Chapter 201: Super Gene Injection

Yang Bo tossed the security system manual aside and started enjoying the sunlight.

“Life is pretty comfortable now,” he said, basking in the warm rays.

Of course, with Yang Bo’s current physique, even 50-degree sunlight wouldn’t bother him.

The sunlight gathered into small points of energy on his body and was absorbed.

Yang Bo could feel the warmth of the sun. His entire body felt energized, every cell seemed more active like their vitality had significantly increased.

After sunbathing for two hours, Yang Bo felt fully recharged, like a battery that’s been topped off.

He entered the internet room, turned on his computer, and accessed the black-market website.

“Camouflage Gene Serum,” Yang Bo typed, searching for this type of Gene Serum.

Soon, many related products appeared on the site.

The Camouflage Gene Serum, also called the Shaping Injection.

After injecting this, the area above your neck becomes moldable. You can use either a mold or your hands to alter your head’s shape and face.

The effect lasts up to a month, after which a Camouflage Serum is needed to neutralize the energy and restore your head to its original state.

“So that’s how it works?” Yang Bo didn’t expect such a Gene Serum to exist.

“Camouflage Clothing,” Yang Bo searched again.

A variety of items popped up, many of which could be custom-made to avoid detection by planetary security systems.

Yang Bo also saw the cloaks worn by bounty hunters. These were called Camouflage Cloaks, and as long as the wearer doesn’t use superpowers, the planetary system won’t detect them.

“That advanced?” Yang Bo was amazed by the level of technology.

However, the specific details of how it worked weren’t explained.

Yang Bo was intrigued, but recalling the Fat Boss’s warning about black-market scammers, he hesitated to reveal his information.

“Looks like I’ll need Robert’s supplier and his identity to purchase sensitive goods.” Worried his own identity might be exposed, Yang Bo thought of using another identity to buy things.

As for gene injections that grow long hair, there were plenty available, most even allowing you to select hair color and growth speed.

“That’s impressive!”

Yang Bo also found many strange gene injections, like ones that could change a male into a female, and vice versa.

These injections required buyers to provide a biological sample, and the product would be custom-made.

Moreover, the buyer could choose the type of female they wanted to become, including height, body measurements, skin color, hair color, eye color, and more.

For those customized options, biological samples were required, plus they noted that advanced gene evolvers should use caution.

“It’s probably like the Fat Boss, who’s bald. Any hair-growth gene injections likely wouldn’t work on him.” Yang Bo deduced that advanced gene evolvers’ strong energy might cause mutations in the injections’ effects.

“Huh?” Yang Bo found another expensive injection.

“Super Gene Serum.” The price for this D-class, two-star quality injection was 8 million credit points.

8 million credits put you on par with the middle class financially.

While 8 million wasn’t much to Yang Bo, it did come from life-threatening missions like the one on Green Demon Planet.

Being alive meant he got compensation. If he’d died, with no descendants and no family, why would the government pay out?

His salary was very high, averaging over 1,000 credits a day, accumulating to tens of thousands each month.

This was due to his low citizenship rank, meaning there was almost no individual income tax. Even shopping taxes were at the lowest rate.

Citizens in the E and D ranks may earn more, but their higher taxes often left them with less net income than someone at Yang Bo’s rank.

It’s like in parts of the US, where some white-collar jobs don’t pay as much as a cleaner, who also enjoys better benefits.

Lower-ranked citizens received several tax breaks and welfare benefits.

The 8 million credit price stunned Yang Bo, especially since the injection’s rank was low and its quality wasn’t high.

He read through the product introduction carefully, quickly grasping the reasons.

Super Gene Serum: After injection, depending on the individual, there’s a minimum 50% chance of acquiring Fire-based superpowers.

“Wow, that’s amazing!” Yang Bo now understood why this injection was so expensive.

Not everyone’s superpowers involved elemental forces like fire, wind, or lightning. Most only enhanced the user’s physical constitution.

Improving one’s constitution had its advantages, like providing better radiation protection during space travel.

With Yang Bo’s A-class physique, he could even safely hold nuclear material without much concern.

His body contained energy that would neutralize the radiation.

In fact, the energy in Yang Bo’s body could be considered a form of radiation to ordinary people.

“8 million is just the starting bid?” Yang Bo noticed that over 1,500 people had already paid the deposit to participate in the auction.

“How was this injection even made?” Yang Bo thought about how high the final auction price might go. The black market had so many amazing things, it was dizzying. He browsed for over an hour.

“Wow!” Just as Yang Bo was typing, inspiration suddenly struck him.

“What’s the simplest way to deal with a security system?”

“Of course, by manipulating the keyboard or related devices to shut it down,” Yang Bo leaped up and rushed to his underground bunker.

He activated the local network, started the Central AI System server and a few more computers.

From a few meters away, Yang Bo’s Optical Ability enabled him to sense everything in the computer, locate the keyboard and associated devices, and begin working.

“Success?” Yang Bo looked at the computer, where the security system appeared disabled.

He hurried over to check. Sure enough, the system was off.

