WEF - Chapter 21

Chapter 21: I Want You to Get Close to the Extremist Eaters...

Every perceptive person present could see that the Shadow King had gone rigid.

Even Iron Face sensed that something was wrong. She rubbed her steel-blue arm and did not dare make a sound.

Yuan released Ning Dali's hand, walked straight over to the Shadow King, and gave her a slap on the back.

"Straighten your back."

Ying's slightly hunched back immediately snapped straight, but her lips remained stuck together as though coated in superglue.

She was the mighty King of Shadows. How could she possibly be the one to greet her first...?

"You're a grown woman. Would saying hello really cost you your life? I saw how perfectly capable you were when you just climbed out of her shadow," Yuan said.

Wasn't that simply because Ning Dali's shadow had a larger surface area?

Ying was furious but did not dare answer. She could only look at Ning Dali.

Ning Dali cleared her throat and smiled tolerantly. "It's fine. If Xiao Ying does not want to say hello, we can forget it. We knew each other before anyway."

At those words, Ying's gaze blazed with fury. She opened her mouth to start blasting her, but Ning Dali went on.

"She's actually quite nice. We made a deal not long ago."

"I see." Yuan nodded in satisfaction. "I did not expect that while I was dead for half a year, Xiao Ying would learn to trade with other people. I thought all she did was blow up other people's houses and carry out demolition work."

Ying reluctantly forced an obedient smile onto her face.

Ning Dali found the sight thoroughly astonishing and added, "The only question is when the final payment will be settled."

The smile vanished in an instant. Ying stared at Ning Dali with pitch-black eyes, already beheading her in her mind.

"We signed the contract yesterday afternoon." Ying thought for a long time before finally speaking. She brushed over it with a bare answer and considered her performance highly skillful.

Her answer not only explained why the final payment remained unsettled but stressed the word 'contract', subtly suggesting that their transaction had been legitimate and mutually voluntary.

Ying then fixed Ning Dali with a warning glare, silently telling her not to spill a word, as if reminding her of the hush payment worth more than ten million points.

Pushing the Shadow King too far would do Ning Dali no good, so she knew when to stop. "Exactly."

Ying withdrew her gaze with satisfaction, unaware that Wang You, Zhuang Yuezhen, and Iron Face had all listened in stunned silence.

Wang You and Zhuang Yuezhen knew what had happened the day before, and they had already filled in the gaps, imagining how Ning Dali and the Shadow King had bargained and maneuvered.

In their imagined version, Ning Dali was wretched, formidable, and willing to swallow every humiliation. Though she had emerged from the negotiations unscathed, she had lost the motorhome she loved.

For a time, they even thought their imaginings had gone too far.

But now, having heard the conversation and learned more of what had really happened, Zhuang Yuezhen and Wang You realized how woefully inadequate their imaginings had been.

Ning Dali had not been swallowing humiliation at all. She had practically perched on the Shadow King's head.

The one who had come off worse in the negotiation was actually the King of Shadows?

The immensely wealthy King of Shadows actually owed money and refused to pay it?

The way everyone looked at Ying immediately became both strange and painfully restrained.

It was so restrained that Ying could not detect it. She was still too absorbed in admiring her own verbal finesse. If she had a tail, it would already be sticking straight up in the air.

"How much is the final payment?" Yuan asked softly, refusing to let the subject go.

"A little over a thousand points." Ying's gaze shifted sideways as she carefully tucked her cuffed hands behind her back.

The motorhome was packed with too many different things for the exact balance to have been calculated, but the milk alone was worth more than four hundred points.

"A little over a thousand points." Yuan had a rough idea and nodded.

The plan had changed. She could no longer go to Ying's base for a visit. This partner was not only breaking the law but was utterly penniless.

"Take me to Harvest Base later. I want to see the Farming Folk's research findings." Yuan smoothly found herself a perfectly legitimate reason.

Ying nodded and gave an "oh." "Then shall I send these people off first?" she asked with practiced ease.

"Ah, are you leaving so soon? Is the bond between us really meant to be so brief?" Ning Dali asked in surprise.

She and Zhuang Yuezhen had risked being exposed to revive Yuan. All Yuan had said was "benefactor" before stopping. No other reward? No after-sales service? That was not right. Where were her manners?

Ning Dali inwardly complained. Although she had already profited from reviving Yuan, unless she got some tangible benefit from her, she would feel ants crawling all over her.

