Dean Bo Li's Greed

Ba Di's expression froze. He desperately circulated the Meditation Technique, controlling his heartbeat to remain only slightly elevated, creating the impression that he was somewhat stunned to see this object.

In truth, Ba Di was indeed a little stunned. He had never expected this key to be in Dean Bo Li's hands. He had come here several times before and never seen it, so he had assumed it was lost and secretly felt regretful about it.

"It's a key."

Ba Di pondered carefully. He did not know how much research the old Dean Bo Li had done on this Spaceship Key, but several half-truths and half-lies had already formed in his mind. Even if Dean Bo Li knew a little about the key's purpose, Ba Di could still fool him into guarding it more carefully.

But he certainly did not know that this key was of great importance. It contained a complete Artificial Intelligence, which Ba Di had tricked Haier into helping create for his own use.

"A key?" Dean Bo Li clearly had not expected that such a several-centimeter-long cylinder would be a key. He had thought it was some kind of seal.

"I wonder how much Dean Bo Li has managed to learn from studying this key?"

Ba Di smiled, his thoughts turning as he felt he could use this to seize upon the old Dean Bo Li's weakness and advance his own plan.

Everyone in this base had a few weaknesses that could be exploited.

Old Dean Bo Li was greedy and somewhat vain. Whenever he wanted something, he greedily wanted to claim it for himself, even at the expense of others. He was extremely greedy and indifferent to other people's lives.

Slade was clearly a good soldier. His keen instincts made him extraordinarily cautious, even excessively defensive. Ba Di considered him the most troublesome person here.

General Vick was an extremely ambitious man. Since Ba Di had been paralyzed, he had only seen him come to the Underground Base two or three times, promising that as long as he contributed enough, he would be granted true freedom.

Ba Di had gladly contributed for him, leaving him very satisfied.

Dean Bo Li remained impassive, changing the subject as he spun the ring around his finger. With a beaming smile, he replied, "I have reached a few conclusions, so I came to ask Mr. Ba Di."

Ba Di said, "Dean Bo Li, there's no need to fish for answers from me. You can't learn anything from this key. Let me tell you instead—this key is the source of Krypton's disaster."

Old Dean Bo Li raised his brows, feeling that he was about to hear of the conspiracy behind Krypton that Ba Di had mentioned.

A faint look of mockery appeared on Ba Di's face. He looked at the key with disgust, then gave old Dean Bo Li a meaningful look and said softly, "At the same time, it is the key that opens the Kryptonian Royal Family's Treasure."

The royal family's treasure? Old Dean Bo Li's eyebrows twitched wildly. The treasure collected by a planet with a long history and the ability to travel between stars—what could it possibly contain? It was beyond his imagination.

Ba Di adopted a reminiscing expression, his pupils drifting faintly upward. Every detail of his expression was flawless.

"Let me tell you about it..." Ba Di had only just put on the expression of someone about to speak.

Dean Bo Li immediately coughed twice and steered Ba Di's wheelchair out of the laboratory. "We can talk as we walk."

Ba Di was speechless. Dean Bo Li seemed... very greedy. Excellent.

Ba Di felt that he had put on that expression for nothing. Clearly, Dean Bo Li did not possess Slade's sharp instincts and powers of observation.

Still, Ba Di instinctively made sure to perform everything perfectly.

Once they reached one of Dean Bo Li's private laboratories, the old man's eyes gleamed as he held up the key and asked, "What is this treasure about?"

Ba Di sighed helplessly, as though grieving for the world, and slowly began, "Dean Bo Li, you know this already. I previously told you that Krypton exploded because multiple factions fought for power and profit, excessively exploiting Krypton's core energy until the planet became unstable and exploded."

Dean Bo Li nodded. He had heard Ba Di speak quite a bit about Krypton and its history.

"Regrettably, Doctor, aside from the struggle among those factions, there was something else I did not tell you. What they fought over was Krypton's long-preserved collection—the royal family's treasure. It contained the complete Kryptonian civilization and Cosmic Star Chart, records of numerous alien races, and a complete scientific archive. It would be enough to bring Earth to the level of interstellar travel."

Ba Di spoke with a sigh. He had originally worried that he was exaggerating too much, but who would have thought that Dean Bo Li's breathing would stop, his pupils contract, and his shock become beyond measure.

Of course, deceiving a scientific researcher would not be so simple. Dean Bo Li immediately grew suspicious. "Is what you're saying true?" His doubtful words carried the delighted shock of someone drawing in a cold breath.

"I have no way to deceive you."

Ba Di spoke blandly, referring to the lie-detecting needle still inserted into his back. Believe it or not—I'm lying to you anyway.

