Chapter 566: Chapter 568: Million Spirit Monster Inspection Team

The efficiency of the Black Hand was impressive; a million Spirit Monsters had been successfully reassigned and had even engaged in diplomatic processes with the powers controlling various Star Domains, ensuring that the Spirit Monsters wouldn’t have to worry about being intercepted or detained upon arrival.

They would travel through official channels, not sneaking in covertly.

With such a large scale of force and personnel mobilization, it certainly couldn’t be concealed from those with ulterior motives, so it was better to proceed openly and uprightly.

Their cover story was ready; it was to be called an investment delegation. The grouping was essentially ten Spirit Monsters to a team, their purpose being investment, acquisition, and factory construction–a move that rattled the upper echelons of various forces.

However, upon seeing the Spirit Monsters divided so finely, albeit in a large-scale mobilization, with all personnel and procedural approvals appearing exceedingly normal, they were momentarily at a loss to grasp the Endless Abyss’s intentions.

As a result, a portion of the interstellar civilizations outright rejected the Black Hand’s delegation, indicating they were not needed.

The Black Hand was completely indifferent to this, and this attitude made the higher-ups of the various civilizations even more curious, although most of them had actually agreed to the visit.

The reason was simple, no matter if the other party’s actions were genuine or not, once they entered their territory, they could be better prepared. Otherwise, if they refused without a second thought, what if the visitors were indeed there to invest?

The credibility of the Endless Abyss arms dealers was well recognized, and all the major civilizations knew one thing: the Endless Abyss was very wealthy, truly very wealthy. With an S-rank Battle Armor and an S-rank Mecha for every individual, what harm could these nouveau riche mean, right?

Not only would they welcome the inspection, but they would also need to receive the delegation with the highest standards.

Who wouldn’t like a visit from the God of Wealth?

While they were welcomed, none of the civilizations truly believed that the other party was simply there to generously invest money; after all, it was implausible for so many personnel to be dispatched at once. There must be a deeper strategy at play.

However, based on the civilizations’ perceptions of the Endless Abyss, the plan was likely related to business, with most speculation pointing towards the Endess Abyss’s intent to monopolize the arms trade.

After all, apart from selling arms, the Endless Abyss hardly made any other moves, even the slave trade had dwindled, evidently because it was not profitable enough to bother with.

“This expenditure is indeed costly,” Qin Muye observed, looking at the costs of this operation, which could be called hefty.

Beyond the funds used for bribes, a portion was also needed for investment purposes.

They were operating under the guise of an investment delegation, with the stated interests in investing, acquisition, and construction; they couldn’t possibly just go and observe the infection of the Star Gods.

That would be far too impure of a motive, so a significant expense was inevitable to maintain their cover.

With ten Spirit Monsters in a group and a total of a hundred thousand groups, going to a hundred thousand Star Domains for exploration would initially require a considerable sum of money, but thankfully, it was only for the initial phase.

Because in just one or two months, the Star Gods would have fully matured, and thereafter, there would be no need for further expenditure. However, this move would probably raise suspicions among various civilizations about whether they knew about the Star Gods.

Of course, let them suspect. If by some chance they could spare the energy to target Qin Muye, it would be a win for them.

With ten E-rank Star Gods in a single Star Domain, an average interstellar civilization does not possess so many. Moreover, many civilizations own several Star Domains, especially the three major powers, whose real worries would begin then–because the Star Domains under their command are not counted by single digits, but by hundreds of thousands.

Yet, the number of E-rank Transcendents they have? Adding all three powers together barely totals over two hundred, which would lead to complete disarray.

Although these Star Gods were infected with Abyss Power and had become avatars of Qin Muye, he would not directly interfere with the Star Gods’ actions because, fundamentally, the infected Star Gods served as stepping stones, stepping stones for Qin Muye aimed at the Cosmic Will.

The Star Gods were never Qin Muye’s target, so whatever havoc the Star Gods wreaked was of no concern to Qin Muye. He couldn’t interrupt the process of the Star Gods merging with Gestalt Consciousness to become the Cosmic Will, and therefore, he decided to blend into the process instead of disrupting it.

