Translator: AnubisTL
But even with the Ten Thousand Races Auction Arena open, how many one-star items could he acquire? And how many of those would be suitable for his infinite enhancement?
The only viable strategy was to obtain more resources like the Trash Manufacturing Machine—items that could exploit the rules to rapidly produce one-star items.
Fortunately, he had been using one-star items for enhancement all along, and there was no sudden requirement to use two-star items for the next upgrade.
Otherwise, acquiring a large quantity of two-star items would be far more challenging than obtaining one-star items.
Soon—
A video call came through.
A familiar man appeared on the screen, his expression grave. "Mr. Jiang Cheng, I apologize for disturbing your rest, but the trouble we've encountered this time may escalate significantly without your assistance."
"Before I explain the situation, please forgive our abrupt intrusion."
The man on the screen was Wu Zhending, the younger son of Wu Jinshen.
"It's nothing," Chen Jiang said, shaking his head slightly. "We're friends, aren't we? Friends help each other. Just get straight to the point—we can skip the formalities."
In truth, he couldn't offer any other assistance.
The only help he could provide was firepower support.
And for him, firepower support came at a minimal cost—merely the price of a few energy replenishment guns. Those things cost just 1,000 human race merit points apiece. Raiding a few mechanical race cities could easily net him a whole stockpile.
"Mr. Jiang Cheng is indeed a straightforward man," Wu Zhending remarked with a hint of admiration before his expression turned serious. "To put it simply, the Ten Thousand Races Arena near the subhuman star has been destroyed."
"And then..."
"Wait."
Chen Jiang expressionlessly pulled a bottle of mineral water from his pocket, took a sip, and then asked, "Are you saying the Ten Thousand Races Arena that your Black Europe Company bid on has been destroyed?"
"No, no, no," Wu Zhending said, his expression grave. "It's the Ten Thousand Races Arena near the subhuman star."
"The planet is roughly three million kilometers in diameter, and the Ten Thousand Races Arena was established there."
"As you know, Mr. Jiang Cheng, the Ten Thousand Races Arena operates under its own self-generated rules. Even its creators can only guide its initial activation. Controlling it, let alone monitoring it, is nearly impossible."
"We can only understand the specific conditions inside after the Ten Thousand Races Arena ends and opens."
"The exploded Ten Thousand Races Arena is designated 0918."
"By 'exploded,' I don't mean the planet itself was destroyed. Rather, the Ten Thousand Races Arena experienced a catastrophic bug."
"Some items within the Ten Thousand Races Arena can be pre-programmed, like molds in a factory. The world origin simply needs to inject world origin into them to create these items."
"However, most items are generated randomly, and no one can predict exactly what they will be. As for the personal and racial innate abilities of players from different races, these are essentially completely random and cannot be controlled."
"One good item that can be set up is called the Activity Design Token."
"Activity Design Tokens come in two-star and three-star versions."
"A two-star token allows you to design a small-scale activity, while a three-star token allows you to design a global event."
"Once approved, the activity can be launched smoothly."
"Approval?" Chen Jiang seized on the key word in Wu Zhending's explanation.
"Yes, approval." Wu Zhending glanced at the time displayed on the nearby screen, his tone becoming slightly urgent. "The approval process is conducted by the world origins of all races within the Ten Thousand Races Arena. If half of the races' world origins agree to the activity, it will take effect."
"This process cannot be interfered with by the creators of the Ten Thousand Races Arena."
"So the world origins possess a strong self-awareness, correct?"
"No, no, no. The world origin has no consciousness. It's more like an instinct—a primal urge to protect the inhabitants of its planet, acting solely on instinct."
"None of that matters."
"What matters is this—"
Wu Zhending took a deep breath and said gravely, "Arena 0918, the Ten Thousand Races Arena, has a global event designed by one of the race players. This global event... leads directly to the Nicholas Galaxy."
"In other words, players from the Ten Thousand Races Arena have entered the Nicholas Galaxy through a teleportation gate, even before the arena has ended."
"Yes, a teleportation gate—one originating from the world origin itself."
"With the current technology of the galactic federation, it's impossible to teleport lifeforms across such vast distances."
"But the Ten Thousand Races Arena operates outside the laws of science. It follows rules—if the rules allow it, it happens."
"Now, these race players from the Ten Thousand Races Arena have spread across various planets, engaging in a frenzied slaughter of the local populations. Through special means, we've also learned the objective of this global event."
"It's simple," Wu Zhen said.
"Slaughter the residents. Time limit: 24 hours. The race with the most kills wins. Each resident killed earns one slaughter point, which can be used to purchase items in the slaughter shop."
"This drove the race players into a frenzy against the unarmed residents."
"Especially after they discovered they could use the personal innate abilities in the talent shop, their madness intensified."
"You see, most race players don't have personal innate abilities."
"..."
A flicker of surprise crossed Chen Jiang's eyes as he lowered his head in thought. This was the first time he'd heard of an activity design token being used in such a way—to create an event that allowed participants to leave the Ten Thousand Races Arena and travel to the Nicholas Galaxy.
Is that even possible?
After a moment, he spoke, "But... what does this have to do with you? You're just a merchant. This should be the federation's concern."
"Even the formidable Interstellar Insect race was wiped out. Surely a group of race players who haven't even secured their victory can be easily dealt with, right?"
"Yes."
Wu Zhending nodded helplessly. "For the Federation, this isn't a major incident. The casualties are mostly civilians, and these players are easily wiped out by our squads. Besides, even if we ignored them, they'd be teleported back to the Ten Thousand Races Arena in 24 hours."
"Six hours have already passed."
