Becoming an Elder of the Worker Alliance

"What a warm, cozy place. It seems you're someone who knows how to face life and enjoy it, young friend!" Mr. Yi exclaimed again and again as Gao Xu showed him around his private space.

This modest residence had changed dramatically over the past few days. Several ancient pines now rose around the main house, their branches thick with leaves. An everlasting light filtered through the gaps, falling softly in dappled patches.

A canopy of green trees, birdsong, and fragrant flowers was nothing extraordinary. The most remarkable feature lay directly behind the main house: a shallow stream. Though only a few dozen feet long, it was home to fish and shrimp. The clear water flowed in from somewhere and disappeared somewhere else, forming a unique landscape that could exist only in this space.

The little fox, Su Mei, had naturally been the one to create all this. She liked to roll up her sleeves, catch fish and shrimp, and play to her heart's content. Since Gao Xu couldn't always keep her company, he let her do as she pleased with his private residence.

Mr. Yi had visited the private spaces of many Reincarnators. Compared to their cold, cluttered homes, this was the first place he'd seen so close to nature. He couldn't help but think more highly of Gao Xu.

He was getting on in years, and if he hadn't been in the Main God Space, he truly would have longed for a life of "picking chrysanthemums beneath the eastern hedge, gazing leisurely at the southern mountain"—content and at peace, with his thoughts far away.

With that in mind, after they took their seats on the stone bench outside the main house, Mr. Yi's tone grew much lighter. "Have you made up your mind, young friend? Our lineup this time is stronger than ever. We've got a pretty good chance!"

At the words "stronger than ever," Gao Xu's eyes narrowed. He pondered for a moment, then sidestepped the topic and first thanked Mr. Yi for the three thousand points he'd sent in an email the other day.

Though he'd reaped a great deal in the last world, he'd also spent quite a bit recently, using up more than seven thousand points. Without that three thousand-point deposit, he would have had to tighten his belt for a while. As things stood, he could still visit the trading area every day and hunt for bargains.

"You're being too formal, young friend!" Mr. Yi waved a hand. "The intelligence on the Blood Sea alone was worth more than three thousand points. I had to swallow my pride just to get you a friend's rate. And then there's Master Zhixiu coming to the rescue—that's something no amount of points can measure. I'll remember this favor. If you ever need anything from me, I won't refuse!"

"Good!" Gao Xu clapped his hands. "I have a request right now. Please let me join the Worker Alliance!"

"You want to join the Worker Alliance?" Mr. Yi stared blankly for several seconds before he finally came around. "I'm afraid you don't yet know the predicament we're in. We've recruited nearly a hundred people, but their quality is abysmal. Most are just joining the workers' ranks to muddle through and take advantage of us. I've stopped recruiting on a large scale and plan to focus on the employers instead. First, we'll make a name for ourselves, then slowly expand!"

At first, Mr. Yi's thinking had indeed been too simplistic. The Main God Space wasn't an online game. There would be no system-wide announcement that a certain guild had killed a powerful boss, followed by a flood of people clamoring to join.

Every decision a Reincarnator made concerned their life and livelihood. No one dared act recklessly or join an organization they knew nothing about.

In fact, Gao Xu had figured this out as soon as he returned to his private residence. If he hadn't had the foresight granted by his past-life experience, he probably wouldn't have trusted the Worker Alliance either. He could hardly blame ordinary Reincarnators when he put himself in their shoes.

Mr. Yi had just killed one gatekeeping boss, and now he'd set his sights on the next. Such a bold move showed that he'd changed his strategy. Once the Worker Alliance made a real name for itself, there would be no shortage of people joining.

A single kill might be chalked up to luck, but two kills would prove their strength beyond any doubt!

Yet Gao Xu had keenly spotted a mistake in Mr. Yi's words—a fatal one!

What did a powerful lineup mean?

It meant that besides Mr. Yi's team, employers would be involved! And there might even be more than one!

As the saying went, "Don't fear a godlike opponent; fear a pigheaded teammate." A gatekeeping boss was a formidable enemy. Even a united team might fail to defeat one, let alone a team with unpredictable employers among its ranks.

Gao Xu had already intended to take part in Mr. Yi's operation, but he hadn't expected this complication. His thoughts turned, and he quickly made his decision: he would join the Worker Alliance and become one of its decision-makers!

Gao Xu's blunt request left Mr. Yi deep in thought. After hesitating for a moment, he slowly said, "Truthfully, without your help, we wouldn't know how long it would've taken to establish the Worker Alliance. You've contributed as much as any of us. There are three elders in the alliance, but adding another seat for you wouldn't be out of the question. We would, however, need to persuade the other two elders. This operation can be your chance to prove yourself. What do you say?"

Then Mr. Yi gave him a sly smile. "If you're in charge, young friend, you won't have to worry about anything going wrong. I can finally take it easy this time..."

Gao Xu smiled. Though Mr. Yi had seen through his intentions and tried to bind him with an elder's title that carried no real authority, the outcome suited him just fine. What reason was there to turn down an arrangement that made everyone happy?

Once they'd reached an agreement, they grew much closer, and the conversation gradually turned to their target: Wei Wuya of the Handsome Siblings world.

"Compared to the Red Ghost King, Wei Wuya will be far more difficult," Mr. Yi said. In his eyes, Gao Xu was undoubtedly a veteran of unfathomable depth. The Blood Sea had been the Red Ghost King's trump card, yet Gao Xu had known all about it and even managed to call on Master Zhixiu for support. He was truly an expert!

Even so, since Gao Xu had taken on the heavy responsibility of leading this operation, Mr. Yi still needed to sound him out. Otherwise, if Gao Xu knew nothing about Wei Wuya and led them all into a death trap, wouldn't that be a disaster?

"I know what you're worried about..." Gao Xu nodded, his expression calm and unruffled. He spoke slowly. "A gatekeeping boss can remain in place for up to three months. If no one defeats him, he's automatically replaced. But does that mean he can only be challenged during that time? Obviously not. In fact, all of them are ordinary bosses whose templates have been changed. Broadly speaking, there are two types. The first type starts with a first-difficulty boss and gets boosted. The Red Ghost King is an example. Under ordinary circumstances, the Blood Sea only lets him use the Blood Demon Divine Art; it doesn't make him immortal. But with the gatekeeping boss template, the environment he's in becomes the greatest obstacle, multiplying the difficulty of the battle!"

Mr. Yi was already looking utterly astonished. Clearly, he'd never heard any of this before.

Gao Xu continued, "The second type starts with a second-difficulty boss whose strength is reduced to that of a first-difficulty gatekeeping boss. At first glance, this seems better than the first type, but it's not. Take Wei Wuya, for example. As a second-difficulty boss, Wei Wuya is the leader of the Twelve Zodiacs and the master of the Wuya Sect. He has a large number of subordinates guarding him. The men of the Wuya Sect would rather die than be humiliated. In their lair at Heaven Beyond Heaven, on Turtle Mountain—a place riddled with traps and secret passages—many Reincarnators die without ever even seeing Wei Wuya. Those grunts won't be affected by the gatekeeping boss template; they'll all remain at second-difficulty strength. So even if Wei Wuya's two greatest specialties, hidden weapons and mechanism-making, are weakened, he'll still be much more difficult than the Red Ghost King, unless..."

"Unless what?" Mr. Yi asked urgently, caught up in Gao Xu's explanation. "We've considered other possibilities, too, but supposedly no matter how we try to lure him out, Wei Wuya won't leave his lair..."

Gao Xu smiled, his expression brimming with confidence and pride.

"That's why you need me to lead!"