Deep Web Eccentric

Chapter 26: Deep Web Eccentric

Meng Chao and the Thunder Battle Team had gotten along quite well.

The Thunder Battle Team had recently set up a youth Training Camp to cultivate fresh blood. They would be slaughtering large numbers of monsters and were in urgent need of experienced ordinary harvesters who could be put to work immediately.

Meng Yishan and the others had been at this for ten or twenty years. They could not handle supermonsters, but when it came to common monsters, they were more than capable.

They hit it off at once. Let alone two harvesting teams, even if "Jiuxin" had more harvesting teams looking to attach themselves, there would be no problem at all.

While everyone was happy, Meng Chao also asked Ning Shewo to handle the Crystallized Nerve Ball and help him purchase some cultivation resources.

"Perfect. There'll be a Rare Materials Trade Fair in three days. The standard isn't low, and the Crystallized Nerve Ball might fetch a high price. Would Little Friend Meng be interested in joining the fun?" Ning Shewo said with a smile.

Meng Chao gladly agreed.

The twists and turns and unexpected delight of the night had left the harvesters extremely excited. On the way back to the Main District, they chatted animatedly and dreamed of a bright future.

Meng Chao, meanwhile, lay in the deepest part of the carriage, covered in his father's clothes, pretending to sleep as he thought.

Too much had happened today. He needed to sort through it all carefully.

First, there was the matter of earning Contribution Points.

Meng Chao had noticed something. He had taught the ordinary citizen Chu Feixiong the Wild Bull Technique, and the other man had learned only ten percent of it, yet Meng Chao had gained ten Contribution Points.

But when he had guided Elite Citizen Ning Shewo through the "Oblique Pick Three Stars" of the Reverse Lock Seven Solutions, he had received only a few dozen Contribution Points as well.

Logically speaking, the gap between an ordinary citizen and an Elite Citizen should not have been so small.

After turning it over and over in his mind, he came up with two possibilities.

First, his impact on the future through the Reverse Lock Seven Solutions had not been very great. Even without him, Ning Shewo might have comprehended a brand-new Oblique Pick Three Stars on his own before long.

Perhaps the future version of the Reverse Lock Seven Solutions in Meng Chao's memory fragments had even been perfected and upgraded by Ning Shewo.

That was entirely possible. Ning Shewo's hands and optic nerves had both been eroded. If they could not be cured, it would only be natural for him to leave the practical combat circle and devote himself fully to theoretical research.

Second, it might simply be because Ning Shewo was old. His future had basically taken shape, while Chu Feixiong was still young and in the full bloom of life, with limitless possibilities ahead of him.

Having returned from the apocalypse, Meng Chao did not believe fate could not be changed. How to unearth the infinite possibilities of the future was probably the key to the amount of Contribution Points gained.

"So, I should try to find young, ignorant teenagers with promising futures to fool—no, to guide?"

That raised a question.

Was guiding people one by one to harvest Contribution Points too inefficient?

What if he directly uploaded the Wild Bull Technique and the future version of Ripple Force online for anyone to download for free?

Or perhaps he could find the Survival Committee and the Superhuman Tower, reveal part of his secrets, and obtain massive official resource support, sending his Contribution Points soaring to astronomical figures in an instant?

After Dragon City had crossed over, many citizens had awakened Superhuman Power. At first, quite a few chose to hide it no matter what, terrified that if they spoke up, the authorities would seize them and slice them up for research.

Meng Chao could understand, and partly supported, such caution.

But the problem he faced was different.

On one hand, Dragon City was about to face a crisis. He could not turn the tide alone.

Besides, every person in Dragon City was a transmigrant, and many citizens possessed unique Superhuman Power. If they really were going to be taken away for research, would not tens of millions of citizens all have to be sliced into sashimi?

After decades of development, attitudes toward Superhuman Power had become fairly mature and calm, from the authorities down to ordinary citizens.

After awakening, many citizens voluntarily reported themselves. They were commended by the authorities and surrounded by flowers and enthusiastic citizens.

However, whether it was "rebirth" or "partially foreseeing the future and vaguely seeing fragmented images of it," it was ultimately rather special. It could not be lumped together with ordinary Superhuman Powers like "rubbing up a fireball."

And then there were his father, Old Mom, and little sister. How should he tell them, and how much should he tell them?

Even if he did not mention rebirth, he at least had to let them know that he had recovered completely and would only grow stronger and stronger. They no longer needed to worry about his future.

And with the crisis approaching, the whole family had to prepare in advance.

This was a matter of great importance. Meng Chao calmly weighed the pros and cons, especially the hidden dangers.

At first glance, cooperating with the authorities would increase the efficiency of making contributions a hundredfold. He could also become a hero admired by all, and his family would naturally enjoy the best treatment.

Getting his father and Old Mom civil servant benefits, transferring his little sister to a key junior high school, and moving the family into a high-level talent apartment—was that too much to ask?

