GAMMT - Chapter 44
Chapter 44: The Gene Pool
When Fu Chuan arrived at her residence, she glanced at the time. Instead of taking out her resources to begin absorbing them, she produced another, separate communicator. She used its private network to open a VIP account, logged in, and tinkered for a while before starting her research.
Southern suburbs, urban planning, noble privileges, Economic Department reforms…
She searched these keywords and analyzed them for a long time but couldn't figure out Xie An's motive for wanting that piece of land. That old fox definitely wasn't just taking a freebie. While a profit of tens of millions of green coins was substantial, she felt that for someone like Xie An, who excelled at using small pawns to secure huge gains, proposing this land immediately upon realizing there was an opportunity to exploit her recent troubles was an almost instinctual desire. It must have been a spontaneous reaction aimed at the greatest possible benefit.
Based on Fu Chuan's analysis of the recent education reforms and the Lan Clan's scarcity of heirs (unlike the old stud Xie An, who had illegitimate children blooming everywhere), Xie An should have taken the opportunity to ask for their grain shops instead. The Economic Department had recently suppressed grain prices, and many merchants who had expected to make a fortune were now unwilling to sell, hoping to hoard their stock until prices rose again. However, agricultural law stipulated that if a licensed merchant deliberately withheld goods during a market shortage, it was a criminal offense. Under these circumstances, the only way for these merchants to secure their long-term interests was to sell their shops, effectively transferring their license to sell grain.
Buying a shop again in the future wouldn't be difficult, and obtaining a new grain license was also easy. The only potential loss was that the new shop's location might not be as good as the current one.
But they could just sell at an inflated price, so they wouldn't lose out overall.
Among the noble families, the Xie Clan was more focused on agriculture and owned numerous farms; otherwise, they wouldn't have so casually given a farm to an insignificant illegitimate son like Fu Chuan.
The Xie Clan had plenty of grain. Since they had already offended the other nobles because of Fu Chuan, they had no choice but to see this path through to the end, cooperate with the Economic Department, and curry favor to make it easier to obtain other business licenses in the future.
This was evident from Xie An's attitude toward Zhou Linlang at the time. The old fox was very pragmatic.
So, if Xie An had taken the opportunity to ask the Lan Clan for some shops, it would have been a feasible move. It would be like carving up prime retail resources, which was far more sensible than taking a piece of land in the southern suburbs with an uncertain future.
But he didn't.
Fu Chuan was puzzled. She wracked her brains but couldn't figure it out. Just as she was about to give up, it suddenly occurred to her that Xie An had been very confident lately. Compared to the other families, his greatest advantage was likely his connection to the more powerful Blue Blood noble Fu Clan.
What industry was the Fu Clan in again?
Fu Chuan looked it up and discovered that the Fu Clan's businesses in the neighboring city were indeed far more high-end than those of Green Blood nobles like the Xie Clan.
"They actually run a private alchemy guild. That's impressive. It's an incredibly profitable business; just the commission from platform fees paid by customers and alchemists would be an astronomical sum."
"Alchemy requires a large space. A legitimate platform would also need commercial land, and foot traffic is important. Could that land in the southern suburbs be converted to commercial use?"
Wasn't it farmland over there?
Suspicious, Fu Chuan found a map of the southern suburbs to examine. She even looked up local geological and biological analysis data. Of course, she didn't understand any of it—she wasn't a god—but there were professionals in this world.
Fu Chuan directly spent three million copper coins through a relevant platform to contact a professor in a related field from a university in Jingyang, asking him to analyze the data and provide a report.
The professor made a living doing freelance work, so a task of this difficulty was a piece of cake. He was also very satisfied with his client's generosity and sent back the report in less than ten minutes.
Fu Chuan looked at the notes in the report: Fluctuations in metal elements are significant. Unsuitable for the survival of temperature-sensitive plants. Soil is loose, suggesting potential for minor crustal movement.
Crustal movement—isn't that a natural phenomenon? What profit could be gained from that?
Fu Chuan suddenly thought of what happened on X5. Her idea was probably a bit bold, but it mainly stemmed from connecting the potential benefits the Fu Clan could offer the Xie Clan with this piece of land. She moved her fingers and wrote a single word on a blank sheet of paper: Mine.
