abnormal mutation

Chapter 138 Administrator

"Dear new user, welcome to Hive Network..."

In a daze, a gentle telepathic message roused Caius. After a few seconds of stunned silence, he sat up abruptly and looked around warily.

The gas lamps in the distance flickered, barely illuminating the outline near the exit. Many people were lying haphazardly in the carriage. If it weren't for the deafening snoring, he would have thought he had stumbled into a mass grave.

'Nothing's wrong, am I just too tired?'

Just as he was filled with doubt and uncertainty, the voice rang in his mind again, clearly not from the outside world.

He didn't panic; he'd experienced things far more absurd than this. Calmly, he sat back down, closed his eyes, and focused his mind. A strange page, shimmering with a faint light, appeared in his mind.

"...Now, please choose a screen name for yourself. For your safety, please do not use your real name."

'Username? Not Genting?'

The situation was somewhat unexpected, but he still followed the instructions to familiarize himself with the Hive Network little by little, and his online name remained Hunter.

As he became more familiar with the beehive, a smile unconsciously spread across his face.

'Spiritual glimmer, bloodline awakening, potions, "An Overview of Mysticism," "The Theory of Extraordinary Talents"...'

Excitement and elation filled his chest. He suppressed the urge to immediately recharge, vaguely sensing that these rewards were somewhat familiar, very much like... Cloudtop.

It wasn't until he opened the "Discover" section and found a familiar username among the posters—Executioner—that he finally confirmed that this must be a subordinate organization of Cloudtop...

'I really am the chosen one!'

After becoming familiar with the operation, he tried adding the executioner as a friend, and the request was quickly approved.

Hunter: "Hello, I am the Strategy Hunter."

He had tried before, but he couldn't talk about things like Teamfight Tactics to outsiders. He could talk about Battlegrounds, but most people couldn't understand it.

Executioner: "This is the Hive, so keep your mouths shut."

Far away in Almosid, Drake lay in bed with amusement on his face. He hadn't expected his master to choose this person again. This was incredibly lucky.

Caius clenched his fist, feeling a surge of excitement. The executioner's words were undoubtedly an admission, suggesting a connection between the two.

He had been worried about the sudden decrease in his visits to Genting Highlands recently, but things took an unexpected turn for the better.

Hunter: "I understand, I understand. Could you please explain how to use this recharge? Will there be any side effects from the loss of life?"

Executioner: "Click on 'Help' in the top left corner; the instructions are there."

Hunter: "Oh, oh."

Caius didn't mind; the executioner was always rather aloof. And, coincidentally, he himself was thick-skinned.

Hunter: "Are all the details of the deal true? Which potion is better?"

Executioner: "Really. You should learn some extraordinary knowledge first. You want to buy potions without knowing anything? You're asking for trouble."

The "Trading" section features a lot of general-purpose extraordinary knowledge, all of which were released by Roland, Sharl, and Drake, to prevent naive people like Caius from immediately exchanging for potions.

Moreover, the learning method of mind-to-mind communication can avoid many dangers.

Hunter: "Thank you, thank you!"

The private chat fell silent. He studied it quietly, not daring to ask any more questions lest he offend someone and get blocked.

Meanwhile, in the now-orderly Sogattak black market, the old man was busy counting money, a constant smile on his face.

After the Upside-Down House was cleared out, the Northern Merchant Guild became the de facto controller of the place, and the old man, as the person involved in this storm, obviously received a lot of attention.

In the bedroom, the young knight, whose injuries had largely healed, stared blankly at the glowing interface in his mind, at a loss for what to do.

'Username?'

After a long while, he came to his senses, and unconsciously recalled the man who had held the blazing sun in his hand that night, calmly and casually turning his enemies to ashes.

"Ash Knight!"

…………

Fugen Tavern.

After Roland entered the first edition of "The Great Way" into the Hive, he picked up the beer next to him and took a big gulp. The rich aroma of malt made him feel refreshed.

These basic books should be enough; this is just the beginning, and others will join in soon.

Thinking of this, he secretly added "Sold" after the "Transaction" entry, with the number ranging from single digits to four digits. "An Overview of Mysticism" only costs five coins, much cheaper than in real life, but what if a thousand copies were sold? Who wouldn't be tempted by that profit?

