Master of the Stars

Chapter 86: True Value (Part ½)

Translation: Sarah

Yan Yongbo’s gaze swept across Supervisor Bai’s fingertips. His expression had darkened a bit but he kept a calm composure.

“We believe Jack is an Altered Human. At least, he was one before the night of September 30th. This way, it is impossible for his thought process to exceed the cerebral template, so he could not possess any creativity. We have obtained the settings for his brain template version and employed a brute force method to list out all possible choices. From this list, we picked out those that have the highest probability for individual investigation.”

“Ok, and then?”

“Up till now, we have dug through Jack’s social circle but nothing has come up. The Apocalypse Laboratory checked through the cloud for any uploaded data but again, nothing came up... After various investigations, it can essentially be confirmed that if there were indeed data records, Jack would have been carrying them with him.”

Yan Yongbo’s gaze turned up to the Supervisor’s face as he continued, “We extensively investigated the battleground from the dawn of October 1st, but the ability user society was very thorough in their investigation and did not leave anything of value behind. Thus, the target is highly likely to be within the reapings that they are auctioning internally. At present, with the help of brokers, we have recovered all of the auction goods except the Deep Sea Type Four Dynamo Core and the Cerebral Nucleus. This is because the valuation for those items have not finished and the auction has not begun.

“Additionally, there is also the C2834 test subject. Presently, it is still under the control of the ability user society. It has already been unconscious for seven consecutive days but according to intel, its vital signs are quite stable...”

Having spoken so much, it could essentially be deemed as reporting work. Half way through this, Yan Yongbo realized this himself. However, there was no turning back and he did not have a reason to stop in the middle.

After the extensive debriefing, Supervisor Bai did not respond immediately, as if she was digesting all of the information. It looked like she was in a daze.

Yan Yongbo absolutely abhorred having to wait for people to respond, but he continued to wait earnestly. His heart sank; he really disliked the current atmosphere.

Hu Yuli sipped on his tea as his eyes curved into crescents.

Approximately half a minute had passed by before Supervisor Bai finally opened her mouth, “I am relieved after having heard Yan Assistant’s words.”

Yan Yongbo’s eyes flashed and a smile broke out across his face, “Supervisor Bai...”

“Before returning to Xia City, I actually had a mild headache. Our missions are different. We might need to cooperate a bit on Jack and the C2834 test subject but the work later on is bound to thin out the existing strengths present in Xia City.”

Supervisor Bai leaned half of her body onto her backpack, switching to a more comfortable position. “All is well, the measures that Assistant Yan has taken are controlled and within their regular boundaries. There has been little need for coercive forces. This way, I don’t have to worry and will just take and utilize these forces.”

Yan Yongbo’s expression changed.

His current positions included the President of Rainbow Fund and the Assistant Director of Sky Blue Security. On the surface, the amount of funds the former position controls far surpasses the resources of the latter and under a normal social model, that was indeed true.

However, the problem was that if Yan Yongbo could only choose one of the two positions, then he would unquestionably choose the ‘Assistant Director’ position. This was because this position would grant the power over the four entire teams, which was comprised of almost thirty ‘Deep Blue Walkers’.

And now, with merely one sentence from Supervisor Bai, all of this was going to be taken away from him?

The situation turned out worse than what Yan Yongbo had imagined. Supervisor Bai was not all talk, she was from the Quantum Corporation Headquarters and also had authorized control over the Apocalypse Laboratory.

As soon as the electronic document reached Yan Yongbo’s work wristband, the authority set became valid. The role of Captain which gave him leadership authority towards the four teams of Deep Blue Walker was transferred to be under Supervisor Bai’s name.

Now, Yan Yongbo was only a nominal assistant at Sky Blue Security; his position held no value.

Yan Yongbo’s face paled as he stared at Supervisor Bai’s dazzling face. He could feel his breath getting rapid and the blood boiling in his chest and abdomen.

Supervisor Bai’s relaxed composure remained unchanged; she smiled as she looked at Yan Yongbo. Yan Yongbo began to let his strength gather in his body.

