Chapter 107: Virus Original Solution

"Heh... didn't you see me risk the danger to save him? I would never abandon any loyal servant of mine."

Li Yu sneered as he took out a vial of Vitality Serum from the spaceship's storage cabin and administered it to Li Ping to sustain his life.

"Is that so? Then what were you muttering earlier about money..." Hunter mercilessly exposed Li Yu's facade.

"It is achieving Multiple Gains with One Action, so why not? Some people will never experience this kind of treatment in their entire lives," Li Yu retorted, unwilling to waste any more words on this guy who was clearly green with envy and hatred.

"Claptrap, get ready to leave this place. Find a small, secluded spot to warp to..." Li Yu ordered.

"Master, just three minutes ago, No Man's Land announced a flight ban. All spaceships are prohibited from leaving the port!"

Claptrap's response left Li Yu slightly surprised. A flight ban? For what reason? Who had the power to impose a flight ban on No Man's Land?

"It was an order issued by Dark Star... You can check the Black Hole Network," Claptrap added.

"Dark Star?" Hearing this familiar name, Li Yu fell silent. He accessed the local Black Hole Network, finding it currently buzzing with activity.

Li Yu had only just learned the news of Dark Star arriving with the Imperial Fleet, but he was not particularly shocked.

He was merely confused as to why Dark Star would lock down No Man's Land. It surely could not just be because of the chaotic skirmishes near the East District.

After mulling it over... there seemed to be only one possibility: the Titan Ruins.

It was not surprising that Dark Star had learned about the Titan Ruins and the key through the surviving Green Knights. Compared to the Aaron Civilization's secretive behavior,

Dark Star naturally had no need for such scruples, choosing to directly lock down No Man's Land.

If his guess was right... the next step would be a massive screening. His heart tightened slightly as he thought it over carefully. He had been acting alone recently, and his spaceship had changed its camouflage several times. There were no obvious loopholes.

They probably could not maintain the lockdown for too long. These Marauders were not the submissive type, and high-pressure control would inevitably backfire.

His Smart Terminal buzzed with a vibration. The Reformers were contacting him; they were certainly taking the initiative.

"You are not a Green Knight?" the person on the other end opened with this line, serving as both a probe and an assertion.

It seemed their people had also escaped safely and contacted their superiors, though they were likely stranded in No Man's Land as well.

"When did I ever say I was?" Li Yu countered.

The other side fell silent for a moment before Li Yu continued, "It is time you pay me the rest of the money."

"Return the key to us..." The person's words caused Li Yu to narrow his eyes slightly, his voice turning cold.

"Reneging on a debt is not a good habit..."

Deducing that Li Yu was the one who had taken the key by observing Li Ping was not a difficult logical leap.

"Taking something that does not belong to you is an even worse habit..." the other party retorted.

"Heh..." Li Yu sneered. "If it were just an ordinary person, you know exactly how much trouble this key would have brought them."

"Furthermore... no one forced him to give this thing to me."

The person on the other end fell silent once more. The messenger handing over the key was truly just an accident, or rather, an act of sheer desperation.

At the time, the messenger had not thought it through at all; he simply wanted to prevent the Green Knights from getting the key, delaying them for even a single minute if possible.

As for whether Li Yu lived or died... perhaps in their minds, there were no good people in No Man's Land anyway.

"Return the key to us!" The other party stopped beating around the bush and stated it directly. The implication was self-evident: no key, no final payment.

Li Yu scoffed, "This is the extent of The Reformers' vision. No wonder you have been chased like dogs by the Star Glory Empire for all these years..."

Were The Reformers good people? That was highly questionable. Their banner had always been to overthrow the rule of the Star Glory Empire and establish a world where all Interstellar Races were equal.

Li Yu admitted it was a beautiful slogan. If they were on a small planet, perhaps they could succeed, persevere, and ultimately build a powerful nation.

Because everyone would be of the same race, sharing the same roots.

But this was the interstellar stage! There were simply too many Interstellar Races, with fundamental differences rooted deep in their genes. Some races were inherently foolish, some plain stupid, and others naturally tyrannical. How could there possibly be equality?

It was just like the Star Glory Empire's counter-propaganda against The Reformers: 'Please, make the animals on your dining tables your members as well.'

If all races were to be equal, what right did you have to eat those animals? Weren't you discriminating against those species?

"Hand over the key..." The other party did not feign surprise or ask pointless questions like, 'How do you know our identity?'

