Chapter 319: The Gene Coin Conspiracy

Unified Bank Shanghai Branch.

Qin Yun frowned as she finished reading a document and asked a middle-aged man in front of her, “Minister Chen, are those contributing genes really organized by someone?”

Chen Bo nodded and said, “Yes. After receiving a joint investigation notice from headquarters, I conducted a detailed inquiry. There seems to be a syndicate behind this.”

They use various interest-free loan schemes to bind people to debt, and once the debtors fail to pay, they organize them to donate genes in exchange for 500 Gene Coins to offset their debt.

Besides this common method, they also employ illegal means such as violent coercion. Our initial estimate shows the syndicate has collected over 600 million Gene Coins, affecting more than 120,000 people.

Qin Yun asked, “Do they use those Gene Coins to purchase our products or services?”

“No, they exchange each Gene Coin for 300 Hua on the black market, selling them to companies or nations in need of Gene Coins.”

Shortly after Unified Bank’s operations began, Qin Yun applied to work in China, taking up the post of President of Unified Bank’s China Branch.

Currently, Unified Bank has branches in both the Imperial Capital and Shanghai, but at Qin Yun’s request, the China Branch headquarters was set up in the Shanghai Branch.

Since the collection of Gene Coins requires gene donations, China has not made things particularly convenient for Unified Bank.

If it weren’t for other significant collaborations between both sides, these branches might not even have been established.

Even after opening, certain direct promotional methods are disallowed, such as both online and offline advertisements.

Qin Yun has been troubled over how to let more people know that donating genes to Unified Bank comes with a reward of 500 Gene Coins.

Although this announcement was posted on Dream Technology’s official website long ago, many people in vast China still don’t pay attention to online information.

In fact, Qin Yun came to Shanghai partly for her younger sister-in-law, Zhang Mingliu. As the world grows increasingly dangerous, she hopes her sister-in-law will leave Shanghai and move to an underground base in the Tanga Federation.

Since her sister-in-law is not a direct relative, she cannot enter Heaven Realm Sky City.

People in her situation are currently residing in the Tanga Federation’s underground base, where they can safely weather the impending disaster.

However, her strong-willed sister-in-law refuses to go and instead plans to travel to various disaster zones to cover the events live for her fans.

Since returning from South Sudan, and with Dream Technology making international headlines, she has learned that Du Qiu is safe.

After that, she hasn’t gone abroad for any interviews, which has cost her quite a few followers.

Another key reason for Qin Yun’s appointment in China is to encourage more Chinese citizens to donate genes.

Before leaving headquarters, Du Qiu personally entrusted her with this task, saying, “Sister Qin, Gene Coin is not just a currency; it concerns the future of humanity. I hope the Chinese do not have too small a share of genes.”

Though Qin Yun doesn’t fully understand Du Qiu’s reasoning, she will undoubtedly do her utmost to complete the task.

At that moment, listening to Security Minister Chen Bo’s words assigned from the Security Department to Unified Bank, she couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

Although the methods used by that syndicate are criminal, they inadvertently accomplish Unified Bank’s goal of gene collection.

“Minister Chen, why did headquarters send over a joint investigation notice?”

Chen Bo replied, “Because last week headquarters sold a Mars City to Maldives, and the genes in the Gene Coins paid by the other party all originated from China.”

“Hmm, then submit this report. For now, we don’t need to interfere with the syndicate’s actions.”

Chen Bo was taken aback. He hadn’t expected Qin Yun to completely ignore the matter, not even planning to report the syndicate’s activities to the local government.

“Aren’t we supposed to stop their activities?” he hesitated and asked again.

“That’s right. Their actions actually help us secure more genes and increase the circulation of Gene Coins. It’s a good thing, so of course I won’t stop them.”

After Qin Yun’s words, Chen Bo said nothing further and left her office.

At that moment, the phone rang. When Qin Yun answered, Zhang Mingliu’s voice came through the line.

