Chapter 162: The Brain-Computer Beast Swarm Has Committed Murder

"Forget it, I'll just look at it as being propositioned!"

After struggling for a long time, Zhang Chu finally decided to take a step back for the sake of peace, considering this as his very first improper solicitation on his path of rebirth.

"Does Director Chen have any instructions?"

Seeing Zhang Chu yield, the corners of Chen Long’s mouth lifted into a smile harder to suppress than an AK-47. "Actually, it's not really an instruction. It's just a hope that the Martial God Academy conferring ceremony can be held at the Martial Management Bureau. That's not too difficult, is it?"

Just this?

Zhang Chu was completely dumbfounded.

"Is this even considered a request?"

"Are you really not going to add even a tiny bit more?"

Securing a Bronze Two-Eared Divine Dragon Cauldron worth two hundred million so easily made him feel a guilty conscience.

"Of course, there is one more thing."

Chen Long rubbed his hands together, looking somewhat troubled.

"..."

Zhang Chu wanted to slap himself across the face. Loose lips sink ships!

"The bureau knows that you have now been certified as a junior alchemist. My father simply hopes that you can register this identity under the Martial Management Bureau. The affiliation fee can be offered to you at one hundred million per year."

Zhang Chu finally understood Chen Long's true intention.

The conferring ceremony was merely an appetizer.

The real purpose of having Chen Tianxiang bleed a fortune to deliver the Bronze Double-Dragon Divine Dragon Cauldron was still about the alchemist affiliation issue.

In the Realm of Spiritual Qi, array masters and alchemists were both very special professions holding extremely high social status.

This was due to their scarcity.

Consequently, every single alchemist became a contended talent fought over by various factions.

Upon certification as an alchemist, one would receive an alchemist badge issued by the Martial Management Bureau, which served as a symbol of status.

Aside from starting their own ventures, the majority of alchemists were absorbed by relevant departments at exorbitant prices.

Affiliating with an organization like the Martial Management Bureau was the most common path for alchemists.

Apart from the Martial Management Bureau, martial arts research institutes in various regions and the Armament Division were also thirsting for alchemist talents.

In the sprawling city of Binzhou, there were currently only twelve junior alchemists.

The primary purpose of Chen Long's visit this time was precisely to hope that Zhang Chu would affiliate with the Martial Management Bureau.

"Alright, deal."

Without overthinking, Zhang Chu agreed on the spot.

Affiliating with the Martial Management Bureau meant not only making money and gaining public esteem, but crucially, scoring a free Bronze Two-Eared Divine Dragon Cauldron worth two hundred million.

No matter how one looked at it, it was a profitable venture.

"Brother Chu, the moment I first laid eyes on you, I knew you were a genius."

Overjoyed, Chen Long did not forget to flatter Zhang Chu while pulling out the affiliation contract.

Swish, swish, swish!

After reviewing the contract, the two quickly signed and uploaded the electronic version to the elite talent database of the Martial Management Bureau.

"Ding dong!"

Just as the contract was uploaded, inside the office of the Martial Management Bureau...

Fan Tianlei hastily opened the elite talent database interface. Seeing Zhang Chu's affiliation contract, he slapped his palm heavily onto the desk in excitement. "Director Chen, Chen Long has rendered a massive service this time! By preemptively securing Zhang Chu's affiliation with our Martial Management Bureau, I'd like to see what the Martial Arts Research Institute and the Armament Division can possibly do to snatch him from us now!"

"Remit the payment immediately."

Chen Tianxiang beamed with joy, almost laughing out loud.

Fan Tianlei promptly notified the finance department of the Martial Management Bureau to execute an instant transfer.

...

At the Xishayuan Western-style villa.

As Zhang Chu was in the middle of taking delivery of the Bronze Two-Eared Divine Dragon Cauldron, a notification sound chimed from his phone: "One hundred million has been deposited into your martial artist account. Your remaining balance is 2,015,000 yuan."

Holy crap!

Hearing such a massive notification sum, Chen Long nearly vomited blood.

Damn it!

His own father was the director of the Martial Management Bureau, yet he didn't even have thirty million in his account.

And just a moment ago, he had actually felt sorry for Zhang Chu, thinking he had been ripped off by the Martial Management Bureau for a mere one hundred million.

After sending Chen Long off, Zhang Chu excitedly rushed into the basement, retrieved the Bronze Two-Eared Divine Dragon Cauldron from his storage ring, and commenced his first batch of alchemy.

