Inside the island's secret storage base, Begetto and Kevin stood in front of shelves lined with sealed containers, filled with bottles and jars. Each area had a different number, and different numbers in the catalog represented different stored items.
"Precious beasts—and the rarest kind at that." Begetto looked at the Golden Chickens in the sealed containers and couldn't help sighing. They had just carefully checked the catalog, and most of what was sealed here were samples of various endangered or already extinct organisms. Though there were quite a few of these biological samples, in a sense, their rarity couldn't be compared to the Golden Chickens.
Look—most samples were either sealed individually or stored in pairs. But there were over twenty Golden Chickens sealed here, and even the golden eggs next to them filled a large basket. It was clear that everything they could find had been collected and sealed. The sealing specifications were completely different from other organisms, which already highlighted the special nature of the Golden Chickens.
"Do you have the confidence to cultivate them?" Kevin asked with a smile from the side.
Begetto glanced at him and said, "I just pulled up some information. They've actually already completed the cultivation of these Golden Chickens. These eggs are fertilized and can hatch Golden Chickens."
Hearing this, Kevin pulled up the relevant documents to check and indeed found the specific research records. Though this secret organization was mainly engaged in biological weapon engineering, it was clear they were also top-notch in biological research. After reading the records, Kevin roughly understood that the reason precious beasts were called precious beasts was because the conditions for their growth and reproduction were extremely harsh. Many people had discovered and found precious beasts, and many wanted to cultivate them on a large scale, but the final consideration was still cost-effectiveness. If used for collection or entertainment, spending a large price was certainly not a problem. But if you wanted to manage it as an asset, that was very difficult.
Take the Golden Chicken, for example. They required a high-quality growth environment and fed on precious medicinal herbs rich in vigorous vitality. However, the meat quality of the Golden Chicken was not good, and its nutritional value was average. The only thing worth looking forward to was the golden eggs they laid. This was almost the only beneficial thing the Golden Chicken could bring. Unlike ancient records, research records showed that the shell of the golden egg was not made of metal, but merely presented a texture like gold. Its essence was just an ordinary eggshell, but the egg liquid was extremely nutritious. To some extent, the golden egg was a supplement with high nutritional value, but that was all.
Only two aspects would likely be interested in this: used as food ingredients, or used as medicinal materials. In other aspects, it was difficult to find related uses. Simply put, as raw materials, golden eggs could play a good role in some areas. If you were rich and interested, raising a few Golden Chickens was naturally not a problem, but if you wanted to profit from raising Golden Chickens, it was almost impossible—the required conditions were too harsh. The output was too low, and the finished products weren't very important necessities.
However, this was enough for Kevin. He just needed to set aside a dedicated breeding area and regularly obtain golden eggs. Though the yield of golden eggs was not high, as long as there was a stable supply for him to continuously refine into potions, he could accept other aspects. As one of the raw materials that could quickly increase his strength, this alone was enough for him to spend time and energy.
"Let's leave this here for now. It's not too late to deal with it later. I'll show you something more interesting." Begetto smiled mysteriously and led Kevin toward the most heavily protected area of the entire warehouse.
This area not only stored biological sealed containers but also various document records and many unknown strange items. When the two arrived, Gu Gu, White, and the warehouse manager were already there. It seemed they had been waiting for a while. It wasn't certain which things were important, but as the only relatively important area in the storage region, the items sealed here were clearly not ordinary.
In this area, the most striking feature was the giant storage tank, seven to eight meters high, placed before everyone. Through the transparent sealant, the solidified organism inside could be clearly seen. It was an insect-like creature, long and huge in body, with long, oval carapaces on its back covered in strange white patterns. What was even more peculiar was that its lower abdomen had been completely hollowed out. From a specific angle, one could see that the inside of this beetle was already empty—clearly a corpse. Even in its sealed state, Kevin could still feel the Nen emanating from this corpse.
"Ruins Beetle." Begetto introduced, pointing to the sealed beetle corpse. Without waiting for Kevin to ask, he continued explaining, "This is a type of beetle that has only appeared in ruins and ancient records. There haven't even been any related fossils found in reality. But now, there's actually a corpse specimen. And do you know? According to the remaining records, this corpse specimen is thousands of years old—meaning it hasn't decayed after thousands of years. The growth organ you took from the Charge Armor before was cloned from an organ inside this beetle."
He was a little excited when he explained, seemingly thrilled by the discovery of this corpse. Begetto was Jin's disciple after all. As the disciple of a Ruins Hunter, he must have followed him in exploring ruins and learned a lot about ruins during that time.
That's why he was so excited when he saw this insect. However, Kevin's focus was clearly not here. Looking at this insect corpse, he had only one thought in his mind—touch it. He wanted to feel what level of material this corpse belonged to.
