Chapter 46: Business Ethics X Fruit of Longevity -2

President Wang said with some indignation: “Given your level of skill, shown by taking out Li Wang, I really can’t imagine what need there is for the likes of testing yourself in a B-level alien space.”
“Yeah, you see, if you’d known earlier, you might as well have sold us the Century Weapon!”
After the Mysterious Person snatched the gun, not long after, they were besieged by a group of people. Helpless, they dropped the Chrono Weapon and fled.
The weapon had changed hands several times in the past two days. Many people ignored the headquarters’ kill ban. In the struggle, at least four or five died at the hands of the same faction, while others were ambushed by people from the monster faction.
Now, the area was in chaos; some people wanted to escape, while others wanted to enter.
[I, the Great Quadrilateral, have accepted the transit link.]
[Due to differences in the flow of time-phase, the mental communication link has failed.]
Just then, a telepathic voice echoed.
[I will not share the following content with any third party.]
In the blurry scene, a pale-skinned man was kneeling on the ground, quietly making a wish in English. Yang Zicang listened to this man’s voice; it sounded like this person was praying to a statue.
Is that possible?
The information within the scene quickly appeared in his mind and became understood.
[The chosen one, Mori, wishes to acquire skills that can be learned quickly.]
[Are you willing to grant this assistance?]
[Yes!]
Having roughly understood what the other party needed, Yang Zicang silently gave his response.
He hadn’t forgotten the lesson he’d learned from his own experience: to strive for the recognition and favor of as many council members as possible.
[When you next enter the Mindscape, the Candidate, Mori, will simultaneously enter your world.]
[The Candidate, Mori, possesses an item that allows him to acquire skills, and has been granted permissions to utilize it within the Mindscape.]
“？？？”
He tried to understand the phrase: “The chosen candidate Mori… possesses… the item to gain skills?”
Yang Zicang was stunned. Since you already have such a thing, why come to me?
“Hey, you idiot! Are you even listening to me? At the very least, I’ve invested millennia in you, giving you the capital to defeat King Li!”
Wang Yu’an angrily came over and slapped the large wooden crate.
“You’re not chatting with someone in your mind, are you?”
“Ah, I’m done. No more chatting.” Yang Zicang snapped back to reality.
“You!” Wang Yu’an took a deep breath.
This despicable fellow had completely ignored him.
……
The valley that this organization of the weak and decrepit needed to traverse was an abandoned Class B rift.
Over a dozen hours later, Yang Zicang, Luo Bin, and Liang Xi followed this team, moving under the hazy moonlight.
Although many people had entered the area, the scarred city would not come to life even with ten times the number; thus, they encountered almost no one along the way.
“The leader here was eliminated long ago, so no monsters have been born. But still, be careful inside. The terrain isn’t very good.”
“The terrain isn’t very good” was quite the understatement.
Cliffs were everywhere, and visibility was poor, as if walking along Hua Mountain’s bird trail—without enhanced balance, someone would certainly fall.
Below, rapids surged fiercely.
Not long after.
Wang Yu’an stared in shock at the crowd who were leaping across the massive canyon in a dense stream.
They traced graceful arcs in the air, bypassing countless knife-edged stone pillars shooting up into the sky, landing one by one steadily on the huge net left on the opposite side for years.
“Hehe, what do you think? My buddy’s skills are not bad, right?” Luo Bin said smugly.
“This, this… actually being able to control over a dozen people to fly across the canyon at once!”
Wang Yu’an’s head was spinning, crossing it all at once… This was completely different from what he had imagined.
The safely landed crowd chattered in excited exchanges; when they saw Yang Zicang approaching, they swarmed around him, offering a thousand thanks and ten thousand thanks.
“What is there over here that all of you need to come over for?”
Yang Zicang glanced at the stubborn tag-along Luo Bin and Liang Xi, whom he had dragged along.
“Follow me, and you’ll know. From now on, this place can also count as one of your hidden treasures.”
“Treasure?”
More than a dozen people followed Wang Yu’an down a narrow path, torches illuminating the dark road; several minutes later, they arrived before a stone door.
“The magic runes on the door have already been cracked, let’s just go straight in.”
Pushing the heavy door open with force, came the lively sound of spring water from inside.
“Could that be… an immortal tree?”
Behind the door was a small space, with the depths casting out a hazy brilliant sheen—it was an ancient, gnarled small tree radiating divine light.
Its ashen trunk twisted like a coiled dragon, with bark flowing like gleaming jade. They grew vibrant, multicolored leaves resembling heart-shaped silhouettes.
Everyone uttered sounds of admiration.
“What kind of treasure is this?”
“I call it the Longevity Tree.”
Yang Zicang and Liang Xi were somewhat curious. After all, hadn’t their time sequence already been extended with longevity?
“Go up and place your hand on the trunk. After injecting one year of lifespan, you’ll know. But before that, everyone should first inject their own lifespan into the model. Each of you has only one chance, so don’t waste it.”
Luo Bin clearly knew what this was about. He stepped forward first, his body gradually aging to about sixty years old as he walked.
