GAMMT - Chapter 69
Chapter 69: A Marriage Alliance
As the airship passed a city checkpoint, Fu Chuan saw the same old guard from before. He was holding a thermos, blowing on the steam. He greeted Fu Chuan with surprising warmth when he saw her. "Well now, young man, you're back! Is the exam over?"
Fu Chuan was so tired she was about to doze off. Hearing him, she barely lifted her eyelids and replied listlessly, "Not really. I'm here for a funeral."
The old man was speechless. "?"
Huh? You've only had a father for less than a month, how are you already attending a funeral?
Did someone in the family die?
Still, the old man was tactful. He asked with concern, "Who in your family passed away?"
Fu Chuan replied, "Basically all of them."
The old man: "…"
The atmosphere turned a little awkward.
Let the world flood outside; first, I'll have my afternoon nap.
Fu Chuan fell into a dead sleep the moment she got back, but the alarm she'd set beforehand still woke her at four-thirty. She opened her eyes to the gradually deepening orange of the sunset and subconsciously recalled the glow of the Flame Dragon. She rubbed her eyes and picked up her communicator to check her messages.
It was from Zhou Linlang, just a single line of text.
Contact me when you wake up.
Simple and direct.
But Fu Chuan knew she must have already heard about what had happened. She also knew that she would be exhausted and would need to sleep…
She understood her so well.
Fu Chuan gave a wry smile and sent a message back, asking her to pick a place. Zhou Linlang quickly replied with an address.
After washing up, Fu Chuan saw that the Xie residence had already taken on the atmosphere of a funeral, with white mourning cloths hung everywhere.
However, the two hundred or so servants of the Xie Clan had no idea how their masters had died, where they had died, or where their bodies were. They simply went about their tasks with a sense of unease.
That is, until the rightful master of the Xie Clan, the Second Young Master, appeared.
The Second Young Master was formidable. The Second Young Master had a bright future. The Xie Clan still had a future. With these thoughts, the servants quickly settled down.
When the butler reported the situation to Fu Chuan, he was a little worried that this Second Young Master, who had just returned from a garbage star, would be clueless about managing affairs. To his surprise, that wasn't the case at all.
After giving some instructions, Fu Chuan began to organize the Xie Clan's assets.
The great mansion had collapsed, and when the tree falls, the monkeys scatter.
She had too much to do.
However, Fu Chuan only dealt with the most urgent matters first before heading directly to Xie An's secret room to retrieve things.
She guessed that since Xie Siyi intended to use her to control the family's voting rights, she wouldn't have taken the deeds to the Jingyang Xie Clan's properties. Otherwise, even a god wouldn't be able to manage the Xie Clan's portfolio.
Fu Chuan rushed into the secret room, no longer needing to be stealthy. But the moment she entered, she froze.
Inside… aside from the coffin containing Xie Yao's body, which had been taken, all the other treasures of the Xie Clan were still there.
Fu Chuan's emotions fluctuated wildly, cycling through shock, ecstasy, suspicion, and panic…
It reminded her of a story where a new leader generously offered to divide his territory among the old bosses, only for them all to die tragically soon after.
Although in the presence of her "aunt," she was truly insignificant, no more than a tiny ant on a fingernail.
But if she was just a tiny ant, why was she suddenly being treated so well…
Fu Chuan didn't hold much of a grudge about her hand being burned by magma. Too many people had hurt her since she arrived in this world; it was just a means to an end.
But she couldn't stand it when people gave her benefits for no reason.
It made her suspicious and worried.
Fu Chuan sat down in that same chair, looking at the treasures that represented the Xie Clan's deep-rooted foundation, and calculated their value in her head. Finally, she smiled bitterly.
She understood.
There seemed to be a lot of things, and their value was high. The most valuable items were surely in Xie An's bag; these were just the inventory.
But to keep the Xie Clan's enterprises running, 80% of what was here had to be used to appease the smaller factions that were vassals to the Xie Clan.
It was enough. Fu Chuan sorted through everything, taking out the deeds for the companies and other properties, and then began to organize the resources.
After allocating 80%, she stored the remaining 20% in her own bag. This 20% consisted of two main types of resources.
1. 1,000 S1 Gene Keys, 200 S2 Gene Keys, and 1,000 assorted Gene Marrow Crystals.
2. All the medicinal materials needed to maintain the gene pool. Fu Chuan calculated that it was enough for about 200 hours of gene pool time.
She could have taken more. Another 10%? Another 20%?
Fu Chuan restrained her greed, decisively divided the items, and then left the secret room. Out of sight, out of mind. However, she left her little locust behind to stand guard.
There were too many things for her bag to hold, and she couldn't take them all with her. If she left, there was no guarantee that the Teng and Lan Clan wouldn't be audacious enough to send someone to "steal" them.
Half an hour later, Fu Chuan appeared at a quiet private restaurant in the city.
There were no other customers inside, only the owner and staff, and Zhou Linlang, who was drinking tea in a private room on the second floor.
After sitting down, Fu Chuan looked at the beautiful flowers and trees around her and said, "Is this your secret base?"
"Not really. It's just a shop opened by a retired informant. He's trustworthy. Of course, the food is quite good, but I don't know if it's to your taste."
Zhou Linlang pushed a freshly poured cup of tea toward her, her gaze complex. "I originally thought you could leave the Xie Clan and reclaim your own identity after the high school entrance exam. It seems that's not possible now."
