The Key to Humanity's Future

Su Yun held up one finger.

Chen Xin raised an eyebrow.

"One thousand Gold Soul Coins?"

For an ordinary shop, that was already an astronomical price.

Su Yun wagged his finger and smiled as he named his price.

"The initial technology transfer fee is ten thousand Gold Soul Coins."

"The Core Concentrate costs extra."

The customers who had yet to leave sucked in a sharp breath.

Ten thousand Gold Soul Coins?!

Was this kid crazy?

Chen Xin couldn't help laughing in disbelief. He let out a cold snort.

"Ten thousand Gold Soul Coins? You want to sell me the recipe for a single shop for that much? Little boy, that's an awfully big appetite you have."

"No, no, no."

Su Yun leaned forward, his voice full of persuasion.

"Sir, that ten thousand Gold Soul Coins doesn't buy you a single shop. It buys you a title—the Regional General Agent."

Chen Xin paused. "What is a Regional General Agent?"

Su Yun pointed to the map on the flyer and explained at length.

"Simply put, once you pay this sum, you'll be the top decision-maker for our Nezha Burger in your region."

"You can open your own shops, and you can also recruit people under you."

"Someone else wants to open a shop? Fine, but they'll need your approval and have to pay you a franchise fee. From then on, you'll get a cut every time they sell a burger. I'll only be responsible for supplying the Core Concentrate."

Su Yun looked at Chen Xin, his eyes gleaming.

"Sir, think about it. How many people live in your region? How many wealthy merchants are there? Once you spread this model and have others open shops for you, they'll make money for you."

"That's called borrowing a hen to lay eggs—earning rent while you sit back and relax."

After hearing him out, the eyes that had been as still as a quiet well now rippled with interest.

Chen Xin studied Su Yun intently.

The boy looked no more than six years old, yet he faced Chen Xin without either fear or servility.

Most astonishing of all was what he had just said.

"Regional agent... recruit people under him... borrow a hen to lay eggs..."

Chen Xin silently turned the phrases over in his mind.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had amassed its wealth through appraisal and support.

But he had never heard of such an ingenious business structure, one that branched out in layer upon layer!

"This boy... is a genius."

Looking at Su Yun's intelligent, composed eyes behind his Sunglasses, Chen Xin felt a powerful desire to nurture such talent.

If this boy grew up, then even if he couldn't cultivate, his mind alone would be enough to stir up the Douluo Continent!

"Hahahaha! Good! What a fine way to borrow a hen to lay eggs!"

Chen Xin suddenly burst into hearty laughter, his earlier indifference swept away.

"Little boy, I'll take this deal! Not just for Rongrong, but for that brilliant mind of yours. Ten thousand Gold Soul Coins for the position of Regional General Agent? Worth every coin!"

With that, Chen Xin casually untied an ancient-looking, smooth jade pendant from his waist.

Humm—

A faint shimmer passed over the pendant. The next moment—

Clatter!

A heap of gleaming Gold Soul Coins appeared out of thin air on the counter, as if by magic, instantly forming a dazzling little mountain.

"Here are fifteen thousand Gold Soul Coins."

Chen Xin spoke with such generosity that he might as well have been tossing out scrap metal instead of a fortune.

"The extra five thousand is an advance on the ingredient costs. By this time tomorrow, I want to see the designs and the ingredients."

The entire shop fell silent.

Su Yun had been prepared for this, but seeing the mountain of gold appear from thin air still made his heart race.

The most intense reaction, however, came from the Earth Command Center.

"Warning! Warning! An extremely high-level spatial fluctuation has been detected!"

The instant the jade pendant flashed, alarms erupted throughout the command center.

The Chief Physics Expert shot to his feet, his eyes nearly pressed against the screen. His voice trembled and cracked.

"Impossible... This can't possibly be real!"

"No large-scale equipment! No high-energy particle collider! That was just a jade pendant! And it achieved spatial folding and storage of matter?!"

"That's portable spatial technology! True cross-spatial storage!"

Lei Zhan gripped the microphone, his face flushed with excitement.

"001! No matter what it takes, figure out how that pendant works!"

"If we can bring this technology back to Earth, our logistics, military, and aerospace technology will leap five hundred years ahead!"

Su Yun looked at the mountain of gold on the counter, then at the inconspicuous jade pendant hanging from Chen Xin's waist.

His heart pounded.

The following morning.

The doors of Nezha Burger were firmly shut.

Inside, Su Yun pushed the franchise starter kit he had prepared overnight in front of Chen Xin.

It included a two-hundred-page Standardized Operation SOP Manual, dozens of tightly sealed buckets of Core Concentrate, and dozens of boxes of Secret Marinade.

"Sir, here are the designs, recipes, and employee training manual."

Su Yun pointed to the manual.

"I've even written down the exact temperature for frying the fries. Just have your staff follow the instructions."

"I'll arrange for the supplies to be delivered to your area regularly from now on."

Chen Xin casually flipped through the manual. As he looked over the procedures, specified down to the second, and the detailed shop cross-sections, his admiration grew.

"Thoroughly thought out. Clearly organized."

Chen Xin closed the book, put everything into his Storage Pouch, and gave Su Yun a meaningful look.

"You really do have a fine mind."

Ning Rongrong was clutching a bucket of chicken wings and refusing to let go. She turned and waved to Su Yun.

"Brother Su Yun, once I open a shop in Heaven Dou City, you have to come visit! Rongrong will treat you to a free meal!"

"Definitely."

Su Yun smiled and waved back.

Just before leaving, Chen Xin seemed to remember something.

He stopped and glanced back at Su Yun.

"You struggled quite a bit carrying things yesterday. Take this little trinket."

With that, Chen Xin tossed it over.

Su Yun instinctively raised a hand to catch it. An ancient-looking silver ring landed in his palm.

"This Storage Ring isn't very large—it holds only ten cubic meters. Still, that should be enough to store Gold Soul Coins."

Chen Xin left the remark casually, as if he had given Su Yun nothing more than a piece of candy.

Then he took Ning Rongrong by the hand and vanished down the street in a flash of sword light.

Su Yun gripped the ring, still warm from Chen Xin's touch, and drew a deep breath.

"Ten cubic meters?!"

He quickly turned around, locked the shop door, and hurried to a blind spot at the back of the shop, where he activated the Dimensional Transmission Channel.

"Catch! Special express delivery!"

Su Yun hurled the ring into the swirling blue vortex.

Earth Command Center.

"Clink."

A clear metallic sound rang out.

The silver ring passed through the void and landed securely on a specially made lead-alloy tray.

The communications officer saw the ring on the screen and sprang out of his chair, his eyes filled with shock and elation.

He turned to Lei Zhan, who had been standing nearby, tense with anticipation, and reported:

"Sir! 001 has successfully sent the Storage Ring back!"

Lei Zhan took a deep breath as he looked at the unremarkable ring, suppressing the shock that surged through him.

He snatched up the communicator. His voice was hoarse with restraint, yet brimming with pride.

"Excellent work, 001..."

"You traded a few buckets of sugar water for the key to humanity's future."

Then Lei Zhan spun around, his warmth instantly replaced by the commanding authority of a battle-hardened leader. He issued the highest order to the staff behind him:

"Seal the base immediately! Issue the Double Red Summons to every leading figure in the country's physics and materials science communities!"

"Tell them that whether they're in a meeting or asleep, they must assemble at the P4 High-Energy Physics Laboratory within thirty minutes! The fate of humanity depends on this!"

"Yes, sir!!!"