Chapter 44: Liu Zhijie’s Calculations
Chapter 44: Chapter 44: Liu Zhijie’s Calculations
"This comes down to compatibility. If both are Fire Ability Users, the weapon’s compatibility will be at least sixty percent. You could use each other’s weapons, though you wouldn’t be able to unleash their maximum power. But the upside is that they are cheap—basically ten million each. You can just head over to the weapon market, pick one out, bring it back, and inlay a Homogeneous Energy Stone.
"Of course, these won’t possess the long-range capabilities of weapons like Rift. They’re strictly for hand-to-hand combat," Liu Zhijie explained.
Yang Bo more or less understood. He then asked, "This Ancient Martial Arts Association is really impressive. They repelled the leader of the Red Earl with just a single palm strike. But I’m curious, how did Ancient Martial Arts fall into decline in the era of Genetic Evolution?"
"Yang Bo, it’s a simple question. Let me ask you: if I give you two choices—the first is to take a single injection and become a Genetic Evolver, and the other is to train bitterly for ten or twenty years just for a chance to awaken a Superpower—which would you choose?"
Yang Bo suddenly saw the light. Ancient Martial Arts had lost to human nature. It made perfect sense—one method offered easy power, while the other required years of grueling refinement with no guarantee of success.
"Boss, I failed my injection of the Genetic Potion, and the success rate for a second injection is very low. What should I do?" Yang Bo asked.
Liu Zhijie rubbed his forehead. "Your situation is tricky. Because the raw materials for Genetic Potions vary, the resulting products are different. Even though you didn’t succeed, remnants of the previous Genetic Potion still linger in your body. If you take a second injection, it could cause a conflict, perhaps even resulting in death."
In truth, Liu Zhijie already had a plan in mind. Ordinary residents only needed to work for the company for fifteen—or even ten—years before they could retire, as a normal resident’s lifespan was typically around one hundred and twenty years. However, even the lowest-tier Genetic Evolvers could live to be one hundred and eighty, meaning they could easily work for the company for eighty years without any issues.
As for refusing to work? Heh, the company had plenty of good things to entice them into accumulating debt—luxury mansions, beautiful women, a gaggle of children, and methods to advance to higher-level Genetic Evolvers.
But Liu Zhijie deliberately made it sound severe. Right on cue, Yang Bo asked anxiously, "Is there really no way?"
"There is, but the price is astronomical. Secret Techniques and Ancient Martial Arts both require a ton of money. However, if you work hard, I’ll report it to the head office when the time is right. The head office rewards outstanding employees. Basically, they’ll advance the funds to make you a Genetic Evolver first. If you succeed, you pay the money back without any interest. If you fail, you don’t have to pay it back at all." Liu Zhijie’s little calculations were already clicking away.
Yang Bo chuckled inwardly. This was obviously a scam, but it was enough that he knew the truth. Feigning emotion, he immediately said, "Boss, I will definitely work hard! This incident was way too dangerous. If I were an Evolver, I probably would have been able to escape."
"Mhm," Liu Zhijie agreed, though he grumbled inwardly, "Even I didn’t manage to escape, let alone you."
"I’ll give you a week’s vacation first. I still need to negotiate psychological compensation with the government, as well as with Dome Entertainment City. They both owe us compensation. Since we have resident status, we can extort even more out of them; if they refuse to pay up, we’ll sue them for discrimination. The company will also compensate you with a sum," Liu Zhijie said with a nod.
Watching Yang Bo’s retreating back, Liu Zhijie breathed a sigh of relief. The company was severely understaffed because very few residents were willing to come out and work. Even among those who did, they would need to see a psychiatrist if they so much as hurt a small animal. This Yang Bo was someone worth heavily grooming, but the company would have to take it step by step. Otherwise, employees would feel that the rewards came too easily.
"Who knows how many people the company lost this time." Liu Zhijie rubbed his forehead. The casualty numbers hadn’t been released yet. On top of that, he had abandoned Yang Bo to flee during the incident, and he had been afraid that Yang Bo would bear a grudge and quit.
Liu Zhijie harbored suspicions about Yang Bo. He suspected that Yang Bo might actually be a Genetic Evolver, but with a very mysterious evolution path. Otherwise, how could Yang Bo have discovered the Mutant Creatures that even Wu Bin had failed to notice that one time? Such a talent was exactly what the company needed.
