White Panning Is Always the Most Fragrant

For the next few days, the Federation was quiet, but things were strange in Europe.

The Cartier Group and the Jefferno Group had completely changed ownership, acquired silently by the renamed Immortal Group. The market reacted strongly, but it was useless.

This was because neither Cartier nor Jefferno, nor the Immortal Group, were publicly traded, so market reactions had no effect on these three.

The Immortal Group proceeded to digest the two fat pieces of meat delivered to them. It took a full month to fully swallow them.

It was mid-September.

Emilia called.

"The transaction is complete."

"Got it."

"Then I’ll relay the message for you?"

"Okay."

Lake said so, then thought for a moment and added, "Prepare a bank account on your end and put two million US dollars in it!"

Emilia smiled faintly, "I thought you weren’t short on money."

Lake shrugged, "Not short on the surface, but very short in secret."

The money he used for the lottery was basically commission earned as the Black King, but Lake’s principles for accepting jobs limited him. As for his public salary and bonuses, they were just enough to maintain his current relatively luxurious life and save a little. It was completely unrealistic to use his salary and bonuses directly for the lottery.

Since the last time he used a small portion of that one hundred million US dollars and drew nothing again, Lake had become more laid-back. He would save up first, and when he had enough, he would go all out in one go.

Of course, this was a laid-back attitude while maintaining his completely invincible status. However, now that Emilia had finished receiving the funds, there was no doubt that the Hydra was preparing to make a move. At this time, saving some money for the lottery would prevent him from being so passive when the time came.

As for why he hadn’t asked Emilia for money before?

That was obvious.

Lake hadn’t spent a single cent, and Emilia had given birth to a Little Cotton-padded Jacket for him. The Immortal Consortium was like a betrothal gift from Lake. The two assets of the Hydra acquired this time were considered legitimate joint property of a married couple.

Therefore…

Lake, who had previously been too proud to ask his woman for money, now felt differently. Asking his wife for two million in pocket money was no longer a problem.

Emilia nodded, "Okay, I’ll have someone set it up and send you the account number."

Lake hummed and hung up the phone.

His eyes flickered.

The prelude was over, so what was next? Was the Hydra going to deal with him by openly sending assassins to carry out an assassination in New York, the stronghold of him, a senior supervisor of the Department of Homeland Security?

Or…

Would they find some excuse to lure him out and then make a move on the road?

A moment later.

Lake’s phone received a text message.

A string of numbers.

"Recharge!"

"Ding!"

[Recharge successful!]

[Ding!]

[Proxy recharge agreement effective, 30% of the recharge amount enters the Miracle Incubation Pool (Current progress: 70%)]

[Ding!]

[Miracle Incubation Pool progress is over half, do you want to use ten lottery draws to incubate the Force Seed.]

[Confirm/Cancel!]

"…"

The reason Lake asked Emilia for money this time was for this Miracle Incubation Pool, which could only be incubated through proxy recharge. Every time he saw that the progress was still 30% short, it made Lake, who had mild obsessive-compulsive disorder, very uncomfortable.

With a major battle imminent, it would be good to open it.

What if…

He won the grand prize?

Confirm!

With a thought from Lake, his meager lottery chances, which were in the low twenties and could be described as having an extremely ugly interface, rapidly decreased, settling at ten draws.

Then.

Buzz!

Lake’s brow furrowed slightly, and a seed suddenly appeared before him.

The next second.

Boom!

Lake watched with his own eyes as this plant-seed-like object, emitting a strange glow, blasted into the center of his brow.

After that.

A flood of information, like a waterfall, almost overwhelmed Lake’s consciousness.

[Force Seed: SSR-class, Passive, Mysterious type. It is an energy field created by all living beings, surrounding and permeating us. It contains the energy to condense the entire galaxy, or… you could call it divinity! (May the Force be with you!)]

[As your Force grows and develops, you will possess the following abilities.]

[Enhancement: Such as rapid movement, agility, superhuman reflexes.]

[Sensing: Sensing life, sensing spirits… sensing the existence of life and even the emotions within their hearts. If your Force cultivation reaches a certain level, you can even see through the target’s thoughts directly.]

[Telekinesis: Using the Force to control objects, the size of the object moved depends on the extent of your Force reserves.]

[Control: Provided the opponent is weaker.]

[Force Lightning: …]

"…"

Lake perceived the information flooding his consciousness, his mouth agape.

Divine power?

…No.

Divinity?

Pah!

Force!

Damn it!

As expected, what you get for free is always the best. What you get from paying to draw is never as good as what you get for free.

Look.

From the time Lake was sixteen until now, he had gotten three things for free.

The SSR-class immortal body.

The unranked mysterious side glasses.

And today, this thing called the Force, which could also be called divinity, the primal Force seed.

This is really forcing me to try and get things for free from now on.

