Chapter 334: Turmoil
According to Bai Mo’s previous conjecture, Gaia interfered with the Reincarnation Tribulation. While the host attempted to generate Primal Matter and condense a primordial spirit, Gaia simultaneously caused the original body’s genes to collapse, artificially increasing the death rate and thereby indirectly controlling the number of human powerhouses.
However, this implied that Gaia must have appeared on this planet earlier than Hong Shi, as the time he cultivated his primordial spirit was prior to the encirclement of Sa Qia Si Ji.
Yet, the information gleaned suggested that the two entities were old acquaintances, making the entire situation far too coincidental. Bai Mo now believed it most probable that Gaia had led the other entities to this planet.
Time ticked by, second by second. Bai Mo found himself with fewer and fewer thoughts to spare for analyzing intelligence, as the Hong Shi Disciple before him seemed to be continuously growing stronger, and the pressure on his defenses was steadily mounting.
“If nothing changes, I have eight hours left.” After casually downing a bottle of Spirit Energy replenishment potion, he calculated how long he could hold out before the information barrier was completely formed. Despite his strenuous resistance, the information distortion barrier emanating from Hong Shi continued to slowly manifest.
“Big Brother, who should we cut down first?” In an alleyway in Tianzhong City, several small-time hooligans, armed with watermelon knives, surrounded a young man wearing sunglasses in their midst, asking.
An atmosphere of unrest had gradually permeated the entire city. Even their small gangs, parasiting in the dark corners, had begun to stir restlessly.
“Why don’t we go cut down those guys from the Hong Xing Sect who are always trying to steal our territory?”
“Cutting down people from the Hong Xing Sect is pointless, we might as well cut down Director Chen instead. Without that fat bastard backing them, the Hong Xing Sect is nothing.” Another young man, holding a knife, offered a different opinion.
“Let’s go! Don’t let any of them off. They must have a lot of money hidden in their homes. If we share it among us brothers, everyone can live a good life.” The young man in sunglasses was swayed after hearing this, and certain vague rumors further solidified his resolve.
Only, none of them noticed the faint specks of red light flickering in their eyes.
......
Under the instigation of the Hong Shi Disciple, the dissatisfaction in everyone's hearts was excessively amplified. Coupled with Gaia's control over their adrenaline, this made them more impulsive and reckless.
“Ding-dong.”
“Who is it?!” A middle-aged man bellowed with a hint of displeasure upon hearing the doorbell.
“Director Gao, it’s A’Wei. I’m here today to deliver your tribute.”
“Wait outside for a moment.” The middle-aged man feigned composure, uttering a command, then immediately retreated to his bedroom.
“Didn’t we always do the handover outside before? Why is he coming to my secret apartment today? This kid is getting more and more disrespectful of the rules.”
“A’Wei is here, quickly hide! Don’t let him discover you.” He urged the disheveled woman on the bed.
“Where is it?” Gao Ling, harboring a secret, only wanted to quickly take this month’s tribute and send A’Wei away. Thus, as he ushered the other party inside, he immediately cut to the chase.
“Director Gao, do you have any beer here? It’s scorching hot, I’m dying of thirst.” A’Wei removed his sunglasses and frantically fanned his clothes, feigning a sweat-drenched appearance.
“Getting more and more arrogant, daring to order me around. Just wait until this period of attention passes, I’ll make sure to put you six feet under.” Although he thought this, Gao Ling still walked into the kitchen with a poker face. No matter what, A’Wei was bringing him money, so he had to keep up appearances.
Through years of scheming and maneuvering, besides two houses, he had squirreled away over ten million in cash. Two years ago, he’d splurged a quarter of it to buy himself a Xuanhuang Fruit, instantly transforming into an Ability User.
However, he soon discovered that his aptitude was rather mediocre. To climb to higher levels, he either had to keep pouring money in, or slowly grind away with time.
If he spent the money, the remaining ten million might push him to the Second Tier. But without anyone backing him, his official position might not keep up. Although the Second Tier wasn’t as lowly as a dog, it was still just a common level among superhumans, so it would be better to leave this money to his more promising son.
As for relying on slow, painstaking effort, Gao Ling had waited long enough. He had spent twenty years, after countless schemes and networking, to finally rise to his current position as Deputy Bureau Chief.
“The higher-ups have already issued a directive: any Ability User official who can hold their post and maintain local stability during the Spirit Devourer virus’s rampage will be promoted by at least one rank after this is over. Once I get through this, the ‘Deputy’ in my title can be removed.” Thinking of this, Gao Ling's mood significantly brightened.
Although the Spirit Devourer virus was terrifying, there were still many people with no background who were unwilling to painstakingly accumulate experience. They held a strong sense of opportunism and a desire to gamble on luck, planning to use this rare special opportunity for promotion.
This secret agreement, issued to maintain the government's daily operations, immediately became the hope of countless individuals striving within the system.
Ten years had passed since the Spirit Qi Era. After the first wave of individuals distinguished themselves, violently reallocating society’s resources and establishing a new structure, it became extremely difficult for those who came later to reach their heights.
Few among those who had already reached the upper echelons were willing to relinquish their benefits and allow more people to share in this massive cake.
Therefore, they implicitly joined forces, exerting increasingly strict control over the remaining supply of spiritual materials, allowing most of the collected materials to circulate only within a small circle, artificially increasing the difficulty of cultivation.
Outwardly, they exaggerated the scarcity of spiritual material resources, repeatedly raising the prices of various cultivation materials. This ultimately led to a situation where only those with exceptional talent and minimal reliance on resources had the chance to break through this invisible barrier and enter their circle.
After all, too few people knew the true figures for the total resource reserves; without a certain vantage point, there was simply no way to verify them.
“Hurry, get ready, strike as soon as he comes out!” Taking advantage of the moment Gao Ling went into the kitchen for beer, A’Wei opened the door, letting his subordinates, who had been waiting outside, enter one by one.
“Be quick, and be ruthless! Although Old Gao has no fighting experience, he’s an Ability User. He can take on five or six of us without a problem.”
“A’Wei, beer...” Gao Ling hummed a little tune, holding two cans of beer in his hands.
“What are you doing?!” Seeing six knife-wielding young men suddenly appear in his living room, he quickly shouted.
“Enough talk, cut him!” The once obsequious A’Wei instantly changed his expression, grabbed the knife handed to him by a subordinate, and led the charge, slashing towards Gao Ling.
“Bang! Bang!” Seeing the situation before him, he instinctively hurled the two cans of beer in his hands forcefully at two of the men, then rushed to the kitchen at top speed to find a weapon for himself..
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