"Then... thank you, Your Highness." Moluo really couldn't refuse, so he had no choice but to accept.
Chen Beixun looked satisfied. Then he gently brushed the strands of hair that had fallen over An Changyan's temples.
Seeing this, Moluo tactfully left at once.
"Was it my fault?" Chen Beixun felt somewhat guilty. He raised his head and thought, I'll be more considerate next time.
"Mm..." An Changyan rolled over just then, mumbling in her sleep, "Why hasn't he come to help yet..."
"Ah!" Chen Beixun smiled wryly and rubbed his forehead. Then he sent a wisp of consciousness into the Virtual Universe, intending to transfer some money to Moluo.
Moluo was in the middle of communicating with the others when he suddenly received a transfer of 630 billion Universe Coins!
He had expected Chen Beixun to give him a generous amount, but not this much!
Moluo turned around and stared at Chen Beixun in shock. The others seemed to sense that something was up and all sent him messages asking what had happened.
He immediately passed along the astounding news!
"Mm!" They were all visibly stunned.
They were indeed among the stronger Universe Level experts, but a fortune like this would have been a thunderbolt out of a clear sky for any one of them!
630 billion Universe Coins!
Not many Domain Lords were worth that much, right? (Let's set aside those Domain Lords who were lucky or had absurdly good opportunities!)
"Big brother! How should we split it?" one of the guards asked through a voice transmission.
Moluo replied with a laugh, "Split it evenly. His Highness gave it to us!"
"His Highness? Which one?" the guard asked through a voice transmission.
"His Highness Chen Beixun!" Moluo replied through a voice transmission.
"That's generous!" the guard said with a smile.
Given the team's current situation, they needed to rest for a while.
At the Lotte Family's occupied territory, inside the command center...
"Has the secret technique appeared yet?" Luote*Wosi asked, looking at the projected tactical map before him.
"No." The female adjutant beside him shook her head.
A series of hurried footsteps sounded, drawing the two of them to look up.
"Fifth Squad Leader, what's the hurry?" Luote*Wosi's gaze darkened. He then asked cautiously, "What happened?"
Most of the guards he had planted around Chen Beixun belonged to the Fifth Squad Leader!
If the man was in such a rush, something big must have happened!
"That... I—" The Fifth Squad Leader gasped for breath. "Chen Beixun seems to have found the secret technique!"
Luote*Wosi's eyes immediately lit up!
"What? He found the secret technique?" Luote*Wosi strode forward and excitedly placed a hand on the other man's shoulder.
The Fifth Squad Leader nodded, then added, "It might be that secret technique."
Luote*Wosi pondered for a moment. "Send someone over!"
"Quickly!" Luote*Wosi turned to the female adjutant. "Send someone over!"
"Yes, sir!" the female adjutant replied firmly.
Getting that unknown secret technique would be as good as winning!
Unable to hide his excitement, Luote*Wosi laughed heartily.
"Good lad!"
"He's made a great contribution to this treasure hunt!" Luote*Wosi thought. He needed to enter the Virtual Universe and report on the current situation.
The Virtual Universe, Tianchen Island.
Inside a private room in a large building.
A man in white robes and a hawk-nosed man were talking.
They seemed to be having a rather unpleasant argument!
"Luote*Tejier, don't think you can do whatever you want just because you have your teacher backing you!" the hawk-nosed man said angrily.
"I've already done more than enough!" Luote*Tejier said, his expression grim.
"Heh. I'll give you one day to think it over!" With that, the hawk-nosed man left the Virtual Universe.
Luote*Tejier slammed his hand down on the stone table before him. The force was so great that the objects on it bounced into the air.
His eyes seemed ready to spit fire!
Thud, thud, thud.
A series of quick, light knocks sounded at the door.
"Come in!"
The dark oak door opened, and a man walked in.
"Is something wrong?" Luote*Tejier asked as he straightened the objects on the stone table.
"My lord, I have important news!" Luote*Wosi said.
He then reported that Chen Beixun might have obtained the secret technique.
Luote*Tejier stood up and listened closely.
"Is that all?" Luote*Tejier asked calmly.
Luote*Wosi nodded solemnly.
Under Luote*Wosi's gaze, Luote*Tejier walked to a corner of the room and pulled an old, yellowed book from a haphazard stack of books.
Carrying the book over to the stone table, Luote*Tejier sat down and said, "On behalf of the family, I hereby restore all your father's family titles and clear him of his crimes!"
Luote*Wosi dropped to his knees in excitement!
He wept bitterly and cried out, "Thank you, my lord!"
Luote*Tejier paid him no mind. He flipped through the book until he found the "Luote*Late" line, then stamped the name "Wokesi."
"All right," Luote*Tejier said. "You may leave."
Luote*Wosi rose unsteadily, then left the Virtual Universe.
He had waited a long time for this moment! Other members of the Lotte Family only needed to reach Star Level Nine to be granted the family name. He had to reach Universe Level before he earned one!
Luote*Wosi had a tragic past. His father had been convicted by the family for smuggling contraband when he was young, then sent to a remote mining planet as a slave, where he was abused to death. His mother had been implicated as well and assigned to perform unspeakable work in a special department. Unable to bear the humiliation, she eventually took her own life.
Luote*Wosi's goal had been to restore his parents' titles.
Now he had accomplished half of it.
Meanwhile... Chen Beixun and the others had finished resting...
"Everyone, go into my World Ring," Chen Beixun said.
With a wave of his hand, he took everyone into the World Ring.
His plan was to get the others out of there first, then return to explore on his own.
"There's no time to lose!" Chen Beixun stepped onto the Gold Cloud Shuttle and flew out.
But before long, he returned dejectedly. The opening they had used to leave had closed.
"Fate really does play cruel tricks!" Chen Beixun angrily struck the wall. Then he looked down the passageway, smiled wryly, and let everyone out.
"Why are we still here?" An Changyan looked around at the familiar surroundings.
"We can't get out the way we came," Chen Beixun said helplessly.
"What?!" An Changyan tilted her head and focused on the passage behind Chen Beixun. She could have sworn she heard a series of indistinct dripping sounds coming from it.
"Changyan, what's wrong?" Chen Beixun asked through a voice transmission.
An Changyan frowned. She wondered why he had suddenly started using a voice transmission.
Was it out of habit?
Or did he think she had noticed something?
After thinking for a few seconds, An Changyan told him through a voice transmission about the strange sound she had just heard.
Chen Beixun smiled and replied through a voice transmission, "Looks like you can feel that pull too."
"Pull?" An Changyan was confused. She didn't feel any so-called pull at all!
Was he testing her?
So he still hasn't let his guard down, An Changyan thought, feeling somewhat dejected. His distrust hurt her in a way she couldn't put into words.
"Want to explore together?" Chen Beixun asked through a voice transmission.