Does Anyone Want This Superpower Crystal?

In an abandoned alley in a small Rice Country city.

Hao Shuai appeared where he had vanished last time. After looking around and confirming that the little thugs who had chased him were gone, he relaxed.

He touched the two police revolvers tucked into his waistband and boldly walked out of the alley.

Watching the traffic flow through the streets, Hao Shuai still had no idea what to do next!

After thinking it over, he decided he should get some US dollars first. In a capitalist society, without money, it was impossible to get anywhere.

Thanks to an ex-girlfriend from the English department in college who loved watching original American dramas and Hollywood movies, Hao Shuai's English was pretty decent.

Seeing a pawnshop by the roadside, Hao Shuai walked straight in.

In Rice Country, pawnshops were an extremely common business. Around 20,000 pawnshops were scattered throughout the country's streets and alleys, employing roughly 80,000 people. Their customers were mainly low- and middle-income groups, and their business primarily involved everyday goods and valuable movable property such as gold and silver jewelry, luxury watches, gemstones, musical instruments, motorcycles, and cars.

Hao Shuai happened to have jewelry borrowed from little Japan. Although he had no receipts, he figured the pawnshop would not care. At most, they would simply lower the price. Hao Shuai did not care about the price anyway.

By the time Hao Shuai came out of the pawnshop, he had more than ten thousand US dollars in his pocket.

Unfortunately, Hao Shuai lacked social experience and did not know that the moment he left the pawnshop, two tails had latched onto him.

When Hao Shuai passed through a remote alley, two Black men holding daggers blocked his path. "Hey, buddy, heard you got rich. Can you lend us some money?"

"No, you don't want to borrow any." Hao Shuai revealed the two pistols tucked into his waistband.

"Yes, sir, we don't. Sorry to bother you." The two Black friends wisely chose to follow their hearts.

Just as the two Black friends were about to leave, Hao Shuai called them back.

"Want to make some extra money? All you have to do is help me find someone."

"Why not? I don't think anyone knows this city better than we do." One of the Black men agreed.

"I'm looking for a seventeen-year-old blond kid named Andrew. He has a cousin named Matt, and they attend the same high school. His father is Richard. If you find him before four this afternoon, I'll give you two thousand US dollars."

"No problem, sir. How do we find you once we've got him?"

"I'll be waiting at the coffee shop across the street. Here's five hundred US dollars up front." Hao Shuai gave them five hundred US dollars to get started, then went into the coffee shop and ordered coffee and a sandwich.

Rice Country really was worthy of being called a place where money was God. It was not even four yet when the two Black friends arrived at the coffee shop and said they had found him.

Hao Shuai immediately followed them to a house in a residential neighborhood. Comparing it with the scene from the movie, he confirmed that this was Andrew's home.

After giving them the remaining payment and sending them away, Hao Shuai hailed a taxi and hired it for six hours for three hundred US dollars.

The moment he got in, the Black driver began chattering nonstop. "Sir, where are we going? Are you here sightseeing? Need a guide? As long as you hire my car, I can show you every attraction. And if you have any special needs, I know lots of nightclub PR managers. They've got plenty of top-quality goods..."

"Shut up! I don't need it, and I don't want to hear it. From now on, don't say a word, or those three hundred US dollars will be leaving you." Hao Shuai felt black lines forming across his forehead. He had always thought talkative taxi drivers in movies were deliberately written that way for the plot. Only now did he realize he had wronged the directors. They had simply respected reality!

"OK! OK! Sir, I won't talk!" The Black driver had kindly tried to introduce beautiful women only to be scolded, and he finally fell silent. Under the power of US dollars, this Black driver, who could normally chat continuously with passengers for an hour, shrugged and somehow endured two whole hours without saying a word.

Finally, close to six o'clock, a car stopped in front of Andrew's house and honked twice. A blond, handsome young man of about seventeen or eighteen came out of the house. He was Hao Shuai's target, Andrew. Holding a camera, he filmed as he walked toward the car. Hao Shuai hurriedly told the Black driver, "Follow that car."

The taxi followed the car to what appeared to be an abandoned factory building in the suburbs. The lights shining from within and the crowds entering it confirmed that this was where the party was being held.

Watching Andrew and his cousin Matt get out and enter the party, Hao Shuai considered what would happen next. Andrew and the others would meet a Black friend named Steve at the party, and because Andrew caused trouble and was unwelcome there, the three of them would end up exploring the underground cave together.

So how could he stop the three of them from going exploring?

Hao Shuai looked at the Black driver, who was suffering from having to hold back his words, and an idea popped into his mind.

