Chapter 63: The Stepping Stone

When Ma Jun stepped out of the bar, it was already past ten o'clock at night. Inside, he had only drunk alcohol and nibbled on a few snacks, so now he was quite hungry. He rummaged through his Universal Ring and produced some chocolate, munching away as he conversed with Xiao Hua.

The alley was dimly lit, overhead a series of light screens played advertisements in endless loops. Suddenly, two ragged men appeared from the street corner—one dark-skinned, the other pale—with tattoos marking their bodies. Their expressions were strange as they brushed past Ma Jun.

Abruptly, they whipped out knives from their coats, faces twisted in a fierce snarl, aiming to stab Ma Jun in the abdomen. Ma Jun sprang two meters high, delivering a flying kick that sent both men crashing hard against the wall.

After landing, Ma Jun strode forward, kicked their knives aside, and frowned, “Were you sent by George?”

“Please spare us, we’re just too hungry!” the two men pleaded, ignoring the blood at the corners of their mouths, sitting on the ground, faces pale and defeated.

“Too hungry?” Ma Jun sized them up, hesitating for a moment. He muttered to himself, “Out robbing without even a gun—how pitiful.”

He didn’t dwell on the matter and continued walking. If these two had truly been sent by George, he wouldn’t have had so much money to buy gold bars! In America, claiming to be a gangster without a gun—no one would believe you.

Leaving the alley, Ma Jun found the commercial district and purchased a phone. Here, phones hardly deserved the name: a block of jet-black glass, with only a small portion at the bottom made of some peculiar material, the rest without any frame.

After tinkering for a while, Ma Jun grew familiar with it. The phone operated entirely on intelligent systems, boasting specs even more outrageous than the computers of his home dimension—it was practically a compact mobile server.

After booking a hotel room, he enjoyed a comfortable bath, sat in the living room, turned on a wall-sized television, smoked, and played with his phone at the same time.

“NT Book Network”
“Modern Weapons of Biotechnology: Pandora’s Miraculous Plants”
“New Energy: Room-Temperature Superconductors and Rare Elements!”
“Population Growth and the Food Crisis!”

After some research, Ma Jun gained a basic understanding of the world’s current situation.

“Xiao Hua, do you have any way to obtain detailed internal data on these high-tech technologies?” Ma Jun asked.

It was a reasonable question. Ordinary books only offered simple introductions to high-tech fields. Military products, cutting-edge technologies, whether fully developed or not, were never made public.

“I could force a hack, but that would consume too much energy!” Xiao Hua appeared beside Ma Jun, sitting in a chair with a cheerful smile. “Uncle, you’d better figure it out yourself.”

Ma Jun wasn’t disappointed and nodded. “Then, does transporting matter between dimensions also require energy? Or is it only possible without energy when the dimension has already been conquered?”

“Of course material transport requires energy!” Xiao Hua replied. “Even conquered dimensions don’t exempt you, unless the objects are extremely small or transported via containers!”

“A container like the Universal Ring, then!” Ma Jun nodded. “I see. Another question: is it possible to transmit information across dimensions?”

“Nope!” Xiao Hua shook her finger, chin raised. “I can help Uncle bring over servants because, in a sense, they’re private items with a special connection to you. But that’s all! Communication across dimensions is impossible—unless the dimension is entirely your private property.”

“Alright.” Ma Jun shrugged. “Can I bring people from one dimension to another?”

“You’re thinking of bringing Mu Jianping back to the main dimension?” Xiao Hua asked. “It’s possible, but round trips require energy—four thousand points each!”

“I wasn’t planning to bring her back,” Ma Jun shook his head. After a pause, he asked again, “Xiao Hua, is the system able to manufacture certain objects because Neurozi collected relevant data?”

“The old master was incredible!” Xiao Hua brightened instantly. “He invented many things himself and traveled to many dimensions. You’re right—without references, the system couldn’t manufacture anything.”

Ma Jun picked up her train of thought and quickly praised Neurozi, coaxing the childlike spirit until she beamed with joy.

He smoked cigarette after cigarette, sprawled over the table, scribbling and sketching, working late into the night.

He currently possessed 15,000 energy points; after bringing in Old Qian, he had 13,000 left. To be safe, he needed to keep at least 4,000 in reserve, leaving 9,000 usable points.

Searching the system’s marketplace for a long time, Ma Jun discovered a remarkable item: the Fasting Pill.

The Fasting Pill’s effect was simple—a single pill allowed a person to go a month without food.

