42: Chapter 42 Is your project really that big?

Director Li Guoan held the satellite phone, listening to the overwhelming barrage of questioning from the other end, yet his expression remained exceptionally calm.

He didn't look at the screen; his gaze remained fixed on the young man in the distance bathed in sunlight, his tone as steady as if he were reporting on a routine exercise.

"That wasn't some 'clean' nuclear weapon."

There was a momentary silence on the other end, clearly waiting for him to continue.

Director Li Guoan spoke slowly, each word crystal clear.

"That was just a small, insignificant milestone achieved by our 'Pay-to-Win' project."

"..."

The other end fell into a dead silence that lasted for ten seconds.

During these ten seconds, one could have heard a pin drop in the command center.

Everyone held their breath, their hearts leaping into their throats.

They could imagine just how astonished the figure on the other end—someone whose every footstep made the whole world tremble—must be right now.

"The Pay-to-Win... project?"

That majestic voice finally rang out again, carrying a hint of incredulous raspiness.

"Guoan, is this project of yours... really this powerful?"

"This is only the beginning."

A sense of pride that even Director Li Guoan himself hadn't noticed seeped into his voice.

"This is only the second revolution of the Nine Revolutions Primordial Chaos Art; there are seven more to go."

"..."

Another silence followed, but this time, the silence carried a completely different meaning.

After a long while, the voice on the other end regained its composure, even carrying a hint of obvious excitement.

"Good, very good. We will handle the inquiries from the outside world. You all... don't have any reservations, keep pushing forward!"

"Remember, confidentiality regulations are the highest principle, but results are also the highest principle!"

"Yes!"

"Also," the voice on the other end paused before adding,

"Progress is a good thing, but don't become arrogant. Our road is still very long."

"Understood!"

The call disconnected.

Director Li Guoan's tense shoulders finally relaxed, and he let out a long breath.

The implication was already very clear.

Whether it attracted world attention or not was no longer important.

What mattered was that this path had to be followed to the end, at any cost!

He strode out of the command room, followed by the medical team and a group of experts.

"Chen You, how are you feeling?"

Director Li Guoan walked up to Chen You, his eyes filled with unconcealed concern. "Do you need to undergo a full physical examination immediately?"

"No need, Director Li."

Chen You stood up and stretched his limbs, letting out a series of crisp popping sounds.

He felt better than ever before.

The spiritual power within him, which was several times more robust than before, flowed slowly through his new and resilient meridians like a gentle river.

The second revolution of the Nine Revolutions Primordial Chaos Art circulated on its own, and the efficiency with which it absorbed the thin surrounding spiritual energy was more than twice as fast as before!

His powerful metabolism gave him a strong sense of hunger.

"I feel... great." Chen You rubbed his stomach and added a bit sheepishly, "I'm just a little hungry."

He wasn't actually hungry, of course; it was just a slight illusion brought about by the elevation of his realm.

"Hahaha, good! It's right to be hungry!"

Director Li Guoan laughed heartily upon hearing this, the weight in his heart completely lifted.

"Let's go, back to the base. We'll prepare the highest-grade nutritional meal for you! And while we're at it, we'll have a brief debriefing session."

The crowd surrounded Chen You as they returned to the underground base.

Inside the meeting room, the atmosphere was more heated than ever before.

This time, besides the familiar faces like Zhang Yunhai and Sun Feng, there was a middle-aged woman next to Director Li Guoan wearing gold-rimmed glasses, possessing a gentle and intellectual aura.

"Let me introduce you. This is Professor Pan Yu, a top expert in the field of Social Relations," Director Li Guoan introduced.

"Starting today, Professor Pan will join us, specifically responsible for analyzing the civilization ecology and social structure within the Source Realm."

Everyone nodded in greeting, and Chen You also politely said hello.

He knew this meant that the research into the Source Realm had opened up another new field.

"Chen You, first tell us about your experience entering the game this time," Director Li Guoan signaled for the meeting to begin.

Chen You nodded and gave a concise account of his inquiry at the Supreme Tower and the matter of Yue Ying adding him as a friend.

"Regarding the end point and the creator of the Source Realm, failing to get a clear result was within our expectations."

