Chapter 101: Mind Control
When Gretel found Gu Hang, she looked very serious, with no trace of her usual gentle smile.
“We have a rough idea of what those heretical traitors are trying to do.”
“What? Destroy the city, sacrifice to the dark gods, the usual stuff?” Gu Hang attempted a not-so-funny joke.
“Yes.” Gretel didn’t joke at all and nodded seriously, “Those heretical traitors always like to do such things. The filthy creatures they worship particularly enjoy this.”
“Alright, so what exactly are they planning to do? Do we have any leads?”
Gretel said, “Not yet, two sisters are still investigating. However, we might have found the hideout of the heretical traitor leader.”
“Oh?” Gu Hang’s interest was finally piqued, “Is it reliable?”
“It should be reliable, at least worth a try.”
“Then let’s try.” Gu Hang decided immediately, “What support do you need? I’ll allocate it as soon as possible. We should act quickly to prevent anyone from escaping.”
“I need you.”
“Huh?”
“An excellent psyker who can help us accomplish many things.”
Gu Hang quickly calculated in his mind.
He was indeed very busy, unable to spare much time, but priorities existed. Political affairs could be postponed without causing too many casualties. Killing the heretical leader sooner could save many lives.
Gu Hang had no qualms about personally participating in the battle.
Of course, the necessary safety measures had to be in place.
It wasn’t that he didn’t trust the nuns, but having more forces at hand was always better.
The Phoenix Battalion could send four people to participate, with three remaining mobile outside the city. They likely wouldn’t refuse this request.
Besides the two personnel responsible for reviewing the grain distribution points in the outer city, Gretel and her team would have nine participants in the battle.
Including Gu Hang himself… this lineup should be sufficient.
However, Gu Hang thought for a moment and decided to bring along the elite Marine Squad.
That squad had now become his personal guards.
After previously reclaiming Revival City and receiving a considerable amount of Grace Points, he had directly upgraded the remaining soldiers to T3 level.
This was the limit.
Their equipment, physical fitness, and combat experience were insufficient to support further advancement to T2.
Perhaps, after more experiences of blood and fire or through some special opportunities or technologies, their rating could be upgraded again.
But in any case, 28 T3-level soldiers were the most elite force Gu Hang had under his command.
As for himself, according to Gretel, he was an excellent psyker.
But he could immediately raise his rating by one more level.
After the battle outside the city had calmed down, Gu Hang realized that he had enough experience to level up.
With just 200 Grace Points, he could become a Level 4 psyker as determined by the system.
At this level, Gu Hang calculated that he could single-handedly take on a fully armed superhuman like a Star Warrior.
Having figured this out in his mind, Gu Hang nodded and said, “Alright, I’ll go with you.”
…
After sending Gretel off and receiving a response from the Phoenix Battalion, Gu Hang used the last bit of time before the team assembled to focus on two things.
First, he reviewed the battle summary.
[Bloody Battle Victory, 65 Grace Points Earned]
[Losses: 427, Enemies Eliminated: 742, Prisoners Captured: 121]
[3rd Battalion of the Governor’s Infantry Regiment: Losses: 89, Enemies Eliminated: 266]
[Prisoner Unit: Losses: 338, Enemies Eliminated: 337]
[Phoenix Battalion (Allies): Losses: 0, Enemies Eliminated: 139]
A bloody battle victory… This was the first time Gu Hang had achieved such a result. Clearly, the strength difference between the two sides wasn’t significant. However, the heavy losses on their side led to a reduction in the Grace Points earned.
Subtracting the Phoenix Battalion’s achievements, the remaining total amounted to 65 Grace Points.
The prisoner unit, which was not yet officially organized but temporarily assembled, had subpar weapons and equipment.
Apart from some company-level heavy weapons, they were on par with the armed mobs in terms of equipment.
The enemy had the added zeal of brainwashed religious fanaticism, whereas the prisoners, despite the commissar’s morale boost, still fell short.
Despite the evenly matched losses, Gu Hang wasn’t quite satisfied. It indicated that their military skills were indeed lacking.
Gu Hang was a bit troubled.
He had thought that since they were official Alliance forces, they wouldn’t be too bad even if they were not at T5 level. Could he perhaps save some Grace Points and make do with what they had?
But looking at the current situation, the performance was subpar.
It seemed he would have to invest in upgrades after all.
Upgrading 7,000 people to T5 level would cost 70 Grace Points, which was painful to consider!
After checking the battle summary, the second thing Gu Hang needed to do was upgrade.
With 200 Grace Points invested, Gu Hang felt a warm flow signifying an increase in his base attributes.
At the same time, the talent selection interface appeared on his screen.
As usual, he checked the Unique line first, but unsurprisingly, it was not selectable.
Without hesitation, he chose Spirituality.
Mind Control: Allows you to infiltrate the target’s psyche to create illusions, alter memories, or take control by force. It also strengthens your resistance to mental manipulations. Spirituality +1
With a new talent acquired, Gu Hang was thoroughly satisfied.
Mental abilities were something he had long looked forward to.
Such methods, like telekinesis, were standard for many psykers and terrifyingly powerful.
Moreover, after acquiring the Mind Control psychic talent, its potential uses extended well beyond combat.
Of course, Gu Hang also reminded himself that such abilities should not be abused. The order he wished to establish was not one built on the manipulation of minds. He would not use this method on his own people.
However, when necessary, such techniques could be highly effective.
After the upgrade, his attributes were as follows:
Hero: Gu Hang (Faction Leader), LV4, insufficient experience to level up
Physique: 9, Spirituality: 18
Traits: Psyker, Fury Owl Planet Governor
Talents: Protective Aura, Telekinetic Control, Mind Control
The attribute increase wasn’t significant this time. Besides the point in Spirituality gained from the Mind Control talent, there were no changes in Physique or Spirituality from the regular upgrade.
Of course, it wasn’t that there was no change at all. In fact, he could feel his physical quality and spirituality had improved.
It’s just that the increase wasn’t enough to amount to a full attribute point, so it wasn’t reflected on his personal interface.
After all, the higher the level, the more difficult it becomes to upgrade, requiring more experience accumulation and more Grace Points investment. Similarly, the actual gap between each attribute point after upgrading would also become larger and larger.