GAMMT - Chapter 4
Chapter 4: There's a Ghost
Fu Chuan entered the tavern and went straight to the dilapidated house where she used to live. It was now burnt beyond recognition, covered in ash and charcoal, with the beams on the verge of collapse, but the roof was still intact.
After checking the structure and confirming it wouldn't collapse for the time being, she observed the outside. Seeing no one, she quickly stuffed the medicinal herbs and bottles inside into her pocket and rummaged around some more...
They were just a bunch of commoners; how much effort could it take? They didn't even need Arcane arts. A few subordinates took down twenty able-bodied escorts, and the leader himself barely lifted a finger. When he saw the cheap young master enter the tavern, a dark glint flashed in his eyes, and after a moment, he followed him in.
Outside the burnt-out house in the backyard, the leader arrived at the door just in time to see the person cleaning up the scene.
That's right, she was destroying the scene.
They looked at each other.
He saw a hint of panic on the cheap young master's face, but he quickly composed himself. He said awkwardly, "I'm paying my respects to her, my beloved girl."
A flicker of mockery crossed the leader's eyes, but he replied respectfully, "It's all taken care of. May I ask if we can leave now, Young Master?"
"I have an appointment with someone from Li Corporation's mining company at the coffee house in half an hour. We can leave after we're done talking. You go out first, I'll be there shortly."
The leader acknowledged and went out. Once outside, a subordinate came over, gestured with his eyes towards the inside, and asked in a low voice what to do next.
"Wait for the Young Master to finish his business."
"The Young Master still has business? Wiping the slate clean?"
"Wiping the slate clean" was their slang for cleaning up a scene after a murder or arson. Such things were common among the nobility, and they, as the enforcers, were the ones who carried them out. But it was rare to see someone do the cleaning themselves.
The leader's silence was as good as confirmation.
They all understood that the cheap young master's actions against Madam Miley and her family were just a cover. His real purpose was to destroy the evidence of his assault on Fu Chuan and her subsequent death.
This person was no good, but he had some cunning when it came to selfishness. He wasn't an idiot.
After dealing with the tavern, Fu Chuan quickly led her people to the coffee house. She didn't have to wait long, because the other party was already waiting for her.
Did the Xie Clan have that much clout?
The network on the garbage star was cut off from the outside world. Ordinary people, aside from a few fixed wireless gaming channels, could only use Li Corporation's search platforms. This was a form of information blockade to control their thoughts.
This world was vast. In the eight-thousand-year history of the Red Maple Empire, the number of ennobled Green Blood Nobles alone was in the triple digits. Some had fallen, some were active—it was too complex. She didn't know much about it, so she had no idea what kind of background this Xie Clan had. After all, in the protagonist's storyline, they were barely mentioned, as even Xie Keli was just cannon fodder.
But she knew about Li Corporation. It was one of the three giants in the Beluke Province Chamber of Commerce, an absolute behemoth. Its name was certainly more formidable than this Xie Clan. So, Fu Chuan had expected the company's personnel to be arrogant, but surprisingly, they had arrived early.
They were impeccably polite on the surface.
She was a little surprised, but she quickly understood what was going on when the person opened his mouth and demanded to review the property ownership.
Huh?
These were all properties on a garbage star. Why the need for such rigor? It wasn't like this in the past, and it wasn't the first time they had acquired property from residents of the garbage star.
Fu Chuan was suspicious, but then she suddenly remembered that in the year 1563 of the Eternal Brilliance calendar in Arcane Throne, a new minister had taken office in the Imperial Economic Department. His methods were absolutely brutal, giving the major conglomerates a hard time. This officially marked the beginning of the war between the Imperial Political Department and the powerful financial magnates who had hollowed out the empire's economy. After this person came to power, his new team was reshuffled, and Beluke Province was one of his main bases. So, the Beluke government's Economic Department must have issued some new measures that threatened the Li Corporation.
