I've already reached the Nascent Soul stage, and you're saying I didn't time travel?

Chapter 139 With your strength, you don't seem worthy to say such things to me.

Barack: "Two hundred million dollars to buy a cicada nest."

Alfonso: "Seeking to purchase a cicada nest with a cicada mother, for 250 million."

Daniel: "Two cicada nests for $200000001, and the seller can attend a big party I host for the cicada nests."

Saudi Prince: "Want to see my Saturday up close? Want to see the magical plants and herbs I cultivate? Want to get two hundred million dollars? Bring your insect hive over now!"

International sex symbol: "Just one cicada mother will be enough for me to serve you meticulously for seven days. I'll do whatever you ask, and I'll accept any kind of play. Darling, what are you waiting for?"

Scholar Ulusu: "As the first Grandmaster in Southeast Asia, I am recruiting one personal disciple here. I will devote all my efforts to training this one disciple, and I will ensure that you reach at least the Grandmaster level in the future. The tuition fee is only one cicada mother."

A representative from a small country said: "With just one cicada nest, you can become a citizen of our country, obtain the status of our ambassador to the WTO, enjoy diplomatic immunity, be inviolable, and be free from civil, administrative, and criminal jurisdiction! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, what are you waiting for?"

……

If the pharmaceutical companies' bounties merely caused a global shock and made everyone realize the value of Cicada Nest, then when top billionaires like Barack Obama and other parties issued bounties related to Cicada Nest, everyone went crazy.

This indicates that the acceptance of cicada nests is extremely broad. It's not just the dozen or so needed by pharmaceutical companies; the global demand is at least a hundred. This doesn't even include the demand for cheaper nests. If all of them are included, at a price of over ten million US dollars, at least several thousand nests would be needed.

The cicada nest clues discovered so far are far from sufficient to cover such a large demand.

Basically, cicada nests are like gold mines now; digging one up means making a fortune, and the sooner you dig one up, the more money you earn.

And if you don't want money, that's fine too. You can receive personal instruction from a master, enjoy diplomatic immunity from foreign trials, and receive the personal services of an international sex symbol... and so on. Among the many needs of humankind, there's bound to be one that suits you.

All of this can be paid for through the cicada's nest.

In an instant, everyone, from toddlers to elderly men, ordinary people and martial artists alike, went mad.

……

Mexico.

Kimawakan.

One of the sources of the insect outbreak.

After successfully suppressing the monstrous insects that were rampaging in the capital Mexico City, official troops, civilian martial artists, and support from various countries headed towards Quimahuacan to completely eradicate the countless monstrous insects that had taken up residence in this huge slum.

However, after discovering the true nature of the demonic insect through Qi Xuan's live broadcast on the sky screen, and learning about the exorbitant demand for cicada nests online, the joint forces on site instantly lost control.

The support personnel sent by various countries were somewhat better, as they came from multiple countries and were not a unified whole. In addition, their unauthorized actions might infringe on Mexico's relevant rights, so they maintained a certain degree of restraint.

At most, they would make some demands on Mexico, requiring payment for the cicada nests as spoils of war. If the cicada nests were unavailable, they could be traded in US dollars or other valuables. In any case, it was destined to be a long and drawn-out dispute.

Once they reached Mexico, the situation became more complicated. The official forces were barely restrained by the government and dared not act on their own. They were under the command of their superiors, suppressing the cicada infestation while searching for cicada nests.

However, the civilian martial artists, including those from other countries who came to provide support on their own, had far fewer concerns. Almost the moment they realized the terrifying value of the Cicada Nest, the civilian martial artist teams collapsed, with many at the Transformation Realm, Innate Realm, and even Grandmaster levels rushing madly into the interior of Kimawakan.

As frontline personnel, after such a long battle with the Ghost Cicadas, they have accumulated a wealth of experience in dealing with them, and even have a certain grasp of the distribution patterns of the cicada nests.

The master took the lead, charging alone into the cicada swarm.

The group of people formed a group, protecting each other, and aimed at the cicada nest with the fewest cicadas not far away.

The cultivators, having reached the highest level, rushed towards the nearest cicada nest, using their numerical advantage to suppress the cicada swarm.

Upon receiving the order, the troops quickly arrived at the scene.

A standoff ensued between civilian martial artists and official troops, resulting in chaos at the scene. When the cicada's nest appeared, a fierce struggle broke out.

Meanwhile, numerous gangs that had long since distanced themselves from Quimawacan and the capital Mexico City swooped in like vultures smelling rotten food, frantically plundering cicada nests, which were far more valuable than drugs.

……

the Philippines.

