Chapter 208
In the realm where mental power can pry open the world of microscopic particles, it is rare to find a high-level mentalist who is merely a brute. As one develops their mental abilities to deeper levels, it often corresponds with becoming a great scientist in a particular field.
The most profound research area of the Black Hole revolves around the differences between biological entities and conscious beings. Many experimental results have emerged from numerous cruel biological experiments banned by the Star Alliance. His exploration of his own mental power allows him to strip away and absorb the mental energy and self-awareness of others. The more unique and complex the mental power, the greater the rewards he can reap.
As for Luo Jin... and the others he encountered in Makur, including Ye Bomei and three other subordinates operating across the cosmos, they are experimental subjects created by the Black Hole using biotechnology.
These subjects are genetically engineered, but the more crucial aspect of their independent consciousness comes from the remnants of the mental energy stripped from others by the Black Hole. This consciousness has been modulated in the laboratory, retaining autonomy while being infused with absolute loyalty to him.
Simultaneously, these five experimental subjects are linked to the laboratory through telepathy. Any discoveries they make in the outside world can be relayed back to the laboratory, keeping the Black Hole informed.
They can even complete research tasks assigned by the Black Hole, unaware that they themselves are the most successful "Experiment Zero."
This is why so many cautious individuals within the Black Hole trust them, allowing them to know the location of their lair. Of course, their identical appearances and bald heads also play a role:
What matters is their mental essence; their physical forms are inconsequential. The Black Hole chose to copy and paste, allowing the Experiment Zero subjects to share a single "model," even omitting unnecessary genetic sequences... like hair.
— Ye Bo understood this quite well; in game modeling, creating character hair can be quite a hassle.
Among them, Mei Jia is the most valued experimental subject by the Black Hole, assigned to the Makur Group, which handles a vast population across the universe. This is because her mental power is uniquely probing, capable of detecting unusual mental entities.
These unusual mental entities are the most prized resources for the Black Hole.
When the Makur Group was destroyed, Mei Jia was already preparing to escape when she unexpectedly discovered Ye Bo and her unique mental power, ultimately drawing the attention of the Black Hole, which was far away in the Chaotic Star Sea.
The Black Hole spared no expense in exchanging a significant amount of points to locate Ye Bo, intending to bring her back to the laboratory for absorption.
Of course, the Black Hole likely never imagined that one day it would be killed by a "prey" with C-level mental power.
In addition, through the knowledge of an old A-level mentalist who had been active in the Chaotic Star Sea for an unknown duration, Ye Bo's understanding of mental power has gradually deepened and clarified, bringing her closer to the essence of it than she ever was in the Star Alliance.
Even so, Ye Bo's progress in absorbing the vast amount of research materials in the Black Hole's laboratory is still less than 5%.
“Gulp…”
After drinking a high-energy nutrient solution, Ye Bo's hunger vanished. She counted the remaining bottles of nutrient solution in her backpack.
There were still over thirty bottles left. At this rate of consumption, they would last her a year and a half.
This situation arose partly because, after advancing to B-level, her need for food has decreased, and the Black Hole's laboratory does not have relevant reserves. It seems that after reaching A-level, one may not necessarily need to eat under normal circumstances.
On the other hand, with Luo Jin's money, Ye Bo did not hold back at all, purchasing the most expensive and highest-grade nutrient solution from the base magnetic transfer station. In the Chaotic Star Sea, almost everyone is a warrior, and the nutrient solutions are specially provided for fighters, surpassing the civilian versions in the Star Alliance.
After finishing the nutrient solution, Ye Bo connected to the Star Network in the mysteriously quiet Ether Laboratory.
As soon as she logged on, a flurry of messages from Aurora flooded in.
Seeing her friend's concerned inquiries, Ye Bo felt a complex mix of emotions. The greatest regret from this incident was that she couldn't reassure Aurora.
Then, Ye Bo noticed the last message sent by Aurora a few days ago.
“Ye Bo, someone came to ask me about you today. No matter if you can see this... I hope you are safe.”
The Phantom Sea civilization had indeed traced her, and perhaps Aurora had sensed something from this investigation, which is why she included that last line.
Ye Bo stared at the message in silence for a while, then sighed and closed it.
After causing such a commotion, it was uncertain how much information the Phantom Sea Star would uncover. Fortunately, Ye Bo herself was no longer in the Star Alliance but in the Chaotic Star Sea, beyond its reach.
In any case, making the ancient human "Ye Bo" disappear and become a mystery is the best choice for her friend Aurora.
...
With a thought, the environment around her shifted once more.
Ye Bo entered the myriad realms and reappeared beside the Blood River in Landu City.
It was afternoon, and sunlight danced on the surface of the Blood River, shimmering like jewels. The riverbank, previously ravaged by the Fury of Thunder, had been washed clean and restored to its former smoothness, showing little trace of the past. At this moment, there were no players around, only a few NPC fishermen in the distance drying their nets and fishing.
As soon as she logged in, the familiar voice of the Paper Figure greeted her from her waist:
“You're back.”
“Yes, some things happened.” Ye Bo didn’t elaborate, knowing that the Paper Figure wouldn’t understand—
Researchers had long tested that the myriad realms, like all Star Network games, ignore any matters related to the real world. Even if players spoke to NPCs about such things, they would be disregarded. Even if it seemed they had listened, they would turn around and act as if they had never heard, just as they were accustomed to players logging in and out.
“Ah!”
With a bray, Ottofis appeared from an unknown location and trotted over to Ye Bo.
Ye Bo quickly fed it two pieces of bread, watching as it leisurely chewed beside her.
Strangely enough, even though Ottofis had been bound as Ye Bo's mount, she hadn’t gained any additional information about it. It still appeared as an ordinary donkey, with no health points or hunger levels displayed.
Despite being offline for so many days, it seemed Ottofis hadn’t starved; rather, eating bread seemed more like a treat for it. Except for the time they encountered a Kraken in the deep sea, Ye Bo had never seen Ottofis exhibit signs of being "hungry."
After more than a game month without logging in, the Blood River had lost its player interest. Ye Bo led Ottofis into the inner city of Landu.
The number of players encountered on the way was sparse. Based on the timing, the fastest wave of interstellar players should be starting to challenge their second job classes.
Ye Bo opened the lord leaderboard again.
First place: Bai Ye, Territory Score: 31467
Second place: Zeta, Territory Score: 30278
Third place: Ximo, Territory Score: 29878
Fourth place...
Ye Bo took a deep breath. The progress of the two cosmic-level civilizations was astonishing. The once-dominant Bai Ye Town was nearly caught up by them.
In fact, if it weren't for the knowledge and materials from Meluo City boosting their score, Bai Ye Town's territory score would have been surpassed by Ruilan Village... Damn Black Hole, affecting her stable development!
Having resolved her real-world crisis, Ye Bo felt a sense of urgency as she saw her territory score being threatened.
Of course, this urgency was different from before; it was accompanied by an unprecedented sense of release and ambition. With her rising power came a comprehensive shift in Ye Bo's mindset.
As she made her way to the Chaos School in Landu City, Ye Bo opened the remote information page for lords.
Before leaving her territory, she had set up two ongoing projects: one was to continuously recruit refugees for the camp, and the other was to expand the library's collection.
As long as the territory's productivity was sufficient, these two projects would proceed automatically.
Now, through the remote page, Ye Bo could see that the refugee camp project had already gone through its fourth cycle, while the library had stalled at the third—this was because the expansion limit for the basic library was three times.
Three active recruitments of refugees and one ordinary influx of migrants had caused Bai Ye Town's population to swell to 1018, breaking the thousand mark.
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