And it had to be a high-grade ore with high activity values; otherwise, it wouldn't have suddenly affected the local environment.
Of course, this was just a guess.
But what if it was true?
Fu Chuan thought for a moment, then found some reputable "human resources" from the underground labor market and had them investigate the Xie Clan's commercial purchase orders from the last six months.
"To open a mine, you first need land ownership, a mining license, safety certifications, asset collateral verification, and so on. Most importantly, the mining license is often prioritized for local enterprises. If a local mine is to be developed, it will only be offered to an outside company if no local enterprise can meet the mining conditions… Therefore, the Fu Clan can't get priority over the Xie, Teng, and Lan Clan, or even other companies. Cooperating with the Xie Clan is the best option because they have the most suitable alchemy guild platform to utilize the ore, while the Xie Clan naturally becomes the supplier of the raw materials. The Fu Clan probably even provided the prospecting capabilities. The two sides are working together, each for their own benefit."
Given Xie An's personality, he definitely wouldn't let the mining operations go through the Fu Clan. Otherwise, his share of the profits would be small, and he could easily be strong-armed by them. So, if he had been planning this for a while, he would certainly have purchased the equipment himself.
Fu Chuan made the arrangements and waited for the results. Only then did she begin to absorb her resources, while also tinkering with the Meditation Puppet…
The butler was still arranging for people to clean the vicinity. He was a sharp man and gave the servants special instructions. "Keep an eye on the Second Young Master's area. If anything is not up to standard, you must be careful."
These servants were clever as well. Once the list for the Gene Pool was out, they saw that besides the designated eldest son of the main line and the most promising member of the branch family, the only other person on the list was the good-for-nothing Second Young Master whom no one had any faith in.
What did this mean?
It meant that the other young masters had all missed out on the benefits of this round of the Gene Pool. The Second Young Master might very well surpass them. In the future, wouldn't the Second Young Master's status be higher?
So, they all readily agreed.
"Don't worry, Butler. We will definitely clean it thoroughly and make sure this place is spotless and perfectly intact."
The words had barely left his mouth.
Boom!!
The small door to a training room in one of the courtyards was blown off… The shattered wooden door flew out and slammed into the butler's leg.
Black smoke billowed out from inside, and sparks flew.
The servant said, "Uh, Butler, we might need to have some renovation workers on standby."
The butler sat down, lifted his leg, and clutched it. His eyes reddened as he nodded. "Yes, we do."
They might also need the family physician on standby.
At 5:50 PM.
The courtyard was quiet and serene. The refined but stuffy Xie Qingyan and the cold and arrogant Xie Hezhou stood there. The latter was growing impatient, leaning against a wall with his arms crossed. "The brothers from your main branch really don't take you, the eldest son, seriously. He's just an illegitimate son, yet he can stomp on your face like this?"
He actually made Xie Qingyan wait for him.
That Xie Keli was something else.
Xie Qingyan knew the man was trying to stir up trouble and replied coolly, "You're a brother from a branch family. If you become capable enough, wouldn't I let you walk all over me too?"
Xie Hezhou retorted, "Then I really must thank you for your tolerance."
As they spoke, both suddenly fell silent, having heard a sound.
It was faint, furtive, and getting closer…
They both looked over. It was nothing at first, but in the next second, their expressions turned to shock.
A pale figure emerged from behind the rockery, its head wrapped in white… a bandaged monster.
"Who's there!"
"You're courting death!"
The two most outstanding juniors of the Xie Clan were about to launch an attack.
"Don't, don't, don't, it's me!"
Seeing the glow of an Arcane attack, Fu Chuan cried out in alarm and turned to hide behind the rockery.
Could she be blamed? It was that crappy, novice-level Reaction Furnace that had exploded!
With her left cheek swollen, Fu Chuan had also bandaged her right cheek and hands, making her look like a mummy. To make matters worse, her eyes were red from the soot, making her look like a red-eyed mummy monster at first glance.
It was no wonder she scared them.
Two attacks were still launched.