Yang Bo left the company. By the time he returned home, it was already dark. He had been stopped for inspection several times along the way and saw many robots carrying out construction work. From the looks of it, they were clearing out the underground pipe network. Everything was normal at home, though Air-Ground Combat Aircraft were still patrolling the skies above the community.
Liu Zhijie had cleared up many of his doubts today, giving Yang Bo a much deeper understanding of this world. He silently recited his Skills in his mind.
Swimming: Grandmaster (Speed in liquid +300%, permanent underwater breathing ability, underwater attack power +120%)
Flying: Master (1402/10000)
Disguise: Master (8210/10000)
Sound Wave Control: Grandmaster (14350/100000)
Dynamic Field of View: Master (4832/10000)
Charge: Intermediate (11/100)
Thermal Imaging Vision: Advanced (301/1000)
Electric Energy Control: Advanced (112/1000)
Light Energy Control: Basic (4/10)
Mecha Pilot: Intermediate (56/100)
Invisibility: Advanced (105/1000)
Strike: Advanced (134/1000)
Warship Maintenance: Advanced (251/1000)
Warship Pilot: Intermediate (25/100)
The recent incident had added Warship Maintenance and Warship Pilot to his repertoire. He couldn’t foresee any immediate opportunity to use these two abilities.
Lying in the bathtub, Yang Bo felt that his decisive action at Dome Entertainment City had been the right move. If he had acted any later, the Planet Guardian might have struck first. Given the speed of Rift, he feared he would have been killed before he could even put up his defenses.
Yang Bo looked at the Mecha Space Button in his hand. The Energy Stone on it was a Homogeneous Energy Stone, and the Mecha itself was stored within the Alternate Space. He could sense that the spots where the Mecha had been hit during the battle were slowly repairing themselves. It would likely be fully restored in a few more days.
"This is the beauty of Energy Metal. Tsk, tsk." Yang Bo felt utterly delighted. If the Mecha required manual maintenance, finding a discreet place to do so would be a massive headache, not to mention that he simply wouldn’t be able to afford the upkeep.
He wondered, "Should I go check out the Energy Weapons Liu Zhijie mentioned? If I inlay this Homogeneous Energy Stone into one myself, I’ll possess my very own Energy Weapon."
Ultimately, Yang Bo decided to get some sleep first. After all, the day had brought him far too many surprises.
Meanwhile, upon returning to the company, Liu Zhijie learned that three of his subordinates had died in the incident and two were missing. He didn’t know if they had been blown to bits; he still needed to wait for more information.
Liu Zhijie also participated in a high-level internal company meeting. In recent years, various hidden extremist organizations had been stirring up trouble one after another. The head office urged all regional branches to prioritize security and recruit more personnel. This latest upheaval would likely instill a sense of crisis in many residents, making recruitment easier.
The news media reported on the event continuously, making it known to everyone across the Three Great Empires. The Red Earl had arguably achieved overnight fame from this single battle, but their reputation wasn’t exactly sterling. Judging by the outcomes of the Red Earl’s previous operations, they had suffered devastating losses this time around.
The Eden Alliance immediately announced that they would collaborate with the other two great Federations to study the Battle Armor left behind by the Red Earl’s Commander. As long as they could identify the Energy Attributes of these Red Earl members, they would be able to swiftly track down the rest of their organization.
When Yang Bo got out of bed the next day, he found himself with a week-long vacation. For a moment, he didn’t know what to do—or rather, there were too many things to do.
"Buy a house? But the Red Earl’s people might have all joined the military, so buying one might just be a waste," he mused. "But if I don’t buy one, I won’t have a way to train with my Mecha. The more dangerous the times, the more I need to improve my strength. It’s a pity that it’s so difficult for a resident to leave the planet."
After eating his fill and recharging his energy, Yang Bo logged onto the network and searched for Energy Weapons. Only then did he discover that there were quite a few sellers, offering weapons in every shape and design imaginable.
"Should I go take a look? Maybe use a Disguise?" Looking at these Cold Weapons, Yang Bo’s heart stirred with temptation.