Mu Bei-2.0 etched a steel seal of absolute loyalty to Mu Bei onto A Ling's mind. The entire process went smoothly, taking only 14 minutes and 40 seconds, a full 1 minute and 2 seconds faster than the estimated time.
Through this ideological steel seal, A Ling's loyalty to Mu Bei, which had dropped to single digits and was even close to 0, was forcefully raised to three digits—a full 100 points.
Moreover, it was the kind of loyalty that couldn't be any fuller, reaching a level where even if Mu Bei hurt it a thousand times, its feelings for Mu Bei would remain like first love.
Looking at A Ling, who was now completely his, Mu Bei nodded with satisfaction. He could now finally feel relatively confident in giving A Ling some resources to become stronger.
"A Ling, take these."
Mu Bei took out all the virus crystal cores from his storage space, including the Tier 6 virus crystal core obtained from Zhongli Yi, and handed them all to A Ling in one go.
"Hurry up and get stronger, otherwise, let alone keeping up with my pace of becoming stronger, you won't even see my shadow. At that time, I will definitely abandon you."
Upon hearing the word "abandon," the ideological steel seal instantly took effect. A Ling's face suddenly turned panicked, as if being abandoned by Mu Bei was an incredibly terrifying thing.
"Please, Master, don't abandon A Ling! A Ling will definitely listen to Master and try its best to keep up with Master's pace!"
Mu Bei revealed a satisfied smile. He was increasingly pleased with the effect of this ideological steel seal.
"Since you have such Determination, after absorbing these crystals, Mu Bei-2.0 will perform a major surgery on you to make you stronger."
"However, let me remind you—for intelligent life like you with pain receptors, the surgery process will likely be very uncomfortable."
"Furthermore, I need you to undergo the surgery in a completely conscious state, so... Endure well, and don't show any resistance."
"Yes!" A Ling's voice was firm and powerful when it answered, its eyes resolute, as if Mu Bei had become its faith.
Mu Bei looked at it with interest: "Very good, very energetic! I hope you can maintain this state after the surgery!"
To save paradise coins, and to further test the firmness of the ideological steel seal, Mu Bei did not prepare any anesthetic drugs for A Ling.
About fifteen minutes later, A Ling had completely absorbed all the virus crystal cores given by Mu Bei.
Mu Bei immediately took out special locks made from his own bone cells from his storage space and firmly locked A Ling, ensuring it couldn't move. After confirming everything was in order, the major surgery officially began.
The core content of this surgery was to reorganize A Ling's nervous system. Because of this, a large amount of nerve tissue was involved in the process, and the stimulation of nerve endings would cause intense pain.
Over the next two and a half hours, A Ling's screams were almost non-stop:
"Ah—! WC! Ah—! I want to go home—! Ah—!"
"Wai bi ba bo! @#￥%……&!"
Towards the latter half, A Ling, in a state of delirium from the pain, even started babbling unconsciously.
Mu Bei-2.0's golden optical fibers were inserted into A Ling's body, and those chaotic nerve endings were stimulated one by one, producing dense pain signals. The actual level of pain during the entire surgery was even more horrifying than Lingchi!
Two and a half hours later, A Ling finally endured the most, most, most, most, most, most difficult moment of its life.
Although its body and spirit were on the verge of collapse during the surgery, the effect of the ideological steel seal made Mu Bei extremely satisfied:
Even after undergoing a major surgery more painful than Lingchi, A Ling's loyalty to him remained firmly at 100 points, without the slightest wavering!
"Hey! Wake up, it's almost time for my meeting with the Tongxiao Merchant Guild Manager, I need you to take me there."
Mu Bei gently tapped A Ling's face with the tail of the bone drill, but the latter showed no reaction.
Seeing this, Mu Bei raised his arm, ready to slap A Ling awake, but halfway through raising his hand, he put it down again.
It wasn't that he suddenly became soft-hearted, but that he thought of the effect of "Entropy Increase Power."
This was his exclusive room, and the skill would not be suppressed by the Paradise's restrictions. If he were to slap A Ling, its health bar would be permanently reduced, or it might even die instantly.
"Mu Bei-2.0, wake it up."
Mu Bei-2.0's optical fibers vibrated slightly, and A Ling was instantly awakened. Its face was pale, clearly not fully recovered from the pain of the surgery.
...
By the time A Ling took Mu Bei to the Tongxiao Merchant Guild Tier 1-3 branch, Mu Bei was already a full 10 minutes late.
