Superstars of Tomorrow

Chapter 175: Rise in Value

Translator: BeetleBarker Editor: Tennesh

The 10th-generation console came prebuilt with a protection mode, but it was still in an experimental phrase and not everyone could use it. At most, it could protect the user’s body, but controlling the machine was more difficult. It was not as easy as it was in-game. If one was to forcibly try to control it, there was a possibility of suffering brain damage.

Therefore, when the first batch of 10th-generation consoles had been released, engineers had only given users a brief explanation of the protection mode. Users had been told that in the event of emergency or danger, this mode could be activated and the machine would safeguard the user as much as possible. Also, upon activation, the machine would automatically cover the user’s body in a flash.

Cao Kan kept replaying the video. During the split second when the accident had occurred, the camera had shaken too violently as dust and debris fell all around, affecting its line of sight. But from that short and blurry image and his understanding of the 10th generation, Cao Kan could deduce what had happened.

During that brief instant, Fang Zhao, who had originally been pulling Su Hou toward the door, had stopped abruptly, retraced his steps, and activated the 10th-generation console. Although the 10th generation was not equipped on either Fang Zhao or Su Hou, the one who activated it was Fang Zhao, as he was also closest to it. The 10th-generation console activated in protection mode and automatically wrapped itself around Fang Zhao who then shielded Su Hou from the impact as the ceilings and walls came crashing down.

As for that dog... Maybe it was just very lucky, crouching beside the beginner’s console, which took the brunt of the impact.

Curly Hair caught Cao Kan’s attention for a while before he rewound the video and analyzed it once more. Once Dongshan Farm had settled down, he decided that he would ask Fang Zhao for a detailed breakdown of his experience using it. This would help promote the 10th-generation console’s system. The effectiveness of the 10th generation’s protection mode left him very satisfied. From a manufacturing point of view, this incident was a pretty good advertisement and had proven the feasibility of the 10th generation’s protection mode. The company’s publicity staff would definitely not let this opportunity slip by.

If only we could pull Fang Zhao into a laboratory to aid in our research and development, Cao Kan thought to himself regretfully. He could only feel sorry—given Fang Zhao’s commercial value now, Silver Wing absolutely would not let him go.

Previously, there had been 10th-generation console users who wished to use it as an exoskeleton mecha to act cool, but they had found the machine too difficult to operate. Therefore, when the 10th-generation console had hit the market, some people had ridiculed it as being "just a toy."

This was also the reason everyone had only seen it as just a gaming console. But now, owners of the 10th-generation console felt like they were exam candidates and saw Fang Zhao as someone who had gotten hold of the examination answers. They all wanted to know what Fang Zhao had learned from using it, but right now, Fang Zhao had no time to bother with all this.

Once Su Hou was handed over to his bodyguards, Fang Zhao immediately headed back to the wreckage. Besides them, there were others still buried underneath.

Zuo Yu had been standing outside the gaming room when the accident had happened. The extent of the damage to that area was slightly better than the gaming room. When Fang Zhao had discovered Zuo Yu, Zuo Yi’s body had not had any mortal injuries, he had just been knocked out cold. There were fractures in his arms and lower leg, but with current medical standards, these could be considered minor injuries.

After Zuo Yu, Fang Zhao pulled out from the wreckage two other bodyguards of Su Hou and a farm employee who had been cleaning the room. Other than one bodyguard who was seriously hurt, the other two had only received minor injuries and would be out of danger after some medical treatment. The flying transport had crashed into the gaming room; the other areas had not been that badly affected.

As Fang Zhao moved across the wreckage, he was also thinking about what had happened. Su Hou had used high-quality materials when constructing the house. If they were more normal materials, the entire house might have been flattened immediately when the flying transport had come crashing down.

When the rescue team arrived, Fang Zhao had just rescued the last person.

After the rescue team landed with all the excavating equipment, the rescue team captain pointed at the white organism that seemed to have electrical circuits running through it and was walking through the wreckage. The captain asked one of Su Hou’s bodyguards, "What is that?"

They had watched the live broadcast on their own flying transport, but when seeing the situation for themselves, it still seemed inconceivable.

That bodyguard of Su Hou had a relaxed smile and replied, "That is Fang Zhao using the 10th-generation console. Oh, you guys might not know about the 10th generation..."

The bodyguard passionately explained to the rescue team.

The rescue team captain had a complicated expression on his face. It really is a game console?

"Since when were game consoles able to do this?"

Su Hou’s bodyguard shrugged. He had no idea either. Watching Fang Zhao move away the large floorboard a while ago, it seemed like the 10th-generation console had some special characteristics of a power exoskeleton suit other than just being looking similar.

