Signing the Contract

The millions of soul imprints left on the official website of "Despair Expedition OL" appeared to Li Li as points of light with varying brightness.

For Li Li, all he had to do was mindlessly pick people from among the brightest points.

Those people had money and free time, were reasonably capable, and had already sunk considerable costs into their first-playthrough accounts being deleted. With the threat of having their accounts banned if they misbehaved, they were unlikely to cause trouble recklessly.

However, Li Li learned from forum discussions that expedition equipment prices had skyrocketed recently. Some wealthy whales had specifically bought piles of heavily enhanced equipment, waiting to be selected for the closed beta.

That behavior was undoubtedly muddying the "highlight pool."

So Li Li came up with a new method. Since the "old pool" was such a mixed bag, why couldn't he create a "new pool"?

Posting combat videos on the forum would allow Li Li to selectively screen for strong players, while other players' comments beneath the videos could help filter out those with terrible character.

The event Li Li posted late at night on Blue Star quickly set the forum ablaze.

Yet among the videos posted by all sorts of top players, a non-video thread rose against the trend and remained firmly locked at the top of the forum's trending list, drawing Li Li's attention.

Thinking of getting into "Glory Expedition OL"? Here are ten things you absolutely need to know. (140k+ replies)

Invincible Chatterbox King: First, "Glory Expedition" is currently only a half-finished product.

Invincible Chatterbox King: Second, "Glory Expedition" system updates will arrange relevant storylines within the game to make everything seem logical.

Invincible Chatterbox King: Third, killing NPCs will bring severe punishments, though the exact severity remains unknown.

Invincible Chatterbox King: Fourth, this chatterbox guesses that the Creator God's incarnation can be developed. The more Experience Points you feed him, the stronger he becomes, and the more players he can summon.

Invincible Chatterbox King: Fifth, every NPC in "Glory Expedition" is unique. Once killed, they are gone for good. Since the game's content is entirely controlled by AI, even popular characters cannot be revived.

Invincible Chatterbox King: Sixth, some bosses, factions, and NPCs destined to die during the first playthrough can currently be saved.

Invincible Chatterbox King: Seventh, no one knows what additional penalties death might bring, because no player has died yet.

Invincible Chatterbox King: Eighth, make good use of the favorability system. An NPC with low favorability toward you may still greet you with a smile, but beware of the knife he might stab into your back.

Invincible Chatterbox King: Ninth, the in-game social system has not been released yet.

Invincible Chatterbox King: Tenth, in-game quest rewards do not appear out of thin air. At present, only main-story NPCs can issue quests. Before accepting a commission that is not a quest, consider whether you can actually get paid.

Though the post looked somewhat shallow, it did serve as a useful guide for people who had not followed the livestream from start to finish.

Li Li casually granted Invincible Chatterbox King a closed-beta qualification, then put away the mirror and began planning the bargaining chips for today's negotiations.

The location for negotiating the specifics of their cooperation was set at Tear Tower, located in the city center and owned by the Transcendence Merchant Guild.

Led by a dedicated driver, Li Li and his improperly dressed group did not encounter anyone foolish enough to pick a fight with them.

They made their way without obstruction, took the elevator to the tower's top-floor conference room, and met the people they would be negotiating with tonight.

Besides the somewhat effeminate-looking beastman from before, the merchant guild had brought along a sharply dressed Stone Golem. The academy's representatives were a female mage in a pointed hat and a White-bearded Old Man who perfectly matched every stereotype.

What surprised Li Li most, however, was that an old acquaintance frequently seen on roadside screens—the lord of Iron Wall City—had also arrived early with his team.

It seemed they had already held an internal meeting before Li Li arrived.

On Li Li's side, apart from himself, he had brought Legendary Rank Aer and six Gold Rank knights to hold the field. As for a certain teddy bear doll and the red-themed Magical Girl hugging it, they had tagged along as well.

As for the players, besides 'Lost a Leg', there was also 'Golden Wind', who had been notified by Godrive, and 'I Don't Want to Pay the Breach Penalty', who was close to the academy.

There was no strange show of dominance. The attendants arranged seats for Li Li and his group in the round-table conference room.

Before taking his seat, however, Li Li rather discourteously stepped forward and shook hands with each of the important representatives present.

While shaking hands, he relied on his Creator God status to openly inspect everyone's information, effectively showing off his strength in front of them.

Among those representatives were two Legendary Rank individuals and one demigod. The rest were Gold Rank at most.

Only after Li Li sat down in the seat arranged for him did the displeased Stone Golem speak. After a few pleasantries, he skipped the introductions and had his subordinates bring over a cage covered in black cloth.

"This is the foundation of our negotiations." The Stone Golem looked toward Li Li's side.

An attendant lifted the black cloth, revealing a dying Headless Centaur Phantom inside. Faintly glowing runes on the cage bound the centaur tightly within.

Before the other players could understand what the other side meant, 'I Don't Want to Pay the Breach Penalty' left his seat on his own initiative. He walked up to the centaur, took out a Mechanical Arm from his Pocket Dimension, attached it to his right hand, and pierced the defenseless centaur with a short blade formed from electrical arcs.

The next moment, the centaur, which should have dissipated into nothingness, turned into faint light and was absorbed by the dwarf wearing the Mechanical Arm. The remaining light condensed inside the cage into a beating heart.

"Truly astonishing!" the gold-rimmed-glasses-wearing beastman exclaimed once more.

With that "warm-up" performance, smiles appeared on everyone's faces, and they began enthusiastically introducing themselves.

The Stone Golem was the chairman of the Transcendence Merchant Guild, the White-bearded Old Man was the president of the Academy Federation, and there was also the human demigod mayor who had taken office through election.

These old foxes, who had been immersed in power for years, left Li Li somewhat exhausted.

Seated behind him, Aperria was like a hedgehog. Whenever she felt that Li Li had been insulted, she would leap out and protest harshly. Several times, she nearly drew her sword, forcing Li Li to order her to be quiet.

The players all performed differently as well.

'Golden Wind' was no worse than these old foxes. With a pile of empty promises, he secured a place "at the table" for his guild, which currently had only two members.

Meanwhile, 'Lost a Leg' and 'I Don't Want to Pay the Breach Penalty' were led by the old foxes' words into inexplicably taking responsibility for gathering players, becoming partners of the Transcendence Merchant Guild and the Academy Federation respectively.

After poaching people right in front of him, the representatives of the various factions saw no displeasure on Li Li's face and all breathed sighs of relief.

The cake Li Li had brought was large enough that these factions had begun worrying whether their appetites were big enough to swallow it. It was large enough for them to overlook what exactly this suddenly emerged god hoped to achieve.

In the end, Li Li signed his name on the drafted contract.

He secured for the players the conveniences that normal game players should have.

Once the road between the New Outpost and Iron Wall City was opened, the academy would provide the New Outpost with a teleportation array, while the merchant guild would continuously transport supplies there.

As for whether the later provisions of the contract could continue, that would depend on how Li Li dealt with the first wave of covert attacks from hostile forces.