Chapter 169: System Master, you absolute scoundrel!

Meng Yi carefully studied the personal information panel shared by Firefly.

Following the "Attack on Titan: Founder's Worm," "Jujutsu Kaisen: School-style Cursed Technique Learning," and "Jackie Chan Adventures: Bai Mo Learning," plus the "Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan" series of potions he had stuffed into her, Firefly's original "Glamoth Republic gene-modified human" system had become completely distorted.

It was a chaotic mess of the "Combustion/Entropy-Loss Syndrome" that grew stronger the harder she fought, the "Aeon Path Leverage," and various other incompatible systems.

The "Founder's Worm" appropriately mitigated the negative effects of her "Combustion/Entropy-Loss Syndrome," turning her into a bizarre player who could dance on the edge of death with her health bar.

The "Mental Emotion/Cursed Technique System" filled in some of the gaps left by her incomplete "Aeon Path Leverage," allowing Firefly to begin touching upon the spiritual and willpower aspects.

Meng Yi's "Eternal Mangekyou Strengthening Potion" significantly boosted the "Energy" and "Spirit" of his travel frog.

In the "Jackie Chan Adventures" dungeon, guided by the "Old Master" and the wills of the Eight Immortals—the "Righteousness Faction"—Firefly had integrated her various enhancements within the framework of Bai Mo, taking the first steps onto her own path.

*A good opportunity, good luck. *

He didn't envy Firefly's opportunities; ordinary players had their own way of playing, and "fish-bombing" experts like him had their own evolutionary methods.

Meng Yi, who knew his own limits very well, had absolutely no intention of getting chummy with the "Eight Immortals" background characters. He was more likely to "get chummy" in the literal sense—by inviting these righteous background characters to stay for a while in the "Infinite True Realm's Experimental Zone."

Meng Yi dissected a path to strength for non-fish-bombing players.

Whether it was the righteous or villainous faction, a few scraps falling from the fingers of these background characters were enough for a player to make a fortune.

However, one had to be careful: encountering a dungeon with deep waters was no different from encountering a fish-bombing expert.

Crisis and opportunity coexisted.

For those who did nothing but wait for pie to fall from the sky, they might as well go to the auction house and commission a custom cheat from a "14th-Rank Breakthrough" monster.

"Body Strength: C- (Early Fourth Rank)"

"Energy Strength: C+ (Peak Fourth Rank)"

"Spirit Strength: C+ (Peak Fourth Rank)"

"Comprehensive Evaluation: C (Mid Fourth Rank)"

"Limit Output: B (Mid Fifth Rank, against continental plates)."

After aggregating Firefly's various data points, Meng Yi decided to patch her weaknesses.

"Firefly."

"Huh? I'm listening!"

At the edge of the observation deck, Firefly, who was using a "strange space-penetrating telescope" to watch the electronic cockfighting between the Zerg's Star-Eater King Worms and the Mechanical Race's Planet-Exterminating Constructs in the "Human Realm," raised her small hand to show she was listening intently.

Meng Yi rested his chin on his left hand; the innocence of this naive simpleton was truly exasperating.

"The value of the twelve talismans varies from person to person. In the hands of an ordinary player, they might just be material carriers of rule-based power, but to me now, they can serve a greater purpose."

"According to my value system, I should provide compensation at the A-rank (Sixth Rank) level."

"However, the Sixth-Rank enhancements I produce carry too strong a personal influence. The pollution is too high for you to digest in a short time."

"Even if you could digest them, your future path would be deeply constrained by my framework, making it hard to break free from those limitations."

The high-school-graduate Firefly had clear, limpid eyes that revealed a profound stupidity, much like a college student.

Meng Yi tapped the bridge of his white-dwarf-material glasses, thinking deeply. "Within the range you can digest, I've decided to help you complete your 'Body Strength' and appropriately boost your 'Energy' and 'Spirit'."

"To improve your survivability and ensure you survive the 'Promotion Assessment,' I will also provide you with an extra 'Tech Armor'."

Improving the basic three elements was simple.