Even if he knew their identity, it posed no threat. For the greater cause of their organization, a little reputation was not worth mentioning.

"Heh... do you think I am Powerless Against you?" Li Yu chuckled softly, speaking in a seemingly casual tone. "Since Dark Star has locked down this place, none of us can leave."

"You have quite a few people here. I am very curious to see how you plan to stay hidden."

The other party did not answer but felt an inexplicable, ominous premonition.

"You would not happen to be hiding by turning into slaves, would you..." Li Yu's words were like a bomb exploding on the other end of the connection.

The person remained silent for a long time before barely managing a response, "What... exactly do you mean?"

There was a hint of uncertainty and probing, trying to figure out exactly how much Li Yu knew.

"Then I will spell it out. The Slave Exchange in the East District... Hall is one of your people, isn't he." Li Yu directly laid his cards on the table.

"I will give you three minutes. I want three hundred million Star Coins, otherwise, you can wait for this piece of information to land in Dark Star's hands..."

"As a dog of the Star Glory Empire, you do not even need to imagine what kind of actions Dark Star would take..."

Since he had already shown his hand, it was impossible to give them a chance to relocate.

"How can I trust you..." The other party's tone was strained, even carrying a trace of panic.

"You have no choice but to trust me... Two and a half minutes left..." Li Yu raised his arm, timing them, and spoke with absolute indifference.

"Let us think about it." The other party sounded rushed, evident even through the mechanized voice filter.

"Sure... Two minutes and ten seconds left..." Li Yu nodded.

"We agree!" The other party hesitated no longer and gritted their teeth.

"Excellent... One minute and fifty seconds left." Li Yu nodded in satisfaction, yet he did not stop the timer.

"The money has arrived!"

Li Yu checked his Black Hole Account and finally stopped the timer. "There is no need for such bitter resentment. I want you to remember that the only reason it came to this is because you failed to honor our agreement."

"And you should consider yourselves lucky to have met someone like me who honors their contracts. Hurry up and relocate your people."

The other party cut the communication in a fluster. Since Hall had been exposed, the most pressing matter now was to relocate the rest of their personnel, especially at such a critical juncture.

Li Ping's condition began to stabilize. Li Yu prepared to restock some of the spaceship's supplies—Energy Blocks, Nutritional Potions... everything needed to be replenished.

However, before doing that, the System Log for Clone One refreshed.

[Day Three – Resident Evil World: Your relationship with Alice has grown more intimate. You found a Road RV to transport everyone.

The pursuers from the Umbrella Corporation couldn't distract you, as you both immersed yourselves in a world that only belonged to the two of you.

During your free time, you struck up casual conversations with Jill. Everything was progressing smoothly.

When you saw the first wandering Zombie on the road, you knew... the Zombie Crisis stemming from Raccoon City was finally about to begin...

In fact, due to the influence of the Butterfly Effect, it happened much earlier than expected...]

[Obtained Master-Grade Talent – Butterfly Effect. Extract?]

[Obtained Special Item – Zombie Crisis. Extract?]

'Huh? The harvest is this abundant this time? A Master-Grade Talent... is that a tier above elite talents?'

'Extract directly...'

[Obtained Master-Grade Talent – Butterfly Effect: The flapping of your wings is enough to influence the entire world, causing some key plots to occur ahead of schedule.]

'Fast forward?' Li Yu Gasped in Cold Air. This talent was incredible, practically an ultimate upgraded version of The Timely Rain.

He now roughly understood the operating rules of this deployment System. As long as he participated in some major plots, he would basically receive rewards.

[Obtained Special Item – Zombie Crisis: The Zombies are coming! The T-Virus Original Solution. Who knows what kind of terrifying power it will unleash.]

Li Yu's eyes widened. He stared at the green test tube in his hand, his fingers trembling slightly. The T-Virus Original Solution was certainly something else.

Although in this universe, the T-Virus Original Solution would likely not trigger an earth-shattering Zombie Crisis. After all, there were plenty of Nerve Gases far more potent than the T-Virus, let alone actual Biological Weapons.

However, it still counted as a lethal weapon. It could cause massive destruction in a short amount of time, making it functionally equivalent to an unconventional Nerve Gas.

Storing it in his System Space with a complicated expression, Li Yu felt like he was straying further and further down the path of a villain.

Dark Star's Ship descended slowly. Instead of docking in the Outer City, it flew straight into the Inner District.

