Chapter 155 At the Bottom

While Fan Bei was filled with disbelief, Lin Xiaolü suddenly cried out in pleasant surprise:
"He's alive! He's alive!"
"He was breathing to begin with..." Hou Juejue retorted, before trailing off as she noticed something was amiss. The aura of death surrounding Lin Zhongshi was dissipating rapidly, like winter snow meeting the summer sun.
Everyone watched as Lin Zhongshi's complexion began to regain its rosy hue, a clear sign of a rapid recovery.
"What is going on here?" Lin Xiaohong frowned immediately.
"Brother Shi is truly blessed by the heavens; I knew you'd be fine," Lin Xiaolü said happily, not bothering to wonder why.
Hou Juejue hurriedly brought over the bowl of chicken soup she was holding.
"Here, Shi, you've just recovered, you definitely need to nourish yourself..."
Well, each of the three women showed her own distinct traits: one displayed composure and strategic cunning, another was pure and innocent, while the third had the qualities of a devoted homemaker.
This fellow really has a charmed life.
Fan Bei sighed inwardly, then solemnly began to talk nonsense: "It seems Brother Lin has been blessed by some higher entity, which is why he has been able to recover. It just goes to show how little we truly understand about the unknown world. Having escaped this great disaster, Brother Lin is bound to enjoy boundless fortune hereafter."
"Hehe, many thanks for your auspicious words, Brother Fan." Lin Zhongshi's gaze was complex. He had no idea what the other man had managed to discern, but he knew one thing: had it not been for Fan Bei's earlier words, he might truly be dead right now!
Just how much did this man know? Could he be aware of his elder sister's secret as well?
Impossible. He must not judge a noble heart with a petty mind; the man had simply used the most sincere words to persuade him to let go.
The other man had only acted this way because he regarded him as a true friend. If it were those hypocritical villains who were all surface and no substance, faced with the assets and women he had left behind, wouldn't they have simply taken everything for themselves? How could they possibly have sincerely urged him to yield and entrust everything to his sister?
Without that intervention, he could never have been saved today.
Brother Fan is truly a paragon of virtue!
Lin Zhongshi thought to himself earnestly.
After exchanging a few more casual remarks, Fan Bei told him to get some rest and took his leave. Of course, before departing, he did not forget to take the USB flash drive Lin Zhongshi had mentioned.
On his way home, Fan Bei conversed remotely with the housekeeper system.
"How could she have made that choice? I still find it hard to believe she's truly that selfless..."
"The judgment mechanism triggered normally, but human hearts are unpredictable. It is possible she discovered the existence of the system's achievements, or perhaps she was genuinely moved. Unless she speaks of it herself, I cannot ask."
After the exchange, Fan Bei shook his head. At any rate, this matter brought him no loss.
"It doesn't matter. As long as the outcome is good, everything is good."
He inserted the USB flash drive into his computer and opened the files within.
Soon, he spotted a large video file, taking up a solid two or three gigabytes. It was a mystery how it had been recorded.
He opened it and watched carefully as scene after scene unfolded before his eyes.
After watching it through, he finally understood. The place Lin Zhongshi had been sent to was quite extraordinary—no wonder someone with his aptitude still couldn't survive there.
It turned out that place wasn't some arena for bloody combat, but rather a realm for competing in productivity.
Every chosen participant had to manage a territory and undergo an annual evaluation, receiving rewards or punishments based on the results.
Violence was frowned upon, and achievements acquired through violent means were generally excluded from the evaluation criteria.
Halfway through, a strong sense of déjà vu washed over him. He finally remembered: wasn't this precisely what the big boss of the Silver Chamber of Commerce had been doing?
Could that person actually be a chosen participant as well, only to be dropped onto Earth... No wonder he never resorted to brute force; it seemed there were implicit restrictions in place.
If so, that fellow was truly unlucky. Lin Zhongshi apparently proved to be an insurmountable hurdle for him—the kind he could never cross!
Having finally managed to accumulate some family wealth, it had all been wiped out in less than a year.
The reason for Lin Zhongshi's failure was that he had placed last in the evaluation.
The time dilation between that realm and the outside world was 100 to 1. He had spent a little over a week there, which translated to more than two years in real time.
Coming in dead last for two consecutive years—no wonder he had been too ashamed to speak of it and had handed him a USB flash drive instead, letting silence convey everything.
As a man with immense pride in his bones, how could he possibly stomach coming in last place in an evaluation?
As for why he had failed, Fan Bei found some clues within the video.
First, a lack of investment. Everyone else had entered with tens of billions in starting capital, while he had arrived empty-handed.
Second, a lack of talent. The subordinates of others were strategists with intelligence stats of 9 or higher, whereas his subordinates were all dolts with intelligence stats below 2—even stupider than Dabai.
No, Dabai couldn't even be compared; Dabai only played dumb, but Lin Zhongshi's subordinates were genuinely foolish.
With neither money nor capable people, it would be a miracle if anyone could develop anything—unless he was expected to do everyone's job single-handedly.
At this thought, Fan Bei smiled. Right now, Lin Zhongshi was indeed capable of doing everyone's job single-handedly—though in a completely different sense.
***
In the spiritual essence realm, a blue tiger and a white fox sat opposite each other.
The blue tiger said with deep puzzlement, "How did that brat manage to come back to life? Even with our abilities, we wouldn't have been able to make him recover so quickly."
"You really overestimate yourself. It's questionable whether the combined abilities of the two of us could bring him back to life at all, let alone make him recover this fast. A supreme expert is truly a supreme expert; his vision extends far beyond ours," the white fox replied, shaking its head.
"Damn it, why do they have such a charmed life, being able to conceal such trump cards?" the blue tiger said with bitter resentment.
"I'm curious too. Take it easy; we have plenty of time, more than enough. We must uncover their trump cards before we make a move," the white fox said unconcernedly. "There's no need to rush. How much longer can they possibly live? Go take a nap first; by the time you wake up, everything will probably be resolved."
Gritting its teeth, the blue tiger said, "Fine then. I don't want to see these ants jumping around anymore. Not only are they acting like unruly ants, but they even dare to resist."
With that, it found a spot and lay down. Soon, a gigantic mountain materialized, appearing abruptly upon Earth's isolated island of spiritual essence, looming like a giant overlooking the entire realm.
Meanwhile, the white fox carved out a cave beneath the massive mountain and burrowed inside.
Before long, Lin Zhongqing and his companion rushed over. With a commotion of such magnitude, there was no way they could fail to sense it.
Hovering mid-air and gazing upon the tiger-shaped mountain, Lin Zhongqing instantly understood that this was the enemy who had arrived!
The two of them looked down at the colossal mountain, like ants gazing up at a giant, and conversed secretly.
"Indeed, they are far too powerful. Is this a show of force directed at me? Very well, you've gotten your wish, Brother Dongfang. How much will it cost to kill it?"
"About thirty billion should do it."
"Thirty billion for an opponent, hmm... if I save up for another year, it should just about be enough. Let's hope it stays asleep for a while longer."
The two exchanged a faint smile and departed together.
As they walked, Lin Zhongqing murmured, "It seems their reason for not striking earlier was because Shi entered that mysterious realm."
"There were others as well. They must have been chosen around the same time. The housekeeper sent word that the rest of them suffered the exact same fate as your brother, except they had no one to save them and have already perished."
"Their sacrifice will not be in vain."