Chapter 98: Stare into the Abyss
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Meng Chao was a little stunned. “I heard that it was left behind billions of years ago. It’s a ruin of this planet’s civilization that we can’t understand it. It was buried deep and after billions of years worth of corrosion, it was gradually destroyed in the river of time.
“But after Dragon City transmigrated, this place went through a series of drastic geographical changes, which revealed it before us.
“The Supernatural Tower is actually a large ancient ruins research center.
“Discovering the ancient ruins, stimulating Earth’s industries, and the explosive development of genetic martial arts and spirit energy technology has allowed the present Dragon City to be in possession of so many peerless superhumans, along with unbelievable black technology!”
Luo Hai looked at him with sparkling eyes, “Indeed, this is a place where miracles happen. Everything can happen here. Today, your main meridians are damaged, and you will run into some problems when it comes to cultivation, but I believe that science will continue advancing.
“The amount of the Other World we can explore will also continue expanding, and our speed of deciphering the ancient ruins will increase. We will conquer all problems, and you will definitely have the chance to stand at the top of the Supernatural Tower.”
It was only at that moment that Meng Chao understood what Luo Hai meant.
Regardless of whether Luo Hai said all that he did sincerely or just out of politeness, he still answered seriously, “Thank you.”
“Let’s not talk about that.” Luo Hai smiled and said, “Based on the rules, the superhumans who have just awakened have to come here for registration. Let’s go!”
Luo Hai was familiar with the place and brought Meng Chao to an exclusive tunnel.
After they verified their registration code, scanned their fingerprint and retina, they rode on the maglev platform to an area above the fiftieth floor.
Meng Chao had ridden an elevator before, but he had never taken a sightseeing platform that was suspended outside the building. The area facing outside was even covered in transparent gla.s.s so that they could see the entire city.
The maglev platform was very fast. Its speed almost lifted his hair up. In an instant, they rose hundreds of meters into the air. It made Meng Chao a little dizzy, and his heart raced.
They were now above the clouds. The door of the maglev platform opened to the sides. They revealed a hall that was dozens of meters tall. It had such a grand presence that it was like a palace.
Forget about the golden, dazzling decorations, it was already a huge waste of money to have such a huge s.p.a.ce. It alone was enough for them to be struck in awe about the Supernatural Tower’s strength.
At the center of the hall was a huge pillar. It rose from the ground and went straight to the top, like a dragon’s spine.
The center of the pillar was empty, but it looked like a tree that had multiple branches coming from it, and they spread out to different rooms and facilities.
Regardless of whether it was the pillar or the tunnels that branched out from it, they were all covered with fine holes that had spirit energy gushing out from them. It caused all the people who smelled it to feel refreshed and reinvigorated. All their cells became restless for action.
Luo Hai told Meng Chao that the towering pillar came from the ancient ruin underground, and they had raised it thousands of meters into the air. It was like a unique oil well.
It could continuously extract spirit energy from deep underground and spread it through the entire Supernatural Tower.
The density and purity of the spirit energy here was ten times higher than in the world outside, making this place the best place for cultivation and research.
When superhumans cultivated here, they had an easier and safer time trying to break the chains of their lives.
The monsters and etherealized plants that were sent here to be modified, grafted, and crossbred also easier became new breeds that were beneficial to humans.
The success rate of creating peerless weapons, embedding crystals, and carving runic symbols into them was higher when compared to the world outside.
The universities, research centers, and major business industries also had places that were similar to the Supernatural Tower.
But at the end of the day, they were not as big, the exchange of information was not as great, and the spirit energy there was not as thick.
Besides, a lot of powerful people treasured their freedom and did not like relying on other forces of power.
Hence, after the Supernatural Tower was formed, it turned into the cultivation center in Dragon City, and its status was never shaken.
“My dad said that you can find everything here, from cultivation centers, medical centers, recovery centers, material trading centers, short-term courses to the mission centers from the military stations. The services and resources provided here are definitely the best in the city.” Luo Hai introduced excitedly.
Meng Chao was puzzled. If the Supernatural Tower had everything, and everything it had was first-cla.s.s quality, why were there so many training cla.s.ses and trading fairs in society, and why were there so many secret mission distribution centers on the deep web?
Wouldn’t things be settled if everyone just came to the Supernatural Tower to cultivate and trade?
“It’s simple. Even though the Supernatural Tower has everything, there is one iron rule to trade here. You’re not allowed to use the government-issued currency.
“You’re only allowed to use the Supernatural Coins, and the ways to get these Supernatural Coins include completing missions given by the Supernatural Tower, like bringing rare monster materials, creating and publicizing a brand new martial art, technology, runic symbol, or other things. It has created a second currency system that is completely independent from the government-issued currency,” Luo Hai explained.
“When you enter university, you’ll notice that the superhumans’ circle will use all sorts of tokens and even the ancient bartering system to trade. The goal is to not have the superhumans’ existence clash against the economic system of the normal humans.
“This is a theory that Dragon City University’s old dean, Fang Mocun, has set up. He believes that superhumans are physically stronger and smarter than normal humans. They have complete advantage over them in terms of the production economy in society. If everything is to be measured with money, the superhumans would easily subjugate normal humans in every aspect.