"I know what you want to do. Look there—there's a leg that hasn't been sealed." Begetto pointed to the side.
Kevin looked over. It looked like a pile of miscellaneous items, but anything placed here was clearly important. It was just that there were many kinds, making the shelves look a bit cluttered. In a small transparent bottle, there was indeed a black little leg, about the size of an index finger, looking more like a small tentacle broken off from this insect. But this was enough.
Kevin walked straight over, opened the jar, and gently touched it. The desire value was not high—just a normal C-level desire. But considering this was just a small tentacle broken off from a giant insect corpse, something that wouldn't make Kevin feel anything if it were from other organisms, this meant that the insect corpse's level must be higher than that of the Calamity Dragon strengthened after genetic rampage. Then the core part of this corpse should at least reach level B, maybe even A-level. Of course, this was just speculation. Kevin also didn't know what kind of desire A-level was. It's just that the corpse's belly was hollowed out, so the possibility of anything precious remaining was not high.
Kevin shifted his attention to the shelves in front of him, where various strange stones, ores, fossils, and even some wood carvings resembling ethnic sculptures were displayed, looking like they were excavated from ruins. From the patterns on these sculptures, it could be seen that they were consistent with the patterns on the insect corpse and should have come from the same ruin.
Just then, Kevin saw a book. This book didn't look like an ancient text unearthed from a ruin. He slowly picked it up and checked the book's packaging. It even had a publisher printed on it, but the publication date was actually hundreds of years ago?
"New Continent Chronicle · East"
"Hmm?" Memories instantly flooded Kevin's mind. This book—wasn't it the 'Book of the Outside' that Jin had mentioned before, the one that had been secretly destroyed and recalled? With a slightly excited mood, Kevin flipped through it, quickly browsing the contents. It looked like a collection of ordinary stories, filled with various strange and fantastical descriptions. After a quick glance, Kevin closed the book.
"This thing—if you don't mind, I'll take it." Kevin said frankly. The people present all turned their heads to look at the book in Kevin's hand.
"Okay." Gu Gu nodded. The others also had no objection. For Hunters of their level, the Dark Continent was no secret.
Kevin put the book away and focused his attention on more archive records. These archive records were equally crucial to him.
A day passed in the blink of an eye. During this day, everyone gained a comprehensive understanding and surveyed the entire storage base. Excluding the large number of biological specimens that were of little significance, there wasn't actually much important information. Soon, the Hunter Association's airship arrived and sealed off and controlled the entire storage base. Next was a long stage of wrangling, but that had nothing to do with Kevin and the others. They completed this mission exceptionally well, and their contributions were recorded. Of course, the deserved rewards would not be lacking.
Pairo, carrying some materials Kevin had collected from the storage base, returned home first. Kevin followed Begetto back to the base they were previously at. The spoils they wanted from the storage base needed to go through relevant procedures to be obtained. But the spoils in this base didn't require waiting. Kevin was thinking about the Charge Armor and the various materials disassembled from the Calamity Dragon, planning to take them all away.
"These materials, along with the ones I gave you before, I will arrange for someone to deliver to your designated location. Don't worry," Begetto said. After speaking, he looked at Locke next to him. "The reward for this mission has already been deposited into your account. It was a pleasure working with you."
Locke smiled and shook hands with Begetto. "It was a pleasure working with you." Though the initial stage of the mission felt somewhat dangerous, after it ended, Locke felt it was nothing. Throughout the mission, he was primarily responsible for detection and support work, barely participating in direct combat, and didn't encounter any danger—so this money was earned quite easily, at least much easier than when he worked hard.
"You can find, or contact, Ging, right?" Kevin asked.
Begetto nodded, indicating that of course he could find or contact him if needed.
"Then the next time you see him, please help me give this to him." Kevin said, taking out a small black box, which naturally contained the Member card. Begetto took it, nodding in understanding. "No problem, but I can't guarantee the specific time."
After handling the matters here, everyone dispersed. Kevin returned to Nostra Manor by airship. Inside the manor, the lawn at the entrance seemed to still have some traces of filling. And the main building in the center of the manor was clearly undergoing repairs.
As if knowing Kevin was returning, Light was waiting in the living room early. Seeing Kevin, he smiled and stood up, stepping forward to hug Kevin.
"How is it? Have there been any problems with the company recently?" Kevin asked.
Light shook his head. "Don't worry, the company is currently developing steadily. Without the interference of the Tedolka Family, only normal business competition remains. And at this stage, there are no similar types of drugs impacting our market." Simply put, the situation was excellent. As the company gradually got on track, various professional personnel successively joined, and the busy state of everyone a month ago had long disappeared, returning to the relatively leisurely pace of the past.