Flanked by soldiers on both sides, Dark Star stepped off the spaceship, exuding an air of supreme elegance. Several holographic projection screens floated around him, displaying lifeforms of various Interstellar Races.

"Dark Star, what are you trying to do!? Brazenly leading the Imperial Fleet of the Star Glory Empire into the No Man's Land System!? Are you trying to start a war?"

A ferocious shark-faced alien spat a stream of curses. However, the Translator automatically filtered out the profanities, so by the time the words reached Dark Star's ears, they had been converted into polite and eloquent Interstellar Common.

"Old Shark, do not be so nervous. The Star Glory Empire is here to search for an Imperial Noble, not to start a war. Relax," Dark Star explained with a smile.

The projection screens rotated, revealing a red-skinned Troll roaring, "Do you even believe that yourself? The Star Glory Empire does not know where their own Imperial Noble is?"

"Of course I believe it. Do you not?" Dark Star replied, his face a picture of confusion.

"Drop the act. Everyone knows the Star Glory Empire is backing you. We just do not want to fight you, so don't actually go thinking you are the boss here." A sharp voice rang out from a glamorous woman who was sneering.

"Putting everything else aside, what is the meaning of locking down No Man's Land? Are you trying to turn it into an outpost for the Star Glory Empire?"

"You have a very rich imagination. An esteemed Imperial general is right beside me. Why don't you ask him yourself?" Dark Star gently rotated the projection, and the gloomy, bark-like, wrinkled face of Starlight General appeared before them.

Everyone froze slightly before tacitly cutting off their communications. Talking big was one thing, but actually confronting a general of a Shining-Light Class Legion face-to-face? They didn't have the guts.

"These Six-horned Flies are truly annoying..." Dark Star chuckled, walking shoulder-to-shoulder with Starlight General.

"I have no interest in participating in your squabbles. I do not want the construction of the Stargate to face any resistance," Starlight General said with a cold expression, not showing even a shred of warmth to Dark Star.

"Of course... The moment my equipment arrives, the Stargate assembly will begin immediately..." Dark Star nodded.

Starlight General let out a cold snort. He looked up and scanned his surroundings, a trace of imperceptible disdain flashing in his aged eyes.

............

"How is the difference between the Inner District and Outer City so massive?" As soon as Li Yu stepped into the Inner District of No Man's Land, he found it to be vastly superior to the filthy and chaotic Outer City.

Towering metal skyscrapers were lined up in neat rows, while giant holographic projections displayed various R-rated images. Hovering Flying Vehicles zoomed through the air.

It was not as chaotic as he had imagined. In fact, it looked much better than the Black Market on Heavenly Desolation Star. At the very least, no one was injecting unknown substances in the middle of the street.

Everyone here seemed like Respectable People... Uh... not long after this thought crossed Li Yu's mind, he spotted a Donkey-man pleasuring himself right on the street, with quite a few bystanders cheering him on.

Li Yu was completely speechless. He shook his head. At its core, it was still a lawless place without rules. The only reason it maintained this facade of order was probably because the waters here ran much deeper.

No one dared to act too wildly without thinking.

The quality of Energy Blocks in the Outer City was too poor and inconsistent. Li Yu hadn't dared to buy them, fearing an accident during his space flights.

"Boss... give me ten No. 98 Compressed Energy Blocks..." Li Yu walked into an Energy Block store, entirely surrounded by concentrated energy cubes displayed on metal shelves.

Each one was crystal clear, roughly the size of a fist, and perfectly square. The interiors seemed to swirl with dense mist. A single block could support an ordinary Spaceship through about ten Warps.

If it was used in combat, however, that would be a different story...

"Ten blocks... One hundred thousand... How will you be paying? Star Coins or Light Coins?" The shopkeeper was an Interstellar Human with greying hair, though he did not look particularly old.

"One hundred thousand?" Li Yu's eyes widened. "Don't try to rip me off. I asked around, and No. 98 is clearly eight thousand per block. Why are you selling them for ten thousand?"

"Eight thousand?" The shopkeeper sneered. "That was the price a few hours ago. Blame it on No Man's Land currently only allowing entry but no exits."

"Wait, what do those two things have to do with each other?" Li Yu suspected the shopkeeper just wanted an excuse to raise the prices.

"They are related... but not by much... It is mainly because the Star Glory Empire's fleet has arrived. No one knows when a war might break out, so more people are buying them," the shopkeeper managed to cobble together an excuse.

