Seed of Covenant

Several days later, at the Borderlands.

"Knock knock knock".

A rhythmic knocking sounded on a dilapidated wooden door. After a while, a deep voice came from inside. "Who goes there?"

The person knocking answered, "I am Copper Merchant Lai Er."

A moment later, the door opened, and a man with a hooked nose poked his head out. He looked behind Lai Er to make sure no one was following Lai Er before nodding and saying, "Come in."

Lai Er followed the man. Inside the house was a long, narrow staircase leading downwards, with almost no light, making it feel very oppressive to walk on.

But after walking to the end, the view suddenly opened up, and a huge underground tavern appeared before Lai Er's eyes, filled with black market merchants dressed like him.

Lai Er paused briefly at the top of the stairs, his expression unchanged, but inwardly he said anxiously, "This is it, Visas-sama."

Lai Er breathed a slight sigh of relief after hearing the faint "hmm" in his mind.

Inside Lai Er's body, Bai Wei was also using his eyes to observe the underground tavern run by the black marketeer.

The reason he approached Lai Er to offer him his finger wasn't out of boredom or a desire to play a trick on him, but because of Lai Er's identity as a shady businessman.

In the game, the Black Market is merely a touch of randomness added by the designers to the fixed gameplay, a product of the developers' mischievous humor. However, in reality, the Black Market is arguably one of the most powerful forces in the world. Its network easily connects to the Eight Great Churches, and its influence can be seen all over the globe, even including the Contract Land.

The Contract Land was founded on the ironclad rule of remaining aloof from worldly affairs. However, thanks to the relentless exploration and corruption of black market merchants who have swarmed the continent like cockroaches for thousands of years, the Contract Land has managed to open a crack, albeit a small one.

So what Bai Wei needs to do is find this opening through Lai Er.

"I thought you weren't coming back," the hook-nosed man who led Lai Er into the house suddenly said.

After a slight pause, Lai Er immediately understood and turned to stare intently at the hook-nosed man. "You know that Ke Luo Yi plotted against me?!"

"I didn't know at first, but he's been bragging about it ever since he came back." The hook-nosed man looked at the group of shady businessmen who were drinking. "Well... he was just here a moment ago, drinking and talking about it, but now everyone knows about it."

Lai Er clenched his fist instantly.

Ke Luo Yi was the colleague who sold Lai Er information and then used him as bait to sell him out.

And he almost got killed because of it... no, not almost.

Lai Er subconsciously lowered his head and looked at the fingers on his right hand that didn't belong to him at all.

If he hadn't met Visas-sama, he would have died there... But thankfully, he did meet Visas-sama, and in that respect, he should thank Ke Luo Yi properly.

Thinking of this, Lai Er couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth, which surprised the hook-nosed man who had expected him to fly into a hysterical rage.

"Are you going to settle scores with him?" The hook-nosed man raised an eyebrow, looking like he wanted to stir up trouble.

"Oh no," Lai Er said with a smile, "I have something more important to do... Is Dad here?"

The man with the hooked nose frowned slightly.

He did sense that Lai Er was different from before; he even dared to approach his father. But he didn't say much, just nodded. "Yes, he's in the same spot. Go find him."

Thank you.

Lai Er straightened his slightly disheveled collar and walked forward with a gentlemanly air. This unusual demeanor naturally attracted the attention of the other black market merchants, who all turned to look at him with puzzled expressions.

After all, Lai Er was quite famous here. He was a fool who was obsessed with money and status, but he had no ability or courage. He was completely fooled by them, so much so that when he came here later, he didn't even dare to raise his head and looked timid and submissive.

And now he dared to walk past everyone without batting an eye and stand directly in front of "Dad".

"Old Man" is the highest-ranking manager in each black market district, usually the most senior and knowledgeable black market dealer. Such a dealer naturally possesses the most extraordinary methods. It's entirely possible that with just a glance or a word, he can eliminate an ordinary black market dealer, just as Ke Luo Yi did to Lai Er.

