My skills have mutated again!

Chapter 432 Symbolic Deprivation, Yang Zhe's Death, Thunder Technology
Yang Zhe's office is about fifty square meters in size, which is not small, but it gives people a feeling of being crowded.

Because there are a lot of messy and random things.

In the center of the room was a mahogany desk, and behind the desk was a luxurious leather executive chair.

mahogany table and office chair.

This is considered standard equipment for nouveau riche bosses.

Xia Lin stepped forward and noticed that the back of the boss's chair was embroidered with exquisite embroidery: "Sitting in charge of one side".

"Ah……"

Xia Lin smiled and sat down in the chair, turning around in circles as she looked at the other items in the office.

Directly opposite the desk are a sofa, a tea table, and tea sets.

On the desk, there is a jade dragon statue and a model of an antique musket.

On the right side of the desk, there is a statue of Guan Yu.

On the wall to the left of the desk, a finely crafted longsword hangs.

Behind the office chair, there was a photograph hanging.

In the photo, several people stand side by side, but Yang Zhe is standing in the most inconspicuous position, while the face of the person standing in the center of the photo is somewhat blurry.

Xia Lin rubbed her eyes hard and found that the photo was not damaged and her vision was normal, but she still couldn't see the face of the person in the center clearly—this might be a kind of cognitive blur.

This photograph is symbolic. However, Xia Lin speculates that the person symbolized in the center of the photo may not have been pulled into the shadows, which is why their facial features cannot be clearly seen.

Xia Lin already had some guesses about the person symbolized in the center of the photo—it was quite easy to guess.

But that's not an important matter right now.

He turned back into his chair and looked at the coffee table opposite his desk.

On the coffee table are three gold artifacts: a golden toad, a golden tripod, and a golden lion.

In the corner of the room near the door, there stood a piece of blue and white porcelain.

Opposite the blue and white porcelain piece, in the corner, is a globe.

In addition, various flower pots on the windowsill are planted with flowers, which compete for beauty and create a beautiful landscape.

To be honest, Xia Lin felt that this office was not grand or luxurious, but rather had a dirty and messy feel to it.

The overall design seems to have been created by an extremely tasteless designer, cramming in everything imaginable.

Xia Lin wasn't surprised.

Because symbols don't require taste.

After pacing around the office several times, Xia Lin finally arrived in front of the photograph.

Ignoring the people in the photo, Xia Lin reached out and lifted the photo, looking at the wall behind it, a slight smile appearing on her lips.

An embedded safe came into Xia Lin's view.

……

Symbolism doesn't require taste, but it does require logic.

The dark side of the world, at least from the current perspective, is not bizarre or abstract; it certainly has basic logic.

As a socially active group, and one that makes money through illicit means, there are always some assets that cannot be made public and can only be stored in safe locations in the form of cash or precious metals.

For example, a safe embedded in the office wall.

He took out a small paperclip-shaped gadget from his pocket.

This is a universal lock pick that Xia Lin bought for 500 yuan from a plug-in app.

[Universal Lockpick (Grade B): One-time use item. Can open any physical lock after use. This item breaks after one use.]

Yang Zhe's safe did not have a keyhole; it used a rotary lock.

But not in the way.

As a tool, the universal lock pick can naturally ignore certain physical rules.

The paperclip-shaped lock pick snapped off automatically the moment it touched the safe.

Xia Lin picked up the remains of the lock pick and found that the safe in front of him had been opened.

It shimmered with dazzling golden light.

The neatly arranged goldfish caught Xia Lin's eye.

Amidst the shimmering golden light, Xia Lin's breathing quickened!

Because these gold bars represent not only wealth in the dark world, but also power in the real world!
I took a deep breath to suppress the pounding in my heart.

Xia Lin thought for a moment, left the office, found an empty suitcase in another room, and returned to the office.

After locking the door, Xia Lin started moving the goods without saying a word.

Xia Lin swept up as much as 50 kilograms of gold in a short period of time!
Based on current gold prices, the value of this gold is estimated to be over 3500 million.

Its heavy weight made it difficult for Xia Lin to take it with her.

However, this issue can be discussed later. What Xia Lin values ​​more is the symbolic impact of the theft on reality.

