Chapter 124 - 121: Recruiting Taboo Association Members

Chapter 124: Chapter 121: Recruiting Taboo Association Members

South Sea, Antique Shop Zero.

Jiang Chaosheng walked to the back room and placed a quaint, ancient-looking painting onto shelf number ’3’.

He stood before the shelf, his brows furrowed slightly as his mind churned slowly.

He still hadn’t figured out the secrets of the Eternal Corridor.

Why was there such a small painting inside the Eternal Gallery?

And why did it depict him and Daji?

Jiang Chaosheng didn’t believe in coincidences. He didn’t believe someone who looked so much like him could exist in this world.

Besides, that person was clearly a figure from thousands of years ago—most likely a... Human Emperor!

"Ziwei Star..."

Jiang Chaosheng muttered the two words.

In the legends of the Xia Kingdom, Ziwei Star means the Emperor’s Star.

One belief holds that the emperors of every dynasty were reincarnations of the Ziwei Star, sent down to the mortal world.

Human Emperor... Emperor’s Star... Daji...

Jiang Chaosheng was getting confused.

A human, a god, a demon—what was the connection between them?

’What do they have to do with... me?’

With so many coincidences piling up, he couldn’t help but wonder if his own arrival at Antique Shop Zero was... also a coincidence?

Jiang Chaosheng hadn’t forgotten that the Wishing Stone had been used twice.

Once by Xia Zhe, the head of World Dream two generations ago.

Xia Zhe’s wish was:

That one day in the future, when the Xia-surnamed manager of World Dream faced a life-or-death crisis, they would be able to walk into Antique Shop Zero.

Xia Zhe’s wish came true. When Xia Li had nowhere else to turn, she joined the Taboo Association.

Jiang Chaosheng didn’t know who the other user was.

There was no record of it in the Manager’s journal.

Jiang Chaosheng had to wonder if that other wish had something to do with him.

Did someone wish that one day, he would walk into Antique Shop Zero and become the manager of this strange and wondrous shop?

Jiang Chaosheng narrowed his eyes.

’So, my coming to Antique Shop Zero was very likely the result of someone manipulating my fate.’

Jiang Chaosheng’s gaze grew colder.

He hated this feeling of being a puppet on a string.

What made him even more frustrated and uneasy was that he had no idea who the player was behind this chessboard!

Jiang Chaosheng reached out and stroked the Wishing Stone on shelf number ’3’. With a flicker in his eyes, he snatched the stone and held it tight in his palm.

"It’s not yet certain who the real player is," he muttered.

Considering the rules of Antique Shop Zero, a plan began to form in his mind.

Jiang Chaosheng closed his eyes and whispered inwardly:

’If there comes a day when I am no longer the Manager of Antique Shop Zero, and I find myself with nowhere to turn, let me walk into Antique Shop Zero once more.’

The power of the Wishing Stone was not infinite.

Wishes like becoming a god or finding the mastermind behind everything were clearly impossible.

Its ’wish power’ was insufficient.

Otherwise, there would be no need for Antique Shop Zero to contain Taboo Items.

Jiang Chaosheng placed the Wishing Stone back on the shelf.

This time, he again refrained from recording the third use of the Wishing Stone in the Manager’s journal.

After doing all this, Jiang Chaosheng walked out of Antique Shop Zero.

Ever since he started practicing the Spiritual Consciousness Divine Art, his energy had been so abundant that he no longer needed sleep to alleviate fatigue.

The more Jiang Chaosheng learned about the Taboo Items and the closer he got to their secrets, the greater his sense of crisis grew.

"All fear of the future stems from a lack of strength."

...

South Sea, Anxiang Street, Rose Cafe.

Jiang Chaosheng walked to a window seat and casually ordered a coffee.

He took out his phone and searched for "Xia Kingdom Person of the Year" in the search bar.

The search engine software quickly returned a long list of names.

[Zhao Chunfeng, President of Imperial Capital Medical University, known as the modern-day Hua Tuo...]

[Ling Xiao, a rising star in the world of physics, whose newly published paper has caused a huge stir in the field...]

Each and every one was a figure who had once been so far above him as to be unreachable.

Jiang Chaosheng needed to expand the Taboo Association’s membership, and to find the geniuses he wanted, he first had to do some preliminary research.

Then, he would have his subordinates dig up more in-depth information on them.

He had never been on the same path as these chosen ones, and he’d never dreamed he would have any dealings with them.

There was no signal in Antique Shop Zero, and Jiang Chaosheng didn’t want to sit on the side of a major road to stare at his phone and do research.