"Neon wasn't startled, was she?" Kevin asked with a smile and concern.
Light smiled and shook his head. "No, they did very well—better than I expected." Clearly, Light was increasingly satisfied with the performance of the three Kurta. As for Kevin's work, Light didn't ask too much—after all, it was completely different from his field, and asking wouldn't have much meaning.
After the two chatted for a while, Kevin walked toward the training ground. He found that within the manor not far from the training ground, a new building was under construction, and the foundation was being dug deep.
In the training ground, Kurapika and Pairo were undergoing their daily routine training. Neon and Rosana were sitting in the nearby rest area talking. Noticing Kevin's arrival, everyone stopped what they were doing.
"Well done—I've already heard about your situation from Pairo." Kevin first praised them. Then, he looked at Rosana. "I heard you've already constructed your Nen ability?"
Rosana nodded. A key appeared in her hand, and she handed it to Kevin. "This key can enter my Nen ability space."
Kevin took the key. The moment he touched it, the key's appearance changed, showing some color stripes that matched his physical characteristics. "Hmm, interesting."
Then, he followed Rosana to experience her Nen ability. I have to say, after the experience, Kevin was very surprised. Though Rosana's Nen ability couldn't be described as perfect, it was indeed constructed quite well. Its functionality was entirely considered from a team perspective, and the essence of the Nen ability also seemed highly consistent with a certain need in Rosana's heart. Simply put, she very cleverly combined her experiences, thoughts, and Nen type.
More importantly, this Nen ability happened to make up for a small weakness of Kevin's. He would be in a state of 'Zetsu' when making medicine, and at this time, he was very susceptible to attack. Now with Rosana's Nen ability space, Kevin could completely move his potion-making location to this absolutely safe space. In fact, it wasn't necessary to enter the inner layer space—the outer layer space was enough for him to use. Only when encountering danger would entering the inner layer space put him in an absolutely safe state. Moreover, the outer layer space's protective mechanism could effectively prevent enemies from launching a surprise attack. Enemies would definitely be obstructed here once—because it couldn't be entered without permission, unless violently broken through, and violent breaking through would be discovered, meaning obstruction had occurred.
After the tour, Kevin asked, "So, the real space that is truly set as 'home'—its size, specifications, and the furniture inside are the same as the copied Nen space, is that right?"
Rosana nodded. Her Nen ability was indeed like this. If there was no outer surface real space as a carrier, her absolute safe space would appear in the form of her former home, which she could not change. This was not difficult to understand—Nen ability was after all a product of will and spirit. For Rosana, the appearance of home had long been fixed in her heart. Furthermore, because of her previous experiences, it was firmly engraved in her heart, and no matter how it changed, its essence would not change. People with special and powerful Nen abilities more or less had such obsessions.
Whatever the real space set as 'home' looked like, and whatever furniture it had, the hidden Nen space would be the same, equipped with the same furniture, and this furniture could be used normally. For example, the TV could receive signals, and it could be connected to water and power. But if the real space set as 'home' didn't have these furniture, functions, and infrastructure, then the copied Nen space wouldn't have these functions either. It should be noted that the larger the real space and the more furniture there was, the higher the potential Nen capacity limit consumed by the copied Nen space would be.
Taking Rosana as an example, if her current potential Nen capacity was 10,000, the most real home originally set—its size and complexity—consumed about 2,000 Nen. Neon's bedroom was relatively small, and when set as 'home,' it consumed about 1,000 Nen. From the moment her Nen ability awakened, Rosana's potential Nen capacity limit was directly deducted by 2,000. In other words, if there was no real space as a copy carrier, the 'home' based on Kurapika's home in his secluded place would always exist. Unless Rosana's Nen ability disappeared, this 2,000 limit deduction would not change.
However, this limit would change with changes in the real space set as 'home.' For example, if 'home' was set to Neon's bedroom, then the Nen space would become the corresponding copy. Due to the change in space size and specifications, the deduction of the Nen capacity limit would only be 1,000, so Rosana's usable Nen capacity would reach 9,000. Unless Neon's bedroom changed significantly, or Rosana changed the setting of 'home' and moved, the situation would remain the same. Essentially, the principle was not complicated.
Understanding this, Kevin probably guessed the purpose of the building where the foundation was being dug nearby. If nothing unexpected happened, that should be a building specially built for Rosana to set the real space of 'home.' After all, with a real space carrier, the copied Nen space could have corresponding functions. At the same time, for Rosana, the improvement of her potential Nen capacity was very necessary. The larger the potential Nen capacity, the larger the constructed space and the more complete the functions.