348: Chapter 348 Brothers, I've done it!

The dark gold droplet on the obsidian long table floated quietly.

"Team Leader Sun, Team Leader Zhang."

Chen You leaned against the back of his chair, "Ever since I entered the Source Realm, all my power increases—on the surface, it looks like killing monsters to level up, but in reality, what is the core driving force?"

Sun Feng pushed up his glasses, "According to our speculation, your core driving force is gold coins."

"Which is the huaxia coin in reality."

"Exactly." Chen You sat up straight.

"From the first level of Qi Refining to the ninth level, as my strength increased, the huaxia coin consumed also rose exponentially."

"In a way, this confirms our speculation."

The stronger the power, the more gold coins need to be consumed.

He pointed at the Huangquan Essence on the table.

"The Source Realm likely uses huaxia coin as a carrier, activating the cultivation power within my body through the consumption of the civilizational connection behind this currency."

No one spoke.

Chen You continued, "What do huaxia coin represent? They represent the fruits of labor of the 1.4 billion people in our real world, the heritage and credit of a civilization."

"The Source Realm is extracting this heritage and transforming it into my cultivation in the game."

Zhang Yunhai's brow furrowed, "Then what does this have to do with the data deviation this time?"

Chen You nodded, "So at the critical juncture of breaking through from the ninth level of Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment, the Source Realm's algorithm crashed."

Sun Feng typed quickly on the keyboard, streams of data cascading across the screen like waterfalls.

"Algorithm crash?"

"Right. Because the Source Realm has no idea exactly how much energy a Cultivator in the cultivation system needs to transform from Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment."

Chen You spread his hands, "The rewards for the regular Foundation Establishment quest given by the system are just a pitiful bit of base material."

"If I had really followed the steps to complete that quest and taken the regular rewards, there's a high probability I would have failed my Foundation Establishment."

Director Li Guoan sat opposite him, hands crossed on the table, his gaze deep.

"So, that NPC who looks like Zhong Kui forcibly intervened in the system's operation," Zhang Yunhai chimed in.

"He took advantage of the opportunity where you gathered fifty thousand players to make a scene, forcibly jacking up the quest progress from the original 100% to 10,000%."

"Only energy of this magnitude is enough to support the Foundation Establishment of the cultivation system," Chen You concluded.

Sun Feng looked at the deduction results on the screen and nodded slowly, "Comrade Chen You's speculation is logically sound."

"The Source Realm's data quantification system likely suffered a serious error when facing a high-dimensional system like cultivation."

Director Li Guoan stood up, walked to the window, and watched the NPC city guards and real-world researchers coming and going within the White Jade Capital territory.

"Your speculation makes some sense." Director Li Guoan turned around and looked at Chen You.

"Perhaps it's not just that; there might be deeper reasons involved."

Chen You pricked up his ears, "What reasons?"

Director Li Guoan shook his head, not continuing the topic.

He walked back to the table, his eyes locked on that dark gold droplet.

"Regardless, this Huangquan Essence should be the Foundation Establishment Pill prepared for you by the Source Realm, or rather, those high-dimensional beings."

Director Li Guoan spoke with finality, "Time is of the essence; you must arrange your Foundation Establishment immediately."

Chen You glanced at the newbie protection period countdown on the system interface and didn't waste any more words.

He put away the Huangquan Essence and directly exited the guild territory.

Chen You's figure vanished into white light in the guild hall.

Zhang Yunhai walked to Director Li Guoan's side and lowered his voice, "Director Li, what was that deeper reason you just mentioned?"

Director Li Guoan's gaze swept over the remaining experts.

"Perhaps the Source Realm's data quantification isn't wrong... it's us who are wrong."

He said in a low voice, "We always thought it was the Source Realm that activated Chen You's power as a Cultivator."

"But have you ever thought—if the Source Realm could really directly awaken or bestow power, why would Chen You still need to cultivate day and night in the training room?"

"Why would he still need to comprehend something like the True Intent of the Sword Dao for a skill or technique?"

Everyone seemed to have realized something and looked at Director Li Guoan.

"The Source Realm only provides a bridge." Director Li Guoan turned around.

"The one who is truly special is our immortal path pioneer."

"As expected..." A sharp light flashed in Sun Feng's eyes.

"I noticed before that the power mastered by the members of the Dragon Scale Squad was very different from Comrade Chen You's back then."

Director Li Guoan nodded.

"The power within his body even exceeds the upper limit of the Source Realm system's calculations for the cultivation system."

"That's why Zhong Bukui appeared and forcibly raised the quest rewards to fill this gap."

Zhang Yunhai took a sharp breath, "Looking at it this way... perhaps his obtaining that bracelet wasn't a coincidence at all..."

"Right now, Foundation Establishment is the priority." Director Li Guoan looked at Sun Feng, "Immediately arrange for the evacuation of the Qinling Command Center personnel."

...

Qinling Command Center, private lounge.

Chen You opened his eyes and climbed up from the recliner.

He stretched his limbs and pushed open the door to walk out of the lounge.

In the vast central hall, rows of computer screens were still lit with a faint blue light, but the seats were empty.

The coffee on the table was still steaming; clearly, everyone had just left.

On the giant electronic screen on the wall, only a line of striking red text remained: [Highest-level clearance complete. Wishing Comrade Chen You a successful Foundation Establishment.]

Chen You's eyelid twitched.

Just then, the walkie-talkie on the table rang.

"Awake?" Director Li Guoan's voice came through.

"Director Li, isn't your efficiency a bit too high?" Chen You picked up the walkie-talkie and looked at the camera in the corner.

"It's only been a few minutes, and everyone's gone?"

"Not running, it's a tactical retreat," Director Li Guoan corrected.

"To ensure the safety of the scientific research personnel, the entire Qinling Base has been completely cleared."

Chen You naturally understood this and joked, "What if I lose control and blow up this base?"

"If the base blows up, the country will pay to fix it." Director Li Guoan's voice didn't hesitate at all.

"As long as you are fine. Remember, your primary task now is to successfully establish your foundation. For everything else, the country has your back."

Hearing the words "the country has your back," Chen You immediately felt much more at ease.

"Alright, with those words from you, I'm relieved."

The communication cut off.

Chen You took a deep breath and turned back into the private lounge.

He sat cross-legged on that rarely used leather sofa, and with a thought...

A dark gold droplet appeared out of thin air in his palm.

As soon as this thing appeared in the real world, the temperature in the entire lounge instantly dropped by over ten degrees.

The thermostat system in the corner emitted a piercing alarm, then a puff of black smoke, and completely broke down.

"Hiss—" Chen You shivered, "This underworld stuff is really overbearing."

He didn't hesitate, tilted his head back, and swallowed the dark gold droplet in one gulp.

Boom!

Chen You only felt a muffled thunderclap resound in his head.

A massive amount of energy, beyond words, instantly exploded within his body.