Walking into the lobby, a woman in a bright red cheongsam came to greet them. She had a graceful demeanor and beautiful features, but when she saw Mu Bei's bizarre appearance, her eyes twitched almost imperceptibly.
However, as a professional secretary, she quickly adjusted her emotions, bowed slightly, and saluted Mu Bei and A Ling, her red lips parting slightly:
"Mr. Tombstone, Miss Ling, I am the Manager's secretary, you can call me Rong Er."
In Order Paradise, everyone has their own code name, commonly known as an alias.
Tombstone was the code name Mu Bei gave himself, and Ling was A Ling's code name.
"Miss Ling, you look unwell, you can go to the lounge on the first floor, the flesh and blood there have been prepared for you."
A Ling nodded to Rong Er, then turned to look at Mu Bei. Mu Bei waved his hand, indicating that it should decide for itself and didn't need to ask about everything.
"Mr. Tombstone, please follow me, the Manager is waiting for you in the office."
"Okay, Miss Rong Er, thank you." Mu Bei nodded in response.
Taking the elevator, Rong Er took Mu Bei to the third floor, in front of a low-key yet implicitly luxurious door. After opening the door for him, Rong Er elegantly made an inviting gesture, then quickly left.
Mu Bei noticed that Rong Er was a bit flustered, but he didn't care.
Upon entering the office, the Manager was already waiting behind the desk. It was an oversized desk made of a single piece of extraordinary red wood, so smooth that no joints could be seen.
The Manager bowed politely: "Hello, Mr. Tombstone. I am the person in charge of the Tongxiao Merchant Guild Tier 1-3 branch, you can call me Manager."
The Manager was standing behind an oversized office desk made of a single piece of high-grade extraordinary red wood, with no visible joints. He first bowed to Mu Bei, then invited Mu Bei to sit on the chair opposite him, which was also made of extraordinary red wood.
"Please sit."
After sitting down, Mu Bei first apologized for being late to the Manager: "Mr. Manager, please allow me to first apologize for being 10 minutes late, I am sorry."
"It's alright." The Manager smiled, indicating that he didn't mind at all.
"I have a question now that I'd like to ask you, Manager, to help me understand."
"Please speak."
The Manager was being stared at by the total of 6 eyes on Mu Bei's face and arms, while also feeling the heat emanating from the front, but his expression remained unchanged, still that polite demeanor.
"I can feel that the aura you emit is far stronger than mine currently, and I was the one who broke the appointment first. As an existence far stronger than me, why are you so polite to me?"
Mu Bei's exoskeleton was covered with various receptors and nerve cells, giving him powerful perception abilities.
The essence of perception ability is the capture of external information, and combined with the powerful information processing ability of the "Biological Computer", Mu Bei can now directly calculate the physical attributes of the man in front of him:
Strength, Constitution, Agility, Intelligence, and Charm. All five attributes were far beyond his, ranging between 190 and 200 points.
"Because, a raw jade like you, who ascended to the top of the Tier 1 Paradise Arena with 52 consecutive victories, is almost destined to leave behind a Waste rock like me, who failed the Tier 5 advancement assessment and was forced to become a staff member."
"That reason sounds very reasonable. However, what is a staff member?"
Mu Bei only asked what a staff member was, he didn't ask the Manager how he knew that he was The Pot Man who ascended to the top of the Tier 1 Paradise Arena with 52 consecutive victories.
Because the answer was too obvious, Mu Bei could figure it out himself.
In the 52 arena matches, he used the golden quality skill "Ground Shatter," which he bought from the Tongxiao Merchant Guild, in almost every match.
White, green, blue, purple, light gold, gold... A golden quality skill is simply not something a normal Tier 1 Contractor can afford!
Based on this alone, it could be roughly determined that this person was The Pot Man who ascended to the top of the Tier 1 Paradise Arena with 52 consecutive victories!
Not to mention, in the final duel with the former Arena King, Aiges, the scene where Mu Bei's legs, severed by Aiges's "Spatial Cut," grew eyes under the watchful eyes of the crowd and then crawled back to his side.
With the strength of a super-large merchant guild like the Tongxiao Merchant Guild, which has branches throughout all tiers of the Paradise, if they couldn't recognize that Mu Bei was The Pot Man, then the head of the Tongxiao Merchant Guild's intelligence system could commit suicide to atone for his failure.
Seeing that Mu Bei did not deny the first half of what he just said at all, the Manager's almost certain 99.9% became 100% certain.
