Chapter 148: New Financial Backer (Part 1/2) (1/2)

Chapter 148: New Financial Backer (Part 1/2)

Translator: Strivon

”My luck's decent.”

Luo Nan looked over the paper man a few times, then he flipped to the back of his notebook and wedged the paper man between a couple of blank pages.

Luo Nan had flipped past three similar cases in his notebook. With the addition of this one, there was now a total of four paper men hidden within the notebook. Some were a bit bigger. Some were a bit smaller. But they were all of the same material.

These paper men were made when Luo Nan's eye orifice overflowed. Luo Nan diverted the pressure to them to prevent an overload. Lightning had bombarded the heart lantern sixty times. Subtracting the first seven times when the lantern was extinguished, and considering the damage, Luo Nan had to divert the pressure a total of twenty-five times to restore basic equilibrium. However, only four paper men were completed successfully, leaving a success rate of only 16%. It was pitifully low.

Although the result was this bad, Luo Nan still had to record it.

Luo Nan opened his flexible e-ink screen and recorded the data. Basically, the paper men were Luo Nan's homework for the week; he was going to turn them in to Papercut later to look over. He felt that these paper men were rather different than the articles he created in the beginning.

At the very least, the way he 'cut' them out was quite cool.

Luo Nan put away his pen and blew away what ash remained sticking to his fingers. He blinked his eyes and felt that his eye sockets were a bit dry. He closed his eyes again to observe himself internally and saw that the luminescence of the heart lantern was rather weak. It was weaker than before it had received the strengthening from the external neuron.

Luo Nan wasn't surprised by this. He was still a novice when it came to activating his soul strength. He was far from being precise when applying it, and this time he had obviously pushed himself too hard and used too much of it. Luo Nan didn't rush to recover what he had lost, for doing so would require him to transport his soul strength from the 'My heart’s a prison' format. One mistake and the external neuron would come roaring. It truly wasn't worth it.

He allowed the vital energy of his body to naturally replenish and nourish. Although this took a long time, the process was stable and could be said to be flexible.

Sitting in front, Xie Junping was in full spirits since mentioning the Blood Peony, the matter with Gear. ”Tang Yi is such a powerful woman. Either we need an even more powerful person to subdue her, or we need to make sure that our meeting goes well…. Nanster, this is a good thing! We know she's a beauty based on her nickname. Today's the 25th. The price competition for Gear is the Monday after, the 30th. Time is of the essence and the mission is a tough one. We can't tarry any longer!”

Luo Nan kicked the seat in front of him to give Xie Junping a warning. Then he switched to a normal topic. ”Is there any information on the starting bids for the two sides?”

”Right now we don't have anything definite. Only rumors.”

Xie Junping shrugged. ”Sissy Du sure has it tough. By breaking the door as he storms from his figurative home, he's burned quite a few bridges in the small network he has in the Mystic Arts Research Society. He just mentioned a little something about the financial backer behind the Mystic Arts Research Society, implying that the financial backer wants to work with the Construction Society.”

”Working with them? That can't be.”

Luo Nan was rather surprised. Wasn't the Order of Justice the ones behind the Mystic Arts Research Society? The Rainbow Fund was behind the Construction Society, which was the same as Quantum Corporation. What did it mean for these two organizations to work together?

”Don't things change quickly in capitalism? In any case, I heard the main thing is that there is a different main financial backer for the Mystic Arts Research Society in this bidding war. Before, it was a religious organization. Now, it's a research fund. It's quite famous. I mean, it's famous in our circle. The LCRF….”

”The Life Cycle Research Fund?”

”Oh, you've heard of them before?” Xie Junping was quite surprised. He turned to look at Luo Nan. ”I thought you don't pay attention to such things.”

”I heard of them recently. Two days ago.”

Most of Luo Nan's energy was focused on the heart lantern of the eyes orifice these past ten days. However, Luo Nan still continued with the training courses that the Society had arranged for him. A few of the courses were put on the back burner due to his interference ability issue, except for the practical courses from Crag Burst and Red Fox. He was mostly involved in the Soul Strength Activation Techniques course, and he persisted in learning its theories. Once in a while he would perform experiments and make adjustments. If he didn't do all of this, the small paper men in his notebook would have never existed.

Luo Nan reacted with lightning speed when Xie Junping talked about the Life Cycle Research Fund. This was because He Yueyin's ”Ins and Outs of the Psychic Wave Network's World Order” and Bamboo Pole's ”Notes on the Major Characters of the World” both mentioned this institution.

On the surface, this organization was established by several of the top rich. The main investment direction was the classic direction for extending human life expectancy. This was the most important investment fund in the field of biology, and they were major investors of several important biological laboratories.

But there should be inseparably close relationships between the fund, the government, and the military. It was practically an open secret. The fund also should be working with the various powers of the inner world. Many important projects were there, and that included the Frost River Waterway Luo Nan was ever so familiar with.

It was quite strange!

Luo Nan leaned back against his seat and stared blankly at the sky. ”The Life Fund, Quantum Corporation, and the Order from before…. They're all interested in Gear. Why?”

He spoke aloud to himself and wasn't expecting an answer, so he never thought Xie Junping would catch up to his train of thought in an instant. ”Sissy Du said that the structure of Gear is very suitable for performing mystical rituals. The Order Club that used to own Gear is also known as the Ritual Club. The fraternities and sororities of Acumen College often come here to hold ceremonies and rituals. They even do drugs, party, and the like. It's said that the effects there are stronger than doing these things on the outside….”

Xie Junping just spoke without thinking, but when he turned around to look at Luo Nan, he saw that Luo Nan was frowning. Xie Junping instantly shut up, but he couldn't hold it in for too long.

”Even I feel a certain something while I’m there. I feel especially comfortable over there. I think faster, and I become keener and more alert. Plus, sometimes I don't need to open my eyes, and I can see stuff…. I can see things completely! Nanster, what do you think? Am I unlocking some supernatural powers?”

Luo Nan was dumbfounded and speechless. He didn't know what to say.