She didn't mention the fact that Fu Chuan had lured her away earlier, because she knew very well that it would have been useless even if she had been there.
Although the Zhou Family was a prestigious political family in Beluke Province, there was still a gap when compared to the Xie Clan, one of the top four noble families in Beluke. They were in different leagues.
Her influence was limited.
After drinking the tea, Fu Chuan noticed the leaves were quite expensive. Just sipping it calmed much of her inner turmoil. It was likely something Zhou Linlang had brought specially; a small shop like this wouldn't have such a luxury.
"It's true I can't leave, but on the bright side, I've picked up a family headship for free. There are benefits. I'll just treat it as entering another dungeon."
Fu Chuan had already sorted out her feelings and had genuinely come to terms with a lot. Then, she and Zhou Linlang began to eat.
Halfway through the meal, Fu Chuan suddenly said, "There's something I need your help with, Inspector Zhou."
"Go on." Zhou Linlang put down her chopsticks, picked up a bowl of soup, took a sip, and then looked at her seriously.
"Can you help me destroy the identity information of a person named Fu Chuan on X5 Star?"
Zhou Linlang lowered her head, and with a flick of her fingers, a stack of documents appeared in her hand.
"When I was investigating the Li Corporation, they were afraid of their illegal mining operations using slaves being exposed, so they held onto the identity records of all registered slaves on X5 Star. Later, because I was pressing the investigation, they destroyed many of the records themselves, even going so far as to grant many slaves freeman status. However, regarding Fu Chuan, because Xie Keli had just been found by the Xie Clan, the Li Corporation's person in charge on X5 saw a potential opportunity. So, he singled out her identity file and kept it, probably thinking he could use it for blackmail or sell it for money later."
Fu Chuan looked at the documents, lost in thought. "But it ended up in your hands…"
Zhou Linlang continued to drink her soup while explaining, "The evidence of his crimes was conclusive. When we went to arrest him, he resisted on the spot and was killed."
And so, the file came into her possession. Since the case of a single, deceased little slave was irrelevant to the official investigation, it was of no consequence to the authorities, so she kept it.
Fu Chuan flipped through the documents and finally burned them to ashes in her hand. "Thank you."
"The Fu Chuan of X5 Star has disappeared. So, will you let a new Fu Chuan appear?"
Zhou Linlang was incredibly sharp, noticing the change in Fu Chuan's expression.
"We'll see if I can get out of this mess."
Fu Chuan's appetite was decent; after all, the grueling exam had consumed a lot of her energy. But Zhou Linlang had already finished eating and was now watching her.
"From what I know, the Lan and Teng Families won't make a move against you for at least half a month. They'll gather information from various channels to ultimately determine Xie Siyi's attitude toward you. They can all be certain now that Xie Siyi has murderous intent toward the Xie Clan members. The only reason she didn't kill you is because of the voting rights, but who knows if she'll care about anything else."
"Only by achieving an outstanding result in the re-selection exam can you pose some threat to them, but it still won't be enough to stop their ambition to swallow the Xie Clan's territory."
Fu Chuan looked at Zhou Linlang. "What's your suggestion?"
Zhou Linlang wiped the corner of her mouth. "Actually, if you want to withstand their pressure and also reduce Xie Siyi's influence over you, my advice is that after you get into one of the Big Four Academies, you should try your best to become the apprentice of someone with sufficiently high status and power. Let that person protect you."
"That sounds difficult. Not only are people of that caliber as rare as phoenix feathers, but even if someone has the ability to protect me, why would they? Besides, people of that level aren't short of outstanding students. I'm not that exceptional yet."
She was being realistic. Zhou Linlang, however, was more optimistic than her. "It's difficult, yes, but you managed to survive Xie Siyi. Are you still afraid of this kind of difficulty?"
Zhou Linlang took out another item—a list.
"I know more about the Big Four Academies than you do. Take a look at the information on these people."
"By the way, since you just came back from a garbage star and might not be familiar with it, I can tell you that in systems like the Big Four Academies, the master-student relationship isn't as simple as you might imagine."
"Ten years ago, the Education Ministry established a rule: provincial-level key high schools and colleges would be included in the Master-Apprentice Contribution System. There's a master-apprentice system where, after a teacher forms a master-apprentice relationship with a student, the student's performance in any dungeon will contribute to the teacher's points. Teachers can use these points to exchange for many precious resources. The strength of these points even becomes a standard for the Education Ministry to evaluate their promotion channels. Therefore, to protect their own interests, these teachers will basically cultivate talent with extreme dedication."
Fu Chuan was somewhat surprised. This setting didn't exist in the game world, but it aligned with the rules of society. Interest was the most core form of loyalty, whereas emotional loyalty was often betrayed for the sake of interest.
This was truly a fundamental, one-step solution that also bound the already established experts to cultivate talent for the empire.
It was a rather good reform.
Fu Chuan looked at the list Zhou Linlang had given her. It contained information on ten people, and every single one of them was… sufficiently famous.
"You have high standards," Fu Chuan sighed, lacking confidence.
Zhou Linlang cleared her palate with some tea and said calmly, "You are very outstanding. If I can see it, others naturally can too."
"The re-selection is in half a month. You don't have much time."
Regarding Xie Keli, regarding the Xie Clan, it seemed all of Jingyang was watching. Even Gao Yang and Dong Chen were paying attention, but they couldn't get any useful information. They only knew that he was busy handling his family's assets.
