GAMMT - Chapter 17
Chapter 17: The Tri-Body Core
After Zhou Linlang left, the guards looked at the scumbag young master who was sitting there feasting, unsure of what to say. The guard captain, however, secretly reported the situation to Xie An. The latter was likely just as speechless, suppressing his anger as he questioned why they hadn't stopped this idiot from offending Zhou Linlang of the Economic Department.
"She's from the Zhou Family and is highly regarded by her superiors in the Economic Department. Her future is bright. If that good-for-nothing offends her… was she angry when she left?"
"It was hard to tell if she was angry or not. In any case, she promised to buy some food. Actually, she was the one who first mentioned a late-night snack, so maybe she felt too embarrassed not to buy it."
The thought that his family might have offended a powerful figure in the Economic Department over a few Australian lobsters gave Xie An a headache. Wait a minute!
A few Australian lobsters?
Is this illegitimate son of his a pig? Eating so much late at night?
Xie An's disgust for this illegitimate son reached its peak, but then he remembered something and restrained himself. He told the guards, "Don't worry about this for now. You must bring him back tomorrow. I don't want any more accidents."
His words were clearly pointed.
Thinking of what had happened to Adar and the others, the guards felt a chill run down their spines.
Although the Xie Clan showed no intention of investigating the matter internally, that was what made it terrifying. The undercurrents were unimaginable, and they didn't dare to touch this issue. They all responded with cautious and respectful attitudes.
Looking back at the trashy young master, who had not only made a fool of himself but had also caused trouble for the Xie Clan before even setting foot in their home, they felt a mix of emotions.
Judging by the Head of the Family's attitude, it seemed he still placed some importance on this son?
At least he had some value, right?
In that case, it was necessary to treat him politely. However, Xie An then gave them another task.
Soon, the guards discovered that this scumbag young master couldn't actually eat that much. He was full after eating only half.
"Pack it up. We'll take it with us tomorrow."
"Young Master, you are truly frugal." The guard captain was quite a character. Having temporarily grasped the Head of the Family's attitude, he turned to Fu Chuan with a much more polite and respectful tone.
Fu Chuan replied, "No, it's for you to eat tomorrow. That way, we can save on a meal. Remember to give me your meal money. I heard you guys talking in the room earlier, saying your daily food allowance is 300 copper coins."
Damn it, these people had a pretty high food allowance, and they were still badmouthing her behind her back. Heh.
The guards raised by the Xie Clan were all adept at reading situations. In that case, she would teach them what a real scumbag young master was like.
The guards: "???"
Even if kept in the fridge, leftover lobster wouldn't taste very good. More importantly, they had all seen that the best meat on the lobsters had been scooped out, and the claws had been cracked open. All that remained were the less desirable parts.
This was basically making them eat his leftovers.
The reason was simple: this useless young master had good hearing and hadn't forgotten to eavesdrop on them badmouthing him while he was mourning.
They were doomed.
Fuming but not daring to speak out, the group could only dejectedly prepare to eat last night's leftovers the next day and transfer their meal money to Fu Chuan.
After they left, the guard captain who closed the door looked down at the device in his hand. It hadn't detected any recording devices. He thought for a moment, then stepped away to call Xie An privately.
"We've tested it. There's no recorder. The young master definitely didn't go out, nor was he the real target of the Economic Department's investigation. They probably got the wrong person. That Inspector Zhou only bought him a late-night snack to be polite. Also, the young master heard some of the things we said outside."
Only then did Xie An feel relieved.
The moment the group was out, the arrogance and insolence on Fu Chuan's face vanished. She turned, wiped her forehead, and walked to the window. She reached out and retrieved a small recording device stuck to the utility pole on the balcony, which was covered by an orange peel.
The orange peel, being organic tissue, could effectively block device detection.
She put on her headphones and listened to the recording.
The recorder not only played back her previous recordings but could also record the conversations of those in the living room, providing a double layer of security. Naturally, she could hear their dialogue.
"No wonder I used to hear those business tycoons say that they all agreed the process from 0 to 1,000 is the hardest, while the process from 1,000 to ten billion is much simpler. That's because the initial accumulation phase is often filled with resistance and lacks support."
Fu Chuan knew she was in that state right now.
It felt like everyone was her enemy.
But, at least she was "gaining."
Fu Chuan hid in the bathroom, took out the backpack hidden under the toilet lid, and opened it to reveal two boxes.
One box was made of sandalwood, the other of nanmu wood.
Opening the sandalwood box revealed three indentations, and nestled within them were three familiar items. Her breathing tightened slightly.
S1, three S1 Gene Keys!
If Xie Keli's mother's lifetime savings of ten million was this building in the center of a small town on X5, did this mean she had just robbed the equivalent of three buildings?
No, maybe closer to four buildings.
Fu Chuan couldn't help but agree with the actions of bandits like Li Kai—robbery was indeed a promising profession, if successful.
"Stay calm, stay calm, Fu Chuan. You're a resource-dealing tycoon who has handled countless top-tier resources from Arcane Throne. You've seen the world. And compared to the vast assets of the Li Corporation, three S1s are nothing. It's almost stingy… Was this male lead's appetite too small?"
Fu Chuan then opened the nanmu box and instantly overturned her previous judgment.
Oh, the male lead was truly the male lead. Even if he lacked foresight and appetite, the old man by his side clearly did not.
He had actually managed to extort this thing from the Li Corporation!
Fu Chuan stared at the triangular metal mechanical device lying quietly in the box. She tried to suppress her excitement, pacing back and forth in the bathroom twice before calming down.
