Chapter 835: The Industry Chain
"Xuanwu possesses 'Indestructible' and 'Forget Sorrow'..." Qi Xia murmured to himself. "And Zhuque can float in the sky. That floating ability should be..."
"Zhuque is 'Hovering,'" Chen Junnan said. "I once participated in a game called Big Fat Rabbit with a big brother named Wu Shisan. Even though I didn't see him use his ability, he did say his ability was 'Hovering.'"
The more everyone thought about it, the more it seemed like something was off.
"Qinglong also has 'Silence' on him," Qi Xia continued. "The person ranked nineteenth in 'Cat' is 'Silence.'"
"Ah!" Qin Dingdong was startled and turned to look at Chen Junnan. "Oh right, right... Is there anyone in 'Cat' who can control plant growth?"
"Huh? I don't think I know much about that..." Chen Junnan replied.
Qiao Jiajin muttered to himself, "'Rampant Growth' Ning Shiba is that fortune-teller girl who's already dead."
Qi Xia nodded and interjected, "There's also 'Lush Wood' Liu Ershiyi."
"Damn... There really is one?" Chen Junnan was taken aback, then looked at Qin Dingdong. "Sister Dong, why did you suddenly ask that?"
"That dead snake!" Qin Dingdong said. "As soon as that old bastard 'Tianshe' appeared, he tied us up with tree-root-like vines. If there's someone in 'Cat' with the same 'Echo,' then it's practically confirmed! Many of the powerful abilities of the higher-ups here come from 'Cat.'"
To Qi Xia, the most absurd part wasn't that members of 'Cat' possessed the same 'Echoes' as the 'Heavenly-level' individuals. It was that Qian Wu, the leader of 'Cat,' had 'Twin Flowers' just like 'Tianlong.'
And then there was that 'Giant' 'Sun' in his dream... All of these abilities originated from 'Cat.'
"So it seems Xiao Chu's side didn't contribute much. 'Cat' contributed a lot more," Chen Junnan said. "There's a guy named Jin Yuanxun beside Xiao Chu who has an ability called 'Leap.' He can move to any place he desires. Many upper-level people probably copied this ability, but it seems no one else has any others... Even though 'Paradise Port' has plenty of 'Echoers,' the higher-ups don't seem to like using their abilities."
"'Leap' Jin Yuanxun..." Qi Xia latched onto the key point again.
'Leap' should be the most important ability for all kinds of high-level individuals. He had seen similar abilities in many people.
"Is Little Qian Bean lying...?" Chen Junnan hesitated. "Old Qi, looking at this, it seems he can't be trusted either..."
"I don't think so," Qi Xia shook his head. "We were all there when Qian Wu killed 'Tianma.' His movements were clean and decisive, and his eyes showed no fear of death. He and his two brothers died miserably at the scene of 'Tianma's' killing. If he was in league with all the 'Heavenly-level,' that behavior doesn't make sense."
"Then why is this happening?" Chen Junnan asked again.
Qi Xia lowered his head, stroking his chin, and began to carefully ponder the matter.
If both 'Paradise Port' and 'Cat' were providing eyeballs to the 'Zodiacs,' it couldn't possibly be a one-sided contribution. After all, these two organizations couldn't be afraid of any single 'Earth-level,' nor could they be threatened by these 'Earth-levels.' There must be some kind of 'transaction' involved.
In that case, what did 'Paradise Port' and 'Cat' need?
Qi Xia quickly thought back to the 'Welcome Party' when everyone first joined 'Paradise Port.' An organization that had existed for many years not only had beer and food but could even continuously produce various other food resources.
Thinking in the simplest and most direct way, Chu Tianqiu collected corpses and removed eyeballs just to exchange for survival resources with the 'Zodiacs' to ensure the normal operation of 'Paradise Port.'
After all, this was an organization initiated by ordinary people, and when Jin Yuanxun recruited people, his selling point was 'We have food.'
For many who had lost their memories, a constant supply of 'food' was perhaps the most important bargaining chip. Joining 'Paradise Port' meant being able to 'survive.'
So Chu Tianqiu most likely exchanged 'eyeballs' for food with the 'Zodiacs.' He hadn't lied; he really did make a deal with 'Dilong.'
In this way, both sides got what they needed, giving each other something they no longer needed for essential supplies. It saved both sides a lot of searching time, making it a reasonable transaction with no further complications.
If that was reasonable, what about 'Cat'?
The strange thing was that the turtle in 'Cat' had 'Giant,' capable of magnifying a grain of rice tens of thousands of times. Here, nutritional balance wasn't a concern; as long as food filled the stomach, it was enough. So theoretically, 'Cat' didn't lack food.
Moreover, the composition of 'Cat' was very different from 'Paradise Port.' They were well-trained mercenaries, extremely united as a team. Food shortages wouldn't cause the entire team to fall apart. So Qian Wu most likely didn't ask the 'Zodiacs' for survival resources.
Thinking about it this way made things a bit strange.
'Cat' got less than 'Paradise Port' but gave up more powerful 'eyeballs.' What was their purpose?
"Wait a moment..."
Qi Xia stroked his chin again, feeling like he might be connecting all the dots.
"Why is 'Cat'... so united...?"
He felt he had fallen into a blind spot. Perhaps Qian Wu wasn't lying to him, but to all the other members of the 'Cat' team.
Although he didn't want to admit it, theoretically, no one in the 'Land of Endings' could meet each other outside; everyone was isolated in their own world.
In that case, how could 'Cat' collect the 'rewards' from other 'participants'?
All the people in 'Cat' remained there, fearless of death, and extremely united for one motive: to earn wealth for their families. But how could they verify that their families truly had wealth in the future?
Combining the situations of Qin Dingdong and Chu Tianqiu, Qi Xia felt an unprecedented bold idea emerging.
The thing Qian Wu was exchanging for was probably—'modified memories.'
Thinking about it this way, everything made sense.
The families of 'Cat' members really could receive rewards—at least in their memories.
In their recollections, their families became wealthy in the future, and other 'Cat' members from future timelines could verify this for them.
As long as everyone's memories could be slightly altered and unified, a perfect lie would be self-justified within 'Cat.'
They would become more united, their reputation would grow, and others would learn of 'Cat's' existence, bringing more money and tasks.
And the more tasks 'Cat' carried out, the more 'Echo eyeballs' they produced, thus forming a bizarre industry chain.