Gacha games can't save this bizarre world.

However, the old brain deeply resented those who delayed the Greys' retreat, and didn't forget to "take care" of them while burning himself.

The valuables on their bodies were scattered all over the ground, and they almost died. In the end, Zhao Hao remotely commanded Xiao Ruan to wrap them up, which is how they survived the mental self-destruction of the old brain.

Because Xiao Ruan has the ability to absorb spiritual energy, she was able to save the people inside her body.

However, these people were also drained dry by the little soft thing...

They didn't know who had saved them, and they even thought the little soft creature was a backup plan by the Greys. After being enveloped and drained by the little soft creature, they thought they were going to die. But when they were spat out, the little soft creature left.

Everyone: What? You think I taste bad?! Come back here! Come back here!

Zhao Hao reassured Spielberg and the others, and they agreed to meet and talk the next day. Just then, Zhao Hao was jolted awake and leveled up!

Black Iron 4-star!

+1000 Fate Points.

+1力量、+1体质、+2敏捷、+1精神，+2灵能抗性……

The total amount of psionic energy has surged even further!

Zhao Hao's total psionic energy is probably now greater than that of a typical 5-star Black Iron!

This time, just by killing experimental subjects, Greys, and Lizardmen, Zhao Hao reaped 1065 Fate Points. During this time, there were also several large pieces of equipment that seemed extraordinary, from which Zhao Hao absorbed 155 Fate Points. Finally, after the explosion at the West Base, he also completed a mission: 200 Fate Points for the intruders, plus 1000 Fate Points for star upgrades...

I did a 10-pull this morning and by evening I had collected 2498 Fate Points!

However, after these few ten-pulls, Zhao Hao felt deeply exhausted and mentally drained! It was really difficult to make rapid progress.

All the cards I'm equipped with are already bronze level, so I'm finding it a bit difficult to pull ten times in the black iron rank.

I'm already a 4-star Black Iron card. If I upgrade to 5-star Black Iron in the future, I'll definitely have to start accumulating Bronze cards for a long time and figure out how to break through to Bronze.

"Maybe it's time for me to start accumulating some bronze-level experience?"

At this moment, Mariana called Zhao Hao to quickly join the rescue.

Zhao Hao: What's the point of saving them?! Just drag it out! Just keep dragging it out until they're all dead, that's all~~~ That's how advanced American-style rescue is~

In reality, there was really no way to save him. Given the scale of the explosion, even if Zhao Hao had to withstand it head-on, he would have died. Unless he had some kind of instantaneous teleportation, such as opening a dream portal and going inside to hide, he was doomed.

Damn, they wiped out several thousand American soldiers in one go. The Greys' leader really went all out.

It's easy to imagine that even if the Greys escaped to the Otherworld, the American authorities would never let them go.

And then there's that old silver coin general, you damn scheming! You damn greedy!

Zhao Hao spent that evening in the military camp, only checking the system's monthly and annual reports when he had some free time.

Monthly Report: The number of superhuman appearances has increased significantly this month... The US military suffered heavy losses as a result... The level of psionic energy in the underworld continues to rise... Next month will see two weeks of severe cold and blizzards, please keep warm~

Annual Report: Next year is the year of the extraordinary; the probability of extraordinary individuals and events occurring will increase fivefold…

……

The aftermath of this incident was quite significant. Although there was no reaction in the outside world, the soldiers who sacrificed their lives were ultimately said to have died in the Middle East or on some other battlefield.

However, in the underworld, this matter caused a huge uproar.

To directly attack the army of a major power? How exciting!

This stimulation is not only for the extraordinary individuals, but also for the upper echelons of those countries in the surface world.

Both the extraordinary individuals and those in positions of power truly felt that times had changed!

The day when extraordinary beings defy secular regimes seems not far off.

The pain that cuts to the bone is always more direct than the pain that is merely a figment of the imagination.

Although Amei had already begun preparations for the Extraordinary Era, she's now getting impatient. She's even trying to get involved with the Mysterious Bureau!

However, they have only been in contact with the inner world for a short time, and they can't expect to get fat in one bite.

Although picking peaches is a traditional skill passed down for over two hundred years since the founding of the United States, the branch chiefs of the Mysterious Bureau are not to be underestimated.

For example, the dozen or so assistants and consultants sent to the Liberty City branch were all sent to obscure corners by Colt in less than a week.

Zhao Hao has rarely been to the bureau lately; there are all sorts of people there now. It's chaotic and disorganized. They're practically creating an "office culture" here!

Zhao Hao: I really miss the old days when I first joined the bureau. It was so free and easy, and you could even get some freebies from capitalism just by helping out with small favors!

During this period, Zhao Hao rarely went to the Mysterious Bureau, spending more time on his training and at the Pipi Shrimp Company.

Upon reaching Iron 4-star, Zhao Hao felt that he had become stronger in all aspects. His total amount and intensity of psionic energy, as well as his control and extension of spells, had all greatly improved.

This is just the progress brought by the first star of the Iron rank. I wonder what it will feel like to enter the Bronze rank.

Meanwhile, the Pipi Shrimp Company is thriving.

As mentioned before, the more sluggish the economy is, the more developed some cheap entertainment becomes.

Experts call it the "lipstick effect," an interesting economic phenomenon where lipstick sales surge due to economic downturns, also known as the "low-priced product preference trend."