“Sister-in-law, I discovered something – someone is hiring people in droves to donate genes at your bank in exchange for Gene Coin rewards!”

A wry smile spread across Qin Yun’s face. It seemed the syndicate’s operations were growing, and even free journalist Zhang Mingliu was aware of it.

“Is there a problem?”

Zhang Mingliu’s voice grew louder. “Is there a problem? Isn’t it a big problem? They are siphoning Gene Coins and flipping them on the black market at several times the price. Aren’t you going to do something?”

Qin Yun replied, “Our bank can’t control black market prices. If someone comes forward to donate genes, we must reward them with Gene Coins according to regulations.”

“Aren’t you worried this will disrupt your Gene Coin exchange rate? Well, I’ll find a way to expose it and urge people not to be taken in by a quick buck.”

Qin Yun cautioned, “Be careful. Domestically, our bank is not allowed to publicize anything about Gene Coins. If you publish this news, you might be summoned for questioning.

I might even be called in for a chat by the authorities since you are my sister-in-law. They could suspect I’m using your channel to promote it.”

“Sister-in-law, it’s not that serious. If needed, I can ask some friends in journalism to help publish it.”

Qin Yun’s eyes lit up as she said, “Great! Do as you please. By the way, if you’re not keen on relocating to the Tanga Federation, why not buy a set of Martian Real Estate?

That way, if anything happens, you can retreat to Mars, sparing mom and dad constant worry.”

“Sister-in-law, I don’t have that kind of money.”

“Then let your sister-in-law buy it for you. You don’t want me to have a hard time with our parents, do you?”

“Alright, alright. You buy it.”

“Good, as soon as you agree, I’ll take you to Martian Real Estate tomorrow to get the contracts and paperwork sorted.”

+++++++

In a castle within Gaul, Europe.

Inside a spacious study.

“Gold, have all our technicians been moved to a safe area?”

“Sir, everything is in place. The companies you designated have all been assigned relevant research projects, and everyone is working diligently.”

Sir Phileas Rothschild looked at a gigantic Blue Star Device in front of him, then reached out and gave it a slight push. The Blue Star slowly began to rotate.

“Have Walkerson and his team already headed to the Tanga Federation?”

Gold nodded, “Yes. His team is going there for training under Dream Technology. According to the contract, Dream Technology will ensure they learn the basics of maintaining the Mars Base.”

Phileas sighed, “It’s a pity we didn’t secure the Mayan Heavenly Garden. Otherwise, we might have acquired the necessary technology and wouldn’t depend on others.”

Gold, taken aback by Phileas’s remark, wondered if exchanging the Heavenly Garden with Dream Technology wasn’t actually Phileas’s decision.

“Sir, do you regret the exchange with Dream Technology?”

Phileas shook his head and replied, “No, I don’t regret it.”

“Then… did you just…”

Phileas continued, “I only lament that our strength wasn’t sufficient at the time. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have handed over the Heavenly Garden so easily.”

Gold remarked, “Back then at the Yucatan Peninsula camp, we had enough power. If conflict with Dream Technology broke out, we could have held out until reinforcement arrived.”

Phileas shook his head, “You’re mistaken. When I saw Dr. Du Qiu in the video, I knew he was determined to secure the Heavenly Garden.

As the mastermind behind Dream Technology, why would he risk his life by venturing into dangerous territory?”

Gold suddenly realized, “So you mean that his appearance indicates everything is well prepared?”

Phileas approved, “Exactly. Do you remember how Walkerson and the others described Dr. Du Qiu’s arrival?

He seemed to descend from the sky, yet no aircraft was seen overhead. That must have been some kind of visual cloaking.”

He continued, “Could our camp’s soldiers really handle such a craft? Remember the nuclear alert when Dream Technology attacked the US nuclear base—you must understand that Dream Technology is not something we can confront head-on.”

The last day of March, and ticket sales must be ramped up!