Data Team Leader Sun Feng was the first to speak.

"The answer they gave, 'The Source Realm has no end,' is more like a philosophical brush-off."

"It shows that this core question is beyond the reach of our current permissions and level."

Everyone expressed their agreement.

Next, the newly joined Professor Pan Yu pushed up her glasses and spoke softly. Her voice wasn't loud, but it instantly captured everyone's attention.

"Regarding that 'Yue Ying' of the Elf God Clan, I have a few preliminary conjectures."

"From Chen You's description, the other party is as high as Level 15 and is very likely the regional head of the Moon Gods Radiance guild."

"Her behavioral pattern isn't hard to understand," Pan Yu's gaze fell on Chen You.

"She took the initiative to contact you, a mere Level 5 player, and her first word was 'efficiency.' When rejected, she didn't fly into a rage but immediately increased her offer, proposing 'personally leading the team,' which is a top-tier service."

"This doesn't look like the arrogance of an expert; rather... it's more like a company's sales director trying to sign a major client."

"Sales director?" Chen You was stunned for a moment.

"Exactly." Pan Yu nodded, her eyes shining with the light of wisdom.

"I make the bold assumption that in the Source Realm, gold coins are an extremely scarce hard currency. And players from the vast majority of civilizations likely don't have an official top-up portal."

This point was also a result of previous conjectures.

"Under these circumstances, large guilds that want to develop, maintain operations, and provide benefits to core members need a large amount of gold coins."

"So, where do the gold coins come from?"

She looked at Chen You. "The wool always comes from the sheep's back."

"Therefore, these so-called guilds are likely essentially 'game studios' or 'service companies' in the real world."

"They provide a series of services for other players, such as power-leveling, farming equipment, and clearing dungeons, in order to earn gold coin compensation."

Pan Yu's analysis unveiled a corner of the Source Realm's social ecology for everyone present; it was logically clear and perfectly reasonable.

"So that's how it is..." Chen You suddenly understood.

No wonder that Yue Ying had an 'I'm amazing, hurry up and get on board' attitude; it turned out she saw him as a fat sheep who had delivered himself to her door.

Director Li Guoan pondered for a moment before making a decision.

"Professor Pan's analysis is very valuable. However, for now, we don't need too much contact with these guilds."

"Chen You, your primary goal remains unchanged: reach Level 10 as soon as possible, unlock the dungeon feature, and advance the main storyline."

"Yes." Chen You nodded.

"Also," Director Li Guoan changed the subject as he remembered something.

"Academician Qian Zhonghua just called me. He has made a breakthrough in the research of the vengeful spirit battle blade."

"That special energy field on the surface of the battle blade is directly related to a material you brought back, a powder called 'spirit essence sand.'"

"He needs more samples, the more the better."

spirit essence sand?

Chen You immediately remembered. To bring back some samples earlier, he had bought a bunch of random mineral materials at the Zhao City auction house, and this was among them.

"Understood." Chen You nodded in agreement.

This was no trouble at all.

What was the difference between things that could be bought directly and things picked up for free?

The meeting ended, and after consuming a large amount of high-energy food, Chen You entered the game again.

[Welcome back to the Source Realm, Cultivator.]

Seeing the suddenly appearing Chen You, Hill immediately showed a professional smile.

Chen You ignored her, thinking only of going to the auction house to sweep up the goods.

However, before he could act—

[Ding!]

A crisp and pleasant system notification sound exploded in his mind!

Following that, a huge, magnificent, and radiant golden gift pack appeared in an extremely domineering manner, directly occupying his entire field of vision!

The gift pack was encrusted with gems and surrounded by phantom images of dragons and phoenixes. The special effects were maxed out, filled with a strong hint of "click me now."

A line of gilded characters slowly emerged above the gift pack.

[Congratulations to the immortal path pioneer "Chen You" for successfully completing the first "Realm Breakthrough" and stepping onto the path of transcendence!]

[To celebrate this historic moment, the Source Realm specially presents to you—the Limited-Time Exclusive Ascension Support Mega Gift Pack!]

[Price: 99 Gold Coins!]

[Countdown: 59:59]