When system cheat becomes rampant!

Xiang Beifei pondered the situation before him. If he were to take the incubator away now, he suspected it would arouse suspicion. Once they realized something was amiss, they would likely trace it back to him directly.

After all, he had also visited the wholesale market today, and the commotion he caused earlier in the street had already been leaked, so the people from Wufu Company knew that Xiang Beifei had come to the wholesale market.

If the heart in the incubator were taken by him, anyone from Wufu Company with half a brain would suspect that it had something to do with him!

Xiang Beifei wasn't afraid of anything. Whoever came looking for trouble would be swiftly dealt with by Xiaohei.

However, he worried that his grandfather might accidentally get involved and that something might happen to him.

Xiang Beifei weighed his options for a moment. It was important that they didn't find out he was investigating this matter just yet, or else they would certainly be on guard against him, and uncovering the truth would become even more troublesome.

He decided not to touch the heart inside the incubator and instead called Xiaohei back.

"Collect some of this culture fluid," Xiang Beifei instructed.

"Woof!"

Xiaohei quickly spat out a bubble to scoop up the culture fluid and carry it away.

As for the heart, Xiang Beifei left it untouched, as he knew how it had been obtained. He rapidly memorized the method of monitoring the experiment as well as the cultivation technique. Having understood a bit about the principles of the experiment, he knew it wouldn't be difficult to replicate it himself.

"It's a pity there's no USB drive. Xiaohei, do you have any way to copy the data?" Xiang Beifei asked Xiaohei.

Xiaohei blinked its eyes, touched its own head, then stretched out its little paw into the USB port of the computer and plugged its other paw into an electrical socket!

Hiss hiss hiss!

A blue arc of electricity traveled from the socket to Xiaohei, sporadically zapping around its body. Many white hairs on Xiaohei stood on end, making it look like a white hedgehog. The hairs stood up rhythmically under the influence of the electric arc, each turning black as they rose but quickly falling and turning white again.

Layer by layer, waves upon waves.

Xiaohei always had two fur colors; its fur could turn white or black, although it usually preferred white. Following the electric shock, its fur changed as if it had been singed.

But Xiaohei seemed to enjoy it, barking "woof woof" twice and then spitting out a blue electric arc into its bubble.

"Even a socket you can play with for fun," Xiang Beifei couldn't help but laugh and shake his head as he watched Xiaohei, understanding how Xiaohei stored the data.

The principle behind hard disk data storage is quite simple: it's merely a matter of using electric pulses generated by current to record a pattern of 0s and 1s on a disk, forming a binary address storage method. To read and write, the computer simply has to address these 0s and 1s, recompiling them into a language readable by the computer to be displayed on the screen.

Xiaohei's method of storage was quite blunt. It turned itself into a hard disk, recording all the electric pulses produced by the computer's copying process as electric arcs, electrifying its body.

The current passing through Xiaohei's body made the hairs that stood up turn black to indicate 1, and the white hairs that didn't stand up to indicate 0, with Xiaohei using its fur as a storage medium.

If there wasn't enough fur, it would simply overwrite the existing data. Since Xiaohei had recorded the electrical pulses, it wouldn't be a problem to overwrite them any number of times.

To read the data later, all they'd need was a computer. They could use the same electric arcs, giving Xiaohei a shock, and voilà.

Given Xiaohei's capabilities, managing the minute differences in these electric arcs was a walk in the park.

This method was unconventional, but it had no drawbacks.

Except that it was somewhat hard on the dog.

And judging by the little guy's reaction, it seemed to actually like the shock.

After all, Xiaohei had been awakened by an Electric Shock Thunderstone and even managed to deplete its electric arc strength.

"Xiaohei is truly versatile," Xiang Beifei praised without restraint.

With Xiaohei by his side, he felt like he had the world in his grasp.

This little guy was like a natural portable hard drive; next time, he'd store the several terabytes of stuff from the cloud drive in Xiaohei.

It was convenient to use, too. Find a socket, plug in, and play.

Xiang Beifei quickly reverted the computer interface back to the state as if he had never touched it. He then erased all traces of movement, making sure there was no evidence left behind, before he swiftly slipped out through the door.

Once Feng Kang confirmed that the fallen board was just an accident, he didn't linger. Remembering that he needed to destroy the heart, he quickly returned to his office, opened the door, stepped inside, and firmly locked the door behind him.

----

Xiang Qingde had already finalized the list of ingredients needed for the "Kong's Mansion Grand Banquet." He had the purchasing list ready, and the clerks were actively helping him register it, officially confirming the transaction and arranging to deliver the goods personally right away.

After getting everything sorted, he looked around for a moment and spotted Xiang Beifei at the doorway. Walking over and noticing the crowd nearby, concerned about being recognized, he pretended not to know Xiang Beifei. Leaning against a wall and checking his watch, he asked quietly, "Where did you go just now?"

Xiang Beifei couldn't suppress his amusement and said, "Grandfather, you don't have to worry, no one will notice us two. I've already disguised myself."

"Oh, you should have said so earlier."