Rumor had it that he spent a lot of money to win over the old smaller factions and also spent heavily to hire talent from major finance programs to fill the family business positions previously held by Xie Clan members.
There were also rumors that Xie An had committed a great crime and was executed internally by the main Xie Clan of Beluke Province. That was why the Jingyang Xie Clan was almost completely wiped out, and Xie Keli was only kept alive because he was still useful. Once his use was up, he would be killed sooner or later…
All sorts of rumors were flying around.
Many people were convinced that Xie Keli was so busy with these matters that he would have no time to cultivate his Arcane skills.
Their guess was correct. Fu Chuan was indeed too busy to practice.
Things only got slightly better on the fifth day.
In the gene pool, starting from today, the fifth day, Fu Chuan had the butler turn away all visitors. She began to soak in the gene pool, which had a 200-hour time limit.
She had made some preparations, all aimed at achieving her goals for this period of seclusion.
First, she had used up all the medicinal materials for the gene pool. It was a windfall, so she didn't feel bad about using it. Second, she certainly couldn't use the S2 Gene Keys now, as her 1st Sequence wasn't even full yet. But the 1,000 S1 keys should theoretically be enough for her to break through the last three branches, from seven to nine. Whether it would be enough to trigger the opening of the 2nd Sequence was unknown.
"I'm only level 20. My constitution is too poor to withstand the shockwave of opening the 2nd Sequence."
Although her stats at level 20 were already impressive, it depended on who she was compared to. The top few in Jingyang City clearly had an advantage over her in terms of stats. The exam was purely about strategy and didn't really reflect actual combat power. Even in the final battle, she only won after severely injuring people like Luohe Sanqian first.
In a real one-on-one fight at full strength, she was not their match. So, she estimated that the people from Gao Yang and Dong Chen must be fuming and would definitely seek revenge in the future.
Here in Jingyang, the Lan and Teng Families were watching her like tigers.
She was besieged on all sides. Her only choice was to invest heavily in a breakthrough.
"Out of the 1,000 Gene Marrow Crystals, most are from insects because they are the most common and numerous—630 of them. The rest are split about evenly between reptilian and mammalian types."
Fu Chuan had some theories about gene talents. Although the little locust was very powerful and had been a great help, she needed genes from other types of creatures for offensive power.
But this was random or predetermined, not something she could control. All she could do was prepare in advance.
"If the Green Blood evolution succeeds and indirectly stimulates Fu Chuan's own body's gene talent, it would be too difficult to judge its type in that short amount of time and then use the corresponding marrow crystal. It's better to just have them ready to use. Although there will be some waste, it's the safer option."
In addition to this, she had also taken out some good items from the small remaining inventory to enhance the effects of the gene pool. She also used her own money to buy materials for blood replacement and personally crafted simple blood-swapping reagents.
She made ten vials in total.
Real blood-swapping reagents were too expensive to buy. Fortunately, what mattered was the medicinal effect, and a larger quantity could compensate for lower potency, saving her the trouble of finding an alchemist.
Fu Chuan was burning through money like crazy for this breakthrough.
Oh well, it was a dead man's money anyway.
After preparing everything, Fu Chuan entered the gene pool and began to soak.
While she was soaking, she also fed the pet essence bead to the little locust. The 1,000 S1 keys and 1,000 Gene Marrow Crystals were also being consumed…
Immense genetic power transformed into three types of energy factors and entered her body. The little locust, soaking in the water with her, was also enjoying all of this.
Time passed, second by second.
In a student apartment at West Jin Academy in Beluke Province, Lan Xuanyu, having finished his college entrance exam, was waiting for the results. Lan Luoqi was in the apartment with him, discussing the matter face to face.
"If this Xie Keli doesn't die, he'll be a huge problem. I've spent the last few days investigating the Xie Clan, but found nothing. However, from the deaths of Xie An and the others, I've confirmed one thing: Xie Yao's death is related to Xie An."
With his long legs crossed, Lan Xuanyu toyed with an eagle-head coin. After a moment of silence, he said, "Once my results are out, we'll start swallowing up the Xie Clan's territory."
Lan Luoqi was a bit surprised. "Are you sure? We probably can't afford to provoke the main Xie Clan, even if you succeed in becoming an apprentice this time."
Although he didn't know which master Lan Xuanyu would be apprenticed to, he knew that without a sufficiently deep relationship, no expert in Beluke would be willing to make an enemy of the rising Xie Siyi for a new student.
That woman was a monstrous genius. Now that she had entered the heart of the Xie Clan's power, the council of elders had even sacrificed several important members to appease her.
They couldn't afford to provoke her.
"What are you thinking? Of course I can't provoke Xie Siyi or the main Xie Clan, and that includes my future master. But the point is, as long as we don't touch Xie Keli's life, don't touch the Xie Clan's voting rights, and don't affect her plan to compete for the position of young patriarch, she won't actually care."
Having been in Beluke for a long time, Lan Xuanyu had come into contact with many matters of the great noble families. He knew very well that for these powerful individuals, as long as their core interests weren't touched, small figures like Xie Keli were just insignificant details.
She might not even be paying attention.
"Besides, if the cause of Xie Yao's death is true, she probably wouldn't be happy to see this Jingyang branch family still shining so brightly. It's only natural for their territory to be carved up by us. If she really cared, she would have left a guard for Xie Keli from the beginning. It's not like that would have been difficult."