Bolstered by the system, refining a tier-one pill like the Vitality and Blood Pill was as simple as playing a game.

"Controlling the flame with spiritual telekinesis!"

"Adding medicinal herbs!"

"Raising the temperature."

"Merging!"

"Lowering the temperature!"

"..."

The process of refining Vitality and Blood Pills was second nature to him; Zhang Chu practically brewed them with his eyes closed.

"Ding dong, detected that the host has refined 1 tier-one Vitality and Blood Pill, alchemist points +1."

"Ding dong, detected that the host has refined 1 tier-one Hemolysis Pill, alchemist points +1."

"..."

Zhang Chu discovered that his obsession with alchemy had reached a profound degree.

His success rate in alchemy had soared to 99.9%.

If other alchemists were to witness this, they would likely cough up blood in despair.

Even the most formidable junior alchemist on the continent could never dream of achieving a 99.9% success rate!

As dusk approached, Zhang Chu finally pulled up his personal information panel:

"Name: Zhang Chu"

"Level: 1-Star Spiritual Realm Practitioner"

"Spiritual Power: 120/1000"

"Alchemist Tier: Junior Alchemist (1000/1000000)"

Over the course of this single day, he had successfully refined a total of 999 tier-one pills.

This production speed was comparable to the daily output of the nine junior alchemists at the Storage Bureau combined.

As for martial arts techniques, they were still loading.

"Starving to time, I'll order some takeout."

Stretching lazily, Zhang Chu headed upstairs, inadvertently crushing countless scattered Vitality and Blood Pills underfoot into fine powder.

Had there been any ordinary martial artists present to witness this scene, they would surely have cried their eyes out.

Vitality and Blood Pills—which they struggled through part-time work and endless savings just to afford—were being casually stepped on by Zhang Chu like worthless garbage.

After finishing his takeout, Zhang Chu hit the pillow and fell fast asleep.

Although he possessed the cheat-like system that prevented him from dropping dead, a full day of alchemy still consumed a massive amount of spiritual telekinesis.

The absolute best way to recover spiritual telekinesis was sleep.

He slept soundly all the way until the following day.

Because it was the weekend and there was no need to go to work, Zhang Chu's phone had no default alarms set and remained on silent.

When he finally picked up his phone and took a glance, Zhang Chu bolted straight up from the bed.

Nearly two hundred missed calls.

The majority were from Zhang Daoyi and Fan Tianlei, along with several from Luo Zhidong.

Even Wang Peng had sent a forum link: "Breaking News: The Martial Management Bureau officially launched the brain-computer Beast Sea game today, and martial artists suffered brain death within half an hour of server launch!"

Brain death?

A chill ran down Zhang Chu's spine as he swiftly opened the martial artist forum.

Good grief!

The screen was completely flooded with news about the brain-computer Beast Sea killing people the moment it went live.

The official account of the Martial Management Bureau had posted an announcement stating that the servers had been shut down for emergency diagnostic testing, promising the martial artists of Binzhou a proper explanation.

However, the comments section showed zero tolerance.

People had even begun accusing the Martial Management Bureau of dereliction of duty, demanding that Chen Tianxiang step forward and apologize in person.

"Ding dong!"

Before he could finish scrolling through the posts, the doorbell rang.

Tiedan bolted into the bedroom and activated the holographic projection: Luo Zhidong stood anxiously at the front door, flanked by Chen Long and Fan Dayong from the Martial Management Bureau.

"Damn it... What kind of mess is this?"

Zhang Chu quickly opened the door. "Dean Luo, how did brain deaths happen in the brain-computer Beast Sea?"

"We've finally found you! The city lord was about to turn the entire city of Binzhou upside down. Hurry up and head over to the brain-computer Beast Sea server center at the Martial Management Bureau," Fan Dayong urged, seeing Zhang Chu step out with unkempt hair.

"The brain-computer Beast Sea went live at eight o'clock this morning, and immediately two martial artists at the South City Martial Arts Center experienced brain death, as if their spiritual energy had been forcibly devoured."

"Teacher Xueying, as a first-generation closed-beta tester, entered the game at the bureau's service center. Now she can't disconnect from the server and is trapped inside!"

What?

Hearing that Teacher Zhang Xueying's spiritual energy had been trapped within the brain-computer Beast Sea, Zhang Chu didn't even bother changing his slippers before rushing out the door and driving straight toward the Martial Management Bureau.