"We are only parting for a while." Yuan gave Ning Dali's hand a reassuring pat. "Do not worry. Our bond still has a long road ahead. It is not brief in the slightest."

The instant Yuan finished speaking, a flicker of disbelief passed through Ying's eyes.

"And I can see that you and Ying have a strong bond of fate as well." Yuan's smile was meaningful. "All of you will be seeing each other frequently from now on."

Ying stared blankly and backed up several large steps, the words knocking her mind blank. After a long moment, she dazedly muttered, "Huh? I have a bond of fate with her? We are going to see each other often?"

"Grow up. When has Sis Yuan ever hurt you?" Yuan said meaningfully. "All right. Take me to Harvest Base first, then send these friends back where they came from. Oh, and drag Liekong over to see me later."

Still looking as though she were sleepwalking, Ying turned into a pitch-black shadow and sank into the ground. A hand reached out from it, seized Yuan by the ankle, and dragged her into the darkness.

About a minute later, Ying squeezed herself out of a candle's shadow and stared at Ning Dali without blinking.

Ning Dali flashed eight spotless white teeth and planted Iron Face in front of herself as a shield.

Ying ground her teeth, then raised a hand and snapped her fingers.

"Snap."

The shadows around them shot upward, raced across the ground, and swiftly wrapped around the other three people, leaving Ning Dali untouched.

The shadows sank back into the ground. Now only Ning Dali and Ying remained alive there.

"How are you going to handle this?" Ying stood with her hands behind her back and tipped her chin toward Jiu Ming's corpse. She seemed much calmer now.

"Aren't you experienced with this?" Ning Dali asked.

It was easy to hear from their conversation that Yuan had died more than once. Ying should have experience handling it.

"This time is different." Ying said briefly.

"How is it different?" Ning Dali pressed. "Since everyone is so bound by fate, tell me a little more. Do not be a mystery man. If this drags Sis Yuan in, she is the one who will be implicated."

Ying: "..." Damn it. How did she make such a persuasive argument?

Ying drew a deep breath. "In the past, when Sis Yuan was revived, it had nothing to do with an ability. She was not revived by an Ability User."

"It was because the first ray of morning sunlight fell upon her skull that she was revived."

"It was because a drop of her fresh blood happened to land on a Holy Light Crystal that she was revived."

"It was because a stalk of wheat miraculously bloomed and bore grain on her grave that she was revived."

"It was..."

Ying recited eight examples in a single breath and only then stopped, as though reluctant to leave off. She pulled a thermos from the shadows and took a drink of water.

"In short, gulp, gulp. This is the first time Sis Yuan has ever been revived by an Ability User, and Liekong teleported you here. Gulp, gulp. People know about this. You are going to make the news."

Explosive news. The kind everyone in the world would know about.

Ning Dali's eyebrow twitched hard, and she looked profoundly frightened. "I thought you had confidentiality measures. That's why I revived Yuan."

"That was your illusion." Ying threw away the thermos. "I warn you, do not curse Sis Yuan in your heart, and do not regret reviving her. Sis Yuan is still dependable. You share a bond of fate with her. You will not be left without a way to live."

"Think about how to shut Liekong up, then make up a story everyone will believe so that Sis Yuan's revival seems justified and you come out of it clean." Ying said calmly.

"Then kill Liekong." Ning Dali's voice was vicious. "Do it before she can say anything."

Ying: "...?"

The Restraint Faction obeyed the law. Besides, Liekong was a Base Lord, however small.

"At that look on your face, I suppose you cannot do it." Ning Dali's eyes were full of disappointment in the Shadow King. "Then I will think about it."

Ning Dali thought for five minutes.

Five minutes was the absolute limit of Ying's patience. She was about to blow up when Ning Dali spoke.

"How about you get me a Single-Character Ability?" Ning Dali made the outrageous demand with a helpless air. "Then I'll have the means to protect myself, and I won't have to worry about the news of my Resurrection Ability getting out."

Ying looked at her as if she had seen a ghost and laughed in outrage. "What do you think Single-Character Abilities are? Where am I supposed to get you one? I think you want me to be your personal bodyguard."

Ning Dali stared at her. "I had no idea you had such an idea. You are remarkably warmhearted."

"Ha." Ying uttered a cold laugh. Just as she was about to beat Ning Dali to death and bring her back to life, she suddenly paused as a spectacular plan flashed through her mind.

"Wait. It is not entirely impossible..."

Ning Dali blinked. "No way? The mighty Shadow King? Huh?"

