Contract

Tiantian tilted her head and suddenly flashed a faintly malicious smile. "No, I should say their deaths mean more to me."

Seeing the conversation take a bad turn, Whistle hurriedly cut in. "All right, all right, let's not talk about anything so heavy. Let's get back to business and discuss the deal."

Deep down, he was still a little afraid of Tiantian.

Although he and Tiantian got along fairly well, and she was polite to him most of the time, whenever she openly displayed her malice, he felt an indescribable prickling across his scalp.

Tiantian wasn't upset by Whistle's interruption. She obliged him by changing the subject.

She asked Zhao Xun, "So you acknowledge that you owe me a favor now?"

"I do," Zhao Xun readily admitted.

Then he looked at Whistle and said seriously, "I want to know who killed them."

"That'll be hard to investigate." Whistle took a moment to slurp a few mouthfuls of noodles before continuing. "They might have lacked the strength to complete a Platform Game and been left inside it. Or they might have failed to complete their personal missions, run out of points, and starved to death on the train. Only after ruling those out can we consider whether other players killed them."

"I know." Zhao Xun nodded. "But I need a definitive answer."

"All right." Whistle nodded in understanding, then asked, "You know when they boarded the Endless Train, right?"

"The first batch," Zhao Xun answered. "They were among the first people to board."

Whistle sighed. "That makes it even harder. All the players from the first batch who ever crossed paths with them might already be dead, leaving even fewer leads to follow... I never make a deal at a loss."

Zhao Xun understood what Whistle meant. "Name your price," he said.

Whistle finished the entire bowl of noodles in one go and drank all the broth. He set down his bowl and chopsticks, wiped his mouth, and only then said to Zhao Xun, "I want you to help me kill someone."

Tiantian, who had been concentrating on her food beside them, paused. She turned to Whistle with an amused smile. "Looks like you have pretty high hopes for A Shui~"

Zhao Xun raised his eyebrows slightly, a little surprised, but didn't immediately commit himself.

He said, "Since you need someone else's help with this, they must be very difficult to kill. I'm not sure I can do it."

"There's no rush." Whistle waved a hand. "Once I've done what you've asked, you can wait until you think you're strong enough before helping me kill them."

After a pause, he added, "I'm not pinning all my hopes on you, either. A few other people have made similar deals with me. Only one of you needs to succeed."

Understanding dawned on Zhao Xun's face. "You must really hate this person." But you can't kill them yourself.

He didn't say the second part aloud.

"Yes." The smile vanished from Whistle's face. Mentioning that person seemed to stir certain deeply painful memories.

Even his normally outgoing manner turned quiet and cold.

Zhao Xun knew this was indeed a deal that would come at a steep price.

Anyone whom Whistle, a veteran player and information broker, couldn't deal with was probably a player who consistently ranked in the top fifty.

Still, Whistle's terms were fairly reasonable. He wasn't demanding immediate action.

Besides, Zhao Xun was determined to uncover the truth about those two people, no matter how high the price.

"Deal." Without taking too long to think, Zhao Xun agreed.

Whistle produced a sheet of parchment and a quill out of thin air. He spent quite some time writing on the parchment, then handed it to Zhao Xun. "Take a look. If everything's fine, leave a bloody thumbprint."

"This is your special item," Zhao Xun remarked casually as he took the parchment.

"Yes." Whistle smiled. "Signing a contract puts my mind at ease. It keeps people who don't honor their word from wasting my time and effort. Once you leave a bloody thumbprint, you can't violate the terms on the parchment, or you'll pay a terrible price."

Zhao Xun carefully read what was written on the parchment.

[Once player Whistle has helped player A Shui determine the true cause of his parents' deaths and locate the killer, should one exist, player A Shui must fulfill this contract and assassinate player Whistle's enemy when his points reach or exceed those of player Whistle's enemy.

Information regarding the identity of player Whistle's enemy, along with Whistle's detailed requirements for revenge, will automatically enter player A Shui's mind once his points meet the requirement.

This contract remains permanently valid. Provided player Whistle has completed the task entrusted to him by player A Shui, player A Shui must still fulfill the contract even if player Whistle dies.

If player A Shui's points increase slowly, he will automatically become the subordinate of another player bound by an identical contract when that player meets the points requirement, and assist that player in killing the enemy.

If player A Shui fails to fulfill the above contract, he will begin to lose everything he currently possesses after one month, and his entire body will fester until he dies.

Note: the one-month period refers to one month after a contracted player meets the points requirement but takes no action.

The terms were detailed and accounted for just about every possibility.

More importantly, it would take effect even with a false name.

That proved the bloody thumbprint was the key to making the contract binding.

Zhao Xun took out the folding knife he carried, cut his thumb, and pressed a bloody thumbprint onto the lower-right corner of the parchment.

Whistle took the parchment back and added his own bloody thumbprint.

The parchment glowed faintly white, and the writing on it vanished.

"Done." Whistle put the parchment and quill back into his System Storage Slot and told Zhao Xun, "I'm not sure when I'll uncover the cause of your parents' deaths, but I'll come find you as soon as I have definite information. Until then, please do your best to survive on the Endless Train and build up your strength."

Zhao Xun nodded cooperatively to show that he understood.

Then he asked, "Do you have any crackers?"

Whistle froze for a moment, clearly not expecting Zhao Xun to bring up something so completely unrelated.

"Or any other food you have on you will do," Zhao Xun added.

"I don't have any food on me." Whistle shook his head. "I buy something whenever I get hungry. I never stockpile anything on me. It's a hassle, and there's always the risk of someone stealing it."

"All right." Zhao Xun shrugged regretfully.

He had thought that if Whistle had food on him, he could seize the opportunity to complete today's personal mission while also getting a glimpse of Whistle's special ability.

Two birds with one stone.

Unfortunately, Whistle had no food.