Bang!
The two attacks produced only a single sound, and neither of them hit Fu Chuan.
They exploded in front of her.
Xie Qingyan's attack had struck Xie Hezhou's.
It had neutralized it.
Fu Chuan looked at Xie Qingyan, who in turn looked at Xie Hezhou. "Has your skill declined this much, or are you just that afraid of ghosts?"
The implication was that he had clearly recognized it was Xie Keli but still attacked. Since the latter was the one who looked scary, he would have an excuse later.
Xie Hezhou shot a sideways glance at Fu Chuan. "Is this a ghost? Even ghosts aren't this ugly."
He walked forward impatiently. Xie Qingyan gave a wry smile and gestured for Fu Chuan to follow.
The most important place in the Xie Clan was naturally the Gene Pool.
In fact, Fu Chuan had long ago guessed that the benefit the branch family disciples were so eager for was the Gene Pool.
"The Gene Pool… It seems infiltrating the Xie Clan's den wasn't a total waste."
Fu Chuan had previously been quite disgusted with the whole situation at the Xie Clan. She felt it was a small pond with big waves, full of petty people from top to bottom. Several times, she had wanted to get her ID and just run, but she ultimately stayed for this Gene Pool.
In a way, the Gene Pool wasn't exclusive to nobles, but any family that was a noble was guaranteed to have one. It could be thought of as a pool created from the gene ions released by generations of ancestors from their own cultivated Gene Trees, concocted with each family's unique secret gene formula. Soaking in this pool for a period could result in an overall improvement in the aptitude of one's own Gene Tree. While using an S1 Gene Key to light up a branch always had a chance of success and would increase attributes each time, the magnitude of the increase depended on the foundation of the tree itself.
If it was a crooked, rotten fir tree, it wouldn't amount to much.
But if it was a precious and formidable rosewood tree, then there was no need to even mention it.
So, if the Gene Pool provided a 10% boost, then the five branches Fu Chuan had already lit up would all be enhanced by 10%. The resulting amplification was easy to imagine.
Schools also had Gene Pools. The prestigious academies like West Jin Academy definitely had them, and their Gene Pools were certainly of a higher grade than the Xie Clan's. However, schools had many students, so the allocated usage time was limited.
Moreover, when it came to genes, those passed down through a family for generations were naturally a better fit.
However, Fu Chuan was only hoping to leech a small benefit from this pool; she wasn't expecting a huge boost. She felt that Xie Keli's attributes and aptitude were trash, so his innate potential couldn't be much better. The family's Gene Pool, tailored to this body, wouldn't provide too great a benefit. If she used her own original body to experience the Gene Pool, the mismatched gene chains would also reduce the effect, but it was better than nothing.
Getting a free dip was like a pie falling from the sky.
Soon, a building with ancient charm appeared before them. Fu Chuan looked up and saw the Xie Clan's totem hanging on the plaque above the door. Inside the main gate stood two masked guards who were like cold robots, not even seeming to breathe.
They were 30th-level Arcanists, and clearly not the watered-down kind. Fu Chuan lowered her head and obediently followed behind the two rising stars of the Xie Clan. After their identities were verified, Xie Qingyan, as a family heir, led them in with practiced ease, mainly looking out for Fu Chuan.
"This is your first time. Before entering the Gene Pool, you must first wash and then change clothes. Of course, you can choose not to change. You'll enter the pool last. Maintaining the Gene Pool consumes a large amount of gene materials left by the family elders and the energy to activate it, not to mention the painstaking effort behind the formula. Therefore, its cost is very high, and the soaking time is regulated. The family opens it once every three months, with only three spots available each time, determined by the performance of the family disciples over those three months."
So, it really should have been Xie Guangyu. What a pity.
He got married.
That marriage really was no different from a tomb.
"After we go in, we'll be given a token. The token has a fixed time. You must exit the pool when the time is up. Otherwise, it will be considered a violation, and you will never be allowed to enter the Gene Pool again. So, as soon as the token's timer runs out, you must come out immediately. Don't be greedy for benefits, understand?"
Xie Qingyan seemed refined and aloof, but he turned out to be a considerate chatterbox. He was indeed looking out for her.
