Volume Six: What She Lost · What I Gained - Storage Room

"Do you understand? Since we can bypass the Gray Starling's clutches and transfer the assets of your Extra Weapon to our name, we naturally have ways to break Yu He's silence on you."

"... ah!"

Fisher suddenly realized.

It wasn't because of Ye's words, but because he felt something within his body, or rather, deep within his spirit, had "loosened."

At the same time, the mysterious sense of satisfaction that had been lingering in my heart disappeared.

"By now Yu He's 'hush money' should have expired, right? If he initially gave you 100 billion to keep his secret, that amount has now shrunk to less than 10,000, hasn't it? Such a small sum is naturally not enough to sway you, so..."

Ye revealed a very sinister smile.

"If you were restricted from speaking before by Yu He, now the only thing restricting you from speaking is your pure 'loyalty' to Yu He. Doesn't that make things much easier?"

"Anyway, someone as scum as you will definitely spill everything, right?"

Xiao Wu interrupted.

"When we were fighting, you emphasized many times that, to you, so-called 'virtue' is poison, a deadly poison that affects a person's rational judgment and weakens them... Therefore, I believe you will not lose your life for blind loyalty."

"..."

Fisher kept calculating in his mind.

After his body was injected with Ye's blood, he was completely under her control. The ability to spread the damage was no longer meaningful. If he didn't cooperate, the consequences were predictable; he would probably be unable to live or die.

What if he betrays Yu He? To be fair, Fisher deeply respects his boss, his superior, his master; otherwise, he wouldn't have devoted himself to Yu He for so many years. But as Xiao Wu said, if he were faced with a life-or-death choice, he would definitely betray Yu He without hesitation, since life is always the most important asset, priceless.

Now we only need to consider the consequences of not cooperating with Ye and the consequences of betraying Yu He, and compare which of the two is more serious.

Fisher grew increasingly anxious; he was torn between two difficult choices. He didn't know if Yu He had used other methods on him besides hush money. He didn't know if Yu He would suddenly appear and take his life the moment he betrayed his superior. He didn't know if Yu He had already anticipated his failure. He didn't know...

(Tsk...)

It was only at this moment that he realized he actually knew nothing about Yu He.

He couldn't even guess what Yu He might do Yu He.

Was he truly trusted and entrusted with important responsibilities? Or was he merely being used as cannon fodder? Or was he just a small cog in his machine?

Fisher was wary of everyone, including Yu He. He always handled his relationship with his superiors carefully, and while carrying out his missions, he also tried to figure out Yu He was like. He even prepared more than one action plan in case Yu He turned against him one day.

Only now does he realize that he has been so smug, thinking he had simultaneously "pleasing his master" and "protecting himself," that he was utterly foolish.

"Hey, hurry up!"

"--Huh? You haven't finished the trial yet, Xiao Ye? It's time to eat!"

The door suddenly opened, and a purple-haired girl ran in carrying a plate; it was Si Nan Ying.

(Another troublesome person has appeared? Seriously...)

Just as Fisher was inwardly grumbling, two more people appeared.

"Don't run away, come and serve the dishes!"

"So, are you stupid or what? How could you eat after seeing them torture people like that?"

One is a gray-haired girl, Sin Annihilation, and the other is a black-haired girl with a long ponytail, about whom there has never been any information.

They seemed to have followed Si Nan Ying in.

"Hey, what brings you all here?" Haoyue asked.

"I came to call you guys... Speaking of which, this idiot..."

The idiot that Sin Annihilation was curiously approaching Fisher, whose body had melted into blood and only his head remained, looking eager to kick him.

"I'll tell you, I'll tell you, but he still won't open his mouth?"

"This guy's probably hesitating."

"That makes things much simpler!"

Si Nan Ying clasped her hands together, suddenly revealing a fierce expression.

"I'm asking you, what's the most important thing to you?"

Then he approached Fisher's face with a sinister expression.

Tell me... and I'll destroy it right in front of you!

""""..."""

An awkward silence fell.

"Huh? Huh? Why are you all silent? That threatening line I just used was something I learned from a villain in a bestselling book! It was really powerful, wasn't it? I'll repeat it again! Tell me, what you—Aaaaaaah, it hurts!"

"Stop causing trouble!"

The mysterious black-haired girl grabbed Si Nan Ying by the ear and dragged her away. The other four also took one last look at Fisher before preparing to leave.

"... Anyway, we'll leave it at that for now. We'll give you fifteen minutes to think about it. We hope to hear your answer when we come back after dinner."

Led by Ye, they turned around and left the room.

Fisher's eyes flickered as he looked from Ye and the other two to Si Nan Ying, then to Sin Annihilation, and finally to the mysterious black-haired girl.

"..."

After a moment's hesitation, Fisher called out to them.

"Etc!"

"... Um?"

"You... want to hear Yu He's secrets, right? Well, I'll play along for now. Anyway... to Yu He, I'm just a pawn."

The headquarters of the organization located in the Silver Moon, the far side of the moon, the Mirror Sea, and the Void Space.