Dean Bo Li jumped up and checked the screen behind him. It indeed did not look as though Ba Di was lying, but he still shook his head. "That's impossible. How could such a thing exist? If it did, how could you possibly tell me? Young man, you can't fool me."

Dean Bo Li put on the calm demeanor of an old schemer, though countless thoughts swirled through his mind. For a civilization capable of interstellar travel, preserving the seeds of its civilization, culture, and technology was entirely possible.

"Whether you believe it or not has nothing to do with me. I suggest you keep this key as a family heirloom. The treasure has already exploded, anyway." Ba Di spoke indifferently, as though the key meant nothing to him.

The treasure vault had exploded! It was gone! No wonder this alien did not care about such an important key at all.

Dean Bo Li's heart went cold. A subtle thought crossed his mind as he waved the key before Ba Di. "Don't you need it?"

Ba Di said with "self-mockery," "What would I need it for? Do you think Krypton's treasure would fly all the way to Earth?"

Dean Bo Li relaxed slightly, though he still felt rather regretful. His gaze flickered. "Then I'll keep this key for now..." He regretted the loss deeply. A treasure vault's key.

The treasure vault of an interstellar-level planet.

What a pity it had been destroyed.

Still, even though the treasure vault was gone, this key had been made by an interstellar species and retained enormous research value.

The faintly cold metal material alone was worth collecting. Perhaps it could even yield some high-tech applications through analysis.

Ever since the key had entered the Underground Base laboratory, he had treated it as an accessory and kept it out of curiosity. While working, he would continuously twirl it around his fingers. The cool metal, with its distinctive texture, pressed against his skin and made him feel comfortable. As such, this accessory had never been included in any research project, and General Vick paid it no attention.

Now that Ba Di had said it was such an important key, greed rose in Dean Bo Li's heart. He only wanted to continue playing with this accessory, feeling a trace of pride.

The key to an interstellar species' treasure vault was being played with in his hands! He felt somewhat smug.

"Aren't you going to research it?" Ba Di teased. Old Dean Bo Li was quite greedy—the type who, as long as something interested him or was something he wanted, greedily wished to claim it all for himself.

It had been the same when he previously asked Ba Di to write out the knowledge in his head. He was too greedy, wanting to gather everything into his own hands.

As though he had not heard the teasing, old Dean Bo Li instead asked casually, "How have things been between you and Jenny lately?"

He was very satisfied with Jenny's recent biological research. She had already successfully produced several results, and General Vick was very pleased with his leadership. Even if he knew Dean Bo Li wanted to wear a Kryptonian "ornament," it would not matter, as long as Ba Di did not reveal that it was the key to Krypton's treasure.

Ba Di's heart tightened. The opportunity had suddenly arrived at this very moment.

It was here. Only when old Dean Bo Li wanted to embezzle something and felt a little guilty could Ba Di get him to help with something unimportant.

Ba Di smiled blissfully. "Very well. Jenny comes to keep me company every day."

Old Dean Bo Li looked at Ba Di's expression and nodded peacefully to himself. Ba Di clearly could not say this life was good, but Jenny's presence had already restrained him. As long as things continued like this, it would be fine.

It seemed he could gradually improve Ba Di's material living conditions.

Old Dean Bo Li thought to himself that Ba Di had helped them quite a lot. To prevent him from becoming resentful, providing him with a little material comfort was acceptable.

"Dean Bo Li, I need your help. I want to marry Jenny." Ba Di spoke solemnly to Dean Bo Li.

Dean Bo Li considered it briefly. The two of them getting married... did not seem to have any negative effects.

In any case, Ba Di would be confined to the Underground Base forever. Marriage would merely bind him and Jenny closer together. But if they had a child! Old Dean Bo Li's heart stirred. What would a child born from these two different gene types be like? The thought alone filled him with the excitement of research.

With that in mind, Dean Bo Li relaxed. "Of course. You and Jenny were going to marry sooner or later anyway. Perhaps I can officiate your wedding—the union of an alien and an Earthling."

Hearing Dean Bo Li agree, the weight in Ba Di's heart finally lifted. After nearly half a year of all he had given, he had finally slightly changed their impression of him. His efforts had borne results; they had not been wasted after all.

Ba Di smiled. "Then according to Earth's wedding customs, Dean Bo Li, I need a ring."

Old Dean Bo Li laughed dumbly and slapped his forehead. "Right, I'll prepare the ring for you. As the price of this key... Anyway, the treasure vault has already exploded, and this key is useless. Old people simply like playing with these little things."

Old Dean Bo Li was practically making it clear that he wanted Ba Di to keep quiet about the Kryptonian treasure vault. He enjoyed that baseless vanity, playing with the key to a Kryptonian treasure vault with great interest.

Ba Di smiled faintly. Very good.