Chapter 291: Hypocritical Alliance

After Yu Jinsheng left, the discussion in the venue exploded completely.

Some were inquiring about what had happened to Jiuzhou, some were testing whether Tingfeng had any intention of replacing Jiuzhou, and of course, more people were discussing the three pieces of information Yu Jinsheng had announced.

Many of these things were not secrets to the leading guilds. They possessed a large number of top-ranked members who shuttled through various special instances. Occasionally, they could touch upon secrets concerning the gods; even if they hadn’t experienced it themselves, they had heard about it within their social circles.

But in any case, the previous numerous rumors were just vague speculations. Now that they were publicly raised by Yu Jinsheng at the exchange conference, the significance was ultimately different.

Some people had already begun to speculate whether this year would see another Twilight of the Gods, just like twenty-two years ago.

Meng Wenfei turned her head, looking like she wanted to chat with Lin Chen for a few more sentences.

Qi Si stood up and gave a silent command through the Soul Contract: “Follow me to the rostrum.”

Lin Chen: “Oh oh!”

Thus, from Meng Wenfei’s perspective, the gloomy-looking Guild Master Lin stood up expressionlessly and walked along the aisle toward the rostrum without giving her a single glance.

Meng Wenfei:…This new guild master is really difficult to get along with.

By this time, some guilds were already leaving one after another, presumably wanting to return to their guild bases to discuss countermeasures.

The aisle was crowded with people coming and going. Qi Si very considerately shielded Lin Chen from the front, pushing through the crowd for him.

Lin Chen asked in his mind, “Brother Qi, why are we going to the rostrum? Are we looking for someone to team up with?”

Qi Si felt uncomfortable from being smothered by the dense presence of people. He half-closed his eyes to prevent sweat from stinging them, while denying it succinctly: “No.”

“Ah? Don’t tell me you’re going on stage to introduce yourself?”

“No, just going to see if there are any acquaintances.” Qi Si’s gaze swept across the aisle leading backstage in the shadows below the stage, then landed on the rostrum.

No one was foolish enough to follow Yu Jinsheng’s suggestion and directly pick up the microphone to introduce themselves to the whole venue—that would be awkward just thinking about it.

The rostrum was used more as a place for players from various parties to meet and communicate; all teaming and alliances were conducted in private.

Qi Si heard several familiar names along the way, including Li Yunyang, the top player from the previous rookie rank, Mu Chuqing, the second-ranked player of this rookie rank, and Shuomeng from Tingfeng Guild… “Acquaintances?” Lin Chen looked around and asked, “Are we looking for Chang Xu? He seems to be the first on this rookie rank, so he should be here too, right?”

“No.” Qi Si looked around almost once and didn’t see the figure he expected to see.

He didn’t know what he was looking for either. A momentary secret sense of familiarity led him forward, slipping through his fingers like an elusive mist, scattering into a patch of hazy trance.

He was slightly dazed, quickly forgetting the thoughts of the previous second, and said indifferently, “Even if we aren’t looking for anyone, it’s good to get familiar with powerful players. We can cling to their thighs if we meet them in an instance later.”

He didn’t transmit these words through the Soul Contract but said them directly, his phrasing sounding like a joke.

Behind him, a familiar female voice said with a smile, “With your strength, it’s more likely that others will cling to your thighs.”

Qi Si gave a hint to Lin Chen, and the latter naturally walked away from him, disappearing into the depths of the crowd.

Only then did he turn his head and smile at the newcomer. “Long time no see. Should I call you Xu Ning or Ning Xu from now on?”

“Just call me Ning Xu. That’s what they all call me.” The woman gave a slight nod as a greeting.

She was wearing the grey jacket and black jeans she had worn during their first meeting. Back then, she had claimed her name was ‘Xu Ning,’ crudely swapping her surname and first name; she likely hadn’t intended to hide it for long.

Qi Si looked at Ning Xu and suddenly caught a trace of the source of that strange feeling from before.

He looked left and right quite obviously. “Jin Yusheng didn’t come with you?”

Ning Xu laughed as if she had heard a humorous slang term. “You suspect he also entered the Eerie Game and became a player?”

“Did he not?” Qi Si asked back.

“It seems some coincidences occurred from your perspective, just as we suspected your guild master ‘Lin Crow’s’ true identity was Lin Chen.”

Ning Xu’s gaze went over Qi Si’s shoulder, looking at Lin Chen in the crowd behind him. “I can only say our previous judgment of you was correct; you are indeed very cautious.”

The way she said the word “cautious” didn’t sound complimentary; it was likely equivalent to “highly paranoid.”

“Perhaps.” Qi Si sighed softly. “I can’t think of any reason why you would involve an innocent person who has absolutely no connection to the Eerie Game.”

“Because of you,” Ning Xu said calmly. “His only connection to us is you. The reason we decided to conduct a thorough investigation into his crimes, such as credit card fraud and selling contraband, was to establish a connection with you through him.”