Lan Luoqi was convinced by Lan Xuanyu's analysis. "But, if we don't kill that Xie Keli, he'll eventually become a hidden danger…"
Lan Xuanyu smiled faintly. "We don't have to kill him. Do you think no one within the main Xie Clan will make a move? He might not even make it to Beluke City alive."
Huh? That's true.
"But no matter what, your matter is the most important. Are you confident you can get a good ranking?"
Lan Xuanyu raised an eyebrow and took a sip of his drink.
"I'm only 20 years old, level 35, my 1st Sequence is full, and I've successfully broken through to the 2nd Sequence, awakening two gene talents. On what grounds would that person not accept me?"
For once, Lan Xuanyu shed his usual reserved and low-key demeanor, his eyes filled with confidence and flamboyance.
The college entrance exam was over. His ascent had just begun.
Six days had passed in the gene pool. The body in the pool was Xie Keli's, and due to the prolonged genetic transformation, it had changed in many ways.
Skin, bones—everything was quietly changing.
Fu Chuan felt that it had reached a bottleneck, and only then did she start using the S1 keys.
She had already used 300 of them, methodically paving the way on the Gene Tree based on her past experience. She filled the trunks of the first six branches with genetic energy, and then she began to charge forward directly.
The groundwork was successful. On the first try, the seventh branch was cleared.
Lit up.
A great start.
Then, the eighth branch failed.
One, two, three, four, five… she tried five times in a row, all failures. 150 S1 keys were wasted. Even with Fu Chuan's temperament, she felt a bit agitated, but she forced herself to calm down, settled her mind, and tried again.
The sixth time.
Buzz!
The eighth branch lit up.
Her stats soared once again.
She had 520 keys left, with only the ninth branch remaining. This was the hardest one. Breaking through it would mean completing the 1st Sequence, and her stats would increase dramatically.
Fu Chuan patiently continued to try, but failed seven times in a row.
Only 120 S1 keys were left.
This is bad. Only two more tries left.
Resources from others really don't last, huh? Fu Chuan originally thought 1,000 S1 keys would be enough, but it turned out they weren't.
Her luck was terrible.
Fu Chuan knew that if she couldn't succeed in one go, she would need even more S1 keys the next time she tried. The next batch of 500 might not even be enough. S1 keys were valuable to begin with; never mind the high prices and low supply on the black market and auction houses in Jingyang City, even if she managed to buy them, she wouldn't be confident.
Her current state was the most suitable for a breakthrough.
Fu Chuan steadied herself and switched to absorbing the Gene Marrow Crystals.
She would use them for a little stimulation… and she also had the little locust attempt a breakthrough with its own gene talent.
With the rhythm set, she slammed down another S1 key.
Hmm… another failure.
This is the last time, okay?
Fu Chuan rubbed her damp forehead, feeling a bit embarrassed. "How about you enter my body? We'll try one more time."
Fu Chuan stood up and reached for the little locust in front of her, but her foot slipped, and she instinctively used the S1 key.
Ding!
The ninth branch lit up. The 1st Sequence was full!
"Ding! Notification: The 1st Gene Sequence has been completed and activated."
"1st Sequence fully activated: The physical form of the 1st Sequence Gene Tree can be manifested. The sequence's ability is determined by the gene talent."
"The 1st Gene Sequence can be released. Do you wish to release it?"
Fu Chuan knew that before a sequence was completed, it was just about stats. But once it was completed, each page of the sequence could be manifested as a physical entity. That was the real game-changer.
What kind of entity?
Fu Chuan tried to manifest the 1st Sequence.
The process was somewhat painful, as it required materializing the Gene Tree, which had to be detached from the very core of her body.
Half an hour later, a blood-soaked Fu Chuan stretched out her hand. A faint blue tentacle slowly appeared in her palm, looking like a soft, blue jelly at first glance.
Fu Chuan's expression froze.
No way, is her 1st Sequence useless?
She had inherited Xie Keli's trash gene, spent ten times the resources of others to turn it into something valuable, and now even her most important 1st Sequence was going to be useless?
Well, isn't that just great.
Fortunately, her previous gains were substantial enough that her mental state was still stable. She calmed down and carefully examined its properties.
A quick glance.
1st Sequence Gene Tentacle: A liquid body with infinitely variable density, capable of changing form.
Huh? Fu Chuan's mind buzzed, a flash of inspiration striking her. But she didn't have time to think. The back of her head fell toward the water, and her whole body sank. The moment she realized the 1st Sequence was complete, she had been a bit stunned.
It just… worked?
No wonder they say there are two types of people who have it easiest with gene sequences: those with tons of resources to throw around, and those with good luck.
But Fu Chuan seized the opportunity. She immediately took out the "Gene Blood Lure born from Little Skinner's research" and consumed the blood-swapping reagent.
Taking the two reagents one after another, Fu Chuan merged the little locust into her body and initiated the blood-swapping state.
A day later, a green light emanated from the bottom of the gene pool. Strands of Green Blood moved as if they were alive, until the entire pool turned green. It began to swirl like a vortex, constantly cycling in and out of her body.
Green blood. Replaced, retained.
Fu Chuan felt its influence on her blue pupils, but she wasn't in a hurry. She waited until the Green Blood in the pool had completely disappeared, all of it absorbed into her body, and then she seized that moment.
Devour the Gene Marrow Crystals.