Beneath the main hall Jili lay a place known only to a select few on the upper echelons.

This is a dark, oval-shaped room with no lights. The only source of light is five orbs of light encased in containers that resemble glass cabinets.

One gold, two shimmering blue, one pure white, and one scarlet.

Gleaming Gold South-Pointing Compass, Crystal Realm Fruit, Truth Incantation, Rakshasa True Word.

There were two other objects that did not emit light: a silver-haired girl with long, curly hair whose fate was unknown—the vessel of the karmic fire, Evelynths; and a pile of metal that resembled both plant and animal bones— the Boundary Breaking Armor.

All the materials for constructing the World Crossing Gate are gathered here.

Each of them exuded an extremely terrifying aura; anyone else, even high-level or Special Class Combatant, would probably feel uneasy sitting here.

Therefore, the task of guarding this place can only be entrusted to the higher-ups. Moreover, due to the special nature of the materials used in the World Crossing Gate, two higher-ups must be assigned to guard this place at the same time to prevent some of the items from suddenly going berserk if they are not properly stored.

Outside the storage room, darkness shimmered, and two figures emerged.

One was slender and tall, with long gray-gold hair and androgynous beauty; the other had a perfectly proportioned body, a sharp face, and a small mustache, and was a middle-aged handsome man with a strong presence.

As Jili and Gustav walked down the long corridor leading to the storage room, just as they were about to approach the door, a small patch of space in front of the door suddenly rippled and then shattered into countless transparent dust particles. A white-haired man with gloomy eyes suddenly appeared in front of them.

"Oh dear... I thought it was someone else, but it's the Leader and Gustav. I'm so sorry for not greeting you sooner."

Huang Huo bowed deeply, the gesture somewhat exaggerated, giving the impression of mockery rather than respect.

Hearing Huang Huo's hoarse voice, like that of a broken old radio, Gustav frowned. He didn't care about himself, but it wouldn't be good if the sound disturbed the Leader. He glanced at Jili, but Jili didn't show any obvious displeasure. He just gave Gustav a wink, and Gustav immediately understood.

"What's the situation in the storage room? Has anyone approached without permission?"

Gustav asked on behalf of the Jili, who was too lazy to speak.

"Gustav, you're joking. If such a person truly existed, they would have been obliterated by the Void Realm the moment they got close. What need would I have for them?"

"... Watch your tone!"

"I'm stating the facts, aren't I, in the Void Realm?"

Huang Huo glanced to the side, and immediately, a vortex of gray-black bandages appeared in the space. A gaunt human figure wrapped in the same bandages poked its head out from inside, and a low voice came from what appeared to be a mouth under the bandages.

"What he said... is right... there's nowhere in the Void Space I... can't see..."

"Right?"

That's absolutely true.

Although guarding the storage room is nominally Huang Huo job, his actual task is "to immediately suppress any unruly things like Karmic Fire or Boundary Breaking Armor if they go berserk," which leans towards practical combat. On the other hand, keeping a close watch on the area around the storage room to prevent outsiders from getting close is a job of the Void Realm.

Not just the storage room, but the entire Void Space where the headquarters is located is actually patrolled by the Void Realm. Theoretically, it can see what is happening at any point in the Void Space it has constructed, provided that the Jili allows it.

With two generals guarding the area, Jili should have been able to rest easy. However, due to the white-haired, one-eyed man, he has recently had to be more vigilant and also keep an eye on Ye's group's movements. Now, he personally brings Gustav to the storage room every now and then to check on the preservation of the materials.

The Jili allowed the Huang Huo and the Void Realm to leave temporarily, leaving only him and Gustav to enter the storage room.

The two of them simply walked in, and the oppressive aura of these divine Divine Item dissipated like the receding tide, overwhelmed by the unintentional power they exuded. Jili's gaze swept over each of the divine Divine Item, from the compass to the girl whose fate was unknown—of course, in his eyes, these things were just ordinary building materials. Gustav stood respectfully behind him.

"Four thousand years, four thousand years..."

Even he couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

From the moment he encountered that being even more demonic—though as a resident of the Spirit Star World he couldn't comprehend such a being—he began to cooperate with that being. Following his guidance, he first recruited Gustav and the Void Realm under his command, and then began to wait for the "right time" mentioned by the man surnamed Yu, while slowly expanding the organization's scale.

It wasn't until a certain point several hundred years ago, when someone surnamed Yu told him the time was approaching, that he began recruiting other high-ranking members. Then, several years ago, when someone surnamed Yu told him the time was about to arrive, he began ordering his subordinates to gather materials on the World Crossing Gate.

Jili meant by "the right time." He knew that even if he asked Yusuo Zai, it would be pointless. But their interests were indeed intertwined in some way—that was a certainty. At this point, there was no point in Yu lying to him, especially since the guy whose power far surpassed that of this world had no reason to lie.

"Soon, in just one month, it will be time to build the World Crossing Gate. At that time... hmm?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The master and servant were alone in a secret room.