"An Arcane Mental Reaction Core, the Tri-Body Core. Although it's a low-level version, it can increase mental power meditation speed by 10%. It's one of the most sought-after bug-like items for beginners. Its market price far exceeds an S1, probably close to ten thousand green coins. Moreover, this thing is mainly monopolized by the nobility and can't even be bought on the black market. In the early stages, only a few players might get it as a drop from noble-type bosses in special dungeons."
"With this, my early-stage growth will be a steady 10% faster than others."
The effect of meditation was basically equivalent to using mental power. Continuously operating it, whether by releasing it or regenerating it, was like grinding its experience. The more it was used, the more its upper limit would expand. This was the most stable way to increase mental power.
However, traditional methods also meant being conservative, and being conservative meant being slow.
A device like the Tri-Body Core was essentially a cheat.
And cheats were precious.
Fu Chuan couldn't help but smile wryly. The male lead's opportunities were truly beyond her imagination. She had worked herself to the bone just to get one S1 from her cheap dad, while he got a treasure worth more than ten times a single S1 just by making some threats.
"Good thing it's all mine now. As long as I wear it and keep it running, my mental power can maintain a +10% meditation state."
Just as Fu Chuan was about to activate the Tri-Body Core and bind it to herself, her sharp eyes noticed something unusual about the edge of the casing on its back.
There were signs of it having been opened.
She immediately became vigilant.
The Tri-Body Core was monopolized by the nobility because its manufacturers were entities that absolutely protected the interests of the great nobles. The technology was kept firmly in their hands. From production to sealing and selling, the entire process was streamlined, requiring no post-production modifications. The back casing would be perfectly sealed because the core energy source inside was also made by the manufacturer and not outsourced.
So, why had it been pried open?
As a resource dealer, Fu Chuan was far more familiar with these resources than with the plot. She immediately spotted the anomaly. Thinking further, the manufacturer was a super-conglomerate that even the Economic Department couldn't touch, belonging to the highest echelon in Arcane Throne. It was impossible for an accidental flaw to appear in the struggles of these minor characters in this small place and minor plotline. In short, it was pointless to blame them. The tampering must have come from someone else later on.
"The Li Corporation opened it… They deliberately opened the Tri-Body Core meant for Qin Minfeng. What were they trying to do?"
Fu Chuan decisively placed the Tri-Body Core on the table and examined it carefully, noticing that it showed no signs of activation.
"The Tri-Body Core is an energy cultivation device; it repels other electronic devices. Logically, the Li Corporation couldn't have installed a bomb on it, but they could have installed a tracker. And it would have to be a tracker without its own power source. Such a small tracker could be attached to the Tri-Body Core's energy source, absorbing the energy it releases to activate itself. This means that as soon as Qin Minfeng activates the Tri-Body Core, the tracker on it will also activate, revealing his location to the Li Corporation."
And then, Qin Minfeng's death would be imminent.
The Li Corporation would kill him to silence him.
But this was just her speculation. Was it really as she thought?
Well, opening the case would reveal the truth.
Fu Chuan carefully opened the back casing of the Tri-Body Core, revealing the energy device inside. Sure enough, a tiny tracking chip was attached to the side of the energy source.
It was very small but had been precisely welded with high-precision technology, making it impossible to remove without destroying the entire energy core.
Oh, what devious capitalists.
Fu Chuan rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache coming on.
The male lead definitely wouldn't have died, because he had an even more knowledgeable old man by his side.
But now that she was the one with the Tri-Body Core, she was in a difficult position.
"Damn it… If I activate it, I reveal my location. If I don't, the entire Tri-Body Core is useless, just a decoration. Unless I replace it with a new energy core, swapping out this one with the tracker attached."
"It seems this energy core is worth five million copper coins… Ah!"
Her perfect windfall had just been cut in half. Fu Chuan's heart bled, but she was decisive. She quickly removed the energy core and put it back in the box for later use. She would buy a new energy source for the Tri-Body Core in the future.
"At least I got the monopolized Tri-Body Core device for a price. The energy core isn't monopolized; I can buy a similar one at an auction house. That's a good thing. It's just money, just money."
Fu Chuan calculated her funds. Buying an energy core for the Tri-Body Core was more than affordable, so she decided not to dwell on the loss.
"The next question is whether I can get out of the Xie Clan alive to buy an energy core… I can't use the S1s right now either."
She was afraid that if she used them, her stats would increase too much and she wouldn't be able to escape the Xie Clan's scrutiny.
At least for now, her current stats could be passed off as belonging to Xie Keli's body. At worst, she would expose her talent as a trash Arcanist, which wasn't yet at a level the Xie Clan would be concerned about. It was a position that was both defensible and offensive. But if she consumed three more S1s, even her surface-level stats would skyrocket, and she wouldn't be able to explain the origin of these resources.
It would be a dead giveaway.
So, she had to hide them well.
"I hope the benefits the Xie Clan gives me outweigh these constraints. Otherwise, I'd be better off hiding and cultivating on my own," Fu Chuan thought with a frown.
Looking at the night sky outside the window, she estimated that if the spaceship traveled at full speed, she would reach the Xie Clan in seven or eight days.
After all, it was interstellar travel. During these days, she had to figure out the matter of meditation first.
Meditation was probably one of the biggest challenges she faced since coming to this world. She wasn't from this world at all. In the game, meditation was just a skill icon, an innate ability that didn't need to be learned or obtained. But now, she didn't have that feature.
A game was a game, and a world was a world.
Before entering an academy, how was she supposed to meditate? Was she going to let these seven or eight days go to waste?
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