Therefore, the black marketeers were all afraid of their respective "fathers" and dared not offend them in the slightest. In fact, most of them did not even have the courage to look them in the eye.

But now, that cowardly and foolish hothead in their eyes is standing right in front of his father, looking at him without fear.

"Dad, I have a business deal I'd like to discuss with you."

He even dared to say that.

Is this guy courting death?! How dare he be so arrogant!

What gives you the right?!

This thought couldn't help but pop into the mind of every black market dealer present.

The old man, who had been taking a nap, slowly opened his eyes after hearing Lai Er's voice.

Actually, judging by appearance alone, the old man doesn't pose much of a threat. He's just a thin old man who's practically skin and bones. But his eyes are incredibly sinister. When you meet his gaze, you feel like you're being stared at by the world's most venomous snake.

So even though he had prepared himself mentally, Lai Er's legs still trembled slightly when those eyes were fixed on him, but he quickly recovered.

He's just a regional boss, what's there to be afraid of?

I'm a lackey of Visas!

Lai Er mentally encouraged himself, and it worked very well; his calves stopped shaking instantly, allowing his father's gaze to sweep over him.

After an unknown period of silence, and still unable to glean anything from Lai Er, the old man slowly spoke, "What business?"

"It's a deal involving the upper echelons of the Northern Church Rhine," Lai Er said. "According to the rules, I can't go into the specifics, but we'll split the profits 50/50 after it's done."

This is indeed an old rule among black market dealers: they don't disclose the details of a deal to anyone before it's finalized, to avoid having other black market dealers steal their business.

But... is there a big deal involving the Northern Church Rhine?

The old man frowned slightly.

In the past, he wouldn't have believed that Lai Er could get any big business in the Northern Church of Rhine, since the business there was already dominated by black market merchants from another region, and it was difficult to find opportunities.

But things are different recently. Bishop Fei Ge of the Northern Bishop of the Rhine and his most elite Knight died in the Wildfire, plunging the Northern Church into considerable chaos.

After all, when someone dies, someone has to take their place. But Fei Ge died too suddenly, and no successor had been chosen yet, so who would fill the gap became a big problem, which disrupted the black marketeers' plans there.

Therefore, the big deal Lai Er proposed at this time seemed credible in terms of timing, but considering Lai Er's personal resume...

The old man narrowed his eyes slightly, and without asking Lai Er what he planned to do, he simply said, "Prove it to me."

Lai Er was prepared and immediately pulled out a finely crafted dagger from his bag. The dagger was still stained with bright red blood, as if it had just been splattered on.

The old man's pupils suddenly narrowed, and then he took the dagger from Lai Er's hand.

He knew perfectly well who the dagger belonged to— Knight of the Rhine.

And the blood on this dagger...

The old man touched it with his hand and found that the blood was still scalding hot, as if the dagger had stabbed someone just a few minutes ago, but the blood was obviously not splattered just a few minutes ago.

There is only one possibility that could have caused such an effect: the Rhine Knight was killed was in a state of "God's Blessing" and was then pierced through the heart by this dagger.

This is simply... unbelievable.

The reason why black market merchants could only operate in the shadows and could never shake the church's position was because their fighting power was not on the same level. For example, the Rhine Knight, when under the God's Blessing, could only be harmed by divine magic. Therefore, even the most powerful black market merchants could only run away when they encountered Rhine Knight, since they had no god above them.

Lai Er presented him with the very dagger that had killed the Rhine Knight, leaving only two possibilities: either Lai Er possessed the ability to kill Rhine Knight in a state of God's Blessing, or someone within the Rhine organization helped him by using divine magic to kill the divine magic.

Clearly, it can only be the latter.

The infighting among the Rhine didn't surprise my father; it was perfectly normal. The Rhine Knight were ultimately only loyal to the Rhine God, while the Archbishop and Pope were merely God's representatives. If you can be a representative, why can't I?

