395: Chapter 395 Attempting Contact

For the longest time, Hua Yuetong and Hua Xingtong had assumed that the final formation failure was an accident, a consequence of their own operational errors.

But now, listening to the conversation between the middle-aged man and Hua Liuli, they couldn't help but feel—was there some hidden story behind this?

Chen Yi felt the tug on his sleeve, looked at the mix of fear and anticipation in the Hua sisters' eyes, and immediately understood their thoughts.

After a moment of thought, Chen Yi made a decision.

He stepped forward quickly, calling out just as the middle-aged man was about to leave the laboratory: "Brother, please wait!"

The middle-aged man paused, looked back, and upon seeing it was Chen Yi, his eyes narrowed slightly.

He naturally knew of Chen Yi—the Queen's new favorite, the special individual capable of awakening the hidden bloodlines of Spirit Beast Girls!

Throughout the entire Demon Abyss Cult headquarters, Chen Yi's name was now known to everyone.

He just hadn't expected this favorite to suddenly call out to him. What for?

The two had never interacted before.

"Brother Chen Yi, is something the matter?"

The middle-aged man maintained a polite smile, but his eyes held caution.

Chen Yi put on a sincere expression: "It's like this. A while back, the Queen gave me a task. She wants me to get to the bottom of what exactly causes those Spirit Beast Girls who cannot fully undergo Spirit Beast Awakening!"

"I've observed for a long time and discovered that their bloodlines aren't inherently inferior; rather, they are being suppressed or interfered with by some external factor."

"Just now, listening to your conversation with the Queen, it seemed like there might be some hidden story?"

"Could you tell me more about it? Perhaps I can analyze the cause and find a fundamental solution! This would be greatly beneficial for the long-term development of the Sect!"

Upon hearing this, a trace of surprise flashed in the middle-aged man's eyes.

He subconsciously glanced in the direction of the Queen and noticed that Hua Liuli had already returned to the experimental table, continuing to listen to research reports, seemingly unconcerned with their conversation.

They always said the Queen was cold on the outside but warm on the inside; now it seemed that was truly the case!

On the surface, she was indifferent to his affairs, but in reality, she was providing support behind the scenes!

Otherwise, why would she send a core figure like Chen Yi to understand the situation and seek a solution?

Thinking of this, the middle-aged man's mood immediately improved significantly.

So, the Queen hadn't completely ignored the contributions of the Black Ghost Market; she was just not good at expressing herself!

"That's a long story!"

The middle-aged man's attitude became noticeably warmer. "How about we step aside to talk? It's not very convenient here."

"Alright!"

Chen Yi nodded, signaling to the Contracted Girls behind him at the same time.

Soon, Chen Yi and his group followed the middle-aged man to a courtyard inside the headquarters.

It was planted with magical plants that emitted a faint glow, complete with small bridges and flowing water—a quiet, secluded environment where the high-ranking members of the Demon Abyss Cult rested and discussed important matters.

After sitting down at the stone table in the center of the courtyard, the middle-aged man introduced himself first.

"My name is Chen Nian, and I am the general manager of global operations for the Black Ghost Market!"

He handed over a specially made business card. "Come to think of it, we both share the surname Chen. It's just a pity I don't have your strength..."

Chen Yi took the card and responded politely: "A pleasure! I am Chen Yi. Currently... I suppose I'm the Queen's special advisor!"

"I know you!"

Chen Nian laughed. "Who in the headquarters doesn't know the great name of Brother Chen Yi now? There haven't been many people in these past few thousand years who could make the Queen value them so highly..."

After a few pleasantries, Chen Nian got to the point.

He waved his hand to set up a sound-insulation barrier, ensuring the conversation could not be overheard by outsiders.

"Regarding the source of those discarded Spirit Beast Girls you asked about..."

Chen Nian adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses. "This involves the core business model of the Black Ghost Market, which is usually not disclosed to outsiders! But since it is the Queen's will, I will explain it in detail!"

"Mm, thank you, brother!"

Chen Nian took a sip of tea and began to recount the history and inside story of the Black Ghost Market.

"The Black Ghost Market has actually existed for a long time. Initially, it was just a branch organization of the Demon Abyss Cult used for collecting materials and accumulating wealth."

"Back then, we were still very weak and could only operate underground, dealing in the resale of contraband materials."

"Later, as the organization developed, we needed more funds and resources."

"By chance, we discovered that auctioning Spirit Beasts—especially those with special bloodlines or outstanding appearances—was extremely profitable. Often, the proceeds from a single auction could match several months of our material trading!"

"Thus, the Black Ghost Market added a new business: Spirit Beast auctions!"

"Initially, the Spirit Beast Girls auctioned off were like courtesans; they couldn't survive for various reasons and voluntarily sold themselves to the Black Ghost Market in exchange for the right to live."

"We would provide them with treatment and training, package them as new commodities, and then sell them to clients with special needs."

"But we quickly discovered a problem: such cases were, after all, only isolated incidents!"

"In the current social environment, as long as a Spirit Beast Girl isn't so unappealing that Beast Tamers don't even want to contract her, or her bloodline is exceptionally inferior, someone will want her!"

"Even an F-rank Bloodline is fine to keep as a vase! Therefore, truly desperate Spirit Beasts are very rare."

"This led to a serious shortage of supply for the highly profitable Spirit Beast auction project, making it impossible to achieve effective economies of scale!"

"The predecessors in charge of the Black Ghost Market at the time were very anxious. After all, the Demon Abyss Cult wanted to research and lay out plans across the world, which required massive funds and connections! Without a stable source of funding, many plans couldn't proceed!"

"However, at that moment, the person in charge of the Black Ghost Market of that generation... did something that exceeded everyone's expectations."

"He designed a process for manufacturing 'discarded' Spirit Beasts!"

"Specifically, it involved obtaining information on Spirit Beast Girls who were about to turn 18 through various channels. We would screen them, keeping those who were beautiful, had parents with high bloodline ranks, and came from families with many children."

"Then, at the critical moment of their awakening, we would use various methods... to ensure they only awakened the lowest-level bloodline."

Speaking up to this point, Chen Nian paused, observing Chen Yi's expression.

Seeing that Chen Yi's expression was calm, he continued.

"There are many methods! Planting moles within the Beast Tamer Association to tamper with bloodline test reports; using special secret techniques to temporarily mask their true bloodlines; or even creating an environment of spiritual power turbulence to fake some kind of spiritual power terminal illness..."

"Thanks to these methods, after the target Spirit Beast wakes up and discovers her bloodline rank is extremely inferior, most fall into despair."

"Furthermore, since their parents have high bloodline ranks, upon learning their daughter has such a condition, most feel ashamed and simply kick them out of the house, severing ties!"

"This is also the reason why we choose families with more children!"

"Losing one 'useless' child is not a big loss for them, nor is it worth making a huge fuss over!"