Chapter 848
Chapter 848
“I’m Shamash, manager of Starfall Guild’s European branch.
Shamash was making a call using the communication device. He had only just finished one sentence when a beam of light suddenly appeared within the conference room.
The light only lasted for a moment. And when it faded, Chen Xiaolian could be seen standing in the middle of the conference room with a smile on his face.
“This is Guan Shan speaking. Please go ahead.” Guan Shan’s voice came from the other end.
Shamash, however, had already become stunned.
This… isn’t this a little too fast?
He had yet to even tell Guan Shan that he wanted to meet Chen Xiaolian.
“Hello? Hello?”
Guan Shan uttered “hello” twice quizzically, but Shamash no longer knew how to respond.
“Just hang up.”
Shen waved at Shamash, but he did not turn his eyes towards him. Instead, they were fixed right at Chen Xiaolian, as though fearful that he would run away.
“Don’t look at me like a dog who just saw a bone, alright?” Chen Xiaolian smiled at Shen. “Since I took the initiative to appear before you, I will not run away.”
“I truly… did not think that you would take the initiative to appear before me. I had even spent some time arranging for their false surrender to trick you into appearing. I have to admit, this action of yours surprised me.” Shen nodded.
“Have I not always been surprising you?” Chen Xiaolian winked.
“That… seems to be the case.” Shen responded with a faint smile.
“Tell me then. You know that once I come out, I will be looking for you. Why did you send yourself over to me? Naturally, you can choose to spare us all that nonsense and just hand over the Oddity over to me.”
“Come one, search, smell!” Chen Xiaolian shook his clothes. “Can you find the Oddity anywhere on me?”
Shen’s gaze regarded Chen Xiaolian’s body from top to bottom and his eyes gradually turned icy. “Where’s the Oddity?”
Chen Xiaolian did not immediately answer him. Instead, he glanced around the conference room twice and smiled at Shen. “Are you really planning to talk about the Oddity in front of your subordinates… no, your former subordinates?”
Shen, however, simply replied with a cold tone and a look of indifference, “If you think it’s inappropriate, I can kill them all off any time.”
“That’s not what I mean.” Chen Xiaolian quickly shook his head. “Besides, one of the heads here is someone that I’ve accepted as my little brother.”
After saying that, he walked over until he was standing before Nightmare. Extending his hand, he stroked his head. “Before this, my guild members must have given you one Blood Controller Pill. But… the time to take the next one should be coming soon, right?”
Ever since Chen Xiaolian appeared, Nightmare’s eyes had been fixed on Chen Xiaolian. Only, because Shen was there as well, Nightmare dared not speak up. Seeing Chen Xiaolian now standing before him, he nodded his head with all his strength, like a dog whose head was being stroked by its owner.
Although he had not met Chen Xiaolian again since then, there was a constant partnership between Starfall Guild’s China branch and Meteor Rock Guild. Due to that, Lun Tai had once given him the antidote just as the 6-month period was about to come to an end.
Ever since then, though, he had not had any dealings with Meteor Rock Guild again.
In recent days, Nightmare had been going through a really difficult time. Every day, he would think about how many days he had and how, if he did not take the antidote, he would die from the poison.
“Although there should still be one or two months… I’ll give it to you first.” Using two fingers, Chen Xiaolian plucked out a small dark-red ball, which he placed on the table in front of Nightmare. “As you wished, you have become the head of the China branch. So, you’ll have to be more obedient in the future.”
After saying that, he stretched his hand out to rub Nightmare’s head again. Only then did he straighten himself and walk towards the already somewhat impatient Shen. “Let’s go.”
“Where?”
“To an instance dungeon.”
“Instance dungeon?” Shen’s gaze, which was aimed at Chen Xiaolian, grew increasingly puzzled. “You took the initiative to come to me, all for the sake of… entering an instance dungeon with me? What instance dungeon?”
“It’s not for the sake of completing the quest. Any instance dungeon will do. The more convenient, the better. It’s just that, there are some matters that we cannot comfortably talk about here.” Chen Xiaolian smiled.
He extended a finger, pointing it upwards. “There are some matters that those guys must not hear. Logically speaking, Zero City would be the most suitable place, but… frankly speaking, I dare not let you in. Who knows if you will suddenly turn around and attack to snatch the Oddity away? So, discussing things inside an instance dungeon would be more convenient.”
“Zero City? The Oddity?” Shen gave Chen Xiaolian a deep stare before letting out a soft harrumph.
Only then did he realize that the reason the Oddity was not on Chen Xiaolian’s person was because he had used it as the foundation for the new Zero City.
“Alright. Before entering an instance dungeon, I will not reveal anything more to you,” Chen Xiaolian said solemnly. “In six hours, in… hmm, Greece, Athens, an instance dungeon will be starting there soon. This is the closest one. Let’s meet again there.”