Later generations followed suit, and all sorts of extraordinary knowledge came about.

However, Hive takes a 5%-10% commission on transactions posted by others, with higher rates for knowledge-based transactions, because Roland needs to verify their authenticity with Pro Eye.

"The Complete Guide to Extraordinary Paths" is a book he created himself and will continue to improve. It lists a large number of extraordinary paths, with content from the Eye of Pro, including path names, initial sequences, approximate abilities, and core traits.

Although the book's content is brief, it is just enough to satisfy the curiosity of many people and make it easy for ordinary people to choose their preferred extraordinary path.

Roland develops Hive members based solely on value, and there will definitely be many ordinary people among them in the future.

For example, Caius can help him spread infection and the medium in the south, the Ash Knight has the resources, channels and information of the black market, not to mention Colin.

"Ding Dong, Ding Dong..."

I had only drunk half a glass of wine when the cellular terminal suddenly emitted an almost frantic notification sound.

Roland opened the Hive, and the private messages, recharge, and transaction sections were flashing incessantly.

Singer: "The membership benefits you're talking about are just bloodline awakening?!?"

"Strengthen life, spirituality, and physical strength..."

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

Are all people the same?

"..."

Roland was taken aback. The [Infectious Abnormal Mutation] could be seen as a bloodline awakening, but that was for him. For the infected, it only enhanced their life and spirituality, which he had never paid much attention to.

Mysterious man: "You have an extra Ring of Life?"

Singer: "You're not like that?!"

Mysterious man: "Same."

Roland spoke vaguely, not expecting that being infected could be considered a bloodline awakening, triggering a bloodline sublimation, which would indeed be a significant boost for a bloodline sorcerer.

Singer: "The authentication function is very powerful, but the price is a bit expensive. Why are there no names on the materials being authenticated?"

Why can't I set a price? What does it mean that it's still in a pending confirmation state?

Mysterious man: "Wait a bit, both recharge and transaction require price verification."

Roland opened the terminal, and dozens of recharge and transaction requests popped up, including magical items and extraordinary materials, all originating from the singer.

He was speechless because the Hive system had just been launched, and the chessboard didn't know the real-world prices, so he needed to personally confirm the value of non-life-related top-ups.

The transaction itself is fine; the publisher has the power to set the price, so he doesn't need to interfere.

Looking at the backend statistics, I received over 200 Life Recharges today and exchanged over 40 coins, which is enough to weave two Life Fibers, so it's a good start.

He put on the Eye of Pro and asked it to help him determine the names and approximate values ​​of the materials. His knowledge was limited, and he didn't recognize most of the materials, or even if he did, he didn't know their prices.

Watching Pro talk incessantly, he suddenly had a brilliant idea: he thought that two administrators should be appointed to the hive to handle various affairs and free himself up.

"Pro, do you want to go out?"

Pro glanced at him sideways: "I don't want that mind lock to enter my body. Even if I can't get out, at least my soul is free."

"Sigh, don't blame me for being so short-sighted." Roland looked at him with a disappointed expression. "If I really wanted to control you, I have plenty of ways."

I'm talking to you about a partnership now. Think about it, Hive Network will definitely get stronger and stronger. To make money, those members will rush to publish all sorts of taboo knowledge and secrets. Then, as the administrator, you can see whichever one you want..."

Pro was taken aback. It was indeed very optimistic about the future of the Hive Network, and its thirst for knowledge made it think: "Let me see it for free?"

“That’s narrow-minded.” Roland spread his hands and continued to persuade, “We’re partners, talking about money is so vulgar.”

After the initial verification and checking by the Hive, the final review of transactions and top-ups will all be handled by you. You can take a look first; it's completely free, and you'll even receive a salary—ten spiritual rays of light per day. How about that?

Pro blinked, unwilling to lose his freedom, but unable to bring himself to refuse.

With the help of the hive, it can simultaneously extract secret knowledge from countless people without having to randomly touch them one by one; the efficiency of this is enough to make it tremble with excitement. Perhaps advancing to a higher sequence, or even stealing a sliver of power, is not out of the question.

"I agree!"

(End of this chapter)