Chapter 447: Bionic Chips
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

“Um… she’s just a normal friend.”

A line of sweat appeared at Chen Jin’s forehead. Perhaps he was seeing things, but the woman who was usually as gentle as water was unleashing something resembling a murderous aura.

“Seeing the intimate nickname that she has given you, are you sure that she’s really just a ‘normal friend’?”

With a look of disbelief, Guo Yan narrowed her pretty eyes and gazed unblinkingly and skeptically at him, exerting even greater mental pressure.

“Alright, alright—she’s actually an old friend of mine. But, of course, it isn’t like you think it is with us. We’re just friends who know each other online but have never met in real life…”

Chen Jin had to take the time to give a thorough explanation.

“So that’s the situation.”

Guo Yan wasn’t the kind of woman who liked to imagine things and create misunderstandings if she couldn’t accept the facts. She, knowing Chen Jin’s nature very well, had planned for the worst since the very beginning. But she was no longer as resigned as before. Now, she had learned how to express dissatisfaction when she felt wronged.

Fortunately, the situation was far better than what she had thought.

An internet friend.

They were friends who had known each other for decades, but were only intimate in network communication, and had never met in real life. Even if there was something between the two, owing to the long distance, no strong and special bond could take shape. Hence, they were truly just ordinary friends.

But, for some reason, something still felt unsettling… this was her intuition as a woman.

“She is a subordinate that I’ve subdued, who is currently working for me and acting as my right hand in conquering every corner of this universe,” Chen Jin explained. “My power alone is obviously not enough, nor could I reveal my ultimate ace-in-the-hole on the Earth side… I depend on her to solve matters over here.” He sought to prevent the woman from misunderstanding.

“I know, hubby.” She quickly recovered her calm and moved forward to hold onto his arm. “I’m just playing with you. I meant nothing else.”

After all, she had been here for more than two years, and they had been inseparable almost every day. Moreover, it was a fact that there were only the two of them on planet Haierfa. There weren’t any extra people there to disturb them… She had no need to worry. Besides, if she treated an “internet friend” living tens of light-years away with too much caution, she would leave a bad impression of herself in Chen Jin’s heart. She had already lived for a hundred years, and her mind was very mature. She knew that she had to give her man a little freedom.

However…

“Hubby, could you introduce that subordinate of yours to me? Perhaps, I could be friends with her.”

Out of the blue, Guo Yan made this request.

“Uh… I’m afraid you can’t.” With less than zero consideration, Chen Jin refused. “The situation here is very special. I have also spent decades making up lots of exaggerated stories in order to subdue her. If I were to let the two of you talk to one other—and what you said to her didn’t fit with what I’ve made up, and she so happens to figure things out—it might possibly expose us… This universe is not as simple as we think.”

Chen Jin looked very serious. In order to subdue Mu Yunhua, he had gone to a lot of painstaking effort to forge the image of a strong, mysterious civilization. If he were to let Guo Yan, who knew nothing, contact her rashly, it could easily sabotage his own setup.

She might really have made a “c*ck” of her husband.

“In that case… can I stand next to you and listen in occasionally? Don’t worry, I will make sure to not make any sound. I just want to stand beside you and understand what’s going on.”

The woman settled for something less. She would not interfere with her mans’ career; she just wanted to get a rough picture of it.

“Sure, no problem,” Chen Jin said, nodding.

…

At night.

On their big, luxurious, and comfortable bed.

After certain actions celebrating love.

Embracing the body that was still young and tender, Chen Jin sighed and said, “I’ve really grown old. I no longer have any desire in this area. If I were 50 years younger, I would try lots of positions and go on for a few more hours without even feeling tired. Now, I just feel exhausted.”

But what he dared not tell the woman in his arms was that, when they had been reveling just now, there had been another woman on his mind; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so worked up.

“Hmph. And how many nights did you spend with me when you were young? Can you even comprehend those unbearable days of hunger and thirst?” said the slightly sulky woman, who rubbed her fingers twice on the man’s chest.

Chen Jin smiled awkwardly.

“But that is what I’ve signed up for. I’m not blaming you for that.” The woman sighed and laid her cheek down on his chest, listening to his thumping heartbeat and reminiscing about the intense moments of the old days. At the same time, a new vision ignited within her heart.

She suddenly sat up and said, “Why don’t we have another child? We could have a child that belongs to this world, build a complete family in this place, and live together, happily ever after!”

When love was slowly erased by the tedium of ordinary life, children acted as the source of most of one’s happiness. With a child, everything in life became brand-new.

