Meanwhile...
Bai Ye had just left the Wish Mission area, dreaming of a bright future, and then...
Bai Ye was headshotted!
A crate suddenly fell from the sky, smashing Bai Ye to the ground.
"Damn it!"
Bai Ye cursed and looked up at the sky. It was indeed a package delivery from the Giant Mouth Gull Express.
Bai Ye opened the crate and found it was indeed Gene Cell Modification Fluid.
Bai Ye should have received this item earlier. When he accepted the Mechanical Reconstruction and Undying Flame, the Gene Cell Modification Fluid was the final payment.
Gao Ming should have already opened the restricted zone by now. However, the Giant Mouth Gull Express could not deliver items into the Wish Mission area, so he had to wait until Bai Ye came out.
Intermediate Gene Cell Modification Fluid (Item) (Black) x3: A gene serum that strengthens the body by altering gene sequencing. Upon consumption, all physical attributes will randomly increase by 10-50 points, with a 100% chance to unlock the first gene gate, a 70% chance to unlock the second gene gate, and a 35% chance to unlock the third gene gate. If the gene gate unlocking fails, a gene sequencing recombination side effect will occur.
Bai Ye had actually obtained Gene Cell Modification Fluid before, but it was the initial version, blue in quality, which could only unlock the first gene gate.
The intermediate version given by Gao Ming could unlock up to three gene gates, and the random attribute increase ranged from "5-30" to "10-50".
The rather tragic part was that the side effects still existed. Failure to unlock a gene gate would result in side effects.
However, Gao Ming also provided a bottle of Gene Modification Restoration Fluid, which could negate one side effect.
Strengthening the body was, of course, a dream-come-true way for anyone to increase their power.
But using it was somewhat painful. Last time, he had directly passed out by the roadside and was picked up by Mulan.
This time, Bai Ye had learned his lesson. He needed to find a neutral area to hide in before using it.
As Bai Ye was contemplating, the Den Den Mushi suddenly rang.
Bai Ye answered with a smile, "Gao Ming, are you very idle? Staring at me to see if I've returned and calling me every day?"
"No, I've been trying to call you for two or three days, but I couldn't get through," Gao Ming said with some anxiety in his voice. "Something's happened."
"Hmm?" Bai Ye frowned. "Is there a problem with the restricted zone intel I gave you?"
"No, there isn't, otherwise I wouldn't have sent the stuff," Gao Ming replied.
"Then why are you looking for me?" Bai Ye pouted. "I only provide intel. If you guys can't handle it, that's your own capability issue, it has nothing to do with me."
Bai Ye believed in "no responsibility after the sale." Besides, he was right.
Bai Ye sold information, and as long as the information was correct, it was fine. It was like buying adult films; even if you wanted a beautiful woman and they sent you a transvestite, you couldn't deny it was an adult film.
"Bai Ye, I'm not trying to blame anyone, and if it were just about not being able to handle the restricted zone, I wouldn't have the nerve to call you. The current situation is a bit complicated."
Bai Ye asked, confused, "How complicated?"
"We've had a collision," Gao Ming said.
"What do you mean?" Bai Ye asked.
"We've collided with people from the Hidden Dragon Society."
"Huh?" Bai Ye was stunned for a moment, then asked, "The Primal Domain?"
"No, the Primal Domain is going smoothly, we should be able to take it in about half a month. The virtual game restricted zone has had an incident, and the Hidden Dragon Society has also found that place and entered the virtual game. We've already had two conflicts, and we... we... haven't gained any advantage."
Gao Ming's thick skin still needed practice. He said this with a blush on his face.
Because it wasn't just "not gaining any advantage," they were utterly crushed by the Hidden Dragon Society.
Bai Ye was not an idiot, and he naturally understood the meaning behind these words, but he wasn't surprised.
The Evil Spirit Group was the type that accumulated strength over time. In his previous life, it took them almost two years from their inception to be on par with the Hidden Dragon Society, rising from the early to mid-late stages of the world battlefield before they had the qualifications to contend with the Hidden Dragon Society.
Moreover, at that time, there were a series of internal conflicts within the Hidden Dragon Society, which gave the Evil Spirit Group an opportunity.
With Bai Ye's intervention in this life, the Evil Spirit Group had less time for initial accumulation, and the number of members was increasing rapidly.
However, in terms of hard power, they were still no match for the Hidden Dragon Society.
Especially in terms of the number of experts, the two sides were not in the same league. To put it bluntly, there were only two types of people willing to join the Evil Spirit Group now.
The first type was those who were not strong enough and wanted to find a backing.
The second type was those who had been bullied by the Hidden Dragon Society and were attracted to the Evil Spirit Group's concept of banding together to resist the Hidden Dragon Society.
The commonality of these two types could be summarized as: weaklings!
The Evil Spirit Group was in a period of rapid development, and its main objective was to recruit more members, so it accepted everyone.
Therefore, although the Evil Spirit Group seemed to be flourishing recently, and its member count was even comparable to the Hidden Dragon Society, it was like two tall towers, both the same height, but one made of wood and the other of paper. Could their nature be the same?
Harvey Stanzen, as the leader of the Evil Spirit Group, did have some competence.
This kind of "castle in the air" performance did not deceive Stanzen, which was why the transaction for the Primal Domain occurred.
On one hand, it was the old rule: collect rewards from restricted zones and fragments of the God Stone from other chosen ones. But on the other hand, there was a hidden meaning: to discard the dross and keep the essence.
Cruel as it was, Stanzen knew that his foundation was not solid, and he was using this method to select elites. Otherwise, with the current overall strength, the Evil Spirit Group would not have the qualifications to meddle in the Primal Domain.
But even though Stanzen was moving in this direction, he was far from having the qualifications to confront the Hidden Dragon Society head-on.
Therefore, it was normal for the Evil Spirit Group to fight the Hidden Dragon Society and get beaten. It would be strange if they weren't beaten.
"This matter is very serious. We've already raised our flag and gained some reputation, but if we are defeated by the Hidden Dragon Society this time, it will be a huge blow," Gao Ming said.
"Although we've gained some initial fame, we don't have the capital to recruit top experts. After this battle, no more experts will be willing to join us. They will think we don't have the qualifications to compete with the Hidden Dragon Society."
"There's also a more important matter: our main forces are in the Primal Domain. Those sent to climb the tower in the virtual game are the elite members of our group. If they get trapped in the virtual game, it will undoubtedly be a severe blow to the Evil Spirit Group."
Gao Ming had actually wondered if Bai Ye was setting him up, crippling the Evil Spirit Group's experts, or if Bai Ye was actually a member of the Hidden Dragon Society.
But the leader, Stanzen, had not made any statement and had only instructed Gao Ming to seek help from Bai Ye.
The logic was simple.
If Bai Ye helped, it would mean Bai Ye was not a member of the Hidden Dragon Society, and future cooperation could be deeper.
If Bai Ye refused, then whether Bai Ye was a member of the Hidden Dragon Society or not would become irrelevant. The Evil Spirit Group would have suffered a severe blow, and it would undoubtedly take a long time to recover from this.