Makati City.

One of the cities that was the source of the disaster, with tens of thousands of deaths and injuries.

As the financial center and important business hub of the Philippines, Makati City boasts numerous high-rise buildings, but also a large number of low-rise houses and cheap rentals, which further increases the difficulty of eradicating cicada swarms.

Because the golden rescue time was missed, cicada swarms are now scattered in almost every corner of the city: glass office buildings, tin shacks in alleys, dirty sewers... dangerous cicadas can be found everywhere you can see.

As a result, the official troops had to divide into hundreds of units and painstakingly recapture a building, a street, or an area.

Furthermore, after each street and area is recaptured, a large number of personnel and equipment must still be stationed there to prevent any remaining adult cicadas from flying out from some corner, or to prevent any hidden nests from being destroyed, which could lead to another disaster after a period of time.

The fragile economy simply cannot withstand such back-and-forth turmoil; a complete eradication is necessary to restore Makati to its former glory.

Everything was progressing normally and according to plan. Martial arts teams from the community also actively helped, forming pest control teams to undertake important pest control responsibilities in certain areas.

But when the true identity of the demonic insect was revealed, and the high bounty for the cicada's nest was exposed online, everything went into chaos.

Most pest control teams abandoned their duties of guarding and exterminating cicadas and rushed to the cicada nests.

Bonifacio Global City, a shopping center, has four underground floors.

Two different martial arts teams tracking the cicada's nest unexpectedly meet here.

"Jejomar, aren't you in charge of the five-star hotel area? What are you doing here?"

A lean, naturally gifted team leader raised an eyebrow and asked.

The middle-aged man across from me, wearing beach shorts, grinned and said:
“Angelo, there’s nothing we can do about it. We’ve wiped out all the Ghost Cicadas at the hotel. We’ve tracked them all the way here, so we have to find a way to get rid of them and let future hotel guests get a good night’s sleep.”

"This area of ​​the shopping mall is under our jurisdiction! Please leave immediately!"

Angelo rebuked in a deep voice.

Jejomar said with a grin:

"Don't be like that, my friend. We all have the same goal: to protect humanity, don't we?"

Faced with such dangerous creatures as the cicadas, we should cooperate closely and work together to eliminate them as quickly as possible, instead of arguing about defensive zones.

Stop playing these word games!

Angelo looked at him with a gloomy expression:
"We all know why you're here, but there's only one cicada nest underground. Don't force us to take action!"

Jejomar slowly wiped the smile off his face:

“Angelo, with your strength, you don’t seem to be worthy of saying such things to me.”

"You're not a grandmaster after all. Even if you're at the peak of the Innate Realm, you're still an Innate Realm expert. No matter how strong you are, can you withstand the three of us working together?"

As the words fell, two other innate beings silently stepped out from behind Angelo.

The innate beings, who were constantly at odds in the past, have now chosen to unite against external forces.

"Alright, alright, you win."

Jeyomar raised his hands in surrender and slowly backed away.

In the instant he turned around, he pulled out a gun and fired three shots at the person opposite him.

One of the innate beings clutched his chest and collapsed in disbelief, while Angelo and another innate being narrowly avoided it.

"Do you still have three Innate Realm experts left?"

A mocking smile crept onto Jejomar's lips, his gaze gradually turning cold:

"Let's go together! Kill them!"

"The cicada's nest can only be ours!!"

A bloody battle immediately erupted in the dark underground parking lot.

……

South Sudan.

Upper reaches of the White Nile, the Sude Marsh.

A large group of warriors, covered in mud, emerged from the swamp with a sigh of relief.

The young man leading the group was holding a cicada nest that was only the size of a head.

Inside the cicada nest, you can still vaguely see the mother cicada flying around, as well as a few adult cicadas.

However, as soon as they landed, the nearby soldiers, under the command of their officers, raised their guns and aimed them at the numerous warriors who had just climbed ashore.

"Hey, Kerosha, put the cicada nest down."

Kairosha's smile froze instantly, then turned to fury, and she argued forcefully:
"This is something we obtained after sacrificing many lives and finally managing to wipe out a large number of Ghost Cicadas! You can't treat us like this!"

The officer smiled slightly:

"But don't forget, this was originally our defense zone, and we were responsible for the encirclement and suppression of the Ghost Cicadas in this area."

"But what have you all done?! If you hadn't been so cowardly and afraid to take risks, would so many of us have had to venture deep into the swamp to deal with the cicadas? Now that we've finally solved the problem, you're planning to take everyone's compensation money?! I absolutely will not allow this to happen!"