Following the "Obsession Heaven Master: Zero" enhancement route, he just needed to add a Divine Tree seedling and upgrade her to the Otsutsuki Clan level.

The equipment, however, offered much more room for operation.

From "Seventh-Rank White Dwarf Battle Armor" to "Sixth-Rank Space Necron Star-Armor," down to surface-civilization "First to Fifth Rank Armor," none of it was a problem for Meng Yi.

Considering Firefly's limited capacity, she wouldn't be able to drive "White Dwarf Battle Armor."

A Fifth-Rank Breakthrough tech-mech with planet-busting output was undoubtedly the best choice.

"Sir, isn't that a bit too much?"

"It's not."

Meng Yi stood up from his chair and walked slowly to the edge of the observation deck, overlooking the entire "Infinite True Realm."

"That's because you don't know the difficulty of the 'Promotion Assessment,' and you don't understand how outrageous super-standard players can be."

"During my 'First to Second Rank Promotion Assessment,' I encountered a 'good friend' who was very 'heart-to-heart' with me."

"In a dungeon capped at the Sixth Rank, we had a high-intensity 'friendly match' at the Seventh-Rank level."

"I give it to you, so take it. Compared to these cheap little toys, you are worth much more to me."

Meng Yi flicked his finger lightly, checking his remaining wealth.

2 S-rank, 6 E-rank, and 212,000 Paradise Coins.

It wasn't a lot, but it wasn't a little either.

Having integrated his Bai Xue system twice and transformed into the "Infinite True Realm," Meng Yi's technical means had progressed significantly.

"Don't move from this spot; I'm going to hand-craft some things for you."

A sub-consciousness of his White Dwarf Battle Body merged into the "Infinite True Realm: World Will."

Meng Yi consumed Source Crystals and Paradise Coins to mass-produce cheap, mass-market goods.

Paradise Coins -12,000! Source Crystals -6 E-rank!

"Fourth-Rank Peak: Pure Divine Tree Seedling" x1, "Fifth-Rank Early: Rinnegan + Tenseigan + Golden Eye Composite Potion" x1, "Fifth-Rank Breakthrough: Custom-Appearance Tech Armor" x1.

"First-Rank Potions" x50, "Second-Rank Potions" x10.

In less than a second, Meng Yi completed these creations.

The "Infinite World Tree," possessing "Omnipotence," "Alchemy," and "Time Laws," had means far beyond what low-rank players could comprehend.

"0.0!"

Firefly was very obedient, standing honestly in place, not daring to move.

Before she could even blink, she suddenly found a pile of items beside her.

The girl exclaimed in genuine admiration: "Sir, you... you're so fast!"

As soon as these words left her mouth, Meng Yi, who had just opened his eyes, frowned.

Identifying as a male human, he couldn't tolerate such slander.

"..."

Meng Yi sighed. Why bother arguing with an illiterate simpleton?

"Use the 'Fourth-Rank Omnipotence Domain' of Paradise to digest the 'Divine Tree Seedling' and the 'Fifth-Rank Potion' yourself."

"The tech-mech is embedded with a 'Solar Furnace,' 'Meme Cursed Spirit,' 'Active Nano-Biological Metal,' 'Space Folding,' 'Space Wormhole,' 'Self-Repair,' 'Morphing,' 'Simulated Ecology,' 'Life Support/Medical,' 'Auto-Pilot,' and 'Overclocking/Self-Destruct' capabilities. It can amplify your output limit in every aspect, enough to give you Fifth-Rank Breakthrough combat power."

Meng Yi beckoned, summoning an oval sphere the size of an ostrich egg, made of white-gold active nano-biological metal.

"Place your hand on it and send your appearance requirements to the mech's 'Meme Cursed Spirit'."

Firefly obediently placed her palm on it, closed her eyes slightly, and told the "Meme Cursed Spirit" the design she wanted.

Before long, the oval sphere changed rapidly.

It finally solidified into a tall, sturdy full-body mech, primarily white, with high-protruding shoulders and thrusters on the elbows, knees, and feet.

