Chapter 45: Business Ethics X Fruit of Longevity -1

He could even kill the one who unleashed the thunder…
Who was spreading the rumor that he was just a wasted model overlapping with force-field abilities? Those fake news sure do terrible harm.
[Yu Chen, awed by my authority, now feels submission and reverence toward me.]
“……”
Yang Zicang felt a strong urge to toss him out immediately.
……
At this moment, in Tong Wenqi’s hands outside.
The crescent moon, like a realistic reflection, appearing in the frequency crystal vanished, turning the crystal murky and ordinary. Within seconds, many cracks appeared.
“It actually eliminated the Moon Shadow.”
Tong Wenqi believed that he was the strongest among all who had appeared in that C-grade interwoven area.
But now the frequency crystal had shattered!
This meant that the person inside had actually eliminated an enemy stronger than himself.
“How did he manage that?”
Upon thinking this, Tong Wenqi’s chest model activated.
Silver threads refracted into the void, and soon a sharp-chinned youth appeared in his sensory screen.
“Lao Wei, did yesterday’s prediction results come out yet?”
{No. Yan Yi asked me about it too, but there’s nothing, there really isn’t. It’s strange, it’s never taken this long before.}
With no prediction results surfacing, a suspicion faintly arose in Tong Wenqi’s mind—could that gun’s ownership truly…
{But you came at just the right time.}
That person produced two boxes of different colors and a die, as if about to make a new prediction.
“Ha, have you ever thought about why there’s still no feedback on the prediction results after more than twenty hours? Doesn’t that suggest that Yang Zicang might still get his weapon back?”
{Panic not. Let’s wager on whether we can find the critical point of the temporal change.}
“Anyway, I’ve already thrown the Century Weapon out as per your plan. If he ends up taking it back in the end, I’m holding you accountable.”
{Don’t worry. It’s under our chrono weapon’s constant surveillance. We’ll intervene at any anomaly, it won’t be lost.}
Tong Wenqi severed the Mental Link, turning his head to look at the broken crystalline stone on the bed.
“Could Yang Zicang’s strength actually rival mine? Impossible.”
……
Pedestrians wandered in sparse twos and threes.
Under the dim street, a man in a woolen coat tucked a business card into the inner pocket of his garment.
He glanced at the eternal, unchanging full moon in the sky, then pressed down his hat, weaving through the diverse crowd along the cobblestone street, before returning to his small inn room.
The room was lavishly adorned with wooden flooring, boasting a retro decor that exuded a country rustic style.
By the bedside sat a small figurine with wings.
After closing the door, he poured half a glass of lemonade from a glass bottle and downed it in one gulp. After taking a brief rest, he pulled out a book from a small, close-fitting bag.
The book documented numerous combat moves and the pathways for energy circulation within the body, much like a martial arts manual containing both internal and external techniques.
The door to the single bedroom beside him creaked open.
A boy with yellowish, frizzy hair on his head belonging to a greyish-pale complexion poked his head out. His eyes were sunken, his skin quite dry, and he wore blue-striped pajamas.
“Morry, why are you back so soon? Did you find a new team?”
“It was the former vice-captain who contacted me to lift my qualification for exchanging frequency crystals. He exchanged all my contributions for this book.”
Morry was seething with anger.
“Hah, that damned hunchback actually told me this thing was the most precious exchange item and more than enough to cover my contributions. It really proves that old saying in this place—’When people leave, the tea grows cold.’ After working together for a few months, he wouldn’t even exchange a usable weapon for me.”
“A book? Some secret technique manual?”
Mori shook the cover, revealing the title: Flame Sword Path.
This cultivation technique looked good on the surface, but it was essentially useless to them.
Because practicing it would take years, and they simply didn’t have that much time to train.
“Is it that… Mountain something Xiao?” Boppoli asked with wide eyes.
“His Chinese name is Xiao Yushan.”
Mori tossed the book to the curly-haired boy beside him. “If only your ability could make use of it.”
“Me? Hah.”
The boy flipped through the book, letting out a silent sigh.
It was a top-tier ability, yet it had no place to be used.
If it weren’t for a skilled expert from his own city bringing him here last time, he’d probably never be able to visit even this small town again.
Mori turned his head to glance at the small sculpture on the bedside table.
