Upon hearing these words.
Everyone's eyes immediately lit up.
Chu Che, Sun Xixi, Ding Dong, Iron Lion, Xu Lina, and even Gong Yong.
The superhumans all understood clearly how massive an advantage it would be during future migrations if they could turn a vehicle into a Wonder.
If anyone was unclear about how much of an advantage a vehicle-type Wonder could bring.
All they had to do was look at Chen Ye's monster pickup truck.
Although Chen Ye's monster pickup still had plenty of shortcomings, it currently outperformed many Wonders in migration, combat, and material gathering.
Simply put, that thing was an all-rounder.
And as for Chen Ye...
His blood-red left eye had already begun emitting a greedy, crimson glint.
Chen Ye's mouth hung slightly open, his eyes completely fixed on that Wonder's Heart.
His ears couldn't even register what Hou Junji was saying anymore.
"A full-spectrum upgrade for mechanical-type Wonders. One time."
Good heavens.
If he used it on the monster pickup.
Keep in mind, once a Wonder's number dropped below one thousand, advancing even a single rank was already incredibly difficult.
And this wasn't just about moving up in number ranking.
It was a comprehensive upgrade!
A comprehensive upgrade!
The System could probably do it too.
But it would obviously cost a fortune.
Chen Ye slowly shuffled his feet.
Those beautiful young ladies in black stockings — Chen Ye didn't even spare them a second glance.
His eyes were filled entirely with the desire to possess what belonged to others.
"Ahem... sir... please, calm yourself!"
Hou Junji finally couldn't take it anymore.
Just how greedy was this one-eyed bastard?
Earlier, Hou Junji hadn't paid much attention to the desire in everyone's eyes.
But this guy looked like he was about to snatch the goods by force.
This was the first time Hou Junji felt genuinely worried.
"Yezi!"
Although Chu Che also wanted the items at this stall, he still had some reason left.
He slapped Chen Ye hard on the shoulder, jolting him back to reality.
Chen Ye snapped out of it and wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth.
There wasn't even a hint of embarrassment on his face.
"My bad. So, how much for that Wonder's Heart?"
Chen Ye was already calculating in his head — if the supplies he currently had were enough.
He wouldn't mind trading!
"Ahem... we'll discuss that later. Up ahead is your designated area!"
Hou Junji hurriedly led everyone away from the Silent Council's stall.
He was afraid that if they stayed any longer, that one-eyed bastard might actually try to rob him.
This was the first time he'd ever seen such intense possessiveness radiating from a person.
What kind of person was this?
Seriously...
Hou Junji complained inwardly.
"Elder Hou, why are you rushing off? I noticed quite a few other good things in your shop."
"Aren't you going to introduce them to us?"
Chen Ye was reluctant to leave.
There were plenty of other treasures in the display counters nearby.
Introduce them to you?
I'm afraid if I do, you'll just end up grabbing them by force!
Not that I'm scared of you, but if a fight broke out over it, it'd be a huge hassle.
The plan hasn't even started yet — if I cause this kind of trouble.
I probably won't be able to explain myself.
The base was enormous.
It stretched far along the coastline.
A transparent barrier arched overhead.
To the right was the ocean.
And to the left was where everyone had set up camp.
Hou Junji forcefully dragged Chen Ye and the others away from the Silent Council's official shop.
To be fair, Hou Junji was underestimating Chen Ye.
No matter how much Chen Ye wanted those things.
He wouldn't choose to act in broad daylight.
He'd already changed his ways.
Hou Junji pointed to the forest on the left as he explained.
The reason there were so many trees here.
Was because someone had deliberately planted them.
There was a Botanist Sequence user in the convoy.
This forest wasn't just a forest — it also served a certain protective function for the camp.
Not far away, Chen Ye saw members of the convoy occupying a section of the base, already bustling with activity.
Some were setting up tents.
Others were organizing the camp.
The monster pickup was also in the camp.
Chen Ye had specifically asked someone from the convoy to drive it over earlier.
Following Chen Ye's instructions, the monster pickup wouldn't blindly devour living people.
Of course, the unlucky guy assigned to drive the monster pickup was scared out of his wits.
But everything went smoothly in the end.
The two migration vehicles were also parked at the camp's perimeter, forming a simple barrier.
At least it stopped the wind from the sea from raging unchecked.
Ding Dong's panel van, as well as Squad Leader Chu's and the pink-haired girl's vehicles, were all parked in a row.
"Alright, everyone, this is where your convoy will set up camp!"
"If you need anything, feel free to find me or any of the Council's staff!"
The parrot on Hou Junji's shoulder said.
Sometimes, Chen Ye wondered if the parrot was actually speaking on its own, or if it was really being controlled by Hou Junji.
Xue Nan began directing everyone on other tasks.
Some people started pulling tents from the vehicles.
Others began lighting fires to cook.
The neighboring convoys, seeing newcomers arrive, cast curious glances but made no further moves.
"Elder Hou, what exactly is the Silent Gold Coin?"
Squad Leader Chu didn't bother with convoy matters and instead asked about this.
From the moment they entered the base, Hou Junji had been subtly mentioning "Silent Gold Coins" here and there.
Judging by the name, it was obviously a type of currency.
And one made of gold at that.
But in an apocalypse like this, if it was just a gold coin made of gold, it probably wouldn't be worth much.
Even trading one gold coin for a pound of food — no one would go for that.
Right now, food was the true hard currency.
Gold probably didn't even rank in the top ten.
Clearly, this coin must have some other value.
Besides, Hou Junji had said earlier that you could only buy things from the Silent Council's shop if you had Silent Gold Coins.
