At the Fisk Tower, Kingpin's eyes held a hint of anticipation as he looked at the briefcase in Evolto's hand.
"Is this the new golden Gaia Memory?"
Evolto nodded, opened the briefcase, and revealed the Memory and the Gaia Driver inside.
"Since you successfully enabled the Claydoll Memory to find a suitable user, the Foundation naturally won't go back on its word."
"This is the Nasca Memory. Its power is divided into three stages depending on the user's ability; the higher the stage, the stronger the ability."
Kingpin nodded in satisfaction and took the briefcase.
Evolto glanced at Jim, who was standing nearby, and said, "This is the Memory salesperson you brought back before. It seems he has also become an important member of your organization."
Previously, when Evolto interacted with Kingpin, only Bullseye and David, Kingpin's two right-hand men, were ever in the room. Now, Jim was an addition.
Clearly, Jim had entered Kingpin's core circle.
Kingpin smiled slightly and nodded to Jim: "Jim has proven his loyalty and ability to me, and he has been approved by the Gaia Memory.
Naturally, he is qualified to become a cadre of the organization. I believe Jim will play a crucial role in the progress of the Museum Project."
Evolto waved his hand and spoke to Kingpin casually: "You can decide the specifics yourself.
The Foundation won't interfere too much. As long as the project progresses smoothly, you can do whatever you want.
In short, the Foundation will grant you sufficient autonomy."
"I certainly won't disappoint the Foundation," Kingpin said with a satisfied smile.
"I hope so."
"Mr. Kingpin, is the Foundation that man just mentioned the creator of the Gaia Memories?" Jim asked cautiously after Evolt left.
"That's right. The Gaia Memories we sell all originate from this mysterious Foundation."
Kingpin nodded to Jim and then asked, "What are your thoughts on how to utilize the Money Memory?"
The main reason Jim was able to immediately become a senior cadre and enter Kingpin's core circle was, of course, the Gaia Memory he adapted to:
Money.
It possesses the ability to seal the life of others within Life Coins.
If life can be traded as a commodity, absolutely no other business could be more profitable than this.
Just think of the high-ranking officials and wealthy businessmen, who are old and frail, or terminally ill and near death—how much are they willing to pay to extend their lives?
And the Gaia Memory, Money, possesses the ability to seal the life of others and use it as currency.
Moreover, compared to the direct economic benefits, the implicit relational ties formed by this currency are even more important and immensely helpful.
The wealthy and powerful, in order to continuously obtain the Life Currency that extends life, will inevitably choose to form closely knit alliances of interest with Kingpin.
And this alliance, formed with Life Currency as the bond, is virtually unbreakable, as absolutely no one would complain that their life is too long.
If managed properly, the resulting surge in power and influence will be immeasurable.
It was precisely because Kingpin knew the capability of the Money Memory and saw the huge benefits it could bring if utilized correctly, that he immediately brought Jim, who adapted to the Money Memory, into his core circle and treated him as a trusted aide.
Kingpin truly has great foresight, and it was not in vain that Dan Kuroto conferred the ability for the Life Coins manufactured by the Money Memory to be circulated.
"If you ask me, we should just grab those undocumented immigrants and homeless people—the kind of people no one cares about even if they disappear.
Let Jim absorb their lives to manufacture Life Coins," Bullseye suggested with a cruel smirk, his tone casual, as if discussing casually crushing an ant.
A flicker of unease crossed Jim's eyes, and he said, "I suggest that we open an underground casino and target gamblers who have lost all their possessions but still refuse to change their ways.
These gamblers, when red in the eyes from losing, will mortgage anything. They won't hesitate even if asked to mortgage their lives, so let their lives become the stakes, to be collected by us.
Furthermore, when the Money Memory seals human life, it's best to have the subject in mental despair and completely without resistance."
Kingpin considered this for a moment and nodded slightly: "We will proceed as Jim suggested. Use the resources of the Fisk Corporation to immediately establish a grand underground casino.
All matters concerning the casino will be entrusted entirely to you, Jim."
Kingpin's goal was to establish an orderly underground world, and he preferred Jim's proposal.