It's somewhat illogical that lipstick sales surge during every economic downturn in America.

As a result, the performance of Pipi Shrimp Future Company has also improved by leaps and bounds.

Think about it, why are lipsticks so popular?

Right? So how could the "real man suit" that men rely on to save them not sell well?

This sells even better than lipstick; this is consumer demand!

After all, after that, one becomes as holy as a Buddha, and all suffering, desires, and distracting thoughts disappear from one's mind. Isn't that "liberation"?

Soaring prices, soaring unemployment, soaring crime rates... only a fleeting shiver can pull one away from the harsh reality and allow them to savor even a few seconds of paradise.

Don't misunderstand, this is the advertising slogan for Pipi Shrimp's "Men's Exclusive Set," written by Zhao Hao himself.

Although some people complained that it was a bit too much, it's all a minor issue if you can afford to hire a lawyer.

However, some women objected, saying the advertisement was chauvinistic!

Let's have a "Supreme Queen Set" for mantis shrimp, claiming that women also have the right to experience paradise. Saving women who have never been to heaven is now urgent. When will women finally get to go to heaven?!

Sure enough, at times like these, all sorts of strange and monstrous things come out, even leaving Zhao Hao, who started out as a lewd official, completely bewildered.

Zhao Hao: Do ​​you expect me to develop a "flood control solution"???

To be honest, people at the bottom of society really suffer.

The following year, according to official announcements...

In 1978 and 1979, the prices of food and beverages in Amer increased by 9.7% and 10.7% respectively.

During the economic crisis of 1979, the number of business failures, bankruptcies, and unemployment rates reached the highest levels since World War II.

The number of bankruptcies reached 25300, and the unemployment rate peaked at 10.8%. The number of unemployed was approximately 900 million.

One in ten people is unemployed. In this country, no income is hell for an individual and a ticking time bomb for society—a total of nine million!

We're different; we're talking about "200 million flexible employment workers." What do you call that? The profoundness of the Chinese language!

Economic experts have now given this period of economic phenomenon a special term – stagflation!

Stagflation refers to a unique economic phenomenon in which prices not only fail to fall but also rise sharply while production declines and unemployment surges, resulting in high inflation, high unemployment, and low economic growth.

In the future, a phrase will be used to euphemistically describe someone: You're like the America economy of the 70s.

Although the lower classes live in great hardship, many slum dwellers can only survive on meager relief funds. It's not that they don't look for work, but that no one wants to hire them.

Those few positions are illegal jobs where you work fifteen or sixteen hours a day, barely enough to make ends meet.

Capitalists have no conscience.

Even the middle class is starting to go bankrupt frequently, with their entire fortune consisting of a car, living and eating in the car, and on the verge of collapse.

Zhao Hao didn't care about that. They weren't really his compatriots; you could tell they were different skin colors.

Since he wasn't Amei's superior, this responsibility didn't fall on him at all.

Those people spend their days indulging in pleasure and don't care about the lives of their subordinates at all. Why should I care about them?

This kind of thing shouldn't be done. When you're poor, you should at least try to maintain your own integrity!

……

Zhao Hao met Spielberg at the end of last year. Spielberg is a director who is now quite famous.

He recently filmed "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," which was quite successful. After that, he became interested in extraterrestrials, which led him to wander around New Mexico and stumble upon a major military operation.

The plan was extremely rushed at the time, and even the troop mobilization was carried out covertly in batches, inevitably leading to oversights. They were then brought together near the Daoxi base, where Zhao Hao intercepted them.

Now that Zhao Hao knew he was Spielberg, he naturally couldn't let him go.

With his eloquent and persuasive speech, Spielberg was completely bewildered. With the help of his psychic abilities and illusions, he quickly and decisively convinced Spielberg to join his film studio.

Actually, that studio didn't even exist back then.

Zhao Hao has given Spielberg a lot of ideas, and now he is working on a script, saying he wants to make a movie about aliens, which will make Pipi Shrimp Films a household name.

Yes, the movie title has been decided: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.

The changes in the Bureau of Mysteries, Free City, and even the entire Ame are noteworthy for all the extraordinary individuals in Ame.

Those superhumans who are even slightly well-informed now know the general outline of what happened.

An unknown alien race arrived on this planet and experimented on humans and Earth creatures. As a result, they were besieged and annihilated by the American authorities, ultimately resulting in a mutual destruction that killed more than four thousand soldiers.

The atmosphere in America is getting a bit strange right now. On one hand, the superhumans are having some ulterior motives, and on the other hand, the American authorities are worried that the superhumans might have ulterior motives, so all regions are on high alert and even trying to interfere with the inner world.

Zhao Hao naturally sensed the strange atmosphere during this period, and he was also pondering the future.

When I first transmigrated, I was careful and kept a low profile in order to survive.

What will happen in the future? Do you have any long-term visions?

Uh...it seems not! Does advancing to Bronze count? That would only be considered the early to mid-stage.

However, this is a time of spiritual revival—a great change unprecedented in a thousand years. No matter what you don't want to do, the times will push you to do it.

Of course, if you can't do that, you might be trampled underfoot by the times and crushed into pieces.

In any case, following his teachings and making many friends is definitely the right thing to do.

During this period, Zhao Hao frequently contacted his extraordinary friends to exchange information and resources. In case of any trouble, they could all lend a hand.

He also heard some interesting information from Malone, which he said was from Uncle Iron.