This coin must be pretty important.
Hou Junji smiled slightly.
Then he pulled a shiny gold coin from his pocket.
Under the sunlight, the coin reflected golden light, dazzling everyone's eyes.
Hou Junji handed the coin to Chu Che.
Chu Che took it and examined it carefully.
On the obverse was that same design again.
An old man with a deeply wrinkled face stared at Chu Che with murky eyes.
Those eyes seemed to hide many secrets.
This wrinkled old man looked as if he'd lived for centuries.
The folds on his face layered one over another.
An incredibly aged index finger was pressed to his lips, making a "silence" gesture.
It was as if he were telling you: Don't say anything. It's best to remain silent.
This design was somewhat unsettling.
Chu Che flipped the coin over. The back had the same pattern.
That old man's murky eyes, as if seeing through everything.
Chu Che passed the coin to Sun Xixi, who was standing beside him.
Sun Xixi examined the coin curiously.
She felt the same way.
She found the design uncomfortable no matter how she looked at it.
Especially the old man in the pattern — he looked like he'd lived for centuries, giving off the eerie vibe of a corpse crawling out of the grave.
She had no idea what the design meant.
Sun Xixi only glanced at it briefly before handing the coin to the next person.
"Everyone, the Silent Council is determined to restore order to the apocalypse and bring the world back to its proper state."
The parrot on Hou Junji's shoulder began speaking again.
"Restoring proper order requires restoring productivity and the economy as the first necessary step."
"That's why the Silent Council created these gold coins."
Sun Xixi spoke up: "Elder Hou, what does the design on the coin mean?"
Hou Junji smiled, and the bird on his shoulder spoke again: "Silence represents introspection. Rejecting distractions."
"The Silent Council wants to restore society to its original order."
"We don't need other voices — we only need to commit to one goal, unite, and repair this world."
"Make this world what it was always meant to be."
"That is the meaning of this design."
After hearing this, everyone nodded slightly.
Yes, the world had become like this.
Restoring the world to its original state was the most important thing.
This explanation fit the current state of the world quite well.
Everyone nodded again.
All of them seemed to have an "Oh, so that's it" expression.
This explanation seemed reasonable enough.
The coin finally ended up in Chen Ye's hands.
Chen Ye examined it closely. He didn't find the design particularly uncomfortable.
As long as it could be exchanged for other good stuff, it was a good treasure.
Hou Junji continued explaining: "This currency can be used within the base, and it can also assist in cultivation."
"Silent Gold Coins contain a certain amount of supernatural power. This supernatural power has some effect on the cultivation of many Sequences."
"After using up the supernatural power inside, you just need to wait a while, and the power will slowly replenish on its own."
"There's also a simple formation embedded in this Silent Gold Coin."
"If you all need any, feel free to exchange for some."
Only after this explanation did everyone understand.
So that was it. If it were just a regular gold coin.
Probably no one would bother exchanging.
But if it had an effect on cultivation, there would definitely be plenty of people willing to trade.
That was the real value of this currency.
It seemed the Silent Council had put in quite a bit of effort to promote their gold coins.
Of course, thinking of this thing as a cultivation artifact was clearly impossible.
The effect was probably quite limited.
Otherwise, Hou Junji wouldn't have casually handed out the coin like that.
Chen Ye lightly sensed the coin in his hand.
He found that the supernatural power inside wasn't much.
"Better than nothing" would be an appropriate description.
Xu Lina, Ding Dong, and Sun Xixi all looked over.
Even the simple-minded lug, Iron Lion, took notice.
Chen Ye handed the coin to them.
Each of them sensed it.
They all found that the supernatural power was indeed sparse.
Finally, the coin returned to Chen Ye's hand.
Chen Ye stuffed the coin into his pocket.
Clearly, he had no intention of returning it.
Hou Junji's eyelid twitched uncontrollably.
How could this guy be so shameless?
"Exchange?"
Chu Che diverted Elder Hou's attention.
"That's right. Ten pounds of food for one Silent Gold Coin. Everyone, are you willing?"
"Any kind of food will do — just ten pounds."
"Of course, if any of you have Ideal Grain Seeds, the Council is willing to buy them at a high price."
"The Silent Gold Coin isn't just currency — it also aids cultivation."
He mentioned the cultivation aid twice.
Clearly worried that Chen Ye and the others wouldn't understand the coin's purpose.
Chen Ye shook his head repeatedly: "How could we possibly have Ideal Grain Seeds?"
"And besides, what kind of gold coin costs ten pounds of food? Too expensive. No deal, no deal!"
The others, upon hearing the hefty price, also shook their heads.
Hou Junji had obviously anticipated this reaction.
As it stood, food was still the hardest of hard currencies.
He knew they wouldn't agree.
The bird on his shoulder spoke again: "Everyone, don't rush off. How about this — if you're truly unwilling to exchange."
"The Silent Council can offer you all loans."
"You're all superhumans, and the Council can offer you loans at the lowest interest rate."
"Once you have the coins, you can spend them at the Council's exclusive shops."
"There are plenty of good things at our stall — I'm sure you all saw them earlier."
"If you're willing to take out a loan, the monthly interest rate is 23.95%. How about that? Fair and reasonable!"
"If any of you can't repay in coins, you just need to repay in equivalent food."
Chen Ye's footsteps stopped the moment he heard the word "loan," his eyes lighting up: "Loan? Free money?"
This Elder Hou Junji probably didn't know yet.
Chen Ye still owed the System some Slaughter Points that he hadn't paid back.
When it came to the System, Chen Ye was a notorious deadbeat.
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