He had worked hard, earning money for draws, only to be met with disappointment. After a year of effort, he had gone all in and ended up with nothing, a feeling Lake remembered very clearly.

He felt like he was going to have a stroke.

But now?

Lake felt like he had instantly turned the tables. With just this one divine Force seed, Lake felt he had saved at least ten years of effort.

He had struck gold!

Lake felt like he was going to suffocate from happiness. If he had known what kind of item he could get after filling this magical incubation pool, he wouldn’t have worked so hard. He would have just acted cute with Karen and asked her for some money.

In the origin of the Force, Star Wars, the Force is divided into the Light Side and the Dark Side.

But Lake’s version?

The Unified Force!

Movies talk about cultivation, Lake talks about quantum mechanics.

In Star Wars, the Unified Force is the integration of the entire universe’s Force with oneself, transforming into the will of the Force. In this state, his Force and agility were called "god" by Jason.

In the movies, the Force requires self-cultivation, while Lake talks about plunder…

Just like now.

Lake stood up, walked to the window of the study, and opened it.

Forcefully!

He spread his arms wide.

Took a deep breath.

The next second!

Cough, cough, cough!

Lake opened his eyes, his handsome face flushed red. He quickly closed the window, walked over to the computer desk, and downed the remaining Bourbon.

Shit.

Too much!

As Lake coughed repeatedly, the various emotions and energies he had just absorbed were rushing towards the Force seed suspended in his consciousness.

Justice.

Benevolence.

Fear.

Anger.

As soon as these emotions entered the Force Seed, they began to directly attack Lake’s sea of consciousness. Lake’s face changed colors like a dye shop.

Within his eyes, as blue as the deep ocean, lightning flashed and thunder roared, and clouds churned!

Ten minutes later.

Lake took a deep breath and opened his eyes. Within them, the sky and the deep sea seemed to have returned to their former tranquility.

Damn it.

So…

I still need my own Divine Kingdom to absorb it without restraint.

Lake’s eyes flickered.

Divinity.

Divine power.

Divine Kingdom.

These three are indispensable. Divinity is the foundation, while divine power and the Divine Kingdom complement each other. Without any one of them, his Divine Kingdom would be whatever he made it. This is Earth, and it’s not unclaimed territory.

Lake blinked, his gaze fixed on the number of lottery draws.

After thinking about it.

Lake shook his head and dismissed the thought. He had just obtained something good, and if he gambled now, he was sure it would come up with ten extremely perfunctory items.

Slowly.

No rush.

He was no longer the gambler who went all-in as soon as he had money.

He had made his decision. The rest would be a clean sweep, no need to ruin his good mood before the big battle.

It wasn’t worth it.

Lake opened his right hand towards the empty wine glass on the table. With a hum, the empty glass was instantly absorbed into his hand.

Then.

Lake released his Force Seed, adjusted the flow, ensuring it stayed within a stable threshold. Slowly, he allowed it to absorb the ambient energy as he moved.

Once the Force Seed absorbed enough, it would eventually take root, then break through the soil and sprout. Sooner or later, this small Force Seed would grow into a towering tree.

A World Tree?

Lake blinked.

Simultaneously.

A message was released in Europe by the Immortal Queen Emilia of the Immortal Royal Family. Effective immediately, the human, Lake Edwin, will no longer enjoy the protection of the Black King and the Immortal Royal Family.

Soon.

This message spread at an extremely rapid pace throughout the dark world. Of course, those who received this message were all from the supernatural realm.

Ordinary criminal circles are not considered the true dark world.

Those in the dark world who received this message were a bit confused.

Who is this Lake Edwin?

Of course.

There were those who knew Lake Edwin.

For example, Hydra.

After Daniel Whitehall’s two industries were transferred to the Immortal Consortium, he had been waiting for the announcement from the Immortal Royal Family. He was also afraid that the Black King would go back on his word.

But now.

Daniel Whitehall was relieved. The Black King’s side was settled, so the next step was to sharpen his knives and prepare for the slaughter.

Thinking this.

Daniel Whitehall looked at the subordinate who came in to report: "Execute according to the plan!"

The subordinate nodded.

Of course.

London also received the information.

London.

The Magic Dimension.

On the fifth floor of the Magic Building, in the office of the Deputy Director of the Department of Magic Law Enforcement, which is responsible for enforcing magical discipline within the territory.

A ginger, bow-legged, big-faced cat named Krukkshan, covered in yellow fur, appeared at the window. It then leaped from the window and landed directly in front of a woman sitting at her desk, working.

"Haha."

The woman pushed the big-faced cat away. "I’m in the office, go play by yourself."

Krukkshan meowed, relaying the news it had just heard at the pet bar.

The woman looked up at Krukkshan. "Really?"

Krukkshan meowed.

The woman frowned.

"What did he do now?"

"Meow!"

"…"