Since it was available in the Level One marketplace, it meant the item wasn’t difficult to produce.

After some bargaining with Xiao Hua, Ma Jun subtly guided the discussion until they finally struck a deal: Xiao Hua would provide him with the complete manufacturing instructions for the Fasting Pill, but she would need to use permission energy—totaling 4,000 points!

In addition to the energy cost, Ma Jun would also need to create a body for Xiao Hua, using cloning and biotechnology to transplant her consciousness into a human form. Throughout the process, Xiao Hua would assist him as much as possible.

“Deal!”

“Ha ha, wonderful!” Once the transaction was settled, Xiao Hua danced excitedly around the room and even pecked Ma Jun on the cheek, though he felt nothing.

“At last, I’ll have a body! With the advanced biotechnology of the Avatar dimension, it’s bound to succeed!”

Xiao Hua was overjoyed, and Ma Jun was even happier.

After a good night’s rest, Ma Jun headed to the city government the next day, paid the fees, and registered his company.

He named it Junma Technology.

After several busy days, the framework of Junma Technology finally took shape. He rented an office in a skyscraper in New York City, hired a few receptionists, threw together a sign and company registration.

Without pause, Ma Jun located a laboratory and leased it. He recruited several freshly graduated biology students through an online talent exchange, then began working around the clock in the lab.

During this period, Ma Jun visited George several times and conducted transactions totaling thirty million dollars in gold bars, deepening their relationship.

With Xiao Hua’s computing support, Ma Jun personally led the project, with the students serving as cover, researching some simple topics.

Three months later, the first Marvelous Pill was born!

Ma Jun named his product the Marvelous Pill, based on the Fasting Pill formula but simplified. The first version guaranteed a person’s daily energy needs with one pill. The manufacturing process was kept strictly confidential, and the firing method was so complex that it could hardly be analyzed by conventional technology.

When the final product appeared, the students involved in the research were baffled—they had never imagined they were developing such a miraculous item.

The Marvelous Pill cost only one dollar to produce.

From a scientific perspective, it was a pharmaceutical product, requiring national certification and approval.

Clinical trials and numerous complicated procedures were necessary before it could enter the market.

On the Earth of the Avatar dimension, countless urgent problems needed solving: overpopulation, overdevelopment, nuclear threats, ongoing environmental wars, power plant radiation leaks, toxic emissions, air pollution, deforestation, global warming, ozone depletion, and the loss of biodiversity due to species extinction.

A host of issues left humanity living in a high-tech wasteland.

Among them, one major problem was that the only food left for humanity was inferior carbohydrates and synthetic protein—and not even cheap. A handful of delicacies were reserved for the super-rich. Even a bottle of nauseating nutrient fluid, which could perfectly provide daily energy, was out of reach for ordinary people.

Once the Marvelous Pill was released, humanity could regain vitality, feeding billions with minimal resources.

The profit, even after repeated compression, would be vast enough to build an enormous empire.

Such a thing could not be released lightly—otherwise, Ma Jun would have nowhere left to die.

Moreover, the current Marvelous Pill’s manufacturing process was so complex that, despite the advanced industry, daily production could only reach a thousand pills.

With the key ready, Ma Jun could finally conduct real business.

He sent portions of the experimental data and pill effects to the Resource Development Management Group, known as R, and waited for their invitation.

This R company was a colossal enterprise, with shareholders from every sector, permeating all industries. The mining projects on Pandora were theirs.

In a skyscraper at the center of New York, bright and spacious rooms contrasted with the dark sky outside, filled with expensive, technologically crafted furnishings. Even by the floor-to-ceiling windows, there were several plants already extinct.

The CEO of R Group, Stark—pardon my indulgence—was a robust man in his fifties, still full of vigor, seated in his office chair, flicking through massive screens, reviewing the data.

Suddenly, a knock sounded. His female secretary entered, looking serious, holding a sleek glass device.

“Boss, you should take a look at this!”

Stark took the item and waved the file onto his desk screen. Images and detailed reports appeared.

“Junma Technology Marvelous Pill”
“A pill that fully provides daily human energy, cheap, just one per day”
“Greater potential: one per month”
“Pandora’s plants may enhance the quality”
“Humanity’s food problem solved!”

Stark read for three hours, entirely absorbed in the data.

“A wild genius biologist!”

“Peggy!” Stark stood, addressing his secretary. “Clear all unnecessary appointments and arrange a meeting with this Mr. Ma Jun as soon as possible! And inform the board—no, let me meet this genius first!”