“Extra! Extra! Piao Ming Group buys a large quantity of Ability Spheres each for fifteen years!”
On Sunshine Avenue, the main street of Hub Town, a person ran past the café’s exterior, waving and shouting amidst the endless stream of adventurers in their gear.
“Fifteen years of life for one Ability Sphere?”
A man drinking coffee at a table set down his porcelain cup.
Another person beside him chuckled sarcastically:
“Hah! Sure, they’re the Piao Ming Group, but come on—look at who’s here in Hub Town. Fifteen years to buy off our rare Ability Spheres? That’s a bit delusional.”
Another runner shouted: “Fifty thousand spheres in two days—does anyone have a Resonance Statue to lend me?”
“Pfft!”
“What? I misheard the unit?”
The door of the café burst open with a bang from the crowd streaming out. Outside, people had already dashed over at top speed and grabbed the runner’s hand.
“Cough, cough!” This person had his coffee splattered all over him.
A few people rushed over like martial arts masters, grabbing the shouting man’s arm and shouting excitedly, “Tell me clearly, is it twenty Ability Spheres or two hundred Ability Spheres?”
That man twisted his hand and pinned the person’s arms behind their back:
“What two hundred? Didn’t I make it clear? Boboli from the Piao Ming Corporation said it himself: at least twenty thousand Ability Spheres! Even better if we can get fifty thousand here!”
“Here? Are there collection points elsewhere?”
“Oh my god!”
“Where did he get so many timelines? Pfft, I even doubt how long they can live.”
The crowd gathered, incredulous as they pressed for answers: “Those three lunatics at Piao Ming must have lost their minds. Fifty thousand Ability Spheres means seven or eight hundred thousand timelines.”
“Are they just playing around?”
“What the hell is Yang Zicang planning this time?”
The man surrounded in the center wiped the spit someone in the excited crowd had landed on his face.
“Who knows? But I just earned a few hundred timelines myself. Believe it or not, my team members are already at the Silver Ring Hall. Our income today alone will be four or five thousand.”
Just as he said that, a silver financing request spread out and appeared.
“Ｉ am Boboli from the Piao Ming Corporation. Dear friends, we currently need about twenty thousand to forty thousand Ability Spheres, with the purchase deadline set for midnight tomorrow.”
“My god, is this real?”
“Wait, wasn’t it fifty thousand?”
The financing link broke and then reappeared with additional information:
“Current sub-venue locations for collection are: the first floor of Fine Dining Street, Silver Ring Plaza, the lobby of Moon Mountain Tower…”
Another declaration link spread out.
{I am Zhu Yin, deputy town leader of Yin Zhi Hub Town. Mr. Boppoli of Puming Group will acquire at least 37,000 Ability Spheres before tomorrow… Some ability spheres will be settled with Virtual Zero Sequence, which is a rare opportunity.}
“What? Wasn’t it 40,000 just now?”
{Still short by at least 35,000. I didn’t expect everyone to be so enthusiastic. Thank you.}
“What the hell? It’s only been a few minutes!”
The crowd roared and used their various powers to rush toward the previously mentioned purchase locations.
The entire town surged with people.
Meanwhile, in the Lost Frequency Land. Luo Bin, using Xiao Machao like a shadow, was swiftly shuttling between various sheds, acquiring good and bad abilities and some materials at prices ranging from 12N to 13N.
At the rebuilt Rose Creek, major teams were racing there with full speed.
One hundred Ability Spheres could earn more than two hundred years; one thousand Ability Spheres, two to three thousand years!
And all they needed to do was simply resonate with the small statue—everyone was fired up.
As for those far away, they could only lament that they simply couldn’t make it, missing this precious chance to earn temporal sequences.
In a certain shed, a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl named Xiao Li was joyfully resonating with her short-range teleportation ability, never imagining she’d ever have such a spending spree, with decades of temporal sequence vanishing like flowing water.
“Uncle Yang, that Yang Zicang gave me such a high offer—fifty years each.”
The girl glanced at Uncle Yang, whose expression was grim, and whispered playfully, “Last time, he gave me such an expensive gift as soon as we met. Could he… could he be interested in me?”
“Phew!”
Uncle Yang let out a sigh of relief. “Don’t worry, he has no interest in a little girl like you at all.”
“Oh~” Xiao Li stuck out her tongue playfully.
She knew that the Shed Master beside her seemed to have no outstanding abilities, but in reality, he possessed a very rare ability. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have picked her out from the crowd and brought her to their shed for protection.
In this shed, there were several ability users whose powers seemed useless but were actually very rare. Everyone got along well, thanks to the Shed Master’s model-like ability—sharp as a blazing eye for insights, as if he could see through people’s hearts.
“Maybe Yang Zicang is about to do something earth-shattering again. I should also lend him some help.”
The man with the same surname, who had a weather-beaten face and medium-length hair, placed his hand on the statue.
[I am beginning to craft the “Fated Ambition” Ability Sphere.]
[I consume time capital, 10 N units.]
A small, green-skinned fruit-like sphere was spat out by the slowly opening mouth of the statue.
Rosebrook.
Under the chilling wind and the glow of the campfire, the Rose Queen sat on a wide cushioned stone chair in the depths of the hall. She looked at the two Ability Spheres in her hand—these were crystallized by her attached Demonic Nightmare through the statue.
[Lucent Guardian]
[Using Amplified Chrono to resist mental attacks, each activation consumes 1N.]
Suddenly, enthusiastic cheers erupted at the grand hall’s entrance, and a figure walked in through the parting crowd.
The moment that person saw Xu Aiyuan, his expression paused slightly before returning to normal.
