I Don't Agree to the Terms

Chapter 926 489: Mass Dumbing Down, Excellent Bamboozling Effect

Some things can't be shown too eagerly; if you deliver them to the doorstep, the other party might be suspicious. But if you take it by yourself and force it, then there would surely be no doubts.

"I know, but Dr. Gu, I wanted to ask, if you were to lead the development of the energy weapon, how long would it take to produce a finished product?" Qin Ji was a bit impatient.

"Well, we'll talk about it later, I have things to do, make yourself at home." Gu Shanhai didn't answer, instead, he got up to leave.

At this moment, Qin Ji also realized that he was acting too unusually, arousing the other's suspicion.

'No way, I must first dispel the counterpart's suspicion, otherwise if he reports it, the energy weapon project would certainly be archived.' Qin Ji thought to himself.

"Wait, please be sure to keep this confidential. It's because the higher-ups see the potential in the energy technology you've developed, Dr. Gu, that they sent me to inquire about it. After all, national defense pertains to the kingdom's life." Certainly, Qin Ji couldn't mention anything related to players to Gu Shanhai at this point.

He still needed to brainwash Gu Shanhai, which meant bringing him into the anti-player camp.

Within the kingdom's upper echelons, many are against players, but very few dare to act.

Coincidentally, Qin Ji was one of them, and he also knew others who dared to act. As long as Gu Shanhai could produce weapons from the energy technology and gather the corresponding results from testing, he would be confident to persuade those high-ups who have the will but no guts.

"Hmm, don't worry, I'll keep my mouth shut."

"But next time, if you want to discuss this with me, it's better to bring documents." Gu Shanhai's tone carried a sense of detachment and professionalism, thereby demonstrating a cautious mindset.

Rather than feeling dissatisfied, Qin Ji highly praised Gu Shanhai's cautiousness, thinking about how if one wasn't wary enough, when it came to doing things, it would be troublesome to avoid leaking information.

As for the so-called documents, Qin Ji didn't take it seriously. The Player Management Bureau could issue as many as needed; even though thinking about this, he felt a bit grieved, because the Bureau's extensive powers were not due to managing players but rather from cleaning up after players.

"No problem, if I want to talk again, I'll bring effective documents to you, Dr. Gu." Qin Ji followed Gu Shanhai's direction in conversation.

"Okay, suit yourself." After saying this, Gu Shanhai turned and left.

Seeing this, Qin Ji also left Gu Shanhai's office, not following Gu Shanhai, but leaving the research institute by himself, ready to contact someone.

'Unfortunately, it would be much better if I could produce some evidence.' Qin Ji felt a bit regrettable.

'But this Dr. Gu is definitely a talent, far superior to those worthless folks at the Bureau.'

He realized that energy technology had parallels with Transcendent objects, but the problem was the Bureau's Transcendent items were researched from items provided by players, unlike Gu Shanhai, who developed it entirely by himself.

'There is also that unique leadership charisma and charm; as long as he can be made one of us, it would undoubtedly be a significant asset.'

He certainly knew how chaotic the research institute was before, where academic disputes and suppression always existed. But after Gu Shanhai arrived, surprisingly, he made the entire research institute so united.

He came there not to look into energy technology, but to investigate Gu Shanhai, especially since Gu Shanhai's rise was too legendary; many had tried to suppress him but were eventually won over by his charm.

Hence, Qin Ji suspected Gu Shanhai might be a player, given the research institute's particularity, requiring him, as the Deputy Director, to personally intervene.

The result was certainly not the case; he could entirely confirm it was Gu Shanhai's personal charisma that won over the whole research institute.

Nonetheless, caution was still necessary.

He dialed a number and said, "Get me the materials for Dr. Gu at the research institute, and place them on my desk."

Though he found Gu Shanhai very valuable, he still needed to check the materials to avoid being misled.

Even though it seemed unnecessary, out of professional habit, he arranged for someone to do it.

'Fortunately, since entering the research institute, the Bureau hasn't noticed yet. Otherwise, if Dr. Gu were absorbed into the Bureau, it would lead to many more changes.' Qin Ji felt a bit thankful, given that presently, ninety-nine percent of the Bureau's people were working for players. If indeed exposed to such an environment for too long, the fear of rebelling against players might become real.

...

'Hooked, reducing intelligence does have some usefulness.' Naturally, Gu Shanhai also separated a part of his mind to keep an eye on Qin Ji.

Reducing intelligence has various effects, such as straightforwardly decreasing the other party's IQ, causing it to drop to a very low level.

Then there are types like Gu Shanhai's, using micro-controls to reduce specific aspects' acuity to make them more willing to trust others or be unconsciously influenced by him.

'But the frequent use could lead to issues, can't use it excessively.'

Gu Shanhai felt a bit regretful, otherwise, he would have directly dumbed down the entire kingdom.

The issues aren't much related to Gu Shanhai or the ones dumbed down, but rather due to the End of Dharma era, after all not in a non-energy environment, an inert energy environment would alert the world to Gu Shanhai's reduce intelligence method, needing precise control.

'The game should be updated soon.' Gu Shanhai glanced at the painting hanging on the wall, which showed a countdown with little over eleven hours remaining.

Meaning, after midnight tonight, it could reopen.

Gu Shanhai wasn't particularly worried, during ten years of the Da Xuan Dynasty, Qing Feng and Ming Yue followed his planned national policy implementation, coupled with one of his clones and the Four Saints Beasts System sub-system around, there wouldn't be too much cause for concern.

'The clone has indeed been effective, even that Eternal Proving and God and Demon Secret Realm research already yielded results.'

Results have emerged but cannot be obtained, after all, they are separated by worlds. Simplified communication is fine, but actually transmitting vast amounts of data is entirely unfeasible, not to mention the tearing formed due to speed difference between worlds, even if transmitted over, would cause data loss due to tearing.

Besides, Gu Shanhai currently didn't lack these two research data points; for him, these projects have significance in the Da Xuan Dynasty, aiding Qing Feng and Ming Yue's growth, being of no use in this world.

There's no need for Eternal Proving ability; reaching his level, the system is already fixed, attempts for separation won't succeed, let alone regression.

Let the clone further perfect things with remaining time and install them on Little White, later coaxing Little White into Martial Arts and Immortal Cultivation. Equipped with a progress bar, will curb Little White considerably, making effort visible, providing greater motivation.

'But "Path of Civilization" is extremely difficult to conquer.'

'Even leveraging updates provides no breakthrough into the core.'

Using data swaps during the opponent's updates, now only one firewall layer remains, but this layer involves a virtual-real combination, making it interact with this world's vast inert energy somewhat, hence not that easy to crack.

At this stage, it's stuck here, wanting further advancement seems unlikely.

Even the strongest player in "Path of Civilization," doesn't possess greater privileges than Gu Shanhai.

However, privileges are relatively very limited, at least he still can't directly intervene with players or create a new account; those are core privileges, anything external is largely irrelevant, such as increasing task rewards or exempting certain penalties.

They're the privileges obtainable by players, rather than fundamental ones.

'I need an opportunity!'

'In light of unknown timing for the opportunity, creating my own is the only course.'