If he truly wanted to interrupt, of course, it wouldn’t be a problem. He would simply have to reveal the Star God Radar, and the forces would be able to extinguish the Star God calamity within a month.

But then what… What benefit would there be for Qin Muye?

The opportunity for long-term activity would end, but without Points, as they would have been defeated by the natives. And if planning to make a killing in the chaos, that too would be impossible.

With three major forces pressing down from above, Qin Muye found it difficult to rise.

Rather than worrying about it, he’d prefer to gamble for a thrilling quick win, ascend in one step if victorious, or grab a bucket and run if defeated. He had no concerns about what lay behind, even in the face of defeat.

What did he lose? Some resources? Just run an instance and slaughter a world to replenish them.

So from the very beginning, he was in an invincible position, which naturally led him to make a fierce move.

“Although the expense is heavy, it’s worth the item,” Qin Muye reviewed the data feedback from Spirit Monster.

His Star God Radar and Abyss Power infection device naturally had more than just detection and infection capabilities. Combined with Spirit Monster’s abilities, they could also monitor various data such as the growth and mental state of a Star God. Although they couldn’t pinpoint exact numbers, they provided a rough idea.

To get such precise data, only Qin Muye himself could take up the task, as Spirit Monster wouldn’t be able to determine it on its own.

“It is estimated that it will take another month and a half to two months for a full recovery. There shouldn’t be too significant issues.”

As long as the current task of one million Spirit Monsters is completed, the subsequent spread of Abyss Power can entirely propagate through the Gestalt network among Star Gods. By then, as long as each civilization’s force can hold up, there shouldn’t be any problems.

Qin Muye had calculated that Cosmic Will was unlikely to immediately integrate into a Gestalt Consciousness after the Star Gods matured but would need some time for the Gestalt network to grow.

Since Star Gods are essentially fragments of Cosmic Will, they need to rejuvenate and return to their ancestral state, and that’s where Qin Muye intervened–and now, he had already successfully intervened halfway. If the Spirit Monsters don’t encounter any mishaps, the remaining half should be problem-free.

He did indeed underestimate the power of Cosmic Will at first, but with the remedy in place, he still had confidence.

After reading the report, Qin Muye extracted a certain plan from his contingency plans.

“The GROX Empire… it seems there’s a serious issue.”

At this point, Qin Muye couldn’t help but remember the words Ji Shan had once said to him, which now seemed quite likely.

If they could imprison Cosmic Will, how could such power be so easily destroyed?

Of course, their destruction might be real, but there’s a chance they’re just doing sit-ups in death, ready to resurrect at any moment.

“We need sufficient countermeasures in place to avoid being outsmarted.”

He had gotten this far by being cautious. Engaging in a battle of wits with the air was one thing, as nothing would come of it, but should the boat capsize in a gutter, it would be like preparing a wedding dress for someone else–Qin Muye couldn’t be content with that.

With about a month and a half left, if Qin Muye works overtime, he could still complete several countermeasures.

Afterward, Qin Muye’s gaze suddenly fell on Wang Wei.

“Could this also be part of the GROX Empire’s scheme?” Qin Muye looked at the Three Great Treasures inside the other’s body. Their fusion progress had completely stalled. There had been some activity before, but now there were no data changes at all, as if the pause button had been pressed.

“Should I let Wang Wei leave the Endless Abyss?” Qin Muye speculated. It was likely that the stagnation in fusion was related to his being in the Endless Abyss.

The Endless Abyss is isolated from the outside world, with a barrier between the worlds. Essentially, the two are separate systems that can’t intersect, resembling distinct systems incapable of merging or infiltrating, where force or human intervention can cause damage instead.

It was because of this scenario that Wang Wei and the treasures within him were behaving abnormally.

“It’s worth trying to find an uninhabited planet to start with a lab: a good way to test if the GROX Empire is truly lying low or if I’m just being overly suspicious.”

Qin Muye began searching for suitable planets nearby, not too challenging a task as long as the general suitability and location matched, with the environment being the least of issues. Qin Muye could entirely transform the planet’s environment to meet his needs.

Spending a bit of money to hire interstellar companies focused on planetary ecology wouldn’t be an issue either, as he need not worry about harsh planetary environments–it was the least of concerns.