“You’re the Black Dragon King?”
“Yes. Last time, Yang Zicang saved the Freq-Lost Lands, and now he’s buying up Ability Spheres on a large scale both at the Pivot Town and here. Something must be brewing again.”
Behind the bulky Black Dragon King, two of his subordinates trudged in carrying four burlap sacks and warmed themselves by the bonfire.
The slender woman rose to greet him.
As the burly man approached this delicately built woman, he stammered, “So, I… I’ll put them right here…”
The man’s words were a bit incoherent.
Xu Aiyuan let out a soft laugh, brimming with irresistible charm.
Li Sumei, closely shadowing Xu Aiyuan, giggled lightly and said, “The Black Shed Boss sure is quite polite when he speaks.”
Xu Aiyuan shot a playful, squinting glance at the girl beside her.
“Go fetch them some hot water.”
Once Li Sumei left, the Rose Queen turned back and looked up at the man’s bear-like, towering shoulder, where snowflakes still lingered unmelted.
“The journey here must have drained no small amount of Amplified Chrono. On behalf of Yang Zicang, I thank you.”
The Black Dragon King suddenly felt as if a thorn had pierced his heart.
“You’re too kind, Rose… Queen.”
After a brief rest and confirming the number of Ability Spheres, Li Sumei handed over two Born Treasures and a pouch of slightly dull, obsidian-like currency.
“So these are the Void-Zero Chrono Coins? Uh, I’ll thank you on behalf of the brothers in the shed.”
The Black Dragon King took the pouch and turned to leave.
“Won’t you rest a little longer?”
“It gets colder at night, and returning will deduct more Chrono. We won’t linger.”
Descending the stone steps, he had only taken a few steps when he suddenly heard a crisp, melodious voice from behind.
“With such strong abilities, why not set foot on a new Fate Track?”
The bear-like man pondered for a moment, then slightly turned his head to look at the delicate, flower-like lady.
“If I leave, they might not make it. After all, there are thousands of people, heh. So what can I do? For now, I’ll stay and take it one step at a time.”
Watching the figure clad in beast hide trekking through the snow, Xu Aiyuan at the temple gate kept her eyes fixed on the three dark spots until they vanished into the snow beyond the city walls.
……
A few hours earlier.
When Huan Bao’er procured the Mental Spectrum Synchronization Device, intending to record this astonishing masterpiece,
She saw the three of them busily adding treasure chests inside.
“What are you—”
Jiaoma quickly ran over from the grass.
“Foster Mother Huanhuan, these rewards are different from Officer Croft’s.”
Huan Bao’er gave her a cold stare devoid of emotion.
Yet the girl, unlike usual, did not lower her head under that gaze. She met the gaze of this noble lady and said,
“Don’t be angry, godmother. This is an opportunity for the weak. These things will spark something in them, help them identify with themselves, and make them feel they can stand against the strong in a duel.”
The frost in Huan Bao’er’s eyes gradually melted.
“This gives them the confidence and hope to fight against powerful enemies.”
The general director suddenly burst into laughter.
“So that’s how it is. That’s the key point.”
Seeing Huan Bao’er’s change in attitude, Jiaoma breathed a sigh of relief.
“Since that’s the case, I’ll lend you a hand too. Just tell me if you need anything else to include.”
Jiaoma was overjoyed and turned to call for Boppoli. The boy in the distance ran over.
“We plan to focus on Hub Town, buying up Ability Spheres to put in as the main prizes. We’ll use the Chrono Weapons as top-tier prizes and give out daily supplies as common rewards.”
Huan Bao’er’s eyes lit up.
“Great work, Chief Designer!”
Not long after, Huan Bao’er appeared at the entrance of her own office.
The moment she pushed open the door, the lively atmosphere inside instantly went silent.
A group of employees, all wearing the Lost Illusion uniform but with dyed hair, or sporting eccentric vests, or rolling up their sleeves to reveal tattoos on their shoulders, some with a simple or dazed expression, others sitting with a priest-like air sipping tea and reading—yet no one dared go near them—quickly straightened their postures.
“Zorro!”
A man who had put his Zorro mask back on lifted his head from behind a card table; a Psychic Bean Sprout was stuck in his hair, swaying back and forth with his movements.
Huan Bao’er, with a stern face, scanned everyone in the room, saying:
“And all of you, starting now, I’m going to announce something!”
Huan Bao’er kicked the door shut.
“Top-secret operation, codename: Third Dark Hand.”
“Top-secret?”
“Third Dark Hand… What’s that?”
In the dim Blackstone room, everyone looked up at the woman approaching from the doorway.
“Everyone must participate and is not allowed to leak a word. Otherwise, all evaluations this year will get a ‘0’ score, and those responsible will be recorded as security violators.”
“Ahh…” A chorus of groans went up.
“Bao Bao, our big steward, aren’t you supposed to be on vacation? Don’t worry about us, go have some fun.”
Bang! As Huan Bao’er passed by, this person’s head was slammed onto the tabletop by some mysterious force, deducting several days worth of Time Points.
[Huan Bao’er began forming the H-Chi Special Task Force.]
[Huan Bao’er announced her leadership as Captain of the H-Chi Special Task Force.]
[Huan Bao’er announced that all members of the Rainbow Star Division would be incorporated into the H-Chi Task Force.]
[Huan Bao’er announced that the H-Chi Task Force accepted the Rainbow Star Division’s top-secret emergency mission: Third Dark Hand.]
“No way, is she serious?”
“A special operation solely for our Rainbow Star Division…”
Finally, the dozen or so people in this room understood that Executive Director Huan Bao’er was not kidding with them.
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