Qin Hu’s words were like a huge stone cast into the ocean in Meng Chao’s heart; it stirred up a lot of waves.
Fuzzy images of Ghost Tribe’s training camp popped up in his mind again. He saw the instructor with the black skull, who had faked cutting his throat before.
What did the Black Skull Instructor want to tell him this time?
Qin Hu did not notice that Meng Chao’s eyes had turned incredibly dark. He continued speaking rapidly, “Kid, I should really thank you. You’re the one who gave me this reminder.
“Originally, I have been living a muddle-headed life. I only knew how to train hard, fight, and put on a facade to climb up the social ladder.
“But I wasn’t thinking. I am just someone at the peak of Earth Realm who has no power or authority. I’m not young anymore, either. My spirit meridians and affinity are already set in stone.
“Even if I manage to reach greater heights, I won’t be able to climb much further! Even if I reach Heaven Realm, I’m just going to be a four-star superhuman, and in the eyes of the cultivation families and mega corporations, it’s nothing. Even their dongs are thicker than mine, so how am I supposed to fight against them?”
Lu Siya frowned a little and cleared her throat.
“Ms. Lu, I’m sorry. But you know me. I’m a brute, and I don’t think before I speak. Still, even if my words are crude, my logic is right!” Qin Hu said.
“When I lost my powers, you kid told me how I should be as a person and how I should stand in the shoes of the normal people to think of their problems. After that, I suddenly saw light and came to understand things. Really, I’ve understood them!
“If I compare myself to the Heaven Realm and Deity Realm elites in powerful families, I can’t even be considered a bug under their shoes. At least bugs are still worth something, you know?
“But when I compare myself to the broken-star superhumans and normal people, my experience, connections, skills, resources, and all other aspects pop up as strengths.
“So, I shouldn’t compete with Heaven Realm and Deity Realm elites. Instead, I should sink to the middle-tier and low-tier market and unite as well as lead all the broken-star superhumans. As long as half… No, one-third of the broken-star superhumans in the city are willing to join the Broken Star Club and spread the word, products, and share the necessary channels, we’ll be rich!
“Ms. Lu, you’re knowledgeable. Tell me, is this business model doable?”
Lu Siya thought about it for a moment before she nodded. “When you put it this way, it is indeed plausible, and there’s plenty of room for imagination. Even I am slightly tempted by it. So, is this the reason why you were willing to give up on the decades of mining rights for the Red Radiance Jade mine?”
“Ha! Decades of mining rights? I might be greedy, but I’m not stupid.” Qin Hu shrugged. “I’ve lost all my powers, so I’m basically useless. What’s the use no matter how much money you give me? It’s the same as giving a three-year-old child boxes full of gold and asking him to walk about the city. Not only is it not good, it will also bring me misfortune.
“If you don’t spend money, it’s just going to end up as paper. Even if you use it to wipe your butt, it’s too hard. Instead of having decades worth of money from the mining rights of the Red Radiance Jade mine lying around and waiting for others to covet it, it would be better for me to get all of it in one go and invest in the Broken Star Club. It would at least get me the trust and friendship of the broken-star superhumans.
“One of these days, if I get one hundred thousand broken-star superhumans’ trust and friendship, I might be able to rise to power again in another way.”
Lu Siya chuckled. “One hundred thousand broken-star superhumans? Aren’t you greedy?”
“One hundred thousand is already a conservative estimate. Ms. Lu, do you know how many broken-star superhumans have applied to join the club over the past month?”
Qin Hu did not wait for Lu Siya to answer him. He stroked his beard and said, “Fifty thousand! Four zeros behind a five!”
Lu Siya’s expression changed. “That many?”
“Yup. You aren’t a broken-star superhuman like the kid, and you aren’t like me, who lost their powers. You don’t understand how we feel.
“If we never awakened to supernatural powers and experienced the feeling of cutting mountains or killing monsters, it would have been fine. But we awakened, yet we’re just broken-star superhumans. The gloom, vexation, and desire we feel is much stronger. There’s a saying, right? Something about seeing light and enduring darkness, whatever it is.”
“‘If I had never seen light before, I would have been able to endure the darkness,”‘ Lu Siya said.
“Yeah. That’s what I meant. If there is a slightest chance, broken-star superhumans will want to repair their spirit meridians and increase their fighting strength. Then, we will be able to puff out our chests and be of high spirits in the superhuman circle!
“But in the superhuman circle, the broken-star superhumans are not just overlooked, they’re basically looked down upon. Many think that since they only have around five main meridians cleared and can only use one or two skills, they aren’t real superhumans. When broken-star superhumans learn, work, get promoted, and experience everything else in life, they face prejudice.
“So, the broken-star superhumans actually long to have an organization so that they can help each other and even form an alliance to protect their lawful rights.
“There are plenty of superhuman organizations in Dragon City, such as the Hunter’s Association, Monster Controller Association, Machine Master Association, Harvester Association, and others. But these organizations are mostly limited to one job, and the things they talk about are also related to their field.
“What about the Supernatural Tower? It’s too big, and there are all sorts of people inside it.
“The Broken Star Club, however, is built for broken-star superhumans like us. It encompasses people of all industries, and it can cover most of the regions in the city.