But why did his brow ache faintly? Why did he feel so uneasy?

"There's a problem. There's a hidden danger I haven't considered, a very dangerous hidden danger. It could very well threaten my family's lives, or even... leave us in a fate worse than death!"

Meng Chao shuddered. A mottled image suddenly surfaced in his mind.

In a bustling marketplace, an utterly ordinary citizen suddenly let out a strange shriek. His head split open like a Man-eating Flower, and several spiked tentacles burrowed out of his skull, instantly wrapping around the head of a nearby citizen.

Screams. Chaos. By the time the police and Transcendents killed the monster, the citizen it had tightly ensnared had long since stopped breathing.

"Brain Corpse Worms. Special monsters that appeared in the later stages of the war. They could parasitize human brains, control neural centers and muscular responses, and turn humans into 'Monsters in Human Skin'!

"Using Brain Corpse Worms to assassinate important figures in Dragon City in an attempt to break Dragon City from within was a common monster tactic in the later stages of the war!"

Then, pair after pair of scarlet eyes surfaced in Meng Chao's mind. They were filled with intelligence, unfathomably deep.

"That's right. Even now, many monster species excel at Mind Attacks, let alone after the war escalates completely and large numbers of supermonsters with mind-control abilities emerge.

"Though the laws of the Otherworld are strange, they still follow certain patterns. As long as the laws of mathematics, physics, and chemistry remain effective, there cannot be monsters that are 'colossally huge, nimble in motion, and indestructible.' Once Dragon City completes its heavy industrial upgrade and raises armies in a frenzy, heavy firepower and ammunition will no longer be scarce, and monsters will find it difficult to clash head-on with humanity.

"But over the long course of the war against humanity, monsters grew smarter and smarter. Many supermonsters learned to communicate, cooperate, and unite, gradually forming something akin to a 'civilization.'

"Monster Civilization is what can truly threaten Dragon City Civilization!

"If my secret is exposed, I could very likely become a monster assassination target. Worse still, I could be captured alive and sent before high-level supermonsters with extraordinary intelligence and Mind Secret Techniques, where they would pry open my brain alive and devour my cerebral fluid!

"My brain is still too weak to extract all the memory fragments buried deep within my soul. But if it were a supermonster king with a brain weighing several tons, or even dozens of tons, could it digest my brain and instantly foresee the future?

"Even if I myself am tightly protected by the Superhuman Tower, would monsters target my family instead? If I told my family all my secrets, would their brains become monster targets as well?

"Even if the monsters were completely wiped out, during the future years of conquest in the Otherworld, there would always be people like Zuo Haoran who betrayed Dragon City, or people whose minds had been controlled by Otherworld creatures. Other than my family, how could I know who was worthy of absolute trust?"

Meng Chao's thoughts raced.

He was no saint.

Saving Dragon City was one thing, but "sacrificing himself and even his family for Dragon City" was another matter entirely.

"Can't tell them.

"Before I possess the power to suppress the entire Otherworld and find a suitable method, I absolutely cannot tell them.

"However, if I want to grow stronger through making contributions, I will inevitably spread much future technology and martial arts. I'll become a life mentor to countless lost young people, be hailed as a monstrous genius by big shots from every industry, and stand out again and again with my brilliance exposed. I can't hide it.

"Then I need to fabricate a reasonable origin, an identity that can explain everything..."

Just as he was thinking, his father came over and tucked the clothes more tightly around him.

Meng Chao's heart stirred. He opened his eyes and met his father's gaze.

"Dad, you don't need to worry too much about what happened today." He chose his words carefully. "Half a year ago, I met an Abnormal Human on the Deep Web. He taught me many strange skills. My injuries have mostly healed, and I may not be unable to get into an Undergraduate Program. When that happens, you and Old Mom can just wait to enjoy the good life!"

Meng Yishan was startled. "You're still visiting those unhealthy websites?"

"...Dad, how many times have I told you? The Life Science Forum on the Deep Web isn't some unhealthy website. Many martial arts fanatics and mad scientists publish their true insights there. It's a place where risks and opportunities coexist. Don't worry. I suffered for it last year, so this time I know what I'm doing." Meng Chao's voice was firm as iron.

Meng Yishan was half convinced and half doubtful, but on second thought, he really was getting old. If his son had not shown his might today, how could this matter have been resolved so perfectly?

He sighed and said nothing more, worrying only whether Qin Hu would retaliate.

"Dad, the blacksmith needs iron of his own to be hard. If we have no ability, then of course anyone can ride roughshod over us. But as long as my fist is big enough, heh, even if I make Qin Hu dress up as Hello Kitty, he'll have to go 'meow meow' and act cute!"

Meng Chao's words were crude but sound. "As long as I can get into an Undergraduate Program and have a university at my back, would he still dare to casually touch an undergraduate student?"