The officer sighed and said:
"Since you helped me deal with these bugs, I might as well tell you the truth. Just two hours ago, the president ordered that all cicada nests within the country belong to the state and not to any individual. The higher-ups know that we have cicada nests here, and they will be salvaged soon. You have to hand them over today, whether you like it or not. Don't force us to take action!"

As he finished speaking, the armed soldiers around him moved closer, pointing their guns at the crowd.

Kairosha glanced back at her large group of companions covered in mud, then at the hundreds of corpses being carried out, and put down the cicada nest with trembling hands.

His lowered eyes burned with an inextinguishable, raging fury.

……

Papua New Guinea.

The eastern half of New Guinea Island, nestled in dense forests.

A dozen martial arts masters, all at the Transformation Realm, burst out of the dense forest, laughing loudly.

"The cicada's nest! We got the cicada's nest! Now everyone can live a good life!"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a terrifying shockwave suddenly erupted from the nearby bushes:

"Wind-Dispelling Palm!"

In the close-range attack, more than seven experts at the Transformation Realm died on the spot.

The tall, innate-level cultivator surveyed the remaining five cultivators at the Transformation Realm, a sinister grin spreading across his face:

"A mere cultivator at the Transformation Realm dares to occupy the cicada's nest?!"

As soon as the words were spoken, a one-sided massacre immediately broke out on the scene.

...Jiangcheng.

Ronghua Residential Area.

Han Wenwen and her colleagues, who had just wiped out a large number of adult cicadas in the community, were carrying nylon bags containing the cicadas when they were stopped by more than a dozen people at the entrance of the community.

"The adult cicadas have been mostly eradicated. Is there anything else?"

"Of course we know that the adult cicadas have been almost completely eradicated."

A middle-aged woman with a very mean-looking face immediately spoke up:

"But shouldn't you release the adult cicadas you've hunted and return them to us?"

Upon hearing this, Han Wenwen and the others were completely dumbfounded.

Wearing an Ultraman mask, Han Wenwen asked incredulously:
"Auntie, do you know what you're saying?"

"What are you saying? Aren't you just demanding what belongs to us?!"

She said with an air of complete self-righteousness:

"Don't think we don't know. You've got your eyes on these adult cicadas, planning to sell them for a good price. Even though they're not cicada nests, they should still fetch a good price. These originally belonged to us, so you should leave all the adult cicadas to us!"

Han Wenwen almost laughed in anger:

"Who was it that begged us to come and eradicate the adult cicadas in the first place? Saying the government was unreliable and they could only turn to us kind-hearted people for help, hoping we could clean up the mess and restore peace to everyone? Now it's us who's targeting the adult cicadas? If you're so capable, why don't you go and eradicate them yourselves? Why are you begging us?!"

"We didn't expect you to actually come. You came voluntarily, so who can we blame?"

The middle-aged woman was sharp-tongued and eloquent.
"Since the cicadas have invaded our property, they are now our assets. Nobody will agree to your attempt to seize our assets, right?!"

"Yes!"

"Yes!!"

The crowd behind him immediately echoed in agreement.

Han Wenwen laughed after hearing this:
"Since you want it so much, then I'll give it to you. Catch it carefully!"

As she spoke, she casually tossed out a small, rather shrunken-looking bag.

I want the bigger one!

"Let's catch the little one first."

As the words fell, dozens of cicadas that had been knocked unconscious earlier wobbled out of the bag.

Upon seeing these cicadas that were still able to fly, the dozen or so greedy residents present, including the middle-aged woman, were all stunned for a moment.

Immediately afterwards, they all exploded on the spot, and people fled in all directions, crying and screaming.

As Han Wenwen chased after You Chan, she shouted loudly to the middle-aged woman running barefoot ahead:
"Auntie, do you want some? Do you want some?"

"If a few dozen aren't enough, I can give you some more!"

"Don't be shy! I have as much as you want."

……

A small county town in southwestern China.

Before Tang Botao and Du An even entered the mountain, they were immediately surrounded by a group of people.

A portly, bald tycoon, smoking a cigar, said to the two men:

"I heard that you two successfully captured an insect nest. I wonder if you have any plans to sell it?"

"sell?"

Tang Botao glanced at the Toyota Prado in the distance and said with a smile:

"Judging from the car you drive, it looks like you can't afford it."

“I have several cars like this at home, and quite a few are parked at the construction site, but the better ones haven’t been driven over yet.”

"In that case, how much are you planning to offer?"

Tang Botao asked with a smile:
"The highest bid online has reached three hundred million US dollars, which is about 2.1 billion according to the exchange rate. Such a large sum of money, I'm afraid your four cars can't carry it all, right?"

