Chapter 228 - Top-Tier Intelligence Broker

“I’m not joking with you. Can you suggest something more reliable?” Lu Ran asked.

“Hmph...” Manager Ying looked at Lu Ran with dissatisfaction. “Do you think I’m an omnipotent god?”

“Aren’t you?” Lu Ran countered.

“Uh...”

Manager Ying paused, sliding a paw across its cheek with a shy expression. “Ah, you caught me.”

Lu Ran was confused.

“Alright, I’ll stop teasing you,” Manager Ying said, shaking its head. “When it comes to the deep sea, I don’t have a good solution. However, I could sell you a piece of intelligence—something that will let you know how Mystic Turtle is doing. If it’s fine, there’s no need to hurry. If not, then you can start panicking. Does that work?”

“You can sell that too?” Lu Ran was surprised. “Don’t tell me your Cat Maid Cafe has expanded into the Merfolk Kingdom.”

“How is that even possible?” Manager Ying rolled its eyes. “But I can use one of my skills to get intelligence for you. Ever heard of foreseeing the future?”

Lu Ran froze.

Fuck, I almost forgot this cat has Time-attribute abilities. It can actually use them in real combat, unlike that half-baked Pig God Zhu Kaixin. We even relied on them to track the necromancer in Golden Hill.

“You truly are a god!” Lu Ran exclaimed, amazed.

This was top-tier intelligence brokering—creating intelligence out of thin air.

“Tsk.” Manager Ying began explaining.

“My foresight comes with four conditions. First, I won’t foresee the future of beings with excessively high strength. Second, I won’t foresee those with excessively high potential. Third, I won’t foresee futures that are too far ahead. And fourth, every time I use foresight, there must be adequate compensation. I don’t work for free.”

It frowned at Lu Ran. “Mystic Turtle isn’t strong, so it meets the first condition. Secondly, it doesn’t have extraordinary potential...”

Although Mystic Turtle had decent potential, in the era of spiritual energy revival, it was still just a Superior Transcendent. To make Manager Ying wary, it would have to be a King Species at least.

Of course, exceptions existed—like Lu Ran’s dog, lizard, and crow. They had unpredictable futures with immense potential, making Manager Ying reluctant to foresee them due to the risk of backlash. But Mystic Turtle? It should be fine.

“As for the third condition, I’ll only foresee what happens to Mystic Turtle six months from now. If it’s fine after six months, you can relax,” the café manager confirmed. “Now, let’s talk about the fourth condition. Foresight consumes a lot of energy, so it’s not free.”

Lu Ran looked at it. “What do you want?”

“Bring me some intelligence that interests me.”

Manager Ying looked disinterested, as if doubting Lu Ran had anything worthwhile. After all, anything valuable would be kept to himself. But intelligence? That might be interesting.

Not that it really mattered—Manager Ying would help regardless. This was more about teaching Lu Ran not to exploit free labor.

“Fine...” Lu Ran sighed. Intelligence, huh? What could I offer?

Then, his eyes lit up. He clapped his hands. “Manager Ying, you used foresight before to search for slumbering ancient beings, right?”

“Yes, what of it?” Manager Ying looked puzzled.

“Well, now that beings like the Merfolk King—an ancient lifeform—are awakening, it means the spiritual energy revival is accelerating. Other ancient beings might awaken soon too.

“But, as we predicted, some must be near death or too weak to regain their peak strength. Right?”

Manager Ying nodded.

“Back then, our plan was to... uh... explain the pros and cons and see if they were willing to become undead familiars for a second chance at life.”

Manager Ying nodded again.

“But that’s not an easy choice for many. So, what if I had a way to let them pass down their bloodline before they died?”

“Huh?” Manager Ying was stunned. “What do you mean?”

Lu Ran smirked. “In the recent Legendary Secret Realm, I obtained something for that...”

He proceeded to explain the function of the Blood Drop Stone.

“If you find a powerful ancient lifeform, you could sell them this information.”

Not only would this promote Lu Ran’s Blood Drop Stone, but it would also give Manager Ying a profitable piece of intelligence.

“Holy shit!” Manager Ying’s eyes widened. “You even got something like that?”

“Does this intelligence meet your standards?” Lu Ran asked.

Manager Ying pondered for a moment. “How powerful beings pass on their lineage has always been a challenge. In ancient times, with abundant spiritual energy and flourishing species, it wasn’t an issue.

“But now? Most beings are unique. Finding a compatible species is becoming harder, especially with reproductive isolation being so unpredictable...

“Your Blood Drop Stone could drive some powerful beings crazy—even overlord species. Alright, this intelligence is valuable enough.”

Manager Ying’s eyes gleamed, spotting a new business opportunity.

Lu Ran cautiously asked, “Speaking of which, Manager Ying, don’t you have any personal interest in the Blood Drop Stone?”

Manager Ying glared and snapped, “I’m only eighteen!”

Lu Ran was baffled.

An eighteen-year-old cat was already old! And, you’re eighteen?

Apparently, the years it had spent in slumber didn’t count toward its age.

“Foresight. Let’s discuss it when we return to Green Sea! I need to go to Qingwu Lake to perform the foresight.”

