78: Statistical Harvest

Yang Dian didn't know when Dudu recognized him as its master.

Perhaps it was the moment he picked it up on the beach.

Or maybe it was after it slept on his head that night.

But no matter what, it couldn't change the fact that its Soul was already attached to him, existing because he lived and dying when he died.

'No wonder this little guy is so close to me.'

Amidst the Soul fluctuations, the pool of water in the sky, which seemed to hide all the mysteries of the world, began to slowly contract.

Specks of starlight also began to sprinkle onto Dudu's Soul, transforming into ribbons that floated towards Yang Dian.

As the starlight ribbons entwined around his Soul, a refreshing and clear feeling surged through his heart, and at the same time, Yang Dian noticed that the wisp of starlight at his fingertips began to expand.

'So, the starlight energy is not only changing my Physique, but also sublimating my Soul.'

'Is it a change from the inside out?'

'If my Soul is filled with starlight, what kind of changes will I undergo?'

Just as the expectation arose, Yang Dian felt his consciousness being pulled by a force again.

His consciousness began to ascend, detaching from this dark but now illuminated dwelling place of the Soul, and vaguely returned to his Physical Body.

His eyes beneath his eyelids rolled twice.

Sensing light entering the room, Yang Dian opened his eyes.

It was already bright.

The unchanging sunlight penetrated the curtains and shone into the room, making the dark room a little brighter.

It was like the dwelling place of the Soul, illuminated by Dudu and the energy pool.

Reaching out and gently removing Dudu, who was sleeping on his head, Yang Dian rolled around on the bed a couple more times.

"The dwelling place of the Soul, the resting place of the Physical Body."

"It seems to have some meaning to it."

Getting up, he pulled back the curtains and looked at the sun, already high in the sky, then he sat back down on the bed.

At this moment, he only had three words in his head.

[I'm late]

"Forget it."

"Anyway, I'm already late~"

Lying back on the bed, he pressed against the cool Dudu and rubbed against it, then Yang Dian picked up his confidential phone and opened the internal network.

His points had increased.

And by quite a lot.

Collecting the Clownfish, Little Orca, and transparent Mola Mola earned him a total of 60,000 Merits.

The Clownfish and Mola Mola each awarded 5,000 Merits, while the Little Orca, being friendly and having great potential, awarded 50,000 Merits.

What puzzled Yang Dian the most was the Mutated Blue-Ringed Octopus.

Collecting the Mutated Octopus actually earned him 500,000 Merits from above.

And inviting Sun Yuwei to join the Special Administration Bureau earned him 50,000 Merits from above.

It's worth noting that when he invited the two sisters, Chen Wenqian and Chen Wenya, to join the Special Administration Bureau earlier, the higher-ups only awarded him a total of 5,000 Merits.

Chen Wenqian accounted for the majority, with 4,000.

Chen Wenya, because she chose a logistics unit despite her combat talent Awakening, only received a basic 1,000.

"I understand why I was awarded 50,000 Merits for Sun Yuwei, as her appearance and temperament after Awakening resemble an angel, giving her a special strategic role."

"But why is the Mutated Blue-Ringed Octopus worth so much Merits?"

"Is it because its ability to make people faint with a single glance is very useful?"

He shook his head and didn't dwell on it too much.

In any case, it was good to have the Merits.

"Also, Huizhou was quite generous; not only did they give me two crab legs, but they were also willing to give me Merits."

"Professor Shen was also very generous, actually changing my mission settlement System."

Looking at the Merits balance on his phone: 865,000.

And the words (Pending Settlement) after the two missions: [Huishui Bay Mutated Giant Crab Attack Incident] and [Fuzhou City Supernormal Organism (Mutated Cockroach) Breeding Incident], Yang Dian rubbed his hands, somewhat at a loss for words.

Leaving aside the former, let's talk about the latter.

Collecting and apprehending supernormal organisms, and participating in the large-scale breeding of supernormal organisms, are two completely different concepts.

Moreover, the Research Institute's success rate in breeding supernormal cockroaches was almost 100%, with no possibility of failure.

Professor Shen Fei was giving him credit!

"The Professor is betting too big."

Rubbing his cheeks, Yang Dian walked into the bathroom to wash up.

Since others were making such a large investment, he wasn't an ungrateful person; of course, he had to make sure they got their money's worth.

'But then again, it seems I forgot something?'

Yang Dian, with a mouth full of foam, blinked.

The next moment, a blue panel with white text reappeared in his eyes.

——

Cultivation Technique:

Dragon Claw Hand [Trait: Copper Tendons Iron Bones, Reverse Dragon Scales, Progress: 0.00% (Cultivate and supplement with 1125 energy, can materialize the third trait)]

Grass Tread Flight [Trait: Swift as Wind, Progress: 99% (Cultivate and supplement with 1.6 energy, can materialize the second trait)]

Iron Shirt [Trait: Armored, Progress: 0.00% (Cultivate and supplement with 450 energy, can materialize the second trait)]

Hun Yuan Strength [Trait: None, Progress: 6.98% (Cultivate and supplement with 209 energy, can materialize the first trait)]

Heaven and Man Unity Skill [Trait: None, Progress: 15.42% (Cultivate and consume 761.19 energy, can materialize the first trait)]

Energy: 95 (Increases by 1 point daily, but Dudu absorbs 0.7 points)

Martial Arts Realm: Sensing, Manipulating Qi and Blood

Combat Realm: Street Level

——

After organizing the panel, Yang Dian annoyedly slapped his forehead again.

As his head shook, toothpaste and saliva splattered onto the mirror.

'Before using energy to cheat, I should have let Dudu absorb energy first to improve its Aptitude.'

'If its Aptitude improved, the energy needed to manifest traits would be less, which would have saved a lot of energy.'

He tapped his head to remind himself of this lesson, and after washing up, Yang Dian counted on his fingers the ratio of manifesting traits now versus before.

'Before the improvement, manifesting the first trait of Dragon Claw Hand cost 25 points of energy, meaning manifesting the third trait would have required 2500 energy.'

'But now, manifesting the third trait only requires 1125 points.'

'The energy required has decreased by 55%.'

His gaze shifted downwards to Dudu, swimming happily in his washbasin. Yang Dian picked it up and shook it:

"Are you dirty? Are you dirty?"

He then took out a small brush and thoroughly scrubbed Dudu inside and out, before placing it back on his head and heading out of the room.

He had pretty much sorted out the recent gains; next, it was time to clock in for work, patrol, and visit.

"Hmm, and also go to the Research Institute to ask about the results of the tests on my two crab legs."

"Then check on the Little Orca and visit the Mutated Cockroach breeding room."

"The trifoliate orange also needs to be eaten; it's not good to leave it for too long."

"Oh, right, I also need to ask the captain if he's found any news about those foreigners."

...