Two questions.

First: The fact that Yang Zhe took this gold symbolizes the shrinking of his family fortune in the shadows. What does this gold symbolize? And what impact and changes will it bring to Yang Zhe in reality?

Second: Now that this gold has been transferred from Yang Zhe's hands to mine, what kind of changes will this bring to my real life?
The answer was quickly revealed.

……

In reality, the divine light in his right eye suddenly intensified, while the dragon energy rapidly dissipated.

Xia Lin looked up and discovered that the battle between Yang Zhe from outer space and the fake Immortal Emperor had taken an unexpected turn.

Yang Zhe's power suddenly and inexplicably plummeted!
The total amount of dragon energy plummeted, attributes declined significantly, and even some innate skills seemed to have disappeared inexplicably, resulting in a decrease in individual strength of more than 20%!
This kind of weakening can be fatal when facing an evenly matched opponent!

Caught off guard, Yang Zhe hastily retreated and hid back in the dragon boat.

When he adjusted his breathing and looked at the Immortal Emperor again, his face showed not only bloodshot rage but also a clear look of bewilderment.

He didn't understand why his strength had been suddenly weakened, but after thinking about it, he could only assume it was the work of the fake Immortal Emperor, and he couldn't possibly connect it to Xia Lin...

At this moment, Yang Zhe's mind was blank. He couldn't figure out what kind of skill he had been hit by.

Yang Zhe's decline triggered a chain reaction.

When Yang Zhe weakens, the benefits he provides to his subordinates also weaken, and the weakening of his subordinates, in turn, weakens Yang Zhe's individual power—the military leader and his subordinates have always been mutually supportive.

The changes in the actual war situation were simultaneously reflected in the shadows.

In the shadows, there are unknown aspects of Xia Lin.

The Brotherhood Alliance has already engaged in a direct confrontation with the Xianze Group.

Originally, one side had money and the other had more people. Yang Zhe's sudden attack resulted in a fierce battle that ended in a draw.

However, the change in the actual war situation has also affected the fighting in the shadows.

Midway through the firefight, the security team from Xianze Group pulled out their guns...

Amidst the clatter of gunfire, the Brotherhood was decimated—a stark contrast to the Immortal Emperor's advantage over Yang Zhe in reality.

The dark side influences reality, and reality, in turn, influences the dark side...

In the shadows, the theft of a batch of gold had already tolled the death knell for Yang Zhe, but he himself was completely unaware of it.

Only Xia Lin found the answer to the first question.

"Gold in the dark, or money, or assets, is a symbol of individual power in reality; it is the sum of energy, attributes, and innate skills."

The theft of 50 kilograms of gold caused Yang Zhe's strength to plummet across the board.

From this perspective, the dark side can indeed destroy the power of people in reality by stripping away symbolism.

But the second question stumped Xia Lin...

Because after obtaining this batch of gold, Xia Lin in reality did not change at all.

"Perhaps nothing will change? After all, while reality and the dark side are closely related, not everything is necessarily connected... If this assumption holds true, it seems I can no longer achieve absolute balance by stealing the symbolic connection."

The arrival of the Old Ones and the Dark World that arose from them are still new things to Xia Lin, and he has not explored this place much.

Xia Lin still doesn't understand many of the secrets and rules of the dark side.

"But perhaps... this batch of gold doesn't actually belong to me yet."

Thinking of this, Xia Lin looked down at the suitcase in her hands.

Originally, this was dirty money that couldn't be made in the light of day.

Xia Lin stole the goods again, and selling them became an essential step.

Not to mention that the gold is currently only in Xia Lin's hands and hasn't even left the house yet. To say that the gold already belongs to Xia Lin is simply prematurely opening champagne.

But they weren't in a hurry to abscond with the money.

Xia Lin put down her suitcase and went to her desk.

With a sweeping motion, he knocked the jade dragon statue and vintage gun models to the ground.

A loud "bang" echoed throughout the room.

Without saying a word, Xia Lin grabbed the antique longsword from the wall and started wildly hacking at everything in the office while stepping on anything in his path, as if he were having a manic episode!
At this moment, Xia Lin transforms into a husky, whose sole mission is to destroy the house!
In reality, Yang Zhe felt his soul tremble.