After devouring a large amount and reaching a certain bottleneck, she vaguely felt a pain in her eyes.
She knew that Xie Keli's trash-tier gene talent was finally about to awaken under the enhancement of the Green Blood.
When only four or five hours of the 200-hour gene pool session remained, the calm surface of the pool rippled.
From beneath the crystal-clear, almost pure water, a pristine body emerged. With her black hair draped over her shoulders, Fu Chuan rested her chin on her arm against the edge of the pool, as if trying to rub away her fatigue. But in reality, this only made her pupils more distinct.
The Green Blood transformation was a success.
Her pupils were a translucent ice-blue, but within them was a spiral mark.
"The Demon Orchid gene is powerful. As expected, it's a pupil-based gene talent. Although it's only a green-tier talent, it's a combat-oriented cleansing state + insight + invisibility. The functions are synergistic. If it were dual pupils, the insight effect would be insane… But what is this cleansing state?"
Given the quality of that useless gene, she was already thanking the heavens that she could awaken a green-tier talent just by burning money.
At least the ancestral upper limit was there.
Fu Chuan first applied a stun effect to herself, then used her pupil technique to wash it away.
The stun was easily cleansed.
Fu Chuan couldn't help but smile.
This is basically a high-powered detergent.
Although it couldn't compare to Xie Siyi's attack-type pupil technique that could instantly cause a headshot, this was still just a green-tier gene talent. She had already managed to force Xie Keli's talent out by burning money; she could just keep doing that in the future.
What about Blue Blood, or Orange Blood? What kind of gene talents would they awaken?
But besides that, she had also gained another gene talent. Under the impact of the excessive genetic power, Fu Chuan's own body had awakened a second talent.
Fu Chuan opened the Sequence Gene Tree and saw that, in addition to the little locust, there was now a small blue turtle squatting on it.
Fu Chuan's body's second gene talent had appeared: the Blue Light Black Armor Turtle.
Alright, now she had defense.
Fu Chuan continued to open her attribute panel to check her stats.
Level: 20
Main Attributes:
Mental Power: 89,000 (Initial Mental Power 1+99)
Strength: 110,100 (Initial Strength 1+18)
Constitution: 134,300 (Initial Constitution 3+15)
Agility: 179,280 (Initial Agility 2+25)
Skill Points: Arcane Missile LV12, Flame Blast LV12, Forest Thorns LV12, Azure Radiance Feather LV12, Stun LV8, Interrupt LV1, Terror of the BOSS LV1, Light Stream LV3, Light Glory LV1, Light Explosion LV1.
Gene Sequence: 1st Sequence fully activated, 2nd Sequence (not yet opened).
1st Sequence: Density-less Tentacle.
1st Gene Talent Point: Scorpion-Tail Locust gene talent formed (Digestion + Stun + Poison Sting).
2nd Gene Talent Point: Blue Light Black Armor Turtle gene talent formed (Defense + Damage Conversion).
Blood Tier: Green Blood
Green Blood Effects: Meditation Speed x5, Blood Regeneration Speed x5 (Wound Recovery), Digestion Speed x5.
Blood Skill: Blood-Burning Berserk State Enhancement +30%, lasts for three minutes.
This Green Blood is really amazing.
Fu Chuan took a deep breath and released the little locust. Its attributes had also undergone a world-shaking change.
Blue Tier Mutated Scorpion-Tail Locust BOSS (Larva)
Level: 30
Mental Power: 180,000
Strength: 130,000
Constitution: 140,000
Agility: 170,000
Talent 1: Digestion.
Talent 2: Agility Boost (Can share 50% of its agility with the host when merged).
Skill: Heal (Absorbs life organisms to replenish and heal injuries).
When merged, her agility would be boosted by over eighty thousand, reaching a total of two hundred and sixty thousand.
With such high agility, she could have easily dodged Little Skinner's attacks back then.
As long as she wasn't hit, as long as she could dodge the attacks, she would be invincible.
At the very least, she could now sweep through all the high school entrance exam candidates from the three cities.
Fu Chuan knew her situation was different now. The enemies and threats were still there, but she had changed.
Her foundation was different.
After all this, Fu Chuan was left empty-handed, with nothing but 200 S2 Gene Keys.
However, S2 keys were more valuable, worth much more than 1,000 S1 keys.
Logically, Fu Chuan should press her advantage and open the 2nd Sequence now, but she knew that the 2nd Sequence was an intermediate enhancement project. Opening it required the protection of the external environment.
Either a formation environment, like the conditions available at a school, or someone to protect her.
She had neither at the moment.
So she wouldn't touch it. She would save the S2 resources for after she entered an academy.
After all… she was truly broke.
"It's so strange. I inherited the Xie Clan, but ended up broke myself. Not a single penny to my name."
Fu Chuan got a headache just thinking about her plans for the alchemy profession.
Just then, her communicator rang. She picked it up and was slightly surprised.
On the night of the 11th day after the Jingyang high school entrance exam, in the basement of a food farm in the southern suburbs of the city, both Shen Qixi and Groundhog were present, discussing something. After a while, a shadow appeared.
"Oh my god, you scared me to death! Captain, can't you give a heads-up next time?"
Groundhog turned to see the shadow transform into their usual captain and finally breathed a sigh of relief, lowering the shovel he had instinctively raised.
Shen Qixi was also happy to see her, but when she noticed the other person was wearing a mask again, she felt a pang of disappointment. It seemed this person still didn't trust them.