This was a gift from Xiao Yushan when he first recruited Mori into the team, but after half a year of helping, that worthless book and this sculpture were the only things of value he had left.
“So he had planned all along to pay me with that statue as a fee. That untrustworthy bastard.”
Sensing the light spot within the model on his chest, Moli took off his jacket after his roommate closed the door and went back to sleep. He walked to the bedside table, knelt on one knee, and pressed his palms together.
A silvery faint glow emanated from the model on his chest, with one tiny sparkle flickering like a needle tip. Moli spoke in a low voice.
“Please, Bloodline Resonance Statue, hear my voice and respond to my wish.”
[Wish Talisman has been used.]
Bathed in this light, the small statue ahead also lit up with a similar faint glimmer on its chest.
[State your wish.]
He had two pressing wishes at present.
After a moment of hesitation, Moli continued:
“I wish to gain the possibility of quickly learning the secrets in this book.”
No sooner had he spoken than he felt his consciousness lift out of his body, soaring upward, and the entire one-bedroom, one-living-room apartment was vividly reflected in his mind.
The faint translucent silhouette of Boppoli, though separated by a wall, appeared directly in his senses.
“No, no, noble Statue Sir, his ability cannot help me master this technique swiftly. Please grant me a quicker possibility.”
[I am about to learn certain esoteric secrets. I should uphold my promise not to divulge them, as doing so significantly increases my chances of finding the key to resolving this matter.]
“Yes, I pledge not to disclose any secrets.”
He felt the statue emit a hazy radiance that enveloped him.
After a long wait, when he thought he had failed, streams of information flowed into his mind.
A hint of confusion flickered in Moli’s eyes.
“Dream? What, the world of the Complete Stamp Emblem could be like this too.”
As he exclaimed instinctively, he felt a surge of power within, tightly sealing his thin lips so he couldn’t open them.
[Anomaly Alert: The Dream Lord’s current area is in a state of temporal diffusion; every minute there is ten minutes in the place where it resides.]
[Wish Talisman used up.]
The light points in the model vanished completely. Mori froze for a moment, then flailed his arms to prop himself up and stand.
He twisted his ankle and almost fell again.
“Oh my god, Boppoli! Hurry, exchange all our time sequences for your Ability Sphere.”
“What’s that? I just lay down.”
“Get up! I knew your ability shouldn’t be left in the shadows like this; come on, move!”
Mori banged on the door and shouted.
……
Twenty-four hours later, Yang Zicang felt a golden phantom glow rising from his body; the Amplified Chrono was fully replenished.
To be on the safe side, they only dared to leave the Interleaved Space until now.
“You can say goodbye now.”
Yang Zicang tossed Yu Chen aside, rolling him onto the withered leaves.
“I, I’ll go right now.”
Yu Chen swayed as he walked outward, his balance severely impaired without both arms.
“I still have the Wish Talisman; I… I still have hope.”
He wandered through the woods, his lips cracked, fearing most now of meeting anyone he had once wronged. Luckily, the outside sky was pitch black.
Luo Bin patted Yang Zicang on the shoulder:
“I know how you feel making these decisions. It’s like this at first, but you’ll get used to it over time.”
“As for my feelings… they’re not too bad, I suppose.”
Silence reigned outside.
[There’s someone at headquarters whose ability lets them observe roughly a day’s worth of activity after you invest. If you’re seeking financing, be prepared to be under surveillance for a full day.]
Yang Zicang’s heart tightened a bit. Given how close they were, Luo Bin’s use of telepathic dialogue showed just how cautious and wary he was of that person from headquarters.
He shrugged helplessly—there was nothing left about him worth coveting anyway.
……
The three returned to their previous hidden base, causing a stir among the group.
Wang Chijian looked at him with a strange expression.
Say he was a coward—yet he had taken down a formidable figure like Li Wang all on his own.
Say he was formidable—yet he had carelessly discarded the precious century-level Chrono Weapon.
“Do you know how many owners your Century Weapon has changed hands to by now?”
Yang Zicang eagerly tore open a bag of biscuits.
“Yeah, I roughly know. So before finishing whatever mission you have, should I head to a B-level alien space to test my abilities?”
“No need for that!”
A figure brimming with grievance and anger stepped forward—this was the “President Wang,” Wang Yu’an, who the group had been referring to.