I'm the boss because I have a harem of anime characters.

Page 9

Section 18: Target, Shanghai

(Second update is here! (~―▽―)~)

To increase the credibility of her words, Fairy Yunmeng used a lot of supernatural powers to illustrate her explanation of the abyss. This amazing method of operation was eye-catching. However, compared to the possibilities of the future, the information that Fairy Yunmeng revealed that "supernatural beings have a lifespan of more than two hundred years" caught the attention of the first three rows.

Which ruler doesn't wish for a longer lifespan? If not, then a better quality of life is also desirable. Even if one can't borrow another five hundred years from heaven, living a young and strong life to a hundred years old would be excellent.

Putting everything else aside, if people didn't age, wouldn't that save on pensions?

Cough cough cough, these are all trivial matters. What the top three rows are really concerned about is how to obtain and regulate superhuman power. After all, if they are not careful, these bombs that could run out and explode at any time could cause dangerous consequences.

This is tantamount to everyone having a gun in disguise.

"Excuse me, was that live-streaming room, which was always broadcasting, your operation?"

An information platform that is completely outside the scope of government regulation, accessible to everyone, capable of exposing hot topics at any time, and which the government is powerless to control, is a nightmare for any country, especially for governments that are trying to cover things up.

If the general public knew too many things, how would we make big money?

Making big money here doesn't just refer to monetary gains, but also to various tangible benefits. For example, under normal circumstances, the state should learn about superhumans and their powers before the public does, and then grasp and control them. From any perspective, this is the best outcome. As for believing in and mobilizing the power of the people...

My friend, that comes at a price. Back then, the carts used to aid the front lines weren't free either. There had to be both material and moral rewards. That meant the higher-ups earned less. Although personal interests aren't the most important thing once you reach the top, you can't ignore the needs and power struggles of other factions.

Throughout history, there has only been one person who has been able to truly mobilize the power of the people with the power of the state and get them to risk their lives in a conscious state.

So sometimes it's not that they don't want more sophisticated operations, but rather that they prefer something more cost-effective, with lower short-term costs and more controllable risks. Most importantly, they simply don't have the ability or the courage to do so.

When will another person like that emerge?

My dear, when the crisis of extinction descends and the world's population shrinks to only a few hundred million, heroes who are willing to sacrifice their lives are everywhere. Qin Shan himself is no exception; he is the essence condensed from the sacrifice of 7.6 billion people.

Think about how the martyrs came to power, and how the promotion channels of modern bureaucrats are constructed. After comparing them, you will understand why each generation is worse than the last in terms of ideological awareness.

Sure enough, people are forced to do things.

Since we have to face the historical cycle no matter what, let's accelerate it within a controllable range.

"Live stream?" Fairy Yunmeng's expression was clearly puzzled, but after a brief moment of thought, she still gave her answer: "I think it should be the recorder."

"The recorder?"

Very well, another new civilization, huh? When did our Earth become so lively?

"They are a kind of, well, a very special kind of intelligent life form evolved from space creatures. We don't know much about them. We only know that they like to collect and record things and rarely come into contact with other civilizations. Of course, we can still make contact with them occasionally, but as of now, we know very little about them. After all, we had the same situation back then, and we were just as helpless."

The first three rows looked at each other, not entirely believing Fairy Yunmeng's words, but they believed them to a large extent.

Not fully believing is a basic understanding for every politician, especially when information channels are relatively limited, but on the surface, they must appear to believe it completely so that communication between the two sides can continue.

The person recording the live stream was obviously fake, made up by Qin Shan. Anyway, the information was scarce and they didn't know much about it, so let the big shots and their expert teams fill in the blanks themselves. As long as they couldn't grasp the essence of it, they could only choose to believe in this unsolvable problem, since they really had no other choice.

After confirming that Fairy Yunmeng could not provide any more information about the recorder, the Chinese side had no choice but to accept the reality of having a proton monitoring them, and the focus of their discussions shifted to cooperation.