After Chen Xiaolian was done talking, a curtain of light flashed by and he disappeared.
Shen had quietly watched as Chen Xiaolian disappeared with the flash of light. Then, he turned around and gave all the seven people within the conference room a glance.
Fearful, everyone there kept quiet.
Just now, Guild Leader Shen had… very clearly said that, if necessary, he could kill off the seven of them at any time.
It would seem that he really didn’t care about their revolt.
But that was only because he no longer cared. Moreover, he still had use for them.
At present, however…
It would appear that they had become useless to him!
Every single one of them remained still, not daring to even breathe. They were like frogs in a cage being stared at by a snake.
After watching them for a moment, Shen suddenly shook his head and sighed. “Forget it. You fellows can do whatever you want.”
After saying that, he pushed open the door and stepped out of the conference room.
The door closed up and the sound of footsteps gradually moved farther and farther away.
Only then did everyone there began to gasp wildly for air.
Just now, they were truly… just a hair’s breadth away from being killed.
…
Unlike with most cities, located at the centre of Athens was a small, rocky outcrop. Erected there was the most famous monument in Europe, the Acropolis.
The Acropolis, built in the 5th century BC, originally consisted of several massive buildings. However, due to the passage of time, it had become ruined, leaving only a small part of the Temple of Athena, which served as its main body.
At that moment, Chen Xiaolian was seated alone in front of a coffee table. He held up a cup, which released a rich aroma of coffee, and sipped.
It was a café. The décor of the café were all natural, unpainted logs. As the front door was not big enough, several tables were set up outside and potted flowers were placed around the tables. And while it was situated within the peripheral area of the city, he was be able to see the rocky outcrop and the temple located in the distance just by raising his head.
A curtain of light descended and a prompt appeared in Chen Xiaolian’s personal system.
[You have entered…]
Without waiting for the prompt to fully display, Chen Xiaolian casually turned off the prompt.
The contents of this instance dungeon had nothing to do with him. At any rate, he was not here to complete the quest here. He could not be bothered to check it out.
His mind was repeatedly repeating his next words.
Ever since all the arrangements were completed, Chen Xiaolian had rehearsed this so many times that he had practically lost count. However, now that he was about to face Shen, a hint of anxiousness emerged from within his heart for no reason. Thus, he kept wanting to go through it a few more times.
The phrasing and tone of each word must be as convincing as possible.
The people around him were still moving about and nothing unusual could be seen in the shop. It would appear that the storyline of this instance dungeon did not have much of an effect on the lives of ordinary humans.
After having drank half of the coffee in his cup, Chen Xiaolian saw Shen turning into view from the corner of a distant street.
“Will you suddenly appear from the café in the corner? I will wave to you and greet you with a smile and we’ll sit and have a chat.”
Chen Xiaolian watched as Shen walked up to him and sat down. As he did, a line of lyrics randomly popped into his head.
Chen Xiaolian quickly waved away this weird and absurdly distracting thought from his mind before nodding towards Shen.
“It’s been a while.”
“It’s not that long for me.” Shen’s face was mostly devoid of emotions.
“How important is it that you insist on only talking about it inside an instance dungeon?”
“Better safe than sorry.” Chen Xiaolian smiled. “Although it is not necessarily safer inside an instance dungeon, having an extra layer of shielding is at least better compared to being outside.”
“You may speak now.” Shen regarded Chen Xiaolian from top to bottom. “You have half an hour.”
“I present to you… an alternative solution.” Chen Xiaolian took a deep breath and the words that he had rehearsed countless times in his mind emerged fluently. “As you already know, I have rebuilt Zero City.
“I am not as strong as you six while the current GM’s authority – due to the many refreshes – has been adjusted by the Development Team down to an extremely low level. Even so, we have still rebuilt a new Zero City.
“Naturally, it is not as big as the Thirty-three Heavens that you guys built. But, at the very least… it is already big enough to hold all the Awakened ones.
“Back when you led the Players to attack Zero City, some people from Zero City, under the leadership of Aderick, managed to escape. I have found them and had them return to Zero City to become the core guilds there. And now, after four months, a high number of Awakened ones have become members of their peripheral guilds.
“With just a little more time, and… with your help, I can unite all the Awakened ones…”
Suddenly, Shen interrupted Chen Xiaolian. “Are you planning on copying what we did in the past and make Zero City into a sanctuary?”
“I knew you’d be quick to figure it out.” Chen Xiaolian chuckled. “However, this is not just a sanctuary for us few. Rather, it is a sanctuary for all Awakened ones! You have gone through so many refreshes before. You should know all too well that the next refresh will be happening very soon. In fact, it might happen any time now. Before that happens, we have to scramble to let all the Awakened ones come under the banner of Zero City. Then, everyone will avoid the refresh while inside. It is like… before the coming of the great flood, like the Ark that Noah built!”
