Chapter Forty-Eight: Influence, Mu Siyu's Schemes (Part Two)

Listening to Mu Siyu say that he already had a perfect method to expand his influence, Wood was stunned. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t think of any way to quietly establish his power on Earth.

“That Uncle Li who invited you to the ancient tomb, and others like Xiu Yuan—aren’t they all seeking the path of immortality? You could take them as disciples and use their connections to expand your own influence. In fact... they might even willingly hand over their own forces for you to use.”

Wood’s eyes brightened at her words. Yes! Uncle Li wanted to meet his master from another dimension, while Xiu Yuan wanted to become his disciple. Their purpose was the same: they believed Wood belonged to some lofty master with immortal techniques and hoped to gain those legendary powers by befriending him. Among them, Uncle Li probably only wanted longevity, while Xiu Yuan sought greater cultivation. For Wood, these were not difficult requests; as long as he taught them some elementary cultivation techniques, they would benefit for a lifetime.

“Worship and gratitude are among the most sincere human emotions, Brother Wood. Next time you meet them, just hint that you know some immortal techniques and teach them a little. They’ll be so grateful and devoted to you that words can’t describe it.” Wood nodded repeatedly; it seemed that not outright rejecting Uncle Li at the time was indeed the right move.

Mu Siyu continued, “Of course, human nature is easily corrupted. Brother Wood, you should find a way to control them, just as you control us, so they never dare to betray you!”

Her suggestion nearly floored Wood. He couldn’t help but say, “Siyu, it seems you’re not entirely content with our soul contract!”

Mu Siyu stuck out her tongue playfully. “How could I dare? I’m just helping you with ideas—all for your sake!” Wood looked at her seriously and said, “Honestly, I feel a bit lucky now. Having you by my side is the right decision; you’re so clever, and a little cunning too, coming up with ways to control others. You’re right: Uncle Li is a seasoned veteran, skilled and shrewd—I probably can’t outmaneuver him. I really need a method to ensure he can’t betray me.”

Mu Siyu smiled, seeing that he listened to her advice. Being acknowledged by others is always a joyful thing. Deep down, she didn’t want to be merely a tool for Wood’s desires; she hoped to become his partner.

“Of course, we need our own loyal followers as well!” Mu Siyu subtly shifted the concept, binding herself to Wood by saying “we.” “Right now, only my sister, Qiao’er, and I have signed contracts with you—people we can trust. Looks like you’ll need to recruit more beauties in future dimensional missions!” she teased.

Wood ignored her playful jab and suddenly remembered something, clapping his hands. “It’s not hard to find trustworthy people who won’t betray us!” He opened the dimensional trading system and called out, “Little Dingdang, summon Baldy from the Biohazard dimension.”

“Wood, I was just about to look for you!” The trading system connected, and before Wood could say anything, Baldy shouted excitedly. “Lend me your Monster Refining Pot for a bit. Help me fuse these two bio-armor suits into one—I’ll pay for the reward points.” With that, Baldy transmitted two palm-sized armor suits made of unknown materials.

“These are biogenetic tech products, capable of covering the human body with armor and stimulating peak combat ability. One is a B-class bio-armor and the other is A-class.” Baldy explained, “The B-class is the best protection I could find, with auto-repair and endurance enhancement. But the A-class has stronger attack power. Last time, you mentioned the Monster Refining Pot’s function, and I hadn’t thought of using it to fuse my armor.”

“So small—how does it cover the whole body?” Wood found it incredible.

Baldy replied, “You don’t get it—each dimension has its own special features! I can’t fully explain the principles of this armor, but as long as we can use it, that’s enough. I still don’t understand how cultivators in the Immortal Cultivation dimension fly around on swords!”

Ever since Wood acquired the Monster Refining Pot, he had never used its fusion function. This feature allowed the fusion of two items with different properties, with a chance to create higher-grade or special items. It could refine medicines, equipment, and weapons, consuming reward points—the higher the item’s grade, the more points required.

Baldy’s bio-armors were perfect test subjects. Wood took out the Monster Refining Pot, silently recited the incantation, and the pot automatically opened, sucking in the two palm-sized armor suits.