Xiang Qingde glanced around again to make sure no one was paying attention before relaxing his guard.

"Have you finished what you came for?" Xiang Beifei asked.

"Yes, they will deliver the goods, so we don't need to worry," his grandfather confirmed.

Xiang Qingde was a regular here and didn't need to do much when he came to purchase supplies; he didn't even have to pay directly. All transactions for well-established companies were regulated through alliance channels to prevent forced buying and selling by others using their systems.

Even though the backing of the Soup Bowl Embracing the Moon Desolate Beast Ingredients by the Wufu Desolate Beast Research Company seemed a bit off, there was nothing overtly wrong with them on the surface.

Xiang Beifei was about to take his grandfather home when he suddenly spotted an elderly, hunchbacked woman standing in the alley next to the wholesale store, staring in their direction.

The old woman looked very old, her hair was almost all gone, and her face was covered with wrinkles and age spots. Due to aging, even her skin sagged hopelessly, making her face appear as though someone had haphazardly placed the eyes, nose, and mouth onto a puddle of mud.

[Host: Wang Guilan]

[N-grade, Cloud Carving and Moon Etching System]

[Realm: Qi-Controlling initial stage]

This was a system about tailoring, and its system mission was to start from small tasks. In her system log, there was a pile of tailoring tasks.

[You tailored a dress for a doll, tailoring value +1]

[You tailored a garment for a small dog, tailoring value +1]

In this market, Xiang Beifei wouldn't find any type of person strange. It was a place of common folk, mostly those from the lower strata trying to make a living, a mix of the good and the bad, unlike elite universities filled with S-grade talent everywhere.

But soon, Feng Kang hurried out of the store, passing by Xiang Beifei and his grandson without paying them any attention.

He was carrying a metal bucket with a blood-stained cloth half-covering the top, dirty and emitting a strange odor. The cloth didn't entirely conceal the bucket's opening, and through the gap exposed, one could faintly see some bloody organs inside.

Those appeared to be desolate beast organs, with some things like fish scales and intestines. Such items are actually quite common in these specialized desolate beast markets, where not all parts of a desolate beast are edible. For the inedible organs, they must be disposed of after slaughtering and selling the edible parts.

Feng Kang quickly noticed the old woman waiting in the alley and hurriedly brought the bucket over to her, saying, "Here."

The old woman's eyes seemed barely open, half-squinting as she revealed a very bizarre smile. When she smiled, only two yellowed teeth were visible, with all the others gone.

The old woman took the bucket without speaking, simply smiling weirdly, and then, carrying the bucket, slowly turned and walked toward the alley.

The metal bucket was quite large and nearly overflowing with viscera waste. It should have been very heavy, but when the old woman picked it up, it seemed very steady, as if it were simply a bag of cotton.

Being able to carry heavy objects wasn't unusual; everyone had external system assistance, and with the help of their systems, it made sense for a frail old woman to lift a heavy bucket.

However, what caught Xiang Beifei's attention wasn't the old woman's ability to lift a bucket of desolate beast organs, but a strange aura!

When the old woman picked up the bucket, a powerful force emanating strange fluctuations, intermittently visible, surged from her arm wrapped in ragged clothes.

Xiang Beifei's eyebrows raised slightly as he looked toward the old woman's system interface!

[Host: Wang Guilan]

[N-grade, Cloud Carving and Moon Etching System]

[Realm: Meridian Opening advanced stage]

"Meridian Opening advanced stage!"

Xiang Beifei looked at the old woman's system interface in surprise. Just a moment ago, the old woman's realm was merely the Qi-Controlling initial stage, but when she picked up the bucket, it had suddenly become Meridian Opening advanced stage?

This change in cultivation level astonished Xiang Beifei!

Up to this point, Xiang Beifei had only seen Elder Luo's system possessing the ability to change its own cultivation level, all because his system was somewhat special, with comprehensive strength built through overall points distribution.

But this old woman's system was not that type. When her cultivation level display changed, there was no other change in the system interface!

That said, her system seemed very off!

Xiang Beifei looked closely at the last entry date in the system log: Continue your journey on My Virtual Library Empire

[3025 January 2nd, you tailored a garment for Wang Xiaoxiao, tailoring value +5]

It seemed quite normal.

But today was February 3rd, 3031!

This meant that it had been almost six years since the old woman last did a system task!

"Has she not done any system tasks in these six years?"

Xiang Beifei looked at the old woman's system log.

If the old woman no longer wished to be a tailor and decided to change professions, that was not necessarily a problem. Many N-grade system tasks were overly demanding, and it was understandable for someone of her age, who might want to live out her days in peace, not to continue with system tasks.

Yet if the old woman had not carried on with system tasks, how had she managed to elevate her cultivation to the Meridian Opening advanced stage?

Xiang Beifei felt increasingly that something was wrong, but at this point, the old woman had already turned the corner and left his line of sight.

"Grandfather, go home first. I have something to do, I'll be back soon."

"Where are you going?"

"Social practice!"

For safety's sake, Xiang Beifei asked Xiaohei to follow his grandfather, while he quickly turned and ran toward the alley.