Chapter 488 - 426: Rocket Launch

Chapter 488: Chapter 426: Rocket Launch

"Halting the acquisition?"

In the Double Star Bar, Black Star and Guan Tong sat at a round table. He was slightly surprised to hear Guan Tong say he was halting the acquisition of Flowing Psychic Power.

The acquisitions had been going on nonstop for nearly two months, so there had to be a reason for this sudden halt. However, the deal wasn’t bound by any contract, and Guan Tong had never specified how long he would continue buying.

"If all goes well, it will resume next month," Guan Tong said.

’Today is the 28th. Tomorrow, I’ll be conducting my exploratory experiment.’

’Best case scenario, everything will go smoothly. After the rule ends, I’ll acquire Flowing Psychic Power from North Star’s official channels while also buying from the Sisiya Black Star channel.’

"No problem," Black Star agreed without hesitation. "I’ll let the sellers know."

"Okay."

Guan Tong had only come to give him a heads-up. Having said his piece, he stood up to leave, but White Star came over from the bar and stopped him.

"Please, wait a moment."

Guan Tong stopped and looked at her.

Black Star stood up and gently chided his sister, "White Star, what are you doing?"

White Star said, "Black Star... Brother, Lun is running out of time. I think we need to ask for help! I feel like he’s more trustworthy than the people we’ve been trying to find!"

Guan Tong grew thoughtful upon hearing this.

’The last time I was here with Shangyuan Zi, White Star looked like she wanted to say something but held back. It looks like this is about the same thing.’

Black Star’s expression darkened at the mention of "Lun." But seeing his sister’s stubborn look, he sighed helplessly after a moment and turned to Guan Tong.

"We do have something we need help with, if you could spare a moment to listen. If you can help us, we’re willing to offer all our savings as a reward."

"What is it?"

Guan Tong wasn’t particularly interested in the reward. He was more curious what kind of problem could stump a ’gold-medal’ broker as well-connected as Black Star.

’If I can help, all the better. After all, having a reliable broker like Black Star owe me a favor would be a good thing.’

Black Star looked at White Star. "Since you insisted on bringing it up, you tell him."

White Star nodded, took a photograph from an inside pocket of her denim jacket, and handed it to Guan Tong.

Guan Tong took it. The photo showed a group of three similar-looking children: two boys and a girl.

From their features, one boy and the girl were clearly a younger Black Star and White Star. The third child was an even younger boy with a brilliant smile.

"That’s a photo of the three of us," White Star said. "The youngest is our little brother, Lun."

Guan Tong handed the photo back to White Star. "What happened to him?" he asked.

At the mention of her brother, White Star’s eyes reddened. "Lun... something happened to him during the tenth rule."

"The tenth," Guan Tong recalled. "The ’Five Senses Elimination’ rule."

"That’s right." White Star wiped the corners of her red eyes. "At the very end of the rule, after all five of his senses were gone, Lun fell into a coma. He didn’t wake up even after the rule was over. In the days that followed, Black Star and I tried everything—commissioning the use of all sorts of items and abilities... but nothing could wake him."

"..."

Guan Tong knew that while the "Five Senses Elimination" rule hadn’t lasted long, it had left many people with lifelong trauma.

A large number of people developed psychological conditions like claustrophobia because of that rule. The most severe cases were people like White Star’s brother, Lun, whose faculties completely shut down during the total sensory deprivation, leaving them in a vegetative state, unable to wake up.

"You’re the famous ’Shadow.’ You must know a lot of powerful people. Is there any way at all to wake Lun up?" White Star asked, her eyes filled with hope as she looked at Guan Tong.

It wasn’t just her. Even Black Star, who had been against bringing this up, was now harboring a sliver of hope, wishing to hear good news from Guan Tong.

Guan Tong thought for a moment before replying, "Since you’ve already tried various abilities and items, it means conventional medical treatments are ineffective on your brother."

"That’s right," White Star said. "That’s why we were planning to try an unconventional approach—tackling it from the outside."

"White Star," Black Star said warningly.

"Why can’t I talk about it?" White Star glared at Black Star. "It’s not like they asked us to keep it a secret, and besides, Lun might not be able to hold on that long!"

"..."

’Seeing their exchange,’ Guan Tong thought, ’this "unconventional approach" must be something quite special.’

After a moment of silence, White Star explained, "We contacted a research lab in Soloma. They offered a potential solution for the future—using a brain-computer interface to perform Memory Digitization on Lun, upload his memories, and then load them into an intelligent body. This would allow him to regain consciousness and wake up, in a sense."

’Memory Digitization and upload...’

Guan Tong asked, "Memory Digitization... isn’t that a technology several major world powers are currently developing?"

"That’s right, but Lun’s physical condition is deteriorating. The doctor in charge of his life support says it’s not an issue with the equipment; it’s Lun’s own will to live that’s fading. If this continues, he won’t be able to hold on until the Memory Digitization technology matures. The surgery has to be done sooner! But the risks of doing it early are so, so high..."

’So that’s how it was.’ Guan Tong understood now.

"So, you were planning to gamble on this unproven technology."

"Yes," Black Star chimed in. "We know the technology is far from mature and the risks are incredibly high, but Lun can’t wait any longer. The surgery was scheduled for the end of next month, but... White Star thought you might have another solution. I, however, wasn’t so optimistic."

As a broker who had dealt with thousands of Ascenders, Black Star saw the situation with a clarity and depth his sister lacked.