Fu Chuan had suspected him before, and now she couldn't help but feel a little ashamed. She answered meekly and followed the two of them inside.
The inside… looked like a coffee shop.
Fu Chuan was a bit surprised. It was very fashionable, tastefully decorated, and they really did serve coffee, drinks, and the like, with sofas for lounging.
These two were regular customers. A white-haired old man in a small vest was wiping a coffee cup. He glanced at Fu Chuan with some disdain.
He probably saw through her attributes at a glance.
This damn old man, so rude.
"Here are your tokens. Remember the rules. Don't mess around. If you're too greedy and ruin your own opportunity, that's one thing, but damaging the Gene Pool is a crime punishable by a hundred deaths."
Fu Chuan knew those words were directed at her. The old man brewed a coffee and handed it to Xie Qingyan.
Then he gave Fu Chuan a glass of ice water.
The differential treatment was blatant. Fortunately, Xie Hezhou's treatment wasn't much better; he also got ice water.
Xie Hezhou snorted coldly, took his token, and went straight into the washroom. Just as Fu Chuan was about to follow, Xie Qingyan handed her his coffee.
"?"
"We've just met. Forgive your older brother for being stingy. Let me treat you to a coffee."
"Uh, that is pretty stingy."
"…"
Fu Chuan was actually touched. She quickly took it and said, a little awkwardly, "Thanks, brother."
Xie Qingyan smiled and led her to the washroom.
Fu Chuan drank the coffee in a few gulps and found that it tasted quite good. Then, just as she put the cup down to go wash up and change, she… shuddered in shock.
Two young, handsome, well-built, and aesthetically pleasing bodies… were rinsing off with their backs to her.
Water streamed down their sculpted backs… flowing past their hips… or was that the cleft of their buttocks?
Fu Chuan's mind went blank. She leaned against the wall for a moment, closed her eyes, and exhaled, not daring to look any further down.
"What's wrong? Aren't you coming over?"
Xie Qingyan, looking out for him, turned around to ask what was going on. Xie Hezhou also turned to look at him, his expression cold and silent.
"Nothing, it's just that this coffee is a bit strong. I'm a little drunk."
"…"
Fu Chuan composed herself and had no choice but to walk over. She noticed Xie Hezhou was already starting to dry himself off to leave and knew they wouldn't linger long. She slowly began to take off her outer clothes, but then she heard Xie Qingyan's unhurried voice.
"You're not used to it, are you? It's not that the family can't afford curtains or private washrooms."
"It's mainly to let the brothers be open with each other and strengthen our friendship."
Is it effective?
Obviously not. Look at how your brothers are fighting amongst themselves.
Fu Chuan rolled her eyes internally and muttered, "Isn't being too open a bit… awkward?"
Seeing that they weren't leaving, she couldn't act coy, because these two seemed quite sharp. If she revealed any flaws… Fu Chuan could only place her clothes to the side. Once she was mostly undressed, she avoided looking at them and walked under a showerhead to rinse off. She casually reached for the toiletries… and saw a bar of soap. She almost laughed out loud. Was the culture in this world different? Or were the Xie Clan elders just secretly perverted, even providing soap like this…
Her hands were just being mischievous. She casually reached to pick it up for a look, but her hand slipped.
The bar of soap shot out with a slap and a skid, landing between the three of them.
Xie Qingyan and Xie Hezhou, who had been minding their own business, both snapped their heads to look.
Fu Chuan: "…"
She felt like she was about to ascend to immortality.
That feeling of your soul leaving your body from sheer embarrassment…
Xie Qingyan asked coolly, "Why are you looking at us? Aren't you going to pick it up?"
Fu Chuan, her face wooden, said, "I'm thinking about what posture to use… Could you two turn around?"
"No."
Xie Hezhou sneered, crossing his arms over his chest, insisting on watching.
This guy is such a jerk. So annoying.
Fu Chuan rolled her eyes, quickly picked up the soap, and as she stood up… she swiftly and stylishly threw the soap at Xie Hezhou.
"Watch the dart!"
