Draco naturally researched more into this ceremony. It seemed as if they could hold it about ten more times in total, making Draco pleased. If it was possible and beneficial, he wouldn't mind having this gene unlocking done for himself, Eva, and their child after they were born.
He planned to make some time in the future to complete some more high-profile missions. With Control and his bloodline, Draco had little to fear in the real world especially with Shangtian out of the picture.
Draco was also curious as to how his Lineage was dealing with his strange absence. After all, Shangtian had made it clear that he had left brazenly after preparing for a while, just like Eva.
Prodigies or not, they were not the rulers of their respective Lineages yet. As such, their actions were heavily restricted and they couldn't go places or do things just because they wanted to. This was why Eva and Shangtian had been such heavy gamers, because at least in the FIVR game, they could be truly free from those shackles.
As the prodigy of the Lucifer Lineage he was still believed to be crippled, forced to live a dreary life somewhere, the prodigy of the Amaterasu Lineage had reportedly run away and now the prodigy of the Pangu Lineage had also gone missing.
This was extremely convenient as no one Lineage could blame the other as they were all in the same f.u.c.k.i.n.g situation! Rather, they would believe it to be the work of Superhuman, Supernatural, The World Council, or the Primordial species.
They would likely suspect the Primordials first as it made the most sense for it to be them, assuming the Lineages were actually aware of them in the first place. Draco remembered Eva telling him that they were aware of dangerous things existing, but not exactly what they were.
Draco languidly browsed through the missions to see if there were any he could partake in before Update 2 was done in about 30 hours from now.
Unfortunately, most of the missions were overseas, like ruins in Africa, tombs in Egypt, and certain Superhuman headquarters like CERN. Draco kept scrolling down until his body perked up.
He saw a mission that was actually extremely close to where he was in the North Atlantic Ocean. That's right, it was a mission to explore the legendary Bermuda Triangle!
Draco smacked his lips and sat back down. Unlike the Mayan ruins where he had the guts to explore on his own… he didn't dare traverse the Bermuda Triangle without Eva!
What a joke, any human who didn't live under a rock in this day and age knew that there was something freaky about that place. It didn't matter whether you were religious or not, everyone was more than aware that the Bermuda Triangle was a place that represented - and likely held - something beyond human understanding.
Heck, Draco wouldn't be surprised if that turned out to be the location where the 9 High Humans sealed a bunch of Primordials, giving the area that deadly energy. While this was blind speculation on his part, it would be very dangerous to even fly near there, much less delve the depths.
As such, Draco could only wait until the late morning for his flight to be ready. He then boarded and flew back to his city which took the same three hours like before.
By the time he touched down, there were less than 24 hours until Boundless World would be back online. He decided to head to the GloryGore labs first to check in on the AI and Amber.
As seemingly always, the area before the studio was packed with protesters, but as a regular Draco noticed that their number had lessened and the ones present had far less energy compared to before. It was almost like they were pushing through with sheer willpower knowing that after the hearing everything was futile.
Draco chuckled and apported right into the building, pressing the button for the elevator to send him down. Even though he could theoretically try to apport down into the AI's realm, he didn't wish to risk activating some automatic defense mechanism that might be in place.
Draco emerged within the lab where the giant brain floated within a vat. He saw Amber standing before a work table, her focus on the substance she was manipulating and studying.
Draco watched her in silence for a few minutes until the woman broke her concentration and gazed at him with her usual cryptic smile.
"Hello Draco, to what do I owe the p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e today?"
Draco was about to speak when his eyes darted to the substance that Amber was working on, which was some brownish-gold stuff that looked like the symbiote from that old spider superhero series.
He frowned heavily as his bloodline gave him a feeling of anger and disgust towards it. Amber saw his reaction and her smile widened.
"I see you've noticed our latest success." She then walked towards the work table and beckoned for Draco to come over.
The fellow did so and observed the substance that was sealed in a larger container with translucent glass. Amber pointed to it and explained slowly.
"What you are looking at is our first successful attempt to extract a specific aspect of the Pangu bloodline from that brute. This in particular, is likely related to what we believe is his Primogenitor Inheritance."
Draco thought back to what he had learned and remembered that the Primogenitor Inheritance was the one that allowed Pangu Lineage members to create elemental golems as well as manifest some unique elemental forms.
Amber continued. "What you see here is the part of his bloodline that gives him the ability to utilize the abilities - as well as spawn the avatar of - the famous Monkey King, Sun Wukong."
Draco's eyes widened in shock. "The Great Sage that Equates the Heavens?!"
Amber nodded. "The very one. In fact, our extraction of this avatar had less to do with luck or ingenuity, but rather that it reached out to us to be separated willingly."
