Chapter 44: Liu Zhijie’s Plan

“This is all about compatibility. Both are fire ability users, so the weapon compatibility is at least 60%. They can both use it, but won’t bring out its full power. The price is pretty cheap too. Usually, each weapon costs about ten million. Just go to the weapons market and pick one. After you get back, you can embed a Homogenous Energy Stone into it.”

“Of course, this doesn’t have the long-range attack capabilities like Crack Void. It’s just for close combat.” Liu Zhijie explained.

Yang Bo mostly understood and then asked, “The Ancient Martial Arts Association is really impressive. They slapped Red Earl’s leader back with just one strike. But, I’m curious, why did gene-evolved ancient martial arts decline?”

“Yang Bo, it’s a simple question. Let me ask you, if you had two choices: the first is to get a shot and instantly become a Genetic Evolver, and the second is to train hard for ten or twenty years to maybe gain superpowers, which would you pick?”

Yang Bo suddenly realized, “So Ancient Martial Arts lost to human nature. Yeah, one is easy to get and the other takes rigorous effort—and you might not even succeed…”

“Boss, I failed with my Gene Serum. The success rate for a second shot is really low. What should I do?” Yang Bo asked.

Liu Zhijie rubbed his forehead, “That’s tricky. Because the raw materials for Gene Injections differ, the result can vary too. Even though you didn’t succeed, there’s still residual gene material in your body from the previous injection. A second shot could cause a conflict, or even result in your death.”

Actually, Liu Zhijie already had a plan. Regular citizens can retire after working for the Company for fifteen years, or even ten. They only have lifespans of about 120 years.

But even the lowest-level Genetic Evolvers can live up to 180 years, which means they can work for the Company for 80 years without a problem.

And if you say you won’t work? Heh, the Company has plenty of things to keep you interested and in debt—luxury homes, beautiful women, a bunch of kids, and methods to upgrade to a higher-level Genetic Evolver…

However, Liu Zhijie intentionally made things sound worse than they were. Sure enough, Yang Bo grew anxious and asked, “So is there no other way?”

“There is—but the price is very high. Secret Techniques or Ancient Martial Arts both require a lot of money. But if you work hard, when the time is right, I’ll report you to the headquarters. The Company will reward outstanding employees, meaning they’ll let you become a Genetic Evolver. The Company will cover the cost. If you’re successful, you pay it back—but with no interest. And if you fail, you don’t owe them anything.” Liu Zhijie had his little plan all worked out.

Yang Bo grinned internally. Clearly, this was just a scam, but as long as he understood, it was enough. He immediately expressed his gratitude, “Boss, I’ll work hard. This time was really dangerous. If I were a Genetic Evolver, I probably would’ve escaped.”

“Mhm, mhm.” Liu Zhijie agreed, but thought to himself, “I didn’t even escape, and you think you could?”

“I’ll give you a week’s vacation for now. I still need to talk to the government about mental health compensation and the stuff at SkyDome Amusement Park—they owe us compensation too. Since we’re residents, we should get extra reimbursement. If not, we’ll sue them for discrimination. And the Company will compensate you as well,” Liu Zhijie nodded and said.

As he watched Yang Bo’s back, Liu Zhijie breathed a sigh of relief. The Company was severely understaffed, mainly because very few residents were willing to work. Even the ones who did were so fragile, they needed to see a therapist after harming a small animal or something.

Yang Bo, though, was someone he could groom for bigger things. But the Company would take it step by step, or else the employees would start feeling like everything came too easily.

“I don’t even know how many people the Company lost this time.” Liu Zhijie rubbed his forehead. The casualty numbers hadn’t come in yet, and Liu Zhijie also feared Yang Bo might hold a grudge because he had left him behind during the escape.

Liu Zhijie had some suspicions about Yang Bo. He suspected Yang Bo might be a Genetic Evolver, but in a very strange way. Otherwise, how had he detected the mutated creature that even Wu Bing missed? Talents like him were exactly what the Company needed.

Yang Bo left and by the time he got home, it was already dark. On the way, he’d been checked several times, and there were many robots working on construction, apparently cleaning up the underground drainage system.

Everything at home was normal. Overhead, drones patrolled the sky above the Community.

Today, Liu Zhijie had answered many of Yang Bo’s questions. Yang Bo now had a much deeper understanding of this world. He quietly recited his skills to himself.

Swimming: Grandmaster (Speed in liquid +300%, permanent underwater breathing ability, underwater attack power +120%)

Flight: Master (1402/10000), Camouflage: Master (8210/10000), Sonic Control: Grandmaster (14350/100000)

Dynamic Vision: Master (4832/10000)

Charge: Intermediate (11/100)

Thermal Imaging Vision: Advanced (301/1000)

Electric Power Control: Advanced (112/1000), Light Energy Control: Beginner (4/10)

Mecha Piloting: Intermediate (56/100)

Invisibility: Advanced (105/1000)

Slap: Advanced (134/1000), Warship Repair: Advanced (251/1000), Warship Piloting: Intermediate (25/100)

This time, new skills—Warship Repair and Warship Piloting—were added. But for now, there didn’t seem to be any use for them.

Yang Bo lay in the bathtub, feeling that his swift action at SkyDome Amusement Park had been the right decision. If he had acted even a moment later, the Planet Guardians might have intervened. The speed of Crack Void was so great that he wouldn’t have even had time to react before being sliced apart.

Yang Bo looked at the Space Button for his Mecha. The energy stone embedded in it was a Homogenous Energy Stone. His Mecha was in a separate dimension inside.

Yang Bo could sense that the areas of his Mecha that had been damaged during battle were slowly being repaired. It would probably take a few more days to fully recover.

“That’s the advantage of energy metals, huh?” Yang Bo thought smugly, “If I had to find a place to maintain it, it would be a hassle. Even worse, I couldn’t afford the upkeep.”

“Should I go check out the energy weapons Liu Zhijie mentioned and mount the Homogenous Energy Stone onto one? That way, I’d have my own energy weapon.”

Yang Bo decided to sleep on it for now. After all, there had been too many surprises today.

Meanwhile, Liu Zhijie had returned to the Company, only to find out that three of his subordinates had died and two had gone missing. He wasn’t sure if they had been blown to bits. They’d have to wait for more information.

Liu Zhijie also participated in an internal high-level Company meeting. In recent years, various hidden extremist organizations had been stirring things up. The Company instructed all branches to stay vigilant. Recruiting more staff was also a priority. This recent upheaval might spark a sense of crisis among residents.

News outlets continued to broadcast updates. The three major empires were aware of Red Earl. He had made quite a name for himself in a single battle, though not a favorable one. Based on Red Earl’s past actions, this time, it seemed he had suffered heavy losses.

The Edin Alliance was the first to announce that they would team up with the other two Federations to research the Energy Suit left behind by Red Earl’s commander. Once they identified the energy attributes of Red Earl’s forces, they believed it would be easy to track down the rest of his group.

The next day, Yang Bo got up. He had a week off but didn’t know what to do with himself—or rather, there were too many things to do.

“Buy a house? But Red Earl’s people might have joined the army. Would it be a waste to buy one?”

“But if I don’t buy one, I won’t have a place to train in my Mecha. The more dangerous things get, the more I need to improve my abilities.” Yang Bo felt conflicted.

“Unfortunately, it’s really hard for residents to leave the planet.”

After eating, drinking, and recharging, Yang Bo opened the network and searched for energy weapons. He quickly found that there were a lot of sellers, with all kinds of designs available.

“Should I go check them out and maybe Camouflage myself?” Yang Bo was tempted as he looked at the various cold weapons.