A dark silver light emanated from the pot, followed by a string of words appearing on its surface:

"Analyzing item categories... frequencies..."

"Analysis complete: fusion possible."

"Requires 5000 reward points, deducting directly from the dimensional agent... insufficient points, fusion fails."

"Beginning fusion: Biogenetic tech products, searching for genetic flaws... Search complete, abundant imperfect genes, can fuse and complete..."

"Completion success rate: 90%. Confirm fusion?"

The pot displayed two shining words: “Yes” and “No.” Wood hurriedly pressed “Yes.”

"Biogenetic tech products... Imperfect genes fused, no rejection reaction..."

"Success: Bio-armor, usable for combat systems, with protective function, auto-endurance restoration for the user... Weapon data search... First stage of armored transformation allows use of bone blade, bone spike; second stage allows bone wings for flight. Auxiliary functions: enhancement, detection."

Wood didn’t know how strong the armor’s protection was, but its “auto-endurance restoration” was incredibly useful. This didn’t mean healing wounds, but in battle, it was invaluable. If two evenly matched opponents fought for half an hour, one remained energetic while the other was exhausted—the outcome was obvious.

Wood transmitted the fused bio-armor to Baldy, who immediately equipped it. The armor layered like fish scales, covering his sturdy body in an instant. The sharply contoured armor was etched with scale-like patterns and radiated a mysterious dark glow. His muscular left arm was encased in a thick steel gauntlet, with three metal pillars protruding in a “pin” formation. The right wrist bore a strange cylindrical device, from which a sharp, metallic bone spike extended, gleaming with a chilling light. His legs and back were protected by solid armor and bone wings—this look was simply too cool.

“Hahaha! The functions of both suits have merged. Wood, your Monster Refining Pot is amazing!” Baldy exclaimed excitedly. “If you need armor, I’ll find one for you!”

Honestly, if Wood didn’t already have the Yunlan Immortal Armor, he’d want a bio-armor himself. Hearing Baldy’s offer, he quickly replied, “I already have a cultivator’s immortal armor, but...” He pushed Mu Siyu forward. “She’s a friend I made during the hidden trial mission. She was infected with a virus but evolved after receiving my blood. Can you find armor for her?”

“Oh? What ability does she have?”

“Wind powers—she can control tornadoes over four meters high!” Wood replied quickly.

“Hmm, her evolution is still quite low.” Baldy transmitted two items.

“She doesn’t need the basic T-virus evolution serum. Here are G-virus and S-virus evolution serums. Inject the G-virus now, then the S-virus in a month. After that, I’ll find her a bio-armor with psychic enhancements, which should maximize her wind abilities.”

Wood was delighted and received the two vials. Seeing the red fluid inside, he asked in confusion, “Why is it red this time? I remember mine was blue.”

“Women’s is different from men’s!” Baldy said gruffly. “Apparently, researchers specially added a compound to the male evolution serum to enhance certain abilities, while the female serum has anti-aging and beauty effects, making the skin softer and more supple.”

... Wood was speechless. These researchers were remarkably attentive, considering even these details.

Afterwards, Wood asked Baldy about purchasing bio-warriors. Baldy immediately agreed and reminded him, “Wood, I’ve been meaning to tell you: you need to establish your own force in your dimension. Not to dominate, but to make resource acquisition easier—it’s also preparation for dimensional trading.”

He asked, “How many bio-warriors do you need? A thousand? Ten thousand?”

Wood was dizzy and replied quickly, “I’m not building an army! Why would I need so many? I couldn’t support them even if I wanted to! Besides, my dimension operates under a legal system. If I suddenly had a horde of fierce bio-warriors, it would surely attract attention—I’d be invited for coffee at the police station!”

Baldy laughed, “Oh, sorry, I’m used to big deals. Some agents from sci-fi dimensions buy tens of thousands of bio-warriors at a time, and lower-grade clones are bought in batches of a hundred thousand.”

Wood asked curiously, “Why do they need so many people?”

“What else? War!” Baldy replied. “Wherever there are people, there are conflicts of interest. Sci-fi wars are even more terrifying—a single spaceship needs at least a thousand crew, and a war can destroy countless ships. How could they not need manpower?”