Yang Bo went back and began working on another computer.

This time, it was more difficult. The security system had a bio-verification system that couldn’t be disabled.

“This is tricky!” When Yang Bo attempted a forced shutdown of the bio-verification system, the computer triggered an alarm.

The other computer used a password system, requiring a code to disable the security system.

“For this one, I’ll just wait for the owner to input the password while I observe. Not a big deal.” Yang Bo found the password security manageable.

“But how does the bio-verification system work?” Yang Bo picked up the manual and studied it.

“It relies on fingerprint patterns and facial recognition.” Yang Bo understood that the system scanned fingerprint points and facial markers, like a complex numeric code. For example, a fingerprint might store 1,000 points, and verification required resampling all those points. Actually, it’s even more complex than that.

“Looks like there’s a solution after all. Since the facial recognition system converts its data into a signal for the security system, I just need to simulate that signal. I don’t even need to understand what’s inside the signal,” Yang Bo quickly concluded.

“In the end, it all comes down to electro-optical signals.” Yang Bo realized that all passwords and biometric data were eventually converted into signals for the system.

He ran tests on the password security system, setting up a series of codes.

He sensed the electro-optical signal when entering the password. Then, from another location, Yang Bo simulated that signal using his power. As expected, the system unlocked.

“This isn’t so hard after all.”

Now that the security system was solved, Yang Bo faced another problem if he wanted to access data from the computers.

Each device had its encryption system.

“It’s like each device has its own decoder.” After some thought, Yang Bo understood.

Just like your phone can detect signals from different networks like telecom or mobile services, but because it only has a specific SIM card, it can only access the network for that card.

This doesn’t mean other networks don’t exist; they’re there, but your phone can’t connect without the proper card.

Each device in this world had a similar protection system, with unique decoders to safeguard their data.

“Forget it. This is too complicated for now.” After thinking it over, Yang Bo checked the time. The day was almost over, though it felt like only a short while had passed.

Still, today’s progress was good. After reinstalling the systems, reformatting everything, Yang Bo fed the rats and the mutated leeches.

Returning to his house on the surface, he opened the door. A storm raged outside.

“The storm season has arrived.” Yang Bo suddenly realized.

He checked his wristwatch and found a government notice: a powerful storm would last an entire day and night. Residents were advised to stay indoors and report any abnormalities to the police immediately.

“Abnormalities?” Yang Bo found the official language somewhat suspicious.

The Fat Boss emailed Yang Bo, asking how things were progressing. Yang Bo replied, saying he was watching material purification tutorials.

He then cooked dinner. Outside, the storm raged, but his fortress-like house remained unaffected. It wasn’t your average home.

Plus, Yang Bo’s house had its own independent energy system.

After dinner, Yang Bo grabbed a carton of milk, put on his pajamas and slippers, and returned to the internet room.

The news now focused on the local storm warning. It was forecast to last over 20 hours, with winds reaching level 5 hurricane strength.

Yang Bo also checked the Alliance news. The rebellion on Pado Planet had been fully quelled, and the next step was to rebuild the planetary security system and fleet.

Opposition groups had organized protests, demanding an investigation into the uprising, particularly how the Extremist Organization so easily took control of the military.

The military was being held responsible for the situation as well as the deaths of the Alliance citizens during the conflict. Did extremists kill them? Or were they casualties of the military?

The opposition didn’t trust the Alliance’s reports and believed there were significant discrepancies.

Reactions from various groups ranged from criticism to support, and even anger.

“Looks like the opposition won’t accomplish anything this time.” From the reactions, Yang Bo saw broad support for the swift suppression, with only a small minority backing the opposition.

Yang Bo opened his mecha game and saw that the second dungeon, ‘Doomsday Crisis,’ would release updates in three months and begin beta testing in five months.

“What are they doing this time?” Yang Bo closely followed updates on the second dungeon, suspecting the military was controlling it, as usual.

“Is it targeting Anti-Government Fighters?” Yang Bo suddenly recalled the pirates mentioning Anti-Government Fighters.

“The Alliance news never mentions such groups, but the pirates were afraid of them and wanted to sell people to them, which suggests they do hold some power.”

For now, it was just a guess. Yang Bo figured he’d learn more once inside the game.

“When should I learn forging? I wonder if I can modify my mecha?”

“With my Metal Superpower ability, forging should be simple. I just haven’t started yet.”

“It looks like I’ll need the Fat Boss’s help. I’ll have to find a way to trick him.” Yang Bo knew the black market wasn’t the safest option, fearing both scammers and exposing his information.

With the Fat Boss’s connections, things were different. At least he had some family background to rely on.

The Fat Boss was planning to recruit intelligence agents. For that, he didn’t need citizens but people working in government departments or other firms.

It was essential to identify citizens who needed gene injections. The injections didn’t necessarily benefit the citizens themselves, but their children might need them. The Fat Boss had four-star gene injections on hand, enough to lure some in.

As for where the Fat Boss got those public employees’ private information, that wasn’t something to worry about. With the right connections, any information was obtainable.