Master of the Stars

Of the reapings, the thing that caught Luo Nan’s attention was definitely the Deep Sea Type 4 Dynamo Core.

He remembered watching all of the fine threads being recovered after the core had lost the stimulus of energy and information. The ‘wheat-like’ structure became loose and it was basically reduced to a fine needle of four to five centimeters. It was honestly very similar to his ‘external neuron’.

A top-notch product that was likely related to the ‘external neuron’ that was in his possession. It was a clue that was very likely to have a direct correlation to his father’s whereabouts. For this reason, Luo Nan was extremely interested in this item.

Moreover, Luo Nan had observed most of the negotiation between Jack and Yan Yongbo. This allowed him to naturally understand the value of the core and its associated technology. For interested parties, the total value of all the other items from the reaping would not add up to half of the core’s worth.

Luo Nan immediately went to check on the Dynamo Core at the auction. However, the digital interface showed that the piece was still at its valuation stage. It seemed like even the association could not accurately settle its value.

Jack’s Cerebral Nucleus was also at its valuation stage.

This was quite surprising. Although the Cerebral Nucleus was the key processing center for an Altered Human and provided for its advanced thinking and emotion, it was still considered a ‘mass produced’ item, Therefore, it should not have the same status as the Dynamo Core.

“Oh wait, I think I remember this thing being wrapped inside the core.” Luo Nan thought back to the situation at the time. After the core had disassembled from its metallic ‘wheat-like’ form, the Cerebral Nucleus had indeed fallen out from it.

Even while testing Jack’s Cerebral Nucleus earlier, the core was found to be orbiting around the outside of the nucleus. It was unknown whether there were special conditions within.

Jack was too mysterious. Yesterday night, the original plan was to get to the bottom of Yan Yongbo. However, a sudden turn of events led to the current scene. Jack was one of the main catalysts of this incident. What Deep Blue World and what Apocalypse Laboratory? It was utterly unheard of. If it wasn’t for Jack, how could Luo Nan have known about these things?

After Jack died, many leads were lost. It was unknown whether the association could put in more effort to unearth relevant information.

If not... Luo Nan would have to do it himself.

As he was pondering over Jack’s Secrets, Crag Burst’s loud voice suddenly cut through, “Hey, hey? Scout, are you alright? How do you feel after sleeping?”

“I still want to sleep...” After last night’s fine play, Luo Nan and Crag Burst’s friendship was no longer simple. Luo Nan didn’t hide things from him.

“Still sleeping? Rui Wen is as well, but worse. She hasn’t even woken up yet but her wounds are more severe than yours.”

“With wounds that severe, it’s not a bad idea to sleep a bit more.” Even though they were not together, Luo Nan was well aware of the situation through the tower’s various intermediary effects. According to his predictions, it would be hard for her to rouse within the next two days.

Rui Wen was talented in dealing with crises. She had the instincts to keep operating, even when she was in a coma. During continuous combat, her tempo was founded upon quick recovery. However, once the situation calmed down, her rhythm would become extremely slow and she would require a long sleep to recharge.

Her ability to adapt to changing environments and to accurately adjust tactics accordingly was a skill that Luo Nan really needed to learn.

“Right, do you want to take part in the auction?”

Luo Nan jolted, snapping out from his sleepiness. “How did you know?”

“Look at the screen! It clearly shows who’s online and who’s ‘following’. You didn’t even know this and you expect to win against your opponents?” Crag Burst erupted with laughter.

Luo Nan knew that he had made a silly mistake, but he couldn’t give up on the opportunity to learn more about his ‘opponent’. He asked directly, “Which ones are you eyeing?”

“Not interested. None are compatible with my ability or interests,” Crag Burst swiftly replied.

“Then why are you watching?”

“Maybe I’d cheat a loser, why not?”

“......”

Crag Burst laughed again, “Seems like the ‘middle man’ hasn’t contacted you yet. Perhaps it’s because your information is all locked under security and he couldn’t find a breakthrough point.”

“Middle man?”

“Even if you didn’t ask, I’d still have to warn you. Look, you’re a psychic; an ability user with enhanced mental ability. Out of the reapings, there are really not many things that would capture your interest.”

Luo Nan faltered but made a sound of affirmation.

Crag Burt continued with his explanation without skipping a beat, “For our Society, besides going to the wilderness to try our luck, it is not often that we have the chance to accrue such a large haul while operating within the city. So, the bidding right, especially for the first round, is extremely rare. If one were to use it carelessly or miss out, that would just be a waste...”

Luo Nan understood. “You’re saying to buy it for someone else. Someone from the Society took an interest in a piece and they want it swapped out.”

“Clever! But I must say, it might not be a person from the Society.”

“Outsiders can as well?”

“Of course, as long as they come up with great goods – mutual benefits, you know? The cutting edge technology we got from the haul this time is fairly popular in the market. There have already been a few who have expressed an interest, especially in the two pieces that are still undergoing valuation. The starter prices for those even have me moved.”

Luo Nan had always thought about it and hearing this confirmed struck a sensitive spot. He couldn’t help but blurt out, “It’s not Yan Yongbo, is it?”

“Yan Yongbo? No, it’s an intermediary company... Hey, wait. The intel is getting out too quickly, things are getting tense!”

Crag Burst had always been hot headed but he was no fool. He slapped a hand down and exclaimed, “You don’t say, it could well be true!”

Luo Nan grinned, “I don’t want to fulfill his desires.”

Crag Burst naturally picked up on Luo Nan’s attitude towards Yan Yongbo and immediately became excited. “I’ll go look into it, wait for my intel. If it is true, we’ll have to do things differently.”

He quickly hung up and went straight to work.

Luo Nan pondered for a moment. He immediately ‘followed’ both the Dynamo Core and the Cerebral Nucleus on the auction and logged out from the HexaEar. He laid on his bed and blinked. Although the desire to sleep was coming over him again, he kept thinking that he was missing something.

Oh, Right!

He turned his head. He looked at the loose-leaf notebook, that almost never left his side. It sat quietly on his bedhead; its black covers making it look like a gateway to the unknown.

Luo Nan hoisted himself up against the bedhead and flipped to the flexible e-ink screen of the loose-leaf notebook. He scrolled through the other icons and stopped at the visualized diagram.

On Friday night, the icon for the visualized diagram was still installing. Now, however, the area that was dimly emitting light seemed to have increased by a fraction...

Sure enough, as soon as he checked, he saw that the progress had jumped from 2% to 6%. That was a three-fold growth, shouldn’t he be happy?

Shaking his head, Luo Nan swiped his finger across the screen, shutting it down. However, from within the screen, a thin long needle slid out without a sound.