"Sir, your Blue Mountain coffee."

A waitress in a maid uniform placed the coffee in front of Jiang Chaosheng.

Jiang Chaosheng gave a slight nod.

"Thank you."

He didn’t touch the Blue Mountain coffee.

This cup of Blue Mountain coffee was quite expensive. Perhaps it was a case of casting pearls before swine, but he had no interest in drinks that tasted like a bitter herbal concoction.

But since he was taking up a seat in their establishment, he had to order something.

Jiang Chaosheng picked up his phone and scrolled for a moment before a name caught his eye.

[Renowned immunologist and bacteriologist Liu Weiqian, dedicated to 50 years of scientific research...]

[Liu Weiqian’s new proposal of ’Controlled Bacterial Leadership’ has created a huge stir both at home and abroad...]

[Over 90 years old, Liu Weiqian resigns from his position as Director of the Xia Country Bacterial Research Institute, admonishing his students: "Bacteria are evolving, we cannot stop for a single moment!"]

"Liu Weiqian..."

Jiang Chaosheng thought for a moment.

When he read, he easily became immersed in the plots of novels or the artistic conceptions of essays.

But... he also happened to have a severe reading disability.

For him, reading was a conflicting experience of ice and fire, of pain and joy.

This caused him to read very slowly.

He had been the Manager of Antique Shop Zero for several months, yet he had only read forty-odd pages of the copy of [Crime and Punishment] from the bookshelf—the best proof of his tortoise-like reading speed.

However, he never forgot what he read; the words would be deeply imprinted on his mind.

He now remembered who Liu Weiqian was.

Back in elementary school, at his adoptive parents’ house, he had read a report about Liu Weiqian in a newspaper.

A doctor of virology, a professor of immunology, a master of bacteriology.

Many university, and even graduate school, textbooks were written by Liu Weiqian.

His work, the [Bacteriophage Biology Experiment Guide], was treated like the Bible by countless students.

When he was in elementary school, Liu Weiqian must have been in his seventies.

He had once made the bold proclamation that ’within his lifetime, he would completely control bacteria and make them as obedient as pet dogs’.

At the time, many people had laughed at him for his arrogance.

Jiang Chaosheng sighed with admiration.

"Now that is a true prodigy."

His fingers habitually tapped on the tabletop as his mind churned slowly.

At the advanced age of ninety, one’s energy is at its lowest, and one’s life is approaching the limits of human mortality.

For such an ambitious scientist, losing his energy and facing death must be the most unacceptable thing, wouldn’t it?

Jiang Chaosheng had already decided: Professor Liu Weiqian would be the eighth member of the Taboo Association.

He took out his phone and dialed a number.

Xia Li’s emotionless voice came from the other end.

"Who is this?"

This was Xia Li’s private number.

Only a handful of people knew it.

Unless there was a major incident, this phone would never ring.

Jiang Chaosheng said:

"It’s me."

Xia Li’s voice immediately became flustered.

"M-Mr. Dusk?"

This was the first time Mr. Dusk had ever called her.

Xia Li calmed herself down.

"Mr. Dusk, what are your instructions?"

Jiang Chaosheng said:

"I want Liu Weiqian’s file."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line.

"Mr. Dusk, you’ve taken an interest in him as well?"

Jiang Chaosheng was slightly taken aback.

’As well?’

Jiang Chaosheng suddenly understood.

’Xia Li must have had her eye on Liu Weiqian for a while now, right?’

She was now the progenitor of a modern line of Vampires; turning Liu Weiqian into one wouldn’t be difficult.

Xia Li continued:

"I’ve invited Liu Weiqian to the World Dream celebration. It’s in three days."

In three days was the 120th-anniversary celebration of the World Dream Group. It also coincided with the successful renovation of the Nationalist Era Charm Street, so this celebration was intended to build publicity for the street and was going to be very grand.

Many celebrities and influential figures from all circles in the Xia Kingdom would be there to show their support.

Xia Li hesitated for a moment, organized her thoughts, and asked with great anticipation:

"Mr. Dusk, will you be coming?"

Xia Li was now of the Blood Race. Influenced by her Demonic bloodline, she placed special importance on the hierarchy of blood.

It was just like with Jin Meiting; after becoming a Succubus, the little devil inside her had been completely unleashed.

Jiang Chaosheng had given Xia Li her second life. To Xia Li, he was a father.

For the grandest celebration in World Dream’s history, what daughter wouldn’t want her father in the audience, smiling in support?