As soon as this speculation was made, someone exclaimed, "Could it be that he has already broken through level seven and reached level eight?"

"So, it's possible that our base has two Level 8 ability users?!"

"No, no, no, you've forgotten about the red fox..."

As everyone speculated, the atmosphere grew increasingly lively.

The adjutant and others in the crowd looked at each other, and the adjutant's expression became much more solemn.

It was only after the arrival of people from the Xuanwu Base that Lieutenant Wang learned that the Oasis Base was hiding an eighth-level ability user. Despite many speculations before, it had never been confirmed.

Upon hearing the news, he was filled with emotion and his attitude towards the Oasis Base became even more serious.

Although they were friendly before, the Qinglong Base recognized them more because of the Oasis Base's development philosophy and achievements in plant cultivation.

However, the military strength of the Oasis base has never been seriously considered.

How could Oasis Base, a rising star, possibly develop to the level of other established bases in just two or three years?

The Qinglong base has even prepared for targeted poverty alleviation, treating the Oasis base like a subordinate, and supporting its development.

That's why, after seeing the wonderful life at the Oasis Base, Lieutenant Wang sent a message back without hesitation, requesting to be stationed there.

Without consulting with the higher-ups at Oasis Base, he made the decision to station troops there without authorization. Although he had applied for personnel from Oasis Base to go to Azure Dragon Base for training, it was all because at that time, Lieutenant Wang genuinely treated Oasis Base as a subordinate territory of a lower level.

It's not about being on equal footing or sitting together.

Who knew that just yesterday we started to reflect and take the Oasis Base more seriously, and today we heard that there might be more than one Level 8 ability user at the Oasis Base!

Lieutenant Wang frowned, awaiting the outcome.

Unexpectedly, Fang Qingdai suddenly announced: "It's not a test of spatial or wood-based abilities, it's a test of my mental abilities."

Everyone was stunned for a moment. Someone asked the person next to them blankly, "Wait, I think I heard the base leader say that she was going to test for psychic abilities?"

"I heard that too!"

"ah?"

"When did the base commander acquire a psychic ability?"

After the news was digested, the crowd erupted in an uproar, making a commotion like a rush to buy New Year's goods at a market before the holiday.

Fang Qingdai and Jing Yi exchanged a glance. She cleared her throat and spoke again: "Ahem, everyone, listen to me!"

Everyone immediately fell silent, staring expectantly at Fang Qingdai.

Fang Qingdai composed herself and said the words she had discussed with Jing Yi: "In fact, I have always possessed mental abilities, which were activated even earlier than my spatial abilities!"

Amidst everyone's astonished gazes, Fang Qingdai continued, "As you all probably know, I was able to manipulate space and move even when my spatial ability was only at level five. It's not because my spatial ability is special, but because I was able to do it by combining it with my mental ability!"

Could this explain why space-type ability users in other bases need to reach at least level seven to manipulate space for short periods of time? Is it because their mental strength is insufficient to support it?

How powerful must their base commander be to be able to manipulate space and travel all over the world?

Fang Qingdai smiled and said, "We kept it a secret before because we wanted to keep a trump card up our sleeve. But everyone knows about the people from the Xuanwu Base who came to our door yesterday. The enemy has started to gather intelligence, so we should reveal our trump card appropriately. Otherwise, the enemy will think we are weak and easy to bully!"

Everyone suddenly realized and immediately chimed in, "That's right, if you have the ability, you should show it off!"

In the wasteland, the "pretending to be weak to fool others" tactic doesn't work. People have to exaggerate their strength to gain more social resources. Fang Qingdai's act of "hiding" her strength until now is truly remarkable!

Fang Qingdai decisively turned around and entered the testing center, asking the staff to conduct a mental strength test on her.

Mental strength testing requires wearing a special helmet with hundreds of wires connected to it, the other end of which is connected to an energy storage device.

The energy storage device emits light once it takes in energy, with each type of light representing a different intensity of energy intake.

After putting on the helmet, Fang Qingdai closed her eyes, concentrated, and began to output her mental energy.

Everyone watched in disbelief as the energy storage device began to glow, changing from red to orange, then to yellow, green, and cyan...

When the energy storage device reached the blue color, everyone gasped in surprise.

But the color was still changing, and soon it solidified into a vibrant purple!

"Level 7!"

But before the crowd could cheer, a purple light flashed and then instantly turned into a golden light!

"Level 8?"

"Is it an eighth-level mental ability?"

Amidst the crowd's excited yet anxious speculation, the energy storage device suddenly malfunctioned, its various colors swirling erratically, and it began emitting beeping alarms!

Everyone was a little confused, not understanding what had happened.

Is the equipment malfunctioning?

Wang, the adjutant in the crowd, suddenly changed his expression. Before he could speak, the staff in the ability certification hall shouted urgently, "Base commander, stop the ability output immediately! The equipment can't handle it!"

It's too late!

No sooner had the staff member finished speaking than a loud "bang" was heard, and the energy storage device exploded!

It was Xiao Mao, who was closest to the scene, who reacted quickly and immediately used his earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a type of magic or technique) to prevent the tragedy of civilians being injured by the shrapnel!

"Explosion?!"

"Holy crap, what's going on?"

After the initial shock, a secret expectation arose in everyone's heart, but they looked at each other, and no one dared to ask the question, for fear that their expectations would be dashed!

Fang Qingdai took off her helmet and slowly opened her eyes to look at the staff: "What happened?"

The staff member touched the area around Fang Qingdai's heart, staring blankly at her for a long time before finally speaking in a trembling voice: "Base Commander, your... your ability exceeds level eight. The base's mental energy detection equipment cannot currently handle such an energy surge!"

"You are at least a level nine psychic ability user!"

Upon hearing this, the crowd, whose guesses had been confirmed, fell silent.

Until the child's innocent voice rang out: "A level nine ability user? But didn't the teacher say that the highest level ability user in the wasteland right now is level eight?"

"Teacher, teacher, why is the base commander a level nine ability user?"

Why?

Because Oasis Base is incredibly awesome!

The crowd finally came to their senses, and suddenly burst into screams!

People reacted as if they were seeing a superstar—no, even more exaggeratedly than when a top celebrity of the 21st century suddenly appeared on the street and was surrounded and chased by a crowd. The people of the Oasis Base were instantly plunged into extreme frenzy!

Before Fang Qingdai could react, she was tossed into the air by the crowd!

"Our base commander is a level nine ability user!"

"The number one wasteland warrior!"

"Level nine! Level nine!!"

The cheers were deafening, and residents who were previously unaware of the commotion from a distance quickly rushed over.

Seeing the jubilant people at the Oasis Base, Lieutenant Wang suppressed his shock and immediately ordered, "Quickly, send the message back to the Azure Dragon Base!"