“Ah, then he’s truly unlucky.” Qi Si sighed. “It sounds like he was coerced by you into doing quite a few things just to avoid being executed by firing squad, all so you could meet me and have a phone call with me.”

“It’s just his own doing,” Ning Xu said. “Given the things he did, being executed ten times over according to federal law wouldn’t be too much.”

Qi Si nodded in agreement, a probing smile forming on his face. “I’m curious. Since you’ve already made a move on him, why not just go all the way and come straight to my door to invite me to your place for tea?”

“We don’t want to make an enemy of you; we’d rather reach a cooperation with a friendly attitude. Can you understand that?” Ning Xu’s smile was sincere. “And personally, I feel that if such a day ever came, you would definitely have a way to make us suffer heavy losses.”

“I understand.” Qi Si maintained his smile and asked, “Is there something you want, coming to find me now?”

Two white rings appeared in Ning Xu’s hand. “You should have learned about guild joint operations before forming your guild, right? The next joint operation will most likely arrange for your guild to team up with us in Jiuzhou. The configuration is two people from each side.”

She handed the rings to Qi Si. He took them and asked, “And while you’re at it, you’ll probe our background, right?”

“You can understand it that way.” Ning Xu smiled. “Isn’t it only natural to understand the strength of your partners?”

Qi Si looked at her with a faint smile. “With the Final Dungeon approaching, top-tier resources should be integrated. Having people from Jiuzhou team up with a small guild like ours seems like a waste no matter how you look at it. This is a personal action, isn’t it?”

“You’re not wrong. I can tell you that this is Fu Jue’s personal action.” Ning Xu’s expression remained unchanged. “He hopes to understand a few things and is willing to exchange an equivalent amount of information with you.”

“Sounds like a deal.” Qi Si said with interest, “I’ve never even met that God Fu of yours, yet he seems to know me.”

“Just the feat of ‘escaping the Puppeteer’s control’ is enough to put you in many people’s sights.”

“It sounds like you’re very familiar with Fu Jue. I’d like to ask, has something happened to him recently?”

“He’s very busy.” Ning Xu gazed into Qi Si’s eyes. “The eerie pollution invading reality is getting more and more serious. There’s been a large-scale outbreak of a pathogen near the Mississippi River basin, suspected to be related to the Eerie Game.”

“He really does have a lot on his mind.” Qi Si stuffed the two Team Rings into his pocket and asked, “What’s the specific process for the joint operation? When is it?”

“A rehearsal first.” Ning Xu looked away toward the venue doors. “April 23rd at 2 PM. You and your person enter the Eerie Game on time and match into a random instance.”

“Random?”

“It’s not an official operation, so any instance will do. It’s just to determine the personnel composition and build some synergy. If someone dies in the instance, it just means their strength was insufficient.”

Qi Si raised an eyebrow. “Which two people do you plan to send?”

“It hasn’t been decided yet. You’ll know when the time comes.”

Qi Si looked toward a corner of the venue. A young man in a black hoodie sat there expressionlessly, looking like someone who wouldn’t let anyone near him. It was Chang Xu.

His smile turned strange. “And if someone is confirmed dead, we just accept it as bad luck?”

“Maybe not a single person will die.” Ning Xu dropped those words, turned, and walked out of the venue without looking back.

Only after her back had completely disappeared from his sight did Lin Chen approach and ask softly in his mind, “Brother Qi, you know her?”

Qi Si didn’t hide it. “She’s the one I told you about before, the one who kept an eye on me in reality. She’s also a member of the Eerie Investigation Bureau and the Jiuzhou Guild.”

Lin Chen’s voice became tense. “Then what did she want with you? Especially in a place like this…”

“Regarding a joint operation. They need us to send two people for a team-up,” Qi Si said. “They’ll send two people as well.”

The Unnamed Guild only had two people in total. They couldn’t compare to the wealthy and powerful Jiuzhou Guild. One wrong move and the guild would be “gone without a trace,” leaving only a name on the guild rank as a memorial of its existence.

“Two people? Do I have to go too?” Lin Chen asked.

He looked up and saw Qi Si’s smile, like one given to a child. “The Guild Master only needs to sit safely in the back and ensure survival. I’ll find a way for the other person.”

…Xiang City, Balance Church headquarters.

Dong Xiwen lay in his ten-square-meter room, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

After returning from Jerusalem with the main force, he had been given five days of leave. These past few days, he had been thinking about the Divine Mask White Crow had retrieved, the words of ‘Yuan,’ and… his brother.

The Balance Church had no Guild Master, only two Vice Guild Masters, ‘Yuan’ and White Crow. One managed economy and politics, while the other managed religion and military affairs.

But in recent years, ‘Yuan’ had appeared less and less frequently, while White Crow’s prestige grew daily. Many new converts gradually came to see White Crow as the sole leader, even the highest existence beneath the god they worshipped.

Dong Xiwen didn’t believe in so-called divine oracles or destiny. In his view, this likely involved dirty and dark power struggles that would only intensify as Balance Guild’s power expanded.

And he had somehow been unilaterally assigned to ‘Yuan’s’ side, playing the role of a spy.

