CHAPTER 378: CHAPTER 229: PROMISES OF GUS LAND_2

However, what Shen Shi described as simple, everyone knew, ultimately meant handing the decision-making power into someone else’s hands. If someone truly did not regard your demonstrated strength, there would be no place to reason this out. Yet, Shen Shi’s current display of confidence could only indicate one thing—he had concrete intelligence and information.

"Councillor Shen is really unfathomable."

"I suddenly feel that Gus Land might not be that terrifying."

"In any case, we have to be cautious. Leave the decision-making to Councillor Shen and, at the very least, do not interfere recklessly."

"That’s right, Councillor Shen surely possesses information we do not know."

"..."

Many high-level officials whispered privately, further solidifying Shen Shi’s orders. To some extent, the entire Grotto Heaven was already a bona fide Divine Dao Civilization.

Everything was centered around "God."

In short, the Grotto Heaven kept a distant and yet subtly close relationship with Gus Land.

Of course, during this period, other activities were not neglected.

The captured pillagers were detained on the Grotto Heaven, with special personnel conducting interrogations to uncover detailed information about Gus Land. Although the results of the interrogations yielded no surprises, mostly information Shen Shi already knew, it was a means of conveying an attitude. Shen Shi discovered some special devices in the consciousness of some pillagers, resembling the "Willow Leaf" he dispatched in the Cosmic World before. It suggested that someone in Gus Land must be watching these people’s outcomes.

This also conveyed the Grotto Heaven’s vigilance towards Gus Land.

As for the Anan people.

Shen Shi also took some time to connect with the Anan people’s collective mind. After demonstrating a certain degree of strength and sharing some of the dangers within Gus Land, the Anan people were more determined to stand with Human Civilization.

However, Shen Shi clearly understood that the Anan people could not be trusted.

This race, to some extent, had detached from personal emotions.

Moreover, unlike the Cosmic People, they lacked a controllable leader.

A mere collective mind could not be imprinted with a Primordial Energy Steel Seal.

Once a greater interest appeared, the Anan people’s betrayal could happen in an instant.

No matter, though.

Shen Shi planned to gradually strip away their various devices, including warships, transitioning their entire civilization into technical workers. They would support Human Civilization in ascending the technological tree and developing heavy industries. Simply put, he would directly remove their armed forces and control their minds.

This required time but was not difficult to achieve.

Finally, when Gus Land’s next jump was about to occur, their connection finally arrived.

It was not through Primordial Energy Communication, nor through informational invasion technology, nor by dispatching a delegation.

Instead, at a particular moment, the leader of the pillagers, the Master of Primordial Energy known as Shu Realm, escaped from prison by an unknown means.

In that instant, Shen Shi understood that Shu Realm was no longer Shu Realm.

His consciousness harbored an avatar of Gus People’s consciousness, and this avatar could even receive information from the main body?

It’s worth noting that, in Shen Shi’s understanding so far, information transmission for a consciousness avatar was one-time and unidirectional. Only when the main body retrieved an avatar could it gain information from it.

This alone somewhat shattered Shen Shi’s understanding.

Gus Land, it truly lived up to its name!

Clearly, this was some kind of subtle demonstration, a trifling, casual demonstration of power!

"I represent the Gus Civilization, inviting all of you to Gus Land." The Gus person who occupied Shu Realm’s body was extremely courteous. After escaping from prison, he directly spread his consciousness throughout the world, "As compensation and remuneration, you will have permanent residence in Gus Land and can hold a marketplace in the land of five levels. The Celestial Emperor Your Excellency will have Level 5 Authority. If you are willing to trade that relic, Gus Land is willing to buy it back at five times the price..."

Just those words made Shen Shi’s eyes narrow slightly.

Level 5 Authority! Trading market!

What concept was this?

The Collector on Line Two of the future path had Level 5 Authority, yet did not have a trading market of his own!

As previously mentioned, the core of Gus Land lay in trading. There were explicit, strict rules within Gus Land that attracted outsiders, naturally trading authority.

There were a total of eight levels.

Although Gus Land did not have the term "B-level" within the Mude System, reaching Level 4 allowed for trading in some initial B-level fields’ technologies and devices. At Level 5, one could trade in technologies and devices around B3 and B4, similar to the Collector on Line Two.

As for the trading market, it represented settling in Gus Land and having one’s own influence.

As stated before, for most outsiders coming to Gus Land, they simply traded everything they brought in one go and had to leave. Whether they could find Gus Land again depended on luck.

Unless they were like the Collector on Line One of the future path, leveraging the convenience of the Black Market Trading Terminal to cautiously and persistently trade there.

However, having one’s own trading market was entirely different.

This meant that even if one’s trading goods were exhausted, there would still be a fixed income, truly establishing a permanent residency in Gus Land.

According to the Collector, a Level 5 trading market could regularly know Gus Land’s navigation trajectory and actively attract some outsiders for trading.

In Gus Land, this already counted as a minor boss.

This was a blatant temptation!

Even if Shen Shi initially did not understand the significance of authority and trading areas, after holding and interrogating Shu Realm and others for such a long time, he should have grasped this information and thus clearly understood the immense benefits inherent in Gus Land’s promise.

It’s important to note that even the Collector on Line Two obtained such a status after being in Gus Land for eight hundred years, yet Shen Shi had it just upon entry!

And this had never appeared in previous future paths.

Indeed, the benefits brought by opportunities always exceeded those gained by taking one step at a time.

So, the first boundary line of the future path had arrived!

"I accept." Shen Shi’s consciousness surged abundantly, filled with immense majesty and requiring hardly any hesitation. This enormous confidence was precisely a trait of the Divine Dao Civilization.

"Gus Land welcomes your arrival." After uttering these final words, Shu Realm’s body abruptly began to dissolve inch by inch.

Thus, under everyone’s eyes, it turned into the void and completely disappeared.

In fact, when Shu Realm first emerged, Shen Shi noticed that his body was already gone. This seemed to be a realm of virtual-real transformation through Primordial Energy and was the reason Shu Realm could escape from Gus Land.

It was uncertain whether Shu Realm vanished entirely or could be reborn in Gus Land.

If it was the latter, then such a technology was indeed bewildering, but if it were the former, it was just so. Even the Future World on Line Two would only need another thousand years or so of normal development to possibly achieve this.

Shen Shi said nothing more.

"Set off."

After calmly ordering, he once again observed the development of the Future World.

As expected, fate had not changed, and the crisis had not been averted.

However, the more it was so, the stronger this time the binding world’s power.

When the crisis was resolved, the accumulated changes would erupt in an instant.