"Thank you, Mr. Kingpin," Jim said quickly.
"Also, I need to remind you of one thing.
Your father's gambling addiction led to the ruin of your family, eventually causing your mother's death and forcing you to live in an orphanage.
I completely understand your hatred for these rotten gamblers, but do not let your emotions interfere with the organization's plan.
Manage the casino well and collect as many Life Coins as possible."
"Please rest assured, I will not disappoint you, Mr. Kingpin," Jim's forehead broke out in cold sweat. He bowed deeply and said.
Kingpin waved his hand, instructing David to leave with Jim to discuss the specifics of the casino.
"Kingpin." Bullseye stared intently at the briefcase on the desk, or rather, the Gaia Memory inside the briefcase.
Kingpin's expression was calm: "You want to try this golden Gaia Memory?"
Although it was a question, his tone sounded like he already knew the answer.
Bullseye smiled with slight fervor: "Of course, greater power is what I have always pursued."
A moment later.
"What a pity, the adaptability of the Gaia Memory is truly elusive," Kingpin looked at Bullseye kneeling on the ground, his tone tinged with regret.
Bullseye, however, gave a wicked smile: "That's not necessarily true. At least I successfully transformed, though only for a short time.
Perhaps the Nasca Memory is not like the previous Doll Memory, which required a specific condition to be used.
The Nasca Memory has three stages of form, and it requires a strong individual who can develop its advanced forms."
Kingpin shook his head, looking at Bullseye's right hand, and said, "Trying to forcibly control the power of the Gaia Memory is absolutely not something an ordinary human can do.
Not even you. Without sufficient compatibility, the human body simply cannot withstand the power of the Gaia Memory.
You must already be feeling abnormalities in your body, right?
And this is only the initial stage of the Nasca Memory."
Bullseye's face subtly changed, and he fell silent.
The Hand's New York Base.
"Madam Gao, what exactly is the New York branch doing lately? Have you determined the exact location of the Dragon Bones buried beneath New York?"
The leaders of the other regional branches of the Hand questioned Madam Gao through the screen, sounding somewhat angry.
The five founders of the Hand are five traitors who stole Dragon Bones and defected from K'un-Lun: Alexandra, Madam Gao, Bakuto, Sowande, and Murakami.
After escaping from K'un-Lun, they prolonged their lives for hundreds of years using the stolen Dragon Bones. During this time, they established the Hand, a massive international criminal organization.
But now, the stolen Dragon Bones they possess are almost depleted.
Madam Gao listened to her companions' questioning and replied with a smile: "Don't be so anxious. The exact location of the Dragon Bones is still difficult to ascertain.
Even if we determine the precise location of the Dragon Bones, we can't break the seal.
We need the Power of the Dragon, or the power of the Black Sky, to do so."
"Speaking of which, a magical treasure called the Gaia Memory has appeared in the New York underground market, which can instantly grant the owner superhuman power.
It might greatly enhance our strength," Madam Gao said, showing what seemed like great interest.
"Can it enhance our strength?"
"Regardless of whether it's true or false, we can discuss that later. Our top priority is obtaining the Dragon Bones."
"The current inheritor of the Power of the Dragon has appeared. His name is Danny Rand.
Since leaving K'un-Lun, he has already destroyed several of our strongholds.
We have left clues to guide him toward New York.
By utilizing Danny Rand's Power of the Dragon to resonate with the Dragon Bones, we should be able to trigger a resonance that allows us to determine the exact location of the Dragon Bones."
"At the same time, we will bring the Black Sky container to New York.
We don't have many Dragon Bones left, so we must obtain the Dragon Bone remains under New York this time."
"As long as we get the Dragon Bones, we can continue to live forever. We will have plenty of time later to investigate and pursue this so-called Gaia Memory."
The other four leaders of the Hand engaged in an intense discussion, and sentence by sentence, they quickly decided on their next course of action.
Madam Gao did not voice any objection. While she was indeed very interested in the power of the Gaia Memory, the others were right: the Dragon Bones, which could extend her life, were the most important priority.