Chapter 326: The Vicious Cycle
However, the fundamental problem remained: the ordinary people who had instigated the riots, at best, erupted with power only at the Second Tier, posing no threat whatsoever to the upper echelons. It would be better to focus most of their energy on the Spirit Devourer virus issue and maintain social stability.
As for those individual anti-social elements swayed by the Red Radiance, they didn't even have a rebel force yet, so there was no need to focus on them.
According to the currently publicized narrative, the aliens residing in the deep sea had an undying intent to destroy humanity. They meticulously plotted, using the "human traitor" Feng Bu Hui, who had infiltrated human society, to unleash the Spirit Devourer virus as a biochemical attack, attempting to pave the way for the Sea Race's counterattack.
This also triggered a large-scale internal espionage investigation, with every key target of investigation scrutinized. However, aside from discovering a few foreign spies, no so-called "human traitors" appeared.
But this high-profile move greatly alarmed Ling Tian, who was unwittingly a true "Zerg spy." He was extremely worried that his secret "golden finger" that had led to his rise would be discovered, and then be snatched away by various powerful figures.
The Zerg base was a matter of immense gravity, and he couldn't help but worry.
"Is there really no way to synthesize a gene optimization fluid for reaching the Fifth Tier? Not even an alternative method?" Ling Tian, feeling his power was still insufficient to protect everything around him, asked once again, unwilling to give up.
"Respected Tier-2 Base Commander, this is the twelfth time I have answered your question. For the sake of confidentiality, the corresponding gene optimization fluid formula can only be unlocked when the Zerg base is upgraded to Tier-3."
"This was a lock placed on the database back then to prevent high-level knowledge from being stolen and lost. As your subordinate, I am also powerless."
The Guard Zerg, Ling Ling, perched on his right shoulder, simultaneously acting as both bodyguard and assistant, transmitted emotionless mental fluctuations.
"Upgrading the Tier-3 Zerg base requires five hundred kilograms of Psionic Crystals, eighty kilograms of red copper..."
"Enough! I've memorized that list already! The problem is, Earth really doesn't have that stuff!" Ling Tian interrupted Ling Ling.
"I've tried everything similar to Psionic Crystals on the Contribution Point system. Why do you have such a frustrating prerequisite, requiring crystals that can only be obtained in outer space..." Although he had asked many times over the past few years and received the same answer every time, Ling Tian still felt utterly dejected.
"Without upgrading to a Tier-3 Zerg base, military units can't launch into space; without launching into space, I can't get Psionic Crystals; without Psionic Crystals, I can't upgrade to Tier-3!" He felt like he was caught in a vicious cycle, so vexed he could only scratch his head with both hands.
"Because in the star system where our Zerg are located, Psionic Crystals exist on almost every solid planet... so the system was configured referencing the surrounding environment." The Guard Zerg continued, speaking matter-of-factly.
Brain Bug Seres, remotely controlling everything, continuously kept Ling Tian's power stuck at the Fourth Tier, using the excuse of the base's low tier and the inability to produce high-level gene optimization fluid. This was to prevent him from becoming too powerful and difficult to control, or even discovering the truth.
As for the so-called Psionic Crystals, they were merely something it had fabricated on a whim, used to limit the power of this pawn.
A spy who didn't even know his own true identity was the one with the lowest risk of exposure.
"It is recommended that the Commander follow the pace of humanity's space expansion, establish new Zerg bases on other planets, and also take the opportunity to search for Psionic Crystals."
"So, 'borrowing a chicken to lay eggs' then? What a shame I won't get a turn in this Moon colonization effort." Ling Tian muttered to himself from his chair.
After returning from his old base in New Zealand to the civilized world of the Huaxia Federation, he fabricated a half-true, half-false story about surviving a great calamity and being blessed with future good fortune.
He publicly claimed that after being swept away by a wave, he drifted to a small island.
Then, on the island, he inadvertently ate an unknown vermilion fruit, and his power then began to continuously grow. Finally, relying on his powerful strength, after living as a savage for several years, he crossed the vast ocean and returned to Huaxia.
Upon returning to the Huaxia Federation, he immediately voluntarily submitted an application and, after approval, entered the Special Combat Department.
From a bottom-tier bricklayer, he leapt into the upper echelons of the system, achieving a complete turnaround in his life.
But now he faced a problem: his talent was quite lacking. Even though he had converted almost all the money he had earned over the years into spiritual materials, he had only barely managed to break through to the Life Field Stage on the Spirit Hub path.
The wealth required to continue progressing was also beyond what a young man like him, who relied on Zerg gene optimization fluid to achieve Fourth Tier combat power, could afford.
For a sudden outsider to climb all the way up the ranks in the Huaxia Federation, fraught with factional divisions, was by no means an easy task.
The Spirit Hub System was relatively accessible; theoretically, as long as one had enough resources to pile up, one could accumulate enough to enter the Unmelting Realm. The spiritualization of the brain was the first great chasm, the true watershed distinguishing whether one had future potential.
However, as more and more people harbored such thoughts, the prices of spiritual materials continued to rise. Many were priceless yet unavailable on the market.
This was because, aside from a small number of spiritual materials that could now be artificially cultivated, most still belonged to non-renewable resources. After decades of unrestrained plunder by billions of humans over the past ten years, many precious spiritual materials were nearly extinct on land, with the exception of the Four Great Mystical Realms and the oceans.
The feasibility of advancing through reliance on elixirs was becoming increasingly low. Apart from the pioneers, nearly everyone who came after had to worry about this issue, all because there were too many cultivators, and the spiritual materials had been almost entirely consumed by the initial wave of practitioners.
The nearly hundred thousand Fourth Tier masters existing worldwide today were nurtured by overdrawing all of Earth's relevant resources. They forged their own cultivation paths, but in doing so, they indirectly made the path for those who came after narrower and narrower, to the point of being impassable.
Humanity urgently needed greater living space to accommodate more people's dreams of seeking power, and the Moon was the first step towards the boundless cosmos.
"Good thing I managed to avoid this calamity." Through his numerous avatars left behind at the Moon base, Bei Di'en had a general understanding of Earth's current situation, making him even more glad he had chosen to lead the Moon colonization plan. He could get rich on the Moon, rather than hiding like an ostrich in some corner of Earth.
The fellow Moon expeditionary forces shared similar thoughts. Upon learning of the developments on Earth, their expressions varied, but most of them were secretly pleased.
After all, many among them were unsuccessful within the system, or lacked deep connections, hoping to strike it rich through Moon colonization.
Now, with such a large number of superhumans dying every day, it meant that vast unclaimed interests awaited redistribution. Once they completed the battle on the Moon and Earth's "plague" subsided, they, having achieved success and fame, could conveniently return to claim a slice of the pie.
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