Fu Chuan sat down and asked in a gentle voice, "The message said there's a problem underground. What's going on?"
The southern suburbs were now legally her territory, but she hadn't exposed the farm here. She had only let Groundhog and the others start excavating the mine while taking advantage of the "Xie Clan's turmoil."
In fact, compared to the Xie Clan's wealth she had already acquired, this mine was nothing, probably only 1% of the Xie Clan's fortune at most. Times had changed, and Fu Chuan had almost forgotten about it, only wanting to see it through and let Groundhog and the others get a share.
Groundhog took out a pile of rocks from his pocket. Some were ordinary stones, some were ores. Among them, Fu Chuan's eyes immediately fell on a tiny piece of gravel, the size of a marble. It was pitch black, somewhat resembling black marble, but very heavy, with high density.
The moment Shen Qixi saw her pick up that piece of gravel, she knew she had figured it out.
"When we dug down to a depth of seven meters, Groundhog and the others found that the hardness of the rocks below was a bit excessive. It became more difficult, and we couldn't dig any further. We examined this type of gravel, tested its density, and found that it should be a number 3 hardness ore: Pure Ink Crystal."
"The strange thing is, Pure Ink Crystal is an element-resistant material, usually only used in construction. It can defend against Arcane attacks and has structural hardness. But according to the measurements from the prospecting equipment, there are indeed reaction waves of ore below, which means there are ores formed from elemental crystals down there."
This was a bit of a contradiction.
Shen Qixi's analysis leaned toward there being something fishy down there, something that could likely benefit them.
"I've looked up some information these past few days and found that there are some ores that can ignore the effects of Pure Ink Crystal. Look, this is the list I've compiled."
Shen Qixi handed the specially organized information to Fu Chuan, who took it and looked it over.
Shen Qixi seemed casual, but she was actually observing her very intently. She noticed that this captain of theirs scanned through information very quickly, as if she had a photographic memory.
And she had seen this ability to analyze information in another person as well.
Although there was more than one high school entrance exam candidate with this kind of learning ability—at least the Lin siblings and Jian Feilan were like that—this was different. That person had a connection to her.
Too many connections, too many similarities. It wasn't normal.
Fu Chuan was unaware of Shen Qixi's thoughts. After reading, she put down the documents and looked up at the mine entrance below.
"Are the groundhogs down there your brothers?" Fu Chuan asked Groundhog.
Groundhog's expression wrinkled. "I did indeed bring them here. They are all very trustworthy. We have a racial affinity…"
He had summoned people, and he was very busy… With a few poof poof poof sounds, several holes appeared in the ground, and one by one, groundhogs popped out. There were six in total, and with Groundhog himself, they made a perfect seven.
Someone who enjoyed playing Whac-A-Mole might feel a compulsive urge to grab a hammer.
But these groundhogs clearly had distinct racial characteristics.
"Miss, we are not groundhogs, we are Battle Earth Rats."
"We are sworn brothers, born of different parents. Lao Tu is our big brother."
Fu Chuan looked at Groundhog. "So your name is Lao Tu. No wonder you don't like being called Groundhog. But you're not quite like them."
Groundhog didn't really like the name Lao Tu, but hearing this, he felt like he was being praised and asked happily, "How am I different?"
Fu Chuan: "You're a bit fatter than them."
Shen Qixi turned her head and smiled.
Damn it!
"You can just call me Tu Tu. Anyway, I raised them, they're trustworthy. When we were digging together, we all felt something was off down there. We didn't tell anyone else, only you two."
Fu Chuan didn't express any disbelief. She reached out and patted the dust off one of the groundhogs, then took out some food and drinks. "Take a break. I'll take a look."
Shen Qixi also took out food and drinks, but when they looked through the bag, they found some underground respirators. They were very expensive and advanced, capable of extending their survival time underground and making it more comfortable.
This person… was quite thoughtful.
Fu Chuan had already gone down into the mine shaft. She activated her pupil technique, a combination of two, and the spiral in her blue pupils started to spin. Her vision continuously penetrated the soil, reaching deep below… She saw the end of the tunnel the groundhogs had dug, with some rocks on the side.
At the very bottom, a huge piece of Pure Ink Crystal blocked the way. Not just one piece, but a whole region of it blocked the path. Digging around it was useless.
Strange. The conditions for the formation of Pure Ink Crystal were not easy; they were quite harsh. How could it be here…
Fu Chuan tried to penetrate it with her pupil technique. After a while, she found that it was still very deep. Her pupils started to ache, and most of her mental power was consumed, yet she still couldn't see the bottom.
This was difficult.
Something was wrong with this place. If she wanted to see what was there, she would have to use Xie Keli's identity and excavate openly with advanced equipment. But that was for the original Xie Clan, which could withstand the pressure from the other two families. Now, she was alone. If there was something good, once it was exposed, she wouldn't be able to protect it.
It was a dilemma.
Fu Chuan lowered her gaze and placed her hand on the wall of the pit. She released the gene tentacle from her palm, controlling its density… After it made contact with the Pure Ink Crystal, she combined it with the infinite magnification of her pupil technique and controlled the tentacle to change its density and ram into the material gaps of the crystal. Just like that, she forced her way into the interior of the crystal… Five minutes later, cold sweat appeared on Fu Chuan's forehead. She started to frantically drink mental power potions. With the enhancement of the little locust and her Green Blood, she drank potions like water, continuously replenishing her energy, basically keeping pace with her output.
