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Chapter 8 - Chapter 8: Every Gain Requires a Price

Ji Mingshu, for the first time, instinctively started to think about what would happen if this were true.

Even if it's just a name, even if all the other information and intelligence is still unclear.

But even so, Ji Mingshu couldn't help but feel her heart tremble uncontrollably!

An organization from another world, especially one like the "Doomsday Civilization Mutual Aid Association," represents unlimited possibilities, possibilities that surpass everything we used to know!

"B-boss." For the first time in her life, Ji Mingshu stuttered as she spoke, her eyes wide open, her tone unconsciously urgent, "Boss, are you absolutely sure about this?"

"I've already been to the Association headquarters." Shen Yu's face showed no change. "And I brought back some 'small gifts.' These gifts contain essences of culture and technology from other worlds—things our world could never have made up, no matter what."

Strictly speaking, Shen Yu wasn't lying.

He really did have the intention to set up such an association.

On one hand, whether it was himself, or his other selves in other worlds, their current power and status in their own universes were actually quite ordinary.

Don't be fooled by the fact that Shen Yu is a bit of a billionaire—his assets, in this world and under these circumstances, don't count for much at all.

But somehow, they suddenly had access to resources from other worlds!

Without a strong enough, or at least strong-seeming, background and trump cards, they might not be able to keep the things they brought out.

Not to mention saving the world, and gaining Gray Mist.

So what do you do if you don't have a background?

You make one yourself!

The info gap between worlds, the resources, the Gray Mist Space you can freely enter and exit, and, most important of all, the Gray Mist itself—all of these are Shen Yu's sources of confidence.

As long as it's planned well, and backed up by real evidence.

Today's falsehood might well be tomorrow's truth!

At least at this moment, Ji Mingshu already fully believed him.

"Culture, history, technology—things that only come from a civilization. If you can really produce them, they can't be faked." She took a deep breath and tried her best to stay calm, quickly shifting into her work mode and looking at Shen Yu with burning eyes, "Boss, I won't ask for too much info, but there are three points that are especially important—they'll affect my advice for our next moves."

"Go ahead, ask." Shen Yu nodded.

The reason he shared some information in the first place was because he wanted to use Ji Mingshu's intelligence.

This was also a kind of test.

If Ji Mingshu could easily spot loopholes, then how could their story convince the world?

"First: Why did the Association find only you? Or rather, what's your special status or position in the Association?"

Obviously, Ji Mingshu went straight to the core issue.

The fact that Shen Yu was chosen instead of anyone else clearly meant he had something special. How strong or irreplaceable that specialness was would determine the benefits Shen Yu could get from this.

"Traveling between worlds isn't a simple thing." Shen Yu already had a prepared answer for this. "It depends on a certain kind of unique qualification. I'm the only one in our civilization they've found so far who can truly cross worlds. In the Association, I'm called the 'World Representative.' Of course, the World Representatives from other worlds can also cross over into ours."

After he finished speaking, Shen Yu clearly saw his secretary clench her fist hard.

Apart from the time he'd initially helped treat the side effects of her hyperthymesia, Shen Yu had never seen her lose composure like this.

But it was completely understandable.

This meant that Shen Yu was irreplaceable.

He would be the only link between human civilization and the Multi-Dimensional Apocalypse Civilization Mutual Aid Association!

There aren't many people or forces in human civilization who could risk what might come from losing Shen Yu.

Especially given the current crisis backdrop.

Just this one fact means the potential benefits are beyond measure!

And this really was the truth. If something happened to Shen Yu, the "Multi-Dimensional Apocalypse Civilization Mutual Aid Association," still not even officially established yet, would vanish immediately.

"Second point." Ji Mingshu tried hard to keep calm. "Since the name includes the words mutual aid, does that mean different civilizations have a transactional relationship?"

"That's right." Shen Yu gave her an appreciative look, "As far as I know, one of the Association's fundamental principles is 'every gain comes with a cost.'"

This is the very meaning of "mutual aid."

On the one hand, the help other worlds can give human civilization is, without a doubt, limited.

On the other hand, other worlds also need help from human civilization.

To make these two points reasonable, when inventing the Association's power, you have to add limits too.

This principle is a great explanation.

"Every gain comes with a cost? Makes perfect sense." Ji Mingshu didn't have any doubts, "Even if they're all doomsday civilizations, there's no reason for anyone to help another civilization for nothing. Individuals have personal relationships, but between groups, only interests are forever."

"What's the last thing you want to know?" Shen Yu asked.

"Boss, how many civilizations are you in contact with now, and what are they like?" Ji Mingshu asked about the most crucial point.

This was the main factor that would determine how much impact the Association could have, and what benefits and help it could bring.

"There are levels within the Association. As freshly admitted members, and with weak civilization power, I really can only get in touch with worlds where we can actually help. There aren't many, I've just contacted one—a civilization that's been interstellar for over two hundred years. There's another one with real promise, and I'm currently working on that." Shen Yu spoke according to his planned story.

Yes, for now, he was planning to keep one world hidden, only revealing the interstellar world where Shen Yu resides.

No need to keep it secret for too long.

Just to add a bit of realism to his narrative.

Although he was already sure that he had plenty of soul fragments scattered to other worlds, he couldn't be certain when the incarnations from those worlds would actually arrive at the Gray Mist Space.

If it takes too long for the new incarnations to show up, then after a while, he'd have to use the Martial Arts World to further prove the Association's existence.

As to why he chose to reveal the Interstellar Civilization first and not the Martial Arts Civilization—that too was the result of careful thought.

Martial Arts isn't so easy to develop. Plus, the food the Martial Arts Civilization desperately needs is something Shen Yu can provide himself for the time being.

The Interstellar Civilization probably isn't short on food either.

And this final answer brought Ji Mingshu yet another huge surprise.

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