Chapter 492: Chapter 492

Only Jing Shu’s team clearly understood the inner workings, as she herself had also experienced it once before.

"Alright then, I’ll go and see Hao Yunlai." Jing Shu didn’t hesitate and immediately drove the Shark Submarine to Hao Yunlai’s house, where Yang Yang was holding his syringe, debating whether or not to give Hao Yunlai a few jabs.

Hao Yunlai had lost weight and had dark circles under his eyes, looking just like a panda. He was forcefully propping open his eyelids with a stick as he lay on the bed, muttering to himself, "A little to the left... yeah, a bit to the right... go harder."

Hiding in the corner, Hao San’er trembled violently, utterly terrified, almost ready to kneel in one direction.

"Tsk tsk, Hao Yunlai’s mind isn’t quite right anymore; the aftereffects are pretty severe. He’s always talking to himself. I suggested an injection of sleeping aid, but he flat-out refused," Yang Yang said, shaking his head.

Jing Shu gently set down the case, removed her gloves and hat, and let out a breath. "Hao Yunlai, tell me again what’s happening?"

Hao Yunlai struggled to turn his head. He was clearly on the verge of falling asleep, yet he forced himself to say, "Jing Shu, I am grateful for your life-saving grace for pulling me out of Hell. But I can’t sleep. I dare not. What lies below is too terrifying, truly terrifying."

Jing Shu pondered. The aftereffects are quite severe. Is there any treatment for these aftereffects now to prevent Hao Yunlai from having nightmares? She stroked her chin in thought. Previously, it was the Blood Crystal that could save people in a timely manner; using it again might not have any effect.

Right, the Blood-colored Spiritual Spring! If I’m not mistaken, the Blood-colored Spiritual Spring is the essence extracted from the blood-colored liquid. Since the Blood Crystal is a fourth-dimensional product, could refining it possibly eliminate these aftereffects? It just so happened that we were about to test it on Hao Yunlai; isn’t this an opportunity? But after using it, would he inherit the strongest genes and become an ape? Hmm... although it’s also uncertain whether humans currently possess the strongest genes, so maybe he won’t turn into something like a Dinosaur Chicken?

After a long internal struggle, Jing Shu finally decided to leave the choice to Hao Yunlai. "If turning into a gorilla could possibly cure your condition, would you be willing?" she asked.

Hao Yunlai said in agony, "Don’t even mention becoming a gorilla. I would be willing to enter the beast reincarnation cycle."

"Alright then, drink the medicine in this test tube. Let’s see how it goes first," Jing Shu said, handing over the diluted Blood-colored Spiritual Spring, though she wasn’t sure if it would actually work.

In order to more comprehensively test the effects of the Blood-colored Spiritual Spring, Jing Shu went all in.

As for the batch of Dinosaur Eggs laid by the fat chicken, it protectively nestled them under its rear, just like a mother hen, apparently intending to hatch them. Seeing this, Jing Shu decided to let the fat chicken try. What will hatch from these? Is this the dawn of a new era for species? she wondered. If they could hatch into a breed of Dinosaur Chickens with incredible genes that could both fight and lay eggs... that would be truly amazing! Imagine having a flock of Dinosaur Chickens at home. If anyone dared to cause trouble or steal, they’d be dealt with on the spot!

But she couldn’t get too excited just yet. Jing Shu swiftly recorded:

14, fat chicken hatches Dinosaur Chickens.

Hao Yunlai gulped it down without a second thought. Suddenly, the test tube slipped from his grasp, and he fainted once more.

Jing Shu’s reflexes were sharp, and she caught it quickly. That was close! she thought. After my physique changed, even my reaction speed has improved significantly.

"He just... fell asleep like that? Did you give him a sleeping pill? Does it work that fast?" Yang Yang regretfully retracted his syringe. Honestly, this guy... It’s the same sleeping medicine. Was he unwilling to accept it just because my needle is too small?

Jing Shu shrugged. "Alright, it’s taken care of. The rest is up to his fate."

Thus, the matter concerning Hao Yunlai was more or less resolved. They just had to wait for him to wake up and share his experience. However, Jing Shu couldn’t shake a premonition. It feels like Hao Yunlai was specifically sent by the heavens to be my scapegoat. Why do I have such a strange idea? Even Jing Shu herself didn’t know.

Anyway, it finally gave Jing Shu some downtime. But this particular day marked the official start of operations at the Red Worm Processing Factory. Uncle said he couldn’t manage the event on his own and definitely needed Jing Shu there to help maintain order and cut the ribbon.

Jing Shu didn’t hesitate. The Red Worm Processing Factory was finally on the right track, and she was thrilled. The prospect of it starting to turn a profit excited her even more. Over the past few days, while the points system had allowed everyone to experience the advantages of points and become reliant on them, there were invariably some individuals who wanted to see if points could be converted into Virtual Coins.

And sure enough, each time Jing Shu checked her balance, it had decreased somewhat. Furthermore, in recent days, the incentive of available goods had motivated 98% of the population to want to join the factory. However, there were inevitably not enough job types to accommodate everyone. So, what could the remaining people do?

That’s right. They pushed carts through the streets and alleys, heading to various places in Wu City to dig up rotten corpse insects. Gradually, many people realized that the rotten corpse insects they dug up each day totaled only about one or two hundred kilograms, earning them, at best, a meager amount of points.

It was exhausting work, not to mention the points earned were far too few and simply insufficient. However, if they could purchase the insects at prices lower than the factory’s, then by collecting a few thousand kilograms, they could profit from the price difference. This could earn them at least a dozen or so points a day, equivalent to a dozen or so Virtual Coins—an amount previously unimaginable.

The key was that it was easier and more profitable. Mobilizing the vast number of idle people to collect these insects was the fastest route.

However, this also required capital. Consequently, many people began to mortgage their points to the finance department in exchange for Virtual Coin loans. They then started collecting rotten corpse insects, carcasses of decaying animals, and so on, throughout Wu City.

And so, whenever Virtual Coins were needed for these loans, they were drawn from Jing Shu’s account. Consequently, in just a few days, tens of thousands of Virtual Coins had been disbursed, and this figure was expected to continue growing.

Because collecting rotten corpse insects wasn’t a short-term job; in fact, it was a very long-term endeavor.

Jing Shu had hesitated about this for a long time. If I were to breed rotten corpse insects myself, I would inevitably need to feed them. Regardless of the type of feed, it would still require resources and effort to provide it. It’s far less efficient than relying on the wild rotten corpse insects, which are already close to overrunning the continent. These things are everywhere! If you’re not careful, they’ll cover you in bites while you sleep. They even eat their own kind! They are definitely the most numerous and tenacious pests of the apocalypse. Therefore, acquiring rotten corpse insects cheaply is the most convenient and quickest method. It also promotes the circulation of Virtual Coins, gives these people a chance to earn money, and stimulates employment. If I hoard too many Virtual Coins and they don’t circulate, people won’t have the money to buy up rotten corpse insects. Do you know what the consequences would be? Everyone would run out of Virtual Coins. Then, they wouldn’t have Virtual Coins to buy red earthworms to eat, and everyone would starve. What would the Government do then? The result would be having to distribute red earthworms for free again. In the end, I, Jing Shu, would be the one incurring the loss. New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵⁂𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮⁂𝓷𝓮𝓽