Facing this very excellent investment target, the Manager very patiently described to Mu Bei what a staff member is:
After a Contractor's tier reaches Tier 2 or above, they can apply for a staff member assessment. If they pass the assessment, they can leave their Contractor status and become a staff member.
Contractors have to fight for their lives in the mission world every world progress, while staff members are only forced by the Paradise to go to a mission world once every 10 to 20 world progresses.
The survival rate of staff members is much higher compared to Contractors, but correspondingly, the speed of becoming stronger becomes very slow.
However, in the eyes of most Contractors, if the speed of becoming stronger is slow, then so be it, being alive is the most important thing.
Many Contractors who long for a peaceful life, or who have no hope of advancing, will apply to become staff members.
However, the staff member assessment is very strict, and it's not something you can pass just by applying.
The Paradise will formulate a specialized assessment based on the strengths of the people participating in the staff member assessment. The standards are usually set very high, and at least 9 out of 10 applying Contractors will not pass.
High standards mean high quality, and every staff member is actually a rare and important talent.
In Mu Bei's opinion, although the Manager just said that he was a waste stone who failed to advance to Tier 5, it was more likely a form of self-deprecation and a way to elevate him, a Contractor with full potential.
Don't forget, the prerequisite for failing the Tier 5 advancement assessment is reaching Tier 4!
In Order Paradise,
Out of 10 Tier 1s, about 1 can advance to Tier 2;
Out of 10 Tier 2s, about 1 can advance to Tier 3;
Out of 10 Tier 3s, about 1 can advance to Tier 4;
As a former Contractor, the Manager was at least among the top 0.1%.
So, some things are just for listening, don't easily believe them.
After listening to the Manager explain what a staff member is, Mu Bei thanked the Manager, and then got straight to the point:
"My purpose for coming here today is to ask a Contractor with a luck specialty to help me open boxes."
"It seems Mr. Tombstone is quite straightforward. Then I won't beat around the bush either, the person who will help you open the boxes is me." After saying that, the Manager separately displayed his luck attribute, which was as high as 49, to Mu Bei.
"Since the Paradise prohibits direct contact between Contractors or staff members with a tier difference greater than or equal to 4, I can guarantee you on behalf of the Tongxiao Merchant Guild that at Tier 4 and below, my luck attribute is the highest."
"Then, what do I need to pay?"
"You actually don't need to pay anything, consider it an investment from our Tongxiao Merchant Guild in you, the Arena King."
"Also, please be sure to accept this card."
After saying that, the Manager handed Mu Bei a golden card.
...
Name: Tongxiao Gold Card
Grade: None
Effect: Enjoy a 40% discount when shopping at stores owned by the Tongxiao Merchant Guild.
Price: None
Usage Condition: Can only be used by you
Evaluation: Only the most valuable customers or investment targets can possess this gold card from the Tongxiao Merchant Guild.
...
"40% discount? Such a big discount? Okay, I'll take the card."
"However, I don't believe I don't have to pay anything, just tell me the condition directly. Otherwise, my heart won't be at ease, and I won't use this card either."
Will a pie fall from the sky?
Mu Bei didn't believe it, nor did he dare to believe that these things would happen to him, whose luck attribute was -5.
Although the Tongxiao Merchant Guild might not necessarily harm him, Mu Bei-2.0 told Mu Bei a law about luck after collecting all the publicly available information on the Order Paradise public network:
Luck is conserved. If you get a lot for no reason or without sufficient cause, then you should be careful, because you will lose more later for other reasons!
"If you get items in the future that you don't need, you can prioritize selling them to our Tongxiao Merchant Guild. I guarantee I will acquire them at a price that satisfies you."
"That's not enough, my heart is still not at ease!" After saying that, Mu Bei waved his hand at the Manager.
"Let me think... I've got it! There are about 18 days until the next world progress. Based on Miss Ling's previous speed, it can awaken abilities for at least 54 more Contractors during this period."
"And I hope that these 54 people who awaken abilities are Contractors belonging to our Tongxiao Merchant Guild."
After hearing the Manager's suggestion, Mu Bei thought for a moment and said:
"If that's the case, I can probably feel at ease. A... Ah, good! I can lend Miss Ling to your Tongxiao Merchant Guild for 18 days."
Mu Bei almost said the name A Ling in front of the Manager just now, but fortunately, he reacted in time.
Afterward, Mu Bei sent an email to A Ling, who was gorging downstairs, asking it to come upstairs to draft the contract together.