: southwest of Nova del Monte, about 100 kilometers away as the crow flies, in the wilderness north of Montessano. There were no particular landmarks in the area.
"We can only use the brute force method: a thorough search. We need to search the entire wasteland around Montessano. Fortunately, a thorough search of the wasteland for a monster a hundred meters tall shouldn't be too difficult."