As Fang Zhao walked over from the wreckage, Su Hou’s bodyguards hurriedly handed him some water and helped Fang Zhao peel off the 10th-generation console that was full of scratches and dents.

"The energy has been depleted, and the body frame has suffered more than 40% damage. It needs repairing," Fang Zhao said.

Su Hou’s bodyguard immediately replied, "That’s not a problem!" To him, Su Hou’s safety was the first priority. As for sending the console in for repairs, even if it meant spending a lot of money, it would be no issue.

Over at the other side, Su Hou had woken up, and he heard a bodyguard recount the situation.

His game console that had been just delivered and had not been used for more than an hour had been damaged to that extent. Su Hou felt a little heartache, but he also felt that it was especially worth it!

Comparing a machine to human life, the latter was definitely more important. Furthermore, this machine had not only saved one person. If it had not been delivered today, the consequences could have been disastrous, and even his own life may have been forfeit.

As a Su family member and a minor who had an especially high exposure in the limelight, since he was young, Su Hou had encountered many kidnapping and assassination attempts. Luckily for him, there had always been a timely intervention. Later on, perhaps because Su Hou was rather useless and did not have much influence in the Su family, the rate of such incidents had decreased. But after the sheep-herding competition, with his status in the Su family on the rise and his even more frequent appearances in the public eye, all these troublesome matters had started returning.

If he hid away in a remote region and kept a low profile, no one would think about Su Hou, but Su Hou was someone who could not do so. Just watching the news for the past few days, anyone would know Su Hou was not someone to stay out of sight.

This matter was out of hand and had a wide impact. Su Hou did not need to request for help, for the Su family would step in with full force with regard to this matter. This affair did not just target Su Hou, it was a public provocation of the Su family’s status in Muzhou!

Fang Zhao looked at Su Hou, who was sitting down with a blank look, and asked, "You all right?" This kid would have suffered a concussion and become even more dumb, wouldn’t he? He was already quite foolish; if Su Hou became any more dumb, he might really become retarded.

Suu Hou snapped out of it and flashed a smile. "I’m all right. I really have to thank Master Zhao this time around!"

"Credit goes to your 10th-generation console. When this is over, I will give you a detailed explanation on how to use the 10th generation’s protection mode. I didn’t get the chance to teach you just now." Fang Zhao then continued, "Does this happen a lot?"

"I’m used to it." Su Hou might have said this, but this time had really been a huge scare for him.

Although Fang Zhao had used the 10th generation to protect Su Hou and he had only received minor injuries, before he had lost consciousness, buried beneath the rubble, the fear of being unable to breath in the darkness had been etched into his mind. At this point, Su Hou suddenly felt some regret. Had he been wrong to purchase such a remote farm? He had not thought too much when purchasing the farm. If only he had been a person who considered carefully, he wouldn’t have been cheated.

He used to think that the place was remote, so no one would find him and give him trouble. The farmland was cheep at that price, too. Never had he expected that these disturbances would follow him despite him being out of the way.

As they were speaking, Curly Hair dragged the deformed helmet of the beginner’s console over. When Su Hou saw it, his gloomy outlook somewhat dissipated. He was touched.

"Curly Hair, thanks! Thank you for bringing it out! Master Zhao, look, Curly Hair is deserving of being a champion dog. He is too considerate. He knew how important the beginner’s console was to me; that’s why he brought it out." Su Hou took a few steps forward and squatted down to receive the the beginner’s console that had accompanied him for so many years from Curly Hair’s mouth.

He pulled once, but it didn’t budge.

He pulled once more, but the dog still bit onto it tightly.

Fang Zhao gave a low cough. "Cough!"

The dog loosened it’s jaw.

Su Hou’s slight doubts returned to being moved as he took the deformed console and hugged Curly Hair as his eyes became clouded with tears. He only let go when he received a call from Su Feng.

Watching Su Hou’s back as he walked away, Curly Hair stood in the same spot. His tail drooped, his nostrils flared, and he let out some whimpers.

"I’ll get one for you when we return," Fang Zhao muttered.

Curly Head immediately stopped whimpering, and his tail shot up and started wagging vigorously. He even enthusiastically went to the wreckage to see if anything else required his help and conveniently led the dogs to patrol the farm.

Su Feng’s flying transport arrived shortly after. When he saw that the state of Su Hou and the farm were not as bad as he expected, only then did he let out a sigh of relief.

"Su Hou, you didn’t go online?" Su Feng asked.

"No." Su Hou was still hugging the beginner’s console. When had he even had the time to go online to read the news?

