Chapter 264: Oasis Spoils, Reward Choices

Chapter 264: Seizures at Oasis, and a Choice of Rewards

Glancing at the flurry of messages on his phone, Zhang Yu felt the corners of his mouth turn up unbidden, his mood lifting all at once.

Beside him, Bai Zhenzhen remarked, "What are you looking at? Why that wretched grin?"

Zhang Yu said flatly, "Just looking at this beautiful world."

But the very next moment, his brows twitched as a barrage of claims for damages met his eyes.

"For heaven's sake..." Zhang Yu growled in irritation. "They're actually charging the site damage fees from yesterday's battle to my account?"

"So we smashed a few walls and ran through a couple of buildings? They want ten million? Have they gone mad?"

On the other side of the room, Bai Zhenzhen was eating breakfast. Hearing this, she said, "It's the company behind that abandoned factory from yesterday. Anyway, we were acting as the inspection team this time. If there's compensation to be paid, the True Deity should shoulder it."

"Yu, hurry up and eat. Then contact Wandering God Deng and talk to her about this."

"Also, she called just now. She said that regarding the disposal of the Oasis Group and the distribution of certain items, she wants our input."

"Does this count as dividing the spoils after the war?" Zhang Yu's eyes lit up at the thought. Remembering what Perfected Spark had said yesterday, he sent the man a message.

Perfected Spark replied, "Go to the Oasis Group first to discuss it with her and see what she intends, but do not agree to anything before I arrive."

So, after finishing their breakfast, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen headed out.

The moment they stepped out of the apartment building, Zhang Yu was surprised to find a large crowd of people standing outside the main entrance.

The cleanliness and order surrounding the apartment building formed a stark contrast with the burning cars, billowing smoke, and litter-strewn wreckage on the streets not far away.

Zhang Yu remembered that he seemed to have left his Foundation Establishment Domain active the entire time.

Because of the domain, his apartment had become a safe zone over the course of the night, turning into a sanctuary for many people from the surrounding streets.

The people around them had clearly watched the live stream or the videos, and they recognized the two of them.

Under their reverent gazes, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen flickered, vanishing down the street in a succession of sonic booms and flashes of lightning.

...

When Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen arrived at the Oasis Tower, they found that the entire building had been secured by the Ministry of Deities, with inspection team personnel patrolling everywhere.

Making their way to the top floor, the two entered the office and met Deng Bingding, who was presiding over the site.

"You're here?"

With a ripple of divine power flaring across her body, Deng Bingding manifested a clone that walked up to Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen.

She looked at them with a smile. "You two have rendered great service in stopping the Oasis Group this time."

"I already know about the property damage claims. I'll send someone to contact them. You don't need to worry about it."

"As for the dispute between you two and the Oasis Group, in addition to unfreezing the funds in your accounts, the Oasis Group originally agreed to pay you four million per month for the next nine months until the college entrance examination."

"That is a total of... thirty-six million in remuneration for each of you. I will also help you recover it. It should hit your accounts within a week at most."

Hearing Deng Bingding's words, both Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen felt their spirits lift, their hearts leaping with joy.

Seeing their delighted expressions, Deng Bingding thought to herself, After this operation is concluded, I should be due for a promotion.

An area under the jurisdiction of the University of All Laws has already been arranged for me.

These two will likely enter the University of All Laws in the future as well, and we might run into each other then.

These two, especially this Zhang Yu, definitely have a powerful background. It's the perfect time to use a fraction of the resources to curry favor with them before I leave.

With just a glance at Zhang Yu's meteoric rise, Deng Bingding could sense that there must be a high-ranking entity backing him.

First there was the patronage of Zhang Pianpian, followed by a startling rate of progress all the way from the competitions to Foundation Establishment.

If that weren't enough, before the battle with Wang Yin, the higher-ups had even provided the Flood Dragon Spiritual Pivot and the Nine Heavens Cloud Void Energy.

Particularly that Nine Heavens Cloud Void Energy—it was a former military-grade cultivation method, and it shared the exact same lineage as the Boundless Cloud Hand Zhang Yu had learned. Finally, there was the guidance of Perfected Spark...

Everything is too much of a coincidence. They aren't even trying to hide it.

But that's fine. Building a good relationship with them should prove helpful to my work after my promotion.

Having made various calculations and weigh-ins in a flash, Deng Bingding looked at the joyous duo and spoke again, "The rewards for the previous operation have already been distributed."

Zhang Yu nodded slightly, knowing she referred to the interest-free loan and the three Foundation Establishment stage cultivation methods.

Deng Bingding continued, "However, because the Oasis Group's illicit operations caused huge losses to you two, we have decided to make the Oasis Group compensate you."

Zhang Yu's heart stirred, realizing she was using this as an excuse to give them an extra reward.

Bai Zhenzhen's eyes brightened as well, already unable to keep herself from guessing how much the compensation would be.

Deng Bingding, however, shifted the topic to something else. "You may already know that the universities use spirit coins. Almost no one on the second tier accepts the currency of the first tier."

"And if you wish to exchange it, the upper limit for a single person traveling to the second tier is only five spirit coins. According to the current exchange rate, that's roughly 50.3918 million in first-tier currency."

"So my advice to you is... keeping first-tier currency is useless. Over the coming days, spend as much of it as possible to exchange for various materials that will be useful to you."

"The compensation from the Oasis Group is the same. I suggest you select some unique materials from within the Oasis Group rather than taking money."