Half an hour later, Fu Chuan's senses reached a bottleneck. With a whoosh, everything became clear. The tentacle had entered a vast world.
A force rushed toward her.
Mental power!
It was a massive mental power gemstone mine!
It was sealed within the Pure Ink Crystal. No wonder, no wonder it could ignore the element resistance of the crystal—because it wasn't a normal elemental mine at all.
Fu Chuan was shocked, almost unable to believe that such a huge treasure was hidden beneath the southern suburbs of Jingyang.
Just the level of mental power energy she was sensing right now, if converted into mental power gemstones, would have a total value far exceeding the wealth of the entire Xie Clan.
The heart of an ordinary person wavers at the sight of great profit.
Fu Chuan suppressed her fluctuating emotions and continued to probe inward. With her knowledge of mental power mines, she knew that for such a well-hidden deposit, there had to be a reason.
"Xie An and the Fu Clan must have both used equipment to survey this area. Theoretically, the equipment the Fu Clan used must have been top-tier. It might not have been impossible for it to penetrate this Pure Ink Crystal. At the very least, they could have detected the existence of the crystal, and then, like Shen Qixi, become suspicious of this place and investigated thoroughly."
But they hadn't.
"Which means, there is a substance inside that interfered with the reaction waves emitted by the equipment, causing their survey to be inaccurate."
So Fu Chuan was willing to continue consuming a large amount of potions to probe further inward, and at the same time, determine the scale of the ore deposit.
Continuing inward… the tentacle was having trouble withstanding the immense mental pressure inside. Fu Chuan gritted her teeth and held on until the very end. Finally… she touched something.
Something that was jumping, as if it were alive.
She was startled.
What is this thing? It's alive?
According to her knowledge of the world of Arcane Throne, there were only two types of living things that could survive in an ore world: elemental sprites and energy sprites.
Mental power wasn't considered an element, but it was a special type of energy, an attribute sprite within the energy sprite category.
For example, spirit sprites, strength sprites, constitution sprites, and agility sprites were all types of attribute sprites, which had a chance of existing in energy gemstone mines of sufficiently high purity.
"Theoretically, attribute sprites are less rare than elemental sprites, but spirit sprites are rarer than elemental sprites. Is heaven sending me a cheat because it saw how badly I was bullied by Aunt Xie?"
Fu Chuan wouldn't have dreamed of such rotten luck.
If she were a man, she might have lit a cigarette right now. But she wasn't.
She just stood there for a few seconds, thought about it, and then went out.
The seven groundhogs were still sitting on the ground, eating and drinking to replenish their energy, while Shen Qixi was quietly reading a book, not rushing Fu Chuan.
When she came out, Shen Qixi stood up, a bit reserved but very polite. "Did you find anything?"
She could tell that the person in front of her had an unusual expression, but she never would have imagined that what she said next would be so shocking.
Or rather, she never expected the other person to be so frank.
"There's a mental power mine down there. I don't know how big it is, but it should be substantial. There are nine of us here. My distribution plan is this: you seven brothers are the main miners, so you get 30%. You'll have to supervise and offer advice, and maintain the operation of this farm, so you get 10%. I'll take 60%, and I'll handle security and any external influences."
"Don't ask any more questions. If you agree, nod. If you don't, I'll imprison you for a while and release you after we've distributed the resources. If necessary, I'll beat you into an idiot to prevent the news from leaking. Which do you choose?"
She's so gentle, even giving us a choice.
The seven groundhogs were stunned. Tu Tu subconsciously raised his furry paw and then slapped the head of his dazed brother. "Hurry up and state your position, quick!"
"Oh, oh, oh!"
"I agree, I agree."
"Whatever you say, miss, we're fine with it."
One of the dazed ones even raised all four limbs.
Shen Qixi was still processing the news, but she also raised her hand.
"Whatever you say, I'll listen. This farm belongs to you anyway, and you paid for everything. We're just workers. Thank you for your generosity."
Is this a captain she's following?
Why does it feel like she's being kept…
Fu Chuan didn't say much more. She had indeed offered a significant share, and even if she were to take the Spirit Elf, it would be perfectly justified.
"I'll work down there for a while first. Then I'll draw up a blueprint for you so you can choose the weakest points to start mining. You can handle the corresponding equipment…"
Just as Fu Chuan was about to go down and get started, the communicator belonging to Xie Keli rang.
She glanced at the unknown number on the communicator, thought for a moment, then went outside and connected the communicator to the Xie Clan's landline, changing her signal coordinates before answering.
"Xie Keli, hello. This is Fu Qiang."
Fu Chuan frowned.
"What is it?"
"Your seventh brother finally passed away from his illness more than ten days ago. We are very sorry to hear that."
He died more than ten days ago and you're telling me now?
Fu Chuan had a bad feeling about this, but she said nonchalantly, "Are you holding a funeral? I might not have time for the banquet, I have to go to the academy for the exam soon. How about I send a gift to show my respects?"
"That won't be necessary. We're family, after all. What I mean is, would you consider taking his place as our Fu Clan's son-in-law?"
Was Xie Keli still the same Xie Keli as before?
He had to have his own temper.
So Fu Chuan laughed, a dry, sarcastic laugh. "Mr. Fu, you seem to have forgotten that your father is already dead. I'm very sorry about that, too."