The connection between the military lord and the main world relayed several messages to Yang Zhe.

—His guardian deity, the Five Dragon Lord, died suddenly and mysteriously.

—His national treasures, including the State-Protecting Cauldron, the life-size statue of the King of Kings, and the Horn of Power, suddenly shattered.

— Chaos suddenly broke out in the five provinces of central and southern China, and his own elder brother inexplicably rebelled.

—A massive fire struck the four northeastern provinces, known as the granary of the empire, burning all the stored grain and fodder.

Chaos arose suddenly and unexpectedly.

The destruction of the divine artifact further weakened Yang Zhe's strength!

The chaos in people's lives disrupted the flow of the dragon energy, further weakening Yang Zhe's strength.

At this moment, during a major battle, Yang Zhe was giving it his all.

The sudden drop in strength even caused Yang Zhe to spit out a mouthful of blood, suffering severe injuries on the spot due to the backlash of the power!

In the shadows, just as Xia Lin smashed a flowerpot, the dragon boat beneath Yang Zhe's feet inexplicably disintegrated and collapsed instantly.

The Immortal Emperor appeared before Yang Zhe in an instant, his right hand outstretched, fingers reaching towards the sky, and grabbed Yang Zhe's face.

"you……"

Yang Zhe had a bellyful of swear words he wanted to curse.

What the hell did you use on me?
In this battle, Yang Zhe suffered a defeat that was both incredibly frustrating and utterly inexplicable.

He didn't even realize his death was imminent, and wanted to die knowing why, but the Immortal Emperor shattered his head with a single claw!

In the shadows, a final gunshot rang out.

Xianze put down the pistol in his hand and looked expressionlessly at Yang Zhe, who lay dead on the ground with his eyes wide open.

He sneered, a smirk playing on his lips: "Trying to fight me? You're still too green."

Suddenly, the sound of a slap rang out from not far away.

Night falls on the construction site. In the darkness, vehicles speed by and stop nearby.

Wen Yu got out of the car and walked slowly over, clapping his hands as he went.

"Well done, well done!"

In reality, the power of the soul suddenly burst forth, and the Demon Emperor's figure instantly appeared near the Immortal Emperor.

It goes without saying that enemies meet again.

At this moment, the Immortal Emperor had already been greatly weakened by Yang Zhe, which was the perfect opportunity for the Demon Emperor to step in and take advantage of the situation.

On the planet below, Xia Lin, who witnessed this scene, laughed even more heartily.

Although his left eye couldn't see Xianze and Wenyu's situation in the dark world, the scene unfolding in reality through his right eye was enough to provide a reference for the dark world. Xianze and Wenyu in the dark world must have already started fighting.

The light and the dark complement each other, and the orthodox and the unorthodox combine.

The "Old Ones Descend" skill is simply divine!
In the shadowy world, Xia Lin poured gasoline into Yang Zhe's office, set it on fire, and then dragged her suitcase out.

As soon as he stepped out of the building, he saw eight thugs in the courtyard, armed with weapons, surrounding him with hostile expressions.

"You're not our boss, who are you?!"

The leader roared, but Xia Lin ignored him completely and simply shrugged.

"you guess?"

With a wave of his hand, Xia Lin unleashed a rapid nourishment spell, instantly fattening up a person. He then quickly pulled out his phone and activated it, soon finding his third skill.

[Eight-Fight Fist (Rank B Skill): Passive Skill. A fist technique suitable for mortals, containing body-strengthening and combat techniques. Long-term practice of the body-strengthening techniques can increase the three attributes of strength, agility, and constitution. The combat techniques are also profound and mysterious, with extremely high destructive power!]

Limit-breaking techniques hidden in the shadows?

I wonder if the concept of "breaking limits" exists in the dark side of the world...

Xia Lin liked the skill that allowed him to both fight and practice, so he simply acquired it.

Looking up again at the others who were astonished by the rapid nourishment, Xia Lin grinned.

"Seven aren't enough! I want ten!"

……

A major battle is about to erupt in the shadows.

What Xia Lin found rather strange was that these thugs didn't seem to represent anything—at least, while Xia Lin encountered trouble in the underworld, nothing happened in reality…

Soon, the battle in the shadows began.