Especially for industries like garbage star mining, which teetered on the edge of environmental and human safety, Li Corporation was likely under investigation by the Imperial Economic Department. Every business project had to be perfect, especially the garbage star contracting part.
Fu Chuan finally understood. The other party was afraid that an illegitimate son with ties to the Xie Clan like him would cause trouble and tamper with the property rights, hence their caution.
"The property rights are all in order, you can check. Look at this part, I already paid taxes on it when I inherited the estate. There's a record of it right here."
From the representative's seemingly polite but actually shrewd and assertive demeanor, Fu Chuan could see Li Corporation's determination to rectify the garbage star operations to pass inspection. It was just like in real life: whenever there was a whiff of a new policy from above, the usually lazy bosses would get a shot of adrenaline, eager to conduct a major cleanup every day, even wanting to scrub the crevices of the toilet bowls.
Normally, at a time like this, leveraging the small bit of face the Xie Clan seemed to have, she could have raised the price to make up for some of the losses from the hasty asset sale.
But she didn't.
First, she couldn't reveal that she knew about the company's problems. Second, Li Corporation was a behemoth. Her future was uncertain, and she didn't want to stir up trouble for a small profit.
So, in front of the leader, she fully displayed a fawning attitude of bullying the weak and fearing the strong, acting cautiously and not daring to offend, a complete contrast to her arrogant and triumphant self half an hour ago.
Since one side was willing to yield and the other didn't want to skimp to ensure compliance, the transaction was naturally very smooth, and the paperwork was completed quickly.
Assets originally valued at over twelve million copper coins were sold for a price of eight million copper coins. It was a one-time deal, with all procedures complete and no loose ends. After it was done, the check was handed directly to Fu Chuan.
The reason it wasn't deposited into an account was that none of the residents on the garbage star had personal accounts. All financial transactions were conducted via check or cash, or through real estate. This was a regulation established by Li Corporation. As for why... those who know, know.
This was also the operational logic behind why Xie Keli's mother hid her assets in a gas canister.
The leader saw the check but remained calm. After Fu Chuan put the check away, the representative watched their departing figures, removed the recording device from his chest, and sent the video to the computer of the Li Corporation's X5 mining company boss. The latter watched Fu Chuan's series of actions, patted his large belly, and said, "The Jingyang Xie Clan has been developing quite well these years. I don't get why, when the eldest legitimate son is so outstanding, they insist on bringing back such a good-for-nothing."
"Who knows? These Green Blood Nobles don't have as many rules as the Blue Bloods. They're a mess."
The representative also left soon after. As he stepped out and boarded a floating mechanical airship, he glanced at Xie Keli and his group mounting their mechanical horses. A thought inexplicably crossed his mind: Strange, it's not like the Xie Clan can't afford an airship. Why didn't they use one to pick him up? Can't they afford X5's sky traffic tax or something?
Without an airship, they would have to travel by land on mechanical horses from the town to X5's largest central city, the Sky Port, to take a spaceship. That would be a waste of two days' travel time.
And... it wasn't safe.
Fu Chuan, with the money in hand, appeared delighted on the surface but was actually quite apprehensive inside.
She had also noticed that the leader and his men hadn't arranged for an airship. She was suspicious, fearing a trap, so she directly asked with feigned arrogance, "Why isn't there an airship to pick me up? Can't my father afford one?"
And they called themselves nobles?
Her tone was showy, tinged with contempt and suspicion.
All the guards heard it. The leader lowered his head and explained, "The Xie Clan operates three airship companies, so there's no shortage of airships. However, before we came to X5, the private route we applied for was passing through the 'Cicada' stellar storm. We had to abandon the airship and take the Sky Port's spaceship on X5. Since it was like that on the way here, it will naturally be the same on the way back. Otherwise, Young Master, you could wait on X5 for another ten days for the family to apply for a new route and send an airship over?"