“I think I’ll pass.” Chen Jin smiled bitterly. “We already have progeny back on Earth. Maybe we should keep the trouble away from this place. We don’t have any extra energy to raise one, anyway. Besides, there are only a few humans here. Without a complete social environment, the child’s personality would become a big issue as time goes on. They would be a pole apart from the outside world.”

Therefore, he thought, they had better not torture themselves.

“Fine.” Guo Yan who had been asking to be snubbed, snuggled up in the blanket, rolled to the side, and ignored her man from that point onward.

…

A few days later.

Earth, at the villa.

Chen Junfeng stood in front of Chen Jin and reported on a serious situation: “Gramps, the ‘protection trust’ which our family put forward has been accepted by a Protoss clan.”

“Oh. Which?” Chen Jin asked. Quite some guts, eh?

“The Tonghuang clan. Their comprehensive power level is in the top three among the bigger Protoss clans. They are willing to accept the trust.”

“Even the Tonghuang clan couldn’t sit still in the face of a trillion-dollar annual profit, and would rather take on the risks,” Chen Jin said, shaking his head. It was not false to say that money made the world go ’round. Even the Protoss at the highest level were willing to go for this source of profit.

“Actually, Grandpa, for those powerful Protoss clans, the risk they will bear in protecting our family is not exceptionally great,” Chen Junfeng analyzed. “Firstly, we Chens are not all that weak ourselves. With all kinds of advanced mechs and more than a hundred cultivators in the Jiedan Order, we are a force to be reckoned with. Even those average sects or a clan without an ace in the Shenguang Order couldn’t do anything to us. Hence, those ordinary small- and medium-sized forces will not dare to provoke us.

“Secondly, those larger forces may badly want to devour our family. But, once a big Protoss clan or sect signs an agreement and is willing to provide us with their protection service—even if they only deploy a small number of their aces—other forces will not act rashly toward us out of fear of offending a bigger faction. They would have to face the wrath of a whole slew of their past masters.

“Lastly, there’s our reward policy. If our family is attacked and our protectors fail to execute their duties, allowing any harm to come to our family members, the trillion-dollar fund will all be converted into cash reward, thus opening those responsible for the attack to retaliation by throngs of forces.

“With these three factors at work, unless an extremely audacious and maniacal cultivator or sect dares to attack one of us, most forces will not have the guts to lay a finger on any member of our family.

“Hence, having realized that the risks involved are not very high, the Tonghuang clan accepted the commission.”

Chen Jin nodded. This was all within his expectations.

However, he couldn’t bring himself to be optimistic.

“Even so, it is still possible that the worst might happen—if the Tonghuang clan, which is supposed to protect our family, is powerful enough to ignore the opposition of other forces, they could destroy the Chens themselves and take all the benefits for themselves.

“Or, maybe… In response to them sheltering us, an extremely powerful force may emerge and kill not only the core members of our family, but also the Tonghuang clan together with us. In one fell swoop, we will end up as nourishment for this powerful mystery force.

“In both of these extreme cases, it is possible that the Chens will face genocide.”

Cold sweat was beading on Chen Junfeng’s forehead as he shook his head. “Grandpa, I don’t think that the extreme cases you have mentioned are likely to happen. You must know that, in the eyes of outsiders, the Chens left on Earth only represent our main family, and account for a mere 10% of our forces. The branch families which make up the other 90% are currently developing other galaxies, and each of them possesses enormous power. If something were to happen to our main branch on Earth, our sub-branches scattered across the cosmos would never stand idly by and watch! They will definitely pursue vengeance!”

The Chens were, after all, the top family in the Earth Federation, with powers on par with a superpower. Any forces of the Protoss who wished to mess with them would have to think about the consequences. Therefore, the scattered families branching off of the Chens had become an insurance or lucky amulet for the main family residing on Earth. They were, by no means a force, that could be destroyed at one go. Provokers would have to consider the consequences of reprisals. Needless to say, Chen Jin still had some trump cards that he believed were enough to confront the Protoss.

“Alright,” Chen Jin said, nodding. “I predict that, for the first few years, the Tonghuang clan and others won’t do anything to the Chens. An annual profit in the trillions will be enough to satisfy the appetite of the Tonghuang clan for now.

“But after two or three years, forces that envy the Tonghuang will probably start to emerge, while the Tonghuang clan’s appetite may also grow. At that point, troubles will come, one after another… the trillions of succulent morsels that we toss every year will, perhaps, only be effective for a three- to five-year time span.”