"For example, some cutting-edge products from the Oasis Group's laboratories, or some spare prosthetic remains left behind by Wang Yin..."

Hearing this, Zhang Yu could not help but feel enticed, asking, "Wang Yin left behind spare prosthetic remains?"

Deng Bingding smiled faintly. With a thought, divine power swept through the air, and a screen of light appeared before Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen.

"These are three pieces of prosthetic remains that Wang Yin didn't have time to take away. You two can pick one each as compensation from the Oasis Group."

"Oh, right," Deng Bingding reminded them. "The Flood Dragon Spiritual Pivot and the Soul-Wounding Brick belong to the Ministry of Deities' stores. Now that the operation is over, you'll still need to return them in a little while."

Zhang Yu sighed helplessly, thinking it a pity, before focusing his attention on the light screen before him.

He discovered that the prosthetic remains left by Wang Yin were a pair of ocular prosthetics, a set of calf tendon prosthetics, and a cardiac prosthetic core.

Deng Bingding introduced them, "All three sets are top-tier corporate-grade prosthetic remains."

Zhang Yu nodded slightly. He knew that prosthetic remains were categorized into educational-grade, professional-grade, corporate-grade, and military-grade. Since he and Bai Zhenzhen did not have the clearance for military-grade, top-tier corporate-grade suited him best.

"The ocular prosthetic—the Time-Dilating Demon Pupil. It possesses powerful performance, allowing a seamless, lag-free connection to the spiritual realm, and can break down visual images into 128 frames for slow-motion playback."

"Wait," Zhang Yu asked curiously, "What do you mean by a seamless, lag-free connection to the spiritual realm? Is there such a thing as a lagging connection?"

Deng Bingding took it for granted. "Isn't lagging normal?"

"A mortal flesh-and-blood body experiences lag when encountering an incomprehensible problem or seeing an image it cannot discern clearly. That is a limitation of physical performance."

"Ocular prosthetics naturally have performance limits as well."

"Particularly in places where the spiritual realm is highly developed, a single fluctuation of the spiritual realm from an outgoing Nascent Soul expert—well, you haven't seen it, but you can think of it as a custom spiritual realm special effect used by the powerful."

"The special effects of a Nascent Soul Perfected Lord might cause low-performance ocular prosthetics to lag. Not only will you fail to see clearly, but there might even be latency and freezes, requiring a reboot to perceive things again..."

For heaven's sake... Zhang Yu cursed inwardly. Once you go up there, the poor can't even look at things smoothly? The special effects of the rich can make my eyes lag? I won't even be able to look directly at them?

Deng Bingding then introduced the other two sets of prosthetics. "The calf tendon prosthetic—the Formless Wind Demon. It allows for jet-propelled acceleration while generating optical afterimages..."

"The cardiac prosthetic—the Blood-Pump Core. It can serve as a second heart, enhancing blood supply to the entire body. Its internal Heart-Burning Mode can plunge the user into a boundary-breaking state..."

Just as Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen were completely enticed, wondering which set of prosthetics to choose, the voice of Perfected Spark echoed by their ears.

"My apologies, I am late."

With a mane of flaming long hair drifting slightly, Perfected Spark floated into the office.

He cast a brief glance at the three sets of prosthetics on the light screen, then transmitted his voice to Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, "Zhang Yu, you choose the Time-Dilating Demon Pupil."

"Bai Zhenzhen, you choose the Formless Wind Demon."

Bai Zhenzhen had long been fond of the Formless Wind Demon.

However, Zhang Yu had been hesitating between the Time-Rending Demon Eye and the Blood Pump Core. Upon hearing the whispered message from Master Xinghuo, he immediately turned a puzzled gaze toward him, as if awaiting an explanation.

Master Xinghuo patiently explained via mental transmission: "An ocular magical skeleton is essential for learning and cultivation in the upper realms. Without it, you'd be half-blind, unable to see the rankings and titles above others' heads, and even struggle to recognize people."

"The Time-Rending Demon Eye performs excellently, enough to serve you until your undergraduate graduation, and it will even allow you to gaze directly at Nascent Soul cultivators without issue."

"As for the Blood Pump Core, this magical skeleton requires at least 150 units of magical power to sustain, which would be too heavy a burden for you."

"Besides, there's another reason. I hope that after entering the university, aside from the ocular magical skeleton, you refrain from transplanting magical skeletons in other parts of your body for the time being."

While working overtime yesterday, Master Xinghuo had been browsing Zhang Yu's records, repeatedly reviewing his battles. With his extensive experience, he continuously pondered which path was truly suitable for him.

And now, he had reached a conclusion.

Master Xinghuo explained to Zhang Yu: "Zhang Yu, you are different from others. Your physique is exceptionally strong. It would be a great pity to simply replace it with mass-produced magical skeletons."

"First, go to the Civil Engineering Department to temper your body and earn cultivation resources."

"Then transfer to the Artifact Refining Department, gradually refining your tempered body into a magical skeleton, or even a magical artifact. This is the most powerful path for you."

"To follow this path, you must use as few magical skeletons as possible."

"Otherwise, for every additional part replaced with a magical skeleton, you'll have one more organ left behind."

"And these replaced organs won't be able to keep up with your body-refining progress."

"In the future, even if you transfer to the Artifact Refining Department, these replaced organs will hold little value."

(End of Chapter)