The Abyssal Garden: No Room for the Idle
Chapter 454 - 286: The Sect Hierarch is Bluffing!_2

"Venerable Lord..." The middle-aged man seemed uncertain of the other party's thoughts and was just about to speak.

"Hush."

However, the Venerable extended a finger, with a weird smile on his face, "Don't speak, or I'll be tempted to turn you into one of them."

He gently moved his feet, walking toward his own palace.

"Come in with me."

"Right now... I need you to do something for me. Do it well, and I might let you have what you desire. But if you fail, then you'll become a part of my experiments."

Everyone shuddered, yet their fear was intermixed with excitement. As seekers of absolute benefit from the Free City, they were ready to do anything to gain Strength—even the unspeakable!

-----------------

At this moment.

Two days had passed in the Superpower World.

Since the exposure of the Superpower Association, it had sparked uncontrollable major commotion; the whole world was buzzing with attention and boiling with anticipation of the outcome of the conflict.

And after Organization X won.

Du En, as the Divine Son, promptly started a global press conference.

To publicly clarify the whole situation.

Of course.

The White-haired Priest and the minions of the Superpower Seven began to flee in panic and terror.

With the help of the old professor who had regained some of his strength, using his mind Spiritual Energy to search,

Organization X rapidly eradicated the remaining factions and various secret Darkness experiment sites across the globe.

And.

Most players had completed the main storyline and left the instance, transporting back to Paradise.

Because... If they lingered in this world after the main storyline ended, they would consume a certain amount of Pollution Value; although they could afford it, there was no need.

The only ones who remained,

Were Bai Yilin and the youth Jiang Zhi. They had already received Spirit Coins and other generous rewards from Organization X, and their combat power had increased significantly.

Yet they didn't leave the instance, instead, they were assisting Organization X... in mopping up the remaining factions, and incidentally, by outstandingly performing in battle, they were drawing closer to this world—building valuable connections.

What's more, Bai Yilin had received the first mission assigned by Su Qi.

That was...

To trick people into joining.

"Why... Brother Bai, would you join this broken sect of The Hustlers and even persuade me to do the same?"

Jiang Zhi was somewhat stunned.

Bai Yilin calmly said, "Aren't you just like me? Though not fallen, you dislike being constrained, used as a tool, not fitting in high or low, without clubs wanting you? Joining this club might just change that."

Jiang Zhi said, "That hurts a bit, I used to be almost at your peak level of genius, you know."

That was the truth; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to carry Su Qi in flight, controlling the burst of Spiritual Energy so precisely without exhausting his power.

"But joining The Hustlers Club..."

Jiang Zhi said doubtfully, "According to outside information, that Su Buxian seems to have no background, yet Brother Bai, you chose to join. Could it be that The Hustlers Sect... has a hidden strength, a massive organization?"

Bai Yilin: "..."

He wasn't good at lying, so his mouth moved but he didn't speak right away.

After all.

He himself had joined, half coerced and half bewildered. Moreover, the scale of The Hustlers Sect... seemed to be just three people at this point. Aside from the Sect Hierarch's startling strength, there appeared to be no extensive backing...

He could only maintain a poker face and force out, "Anyhow, the future is limitless."

Jiang Zhi looked at the serious Bai Yilin and felt a sense of mystery, "If it were anyone else inviting me, I would naturally be skeptical, but if it's Brother Bai... I think I might consider it."

Truthfully, he was quite tempted. Bai Yilin's fame before his fall was substantial, almost that of a top-tier coveted genius. If not for a series of coincidences in meeting each other, and Bai Yilin's fall, their paths would hardly have crossed.

He also knew that Bai Yilin had declined various invitations from major clubs, refusing to be swayed by mere material benefits.

For him to join such a club must mean it was not simple.

"However, I need to discuss this with our... alliance first."

"Alliance? You've joined a club?"

Jiang Zhi coughed, "No, it's a group called the Meteor Alliance, not technically a club. It's a consortium formed by us, a group of once fallen geniuses, the abandoned stepping stones, and various tools frustrated with their ambitions, after leaving their respective clubs."

"No tasks, no resources, no operations, yet very united and amiable."

And at this moment,

footsteps sounded outside, "Then you guys choosing the name 'Meteor' is really unlucky, fleeting like a meteor, huh?"

"Cut the crap, it's about being brilliant like a meteor!" Jiang Zhi retorted with a twitch of his mouth.

"Then might as well call it the Fireworks Wholesale Alliance."

"....." Jiang Zhi really wanted to chop someone.

"Cough cough."

Bai Yilin coughed to prevent his buddy from getting heated, and looked towards the door at Su Qi in a white lab coat.

"Brother Su, are you done with your work?"

Su Qi nodded, "Almost, that corpse was very valuable, we divided it into 12,455 specimens, and had a large number of ability users with different powers go through various tests very quickly."

"Oh, Du En and the old professor also helped out a bit, the former provided some divinity, and the latter, with his wealth of experience, spent half a day helping me set it up, searching for all materials."

Jiang Zhi's eyes widened,

"Damn... is this what favors are?"

Everyone actually went to such lengths for Su Qi, but upon deeper thought, it was normal, after all, Su Qi practically saved the world.

And now, Su Qi's "Super Dream Protocol" had already successfully solved the basic challenges, the development of the first generation Starfire Potion was about to be completed, and the first product would soon be developed.

Although it just increases the potential of ordinary people, it directly raises the average ceiling for the whole world.

At the same time,

a large amount of data from potions taken in bulk could also be collected to accelerate the development of further Starfire Potions.

Of course,

this is still the initial stage, the people in this world are not yet enough, if handed over to The Hustlers Chamber of Commerce, it would inevitably... experience a dramatic surge.

However, the problem lies in,

Su Buxian, as the president, is currently unable to contact The Hustlers Chamber of Commerce and doesn't know the current state of its development.

"Just now you mentioned you had another... Sunset Genius Team?"

Su Qi paused, looking at Jiang Zhi.

Jiang Zhi, "You're being too hurtful with your words! It's the Meteor Alliance!"

"It's not important."

"????"

"If you don't want to be eliminated by the times and wish to continue on this unwavering path of climbing." Su Qi said gently, "The Hustlers Sect may be able to offer..."

"That's not going to work."

Jiang Zhi interrupted him directly, shaking his head solemnly, "You actually want to recruit so many people, even those once shining geniuses, I can only say your appetite is too big, too greedy. The things you offer might be tempting, but in fact, they're not the most important to them."

"What they value isn't resources; it's the immense background. Many clubs have tried this before, and all have failed."

"Using someone else's club, you don't understand what we really want."

Jiang Zhi pursed his lips; his expression wasn't as relaxed as before but rather very serious.

"Getting all high and mighty now," Su Qi said with a light smile.

"You...." Jiang Zhi was somewhat annoyed.

"What you want." Su Qi interrupted him again, smiling lightly:

"... isn't it just the chance to shine brightly on the true grand stage like a meteor? Even if it's only for a fleeting moment, you still want to prove your worth."

"A truly exceptional pursuit, and indeed something other clubs struggle to offer."

"But no offense."

Su Qi laughed,

"The Hustlers Sect has no shortage of stages."

Not just many stages, but all big scenes.

"And also,"

Su Qi looked at Jiang Zhi, "What I mentioned The Hustlers Sect offers is not resources or benefits, but an opportunity."

"An opportunity for the many geniuses in your Meteor Alliance to audition to join The Hustlers."

Jiang Zhi, "????"