Fighting seven opponents at once, Xia Lin was not at a disadvantage at all!
After advancing to level eleven, his dark side symbolic attribute has reached 8 points—which is basically the physical level of an Olympia athlete.

With the Eight-Fight Fist in hand, Xia Lin mastered fighting techniques that surpassed those of professionals.

It is also based on real combat experience.

These petty thugs in the underworld, despite their fierce appearance, are only at the level of ordinary people.

Seven?
Easily.

Fists like hammers, legs like whips.

The wind howled, and the miscellaneous fish scattered like birds and beasts.

In reality, Yang Zhe is dead.

This caused a significant drop in morale among the Brotherhood members in the Dark World—even though, theoretically, they had no idea that Yang Zhe was dead.

In the firelight, Xia Lin struggled to drag his suitcase out of the urban village and disappeared into the hazy night.

It was nearly midnight when Xia Lin finally returned to her rented room.

The left eye reflected the desolate and cramped view of the rented room, along with a suitcase full of gold.

The battle between immortals and demons has already broken out, with the Demon Emperor having the upper hand. However, if Xia Lin hadn't interfered, this battle would likely have continued for quite some time.

Xia Lin ignored the war between immortals and demons, and instead reviewed everything that had happened that day, his gaze gradually becoming deep and unfathomable.

He was struck by the eerie power that had descended from the past.

Yet, a thorn seemed to have been planted in my heart, leaving me slightly uneasy.

These eight names of Thunder Technology Co., Ltd. came to mind.

He instinctively felt that the company he worked for must be a symbolic representation of some kind of reality, but Xia Lin had no idea what it was.

"Two things."

After resting for a while, Xia Lin got up again, took out his phone, and muttered to himself.

"First, investigate the legal representative behind Thunder Company..."

"Secondly, we also need to find a way to dispose of the stolen goods."

The second question raised earlier—whether acquiring this gold will bring about any changes in reality—has yet to be answered.

Selling stolen goods became Xia Lin's way of finding the answer.

Whether or not it changes reality, it's always good for the darker side of yourself to have more money—in cheat apps, money can indeed be transformed into a dark force.

Furthermore, this is also related to whether an absolute equilibrium depth can be obtained.

Selling stolen goods is a difficult matter, and Xia Lin couldn't find a safe channel for it.

However, the background of Thunder Technology Co., Ltd. is easy to find.

As the webpage refreshed, Xia Lin's eyes widened slowly, a clear look of astonishment appearing in them.

"What the hell is going on here?!"

……

Thunder Technology Co., Ltd.'s main business is software programming.

This is normal.

The company is small, with insignificant registered capital and an average number of employees.

This is quite ordinary.

Moreover, this company has no relation to Xianze Group—Xianze Group owns the CBD building, and its relationship with Leiting Technology is merely that of landlord and tenant.

However, in the company profile, the first thing displayed is four large characters.

Joint investment!

The company has no specific legal representative.

The shareholders are two parties: the World Government and ???
This unassuming little company is actually half a state-owned enterprise!

But what Xia Lin cared about even more was that question mark...

The other party in the joint investment is unknown, has no origin, and no information can be found; they seem like a mystery.

Besides that, another piece of news also stirred Xia Lin's heart.

Six months ago—at that time, Xia Lin had already joined Thunder Technology.

At that time, the owner of Thunder Technology was someone else, not either the World Government or any other party.

During this period, Thunder Technology underwent mergers and acquisitions, eventually becoming the unremarkable small state-owned enterprise it is today.

But Xia Lin searched the entire internet and still couldn't find out who the legal representative of Thunder Company was six months ago...

Time flies, and it was already sunrise.

The rising sun cast orange rays through the window onto Xia Lin's cheeks, making her expression shift between light and shadow.

The few clues swirled in my mind, constructing a contrast between reality and the dark side.

In reality, his time travel was orchestrated by the Celestial Emperor.

This roughly corresponds to the situation of Thunder Technology half a year ago—at that time, Xia Lin, whether actively or passively, was a pawn of the Immortal Emperor.

Currently, the legal representative of Thunder Technology has changed from unknown to being the world government and another party.