“Once broken-star superhumans join the Broken Star Club, they can practice the Ultimate Style to increase their fighting power and exchange information with the members working in other fields, but who sympathize with their plight.
“From there, they can create business opportunities and get rid of the gloomy feelings festering in their hearts. It’s as the saying goes, ‘With each new friend, another path opens up before you.’ There’s no way the people won’t respond to the club enthusiastically.
“I’m telling you, Ms. Lu, the Broken Star Club has just started getting on track. We haven’t even finished renovating the headquarters yet. Once this place gets a new image and we help the broken-star superhumans solve one or two real problems beautifully as well as get a few major deals, forget about getting one hundred thousand members, we’ll even be able to gather two hundred thousand or three hundred thousand members easily!”
Lu Siya nodded repeatedly. Just as she was about to speak, she suddenly noticed that there was something off about Meng Chao.
As a Spirit Senser, she could keenly sense that Meng Chao’s vitality magnetic field was erupting like a volcano, and it was especially prominent in his brain.
“Meng Chao, are you okay?” Lu Siya asked with concern.
“I’m okay. I suddenly remembered some unrelated stuff. You don’t have to care about me. Go on with your discussion.” Meng Chao massaged his temples gently to get rid of the sharp pain.
The memory fragments from his previous life were like broken shards of a mirror in his mind. They reflected the face of the Black Skull Instructor.
“The first thing all of you will go through in Ghost Tribe’s training camp is assassination training.”
Meng Chao could hear the Black Skull Instructor shouting in his ears. “But in the path of Dragon City’s conquering the Other World, assassination is the last step. It’s the most crucial attack that will decide the battle in one blow. It’s the horn that will sound humanity’s charge!
“The races of the Other World have experienced thousands of years of bloody war. Many of them were even born for war. Killing their leaders alone won’t do anything. It’s very easy for them to find a new leader to lead them, and that new leader might be even more cunning and brutal than the last.
“Before we assassinate the leaders of the intelligent species of the Other World, we must first infiltrate their civilization and create chaos as well as intensify their conflicts. We also have to support the factions that are pro-Earth in the civilizations of the Other World and build up organizations that are friendly to Dragon City.
“No matter what, there are too few people in Dragon City. If we want to conquer all of the Other World, it’s impossible to do so without relying on the local organizations here.
“Next, I’m going to give you simple introductions on the basic methods of infiltration and forming organizations…”
“Meng Chao? Meng Chao!”
Lu Siya spread her fingers and waved them in front of Meng Chao.
He sucked in a deep breath and snapped out of his daze. He blinked, and the spark in the dark pools of his eyes disappeared.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Lu Siya looked at him with a puzzled expression. “Did you know that your expression just now was really sinister and terrifying?”
“No way.” Meng Chao rubbed his face and said with great effort, “I’m clearly a naive university student. Sometimes, I’m especially kind and childish!”
But he had suddenly seen light.
He realized that he had made a mistake after he returned from the apocalypse.
He kept thinking about climbing up.
After he awakened to the memories of his previous life, he constantly looked for the peerless elites who ruled Dragon City to influence them and change the future.
It was a very logical plan, but it had a few major problems.
First, it was not that easy to find peerless elites.
Regardless of whether they were the leaders of mega corporations, veteran politicians in the Survival Committee, or the Deity Realm elites who were constantly in isolated training in the depths of the Supernatural Tower, they would not meet him and speak to him.
Second, peerless elites had their own worldviews and methodology. They would not be affected by him so easily.
Take Lu Siya as an example. She was nothing compared to them, but she did not listen to his every word. She had her own ambitions.
Even if Meng Chao was sincere, there was no way to ensure that the peerless elites would act according to his plan.
Third, the more powerful a person was, the more their actions would be tied to the interests of various parties. Their actions would be restrained for various reasons. Besides, those at the top were lonely and had no companions, which meant that they were not united. There were plenty of times when the development of Dragon City was not decided because a few powerful people had other ideas.
‘The future of Dragon City might not be decided by the politicians in the Survival Committee, those who control the mega corporations, and the peerless elites in the Supernatural Tower.
‘Instead, it may be decided by millions of normal citizens.
‘What I should change isn’t those at the top, but the millions of normal people, right?’
If he had to ride on a coattail, Meng Chao would definitely do so without hesitation.
But if a blacksmith needed a strong body to forge iron, he would also need a pair of strong legs to ride on the ace coattails.
‘Since I’m just a normal university student, even if I have a lot of fortuitous encounters, manage to stop many schemes, reveal many truths, and am received by the peerless elites, they won’t treat me as anyone important, will they?
‘But it’ll be different if I’m the club leader of a club that has hundreds of thousands of members. I might not be able to be of equal standing to them, but at the very least, I’ll be able to make those peerless elites listen to me with patience and talk about the future more seriously.
‘Qin Hu is right. I’m a broken-star superhuman, and I can understand as well as sympathize with all broken-star superhumans. We’re born to be allies. If I were to speak in Lin Chuan’s words, we’re kindred!
‘These broken-star superhumans and the normal people they protect are the strength that I can truly rely upon. Lu Siya and I may mutually ride on each other’s coattails, but they are the ones that can become my base, since we’re all connected through our souls!”