The Good Stuff Belongs to the Collective!

[SS-Class Talent Item - Heart of Technology]: Now inherited by the new shelter and available for trade; the talent item's effects remain unchanged, but the original "Heart of Technology" no longer has the ability to reset or replace its effects. The upgrade capability, however, is still linked to the shelter's level, and the upgraded effects will be slightly weaker than the original shelter's upgrades.[Hidden Effect]: Currently inherited but not yet bound; once bound to a new shelter, the original Heart of Technology's position will shrink. Please select an appropriate location for expansion. All projects associated with the shrunk Heart of Technology will revert to the initial stage and need to be upgraded again.

Chen Dafeng actually inherited the Heart of Technology!Mike was stunned.This was an SS-class talent item!

Indeed, while shelter talents couldn't be inherited, talent items could. Mike had known this.Any derivative items of a talent could be inherited through the destruction of a shelter, with a chance to acquire them.Back during the district-wide battle, Mike had inherited an "I Love My Home" robot. Although the robot had never been deployed in combat, its self-defense capabilities had increased as the shelter upgraded, which was a solid asset.

Though it was surprising that Chen Dafeng had inherited an SS-class talent item, it wasn't impossible.Mike, still in shock, quickly realized a new issue: "How did you inherit it? Could this tech base itself have been Commander Guangling's shelter, or did it cover his shelter's range?"Destroying Guangling's shelter was necessary to inherit its items; merely killing him wouldn't do.The fact that Chen Dafeng had inherited the Heart of Technology without leaving the tech base, following Mike's orders, pointed to a clear answer.

"Mm."Chen Dafeng nodded. "I don't really understand how it happened. I was just here managing these people and interrogating some intel... while questioning them, suddenly I got a system notification that I could destroy the shelter.""So, after confirming the destruction, I inherited this thing."Chen Dafeng scratched his head. He was equally confused, having been caught off guard, which explained his earlier dazed expression.

"Sir, I don't think this thing will be much use to me."Chen Dafeng shook the Heart of Technology in his hand. "My talent's all about fighting, not studying tech stuff. I'm better off just handing it over to the collective, right?"

Hand it over!He wanted to hand over the entire tech base to the collective!Mike couldn't help but laugh.This would be a huge boost for Jinling's city-base plan! It would enhance their technological strength!Mike didn't doubt Chen Dafeng's words. After all, the Heart of Technology didn't quite match his original talent. Moreover, Chen Dafeng had always been more inclined towards combat than managing a tech base.If he kept the Heart of Technology, he would likely be watched by the high-ups in Jinling.Even if Mike didn't say anything, just the attention from Jiang Xiaoci would be enough to make Chen Dafeng feel immense pressure.

Chen Dafeng wasn't stupid. He could foresee the possibility of being under intense scrutiny, and rather than holding onto something that didn't align with his skills, it was smarter to hand it over. Doing so would earn Mike's favor and possibly bring more benefits.

"It's a bit too valuable."Mike took a deep breath, replying carefully, "If you're really going to hand it over, the most you could get is work points. Right now, Jinling can't offer a reward of equal value to this SS-class item."

The work points system emphasized fairness.Its purpose was to rationally collect and redistribute resources, maximizing collective power.For ordinary items, handing them over usually meant a small work points reward. But for rare items like this, in addition to the points, there were usually extra rewards.Even if there was no direct exchange, the system would aim to avoid leaving those who handed things over at a loss—otherwise, why would anyone willingly give up valuable items for the collective?

Mike reflected that although Jinling was well-stocked with resources, he couldn't yet offer anything valuable enough to match an SS-class item. He could only offer some S-class items.

"Work points are fine. I'll take the work points!"Chen Dafeng's eyes lit up. "Sir, I wouldn't be happy with anything else! Work points, the more the better!"Chen Dafeng had a simple perspective. In his view, work points were the "currency" of Mike's regime.Money might not solve everything, but it could buy a lot of things.As Mike's power grew, the value of work points would rise, and the things they could buy would multiply.

Though this exchange seemed unfair in the short term, Chen Dafeng believed that, as Mike's influence expanded, the future value of the work points would far exceed the value of an SS-class talent item.

"Since you put it that way, I'll make an exception."Mike chuckled and, after a slight pause, said, "I won't report this to the command center. I'll personally authorize the work points department. Since we don't have a standard for SS-class items, I'll set a precedent and give you 3 million work points.""Dafeng, what do you think?"Mike's tone was sincere, offering Chen Dafeng more if he felt it was too little.

"Three million!"Chen Dafeng's eyes widened. "Damn, that's more than the Hero Medals!""Sir, you better not back out now!"He eagerly agreed, as though worried Mike might change his mind.

Mike felt slightly embarrassed. Given the current limited value of work points, even offering millions in exchange for an SS-class item seemed like a loss for Chen Dafeng. But the man didn't seem to mind, which made Mike appreciate his sincerity even more.

"Sir, I didn't just inherit the Heart of Technology! I've got more stuff! Tell me what you want!"Chen Dafeng, excited about the work points, began pulling out more items.Mike immediately sensed something was off and quickly reassured him. "Dafeng, don't forget about your special privileges. The items you've earned from battle aren't mandatory to hand over. Keep anything useful for yourself."When Mike had first persuaded Chen Dafeng to join him, he had promised many privileges, and he hadn't taken them back.

"Your strength is Jinling's strength."Mike spoke earnestly, but Chen Dafeng wasn't listening. "Sir, I really don't need any of these things! Keeping them would be a waste!"Chen Dafeng's greatest asset was his peak physical form. Any extra items had only a supplementary effect—nothing critical.Rather than hold onto a bunch of useless items, he'd rather get more protective pills from Old Xu, which would be far more useful.

Mike, seeing that Chen Dafeng wouldn't budge, reluctantly began to pick through the items.Chen Dafeng was clearly aiming for work points. He seemed eager to become the wealthiest man in Jinling's work points system.

"How did you get all this stuff?" Mike asked."I don't know. After I destroyed the shelter, I got a bunch of items from the system notification. I haven't fully inherited everything, only part of it."Chen Dafeng shook his head, chuckling. "Maybe the unlucky guy liked hoarding things. There are a lot of stuff here that wouldn't be used right away."

Mike nodded, recalling that even he had accumulated many items he couldn't use—repetitive or redundant ones.

Any powerful commander who could control a whole city often had a wealth of resources, sometimes more than they could use. However, Mike wasn't like Commander Guangling, who hoarded everything. Mike had distributed his surplus through the work points system to strengthen Jinling as a whole.

As for the items Chen Dafeng brought out, while some were valuable, most didn't interest Mike. He had seen too many rare items to be impressed easily.However, he didn't want to disappoint Chen Dafeng, so he pretended to examine the items while praising him for his contributions in the battle and asking about his management of the tech base.

From Chen Dafeng's report, Mike quickly understood the situation inside the tech base. Chen Dafeng had kept close tabs on the prisoners and interrogated them, uncovering that they were high-level staff members of the base. Through their confessions, he had also gathered some inside information about Guangling City.

As Mike listened, he began to notice something wasn't right. There were new clues hidden within the details.