Chapter 88

"Hey, what is this...?"

Chen Yang replaced the magazines in the two guns in his hands. Before he could even raise his head, he felt a wave of dizziness. When he came to, he found himself back in the basement of the real world.

"Commander Luosi, is there a problem?"

Sitting in the chair, Chen Yang did not show any signs of panic. Instead, he simply directed his gaze toward the core of the foundation, which was still emitting a blue glow.

"There is a problem..."

"A minor problem..."

The emotions in the right hand were fluctuating. Chen Yang could tell that after experiencing the wonders of the foundation core, he had come to value it greatly. Based on the principle of shared benefits for collaborators, he did not want any issues to arise with the foundation core.

"What exactly is the problem?"

Chen Yang's eyes were calm, but his tone was firm.

The tentacles extending from the right hand paused, as if re-evaluating Chen Yang. The mouth filled with sharp teeth pointed at Chen Yang and, after a few seconds, said, "Not bad, not bad. You have changed a bit, and it wasn't in vain to train in the foundation core."

"Do you remember what I told you before? When we crossed Tiskur, the foundation core was damaged..."

"I understand..."

Before the right hand could finish, Chen Yang interrupted, "Intense emotional fluctuations from intelligent beings can affect the foundation core, so fear is the most effective emotion for humans, right?"

Chen Yang looked at the foundation core and asked, "I have a question. What is the current range that the foundation core can cover?"

"What do you want to do?"

The right hand asked.

"Do I need to say more? If there is a method, why not use it?"

Chen Yang calmly analyzed, "If we involve other humans, how many would be needed to help the foundation core recover?"

The right hand noticed the word "humans" in Chen Yang's statement. For some reason, it suddenly felt that something was slipping out of its control for the first time.

"The current range of the foundation core can cover an entire city at once, with a limit of about a hundred human consciousnesses. Any more would be difficult to control."

"Also, the number of people is not as important as the duration. Just like human illnesses, the foundation core's recovery will take time."

"I understand."

Chen Yang nodded, indicating his understanding. "Commander Luosi, as your collaborator, we had an alliance agreement, one of which was the principle of shared benefits, right?"

"Shared benefits? Yes, there is such a clause."

"Then, can I also get some control over the foundation core?"

"So, that's what you're after."

The mouth of the right hand suddenly pointed at Chen Yang's eyes, threatening, "Human greed can sometimes destroy oneself, you know?"

Chen Yang didn't even blink, his gaze not fixed on the right hand's mouth but seemingly looking into the distant unknown. "Human greed is exactly what you, Commander Luosi, expect, isn't it? Our partnership is built on my greed, after all."

After saying this, he turned his gaze to the right hand. "Given that, it's not unreasonable for me to hope to gain some control over the foundation core now and in the future."

"... Talking to the current you is both pleasing and infuriating."

The right hand moved its mouth away from Chen Yang's face.

"Mutual, smart people don't need to beat around the bush."

Probably no one in the world had experienced death as many times as Chen Yang. When someone can struggle out of death thirty times, how could they remain unchanged? Chen Yang felt like he had emerged from suffocating deep water, breathing fresh air, and his entire being had transformed. Whether this change was good or bad, even Chen Yang himself didn't know.

"I can give you some control over the foundation core... and I won't interfere with your use of it, but don't forget our agreement!"

The right hand's tone was full of threats. "I think the current you has fewer of the trivial constraints you had before, right?"

"Of course, I will abide by our agreement."

Chen Yang said calmly, "After all, we are partners."

Chen Yang hid his emotions well, not showing even the slightest hint that would make the right hand suspicious.

He was indeed a bit naive before, easily trusting a stranger. Trusting an extraterrestrial being was even more foolish.

You can't even trust humans, let alone "ghosts."

"During the time we search for the other component, I think it would also be a good idea to work on restoring the foundation core."

"So..."

Chen Yang deliberated, his eyes serious. "I hope to bring in a group of other people into the foundation core to try to restore its functions."

"How do you plan to do it?"

"Simple. Since the foundation core needs intense emotional fluctuations to stimulate and synchronize, we can make people feel fear."

Chen Yang explained, "The foundation core can simulate the real world perfectly, so it's easy to create things that are terrifying. There are many things humans fear, so this should be very simple to achieve."

The right hand was silent for a moment. Even though the foundation core was not as important as Tiskur, it was still a crucial part of the Harojudis civilization. It wanted to repair it and did not want to hinder the process.

"Fine."

The right hand said coldly, "Do it your way, and I will monitor from the side."

Chen Yang nodded slightly, not showing any excessive excitement despite gaining some control over the foundation core.

The right hand fell silent, and recently, its periods of dormancy seemed to be more frequent. After re-fusing with the component, it had encountered some issues.

During the tens of thousands of years of interstellar travel, the right hand had not always been fused with the component. Instead, it had used a method similar to "possession" to control it. This re-fusion due to special circumstances was the first in thousands of years.

Chen Yang casually tapped the keyboard, and the twelve screens dimmed, while the hidden mainframe continued to function.

He stood up and snapped his fingers. As he walked out of the automatically opening door, the lights in the entire basement went out, leaving only the faint glow of the mainframe.

When Chen Yang came to the door of the building, he noticed that the sky was dark and it was drizzling. He thought for a moment, then went back to get a black umbrella. Chen Yang opened the umbrella and walked out into the rain.

The alley's ground had not been repaired for years, with a bumpy surface. When it rained, people would inevitably get their legs wet from the puddles, so they would try to avoid going out during the rain.

Chen Yang walked out of the alley alone and continued down the street.

After a few dozen minutes, Chen Yang stopped and looked up at his own noodle shop.

The shop, which he hadn't visited for a long time, had a thin layer of dust on the floor after the roller shutter was pulled up. Chen Yang took a broom and carefully cleaned the shop, then took out paper and pen and wrote a few lines carefully.

These few lines were simple but would look strong and impressive to someone who couldn't read.

Thanks to Chen Yang's control over his body, he could make precise adjustments to the muscles in his arms, resulting in no tremors while writing. He steadily wrote the lines in a few smooth strokes.

Then, holding the shop transfer advertisement, Chen Yang carefully pasted it on the outside wall.

He stared at the advertisement for a moment, feeling a bit dazed. The shop had been in operation for decades, passed down from his parents, and he never thought he would be transferring it himself.

If his parents were to know, they would probably be furious.

But Chen Yang had no hesitation. Since he had made the decision, he had no intention of changing his mind.