This was a cosmic natural disaster, unavoidable. Fu Chuan had no grounds to complain. Besides, she had no desire to stay on the garbage star any longer. By her calculations, the new school term was about to start. It was best to ride the coattails of her cheap father's family and return to the empire to enroll in school as soon as possible.
Education was the real path forward; manual labor had no future.
"Then won't it be dangerous on the road? I grew up in the town and heard people say there are ferocious beasts like Iron-Ridge Wasteland Wolves everywhere outside."
The leader lowered his head. "We can easily handle up to thirty of them. The area we'll be passing through is an official road, and the wolf packs near the official road number no more than twenty at most. With the speed of the JK134, we can reach the midway station for the night by evening and arrive at the Sky Port tomorrow afternoon. There won't be any accidents, you can rest assured."
That was true; even those johns had said so.
Fu Chuan calculated the travel time and knew he wasn't lying, which put her at ease. So, she packed her things and left the small town on horseback with these people. The half-day journey was indeed uneventful. But that night, after checking into a hotel room at the station and confirming there were no surveillance or prying devices, she slipped into the bathroom and took out the contents of her backpack.
An urn.
Inside, besides the ashes, were the check and other things she considered most important.
The check was naturally of primary importance; it could buy a large quantity of low-level medicinal herbs like Blue Star Grass. But she urgently needed to use the S1 Gene Key now, and the check couldn't be cashed immediately. So if she had to choose, she might still pick the Blue Star Grass in a critical moment.
The ashes were separated by plastic. Otherwise, making her consume Blue Star Grass contaminated with ashes... well... that would be a bit difficult.
Fu Chuan looked around the hotel room, brought over the electric kettle, and calculated based on her current body's data. "Constitution 2, 8 points short of the required 10. To compensate for the muscle tissue strength, I'll need 2 stalks of Blue Star Grass, and also..."
She carefully prepared the concoction with a practiced hand. As the kettle began to boil, she walked over to the desk, mentally planning how to use the 8 million copper coins.
This wasn't a windfall from heaven; it was the first pot of gold she had obtained after illegally stealing someone else's identity. She had to digest it as quickly as possible to increase her strength.
In other words, even if she were exposed later, she would have already reaped the benefits. No loss.
Fu Chuan mentally listed a long spending plan while turning on the hotel TV. She saw a report about the aviation accident losses caused by the "Cicada" storm.
The leader hadn't lied to her.
Fu Chuan was about to turn off the TV when she suddenly glimpsed the flight path of the accident location on the news channel. She froze, pausing the screen, and then recalled the world map of Arcane Throne.
She wasn't good with plotlines, but she was quite proficient with map knowledge, which was crucial for distributing the world's countless resources. If she remembered correctly, there were three routes between Jingyang City's location and the airspace of X5. The accident had occurred on Route B. According to the leader's statement, they were avoiding the Cicada storm, so they must have booked Route B. The accident on Route B happened on the 13th, the same day she devoured Xie Keli.
But the biggest bug was that she had already sensed and concluded that the leader and his men had arrived in the small town several days in advance. So they had already avoided the Cicada stellar storm.
His reason was a lie.
So why lie?
Fu Chuan was, after all, just a young merchant who had never encountered such a life-or-death scheme. Her scalp tingled, but she quickly calmed herself because the potion was ready. She drank it, and as she felt a burning heat in her body, a warmth spreading through her limbs as the medicine took effect, she swallowed the S1 Gene Key in one gulp.
Clean and decisive.
After entering her body, the S1 Gene Key traveled down her throat towards her stomach, likely dissolving quickly. So, in just a dozen seconds, Fu Chuan felt her body melting, or rather, being dragged into another, less real world. It was pitch black. Her senses of sight, hearing, taste, and all other perceptions vanished. She could feel that some kind of barrier truly existed, and it was being assaulted.
Wave after wave after wave.