Hmm, could that be why he was sealed under Five Fingers Mountain? Could the 'heavens' that Sun Wukong had been rebelling against have actually been Pangu himself? If so, things would be certainly interesting.
"So, what does it want?" Draco asked the most pertinent question at this time.
Amber displayed a troubled expression. "Well, it wants to bind to a new and more compatible host to continue its existence, or it would likely die out in time without sustenance. Right now, we're keeping it alive by feeding it radiation energy constantly, but that is not holistic enough."
Amber turned to Draco. "Personally, I am quite curious to see if it could be transplanted into a non-Lineage human. Do you have a suitable candidate in mind?"
Draco shook his head. "Not sure, but I will send some people over like Akainu and co to try and see if they can. If not, I will actively search for someone who has some level of compatibility."
Amber seemed relieved. "As long as you are on the task, I can rest somewhat assured."
She then glanced at Draco. "Right, we have made some findings on the Mayan things you showed us. Come and take a look."
Amber led Draco to a computer nearby that had a large screen. She then played the video Draco sent, but Draco noticed that the dub had been overlayed with a new one that sounded slightly mechanical.
But at least it was in English. He listened to the words and understood what was going on.
The landmass gad likely shrunk due to the attack from the Primordial Titan and the geological changes of the earth since then. Whatever the case, they were screaming incoherently for one of the 9 Great Gods to save them.
Draco's eyes flashed as it didn't take him a single second to understand who the Mayans were referring to as the 'Great Gods'. He continued to listen in as the Primordial made those strange sounds.
Amber paused here and spoke wryly. "Unfortunately, we are not able to infer the meaning of that language, but we will likely be able to have some preliminary results if we could get our hands on some more data."
Draco seemed interested. "Can I help with that?"
Amber nodded. "I was going to ask you anyway. The next time you head out, please take me along. I will bring a child AI that can directly interface with tech like this, so we may have access to the databanks."
Draco did not see anything wrong with this. "Agreed. That island, in particular, is safe as long as you're with me and we avoid the sealed Primordials."
Amber smiled and resumed the video. Draco eventually saw Zeus appear. He then pointed to the Titan and said: "Ugly amalgamation of undesirable things, how dare you attack a city protected by the Great Me?"
The titan roared some things out in response which made Zeus harrumph. "Nonsense, what do you mean by that? They have stayed in their city all this while and haven't tried to infringe on your territory. Do not look for a shitty excuse to assault my people!"
The Titan responded darkly and attacked immediately. This enraged Zeus as he manifested his lightning. "It seems because Lord Pangu couldn't kill you, you have become arrogant! Let me teach you a lesson in power!"
During the fight Draco had already witnessed, he know got the chance to 'enjoy' hearing Zeus continually insult and taunt the Primordial Titan as he lashed it with lighting, making even Draco grimace. Eventually, the thing wailed and fell, allowing Zeus to drag it over to the city and toss it into the park, then sealing it with endless lighting.
He then landed on the ground and gazed hungrily at the women before seeing the cameraman. He then narrowed his eyes and said: "I see, so you actually exist, huh?"
After leaving those purposefully vague words that could work in any scenario, he walked towards the administrative building calmly.
The video came to an end. Then Amber called up an image of the home screen that Draco had recorded, though it was overlayed with a translation. Draco understood that it was a military command terminal, and the link he had clicked was the most recent one that was displayed on the home page.
The rest of the information was also useful as it showed the date on the Mayan calendar where these things were recorded. Draco was sure that Amber and the AI could correlate them with the Gregorian calendar and find out the exact time period of this city's existence.
The duo then discussed some more theories and shared information before Draco eventually left.
The fellow entered the black sedan and returned to his castle, finally glad to be home. Now that he had some time, he noticed that the external renovations were progressing greatly.
Soon, it would be possible for him to house most of his core members and guild members here in the Central Country. Until then, he couldn't easily train them up to be Control masters or the like due to the distance.
Draco entered the place and spotted Akainu working with Sanji. The two had already set up the surveillance network, and it covered the entire neighborhood.
Since they had long noticed Draco's return, they came forth to greet him. Draco was surprised though, to see Cherry walking demurely behind Akainu.
The feisty and scheming mother of June being so docile? Draco frowned and scanned her mind deeply, making sure she wasn't hiding some tricks up her sleeve by getting close to Akainu.
Cherry paled slightly but didn't make a sound, so Akainu and Sanji did not notice the forceful probe. When Draco was done, he was left speechless that while Cherry still harbored some schemes towards him in her heart, her love for Akainu was pure and quite childish.