Meat and vegetables have arrived, which is what Qinshan is most concerned about.

"Your world has no understanding of supernatural powers. Although you may have had contact with the Abyss in ancient times, the gap in time was too long, and the relevant knowledge has been completely lost. In order to avoid similar tragedies, Shenzhou is willing to listen to some of the most basic help, such as helping you cultivate superhumans."

These words were exhilarating; it was great news!

If humanity had its own superhumans, what would it have to fear from those mysterious and enigmatic issues?

But then Fairy Yunmeng poured a bucket of cold water on him.

"Given the current state of your world, the awakening of extraordinary abilities is still random and uncontrollable. Therefore, we need to collect individuals nationwide who may have awakened extraordinary powers. We will provide the necessary equipment later, so please be prepared."

.

"No problem. We assure you that all related work will proceed smoothly. China will always be grateful for the help and support from China and will remember this friendship. We wish you a successful cooperation."

"Well, the cooperation went smoothly."

Subsequently, the Russian delegation arrived, and Fairy Yunmeng met with Pugou. The talks between the two sides turned into a trilateral meeting. The content was slightly different from before, but overall there was no major change. In this way, the cooperation channel between China and the two permanent members of the UN Security Council was officially established.

"The plan is going smoothly, so the next step is the Abyss Gate incident in Shanghai."

In Qin Shan's memory, in August 2024, a gate to the abyss appeared in Shanghai, marking the first time such an event had occurred in human history.

However, please note that this is only the official record. In reality, during this period, there were many Abyss Gate events worldwide, and even Xiao Zhai and Xiao Luo sensed the appearance of Abyss Gates.

The reason they didn't intervene was because these abyssal gates have extremely short lifespans. Some disappear in a second or two, some collapse as soon as they take shape, and none of them have been formed and maintained for more than an hour.

A gate to the abyss that is not even stable in its basic form is not worth passing through. This gate to the abyss in Shanghai has existed for more than 15 days, but it was not until the 14th day, when a monster emerged from it, that people realized there was a big problem. Although the monster was very large, with the size of a Tyrannosaurus Rex, it was nothing in the face of modern firepower. In addition, its body shape was obviously more suitable for the ocean, which meant that it was slow in its movement on land. It was killed by the People's Liberation Army soldiers who rushed over in no time.

I'm sure the clever readers have already figured it out. That's right, during the later battle to defend Shanghai, the extraordinary individuals who invaded from the sea were descendants of this monster.

Fourteen days before the Abyss Gate appeared in Shanghai, it wasn't that no creatures emerged; rather, they had already emerged long ago. However, for various reasons, they went to sea from Shanghai and began their stealthy development. The monsters that appeared later were there to find their child.

The extraordinary sea beast that managed to escape and successfully develop advanced to the sixth rank at an incredible speed in an era before the seventh rank appeared. It then integrated with other extraordinary sea beasts in the deep sea that were weaker than it, and finally launched a revenge war at the right time.

Extraordinary individuals possess self-awareness and intelligence. Don't think of them as beasts. In terms of intelligence, among extraordinary individuals in the animal and plant worlds, some are Einsteins. Putting aside everything else, just the brain control ability of having a photographic memory while simultaneously being able to randomly delete one's own memories is enough to make 99.9999999% of the world's population envious to the point of being twisted and divinely prepared after plasmolysis (a smile from the ruined library).

"Let's go, next stop, Shanghai."

Section 19: Your Abyss Gate, Please Check It

(Third update delivered, please give me some votes and coins, please consider how hard I've worked (*cwt))

As a mega-city on the coast, Shanghai's biggest problem is its excessive urbanization.

This is no joke. Any major city will have a significant siphon effect on the surrounding areas, especially the more international the metropolis. The only ones who can truly enjoy this benefit are the locals who have settled in Shanghai, provided that your house was not bought with a loan. Otherwise, well, you know how housing prices are in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.