The bald boss, upon hearing this, replied with a disdainful expression:

"There are so many people online, and there are plenty of people who just spout nonsense. You actually believe a price they casually quote? What if a three-year-old said they wanted to buy an insect hive for 10 billion dollars? Are you planning to put a 10 billion dollar price tag on it for sale?"

"So how much are you going to bid?" Tang Botao asked.

The bald boss held up three fingers:

"thirty million!"

“Brother, this is a really honest price. You’ve probably never seen so much money in your life. If you’re willing, we can make a deal right away.”

He waved his hand, and several of his underlings quickly brought out several boxes from the car. Each box, when opened, was filled with piles of banknotes, which looked extremely eye-catching.

Tang Botao shook his head and said:

"It seems we are destined to be apart."

"To tell you the truth, the cicada's nest has already been taken away by us, and it is probably now in the hands of some top-tier tycoon."

"You dare to play me?!"

The bald boss threw down his cigar, exuding a thuggish aura.

"Didn't you trick us first?"

Tang Botao replied coldly.

The bald boss waved his hand, and three Xiantian masters immediately stepped forward.

Duan took a step forward, his imposing aura erupting on the spot without reservation.

The three innate masters who were about to step forward suddenly stopped in their tracks.

The bald boss looked at them with surprise.

One of the innate beings swallowed hard and whispered:
"Boss, that foreigner seems to be a grandmaster."

The bald boss's expression suddenly changed, and he abruptly took three or four steps back.

Before leaving, he didn't forget to utter a harsh threat:

"Just wait for me!"

After saying that, they all drove off in their cars, looking rather dejected.

"The clown."

Tang Botao shook his head and said to Du An:
"Alright, it's time to head to the mountains to meet up. There's still an insect nest there."

……

Magic City.

Ji family villa.

"Weiwei, why did you throw away that teddy bear in your bedroom?"

On the sofa, Ji Yun Shen casually asked, pretending not to care.

"I accidentally got it dirty, and it's too much trouble to wash, so I just threw it away."

"I see. Next time something like this happens, just leave it to the nanny. Anyway, it's not a big deal to wash toys."

Ji Yun Shen smiled and said:
"Do you want me to buy you another one?"

Thinking of the hidden camera inside the doll, Ji Yuwei suppressed her disgust and said indifferently:
"I'm past the age of liking dolls. Those things just look out of place in my bedroom. I'm planning to redecorate the house in a while and go for a minimalist style. I've been quite into minimalism lately."

"Minimalist style, uh..."

Ji Yun Shen couldn't help but turn his head to glance at the secretary standing nearby.

The secretary nodded slightly to him, indicating that Ji Yuwei had indeed been reviewing related materials recently.

Ji Yun Shen then changed his tone and said:
"If you want to choose a style, let me know later, and I'll find a renovation team to decorate it for you. I guarantee it will be decorated the way you like."

Ji Yuwei witnessed the entire exchange between Ji Yunshen and his secretary, and her right hand, hidden in her sleeve, clenched tightly involuntarily.

Fearing she might explode, she immediately changed the subject:

"I heard the company is aggressively acquiring Chanchao. Are you also planning to get involved in this?"

"Of course, don't you see how much the outside world adores cicada nests?!"

Ji Yun Shen said excitedly:

"I will not only acquire cicada nests on a large scale, but also acquire countless adult cicadas, striving to be the first to develop the Netherworld Cicada Elixir!"

"By then, our pharmaceutical companies will have become the world's top pharmaceutical companies!!"

Hearing this, Ji Yuwei felt a little worried:
"So many pharmaceutical companies are competing in this field, many of which are among the world's top pharmaceutical companies. We can't compete with them in terms of equipment, personnel, resources, and so on. It's better not to invest too much."

"Don't worry, I have my own plans."

After chatting for a little while longer, Ji Yun Shen left with his secretary.

After leaving the villa, I got into a Rolls-Royce.

The secretary thought for a moment and then said to Ji Yunshen:
“Chairman Ji, I think Miss is right. We shouldn’t concentrate too much money on the Netherworld Cicada Elixir. There are just too many competitors.”

Sitting in the back seat, Ji Yun Shen couldn't help but sneer upon hearing this:

"You've been with me for so many years, and you're actually being persuaded by a little brat?"

"She has never been involved in business, so what could she possibly know?"

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Only by giving it my all can I realize my dream!"

Ji Yun Shen's eyes burned with intense ambition and desire.

"I want everyone to witness the moment I achieve this great feat!!"

(End of this chapter)