Chapter 377: Chapter 377: Black Coin
Besides these apparent "spoils of war," the spaceship brought lots of good things.
For example, a nearly undamaged fusion engine, fusion fuel that can last over a decade, a large quantity of electronic components that Jiang City cannot produce, and technical data stored in the database.
It can be said... the wreckage of this spaceship is almost entirely treasures, especially for the survivor outposts; handing it all over to the search team would be a waste.
No wonder it was immediately treated as Binjiang Garden Station’s own possession the moment it appeared.
By the fourth day, the search was essentially complete, and the metro station directly set up a work shed at the ship’s location to start further disassembling the ship.
Chen Xuan also saw the critical materials they collected in the storeroom where the gold was kept—even including six corpses.
Of course... To be precise, it was three mummies and three skeletons.
"Shouldn’t these things be burned?" Chen Xuan instinctively covered his nose and said.
"They’ve already undergone epidemic prevention, so you don’t need to worry," laughed the stationmaster. "Corpses are also good things, especially those of ability users from the Agency... the little gadgets and artificial limbs embedded in their bodies are treasures worthy of repeated scrutiny."
"Scutiny is of secondary importance; I see you really want to sell the corpses to the Agency for a good profit, right?" Uncle Li shrugged.
"If we can make money, why not?" Du Pingzhang’s expression stiffened slightly but did not deny it, "I’m doing this for the sake of the outpost."
"Are you still able to contact the Dimensional Limit Mechanism?" Chen Xuan said in surprise.
"Of course." The stationmaster replied strangely, "The Agency hasn’t disappeared. If we couldn’t reach them, the outpost would have collapsed long ago. Even if you’re coming from a remote place, you wouldn’t neglect their existence, right?"
Lin Qing pulled him aside and whispered in his ear, "The Agency is above us."
"Above?"
She pointed to the ceiling, "The only lunar base was built by them."
The Agency did not build the Crystal Palace but built a lunar base? Chen Xuan was stunned, "Is there no nano-living body there?"
"Probably not, at least they were beaten back by the Evangelical Association and nano-living bodies on Earth. The Moon is the only safe place," Lin Qing explained, "Jiang City can’t produce equipment. Some critical components need to be air-dropped by the Agency, but the Agency doesn’t accept credit points."
Chen Xuan immediately understood what she meant.
Neither gold nor credit points have value to the Agency, so if the outposts want to buy Agency goods, they need to provide something the Agency needs.
The corpses of ability users mean intelligence; the Agency must also want to know the cause of the spaceship crash, and this is undoubtedly an excellent trade condition.
But before that?
What did the outposts give to trade for Agency’s goods?
If they can’t produce any tangible items, then the trade conditions are intriguing.
Binjiang Garden is like this; other metro stations are probably similar.
Chen Xuan arrived at another table and saw the so-called "Destiny Wedge"—a syringe shaped like a cross, sealed in a vacuum bag, and from the outside, it looked almost no different from common medical apparatus.
It’s hard to imagine that it’s actually an ability product and can transfer human memory.
"Ma Kang explained its usage in detail." Uncle Li said, "We also used a polygraph to test; the probability of him deceiving us is low."
"Are you really going to fight the Ghost Metro?" Du Pingzhang turned to the band’s group, "Excuse me for being straightforward, but this is likely a one-way gamble."
"If everyone nests underground, eventually, all outposts will follow in the footsteps of Youyuan Station." Uncle Li said frankly, "Someone has to stand up and resist the nano-living bodies. If we succeed, all the outposts will reconnect. More importantly, people will understand that nano-living bodies are not invincible enemies; such a gamble is worth taking."
"Oh... I really envy your courage." Du Pingzhang sighed, "Unfortunately Binjiang Garden Station can’t provide you personnel support. If you need food or fuel replenishment in the future, I will try to give you certain discounts..."
"Even knowing the station might face destruction, you’re unwilling to rise and resist?" Chen Xuan couldn’t help but interject.
The stationmaster’s gaze was like a deep black well; no matter what kind of emotions are hidden, they are already difficult to surface. He merely shook his head, "We tried."
Chen Xuan suddenly recalled a statement by Zhou Zhixuan—"They are Earth’s new species, just happen to be in the same ecological niche as humans... We could never truly defeat them."
Even if he eliminated the Master of Thunder, he only reduced the group’s doubts about the Fireline Band, unable to completely overturn the outpost’s discouraged atmosphere.
This may be why the Fireline Band gradually grows stronger.
Within the human group, a few unbelievers always emerge.
When these unbelievers come together, they naturally form an organization. It’s not that the Fireline Band insists on stirring troubles with the Ghost Metro, but that the ones stirring trouble were destined to be them.
"Next, should we capture some devout Evangelicals?" Honglian asked.
"No need for you to bother." Uncle Li nodded, "Ma Kang is willing to cooperate with the band, actively attract some Evangelicals over. If lucky, we can be ready in a week."
"Him?" Chen Xuan raised an eyebrow; the speed of this person’s stance change really is surprising.
"Actually, Ma Kang wasn’t so cooperative at first." Lin Qing laughed, "That’s all thanks to you."
"Why?"
"Because Huang Gou told him the story of you facing the Celestial Patrol alone and returning unscathed." Her expression was meaningful, "He initially expressed it was impossible, but after seeing footage of celestial changes and the three-ring nuclear explosion, that guy’s attitude changed. Later, Uncle Li mentioned he should take a look at the spaceship, and his reaction was entirely different."
Uncle Li also touched his chin, "It’s apparent the Destiny Wedge keeps his devotion to the nano-living bodies intact, but his true self began to struggle—if one day we truly destroy the Celestial Patrol, he might become mad due to cognitive dissonance, which is medically possible. And..."
He paused, "That guy probably understands this point too."
"Knowing this is possible, he still wants to help us?" Chen Xuan said surprised.
"Because compared to going mad, he wants to know the answer more." Uncle Li calmly said, "Me too."
"Ha." Du Pingzhang chuckled softly, his eyes suddenly no longer bottomless. Although he didn’t continue speaking, his thoughts were already apparent.
And Lin Qing, the stationmaster’s secretary, the treasury guardian... all ten or so people present showed similar expressions.
They all want to know... whether humanity can win in this survival competition with nano-living bodies.
Finally, Du Pingzhang broke the silence, "Things that are too far in the future can be put aside for now; let’s discuss after we check these gains."
Skipping over a few agency weapons and communication equipment, everyone arrived at the table where the coin was placed.
Chen Xuan immediately recognized it; it’s the same type of coin that appeared in "Guess the Coin," with insect-like patterns faintly visible on the surface, except its color is much darker and exudes ominous black mist.
Just like Lin Qing said, it doesn’t rely on any support but can float on its own within the glass box, giving a transcendent sense.
Even an idiot seeing it would know this must be something extraordinary.
"We’ve tested it." Secretary Shasha flipped through the materials in her hand, "The container is made of processed natural crystal with no special features. But the coin is very strange; neither radiation inspection, spectral check, nor optical scan can capture its existence."
"How is that possible?" Lin Qing was shocked, "Then how do we see it?"
"Unfortunately, no one can answer." Shasha took out a photograph and displayed it to everyone—inside the photo, the square box was empty, without anything at all. "In some sense, the coin doesn’t exist at all; what we’re seeing is an illusion. Or perhaps, it only exists in our minds."
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