Ying seriously sized Ning Dali up from head to toe, seemingly considering the idea for real. The light in her eyes was one Ning Dali knew all too well: the glint of someone about to work a con.

"Do you know what it means to share a bond of fate with Sis Yuan?"

"What does that mean?" Ning Dali asked warily.

"It means your Fate has arrived." The Shadow King spoke gravely. "It is not impossible for an Ability to advance into a Single-Character Ability. Back in the day, I shared a bond with Sis Yuan too. I drank a glass of tap water she gave me, and my Ability advanced to a Single-Character Ability on the spot."

"You are trying to pull the wool over my eyes." Ning Dali did not take the bait. "You only have one Ability, so of course it can advance. But I have more than one, and mine cannot."

Not only could her Abilities not advance, but when she awakened her next new Ability, its character count would be restricted too. She might not be able to awaken one with fewer than three characters.

"No, no." Ying quickly shook her head, keeping her hands behind her back. "People who do not share a bond with Sis Yuan are the ones who have to follow the rules for advancing by luck. People who share a bond with her only need to wait for Fate."

Only a very small number of people who shared such a bond knew this.

People who did not share it did not even have the qualification to know about it.

Ning Dali's lips moved as she naturally repeated Ying's words. If Ying was lying, she could use Passing Lies as Truth to turn the statement into reality. But if Ying was telling the truth...

The last word had barely left Ning Dali's lips, yet Passing Lies as Truth remained in an unactivated state.

This meant either Ying was telling the truth, so there was no lie, or she was lying, but too few people believed the lie to satisfy the conditions for activation.

Ning Dali's eyes flickered. "Do you have a Truth Crystal on you? Take it out and prove that what you said is true."

Ying's eyelid twitched violently. "Do you think you are talking to whom? You are ordering me around?"

"Do you think you are talking to whom?" Ning Dali did not yield. "You are talking to the person who saved Sis Yuan's life. This matter is too important. I have to know whether you are telling the truth."

Ying was speechless for several seconds. She recited her plan three times in her head, then brought out a Truth Crystal with a heavy breath and held it up to Ning Dali.

Ying sneered. "Would I, the great Shadow King, lie just to trick you? Touch it yourself and see whether that is a Truth Crystal."

All kinds of crystals looked alike. Their effects could only be determined by touch.

Ning Dali touched it and nodded.

"There are three questions in total. You do not need to ask them. I will ask and answer them myself." Ying sneered as she crushed the crystal hard in her hand.

"Is it true that the rule for advancing through Fate that I just explained is real? Yes."

"Is it true that Ning Dali shares a bond of fate with Yuan and can obtain a Single-Character Ability? Yes."

"Is it true that if Ning Dali says one more thing that makes me angry, I will beat her to death? Yes."

Ning Dali: "..."

There had been no need to force a third question.

After several minutes of silence, Ning Dali asked in a mild voice, "So how do I use Fate to advance?"

"Ha." Ying had finally gotten the question she wanted.

"Sis Yuan says you share a bond with me. So you follow my instructions and do what I tell you. That is the Fate waiting for you."

"I want you to get close to the Extremist Eaters' Plague, win her trust, and obtain a certain item from her." Ying spoke proudly.

"In this world, only you can do it. This must be your Fate."

Everyone who got close to Plague came down with Plague.

Ning Dali shared a bond with her and could contend with her. She also had a Resurrection Ability and strong self-recovery, so she would not have to worry about being countered to death.

Moreover, no one willingly approached Plague, so no one would hunt Ning Dali while she was at Plague's side. Her safety was more or less guaranteed.

The more Ying thought about it, the more certain she was that she was a genius.

She had not only kept Sis Yuan's benefactor alive and safe, but she could also turn that damned Plague into Ning Dali's bodyguard and make Ning Dali work for her...

Three birds with one stone.

Ying was growing rather pleased with herself.

Still basking in her self-satisfaction, she heard Ning Dali ask.

"You want me to go in as a secret undercover agent? Will you personally coordinate with me? Will I be able to summon you at any time, and will you protect me whenever I need it? After all, you said only I could do this," Ning Dali said, stressing the words and giving Ying a strange look. "I remember Plague has killed a Resurrection Ability User before. You had better be careful. Don't let me die, or you'll never get it."

The fact that Ying had brought the item up on her own meant it had to be important.

Ying: "Wait..." She had had the upper hand moments ago. How had the situation reversed itself so suddenly?

She stood frozen in place, struggling to absorb the logic of Ning Dali's words.

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