“This is all the vitality I have. Originally, I could only live for about sixty years at most.”
He placed his hand on the tree, and many leaves lit up. A bright red fruit, about the size of a strawberry, quickly formed, growing to full size within seconds.
Luo Bin plucked it and swallowed it whole. His skin began to ripple, quickly transforming him into a young man with sunken eyes.
Even the scar on his head had now faded considerably.
“Wow, the uncle’s turned into a big brother!” Liang Xi laughed.
“Watch it, or I’ll spank your bottom.”
“Uncle, has the time sequence you injected into the model turned into extra time?”
“You’ll know when you try it, you little brat.”
Luo Bin stood up, and had taken only two steps, the tree shed a leaf that lost its luster and fell yellowed.
“Brother Yang, you go first.” Wang Chijian said.
This high school-aged young man was completely convinced. Yang Zicang’s ability was nothing like the force field overlap that outsiders imagined.
Being able to accurately guide so many people through those sharp rocks, which would split anyone who collided with them into two pieces in the dark, his ability was already an unheard-of level of strength.
Yang Zicang nodded.
[I consumed 1N.]
His skin quickly aging, Yang Zicang felt his body weaken, as though he had reached the end of his life.
But the next moment, a gentle and warm force came from the tree his hand was pressing against.
He looked up and saw that a fruit had grown at the treetop.
“Quick, pick it, or it’ll go bad.”
Yang Zicang promptly plucked the fruit, sniffed its light fragrance, then opened his mouth and swallowed it whole, closing his eyes to savor it.
[My lifespan has been extended by 10N.]
[I have replenished 87.2N.]
It felt like warm water spreading through his body, filling every cell with a comforting warmth.
Yang Zicang opened his eyes. He had just injected seventy-seven years of his lifespan into the model, leaving less than a year, but in return, he had replenished eighty-seven years.
He looked at a leaf that was rapidly yellowing and dying on the branch. This tree had added ten years to his original lifespan, bringing it to eighty-eight years old.
No wonder these people sought out an intelligence broker like Luo Bin to recommend someone and insisted on coming here. For their team, this trip was considered a gain of over a hundred Nexuses instantly.
President Wang’s capital pool has grown even larger.
“Thank you. It’s a precious treasure, but what a pity—it can’t be brought back to Earth.”
Yang Zicang looked at these people. Even with just over a hundred extra years, they were still striving tirelessly, each one seeking opportunities to grow stronger.
“It’s you who wants to go back, isn’t it?” Luo Bin asked.
President Wang Yu’an walked over, hands on his hips, sighing with emotion: “Who doesn’t want to go back? If it could be taken back to Earth, every fruit it bears would be worth countless stacks of cash.”
The atmosphere among the three began to warm, as if after enduring hardship, a budding sense of mutual recognition for their friendship was taking shape.
“Yeah, if I were the richest person in the world, I’d spend hundreds of billions of dollars to buy one fruit and eat it just as I’m about to die.”
“Haha, it’s a nice dream.”
If a septuagenarian or octogenarian consumed it, they would be rejuvenated back to youth in minutes, gaining over ten more years of life in the process.
If such a thing appeared on Earth, it would surely cause a sensation.
But unfortunately, it decays very quickly—not only is it impossible to bring it back through the distant chance of returning to Earth, but it can’t even be taken out of this other dimension.
After three hours, everyone had become youthful young men. The scars on Liang Xi had faded a lot, with only the deepest wounds still showing some marks.
“Could it be transplanted away?” someone suggested.
“You can try snapping off its branch. If you succeed, I’ll give you all my temporal reserves.”
Wang Yu’an glanced contemptuously at that man, whose greed was written all over his face.
The divine tree was surrounded by a stream, whose waters also emitted a faint glow. It was unclear whether the tree nourished the water or the water nurtured the tree.
Its roots ran deep into the entire mountain range. Some curious individuals even tried to chop at the roots with sharp tools, but they could not so much as disturb them.
“Pleasure doing business. Look me up next time you need something.” Wang Yu’an said to Luo Bin.
“Shouldn’t you come looking for me directly?” Yang Zicang shot him a glance.
“Hahaha, I’m a stickler for contract spirit. Something like cutting the broker loose? I wouldn’t stoop to that.”
Luo Bin puffed out his chest, waving grandly toward Yang Zicang:
“This time’s commission can be deducted from the remaining full-authority Timelines.”
“To offset the entire amount?”
“How could there be such a cheap deal? You know damned well how few years of extra life everyone’s got in total.”
“Alright, then how much is the offset?”
“Mm, let me see… a fifth, say.”
Yang Zicang wasn’t in the mood to haggle over this point with Luo Bin. He walked over to Wang Yu’an, pulled him aside, and pretending to be on familiar terms, draped an arm over the other’s shoulder.
“Mr. Wang, you’re an investor, right?”
“Mm-hmm, that’s right.”
Wang Yu’an glanced at the arm resting on his right shoulder. The model on his chest lit up, and a golden luster emanated from his body.
Simultaneously, a golden glow appeared on Yang Zicang.
With that, both men forced a cheeky laugh at each other.