Chapter 600: Squeaky's Overeating, Jiu Feng and Mona's Shock

Duang.......

Zhi Zhi dropped straight off Yu Yuan's shoulder onto the floor, ending up on its back with all four legs in the air.

Its belly had swollen into a round ball, looking like it had overeaten.

"Zhi Zhi—"

It weakly waved its two short front paws and made a sound.

Yu Yuan was startled by Zhi Zhi's movement.

When he saw it in such a pathetic state, he couldn't help but laugh.

"I mean, Zhi Zhi, you've eaten good stuff before, whether it was the Scarlet City Lord's gossip or the Snake Kiss secrets. You never looked this stuffed before! What happened this time?"

"Zhi Zhi....... Zhi Zhi!"

Hearing Yu Yuan tease it, Zhi Zhi anxiously tried to explain itself.

It really did roll like a ball.

Yu Yuan laughed again at the sight.

That drew Mie Mie over, and she saw Zhi Zhi turned into a big fat rat, all round and plump.

It even bared a big tooth and puckered its lips.

"Mie Mie~"

She laughed.

Zhi Zhi refused to accept that and vanished straight into Yu Yuan's shadow.

"Master, you really can't blame me this time, this secret's information load was too big and the quality extremely high. I... I really have some indigestion, but unfortunately I still didn't touch the threshold of evolution."

Hearing Zhi Zhi's explanation, Yu Yuan's smile gradually faded.

Indeed!

This intelligence was really valuable.

It not only involved the fall of a great being, it also let Yu Yuan learn much about the Civilization Ladder's Gold Rank, which was the most important part.

Yu Yuan suspected that many of the Gold Rank's details were not very clear before learning about Mortarian's fall secret.

The most crucial part was who from the Fallen Abyss attacked Mortarian, and... who leaked Mortarian's location.

The living planet Morphis had the ability to traverse star tracks and remain undetectable.

Yu Yuan didn't believe the Fallen Abyss was that amazing—if they had a hard-to-find target, why would they coincidentally find Mortarian the moment he had an accident?

There are no such coincidences in the world.

This wasn't Yu Yuan being a conspiracy theorist.

It was a judgment based on his long experience outwitting various shady players.

Perhaps Mortarian had contacted a very important person for help.

That person may have betrayed him or leaked information while with him.

As a result, Fallen Abyss was able to locate him smoothly.

Only this explanation made sense.

Of course, there was one more special possibility.

That would be Fallen Abyss actually being powerful enough to possess an item that could break Morphis's undetectable state, allowing them to lock onto him directly.

If that were true, there would be nothing to say.

The strength of a top-tier player needs no further comment.

And the beneficiaries of such a top-tier player's advantages would naturally have the most say.

The reason he had been layering himself with so many concealment buffs before was because he feared exactly this.

He firmly believed that the more disguises he wore, the fewer people could see his true situation.

Also, in this piece of intelligence Yu Yuan obtained another detail.

That was... the existence above Gold.

The report said plainly that those great beings feared Mortarian because he created Morphis, a lifeform possessing Gold-level strength and containing Ether.

"Could it be that when a lifeform reaches Gold level and also possesses Ether, it can become something above Gold? Ether's role is far more important than I imagined."

"Ether is one of the three conditions for a player to ascend to the Gold Rank. It seems those 'above Gold' are simply Gold Rank entities, or rather, not every Gold Rank being is above Gold, but every Gold Rank being inherently has the potential to become above Gold."

"Aiya... this intel is really something. What do they even call those above Gold? Is there no unified tier name? Weird!"

"One thing is certain: Mortarian must be an above-Gold existence. That includes the Blood Duke, the Blood Clan Progenitor, the Molten Demon—these great beings all belong to that so-called above-Gold class."

Yu Yuan closed the publication and put it back on the display rack.

He felt full of anticipation for this Civilization Relic exploration.

Beyond the reasons above, there was another important factor: the Promiz Virus.

Yu Yuan hadn't expected the Promiz Virus to be Mortarian's creation.

He even regarded the Promiz Virus, something capable of destroying a world and elevating life tiers, as just an inconspicuous trinket.

Yu Yuan's current life tier was only Bronze-tier, although his psychic ability had evolved once.

When his psychic power improved, his physical fitness had also been raised somewhat.

But he was still Bronze-tier.

Ascending to Silver-tier wasn't easy; Hogg had only managed it by using Lilith's silver-glowing blood.

Yu Yuan guessed that to ascend to Silver again, he'd need special resources.

Something like the silver-glowing blood, or a virus more advanced than the Promiz Virus.

Or special technology or knowledge.

Jiu Feng was also looking into whether the Promiz Virus could be used to reach Silver-tier.

But several experiments showed the Promiz Virus's potential was limited; Bronze-tier peak seemed to be its limit.

Yu Yuan had to find another path.

This Civilization Relic had now become his main breakthrough opportunity.

Since the Promiz Virus was Mortarian's little research product, perhaps this relic contained an advanced Promiz Virus or bioengineering techniques that could lift someone from Bronze Rank to Silver Rank.

If he found even one of those, Yu Yuan could clear the obstacle to becoming Silver-tier.

That would be vital for him.

Likewise, it was crucial for the Alliance of Nations' next development.

Bronze-tier combatants were currently increasing at a speed of seventy people per week.

It was time to prepare for Silver-tier ascension.

The Virtual Light Screen showed less than four hours until the Civilization Relic opened.

After thinking for a moment, Yu Yuan teleported to Johnck Zoo.

Just as he was about to look for Jiu Feng, he received a message from Fang.

[Fang: King, Masier says she urgently completed a result and wants you to stop by before departure.]

"Masier!"

Yu Yuan frowned slightly, puzzled.

Masier should be researching Mechanical Armor version 2.0 now. How did she suddenly complete something else?

Still, he was a bit curious about Masier's result.

[Wolf Den·King: Okay, I'll head over in a bit.]

Mona and Jiu Feng arrived, both already wearing gear, with Hogg close behind.

"Leader! (Master!)"

"Is everything arranged?"

"All arranged. With Miller and Hogg here, there shouldn't be any problems."

Yu Yuan injected Hogg with the Commander Subordinate Chip and instructed:

"Handle affairs here according to Miller. Fully cooperate with the follow-up experiments on the Bloodsucking Werewolf."

"Yes! Master." Hogg responded.

"Let's go. This Civilization Relic is a bit special, but you two might gain some unexpected rewards there."

"Yes!"

Mona looked curious and glanced at Yu Yuan.

"Leader, how special is the Civilization Relic we're going to this time?"

Jiu Feng asked as he looked over.

Yu Yuan raised an eyebrow and snorted:

"It's nothing much. The owner of that Civilization Relic happens to be the stronghold of the deity worshipped by that cult!"

In an instant, Mona and Jiu Feng froze where they stood.

"W-what!"

Mona:........

Jiu Feng: w(°ｏ°)w