Fu Qiang: "That's true. But recently, I've received some news. It seems the Lan and Teng Families are about to make some moves. They've already contacted the relevant departments and companies… In fact, they're not as peace-loving as our Fu Clan. They always like to swallow up other people's territories."
Fu Chuan had actually had a bad feeling about this. Just as Zhou Linlang had predicted, the Lan and Teng Families would only hold back for half a month at most.
But now they were moving a few days ahead of schedule.
"I doubt that. I have an aunt, you know." Fu Chuan deliberately played her aunt card, trying to probe the Fu Clan's intentions.
Fu Qiang's voice had the smooth, slick quality of a shrewd opportunist. "Yes, that's what our Fu Clan thought too. We even tried to approach the main Xie Clan because of our extremely close marital ties. But guess what? The situation doesn't look very favorable for you."
Fu Chuan knew that the other party was a Blue Blood family, far more capable than the Lan and Teng Families, with deeper connections. They would certainly know some secrets.
"So? Mr. Fu, since you think I have no value and even pose a risk, why bother?"
"Coincidentally, our Fu Clan has specialized in investment since its founding. How should I put this? We are still very optimistic about you."
"Before, it seemed you were optimistic about my seventh brother. You might have even been optimistic about my eldest brother."
"…"
Fu Qiang knew this rogue Second Young Master Xie was no pushover, but he was still hit where it hurt. He gave a dry laugh and said, "That's because your talent has surpassed the limited vision of a common man like myself."
He really knew how to talk.
Fu Chuan fell silent, and Fu Qiang slowly added, "Actually, the Lan and Teng Families have also approached us… They want us not to pay too much attention to you. After all, with the son-in-law dead, the relationship is hard to maintain… Of course, our Fu Clan would never do something like kicking someone when they're down or aiding a tyrant. We were even thinking of helping you contact your aunt to ask for her help, but all the messages we sent have sunk like stones in the sea."
"And according to our reliable sources, Lan Xuanyu's college entrance exam scores should be in the top one hundred in the province. He has already successfully become the apprentice of a powerful 70th-level Arcanist, who holds a high position in Beluke University."
"So, we are in a difficult position as well."
Fu Chuan knew that her situation had finally reached its most dangerous point. After Xie Siyi had shown infinite signs of using and being indifferent to her, the Lan, Teng, and Fu Clan were about to join forces.
The Fu Clan never acted without profit. They probably didn't want to risk offending Xie Siyi, so they chose a more stable approach.
A marriage alliance.
Fu Chuan was unwilling, but she thought of the mental power mine and the Xie Clan's assets. Losing either would be a huge loss for her, especially since she had already taken the risk of being controlled by Xie Siyi.
"Aren't you afraid that I'll drag you down in the future?"
Fu Qiang: "As a Blue Blood family, we have that much dignity. By the way, our family has many external marital ties, including other Blue Blood families and even Orange Blood families. The Fu Clan is far more powerful than you imagine."
My god, your family changes sons-in-law like pulling up radishes in a field. What dignity are you talking about?
Fu Chuan was speechless, but she was truly in a tight spot.
She turned her head and looked at the mine, calculated the scale of the mental power ore excluding the Spirit Elf, and her eyes grew calm for a moment. Then she said, "Alright. But I want to ensure that all my assets in Jingyang are exclusively mine, without any interference or encroachment. After all, I'm past the stage of needing to be controlled by others—unless it's someone of my aunt's level. You know what I mean?"
"Besides, the reason you ultimately chose a marriage alliance with me, taking this risk, is because you think she's interested in me, isn't it?"
"My value is probably much higher than you say. After all, even a Blue Blood family might not be able to get the top-performing candidate from the three-city joint exam as their son-in-law. Of course, I'm not saying your family isn't worthy. After all, outstanding students from exams are just potential; they still lack the foundation of nobility. Countless geniuses emerge every year. I'm talking about the current state of this seventh sister-in-law of mine."
"It seems this son-in-law position also comes with some risks, otherwise you wouldn't be in such a hurry."
There was silence on Fu Qiang's end as well.
This was a round of mutual threats.
And both sides had made their threats effectively. The final result was cooperation, not Fu Chuan's unilateral compromise.
After a while, the conversation was over. Fu Chuan had gotten what she wanted, and from now on, the Lan and Teng Families in Jingyang could no longer threaten her.
Even if Lan Xuanyu had found a powerful master and climbed to a higher branch, that master would not make an enemy of a Blue Blood family that had been entrenched in the region for years and had extensive marital ties.
Because the current Lan Xuanyu was not yet worthy.
After ending the call, Fu Chuan went back. She didn't say anything, just went down into the pit. The others didn't disturb her and began their own preparations.
Shen Qixi was the busiest now. She left the farm immediately because she needed to prepare the necessary things. As for the money needed to buy equipment, she didn't even need to ask Fu Chuan for it. She understood that she had to contribute something. Otherwise, why would someone offer her such a generous share?
That was a mental power gemstone mine!
Fu Chuan, on the other hand, went down and focused on guiding her tentacle. By her judgment, it would take at least a day or two to get it done. The Spirit Elf was at the very core. She had to envelop it with her tentacle and then slowly move it out of the outer barrier of Pure Ink Crystal.
The amount of potions required would be massive.
She would take her time.
She had already sold Xie Keli's body. She had to get that Spirit Elf.
Comments
Post a Comment