Damn it, could you get rid of the pain too!
The pain was so intense Fu Chuan felt like clawing off her own skin, but she forced herself to hold back her screams. The soundproofing in this hotel wasn't great, and it would be bad if the leader heard her.
About three minutes later... Fu Chuan heard a crisp sound like a shaking bell. Immediately after, a light appeared in the dark world.
A single point of starlight illuminated a tree in the darkness.
She had opened the first page of the 1st Sequence of the Gene Tree.
She saw that the lowest light point at the root of the Gene Tree was now lit, and in that instant, she saw her own attribute panel.
The panel was extremely simple right now.
Level: 1.
Main Attributes.
Mental Power: 18 (Initial Mental Power 1)
Strength: 19 (Initial Strength 1)
Constitution: 35. (Initial Constitution 3)
Agility: 26. (Initial Agility 2)
Fu Chuan frowned slightly. After using the S1 Gene Key, personal attributes would change dramatically, usually multiplying several times over from the original base. But Mental Power was the foremost of all attributes, and the initial Mental Power at level 1 basically determined the magnitude of later growth, unless supplemented by future opportunities and resources. The early advantage was too important; farming resources required output. So, the initial talent of Xie Keli's body was also quite important.
But she hadn't expected this thing to be so useless, a complete waste of the S1 Gene Key. With 18 points of Mental Power now, could she even cast two Arcane Missiles?
However, Fu Chuan had other plans when she chose the Devouring Scroll. It was the most dangerous gamble for her long-term prospects after arriving.
There was another half-page of content below.
Note: The above attributes are the effects of the externalized personality from using the Devouring Scroll. The main body's attributes are hidden and can be displayed externally. However, after display, the attribute amplification will descend upon the main body, and there will be changes. Please adapt with caution.
She herself was, of course, the main body. She had only devoured the genes of Xie Keli's body, merging with it. Although Xie Keli's physical talent was a bit trash, at least she still had her original body as a backup.
A slave, but who knew if she had any aptitude.
Surely it wouldn't be a total loss on both fronts!
With a sense of trepidation, Fu Chuan opened the hidden panel. The attribute page refreshed and quickly changed to the following, and her main body, due to the mystical effect of the Devouring Scroll, manifested. In an instant, she herself appeared, drenched in sweat, covered in filth, weak yet feeling a refreshing sense of having shed her mortal coil.
Looking up at the mirror, she was actually looking at her own attribute panel.
Level: 1.
Main Attributes.
Mental Power: 188 (Initial Mental Power 1+99)
Strength: 48 (Initial Strength 1+18)
Constitution: 69 (Initial Constitution 3+15)
Agility: 99 (Initial Agility 2+25)
The little slave crushed the useless young master! For the useless young master's genes to make a comeback, it would depend on whether his cheap father's ancestral genes were any good. For now, he was certified trash. The greatest benefit he gave her was the ability to leave the garbage star openly and obtain the status of a free person, even a noble's descendant.
Fu Chuan was absolutely thrilled, but she also knew that the Mental Power had little to do with the original Fu Chuan; it was because of herself.
She was a replacement soul. Her Mental Power could only originate from her. It seemed her own initial talent for Mental Power was quite formidable. In the original game world, it would be considered A-grade, second only to those S-rank freaks.
"The Devouring Scroll truly lives up to its name as a heaven-defying, life-changing suicide artifact. Either you die, or you rise."
Fu Chuan licked the blood from her back teeth and spat it into the washbasin. Looking at herself in the mirror again, her eyes held a new depth.
The foundation was now barely laid, a decent start. But next, she had to save her own life.
That leader was a ghost!
Fu Chuan touched her forehead and found it burning hot. A few images flashed through her mind.
Drinking water, the potion to test her physical fitness, his complete obedience to her...
Got it!
Fu Chuan quickly chose to hide her main body, and in the next second, she transformed back into Xie Keli's appearance.
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