Forget her schemes harming Akainu, in fact her schemes were mostly for his benefit! Like how to manipulate Draco into making her love have a higher rank, get more resources, have more power, etc.
As they always say, a good wife is the one who can scheme the world into her husband's pocket. Cherry had done this for Ferdinand during his lifetime and now intended to do so for Akainu.
Whatever the case, Draco removed her as a threat from his mind. She was now just another one of his people at best, and a mere thrall at worst. Her fate to be a courtesan for any important guest was saved.
But Draco suddenly remembered that June existed. His plan had been to lock her up in Boundless and turn her into a breeding zone, practically pregnant 24/7 and spitting out babies endlessly as punishment for her crimes.
However, with Draco having lost interest in the many slaves that Eva had bought who had big booties and bodies to his preference, how much more June who was more endowed in her c.h.e.s.t than backside?
Still, he couldn't leave her in limbo forever, but he had no interest in dealing with her. What to do, what to do. Maybe, he could find a rare species with a unique bloodline and allow it to use June to further its lineage?
That wasn't a bad idea, but he had no species like that.
Well, he could leave the decision to Eva. She would know best. For now, Draco followed Akainu to sit in a lounge and they chatted about the state of the Purgatory group.
The first company, the gaming group, was called Umbra's Haven. Right now, they had logged all core members and normal guild members as employees with various ranks, and many benefits.
Slim Fatty and co who lived in the Central Country should be able to come and live in the mini villas once they finished constructions and the lower members would receive housing in the luxury apartments.
As for those overseas, Akainu was currently dealing with their green cards and work permits, which was not an easy task since he was bringing in almost 10,000 people in a short period of time.
The amount of money that had sunk into this was about 70% of the total company funds, and that was in the hundreds of millions currently! On top of that, if Supernatural hadn't made things streamlined for him in many departments, they would have wasted all that money.
Draco was pleased with Akainu's effort and Supernatural's willingness to please. He directly transferred the 30 million he got as a reward for the mission to Akainu, and promised that he would sell some more goods in the Intermediary Trade Center to raise funds.
After all, that was the guild's main source of income in the real world. With Draco as a Grandmaster and with Refinement too, he didn't have to worry about making the playerbase stronger by giving them endless Epic items and such, because no matter how powerful they became, they would never surpass Umbra!
In fact, strengthening them would be to his benefit too, as they could acquire more money to engross themselves deeper into Boundless and afford some of his better goods.
It would also make dealing with the upcoming Great War much easier. After all Draco and Eva alone could not hold up the sky when billions and trillions of demons would rush forth to kill, main, and slaughter.
Akainu was grateful for the infusion of funds, since frankly, they needed it. He then explained the circ.u.mstances of the second company, which was the R&D one as well as a distributor.
The R/D was to assist amber and co. in research, but also for Draco when he went to the Sci-Fi section and discovered their tech. He would need researchers and manufacturers to actually build them in real life, wouldn't he?
The distribution aspect was meant to assist Boundless for the pods. In the previous timeline, the pods had been in great demand but initially supply had been low because the AI had severely underestimated its allure.
This had led to some extreme chaos when the first batch had come out, with people actually killing and slaughtering others for them. He wanted to prevent that by facilitating a smoother distribution scheme in this timeline.
It was largely on standby since the necessary blueprints hadn't been acquired by Draco, the pods were still in their prototype phase and GlorygGore had their own advanced labs and didn't need to use Draco's for now.
They might never need to use it too since they hadn't ended up being sanctioned like in the previous timeline. This had been a big part of what had stunted the movement of the pods back then.
The third company was the security force which the 10,000 young Supernatural members were legally a part of. They were being trained in Boundless by Draco, at least on paper, but what he wanted was to use them as a military force to achieve his aims.
After all, while he alone could do many things, he was too busy with Boundless to bother about doing everything. If he had a militia that was made up of elites, he could send them out on missions that would streamline things for himself and Eva.
Not to mention that if he gathered all of Umbra's members here, they might be an easy target when more powers flooded into the game and realize that it was now a life-or-death thing rather than 'just some game'.
It was progressing the smoothest out of the lot since the lads there were obedient and becoming stronger. Since Eva had not declared their training over, they couldn't yet go on missions, but that was fine.
Draco thanked Akainu and Sanji for their hard work, which pleased the two fellows. Akainu made sure to emphasize the young Keith's effort in this and his potential, so Draco agreed that Akainu could give him some more benefits.
After that, Draco returned to his room and lay beside Eva, idly waiting for Update 2 to finish and for the game to come back online so they could see what was new compared to the past.