Wearing the mech, Firefly used the "Meme Cursed Spirit" to project a mechanical-sounding male voice.

"Firefly Type-IV Strategic Assault Armor pilot, Firefly, awaiting orders, Sir!"

Firefly loved this mech too much.

She had always deeply regretted not being able to bring Sam into the "Evolution Paradise."

The girl explored the mech's various functions tirelessly.

"... That's enough. Go down there and find the Tyranid Zerg; test the mech's output."

Meng Yi didn't dampen Firefly's enthusiasm and arranged several opponents for her.

"Yes!"

Perhaps because she hadn't piloted a mech in a long time, Firefly occasionally blurted out some strange lines.

"Sam is in position, beginning cleanup."

"Protocol authorized, executing scorched-earth operation!"

"Fireflies rush into the fire, living toward death."

"I will—ignite the sea of stars!"

*Boom—! *

Brilliant fireworks exploded above the Zerg continent.

Firefly used all her strength to barely take down a Star-Eater Zerg vanguard.

A Zerg hive ship spread out a carpet of space-faring Zerg, dissolving and recycling the biological remains that had been blown to pieces.

In less than a few minutes, the Star-Eater Zerg vanguard resurrected.

After testing the mech's functions, the planet-exterminating mech used "Space Folding" to compress into a small, exquisite, white-and-cyan diamond-shaped transformation device.

"Sir, this mech is too powerful!"

"It's a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand times stronger than the Sam I used before!"

Returning to the observation deck on the tree crown, Firefly gripped the transformation device tightly, chattering endlessly to Meng Yi about her insights from piloting the mech.

The Glamoth Republic's standard armor was trash.

A real woman should use a fiercer, more brutal, stronger super-mech!

Firefly was like two different people when wearing the mech versus when she wasn't.

One was a madwoman who lived for "combat and pleasure," the other was a quiet little girl; the stark contrast was quite abstract.

"... As long as it's useful."

Meng Yi changed the subject and handed the strengthening potions and the "leek-harvesting sickle" to Firefly.

"Sell the 'First-Rank Potions' for 3 F-rank + 2,000 Paradise Coins, and the 'Second-Rank Potions' for 3 E-rank + 5,000 Paradise Coins."

"If sold successfully, you'll get 80 E-rank Source Crystals + 150,000 Paradise Coins."

"I won't give you Source Crystals this time. Keep 50% of the earnings (4.4 C-rank + 75,000 Paradise Coins) and use Paradise's 'Omnipotence Zone' to make the 'Divine Tree Seedling' and 'Fifth-Rank Potion' your own."

"If you sell them quickly and have time left in your Paradise stay, come back to me for more stock, and we'll split the net profit 9:1."

Meng Yi wasn't sure if his "leek agent" would be sanctioned by Paradise.

Therefore, he was testing the waters this time, keeping it shallow.

The cost of 6 E-rank + 12,000 Paradise Coins was mostly spent on Firefly's exclusive strengthening potions, with the remaining scraps adding up to only 0.98 A-rank Source Crystals.

Whether the "leek agent" plan succeeded or failed, Meng Yi could accept it.

"Yes, Sir."

Firefly gave a standard Glamoth Republic military salute.

Before sending her off, Meng Yi warned her solemnly: "The 'Promotion Assessment' is different from a regular dungeon. The moment you descend, prioritize completing the main quest at all costs; digging into the dungeon's background is secondary."

"If you encounter players with superior strength, end the 'Promotion Assessment' immediately; don't try to compete with super-standard players in terms of technical progress."

Could Firefly, after digesting the "Divine Tree Seedling" and the "Fifth-Rank Otsutsuki/Mangekyou Potion" and piloting the "Fifth-Rank Breakthrough Mech," compare to Meng Yi or Xianmo Weiyang during their Naruto phase?

The answer was no.

At most, she could rival the basic stats of Meng Yi and Xianmo Weiyang at the start of the Naruto phase.

Fish-bombing experts had endless trump cards and rapid technical iterations; Firefly couldn't win that race.

"I understand."

Firefly answered solemnly, engraving Meng Yi's words into her heart.

