Chapter 125: Spirit Hubs and Xuanhuang Fruits
"What's wrong with me?" Ling Tian awoke on the beach of a deserted island, finding a strange, massive bug lying beside him.
The bug was the size of a small dog, its exterior incredibly hideous. As a normal human's instinctual reaction, he immediately scrambled away from it without hesitation upon waking.
Noticing Ling Tian was awake, the bug shifted from a prone position to a walking form and transmitted a mental wave to him: "Please indicate the next course of action."
Ling Tian, perplexed yet sensing a profound power, only then realized that his mind seemed to have gained many memories that weren't originally his...
He sat on the ground and slowly began to sort through his memories, only then discovering how extraordinary the background of the bug beside him was, and that he seemed to have struck immense luck.
...
The Zerg were a terrifying race that had occupied countless planets in the universe, eradicating civilization after civilization through their swarm tactics. The fearsome-looking bug before him was precisely a packaged standard base of theirs, capable of being unfurled back into a basic combat base.
...
He continued to sift through his memories and discovered that the reason he was able to acquire this base was that before the Zerg's decisive battle against the divine race of energy beings, to ensure the continuation of their species, they had launched civilization seeds everywhere. Should the Zerg be defeated, these civilization seeds would be reactivated to select new inheritors of civilization.
Ling Tian, who had fantasized countless times about such a day, pinched his own face hard, and finding it still hurt, forcibly suppressed the excitement in his heart. He ordered the bug to unfurl back into a base, intending to begin his dream of cultivating his base, raising an army, and conquering the world on this desolate island.
Dozens of meters away, in the shallow sea, several tentacles emerged from the water, emitting faint mental fluctuations. After carefully scanning the base and Ling Tian's situation, the owner of the tentacles submerged back into the deep sea, satisfied...
"Calling them 'spirit energy organs' or 'spirit energy tissues' seems rather clunky. I also have no interest in naming new discoveries directly after myself, like physicists of old. I might as well just call them Spirit Hubs. As for the existence of Spirit Pictures, it's enough for that to remain forever buried in my memories." After yet another transplant surgery, Bai Mo lay in bed, pondering how to mislead others and prevent them from researching in the direction of Spirit Hubs combining into Spirit Pictures.
"Once the fact that Spirit Hubs can be transplanted becomes public, a massacre targeting ability users would be virtually unavoidable. Whether it's ordinary people yearning to become ability users, or ability users seeking to become stronger, they will all turn their attention to the Spirit Hubs of other ability users. If order breaks down, many things become troublesome, and I won't have the endless supply of Spirit Hub materials I do now. Or perhaps I should do this..."
Bai Mo logged into the institute's database via computer, officially designating the name "Spirit Hub" for spirit energy organs and spirit energy tissues. Previously, many researchers had wanted to give them a formal scientific name, but because Bai Mo was the first to discover these things, an official name had never been settled upon before he spoke.
Not long after, a message was stickied to the top of the official forum affiliated with the Contribution Point system:
"Major Breakthrough! Institute personnel have successfully cultivated a fruit named Xuanhuang Fruit. Consuming this fruit can give both ordinary people and ability users a chance to gain an additional ability. Note! Once a new ability successfully appears, a second fruit cannot be consumed. Due to high research and development costs and a considerable chance of failure, this product will implement the following sales policy:"
"The price for a single fruit is ten thousand Contribution Points. If no ability awakens after consuming the fruit, fifty percent of the total amount will be refunded. Due to production capacity limitations, the first batch of pre-orders will only offer five hundred slots, on a first-come, first-served basis. Orders placed now will be delivered in two months."
This message quickly detonated the entire network. Discussions about the Xuanhuang Fruit erupted everywhere. Since it was a stickied post from the forum administrator, no one believed it was a joke.
"Ten thousand Contribution Points? That's worse than robbery! They only issue a paltry ten Contribution Points per person each month. That meager assistance isn't even enough to subscribe to a slightly more expensive cultivation magazine; one can only pick and choose articles to read. Now a single fruit costs ten thousand Contribution Points—this is clearly a carnival for the rich!"
"And they say it's to prevent inflation and depreciation of Contribution Points, so direct exchange between cash and Contribution Points has been prohibited. All the profits go to those profiteering black marketeers!"
"They use our taxes for research, and then sell the results at an exorbitant price. Is there any justice left in this world?!"
The internet was flooded with such comments. Of course, there were also many who quickly sought out the Contribution Point black market to fight for their future, after all, the first batch had only five hundred slots and it was first-come, first-served. However, they all unconsciously ignored the possibility of failure even after purchasing the fruit, all harboring the notion that eating a fruit would definitely grant them power.
The mastermind behind all of this was, naturally, Bai Mo, who controlled most of the power within the Contribution Point system.
Not long after the announcement was released, nestled on the second basement floor, he received a direct call from the Speaker.
"Bai Mo, what is the meaning of this?"
"What's wrong? Is there a problem?"
"Why announce something like the Xuanhuang Fruit publicly?"
"I have my reasons, and ultimately, the price of ten thousand Contribution Points I set has already blocked out over ninety-nine percent of people. Most of it will still end up in your hands, won't it?"
"Contribution Points are just a number to you, aren't they? Why go through this extra trouble, causing the entire nation to discuss this matter?"
"As I said, I have my reasons. I don't need to explain anything to you. If you need this item, I can add an order for you."
"My subordinates, knowing you were the one who sent the message, have already pre-ordered for me. I don't know what you're up to, but I hope you don't disrupt the stability of this nation."
"It seems your subordinates trust my research capabilities quite a bit," Bai Mo continued. "I also need a stable environment for my research. On that point, our interests align."
"I hope so. By the way, what's the success rate of this fruit?"
"Over eighty percent, I'd say. If there's nothing else, I'll continue my experiments."
"Goodbye."
"The Contribution Point system has been implemented for less than a year. With an issuance amount of ten points per person per month, it would be absolutely impossible for a normal person to have ten thousand points. According to the exchange rate found in the black market previously, Contribution Points were being acquired at roughly one hundred yuan per point and sold at one hundred and one yuan per point. However, this surge of excitement should trigger another round of sharp increase. What a pity, though, this is ultimately just a numbers game, and all the chips have returned to my hands." Bai Mo had already roughly formed a plan. The two-month buffer period was mainly for refining the details of the entire plan.
Less than half an hour after the news was released, those with channels to verify the authenticity of the information had already placed their orders one after another. The five hundred slots were quickly snatched up, leaving countless netizens in the comments section below to criticize the moneyed elite.
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