The Divine Mask was an item used to restrict divine power. Was White Crow’s public retrieval of it a gesture of compromise toward ‘Yuan’?

Did White Crow bring him along specifically because he knew about his relationship with ‘Yuan’?

Wait, he clearly didn’t have much of a relationship with ‘Yuan’; it was his brother who was connected to ‘Yuan’… Thinking of his brother, Dong Xiwen felt even more troubled.

Since their parents passed away, he had been working while studying, going to university while supporting his brother’s education.

In his memory, his brother had always been a well-behaved and obedient child, quiet and unassuming.

Yet now he was being told that his brother had been pulling off major stunts like murder and arson behind his back, and even being bullied might have been a situation he designed himself… Even the fact that he had ended up on a cult’s pirate ship had his brother’s shadow in it… Dong Xiwen just felt the world had gone mad.

“Dong Xiwen, come to the Ruins of the Sunset.”

A familiar voice rang in his mind. Dong Xiwen was startled. “Brother Zhang, so you can transmit your voice to me even when I’m not in the game?”

When he had seen the record of Lin Chen clearing the Wraith instance in the Ruins of the Sunset, he had specifically asked Qi Si for his real name, and the reply he got was “Zhang San.”

Although he knew he was being fooled, since the other person said so, as an unlucky guy under someone else’s control, he could only believe it.

“Just call me ‘Si Qi’ in the game from now on.” Qi Si’s voice this time was exceptionally amiable.

Dong Xiwen felt the pronunciation was quite familiar, and he had a faint, bad premonition.

Two seconds later, he leapt up from his bed. “Holy crap? Brother, you… you’re that legendary Si Qi who escaped the Puppeteer’s shackles? And you’re also the Vice Guild Master of the Unnamed Guild?”

Qi Si gave an “mm” and asked word by word, “So, can you come to the Ruins of the Sunset now?”

In the Ruins of the Sunset, the people in the venue had all scattered. The magnificent buildings that had risen from the ground vanished into nothingness in an instant, leaving behind an empty plaza under an orange-yellow sky.

After sending Lin Chen away, Qi Si returned to the Game Space once, held the Sea-God Scepter, and sent the message to Dong Xiwen.

Among the tools whose souls he controlled, Lin Chen definitely couldn’t take the field. Otherwise, once the clearance record was broadcast and showed Lin Chen’s name, anyone would know that “Lin Chen” was closely related to the Unnamed Guild.

Liu Yuhan had already joined the Jiuzhou Guild and couldn’t fill the Unnamed Guild’s quota. Zhang Yiyu was still locked in the Eerie Investigation Bureau’s small dark room and couldn’t be called out. If the villagers of Qijia Village and the players infected with the Insomnia Syndrome Pathogen showed their faces, it would expose his involvement in ushering in the eerie… All things considered, only one option remained.

After sending the message, Qi Si put down the Sea-God Scepter and entered the Ruins of the Sunset again, sitting on the gnarled roots under the World Tree to wait.

Not long after, Dong Xiwen’s figure appeared before him. “Big brother Si Qi, what are your orders?”

Qi Si fished a Team Ring out of his pocket and tossed it to him. “April 23rd at 2 PM. Put on the Team Ring and match into a random instance.”

“Ah?”

“Guild joint operation. Jiuzhou sends two people, we send two people.”

“As expected of Brother Si, gaining Jiuzhou’s recognition so quickly.” Dong Xiwen took the ring and didn’t court death by refusing.

He even had a small bit of anticipation in his heart. After all, teaming items weren’t common yet, and he hadn’t tried what it felt like to do an instance as a group.

And since they were cooperating with people from Jiuzhou, surely Qi Si wouldn’t dare to oppress him too blatantly. He might even take the opportunity to escape Qi Si’s control… Various thoughts flashed by, and Dong Xiwen asked tentatively, “By the way, Brother Si, isn’t our Guild Master going too?”

Qi Si gazed into his eyes and grinned, revealing a row of white teeth. “If Fu Jue personally enters the instance, I think our Guild Master would be happy to accompany him.”

Dong Xiwen mulled over the meaning in those words and couldn’t help but be dazed for a moment.

This humanoid seemed quite respectful toward that Guild Master Lin. What kind of person would it take to manage a lunatic like this? The Unnamed Guild couldn’t be a gathering place for humanoid gorillas, could it?

And from the subtext, that elusive Guild Master Lin had a high status, a figure on par with Fu Jue?

Dong Xiwen had suspected before that Lin Chen and Qi Si were the same person. After learning that Qi Si was “Si Qi,” he suspected Lin Chen was his Guild Master “Lin Crow.”

But now it seemed the timing didn’t match.

There might be a few people who could stand on par with Fu Jue, but it was absolutely impossible for it to be a rookie who had been in the game for less than two months.

Dong Xiwen opened his mouth, preparing to ask a few more questions, but Qi Si’s figure had already vanished into golden specks of light.

It seemed some things could only be asked when they met again on April 23rd.