He said to the Black driver, "Call the PR manager you know. Tell him that if he can get three beautiful women here within half an hour, I'll pay double, and I'll give you a hundred US dollars as a tip."

"Sir, you can count on me. Do you have any requirements for the beauties? Do you prefer big breasts or big butts?"

"Find younger ones, the innocent type. Don't bring me a bunch of old ladies." Since this was a young people's party, Hao Shuai specifically told him to find younger women.

"Okay, I'll call right away."

Money really was powerful, and the efficiency was high. Less than half an hour later, three beautiful girls around seventeen or eighteen, with innocent faces and sexy figures, had arrived. After asking around, Hao Shuai learned that all three were high school students earning some spending money for handbags. Hao Shuai could not even be bothered to mock the decadence of capitalism. He simply led the three girls into the party.

The party was a typical Rice Country affair: dim lights, explosive music, countless young men and women constantly twisting their bodies and waving glow sticks. From the dark corners nearby came the occasional breathy moans of men and women working hard, while others openly snorted some kind of white powder.

The scene hit Hao Shuai, who had grown up under the red flag, hard. He silently made up his mind: When I get the chance, I'm definitely throwing a huge party too. Nothing but women inside, with me as the only man.

After searching around, Hao Shuai found Andrew and the other two loafing around in a corner. He said to the three escorts, "See those three big boys over there? They're good friends of mine. Poor things are almost done with high school and are still damn virgins. They're shy and not handsome enough. I want you to go over and help them say goodbye to their damn virgin lives. Of course, to save their pride, you'll need to put on a bit of an act. Don't let them know I hired you." Hao Shuai gave them their promised payment as he spoke.

"No problem, sir. It's just role-playing. We're good at that!" ×3 The three escorts put away their respective payments and walked toward Andrew and the others.

Half an hour later, under the three escorts' superb acting, Andrew and his two rookie friends were drunk and dazed. Then, under Hao Shuai's watchful gaze, the three award-winning actresses each supported one of them and found a deserted place. Stimulated by alcohol, they began engaging in humanity's most primitive instinctive activity.

Hao Shuai did not keep watching, afraid he would get styes. Still, with the services of three professionals, Andrew and the others probably would not be done in an hour or two. Young people were full of fire, after all!

Hao Shuai turned and left the party in high spirits. After all, he had done another good deed. Not only had he helped Andrew and the others escape their hand-job lives, but he had also spared them their future fatal disaster. There probably were not many good people like him left in the world.

After leaving the party, Hao Shuai confidently began looking for the underground cave nearby.

Based on the movie's plot, Hao Shuai judged that the cave should be within one or two hundred meters of the party venue. It could not be too far away. After all, in the middle of the night, Andrew and the other two would not run some huge distance just to go exploring.

Following his own judgment, Hao Shuai began a detailed search around the party venue with a flashlight. By the time he found the underground cave that hid the Superpower Crystal, more than an hour had passed.

Looking at the pitch-black opening, Hao Shuai kept telling himself that wealth was sought amid danger before jumping down into the cave. The passage was damp and dark, but under his flashlight beam, Hao Shuai quickly reached its end and finally saw the Superpower Crystal famous throughout countless worlds.

Although he had already seen what the Superpower Crystal looked like in the movie, seeing it in person still shocked him.

The entire crystal had a strange sea-urchin-like shape, radiating an exceptionally striking azure glow in all directions as it pulsed like a heart.

The movie had never revealed what this Superpower Crystal actually was, but countless netizens had speculated online that it might be an alien life-form that had accidentally fallen to Earth, and that gaining superpowers through it could involve many hidden dangers.

"But what this thing is doesn't matter. What matters is that it can help me at this stage. As for hidden dangers, as long as they don't erupt immediately, among countless worlds, I'll always find a way to solve them."

With that thought, Hao Shuai placed his hand on the crystal without hesitation. The instant he touched it, the entire crystal turned bright red, and its shining blue light became Red Light.

Then Hao Shuai felt as if something had smashed heavily into his brain. He immediately became dizzy, blood began flowing from his nose, and his body grew hotter and hotter.

Hao Shuai knew he had been careless and taken things for granted. He had assumed that since Andrew and the other two had only suffered nosebleeds in the movie, he should be able to withstand it as well. Unfortunately, he had forgotten that the three of them were protagonists, the favored sons of this world.

After struggling to endure for two minutes, Hao Shuai felt his head becoming more swollen and muddled. At the same time, the cave began shaking just as it had in the plot, threatening to collapse at any moment.

Hao Shuai did not dare stay any longer. While he was still conscious, he hurriedly chose to return.