***

After reaching an agreement with Manager Ying, Lu Ran followed it on a perilous journey back to Xia. Initially, he worried about potential dangers, but his concerns turned out to be unnecessary.

Even if someone harbored ill intentions, now was not the best time to act—this was likely when Xia provided him with the highest level of protection.

Before long, Lu Ran successfully returned to Green Sea City. He let out a sigh of relief—thankfully, nothing unexpected had happened. He had only joked about hiding in Limitless City until he reached level 60, but without internet access, he would have gone insane.

“Let’s go.”

Upon arrival, his only bodyguard was Manager Ying, but that didn’t bother him. With a Time-wielding master capable of foresight by his side, who needed anything else?

Though Manager Ying often seemed unreliable, it was probably more dependable than Principal Shi Zhen or the Pig God.

When they reached Qingwu Lake, the successor to Mystic Turtle, the Qingwu Lake Carp King, greeted the King of Green Sea with sorrow on the lake’s surface. Its spiritual power was robust, and its intellect sharp.

Seeing Mystic Turtle taken away without returning, it had already guessed something had happened. Now, with Lu Ran back, its suspicions were confirmed.

[

Wuu, wuu, wuu,

Master! Master!]

The Carp King wailed mournfully. After just a few days of training, it had developed deep respect for Mystic Turtle, treating it as both teacher and father.

“Why are you crying like that?”

Manager Ying stared at the fish in silence.

Lu Ran consoled it, “General Carp, don’t worry. Mystic Turtle isn’t necessarily doomed—it was just captured by a monster. It shouldn’t be in any immediate danger.

“You should focus on growing stronger and training hard. When you finally transform into a dragon, you might be able to rescue Mystic Turtle. Now go. Train diligently.”

The Carp King’s eyes filled with determination before it turned and left.

Manager Ying twitched its mouth.

Great, none of the transcendent creatures in Green Sea City were normal.

Even in this little lake, Lu Ran had somehow found two brilliant talents, and now they were staging a drama of “Train hard to save the master.”

“Huu...”

With the distraction gone, Manager Ying extended its telekinesis over the entire Qingwu Lake, searching for anything related to Mystic Turtle. Before long, it retrieved Mystic Turtle’s shell, which had been left behind in the lake.

Holding the shell, it said, “I’m starting now.”

Without waiting for Lu Ran’s reaction, Manager Ying closed its eyes, and the shell became enveloped in telekinetic energy.

“Let’s observe together.”

During the foresight process, it extended its paw. Lu Ran reached out and grabbed it.

In the next moment, Lu Ran felt the world spinning as if he had entered another realm. The surroundings were pitch black, resembling a cinema screen gradually transitioning from black to light.

Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle...

The sound of bubbling water emerged.

Soon, the dark space turned deep blue, revealing a vast underwater scene projected before him like an immersive 3D movie.

“Locked on... Thankfully, in the future you haven’t interfered with, Mystic Turtle should be safe and sound...” As Manager Ying spoke, the image grew clearer.

In the deep sea, a massive turtle, dozens of meters in length and width, carried a giant stone tablet on its back. Its body was deep blue, its head a vivid red. Behind it, tens of thousands of shrimp soldiers and crab generals followed, locked in fierce battle against a school of deep-sea sharks.

The scene was immense. The sea surged violently, and Mystic Turtle’s energy waves swept across the battlefield like ocean storms. Judging by its power level, it might even surpass Sudden Death King and the others.

“What...” Lu Ran was stunned. “Manager Ying, is this accurate?”

He stared at the unfolding vision in disbelief.

Wasn’t Mystic Turtle supposed to be looking forward to retirement? How had it ended up in the deep sea, leading an army of shrimp soldiers and crab generals? And had it evolved? What was that stone tablet?

It looked similar to the one Lu Ran had forged, but it seemed to have undergone some changes.

Had the stone tablet also been upgraded? What exactly had Mystic Turtle experienced?

The foresight dissolved like a bursting bubble. Exhausted and panting, Manager Ying said, “My foresight is based on preconditions. If you don’t interfere with the future, this is highly likely to happen.

“See? I told you it’s fine. Looks like it’s doing better in the deep sea than in your shabby Green Sea. Maybe your little domain was what limited its growth.”

Lu Ran froze.

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

“Impossible. Absolutely impossible. Mystic Turtle must have been forced into this. Even though its future looks valiant, I know it too well—it must be waiting for me to bring it back to retire...”

“So, what’s the plan now?” Manager Ying asked disdainfully.

Lu Ran cleared his throat.

“Since it’s fine, let it serve as a general in the Merfolk Kingdom for now. This just proves that without enough strength, peaceful retirement is impossible...

“This way, whether it wants to retire in Green Sea or directly in the deep sea, at least it’ll have the power to protect itself. With the Merfolk Kingdom’s resources, this training and growth experience isn’t a loss.

“In a few months, once I can venture into the sea, I’ll go find it!”

Mystic Turtle, it’s not that I don’t want to find you. Going now would only lead to my demise...

Lu Ran sighed.

I hope you’re doing well in the deep sea. Just wait for me!