Chapter 768: Permanently Acquired Talent: Deep-Sea Touch, Primordial Snow Ape

“Why? I’m Gold-tier!”

No one paid Mary I any attention.

Yu Yuan, Hogg, and Xiao Xi were all immersed in their fierce battle against a Gold-tier opponent.

Yu Yuan controlled the fight, Xiao Xi corrupted their foe, and Hogg tore her apart.

The three of them worked together seamlessly.

—【Congratulations! You have successfully corrupted the Gold-tier Deep-Sea Octopus Parasite. Talent permanently acquired: “Deep-Sea Touch.”】

Xiao Xi’s eyes lit up as the sudden notification appeared.

She stopped moving.

She spread her hands, paused briefly, then clenched them tight.

The next moment, a shocking scene unfolded.

Dozens, even hundreds, of enormous tentacles across the sea had lost control when Yu Yuan took control of Mary I.

Now they connected with Xiao Xi and began moving on their own under her command, lashing at Mary I, who had just broken free of Yu Yuan’s control.

Each of the tentacles was over a hundred meters long. The sight of them all striking at once was easy to imagine.

They blotted out the sky.

Mary I was nowhere near as nimble as Xiao Xi, and her body was far from small.

“How could this…”

Her voice had barely sounded when Yu Yuan locked her down again.

Whap, whap, whap!

The thick tentacles struck Mary I one after another.

Her eighty-meter body collapsed.

But the tentacles rose again, whistling through the air as they began another group beating.

Every attack avoided Mary I’s head. Each blow landed on her body.

Hogg had already burrowed inside her and begun performing brain surgery.

The battle had become utterly one-sided.

Yu Yuan came to hover above the barely breathing Mary I. As the Loser’s Cube lit up,

her enormous body began to shrink, and the cube took her in.

As the first Gold-tier creature Yu Yuan had captured, her fate would be far worse than death.

A tentacle fished Hogg out of the water.

He looked at the tentacle wrapped around him, then at Xiao Xi, his eyes full of surprise.

He clearly couldn’t figure out why Xiao Xi could control those tentacles.

Xiao Xi simply smiled.

“Leader, even though Mary I advanced to Gold-tier, she feels more like a defective product to me.”

“After all, she’s only a parasite. An enemy like this is perfect for us right now.”

“How do you two feel?” Yu Yuan asked the key question.

Hogg and Xiao Xi exchanged a glance, both smiling.

“Great! My life energy has increased by about twenty percent.”

“Quite nice!”

Yu Yuan smiled when he heard that.

“Let’s thank the Blood Duke and Mechanist Supremacy for their selfless contributions! They delivered us two generous gifts right before we advance to Silver Rank.”

“Thank you, Blood Duke and Mechanist Supremacy, for your generous gifts.”

-

Just as Yu Yuan secured victory in the war, a meeting had also just concluded within the Commerce God Alliance.

“Alais, you’ve disappointed me terribly! You actually went after one of our clients over a mere few hundred billion, and the worst part is, you failed! Thankfully, Qiming didn’t expose us. Otherwise... Hmph.”

“Vice President, I didn’t expect a newcomer who’d only entered the game a few months ago to have assets worth over ten billion, let alone strength that surpassed Qiming’s. There must be something seriously wrong with him.”

Alais showed no fear or panic. All he felt was frustration and confusion over his failed plan.

He looked up at the Commerce God Alliance’s Vice President.

“Vice President, that Yu Yuan is definitely hiding a huge secret. If we capture him, we might be able to uncover it. As far as I know, no one before him has ever had a record of advancement like this. He’s already reached second place in Bronze Rank.”

Gubo looked at Alais, a glint passing through his eyes. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

Alais waited in silence.

Finally,

“This matter ends here. Qiming didn’t expose us, so don’t make trouble where none is needed. Remember, this never leaves this room.”

Gubo snorted coldly and turned to leave.

Alais watched him go, his gaze shifting.

-

“What? You’re saying the Blood Duke and the Mechanical Leader ordered them to start this war? Why would they target me?”

Greenfield was stunned by the information Yu Yuan had given her.

Yu Yuan shrugged.

“But that’s what happened. That’s the truth. You’re currently in a state of war, so even an existence from Gold-tier Supremacy can’t forcibly invade you.

“But once you end the war, do you think they’ll stop trying to start one against you?”

Greenfield’s face turned even greener, and her eyebrows drooped.

She didn’t even need to think about it. The moment she ended the war, another war request would probably arrive the very next second.

Unless she had an item capable of canceling the effect of a Civilization War Token.

But setting aside the fact that she didn’t have one,

even if she did, all such rare items had a limited duration. They could only treat the symptoms, not solve the problem.

It would be safer to remain in a state of war.

“So keep the war going for now.”

“Then I suppose that’s my only choice.”

With Greenfield’s addition, Yu Yuan gained full access to the Star Track Cult’s intelligence on the entire Civilization Ladder.

Greenfield knew Yu Yuan was about to begin his Silver Rank advancement battle, and she was marking players who might pose a threat to him.

The Steel Fleet belonging to Tallow and Mary I’s Black-Sail Fleet were later hauled away by the Pioneering Group, which had just arrived, to be dismantled and absorbed. The happiest of all were Masier’s Mechanical Research Society and Mona.

The fleets’ specialized mechanical and mystical knowledge would be a great help in advancing their technology.

Four-armed Palu, meanwhile, was extremely interested in Tallow and kept squeezing every last bit of value out of him through the consciousness-carrier core.

Of course, Mary I was the most valuable of all.

Even though she had only forcibly broken through to Gold-tier, she was enough to leave Jiu Feng and Miller extremely excited as they began a comprehensive analysis of Gold-tier life.

Xiao Xi also began corrupting Mary I.

-

—Every gift Fate bestows has already had its price marked in secret.

As the maxim faded,

three gift options appeared on the Virtual Light Screen.

Yu Yuan frowned. He had seen all these gifts before: a shoe cabinet, a coat rack, and a weapons cabinet.

This Fate Card’s quality would be no higher than Bronze-tier.

“Are you kidding me? I finally draw a card on my own, and you give me a Bronze one?”

In the end, Yu Yuan chose the shoe cabinet.

And, just as expected, the Fate Card was a Bronze-tier Conquest Card.

Yu Yuan physically subdued the Ice Ape, successfully completing the task and earning 2 Fate Points.

【A valuable option has been detected on the conquest target. Spend 2 Fate Points to enhance it?】

Yu Yuan was a little surprised.

Of course he agreed.

As the enhancement took effect, golden light shone from the Ice Ape’s heart, spreading little by little through its blood vessels and across its entire body.

It grew to a height of sixty meters, doubling in size.

Golden patterns flashed in its cloudy eyes, revealing a hint of dignity and composure.

【Congratulations! The conquest target has awakened the “Primordial Snow Ape” bloodline. Fate Points: -2.】