There's nothing you can do about it; resources are distributed unevenly across different regions. Just like you can't make a Beijing resident understand why so many people across the country are complaining about educational inequality, you also can't make a true Shanghainese understand why housing prices can't rise any further.

This is what vested interests are like.

"Devil's City..."

Standing in the Dongtan Wetland Park on Chongming Island, Qin Shan was filled with emotion.

For locals and tourists alike, this is a great place to take photos, but for Qinshan, it also has another name—Chongming Island First Defense Zone.

When the Deep Sea Extraordinaries invaded back then, they first landed here and were then driven back.

But this was just a feint attack. What followed was a continuous, full-scale invasion. Shanghai's geographical location meant that it was impossible to withstand an attack from the sea. The most efficient strategy was to relocate the population and abandon the area, turning the densely packed city buildings into a steel jungle to fight off the enemy.

To put it bluntly, it means turning the entire city of Shanghai into a strategic buffer zone.

Chongqing did a very good job in this regard. Although they suffered a greater blow than Shanghai, they managed to emerge from the most chaotic and dark five years. Unfortunately, they collapsed in the sixth year, but that was because some people were inhumane and transferred vital armed forces to places they shouldn't have been at a critical moment.

Shanghai, oh Shanghai, every place deeply intertwined with capital amplifies selfishness to the extreme.

Speaking of which, where was Wang Kangnian, the man who sold counterfeit medicine, from? And what became of him?

Perhaps sensing something from the ship girl's heart, Saratoga hugged Qin Shan from behind, silently comforting him.

Qin Shan patted Saratoga's hand and said softly, "I'm fine, I just feel that some people die too young."

"Well then, this time, the Admiral will have no regrets. Everyone and I will help the Admiral!"

"thank you all."

"And...and us."

"Yeah, Admiral, I want a hug too."

Xiao Zhai and Xiao Luo, who were always there, each hugged Qin Shan, making them look like a family of four.

Returning to this place, the wetland park is truly beautiful. I hope it will never become a battlefield.

"Let's go find the Gate to the Abyss."

At this moment, in an abandoned public toilet in Binhai Town, a gate to the abyss is slowly forming and gradually becoming stable.

This scene made Qin Shan, who was secretly observing, sigh. No wonder no one noticed the anomaly here in his previous life. In a place like this, there were hardly any human beings around, and it was also covered by a large area of ​​artificial vegetation. In the era when humans had not yet mastered supernatural powers, it was practically impossible to find this Abyss Gate.

Soon, the gate to the abyss stabilized, and then a small head peeked out from inside.

It's a little guy that looks like a seal, but don't let his cute appearance fool you. Once he becomes a superhuman, he'll be as big as a 10,000-ton ship and can even fire light cannons. The attack that swept through the entire Pudong defense line back then was the result of this little guy's personal involvement.

However, even big shots have a childhood. The future big shot doesn't know that he is about to be defeated by a lower dimension.

*Pfft*, Qin Shan swiftly brought down his knife; it was incredibly cute.

The Shanghai behemoth has died, leaving behind a record of 152 characters.

"This is a monster that once stirred up huge waves."

Holding the little guy's head, which was still wide open in his hand, Qin Shan's expression was somewhat complicated.

However, this did not stop him from collecting the spoils.

The undead legion he summoned in the Holy City brought him over 400,000 cubic centimeters of blood crystals. Now, in the early stages of his business, every cubic centimeter of blood crystal is precious and cannot be wasted. Besides, this little guy is a superhuman, and superhumans have even more blood crystals.

The cubic centimeter here refers to the unit of blood crystal. Blood crystals have volume, but their mass is negligible and can be almost ignored. They are the purest form of energy known to humankind (except for compressed blood crystals).

The standard of one cubic centimeter refers to the standard of blood crystals that an ordinary adult male on Earth can extract. It is basically one cubic centimeter. In fact, the reason why many extraordinary skills require a large number of people for blood sacrifice is to extract a large number of blood crystals through blood sacrifice, and then use the blood crystals to summon beings of the corresponding level.

