Demonstration or Gesture of Goodwill?
"It's finally here!"
Feng Xue had been waiting for this day ever since he started talking to Chen Xiyao on the phone. He even suspected that Chen Xiyao might not have told the authorities about his ability to create Phantom Object.
After briefly considering the Phantom Object he currently possessed that were suitable to sell to the official authorities, he smiled slightly and said:
"No problem, I have quite a few interesting little gadgets here. What do they want?"
Hearing the easy agreement on the other end of the phone, Lin Wenxue immediately stood up the sign she had written.
Chen Xiyao, who had been staring at Lin Wenxue, looked at the cardboard sign, went through it in her mind, and then spoke:
Tell me what you have.
"Oh? If that's what you mean, I actually have a little gadget here that would be quite suitable for the government, like something that could disqualify the Colombia Gold Dollar from being used as an international settlement currency. Are you interested?"
"Hiss--"
Not only Liu Qi, but even in the conference room of the Supernatural Tale Countermeasures Bureau in Xijing City, a series of gasps rose. Even the several bigwigs from the General Bureau who were listening in via telephone conference could not escape the gasp. Chen Xiyao, who was supposed to ask for a price quote as prompted, was also stopped by Lin Wenxue.
Magical Item are indeed few in number, but they're not that rare either. At least during each Weird Tale invasion, you can get a few, more or less. Nowadays, apart from a few relatively peaceful branches, which branch doesn't have sixty or seventy of them?
However, Magical Item are also divided into different levels. Taking Yan Kingdom as an example, Magical Item are divided into four levels: strange items (useless toys, used only for research or traded with foreign tycoons for collectibles, and not even included in the collection of the Bureau of Weird Tale), collectibles (actually less powerful than modern weapons, but their special effects can occasionally come in handy), treasures (very powerful, but also have certain side effects and need to be treated with caution), and secret treasures (extremely powerful and influential, and will cause terrible consequences if misused).
(The reason why collectibles are not as valuable as rare items was explained in the previous article on Jeston.)
If, as the instructor said, that thing truly has the ability to directly collapse an international settlement currency, it undoubtedly belongs to the level of a secret treasure—a level of treasure that, theoretically, only those with the authority of a deputy director or higher are qualified to access the data, and whose use requires the approval of at least three directors.
"Ask about the specific effects; as long as the quote doesn't violate any principles, we'll accept it."
The voice of the person in charge of the Yanjing General Administration came through the communication. Old Wang nodded and gave Fu Tianli a look. Lin Xue immediately received a response.
"We need specific information, and your quote."
Hearing Chen Xiyao's belated response, Feng Xue sent a pre-edited WeChat message containing information about a small item she had created earlier.
Name: Phantom Object - This Thing is Carcinogenic
Elements: [Paper], [Journal], [Cancer], [Impression]
Introduction: This is a sample medical academic paper that roughly describes the carcinogenicity of a certain substance. By filling in the blank space in the title with a certain "thing" or "behavior," a complete paper can be generated.
By submitting the paper to any medical journal through normal channels, one can create the impression that the This Thing is Carcinogenic in the minds of organisms within the journal's influence who understand the concept of "cancer," and induce a subconscious aversion to it.
Note: When you want to say something is harmful, but don't know exactly how it's harmful, you can say it's carcinogenic.
(The above sentence structure is for readers' reference; only the introductory section is intended for the official team.)
The message on Chen Xiyao's WeChat was magnified and projected onto the screen, and silence began to spread again in the conference room.
"This thing...it's not just about affecting currency." Qian Hongxiu said with a conflicted expression, and Zhou Qing, the head of the Inspection Group, nodded with some fear.
"If this thing really works as described by the [instructor], then filling in the blanks with water, starch, or even air is fine."
"No, this situation is actually easier to handle," Qian Hongxiu shook her head and said.
"If it's a substance essential for survival, then even if the subconscious mind resists it, we'll still choose to use it because we have no other choice. But what if we choose something important, but not essential? Like 'reading'? Like 'vaccines'? Or even... 'speaking'?"