“At that time, the superhumans would end up as rich people, and all the normal people would live in poverty. Societal cla.s.s will become a rift that no one can cross, and the society will be severely torn apart. This isn’t good for Dragon City if we want to colonize the Other World.”
Meng Chao thought about it, and he agreed with it.
Previously, when he went with Ning Shewo to the material trading fair outside, the one single Monster Dragon’s Eye was sold for six million.
The rich superhumans did not think of money as anything important.
If the Supernatural Tower had not been controlling them strictly, they could easily cause inflation, and the economy could collapse at any moment.
But even if the economy could operate, if a superhuman earned tens of millions a month while a normal person only earned thousands a month, how could they have to work together to conquer the Other World?
The two young men moved up the spiraling escalator and arrived in front of a tightly shut door.
Painted on the airtight door were two warning signs. One of them showed biochemical danger, and the other was a skull.
Meng Chao did not know the clock in procedure for new superhumans, but when he saw the excited look in Luo Hai’s eyes, he knew that whatever was inside was definitely very interesting.
Just as he expected, when the airtight door opened, the temperature instantly fell by more than ten degrees.
In the dim light, he could see huge, transparent containers.
Soaked in the murky preservative liquid were strange samples and savage as well as terrifying humanoid-shaped things.
“Whoa...” Meng Chao gasped in amazement. He went closer to observe them, and his eyes practically glued themselves to the deformed organs.
Meng Chao was stunned.
“Aren’t you afraid?”
The Construction High student council president felt all sorts of complicated emotions.
His father had long since told him the registration process for new superhumans, and he was prepared for it.
But when he saw the deformed samples, he still suffered a mental shock, and he felt a little sick.
Yet Meng Chao did not even blink at them!
‘This guy is really thick in the head!’
“Should I be afraid?”
Meng Chao was a verteran harvester. He had seen all sorts of organs and even touched them before. Why should he be afraid of samples soaked in preservative liquid?
He thought about it. “If I’m not wrong, these are mutated human organs, right? Why did they put them here? To scare people?”
“Yeah, kind of. These are superhumans whose spirit energy deviated, and they died of an accident. While they were alive, they signed doc.u.ments saying that they were willing to donate their bodies. Of course, quite a number of them were criminals, so after they were killed, we decided to just make good use of waste.”
Luo Hao took two books at the entrance and handed one to Meng Chao. “The Supernatural Tower uses these deformed organs as a warning to new superhumans to tell not to be conceited. We’re not to think that we’re really amazing after we unlocked the shackles of our genes. It’s the exact opposite.
“After we gained supernatural powers, our life system has become even more fragile, and it’s even easier for us to be attacked or have problems. That’s why we have to be careful no matter how far up we climb. We’re to tread as if we’re walking on thin ice.”
Meng Chao flipped the book open, smiled, and said, “Interesting. The book compares human lives to a handphone system. Becoming a superhuman is the same as unlocking a handphone and gaining the authority of an administrator or even researcher of our own bodies.
“Normal humans are like a closed system set up by a factory. It’s safety, stability, and ease of use are definitely the best. The only weakness, which isn’t exactly a weakness, is that it doesn’t push the limits of the chips and compartments inside, and there are insufficiencies in terms of the effects.
“But becoming superhuman means attacking the original system. They can permeate or even damage the system to gain even higher power over the phone. They can get the power of the administrator, producer, and even the power of the engineer, which is the lowest possible form of authority. The higher the authority, the more upgrades they can do to the system, and the handphone will become better.
“But the higher the authority they get, the more parts of the system they unlock. It opens up more leaks, the handphone becomes less stable, and external forces will have an easier time attacking it. There is even a technical term for it, bricking. This means that the user has failed to unlock the system, and the handphone has turned into a brick.”
“That’s right. There is a risk in becoming a superhuman. If you’re the slightest bit careless, your spirit energy will deviate, and it’ll be very easy for you to get bricked. You’ll end up dead if that’s the case,” Luo Hai said.
“Honestly, dying isn’t the worst. The worst is someone using the leaks in your system and putting in all sorts of viruses and trojans to look at your information and even control your handphone. The Other World is filled with all sorts of mysterious powers, and the percentage of superhumans being controlled is usually higher.”
“It’s written here too.” Meng Chao pointed at a line of words and read it. “When you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares at you too. When you try to obtain supernatural powers, the supernatural world will also slowly open before you.
“As you move into the abyss and use this supernatural strength, you will be tempted and invaded by the unknown. The mutation of your body will lead to the mutation of your spirit, and in the end, you will become just like them.”
Meng Chao looked at the deformed organs and bone samples in the preservative liquid.
The monstrous samples seemed to be looking at them.
Luo Hai could not help but shudder.
He did not want to stay for long in this chilling sample room, so he dragged Meng Chao to the next room.
It was a small exhibition room. There were photos stuck everywhere, along with a lot of items lined up in rows. The sounds of intense fighting rose from the screens on the sides.
Meng Chao saw a burning superhuman. He seemed to have the ability to control fire, and as he levitated in the air, he laughed.
Then, he was shot down by around eight fire rocket launchers.
Meng Chao took a book with a black cover from an employee and flipped through a few pages. It was a superhuman criminal record book.