But those three to five years would be a strategic opportunity for the Chens to hide their capacities, bide their time, and amass their powers. The Sage Plan was of grave importance, and had to attain major breakthroughs and come up with significant results within that time period. For example, they needed a bionic chip with immense operating power and a genetic drug that could alter the nature of cultivators. Of the two, one would enhance the mind, while the other would enhance the body. If they could attain total success in both, or even if a breakthrough in just one of them, it would bring about tremendous changes.

About two years passed swiftly.

True enough, as Chen Jin expected, the Chen family, with their newly-acquired protection, lived through those two years safely. In their course, mysterious forces took action against the Chens several times, but they spooked them more than they did any harm. Under the protection of the masters posted by the Tonghuang clan, only two family members of the Chens have sustained injuries, and those were non-life-threatening.

The work of the Tonghuang clan was faultless and highly competent.

But, unsurprisingly, the Tonghuang clan’s appetite had swelled. They made an immensely vexing demand.

Inside the villa.

Chen Jin asked Chen Junfeng, who had come to report his work, “What demands have the Tonghuang clan made? Are they asking for an increase in their proportion of profits?”

“No,” Chen Junfeng said, shaking his head. “The Tonghuang clan isn’t short on cash. They are hoping that our family will hand over some of our technology as a condition for both sides deepening our ties.”

“What technology?”

“The high-precision rapid machining technology.”

Chen Jin’s expression changed. “That technology is our family’s tour de force. How could we possibly give it away, just like that?”

Although it was a cultivator’s era, the applications for high-precision machining technology were still extremely extensive. For example, it was used to make the patterns in refining runes. Precise engraving techniques had to be used to engrave a runic pattern, the structure of which might be even more complex than that of a computer chip, on special enchanted materials. Moreover, the more delicate the carving and the higher its overall complexity, the greater the rune power.

From a certain perspective, runes could totally be seen as circuit boards.

In addition, in order to increase the power of many magical weapons and instruments, not only the field of refining required not only countless runes engraved on their surfaces, but also the manufacture of some complex, hard-to-make, multi-part instruments. Some of the large and super-large implements called for a quantity of parts in excess of one or even ten million. The difficulty of manufacturing the core parts of many of those magical weapons and instruments was comparable to that of the pinnacle of industry: engines.

It just so happened that the Chens’ high-precision processing technology was good at doing certain high-precision things.

Of course, many of the elite-level “Rune Masters” and “Refining Gurus” could also carve intricate runes and make complex parts accurate even on the scale of a nanometer. But such master-tier individuals were still the minority. The number of runes and magical instruments that they could create every year was very limited. However, the Chens, who relied entirely on machine processing, could mass-produce those intricate runes and magical instruments, although their average accuracy was only on a 100-nanometer scale. The majority of their output was of the spiritual class, and only small amounts were of the divine class (the classes were ranked mortal, spiritual, and divine in ascending order), but no one could match them in quantity.

Their factories produced batches of various powerful runes and magical weapons.

Although the Chens had intentionally controlled production by keeping the production line’s operating rate to less than 10% of its potential, it still brought them hundreds of billions in net profit every year.

Among the Protoss, many clans were also trying their best to achieve breakthroughs in high-precision rapid machining technology and enable mass production utilizing celestial technology. However, there was always a certain gap between the Chens’ technology and theirs. They did not know whether they could catch up to the Chens within one or two decades.

Naturally, all of them, including the Tonghuang clan, saw the value of this technology; hence, they asked for it directly.

“We are already giving the Tonghuang clan 50% of our annual profit, and, now, they are actually pushing the envelope further! How avaricious and insatiable!”

Chen Jin’s expressed became awful. This kind of behavior was, in truth, no different from imposing a second bill.

“Grandpa, the Tonghuang clan has long had their eye on this technology. It seems that their eagerness now is because the Jinwu clan, which ranks first among them, is also eyeing our family, and has recently been pressuring the Tonghuang clan to hand over their rights to providing protection for us.”

“The Tonghuang clan is below the Jinwu clan in terms of power. They don’t dare to act tough around them. So, they have turned to us instead and are now attempting to squeeze more benefits out of us!” Chen Junfeng analyzed.

“It seems that our family has already become a piece of succulent meat in their eyes. Everyone wants to have a bite of us.” Chen Jin was becoming even more frustrated.

“Yeah. Uh… Grandpa, I just received a piece of good news from the lab. The Bionic Chip project under the Sage Plan has had an important breakthrough! They have developed biochips with advanced performance and high reliability! ” Chen Junfeng looked at the computer terminal on his wrist, abruptly reporting the glad tidings.

Chen Jin instantly felt refreshed.