Especially when the total number of Rhine Knight has been limited to a certain number and cannot be increased, those who want to rise to the top naturally need some direct means.

But to Dad's surprise, Lai Er, that idiot, seized the opportunity.

So who is connected to Lai Er? Is it possible that he will become the new bishop of the Northern Church Rhine?

The old man really wanted to ask him directly, or even force Lai Er to leave so he could come himself. After all, if he could get in touch with the next bishop of Rhine, the rewards would be enormous, and he wouldn't need to split the profits 50/50 with Lai Er.

After thinking for a moment, the old man gave up the idea. After all, the risks involved were not small. Rather than risking it himself, it would be better to let Lai Er, that fool, scout ahead. If he succeeded, they could then make further plans.

Thinking of this, the old man handed the dagger back and then said calmly, "What do you need?"

Lai Er answered without hesitation, "The Seed of Covenant".

Yes, the Seed of Covenant —that is Bai Wei's true purpose.

During his time at Holy Sound, he encountered a Seed of Covenant, which was a tool used by He Wei Ni Ya Yi Wen's apparent father, to control He Wei Ni Ya apparent daughter. It was a "God's Contract" that even the connector of the seed had to abide by.

Its origin is naturally the Contract Land, arguably the most valuable commodity exported from the Contract Land to the outside world, and the most important means for top-tier black market merchants to ensure their own safety and interests. With it, even figures at the level of bishops of various churches are not allowed to violate the signed contracts.

After all, they couldn't possibly pray to their respective gods because of such a contract.

The only black market merchant in this area who possessed Seed of Covenant was Old Man, but Old Man only had one.

"I can help you." Under everyone's gaze, the old man took out the golden apple from his pocket and held it out to Lai Er. "But not this one. This one is your contract with me. After you sign it, I will recommend you to headquarters to become a temporary Gold Merchant. Then you can go to headquarters to retrieve your Seed of Covenant. How about it?"

Gold Merchant...

Lai Er's heart skipped a beat when he heard the title.

After all, this was his lifelong pursuit; only by becoming Gold Merchant could he truly stand out from the crowd.

But that's all in the past.

He is different now than he used to be.

Lai Er took the golden apple from his father's hand and smiled frankly, "Of course, no problem."

He felt the heavy weight of the Seed of Covenant as he thought to himself.

Forget about being Gold Merchant; he's now Visas-sama's dog... servant.

One day he will get everything with Visas-sama's help!

Thinking this, his smile grew even brighter.

"As you wish."

Bai Wei withdrew his gaze and began to ponder.

The black marketeer has already driven in his trail. If all goes well, he should be able to find the entrance to the Contract Land by following this lead.

A safer approach would be to directly follow the representatives of the various churches, since they too are heading to the Contract Land for the gathering. However, Bai Wei is not in good condition right now; he hasn't recovered from the negative effects of [Visas Phantom], and rashly following the representatives of the various churches would be too risky.

Dispersing the body parts is also a protective measure, because now that things have progressed to this point, even the Contract Land has entered the fray, so previous experience is no longer so important.

After all, in the game, he could fight his way through level by level, with each church being an independent map. But now it's different; all the churches are mixed up together. He can no longer rely on the game's storyline to navigate the game with ease as before. A slight misstep could lead to total defeat.

Moreover, it is currently only an alliance between churches, and has not yet risen to the final level, that is, an alliance between the Gods.

The gods do not concern themselves with worldly affairs, and even someone who already possesses Five Corpse Pieces is not enough to warrant their personal intervention.

But Bai Wei knew very well that once his real body broke free of the prison, the gods would absolutely not stand idly by.

Besides Lyra and Wildfire, there are six other gods, and they are all at their peak.

Bai Wei was still unclear about how much power the mutilated body would unleash after the body parts were retrieved.

Even though Bai Wei had made a plan, there were still too many unknown factors.

Moreover, he has not yet found the most crucial step in this plan.

That was the kindler who was willing to burn everything for him, plunging straight into the abyss.