This may imply that there are still six pillars of scheming and plotting within oneself.

"The Primordial Ruler and the King of Kings..."

It's actually not hard to guess.

Right now, the struggle for the throne among the six pillars has begun. The Primordial Ruler and the King of Kings are the only pillar-level beings who can act and cause trouble.

The fact that Xia Lin possessed the Book of the Spirit Realm was not a secret to either of them, so it was only natural that they paid some attention to Xia Lin—of course, the attention was not great, and the investment was not large either. In the dark world, this was reflected in the fact that Thunder Technology's scale was really just so-so.

The only thing Xia Lin couldn't understand was that the two sides, who should theoretically be at odds, were actually co-investing in each other behind the scenes.

This inevitably reflects a tendency toward cooperation, which is seriously inconsistent with reality.

"Is the dark side symbolized incorrectly, or is my understanding insufficient?"

Xia Lin prefers the latter...

After a moment of silence, Xia Lin took a deep breath and realized that this dark world held many secrets and had great potential to be explored.

Considering that activating the Descent of the Ancients in the Dark Realm requires no cost and even has benefits.

This led Xia Lin to make a decision: during this trip to the Dark Realm, he would have to keep the Ancient Descendants active.

Putting aside the issues concerning Thunder Technology for the time being, Xia Lin's current concern is how to deal with the gold he possesses.

This problem was originally unsolvable—how could a lowly office worker like him handle such a large quantity of smuggled goods?
However, after realizing the components of Thunder Technology, Xia Lin had an idea.

Open the WeChat app and tap on your female boss's profile picture.

Xia Lin then noticed the female leader's contact name: Wang Siyuan.

Xia Lin: Boss, I have a personal matter I'd like to ask you for a favor.

Wang Siyuan: Say it.

Xia Lin grinned, hesitating for a moment, but ultimately sent the edited text.

Xia Lin: Today I went back to my hometown and inherited a batch of property.

Wang Siyuan: Oh, that's good news. So you want to resign? Okay, I'll get the paperwork done for you when you get back.

Xia Lin: ? ? ?
Xia Lin: No, no, no, that's not how it is... It's my inheritance, it's all little goldfish, you know what little goldfish are?

Wang Siyuan: ...I understand.

Xia Lin: Mr. Wang, my inheritance is hard to liquidate, and I don't want to hand it over to the state. After much thought, I've realized you're probably the most influential person I know. Do you have any connections in this area?
Wang Siyuan remained silent this time...

Xia Lin had no idea what was going through the beautiful manager's mind.

It took about five minutes for Wang Siyuan to reply.

Wang Siyuan: I do have the channels, but the handling fee might not be low.

Xia Lin: How low is "not low"?

Wang Siyuan: It's possible. The market is constantly fluctuating, and there's even a risk of being scammed.

Wang Siyuan: [Business Card]

Wang Siyuan: If you think it's okay, then add this person and you can chat privately. If you don't think it's okay, then forget it. I won't take today's conversation to heart.

Xia Lin: Thank you, Manager!
In the shadows, Xia Lin let out a soft sigh, carefully considering the words "the risk of being hacked."

In reality, Xia Lin looked up at the still intact hyperspace teleportation channel on this planet.

Xia Lin somehow realized what he should do.

That's utter nonsense about the "risk of being hacked."

How much production can be achieved probably depends entirely on Xia Lin's own actions in reality.

Wang Siyuan: Oh right, you don't have any plans to resign, right?

Xia Lin: How could that be! I was born a man of thunder, and I will die a ghost of thunder! I would rather not part with my beautiful boss (heart).

Wang Siyuan: Scumbag.

Wang Siyuan: After you finish your work and come back, you'll have another task coming up. You might be getting a promotion and a raise.

Xia Lin's heart skipped a beat.

A promotion and a raise can also be a symbolic gesture...

But let's leave that aside for now.

In reality, Xia Lin quietly got up, concealing his presence and figure, and headed straight for the transdimensional teleportation channel.

In the shadows, Xia Lin opened WeChat, opened the business card, and a WeChat ID caught her eye.

[Mr. Zhang, AAA Tobacco and Alcohol Wholesaler]

(End of this chapter)