Brotherly love, right? Brothers need to fool around a bit to build a bond. Fu Chuan felt she should get on good terms with these two… so she decided to be a little playful.
They couldn't possibly be that petty, right?
Because they were already very close, Xie Hezhou was completely caught off guard. He did move, his reaction speed was decent, but unfortunately, he couldn't dodge it completely. In fact, it just so happened… smack!
The soap landed with 100% perfect accuracy on a certain part of his body.
The force wasn't great, but it wasn't small either.
Xie Qingyan: "…"
Xie Hezhou: "?"
Fu Chuan: "!"
No, she had originally intended to hit him in the chest.
Before Xie Hezhou's face could turn black with rage and grab her, she quickly snatched a loose bathrobe and a towel and bolted.
After escaping, Fu Chuan felt extremely uncomfortable about the encounter on one hand, and on the other, she was eager to reasonably shake off the two of them and create some distance. Fortunately, she knew that the Gene Pool inside wasn't a single unit.
A large pool was divided into several cubicles, likely to prevent mutual interference or even murder while their genes were undergoing changes.
Fu Chuan took her token and entered her small cubicle. She saw that a small pool had been sectioned off inside. It was a deep, mysterious blue, but it emitted a faint red gas. The gas didn't dissipate much; within the cubicle, it was reabsorbed by the totems on the walls, flowing along red threads back into the pool.
Fu Chuan could see steampunk-like operational hubs. Each gear in the hubs had a unique totem.
As it operated, the gears clicked and engaged, representing the collision of each totem and alchemy spell. The energy and substances produced from these collisions entered the pool, catalyzing and acting upon its reagents and genetic materials, ultimately creating this mysterious blue and red-misted Gene Pool.
Fu Chuan knew that the processes involved were incredibly complex and would require the collaboration of many alchemists to create. No wonder that old man was afraid she would mess things up.
Fu Chuan walked over and, seeing no surveillance, first dipped her hand into the pool's liquid to test it… there was no reaction.
Uh, she remembered that in the game, characters usually had some kind of reaction when entering a Gene Pool. For her to have none at all… was Xie Keli's aptitude really that pathetic?
"Then I can only use my original body to leech off the reduced effect. As for the Xie Clan's genes… forget it. Unless the Xie Clan has an extremely high talent ceiling, it's really not necessary."
To put it simply, if the Xie Clan's overall Gene Tree was like a magnificent phoenix tree, then even if Xie Keli's genetic aptitude was a complete mess, she would still have to madly invest resources to cultivate it into something presentable.
It would just mean a higher resource investment than others, with a lower cost-effectiveness.
But the future potential would be promising, the ceiling high.
But she estimated that the Xie Clan was just a Green Blood noble family; they couldn't be that impressive. Better to forget it.
Just leeching a bit would be enough.
After fifteen seconds of feeling that Xie Keli's body had no reaction to the Gene Pool other than it being a bit cool, Fu Chuan decisively switched to her original body.
The moment her original body materialized, she felt it.
The roots of her Gene Tree were receiving resources.
She looked down and saw the mysterious blue substance from the pool entering her body, seeping inch by inch into her Gene Tree.
"If only the Gene Tree representing Xie Keli was also malleable, a dual Gene Tree… what a pity."
Fu Chuan lamented her circumstances at the time. If she had appeared in a better environment, she would never have chosen someone like him as the target for her Devouring Scroll. At the very least, she would have found an otherworldly spirit body.
That would have been a more perfect scenario.
Now…
Fu Chuan summoned the little locust BOSS.
"Sister?"
"This is mainly for you… leech what you can… you and I are one, we can share."
This was the terrifying aspect of pets. In the later stages, a pet was absolutely more important than an Arcanist's wife. Moreover, she wanted to use her pet's senses to deepen her understanding of the Gene Tree.
This was an experience that a novice in the early stages or someone just playing a game could never obtain.
Fu Chuan closed her eyes, quietly feeling its movement and the overall network of pathways.
Fu Chuan even vaguely felt that she had grasped the existence of the node for the sixth branch.
A breakthrough?
No, what she wanted more was to know what her original body's genetic talent was.
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