21st Century Necromancer
Chapter 850 - 844: Dazzling Starlight (Seeking basic monthly tickets at the beginning of the month, wow!)

Chen Yu did not answer the Russian Envoy's question.

It wasn't that the question couldn't be answered—it's just that Chen Yu didn't want people to know so soon about his ability to manipulate ordinary people's life force.

Indeed, as the Russian Envoy suspected, Chen Yu could easily extract a person's life and inject that life into another person's body.

For those aging aristocrats on the brink of death, this would undoubtedly feel like hearing the gospel of immortality.

Ask yourself: if it were possible to transfer life from one person to another indefinitely, wouldn't that mean people could live forever?

As for the source of life, this wouldn't be a problem for the aristocrats at all. Whether they bought the life of the poor with money or outright kidnapped people, they had countless ways to acquire what they deemed "cheap" life to extend their own "noble" existence.

To these self-proclaimed aristocrats, life is hierarchical. They, as members of the ruling class, were undoubtedly noble, while the poor were unmistakably lowly.

Lowly peasants neither contributed much to society nor advanced social development. To those truly contributing to society, these base and impoverished individuals were nothing but social burdens and toxins.

In contrast, the rich and powerful believed the value they created stood in stark opposition to that of the poor.

Rich people paid more taxes, created jobs for society, and supported a large number of impoverished individuals. In their view, their contributions to society far outweighed those of the poor.

Now, being able to use the seemingly worthless life of a poor person to extend the life of a wealthy individual who had made many contributions to society—and perhaps even played an essential role in societal progress—could there possibly be a more worthwhile transaction?

Maybe, for these poor souls, this was the most significant and meaningful contribution they could make in their lifetimes.

While the essence of the matter might indeed look this way, the value of life is not measured in such terms.

The significance of a human life, its weight or lack thereof, has nothing to do with how much wealth it generates or how much it contributes to society.

The nobility or baseness of a person's life is similarly not determined by their social status or financial standing.

In the eyes of a Necromancer, life is equal, without distinctions of high or low, noble or vile. In the end, all lives return to the Endless Styx.

If people knew he could extend lives, Chen Yu firmly believed those wealthy elites, desperate for more time, would do anything conceivable to persuade him.

He didn't even need to imagine—he already knew what disgraceful acts humanity would resort to in order to survive.

Therefore, he did not want to involve himself in such matters, nor did he wish to invite unnecessary trouble.

For now, people only knew he could draw out life. As for whether he could extend life, as long as he didn't say so, who could force him to reveal such a secret?

In this world, there wasn't anyone capable of compelling a Demigod to do something they didn't want to do.

As long as Chen Yu refused to acknowledge his ability to extend lives, others could only speculate, with no means to confirm it.

So when the Russian Envoy sought answers, Chen Yu offered none. Instead, he simply sent him and Belfast away from his office.

After the Russian Envoy left—neither disappointed nor relieved—Chen Yu glanced at the box on his desk, thought for a moment, and picked it up to knock on Jounouchi Hiromi's office door.

"Commander?" Opening the door was Kaga, who had been responsible for Jounouchi Hiromi's safety recently, along with Akagi. However, Akagi had been sent by Chen Yu to handle matters in Fukuoka, leaving only Kaga by Jounouchi Hiromi's side.

"Kaga, is Hiromi here?" Chen Yu greeted Kaga before walking into Jounouchi Hiromi's office with the box in hand.

At that moment, Jounouchi Hiromi was seated at her desk, working on some documents. Beside her, a pot of flower tea brewed by Kaga was emitting a faint, refreshing aroma.

When she noticed Chen Yu enter, Jounouchi Hiromi glanced up to greet him. Her gaze fell on the box in his hand, and she asked, "Husband, what brings you here? What's that you're holding?"

Chen Yu looked at Jounouchi Hiromi, placed the box on her desk, poured himself a cup of the flower tea, and said to her, "It's the gift the Russians promised earlier—the necklace once worn by Empress Catherine the Great.

I've inspected it. The Boiling Star Gem is embedded on it, but some parts are missing, so its full power can't be activated for now. The necklace itself isn't too complex in craftsmanship; I'll examine it later and should be able to restore the missing components."

"Really? Is this the so-called Demigod Artifact necklace you mentioned?" Jounouchi Hiromi perked up with obvious interest. For a woman, jewelry always had the irresistible power to capture attention.

Naturally, the box containing the three-tiered eggs made of rubies, sapphires, and enamel left Jounouchi Hiromi utterly enamored. The desire and joy sparkling in her eyes seemed almost ready to overflow.

But when Chen Yu opened the final tier of the egg and took out the lapis-colored necklace inside, Jounouchi Hiromi felt an indescribable disappointment.

The necklace, compared to the outer three-tiered egg, seemed somewhat unimpressive.

The lapis-colored metal wasn't unattractive, the method of concealing the necklace within the egg was ingenious, and the design of its pendant, imbued with the Boiling Star Gem, was certainly intricate and expertly crafted. Yet overall, it paled beside the stunning outer layers adorned with jewels and enamel—there was an undeniable discrepancy.

It was as though one were witnessing the famous story of buying a box instead of the pearl inside; the box was too beautiful, while the pearl didn't quite measure up.

Noticing Jounouchi Hiromi's mood shift, Chen Yu couldn't help but chuckle silently. He took the necklace and infused a hint of magic power into the Boiling Star Gem.

At that instant, the deep and starry gem illuminated, radiating a brilliance akin to a celestial body, as if a star had truly been embedded into the necklace.

The necklace itself, originally lapis-colored, transformed with the activation of the Boiling Star Gem. Starry light began to flow across the necklace, making it seem as though it were forged from starlight itself.

Chen Yu gently placed the necklace on Jounouchi Hiromi's neck and quietly said to her, "Its name is the Glorious Star Crown. It was a gift given to Empress Catherine the Great by her lover. But now, it belongs to you—the starry glow will henceforth adorn my wife's beauty alone."