My career aspirations have come true.

Apartment 403.

Lin Ze opened his eyes, let out a long breath, and a smile appeared on his face.

The operation went unexpectedly smoothly.

His original plan was to have the Winter Solstice draw fire from the front, while the Awakening of Insects would launch a surprise attack from the back door, with the two clones working together to deal with the factory's armed forces.

They were even prepared to sacrifice two clones.

Unexpectedly, Blackstone provided him with so much "nourishment".

Winter Solstice didn't even need to use Blood Frenzy; he defeated the Blackrock Society's ambush solely through the Moonwalker's buffs and the continuous flow of blood.

This originally anticipated arduous battle came to an end in just four or five minutes.

It ended with the winter solstice unilaterally crushing everything.

"If Zhao Shuo hadn't deployed so many gunmen, but instead used the zombie soldiers to ambush from the start, Dongzhi might not have won so easily."

Lin Ze sighed inwardly.

Under normal circumstances, even if Dongzhi unleashes Blood Frenzy, he can only raise his power to level 5 at most.

Not only is Zhao Shuo a level 4 lich, but he also commands a large number of lich soldiers, so dealing with him is not an easy task.

He might even lose his life on the winter solstice.

But Zhao Shuo chose the worst possible approach.

It can only be said that he suffered from insufficient information; knowing yourself and your enemy is still very important.

After calming himself down, Lin Ze's mind stirred, and six longswords appeared out of thin air on the coffee table in front of him.

Under the light, the sword gleamed with a cold, silvery-white luster, and the frost patterns spread like ice crystal veins, its cold light swirling as if covered in frost and snow.

This is the weapon that Dongzhi and Jingzhe found in the weapons factory. It is an extraordinary weapon made of frost-patterned steel mixed with a variety of high-strength alloys.

Lin Ze thought they were good, so he had Dongzhi and Jingzhe select six of the best quality ones to bring back, which would be perfect as weapons for his future clones.

"This kind of longsword is kept in the legion's treasury, and it takes at least two or three minor merits to exchange for it."

Lin Ze picked up one of the frost-patterned longswords, stroked the patterns on the blade, and nodded in satisfaction.

"Unfortunately, the origin of this thing is hard to explain, so I can't use it directly. I can only let my clone use it for now."

Putting away his weapon, Lin Ze calmed his mind and looked at the soul crystal deep in his mind.

The ethereal and magnificent rhomboid crystals floated in mid-air, with about a quarter of them already solidified.

"The second condensation of the soul crystal requires significantly more soul energy."

Tonight, on the winter solstice, more than forty professionals were killed, including Zhao Shuo, a level 4 lich, and several level 3 professionals.

Before undergoing the soul baptism, the soul energy absorbed tonight would have been more than enough to fully condense a soul crystal, but now only a quarter of it has been condensed.

This demonstrates just how enormous the amount of soul energy required for the secondary condensation of soul crystals is.

After a moment of reflection, Lin Ze's thoughts turned back to the intelligence agency.

Upon seeing the intelligence agency personnel at the weapons factory, he immediately realized that they were likely after Jingzhe.

That's why the Winter Solstice immediately created an organization called "Heavenly Timing".

Lin Ze knew very well that in order to obtain soul energy, he would inevitably have to continue hunting evil professionals and would inevitably continue to create clones.

Everything that exists leaves a trace.

Although the chances of the intelligence agency finding him through his clone are very low, it's better to be safe than sorry. To ensure that he himself is not discovered, he must stir up trouble.

The muddier the water, the easier it is for him to catch fish.

That's why he fabricated an organization—in fact, this was a plan he had in the works beforehand.

He wanted to divert the attention of the legions and guilds to that organization, thereby concealing his own presence.

Compared to the continuous emergence of powerful but unidentified professionals, a mysterious organization that has long existed in the shadows with unclear objectives is undoubtedly more likely to attract the attention of legions and guilds.