Su Feng’s eyes widened slightly. "Your console’s price has risen—no, it has straight up doubled in value!" On his way to Dongshan Farm, the price of a 10th-generation console had already been stirred up to 160 million. Right now, it was already 200 million!

For many people, 200 million was indeed extremely expensive. This sort of money could buy a decent farm in Muzhou or allow someone to live comfortably. However, now, a game console with some special features would cost that much.

These people were downright crazy!

When Fiery Bird had previously publicly showcased Fang Zhao’s adaptability of 99 when using the 10th-generation console, its impact had not had the same intensity and scope compared to now. This unexpected accident had caused an uproar in the market for the 10th-generation consoles, and many people were in a frenzy to try and snap one of them up. There were only 100 such consoles in the world, though; how could the prices not be jacked up so much?

An exoskeleton power suit was something the masses had no way of coming into contact with. Even with all the money in the world, one might not necessarily get to use an exoskeleton power suit. Since that was the case, why not use a game console to satisfy their cravings? This was more exciting than speeding in an expensive car! This was a new generation of pretentious items! Furthermore, it could even save lives!

"Su Hou, someone within the family wants to buy that 10th-generation console," Su Feng said. "But given the friendship between us, if you do decide to resell it, why not pass it to me."

"Resell?" Su Hou stared at the bruised and battered 10th-generation console and told Su Feng, "Master Zhao says it can no longer be used normally and requires repairs."

"No problem. If you sell it to me, I will take care of such matters. You won’t have to fork out a single cent for repairs," Su Feng replied promptly.

Su Hou’s father had read the latest reports online, and he felt a sense of regret. From a businessman’s point of view, if the price continued going up, the value of the machine would continue rising. Who wouldn’t want that?

Su Hou felt that the 10th-generation console had saved him and the others. In the future, should any such incidents happen when Fang Zhao were not around, he could still use the method Fang Zhao would teach him and use the 10th generation for protection.

While Su Hou and Su Feng were talking, Fang Zhao received a text message from Cao Kan.

"Fiery Bird’s chief R&D engineer, Cao Kan, says your 10th-generation console will be repaired for free," Fang Zhao told Su Hou.

"Really? Can it be returned to its original state?" Su Hou asked.

"According to Cao Kan, yes."

"That’s great. I’m not selling the 10th-generation console!" As he said that, Su Hou logged on to his social platform and posted a new status—

"So thankful for it saving my life, I’m not selling!"

The accompanying picture was of the battered and dusty 10th-generation console placed in front of the wreckage.

After that, the rescue team took over. There was no longer anyone that needed saving, but buried beneath the wreckage were seeds and fertilizer that were being stored. To the people of Muzhou, these were all important items.

The Su family had already dispatched someone over to investigate the matter. The statement he released was that the flying transport that had requested clearance to land had suffered a system malfunction, but how many people actually believed that was another matter.

By the time Wayne arrived, the accident scene had already been cleared and the wreckage no longer remained. The specialized equipment the rescue team brought was indeed efficient.

Confirming that Fang Zhao was fine and Zuo Yu was no longer in any danger, Wayne urged Fang Zhao to return to Yanzhou.

I feel that it’s best if you return with me. You have seen the farm and fetched your dog; it’s time for us to go. I have brought along a medical team. They say that after Zuo Yu’s wound is treated, he can be transferred back without any issues. Besides, whether this matter was a terrorist act or a personal grudge, the Su family will handle it, so there is no need for you to stay here. Let’s head back to discuss how to handle the news conference. Now that this has happened, the media are sure to ask."

Fang Zhao mulled it over for a bit and agreed to Wayne’s suggestion.

Su Hou and Su Feng wanted to thank Fang Zhao with at least a meal, but Wayne could not wait to get Fang Zhao out of this place where inconveniences were rife. As long as they left this place, Fang Zhao would not encounter these sorts of situations.

He had hoped that Fang Zhao would make his presence felt, but if it was this sort, Wayne did not want it. His heart could not bear the stress.

Thus, even without getting dinner, Wayne led Fang Zhao along into the flying transport and headed back for Yanzhou.

On the journey back to Yanzhou, Fiery Bird’s deputy director Tang Can personally contacted Fang Zhao and requested Fang Zhao endorse the 10th-generation console. Not right now, of course. After all, it had not yet started mass production, but their plan was to book him in advance.

Wayne was listening intently beside Fang Zhao, and he felt all sorts of complicated feelings in his heart. The company’s professional teams had not even started their publicity campaigns before Memorial Day and had spent over 10 hours in a meeting coming up with a programs that took up 10 pages worth of files, yet before anything had started, Fang Zhao had already received the endorsement role that every single big e-sports club was eyeing?

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