Chapter 71

Potential is also a kind of power. Xie Huitian’s words were very easy for Zhuo Chuan to understand, as he came from modern society, where privilege was no stranger to him.

The situation most similar to his would be that of scholars in the feudal era. Studying could lead to passing the imperial exams and becoming an official, and for the sake of this future and potential, many old men who had little hope of advancing still spent their entire lives studying, becoming old students, just to gain this layer of respect and prevent others from looking down on them.

"How can we save them?" Zhuo Chuan naturally couldn’t just save one person. He understood Lao Xu’s character; he definitely wouldn’t abandon his friends. They had only gotten along for about a month, but Lao Xu had already risked his life to help him. Not to mention the friends he had gathered, each of whom had known him for decades.

Xie Huitian was silent for a moment, seemingly pondering how to explain. After a long time, he replied, "There are two methods: one is bail by a citizen, and the other is paying soul crystals for bail. Given the severity of their situation, there’s no other way to get them out immediately."

Zhuo Chuan understood why Xie Huitian was silent. It involved soul crystals again. He had already borrowed once, using underground currency to buy the exchange qualification, which was a future benefit as collateral. This time, it would be difficult to ask for a loan.

Zhuo Chuan wouldn’t make it hard for the other party. Not everyone had Lao Xu’s character, and he couldn’t demand that Xie Huitian do the same.

"Alright, I understand. Thank you, Huitian. I’ll think of another way."

"Hmm, but," Xie Huitian’s tone was different from usual, always hesitating, "Zhuo Chuan, you’d better not get too involved. I’ve also heard some rumors. After all, we potential successors who have shown our potential are being courted by higher-level citizens. Your situation is special, and there are very few citizens qualified to court you. I’ve also received some information from higher-level citizens, and the matter is very complicated. The punishment will likely be severe. You have a bright future ahead, and I, Xie Huitian, also consider myself extraordinary, but I’ve never seen anyone with as much potential as you. I don’t want you to waste too much time on this, which could hinder the development of your potential."

"Thank you." Zhuo Chuan understood the other party’s meaning. He couldn’t ignore Lao Xu’s friendship.

After hanging up, Zhuo Chuan thought through the entire situation again, carefully read the information, and then suddenly slapped his thigh.

"He Qiang, He Qiang, you still don’t truly understand Lao Xu. You thought he would only keep the secret in the face of life and death, and discuss survival with me, who has hidden privileges, without triggering the punishment mechanism. But you didn’t consider his character; he wouldn’t abandon those friends he’s known for years, letting them violate the rules set by the Earth Mother."

Now, Zhuo Chuan knew that blaming He Qiang was useless. He couldn’t seek help from him now. First, he had no way to contact him, and second, Lao Xu had mentioned that He Qiang had also been punished for leaking information to him.

Lao Xu wasn’t immediately arrested because he was a passive recipient of the information. As long as he kept it secret, he didn’t violate the rules. But by discussing it with other ordinary backup citizens, he was actively leaking confidential information.

Zhuo Chuan quickly found the relevant legal code in his mind, retrieved the corresponding rules, and understood what had happened.

But Zhuo Chuan still had to save Lao Xu. He quickly found the place to handle the bail procedures online, took Dahei with him, and brought the four medium-grade soul crystals that Dahei had coughed up, hoping the price wouldn’t be too high.

Dahei was reluctant as he coughed them up, muttering, "Master, you never cared about these relationships before. You were very cold and wouldn’t waste valuable soul crystals on these backup citizens with little potential."

"Alright, stop nagging. I’m being more considerate now, and you should be happy about it," Zhuo Chuan took them and comforted Dahei in his usual leadership style.

Dahei thought about it and realized that Zhuo Chuan had indeed relaxed his treatment of him. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have had time to play on the computer. The old B47995 would have made him work all the time to earn back his investment.

Thinking this, Dahei stopped complaining and instead said, "Why is the underground backup citizen society more complicated than the surface citizen society? You can’t blame me for not understanding; after all, it’s my first time living in the underground citizen society."

Zhuo Chuan understood this, so he hadn’t asked Dahei but Xie Huitian.

After leaving, he called an autonomous car and took Dahei to the nearest law enforcement bureau.

Upon arriving at the law enforcement bureau on the 377th underground level, a refined-looking backup citizen greeted him. This backup citizen wasn’t wearing any uniform, just a small golden eagle emblem that distinguished him from ordinary backup citizens.

Understanding his purpose, the backup citizen nodded, "Those thirteen people are detained in the prison on the 999th underground level, awaiting trial. You can bail them out. The Earth Mother has set the bail standards: to bail out one person, you need a signature from a Z-level citizen or pay 100 low-grade soul crystals. To bail out all of them, you need a signature from a Y-level citizen or pay 1,300 low-grade soul crystals. After bailing them out, they cannot spread confidential information again, or the punishment will be increased, and they will be prohibited from being bailed out again."

Zhuo Chuan breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed their violation wasn’t too severe. He understood that they had only received the information in advance and made preparations, and the information would be publicly announced soon. This proposal involving all underground backup citizens would be known to the underground backup citizen society, whether it passed or not.

He handed over two soul crystals to the backup citizen.

The backup citizen was taken aback, then smiled and introduced himself, "I’m Feng Ling. Of course, I recognize you, Mr. Zhuo Chuan, the owner of the B47995 citizen number. You rarely use soul crystals, I assume."

Feng Ling returned the two soul crystals to Zhuo Chuan and gestured for him to sit down.

"In the underground society, we have our own market exchange. Generally, a medium-grade soul crystal with 50% purity is considered good quality and can be exchanged for 1,400 to 1,700 low-grade soul crystals. Your crystal, just by its appearance, is of good quality. But the Earth Mother doesn’t care about that and will still exchange it at the official rate of 1:1000, giving you 700 low-grade soul crystals back. You should calculate your loss; even in a hurry, you shouldn’t waste soul crystals. Your friends would never agree to you losing soul crystals just to save them a little time in prison."

Zhuo Chuan laughed wryly. He naturally understood that he would lose a medium-grade soul crystal of good quality or better.

"If you’re in a hurry, I can temporarily exchange one for you. Your crystal is of high quality, so I’ll exchange it at 1,600 low-grade soul crystals. After determining the exact purity, I’ll make up the difference. How about that?" Clearly, Feng Ling was more skilled in business than in law enforcement.

Zhuo Chuan didn’t think the other party would cheat him. Since he recognized him, he wouldn’t do such a thing. This wasn’t the modern world where people acted on impulse; people in the new world were highly rational and generally made good decisions.

Zhuo Chuan naturally agreed to the exchange. He couldn’t carry over a thousand low-grade soul crystals, so the other party directly transferred them to his account. Each person had one account, linked to their identity number, and it was impossible to have more.

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