As his strength continues to grow and the number of his clones increases, Tian Shi will inevitably rise to prominence and become a powerful force in the future.

The stronger the favorable timing, the safer he will be.

No one would have imagined that he, a lone man with no background, would be the creator and mastermind behind a powerful force.

"We need to continue hunting, and in addition, we can't stop training for the prerequisite talents for the Blade of Limit Break."

Lin Ze pondered his next steps.

The Blood Walker also has a star-up path, and can be fused with the Rune Master to advance to the two-star class 'Crimson Earl'.

However, he doesn't have any extra clones to become a Rune Master right now. He can use the freed-up clones to become Rune Masters after his main body and Jingzhe merge and advance to the Ultimate Slaughter Sword.

Having made up his mind, Lin Ze summoned Jingzhe, moved the sofa and coffee table to a corner, and began training Jingzhe on weakness detection right there in the living room.

......

Morning light squeezed through the gaps in the curtains, casting dappled golden patterns on the wooden floor.

Lin Ze sat up and stretched.

I trained until almost 4 a.m. last night and didn't go to sleep until late.

It's fortunate that my physical condition has improved significantly recently, otherwise I wouldn't be able to withstand this level of training intensity.

After washing up, Lin Ze changed into his uniform and went out to the breakfast shop on the street downstairs.

Because the apartment building is located next to the North District Detachment's headquarters, people wearing star-blue military uniforms can be seen everywhere on the street, walking in twos and threes.

"Boss, a bowl of pork offal noodles."

"Okay."

Lin Ze had just found an empty seat when he heard the voices of several soldiers chatting behind him.

"Have you heard? The Blackrock Depths' weapons factory was raided last night, and a lot of people died?"

"Really? Was it that mysterious person again?"

"I don't know for sure, but it's pretty much him; there's no one else but him."

"Last night, the Legion troops were dispatched and sealed off that weapons factory. I heard they seized a large number of enchanted firearms and extraordinary metals. The Blackrock Society is really in deep trouble this time."

Lin Ze glanced around discreetly and noticed that many people were discussing the matter.

Judging from the conversation, they only seemed to know about the attack on the Blackstone weapons factory, but did not know the identity of the attackers.

After the pork offal noodles were served, Lin Ze quickly finished eating. Seeing that he hadn't heard any more valuable information, he paid the bill and left.

When they arrived at the Eighth Group's office, Tang Wangshu, Zhuang Yi, and Pei Xuan were already there.

Zhuang Yi was talking animatedly when Lin Ze entered. He immediately leaned forward and said with a smile, "Lin Ze, I have some big news for you!"

"The Blackrock Society's weapons factory was attacked, right?" Lin Ze raised his hand to interrupt him. "I heard a lot of people talking about it while I was having breakfast."

Zhuang Yi chuckled and said, "You'll never guess who the attacker is."

Lin Ze feigned surprise and asked, "Isn't it that mysterious person from before?"

"No, but pretty much," Zhuang Yi said mysteriously. "He's a powerful professional who can manipulate blood, from an organization called Tian Shi. It's said that he single-handedly took down more than forty professionals and over a hundred gunmen equipped with demonized firearms. He's ridiculously strong!"

Tang Wangshu, who was standing nearby, couldn't stand it anymore and corrected him, "The existence of the right timing hasn't been confirmed yet, so don't believe everything you hear."

Lin Ze asked curiously, "Where did you all hear this news from?"

"It came from the intelligence agency."

Pei Xuan answered, giving Lin Ze a slightly ingratiating smile.

"This morning, Captain Luo called the two deputy captains and all the group leaders to a meeting, probably for this matter."

Lin Ze thought for a moment and immediately understood.

The intelligence agency most likely requested the Northern District branch to assist in the investigation before allowing the news to circulate.

Just as I was pondering this, I heard footsteps outside the door, and two figures walked in one after the other.

Lin Ze turned around and his gaze suddenly sharpened.

Besides Jiang Lei, the other person who came was Tang Wangyan, whom they had met briefly the night before.