“The Ark?” Shen sneered. “Have you been in contact with those knightly guild guys for too long? Even the way you talk have become similar to them!”
“It’s just an example.” Chen Xiaolian shrugged. “So, what do you think about my proposal?”
“Save all the Awakened ones? Help them avoid the refresh?” Shen narrowed his eyes and looked right at Chen Xiaolian.
“Chen Xiaolian, in the past, I didn’t realize that you are actually such a magnanimous person.”
“In your original plan, didn’t you also want to save everyone?” Chen Xiaolian pretended he did not hear the sarcasm in Shen’s words.
“I wouldn’t call myself magnanimous. Since I have the ability to do something that doesn’t require paying any price, if I can save some, I’ll save some. At the very least, my plan does not require sacrificing all the Irregularities. With a better option that does not require sacrificing Du Wei and the others, I don’t see any reason for you to reject it.”
Shen pondered it for a moment. “So… have you informed everyone about your plan?”
“No. With the exception of my guild members, I have not informed anyone else about this, not even Aderick.” Chen Xiaolian slowly shook his head.
“At present, no other Awakened ones know that the Development Team will be unleashing a periodic refresh on this world. I will announce it after I have united all the Awakened ones.”
“Really? Then, have you ever considered… once those Awakened ones find out about all these things that you’ve done for them, how would they react? Do you think they will thank you?” Shen said coolly.
“I know most of them won’t. Truth is, I also do not need their thanks.” Chen Xiaolian shook his head.
“I’ve practically never appeared before them. Most of the time, I would leave the affairs that require dealing with the other Awakened ones to Aderick and the other former members of Zero City’s resident guilds. I don’t want to get too involved…”
“You’re wrong!”
Before Chen Xiaolian could finish his words, Shen unceremoniously interrupted him. “Chen Xiaolian, your naivety surprises me.”
“Why do you say that?” Chen Xiaolian did not appear flustered at that.
“Not only will they not thank you, they will instead hate you,” Shen said coldly. “Once you gather all the Awakened ones and announce the matter of the refresh, do you think they would willingly accept your plan?”
“They won’t accept it? Why not?”
“The Awakened ones are not Players. They are all people from this world. Before Awakening, they used to be ordinary humans with their own lives here.” A playful smile appeared on Shen’s face. “Parents, partners, children and even friends… do you think that everyone are solitary loners?
“If you can create a world as big as Thirty-three Heavens like we did in the past, then maybe. But a mere Zero City, with that kind of limited space, can you fit in everyone from this world?
“You cannot!
“If so, once you announce it to them, what do you think they’ll do?
“They will not accept it!
“Following you into the new Zero City and avoiding the refresh meant abandoning all their beloved ones and friends outside, leaving them as the sole survivor of their group!
“How many people… would be willing to board that boat of yours?
“In fact, what if, after they enter Zero City, they want to bring their beloved ones and friends in as well? Due to the lack of space, a revolt would happen. What do you plan on doing then?”
“You… may have misunderstood something.” Suddenly, Chen Xiaolian burst into a smile.
“I am not obligated to be responsible towards everyone, let alone possess such an enlightened state of mind!
“I built Zero City for myself and my guild members! As for the other Awakened ones, it is as I have said, I don’t need to pay any price for it. If I can save some, I’ll save some.
“But that ticket for the ship? It’s a gift from me! A boon that I’m offering to them!
“In this world, are there any who would still feel unhappy or dissatisfied after receiving a gift?
“I’ll admit, those people you mentioned do exist. But why do I have to bother trying to assuage them and try to make everyone happy?”
Chen Xiaolian sneered before continuing, “The guys in my guild are mostly loners. And while some of them do have family members, Zero City is big enough. Bringing in a few more people is not a problem.
“As for the others, I couldn’t care less. Those who are willing to enter can enter. Those who are not can just go die!
“A revolt? What a joke! A bunch of freeloading tenants! Me letting them in to avoid the refresh is already good fortune on their part. If someone actually dares do anything, do you think… I won’t kill them?”
“Is that so? Then, I’ve wrongly reproached you,” Shen responded with a faint smile.
Chen Xiaolian cast a solemn look at Shen and said with a sincere tone, “Previously, the reason, the most important reason why you were so determined to take away the Oddity is because Zero City is already in a damaged state. It can no longer withstand another refresh. At the end of the day, it is because, after it was only just built, it had to face a refresh that hit it from both inside and outside. Due to that, it became incomplete.
“But this new Zero City is something that I had rebuilt. Although it is still the same in size, it will not be affected by the refresh.
“According to your plan, all the Irregularities have to be sacrificed, including Du Wei and the others… but with my plan, no one needs to die.”