"However, this is the first time such an anomaly has occurred. During this incident, we made an astonishing discovery: when the teleportation gate opened, the World Origin Consciousness within Arena 0981 suddenly... became enraged."
"Or perhaps it mutated."
"Forgive me, it's difficult to describe this transformation in words."
"Never mind, Mr. Jiang Cheng. Just look at the item panel."
Soon, an item panel popped up on Chen Jiang's tablet:
[Item Name]: Cigar
[Item Star]: One-Star Item
[Item Effect]: Still evolving, effects unknown. Countdown: 09:47:38
[Item Description]: You think I'm joking with you?
"Hmm?"
Chen Jiang raised an eyebrow slightly, puzzled. "A seemingly useless item. No one would expect a one-star item to evolve into anything special."
"So, what's the point of showing me this item?"
"Just two hours ago, it was an ordinary cigar."
"..."
Chen Jiang narrowed his eyes, immediately grasping the implication. "You mean it transformed from an ordinary object into a one-star item?"
"Exactly."
"How did that happen?"
"It's simple," Wu Zhending paused before continuing. "It just... happened. I didn't do anything."
"A teleportation gate from the Ten Thousand Races Arena opened on the subhuman star. No one knows how many race players came through it, and frankly, no one cares anymore."
"Because... it seems the world origin itself seeped through the gate and began slowly awakening the subhuman star's World Origin Consciousness. From that gate onward..."
"It's like a drop of ink spreading in clear water."
"Everything around it began slowly digitizing. Ordinary objects transformed into items, and residents who couldn't afford personal innate abilities suddenly awakened them on their own."
"It's as if the subhuman star is gradually being converted into the Ten Thousand Races Arena itself."
"You know, this isn't good news."
"The federal government on the subhuman star is investigating the cause of this phenomenon, but I doubt they'll ever find the real reason. Given that it involves the Ten Thousand Races Arena, nothing should surprise us anymore."
"So?" Chen Jiang asked casually, having understood the gist of it. "What does this have to do with us? Perhaps you should be more concerned with escaping. Being trapped in the Ten Thousand Races Arena is no pleasant fate, especially if your entire planet is being transformed into one."
"Escape?" Wu Zhending's face turned grave. "No, no. We contacted Mr. Jiang Cheng precisely because—consider this: if every object on the planet were to become an item..."
"That would be an immense fortune."
Chen Jiang sat up calmly, straightened his clothes, and said, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's begin."
"Do you have a plan? Are we helping the players slaughter the city, or slaughtering the players along with them?"
"Uh, no, no, no." Wu Zhending stiffened slightly before replying, "We simply need to wait patiently. Slaughtering the city or the players won't accelerate the subhuman star's assimilation."
"To be precise, we still don't fully understand the factors determining this assimilation process—what influences it, or when it will end."
"All of this is speculation based on the facts we've observed."
"But overall, it's a good thing for the subhuman star."
"Many ordinary items owned by the local residents have been transformed into items. Selling them has improved their lives for a while, and some lucky individuals have even awakened their personal innate abilities."
"So, is there anything I can help with?"
Chen Jiang listened for a long time before realizing there was nothing he could do except wait for good news.
"Yes," Wu Zhending said, his expression serious. "According to our projections, this assimilation process won't last forever. Once the 18-hour global event ends, the Ten Thousand Races Arena's world origin will return with the players."
"In other words, if we want to assimilate enough one-star items within these 16 hours, we need a massive quantity of materials. Our observations suggest that miscellaneous items are more easily transformed into items."
"For example, cigars, stools, shoes, even toothbrushes."
"Our plan is simple: acquire a large quantity of miscellaneous items, pile them in a location where assimilation can occur, and then wait for them to be assimilated, yielding a massive quantity of items."
"The Black Europe Company doesn't deal in miscellaneous goods, so they naturally don't store such items."
"Acquiring them through legitimate means is out of the question at this point. The quickest way is to seize them."
"Near the subhuman star lies a small planet called Eugenia Star. Eugenia Star houses three massive warehouses that serve as transit and supply hubs for miscellaneous goods for over a dozen nearby inhabited planets."
"They belong to the Eugenia Corporation."
"Our plan is to seize these three warehouses, bring them back to the subhuman star, and assimilate all their contents into items. For this, we'll need your firepower support, Mr. Jiang Cheng."
"No problem," Chen Jiang replied, his eyes gleaming with anticipation. "Next time, just say you need firepower support. I'm always ready. Roughly how much cargo is stockpiled in those three warehouses?"
"Probably close to a hundred million units, though the exact amount is unknown."
Seeing Chen Jiang nod, Wu Zhending breathed a sigh of relief. "My father has already begun preparations. There are many things to arrange, such as the fact that Eugenia Star is a private planet. To land there, one must be either a first-tier employee of the Eugenia Corporation or a high-ranking executive."
"There are also more delicate matters to handle, like how to erase all traces. After all, whether the Eugenia Corporation or the Galactic Federation discovers our involvement, it would cause immense trouble."
"My eldest brother knows the daughter of the Chairman of the Eugenia Corporation. She can help him land safely on Eugenia Star and execute our plan."
"The Eugenia Corporation isn't some small-time company, is it?" Chen Jiang asked, slightly surprised. "Your eldest brother has quite the network."
"Well..." Wu Zhending hesitated, his expression awkward. "This is a bit embarrassing to admit, but my brother has... certain peculiar tastes. He frequents a members-only club with a high entrance fee, where everyone's identities are kept secret and they all wear masks."
"At that club, my brother has acquired quite a few 'pets.'"
"One of them happens to be the daughter of the Chairman of the Eugenia Corporation."
(End of the Chapter)
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