You can use other plants and animals as substitutes, as blood crystals are energy formed by the condensation of a certain life force. They exist in all living organisms, but the total amount is quite exaggerated. According to the research of the previous generation of humans, the blood crystal content of intelligent life forms is greater than that of animals and plants.

Humans are measured in cubic centimeters. Even for animals, such as blue whales, the volume is less than 0.5 cubic centimeters. Plants are even smaller, and some are undetectable by equipment.

Those who hope to sacrifice a forest, include everything within it, and then summon Cthulhu can finally go to sleep.

Therefore, it can be seen that the awakening of spiritual intelligence is an important factor affecting the formation of blood crystals, followed by the stage of transcendent awakening.

Don't forget that every extraordinary person is an individual with a brain intelligence level far exceeding that of ordinary people.

So how many blood crystals can a superhuman condense?

Basically, those at the same rank are all pretty much the same, and it has nothing to do with race. For example, a first-rank Shanghai behemoth can extract one cubic decimeter of blood crystal, which is a thousand times the difference, and also the distance between a superhuman and an ordinary person.

This is why Qin Shan pursues the transcendence of all people, because in the world of the extraordinary, ordinary people can easily not survive on a physical level.

To put it bluntly, when superhumans and ordinary people have sex, they are both likely to be physically blown up.

After quickly resolving the crisis, Qin Shan decided to go to the other side of the Abyss Gate. This temporary Abyss Gate could exist for fifteen days, and the world on the other side was not lacking in extraordinary individuals. High-quality blood crystals would come rolling in.

But just as Qin Shan reached out towards the Abyss Gate, the system suddenly popped up.

"Coordinates of another world detected. Dimensional gate locked. Congratulations, Admiral, you have obtained an Abyss Gate."

Under Qin Shan's dumbfounded gaze, the Abyss Gate was absorbed by the system and instantly transformed into a permanent portal to another world that he could open and close at any time.

What the hell!?

Chapter 20: The Gates of the Abyss, Activated!

(Fourth update, good job, right? (~―▽―)~, where are your votes and coins? (*cwt))

Qin Shan originally thought that his system's main contribution was to his ship girls, but now it seems that things are more complicated than he imagined, or rather, there are still many surprises waiting for him to discover in the system's functions.

The feeling of gradually transforming from a loli into a mature woman is truly irresistible.

Everyone enjoys opening blind boxes, and Qin Shan is no exception.

Don't laugh. Think about whether you play gacha games yourself. Do you get your items from the pity system or do you get them in a double 10-pull? (picking nose)

"Admiral, what's wrong?" Saratoga asked as he walked over.

"We've made a fortune, in every sense of the word."

Qin Shan was very agitated, but he controlled his facial expressions very well, only giving a faint smile.

Afterwards, the group quickly returned home, where the other ship girls were also waiting after completing their mission.

"In any case, we can now travel to other worlds."

Qin Shan briefly explained the new features provided by the system and the actions to be taken next.

If the system previously gave Qin Shan the ability to conduct strategic deterrence on Earth, then now the system has given him the ability to conduct strategic deterrence across the world, ensuring he always has an absolutely safe rear area.

After all, there are a lot of Abyss Gates. Although it is unknown how many Abyss Gates the system can absorb, one is still a profit, two is a huge profit, and more than three is a dimensional reduction attack.

This incredible hand made Qin Shan feel like he was floating on air. The collapse of his previous life and the perfect start in this life felt like a beautiful dream, making him a little worried that he might wake up from the dream.

"Admiral, we need to make the necessary preparations before heading to other worlds."

"Yes, of course. After all, we don't know much about the world over there."

Qin Shan agreed with Lexington's principle of caution and insisted on bringing everything he needed before setting off.

However, for the ship girls, the admiral's safety is the top priority, and nothing else matters. Rather than carrying enough supplies, they are more concerned about who will be Qin Shan's bodyguard, since he is only at the second tier.

"No rush, let me level up to tier three before we act."