Hu Yuli could not sense the power mode of a Burner but he realized that the atmosphere in the room had turned extremely dangerous. He could no longer sit around. He put down his cup and tried to resolve the situation with a smile:

“There must be a reason for these arrangements by the headquarters and the laboratory. As long as you two sincerely cooperate, it honestly doesn’t make too much of a difference who is in charge of what...”

“There is a difference after all.” Supervisor Bai was astonishingly honest. “As for where the difference lies, Assistant Yan, no, President Yan, can take his time to experience for himself. Oh. By the way, congratulations on being promoted to president. See you later.”

She stood up and grabbed her large backpack as she spoke, preparing to leave.

Yan Yongbo stood up abruptly. There was a moment where he had wanted to pounce but his feet remained planted on the ground. A dry sound squeezed out from his throat; even he could not decipher the sound himself.

However, Supervisor Bai seemed to have understood it clearly. “Do you want to know the reason or the result? Why don’t I tell you both? ‘Research’ missions are not your job so mistakes could be forgiven. You cannot afford even the smallest mistakes for ‘excavation’ missions. However, the limited power in Xia City cannot be moved for your sake again. In summary, you could not avoid failure. As for the reason, it is simply because you’re on the wrong team.”

She smiled and patted Yan Yongbo’s cheek lightly as she walked past in front of him. She put on her sunglasses and turned to leave.

Yan Yongbo stood in a daze and only snapped out of his dreamlike state when the door opened. He rushed out and words that he never thought he would say rushed out from his throat: “Supervisor Bai, you should know, I didn’t even pick a team. I...”

Supervisor Bai faced him in her sunglasses. “Are you refuting me?”

“......”

“Ok, let’s say I wronged you, so what? Yes, you are very self-aware. You forfeited work at the Apocalypse Laboratory. Oh, and research missions as well. You came to Xia City and took charge. I also heard that you wanted to pursue someone’s daughter1?”

Yan Yongbo was caught in a daze and he did not know how to respond.

Supervisor Bai’s lips slightly parted, showing off a nice curve. “You want to achieve self-worth? Where is your value? I’m sorry, I have to quote someone... Outside of the Quantum Corporation and Apocalypse Laboratory, you are nothing! You chose the ‘excavation’ mission, you chose to do the work of mortals and are therefore destined to be dictated by gods2.”

“Then I...”

“If you chose the ‘research’ mission, if you chose the work of gods, then devote yourself to the gods3.”

“......”

“Now you understand where you went wrong? You have indeed chosen the wrong team, having chosen your own side.”

Yan Yongbo froze on his spot.

“You have been the first Burner since the creation of the world. You should know where your value lies. If you’re willing to cooperate, I can bring them out at any time... These four teams of Deep Blue Walkers are still yours.”

Supervisor Bai raised her hand and daintily waved her fingers as she bid him goodbye.

Supervisor Bai quickly disappeared through the VIP passageway as Yan Yongbo stood soullessly at the entrance.

Inside the room, when Hu Yuli saw Yan Yonbo’s appearance he felt happy yet a bit sympathetic. All that was left was to rejoice. “Good thing I’m resigning...”

Yan Yongbo chasing someone’s daughter. This may have been Luo Nan’s mother. Chapter 52.2: "Yan Yongbo patted his shoulder: “What a pity about Senior Qingwen. Ever since middle school, I had her as my dream girlfriend..."

Excavation Mission. Refers to ’excavating’ from the Stellar Gate mentioned in Chapter 68.1 I translated it as "tapping into the Stellar Gate", but "tapping" can also mean excavating. Note that Chapter 68.1 states that the Human-Faced Arachnid was excavated from the Stellar Gate.

Research Mission. Also referred in Chapter 68.1. Of note is the following:

“This question...... My teacher back in the laboratory, Mr. Li Wei, had said this before: ‘Everything can be considered that of mortals. Gods just need to master life.’”

Yan Yongbo unfolded his hand: “He probably thought that researching life is the domain of gods, that the standpoints of humans and gods are different.”