Qi Si had anticipated this long ago.
As the number of cleared Instances increased, the caliber of Players he encountered would only grow higher. It would be difficult for him to manipulate others as effortlessly as he had before and gain substantial advantages.
All he could do was extract small benefits bit by bit on the basis of an equal agreement, while secretly watching for opportunities to seize the initiative in their cooperation.
Qi Si rested a hand on his knee and tapped it idly. "Interesting. You took the initiative to propose cooperation, yet you have quite a few demands. Are you so sure I won't refuse?"
Huang Xiaofei raised a brow. "You draft the terms, and I'll sign them. That's fair. Besides, I have a way out. At worst, I can give up on solving the mystery and clear the Instance by triggering the Minimum Death Quota mechanism—you know that. The price is enormous, but I can do it."
Lu Zimo looked at her, then at Qi Si, but did not chime in.
Huang Xiaofei did not look at Lu Zimo. A blackened sheet of paper appeared in her right hand, its edges rough and uneven, with no telling what material it had originally been made from.
Under Qi Si's gaze, she picked up a black ballpoint pen and copied the contract terms onto the paper. But she did not rush to sign her name, instead turning an inquisitive gaze toward Qi Si.
Two seconds later, Qi Si gave a soft laugh and waved away the phantom image of the blood-red scroll. "You're right. Although I possess key information and a solution to the mystery, I don't have the strength to carry it out successfully on my own. I really do need your help."
Huang Xiaofei smiled. Resting the