She had to survive the "Promotion Assessment" because only by living could she bring back more things for her Sir.

Meng Yi tidied the hair on Firefly's forehead. "Running away when you can't win isn't shameful."

"Last time, the 'good friend' who was 'heart-to-heart' with me in the 'Promotion Assessment' ran quite fast; I only managed to peel off half his skin."

"Remember, staying alive in Paradise gives you a chance; if you die, you have nothing."

??

Peeling off half his skin? A heart-to-heart good friend?

Firefly's mouth hung open in shock.

She had naively thought her Sir had actually made a friend and was happy for him.

Firefly had taken "heart-to-heart" as a noun, never realizing it was a literal verb.

*One word can express two different meanings; Sir is truly Sir. *

The travel frog's thinking was becoming increasingly warped. Carrying a belly full of unspoken complaints, she had just passed through the teleportation vortex to return to the Fourth-Rank public area when she stopped in her tracks.

"Sir, there's a situation back home."

"I heard from Miss Kafka that over twenty Geniuses' Society members gathered in the Asdana star system, destroyed the Dreamscape Hotel on Penacony, and even kicked out the Family that ruled Penacony."

Meng Yi nodded, indicating he understood.

Herta was steady enough; twenty-plus Erudition Emanators jumping them at once—what could a branch of the Family, which couldn't even scrape together half an Emanator, possibly do?

After the travel frog left, Meng Yi didn't rush to Paradise's "Omnipotence Strengthening Zone." Instead, within the "Infinite True Realm," which was accelerated dozens of times internally, he used his "Bai Xue system" to cognize the Twelve Talismans.

A week passed in the blink of an eye, with Firefly sending messages from time to time to report her sales.

On the seventh day.

【Firefly: Sir, I've sold everything.】

【Firefly: Paradise warned me and dropped my credit rating to -2!】

【Bai Mo: Normal. The reduction for each credit level is 1.5 times the average dungeon harvest of the player's current permission rank.】

【Bai Mo: 4th-rank player dungeon harvest * 1.5 * 2, roughly equal to 8.8 C-rank Source Crystals + 150,000 Paradise Coins.】

【Bai Mo: Try sending the Source Crystals to me.】

【Firefly: Okay.】

【Firefly: Huh, the mail says sending failed?!】

Before Firefly could continue trying, Meng Yi received a warning from the "Evolution Paradise."

【Warning: Detected player 'Bai Mo' and player 'Firefly' colluding to maliciously harvest low-rank player dungeon gains.】

【Per Case No. XXXXX, '14th-Rank Breakthrough Player: System Master Incident,' the relevant loophole has been blocked.】

【Warning: Paradise Balance Mechanism has made the following judgment:

One: The gains from this behavior cannot be traded or circulated and can only be used by player 'Firefly' herself.

Two: Deduct corresponding credit from player 'Firefly' and revoke permission to enter 1st-2nd Rank public areas. Player 'Firefly' current credit: -2.

Three: Upon detection, player 'Bai Mo' has repeatedly interfered with player 'Firefly's growth process. Judgment—】

【Judgment canceled, re-correcting—】

【Prompt: Player 'Bai Mo' must achieve a top-three finish in the next dungeon, 'Strongest Tournament,' otherwise player 'Bai Mo's' 'Invite Low-Rank Player' and 'Be Invited by Low-Rank Player' permissions will be erased.】

"??!"

Meng Yi's face turned dark. "The predecessor tears down the bridge, and the successor suffers!"

"I truly cannot underestimate the despicable, shameless, insidious, base, and filthy methods of the Paradise monsters!"

"14th-Rank Breakthrough Player: System Master, what an absolute scoundrel!"

It seemed there was no explicit punishment, as the "Super Old Monster" who issued the "Strongest Tournament Invitation" had shown mercy.

But that was far from the truth. The "Strongest Tournament" was a complete mystery.

The Paradise Balance Mechanism only required Meng Yi to enter the top three; the depth of the waters was self-evident.

I'm coding it now, 6.5 hours left, let's go!