Chapter 102: A Misjudgment, a Humiliating Reversal

Ye Chen spent the night at the Transcendent Bureau again, all in order not to miss today’s grand extraction ceremony for the latent-energy raw stones.

At this moment, he had changed back into his own clothes and stood with the others in the main hall, looking up at the giant screen.

But if one looked closely, one would notice that Ye Chen was slightly distracted.

All he could think about was the introduction to that diamond ring he had seen last night in the realm of consciousness.

After a long while, he gave a soft sigh, his expression faintly helpless.

That was because, for the time being, he truly could not use this self-awakening artifact, much less become its master.

The reason was simple enough: he was still a single man, and the condition for the ring to recognize a master was that it had to be given to one’s beloved.

But Ye Chen felt that this beloved probably had nothing to do with gender, and perhaps nothing to do with the number of people either... what a wicked thought!

When he saw that condition, Ye Chen had subconsciously thought of Ye Shanshan, but the key problem was that the little girl was not yet an adult.

Tsk, tsk, tsk... what a pity.

Standing nearby, You Ya glanced at Ye Chen, who seemed somewhat absent-minded, and felt a little puzzled.

On the other side, You Zhi kept scratching his hair and yawning. It was obvious he had pulled another all-nighter.

For You Zhi, the auction itself held no appeal at all, but the extraction process was still quite exciting.

The extraction order for the latent-energy stones was based on their numbers, with No. 1 going first.

This raw stone was about the size of a soccer ball, with many cracks running through it, each fissure faintly glowing with a halo of light.

Its owner had chosen to extract it on the spot, having won it for twenty-five million.

Just from its size alone, he felt there was a good chance it might break the record for a single extraction of eighteen points of latent energy in one go.

No. 1 was fixed onto a special apparatus by the researcher, and a glass dome slowly descended from above, sealing the stone inside.

“This is the extraction machine I improved myself. The leakage rate has already been reduced to the lowest level possible,” You Zhi said proudly.

You Ya, standing beside him, immediately cut in. “Only because you used the model from my side as a reference.”

You Zhi shot his younger sister, who delighted in undermining him, a glare and fell silent, sulking.

Ye Chen, having come back to himself, gave the arguing siblings a sidelong glance and silently felt sorry for You Zhi, who had such an overbearing younger sister.

At that moment, a probe slowly extended down from the top of the glass dome, connected to a machine above.

At the top of the machine, a specially made small bottle was inserted upside down.

The probe moved toward one of the cracks in the stone.

With a faint popping sound, it was not the sound of rock splitting, but more like a needle puncturing a rubber ball.

It was as if an invisible barrier had been pierced.

Unfortunately, because of the soundproofing, no one could hear it.

The probe slowly penetrated the gap and entered the stone, stopping at its center.

The person who had spent twenty-five million to buy it was now nervously clenching his fists, excitement, thrill, anxiety, and anticipation all flashing across his face in turn.

In front of the screen, Ye Chen and You Ya exchanged a tacit sidelong glance, both seeming to say: just you wait.

After all, You Ya had once considered buying this raw stone herself, and her bid at the time had been ten million.

In the end, Ye Chen had stopped her and switched her attention to No. 77 instead.

Soon, the raw stone in the close-up shot on the screen began to change.

The halo seeping from the cracks weakened, while the numbers on the machine connected to the probe started to jump.

When the number climbed to 7.98, the stone inside the glass dome gave a soft puff and turned into a pile of dust, which settled onto the machine’s platform.

So this was what happened after a latent-energy raw stone was drained.

Once the latent energy that sustained it was gone, dust returned to dust, earth to earth.

...Ten million, huh. Heh. Talk about getting slapped in the face.

Ye Chen once again let his gaze drift toward You Ya, only to meet her eyebrows shooting up sharply, as if she were saying: you try saying one more damn word.

The very first raw stone extracted today had already proven to be a disastrous loss.

Its owner let out a heavy sigh, his face twisted with heartache.

Even if he was wealthy, money did not come from the sky.

Inside the small bottle at the top of the machine, a misty radiance flowed gently. In truth, that was the raw form of the extracted latent energy, ready to be injected at any time.

The owner, dejected, signaled to the researcher that he wanted to be injected on the spot.

After that, the researcher waiting nearby escorted him to another room.

...

All fifty-five raw stones from last night had been auctioned off, and the live broadcast of the extraction process was still going on.

Apart from a very small number of owners who had chosen not to extract theirs yet, most buyers had already taken their stones into the laboratory with eager anticipation.

When the extraction reached No. 19, Ye Chen’s eyes lit up. Wasn’t that the first stone You Ya had chosen back then?

After the group bidding ended and the latent-energy stones were being collected, Ye Chen had secretly used his special sight to observe this No. 19 stone.

At the time, he had discovered that the brightness within it was dim, and the extractable portion was concentrated only along one side of the fissures, while the rest was nothing but ordinary rock.

And yet, in the end, it had still been bought for six million eight hundred thousand.

On the screen, the probe went in, the energy was extracted, and the stone crumbled into dust.

The number displayed on the machine was only 0.81, not even reaching one full point.

Pfft. And that was supposed to be the chief director of the Transcendent Bureau? Were his eyes full of shit?

Ye Chen forced himself to suppress the urge to turn around and laugh at You Ya... best not provoke that woman for no reason, or who knew whether the next time he had to accompany her in an experiment, she would be even rougher with him.

You Ya ground her silver teeth together. Seeing someone’s shoulders shaking uncontrollably, she quietly took note of the grudge.

...

Nearly an hour passed, and during that time, not a single raw stone with more than ten points of latent energy appeared.

At last, it was finally No. 77’s turn, and Ye Chen chose to extract it on the spot without the slightest hesitation.

Today, he was not wearing the Transcendent Bureau’s white lab coat, because he had a hunch that No. 77 would certainly not be ordinary.

And if he wore the Bureau’s work uniform, it might cause trouble for You Ya and You Zhi.

No. 77 was very small, even a size smaller than an egg.

There was only one crack, narrow and faint, from which a trace of light barely leaked, not at all dazzling.

This stone had not drawn much attention during the auction, and very few people had bid on it.

Its final price of three million five hundred thousand made it one of the cheapest stones among the fifty-five from last night.

So by the time it was finally being extracted, the people in front of the screen were not paying it much mind either.

Most were still discussing and reviewing the earlier stones.

Only one person was staring at the screen with exceptional focus.

In You Ya’s heart, half of her hoped it would turn out to be a worthless stone, so that she could have a good laugh at Ye Chen later.

The other half hoped it would produce something brilliant, and that he could create yet another miracle, which would stir an even greater desire for research within her.

Inside the glass dome, the probe descended and pierced the stone. Ye Chen’s attention was fixed on the gauge of the machine.

Then, all of a sudden, a change erupted.

A familiar voice appeared abruptly in Ye Chen’s mind...