The Contract

But after the black-clad man turned into a dim alley, he didn't leave. Instead, he took a small Den Den Mushi from his shirt and dialed a number.

"Lord Toby, I've brought them to the slave market as you instructed!"

As soon as the call connected, the black-clad man spoke first.

"Are you sure it's them? The two people I'm looking for?"

"I'm sure. One of them is Chen Qiang, the Undying. The other is a little girl who looks a lot like the one you described!"

"Good! Have your men keep watching them and make sure they enter my playground!"

"All right! I understand, Lord Toby! I promise I won't disappoint you!"

Hearing the satisfaction in the other man's voice, the black-clad man finally felt his worry ease. When he heard what he was supposed to do next, he quickly assured Toby that he would see it done.

"Damn it! There are over a hundred places in this city that sell information. Why did they have to pick mine?"

After hanging up, the black-clad gang leader slammed his fist against the wall, clearly unhappy about being dragged into this.

After all, one was the underground emperor of this city, and the other was Chen Qiang, the Undying, with a bounty of two hundred million—and another two hundred million if he was captured alive. Neither was someone he could afford to offend. Yet now he had no choice but to follow both sides' orders, caught between them. How could he not be furious?

But no matter how angry he was, he still had to do what needed to be done. This was an order from Toby, the underground emperor of Copperfield. If he offended Chen Qiang, he could at least flee the city and disappear. But if he offended Toby, Toby's search party would hunt him down and kill him no matter how far he ran. He couldn't afford that. There was still something very important he needed to finish.

So, no matter how unhappy he was about being dragged into this, he still had to carry out Toby's orders carefully—and do a good job of it.

After venting his frustration, the black-clad gang leader calmed down. He quickly contacted his men using the coded language their organization used to pass on information and relayed the instructions he'd just received.

It shouldn't be difficult, considering all he had to do was watch them enter the largest and most luxurious building in the slave market: the palace called Toby's Playground. He'd seen them heading in that direction earlier.

Besides, before leaving, the black-clad man had noticed that the person Chen Qiang was looking for, a member of the Defu Slave Group, was standing right at the entrance to the playground. It seemed Lord Toby had arranged for him to lure them inside before making his move.

He didn't know why Toby had done it that way, but the black-clad gang leader knew that he probably wouldn't have anything else to do after this.

--

As Chen Qiang led Lin toward Toby's Playground, the Defu Slave Group members standing at the entrance soon spotted him. The moment they did, they hurried away from the entrance and went inside.

By the time Chen Qiang reached the entrance, they were gone. This time, however, Chen Qiang didn't follow them inside. He stopped at the entrance instead.

"What's wrong? They just went in. If we follow them now, we'll definitely find them, and then we can find our fellow villagers sooner!"

Seeing Chen Qiang stop, Lin grew anxious. They were about to find the villagers who had raised her, so how could she not be worried when he suddenly stopped?

But Chen Qiang didn't respond to Lin's anxiety. He simply focused his gaze on the luxurious building in front of them, his brows furrowing.

"Wait! We need to make some preparations before going in. We might be in for a tough fight."

Rather than answering Lin directly, Chen Qiang grabbed her when he saw her trying to rush inside on her own. After thinking for a moment, he finally spoke to her.

He took Lin by the hand and led her to a nearby alley where there were fewer people.

"Come on. Let's form a Symbiotic Contract. If you get hurt, the damage will be transferred to me!"

Once they were in the alley, Chen Qiang didn't explain anything. He simply crouched down and spoke to Lin.

"Huh?" Lin looked at Chen Qiang in confusion, clearly unable to understand why he wanted to form a contract with her.

"I sensed a powerful presence in that building. It's at least as strong as me, maybe even stronger. If we end up fighting, I might not be able to protect you. My ability is super-speed regeneration. No matter how badly I'm hurt, I can recover quickly. If we form a contract, I can keep you safe. Otherwise, I won't take you inside!"

Seeing Lin's bewildered expression, Chen Qiang knew she wouldn't agree unless he explained things clearly. In the kindhearted little girl's eyes, the people she had forced into forming substitute contracts before were all bad people, so she didn't mind what happened to them. But Chen Qiang was a good person. How could she form a contract with him and transfer her injuries to him? That went against everything she believed in.

So even after hearing Chen Qiang's explanation, Lin was still hesitant. But when she heard that he wouldn't take her inside if she didn't agree, her inner conflict eased considerably.

"Is what you said true? Do you really have super-speed regeneration?" Lin still hesitated and asked Chen Qiang before doing anything.

"Don't worry, I won't lie to you. And after we form the contract, you'll gain part of my abilities too, right? You can check for yourself then!"

"All right, then!"

After Chen Qiang assured her again and again, Lin finally agreed. A purple glow began to shine in her hand, slowly gathering into a purple rune as she murmured an incantation.

"Heavens as my witness, in my name, with blood as the offering, I form an eternal bond of protection. Bind!"

As Lin spoke the final word, the purple glow in her hand vanished, leaving a fully formed purple rune floating before Chen Qiang and Lin.

"All right. Just drip a drop of blood onto it, and the contract will be complete!" With that, Lin bit her finger and let her blood fall onto the purple rune.

"Do all contracts come with such elaborate rituals? What a strange ability!"

Though Chen Qiang was puzzled by how elaborate the contract formed by the Contract-Contract Fruit was, he followed his instincts and bit his finger, letting a drop of his blood fall onto the purple rune.

As soon as Chen Qiang's blood touched the rune, it quickly split into two and flew into Chen Qiang and Lin's bodies. As the light entered them, both Chen Qiang and Lin felt as if an invisible, intangible thread had linked them together.

If they paid close attention, they could even faintly sense the other person's thoughts through that connection.