"If you think it is too expensive, you can buy the No. 92 Compressed Energy Blocks. Those are cheaper, only six thousand..."

Li Yu shook his head, "Forget it, my Ship isn't used to running on No. 92."

"Oh..." The shopkeeper raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like you have quite a nice Spaceship."

"It is alright..." Li Yu smiled shyly, giving off the vibe of a wealthy person who had just been seen through.

"Here, take them..." Truly disgusted by Li Yu's smug expression, the shopkeeper bagged up the ten Energy Blocks and handed them over. After verifying the goods, Li Yu readily paid the bill.

"Boss, is there any reliable place around here that sells Gene Chains?" Li Yu asked.

"Gene Chains?" The shopkeeper slightly narrowed his eyes. Gene Chains were big business. "First-hand or second-hand?"

"Ones produced by major companies, I suppose..." Li Yu mused after a moment of thought.

"I couldn't tell you were such an elite Person Above People..." the shopkeeper commented with a sarcastic undertone.

The profit margins in Gene Chains were enormous. For a Gene Chain of the exact same quality, those produced by Universe-renowned corporations like Tyron Chamber of Commerce or Opto-Electric Technology could be about thirty percent more expensive than those made by Blue Sky Tech.

The same Gene Chain, the same manufacturing process, the same effects, so what justified the thirty percent markup?

This was something no one could quite figure out, yet there was always a specific demographic perfectly willing to pay the premium.

"What tier do you need?" The shopkeeper lowered his head, hiding his expression.

"Why do you care so much?" Li Yu asked in return.

"Actually... I am also a merchant who sells Gene Chains," the shopkeeper said, suddenly lifting his head.

Li Yu lowered his clenched fist, looking a bit awkward. If you sell Gene Chains, then just say so; why make it look like you were suddenly about to attack me?

"Please, continue..."

The shopkeeper shot a suspicious glance at his fist, then peeked out the door shiftily. After carefully locking the entrance, he led Li Yu down to a Basement.

"Little brother... if it were not for the fact that we are both Interstellar Humans, I truly wouldn't share this secret with you," the shopkeeper whispered.

Li Yu felt a surge of excitement. Had he stumbled upon some black-market organ harvesters? He could righteously eliminate a public menace, and those Energy Blocks on the shelves upstairs were certainly looking mighty tempting.

Stepping into the Basement as old fluorescent lights flickered on, Li Yu Gasped in Cold Air. The room was filled with refrigerated glass tanks, each containing the corpses of dead Interstellar creatures.

"An underground Gene Chain workshop?" Li Yu had long heard of such places, but this was his first time seeing one.

The Gene Chains circulating on the market had all undergone rigorous testing by Technology companies, proving them harmless to over ninety-five percent of Interstellar Races before they were cleared for sale.

However, some perverted individuals always wanted to try out bizarre Gene Chain Fusions, such as using a Donkey-man's Gene Chain to see if they could get an Amplification in certain... anatomical areas.

Or perhaps a dairy cow's Gene Chain...

These baffling Gene Chains had low value and small target audiences, so no legitimate Company was willing to research them.

Thus, underground Gene Chain workshops emerged to fill the void...

"What underground Gene Chain workshop..." The shopkeeper looked displeased. "This is a Small-Scale Gene Development Company!"

"I have everything you could possibly want here. Whatever Gene Chain you need, just name it..."

Li Yu lost all interest. This idiot clearly took him for an Easy Mark.

But on second thought, he asked, "Any kind of Gene Chain will work? If I brought you a vial of blood, could you synthesize a Gene Chain from it?"

He might be able to acquire the biological Genes of entities from other worlds in the future, so it was best to understand the process now.

"Of course... I can..." The shopkeeper quickly agreed before adding, "But I need complete gene fragments. It is best if the blood comes from the heart, and I will need a large enough quantity."

"Actually... it would be best to bring the entire corpse, or at least a third of it... because there is always the possibility of failure..."

The shopkeeper rambled on, seemingly desperate to secure him as a client.

"Oh, I understand..." Li Yu nodded thoughtfully.

"So, what kind of Gene Chain do you need?" the shopkeeper asked, rubbing his hands together.

"The Chaos Heavenly Demonic God Gene Chain..." Li Yu smiled.

"Huh?" The shopkeeper looked utterly lost.

"I guess you don't have it... Goodbye then..." Li Yu waved his hand and left the shop.

"Damn it, just say it if you can't afford it..." the shopkeeper grumbled, Muttering Curses.