Super Gene Ⅱ: Evolution

Lin Shen demurred twice but, seeing the Shaggy Old Celestial insist on him participating in the lottery, could only walk over, reach his hand into the draw box, and fumbled out a slip of paper.

"Kid, you're in luck," Emperor Tianshu said as he took down the "Celestial Five Declines Technique" from the bookshelf and handed it to Lin Shen, beaming, "This book is quite something. A big shot pawned it to me when he was down on his luck, saying it is an extremely rare skill that can change one's fate and bring good fortune. I spent a pretty penny on it at the time, and by the luck it brought me, I've lived a very comfortable life. If you have any misfortune, just take a look at this book, and it will surely benefit you."

Lin Shen thought to himself, "If this thing could really bring good fortune, why would that important person have been desperate enough to pawn it? This Shaggy Old Celestial has fallen to the point of setting up a street stall, and yet he claims to be living comfortably. Who would believe such a tale?"

"Then I'll be sure to take a good look at it, thanks." Lin Shen accepted the book and bid farewell to the Shaggy Old Celestial.

"Just come back and patronize the business when your luck has turned around," Emperor Tianshu said with a cheery smile.

After arriving at the Celestial Master Institute, Lin Shen called together the institute's senior executives for a meeting to discuss the upcoming trip to the Diman Tribe and to help him analyze whether the trip would be auspicious or ominous.

"Dean, I think you should seek out the Lord Heavenly Emperor. The Celestial Master Institute's official duties are busy as is; we hardly have time to assist the Celestial Court with a diplomatic mission to the Diman Tribe," the logistics director said.

"The Lord Heavenly Emperor has myriad affairs to attend to each day; it would hardly be appropriate to trouble him with such a trivial matter," Lin Shen said.

Everyone there was a seasoned expert; hearing Lin Shen say these things, they guessed that he likely had already visited Emperor Tianshu, but it must have been to no avail.

Vice Dean An pondered and then suggested, "Dean, you seem a little pale. How about seeing a doctor?"

"For the Celestial Race, for the Divine Statue, as long as I have a breath in me, even if I have to crawl, I will make my way to the Diman Tribe and reclaim the Divine Statue," Lin Shen declared with a righteous fervor.

Sadly, everybody there was too savvy and heard the unspoken implications in Lin Shen's words. This time, even if he was at death's door, he would still have to go to the Diman Tribe.

"Dean, actually I have several old friends in the Diman Tribe," Vice Dean Qiao said as she started to rummage through her communicator, "I'll find their contact information for you. Once you're there, if you run into any trouble, they might be able to help in some way."

Listening to this left Lin Shen somewhat helpless. Vice Dean Qiao's friends were well known by reputation, and should he need their help, whether they would support Lin Shen, or vent some form of unpleasant mood on him, was uncertain.

After much discussion, they failed to resolve anything substantial.

In the meantime, An Sai leveraged her vast network to see if she could find someone to smooth things over, only to eventually shake her head at Lin Shen, saying, "What was originally a minor issue has been approved by the Celestial Court's council vote, and Dean An 1 himself proposed it. I'm afraid, Dean, you will have to take this trip."

After the meeting, Chi Xinhuo approached him, "Dean, as a head of security, I might as well go with you. I can escort you and ensure your safety."

Lin Shen knew that Chi Xinhuo was a genuinely reliable person and would be a dependable ally.

However, a trip to the Diman Tribe was not a problem that one or two experts could solve. If it came down to the need for forceful intervention, even if he brought a few immortals, the outcome would likely be grim.

In the end, Lin Shen kindly refused Chi Xinhuo's offer and set off for the Diman Tribe with only Ouyang Yudu and a few Nirvana Beings from Ouyang Yudu's team.

The delegates that accompanied Lin Shen numbered over two hundred and, for the most part, kept a respectful distance from him.

To put it kindly, they did not want to trouble their leader; to be blunt, they did not take Lin Shen's position as head of delegation seriously at all.

Lin Shen had no intention of intervening anyway, and so was happy to be free of these concerns.

After several transfers, the delegation boarded a spacecraft headed for Diman Star.

Diman Star is not only the home planet of the Diman Tribe but also serves as its administrative center. Unlike the Celestial Race, the Diman Tribe currently has four Main Stars, with Diman Star being only one of them.

At an earlier time, the Diman Tribe actually had eight Main Stars, but with the disappearance of several kings, the other four Main Stars had been abolished.

The now four Main Stars of the Diman Tribe are Diman Star, Greedy Star, Arrogance Star, and Furious Star.

Apart from Diman Star, each of the other three Main Stars hosts one of the Diman Tribe's kings.

With a moment's thought, Lin Shen realized that he had some connection to the three existing kings of Diman Star.

He had a grudge with Princess Catherine, the daughter of the Arrogant Monarch; his Third Brother was currently working under the Greed Monarch, and his main weapon, the Pet Gun, was once wielded by the Furious King in his youth.

Fortunately, these three monarchs remained on their respective Main Stars and rarely visited Diman Star.

The ruler of Diman Star was the current emperor of the Diman Tribe, "Shaxun XI," who was said to be young and had not held the throne for many years.

In fact, Shaxun XI was not the real authority over Diman Star, merely a figurehead. The true power behind Diman Star was the Shaxun General of the Diman Tribe.

The Shaxun General was Shaxun XI's uncle, and his control over the Diman Legion constituted the real elite force of the Diman Tribe.

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What worried Lin Shen was the decent relationship between the Shaxun General and the Arrogant Monarch—at least on the surface, it seemed quite good.

This was Lin Shen's greatest concern; he feared that Catherine might create obstacles for him through the Shaxun General.

The spacecraft required over ten days of travel to reach Diman Star. With nothing to do on the ship, Lin Shen, as if possessed, took out the "Celestial Five Declines Technique" to read.

He had initially intended to merely pass the time on the spacecraft, but after a while, he found that although the content seemed unreliable, it was quite fascinating.

The "Celestial Five Declines Technique" didn't so much describe how to change one's own luck, rather it was about transferring one's misfortune to someone else, leaving oneself with only good fortune.

According to the book, it was difficult to increase one's Qi Fortune, but by shaking off misfortune, the little good fortune remaining would appear tremendously fortunate.

It's like how watermelons, having relatively low sugar content compared to other fruits, taste sweeter than most.@@novelbin@@

That's because the sweetness of watermelon is pure, unobstructed by sourness or other flavors.

Of course, one could also put it more bluntly: when others are facing misfortune, even your smallest luck can seem incredibly joyful.