The group of people who hadn't realized what was happening at first finally understood the seriousness of the problem. This was a terrifying object capable of completely destroying a country, or even all of humanity, and the way to activate it was simply to submit it to a medical journal with a sufficiently wide reach.
"This is a demonstration," Liu Kai said with a somewhat ferocious expression.
"How many of these he has left? And whether he can still make more, we have no idea..."
"But on the other hand, this is also a gesture of goodwill." Old Wang suddenly spoke up, which immediately caused everyone to look on with surprise. Although this old man advocated peaceful exchanges, he had never hesitated to take action when necessary.
But to put this in front of you and call it a gesture of goodwill... that's a bit too much...
Ignoring the strange looks from everyone, Old Wang slowly uttered a sentence: "Think about it carefully, what if we filled in 'martial arts'?"
Instantly, everyone's tense expressions began to relax.
That's right. If this thing were turned into "martial arts causes cancer," then people all over the world would subconsciously reject martial arts, and the idea of someone becoming the founder of martial arts would be in vain.
This serves as a warning, but at the same time, it also puts the means of restraint in their hands.
"Manager Zhang..." Old Wang had barely uttered a name when the person in charge of the management department, who was far away at the headquarters, spoke directly in the video feed inside the room:
"First, ask about the price and the transaction location. I'll immediately go and process the release procedures for item number 22."
"Okay." Old Wang nodded, and Lin Wenxue immediately relayed the order to Chen Xiyao.
Chen Xiyao and the others Dim Sum. Upon seeing the new notification, they immediately reconnected to the communication.
Give me a price.
Feng Xue had already begun forming her third Internal Force ball, finally heard the business coming from her phone again. A slight smile appeared on her lips as she said:
"I promise I won't hurt anyone, given three opportunities to demonstrate my divine power in public. How about it?"
"???" Liu Qi, who was typing, suddenly looked up. He suddenly remembered a joke--
"With the organization's approval, xx is permitted to reincarnate."
So, is the reason we don't see Martial Arts Master in modern times because organizations don't allow it?
Liu Qi's mind raced, and then he heard his master's wife's reply coming from Feng Xue's phone:
"Only once, but we can guarantee we won't interfere with related rumors or videos. However, you need to report in advance before taking any action to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings."
"That works too." Feng Xue narrowed her eyes, a slightly unsettling, mischievous smile suddenly appearing on her face.
"But I need your help with a small matter..."
I'm really too lazy to explain the "Long Aotian" mentality. What does it mean to say, "I'll do whatever the official stance is, no matter what"?
Yes, the protagonist has a way out. He can visit famous mountains and rivers every day to perform miracles, and if he gets surrounded, he can retreat and fight a guerrilla war. And then what? He turns against the authorities, right?
Before obtaining the room in the Tower of Babel, reality is the only basis for action. If you Cause Trouble, you may face official repercussions. Currently, the official and the protagonist are testing each other because both sides are exercising restraint. The official is reforming the martial arts environment to ensure better management after the popularization of martial arts, and the protagonist has not caused any major trouble. This is the basis for their cooperation.
By having the protagonist Cause Trouble everywhere, you're undermining that foundation. Don't think that just because you're presenting the truth, it will spread. It's too easy for the authorities to calm down the situation. In the end, the number of people who can witness your miracle is limited. Even if it becomes a Weird Tale, its impact won't be very strong.
In this era where a picture doesn't necessarily tell the truth, they can add some material to your video, then prove it's just photoshopped effects, and then use a whole set of tactics to easily destroy your reputation.
The price is that as soon as you appear, the authorities will target you and try every means to suppress you. They might even find someone in history to be promoted to the title of Martial Ancestor. Wouldn't official recognition be faster than the spread of your name by thousands or tens of thousands of people?
This was supposed to be a mutually beneficial arrangement, but instead, we have to act all high and mighty, and then it becomes a fight to the death, right?
The Martial Ancestor cooperating with the entire nation in martial arts practice is a Weird Tale that can endure alongside the nation and civilization. To fall out with the Yan Kingdom's official authorities over a bunch of individual Weird Tale that disappear once their popularity fades... what kind of short-sighted behavior is this?