Chu Tian, normally boisterous, was detailing the unpleasant and thankless tasks he planned to undertake when Qingcheng stopped him.
Her barrage of questions made Chu Tian suddenly recall that the development of the Heavenly Dao world never came with advance notice. What he was saying now was a bit like a spoiler. It wasn't entirely his fault; mentioning Huang Xueyi always made his head get hot.
However, he didn't pay it much mind and replied, "It has to be true. You don't need to know where I got the information. As for the benefits of occupying the fortress... I'll tell you after we cooperate."
Qingcheng, who had been all ears, received this reply from Chu Tian. His answer was essentially useless.
She slowly sat down, pondered for a moment, then looked up at Chu Tian again and said, "Here in Black Earth City, half of the Level 4 guilds have received investment from the Huang Corporation. The investor is the young master you mentioned, Huang Xueyi, of the Huang Corporation. Originally, I didn't want to accept any investment. But..."
Tears welled up in the eyes of the imposing Qingcheng. She stared into Chu Tian's eyes and said, "The Heavenly Dao world is too—"
Chu Tian's mouth hung open, staring at Qingcheng before him. Her usually regal face was now streaked with tears. Coupled with her萝莉 (luoli - little girl) voice, which was already a stark contrast, she was now spewing profanities about the Heavenly Dao's setting. The visual and auditory impact was a once-in-a-century phenomenon!
He even felt a pang of blame towards that old scoundrel Dao Tian. *Look what you've driven this girl to...*
"Stop, stop, stop..." Chu Tian couldn't handle this contrast anymore and quickly waved his hand to stop her. "Um, I'll arrange for someone to come find you! I'm leaving now. Oh, and please thank the guy who gave me the [Abnormal Status Removal Scroll]. Tell him that I recognize him as a friend."
With that, Chu Tian got up to leave, regardless of Qingcheng's reaction. Qingcheng was taken aback but quickly understood. She had merely ordered a thief to play it safe and pointed him in a direction. She had been puzzled as to why Chu Tian had agreed to help her without her even stating her request, given such minimal assistance. *Could it be that I'm too beautiful?* She had even felt smug about it at the time.
But now she finally understood. It turned out it was a friendship between two men...
"Wait, um... when will your people arrive?" Qingcheng called out to Chu Tian.
"Probably about three days. From Shengjing to Black Earth City, it takes at least thirty-two hours at the fastest." Chu Tian knew this. When he had used his Giant Deer form, he had run for sixteen hours. Players without mounts running on foot would take at least twice as long as him.
"So long? Use teleportation!" Qingcheng's eyes widened.
"Teleportation costs 46 gold coins per person. Even with a group teleportation at a 90% discount, it's still 1380 gold. Are you paying?" Chu Tian desperately wanted to leave. This woman, with her contrasting demeanor, made him feel utterly uncomfortable. If she had her face covered while speaking, or if he just looked at her face without listening to her speak, it would undoubtedly be a pleasure. But... alas, Chu Tian couldn't even describe it; goosebumps were already scattered all over the floor.
"Here... fourteen hundred gold, for you. This meal is on me, so get your people here quickly!" With that, she turned and left, slamming the door shut. Chu Tian stood there, holding the bag of gold coins, dazed.
[Ding... Contract generated!]
The system notification sounded in Chu Tian's ear. When discussing matters in system-provided private rooms, the system would generate a contract based on the conversation to bind both parties.
Outside the private room, Qingcheng chuckled inwardly, *Little brat, when you send your people, I'll treat them well. I'll find a way to make them my own people, hehe...*
In the private room, Chu Tian shook his head and gave a wry smile. *What is this?*
However, he immediately contacted Qi Xi and explained the situation to her. He asked her to select ten teams capable of clearing Expert-level dungeons. The Reverse God Alliance now had forty thousand combat players and ten thousand life players. There were already over a hundred teams that could successfully clear Expert-level dungeons. Selecting ten was quite easy.
Concurrently, Chu Tian instructed Qi Xi to have these players sign non-disclosure agreements. After all, he had promised Qingcheng that they would enter her guild secretly. Furthermore, they had to sign an agreement stating that no matter what conditions the [Qingcheng] guild offered, they must immediately leave the [Qingcheng] guild and return to the Reverse God Alliance when recalled by the Reverse God Alliance. They also could not join the [Qingcheng] guild again within three years. Those unwilling to sign this agreement would not be dispatched to Qingcheng.
Of course, this dispatch mission offered very good benefits. Besides Qingcheng covering their salaries and all consumable expenses, they didn't have to hand over any looted equipment. This alone made many people scramble to sign the agreement.
In the end, Qi Xi selected ten teams, totaling three hundred people, who boarded the teleportation array and departed Shengjing. Chu Tian, waiting for them to arrive, gave them a parting instruction: "If you have any requests, don't hesitate to ask Qingcheng's guild leader 'hard'." Chu Tian emphasized the word "hard" and wore a mischievous smile. His words made the three hundred brothers' eyes light up. They could imagine that this external assignment would be quite lucrative.
Naturally, they didn't let Chu Tian down. Upon arriving at Qingcheng's guild, they began making all sorts of outrageous demands. And Qingcheng, surprisingly, met all of them. It wasn't until later, when they had accumulated enough points and were about to withdraw, that Qingcheng spoke to them individually and finally learned that they had signed a contract with the Reverse God Alliance upon their arrival.
Upon hearing this news, Qingcheng was so furious that she nearly exploded, scolding Chu Tian for several hours. However, that was a story for another time.
At this moment, Chu Tian handed over the three hundred brothers and sisters to Qingcheng and left. He had no intention of lingering in Black Earth City. Half the guilds in Black Earth City had been offended by him, so staying there would only invite trouble. Shengjing was different; he could roam freely there because the Reverse God Alliance was based there. Who would dare not give him some face? As the saying goes, a strong dragon doesn't dare to bully a local snake, and he, this dragon, was better off making a quick strike and moving on. Guerrilla warfare was his specialty.
However, while he felt satisfied, Bingyan of [Gui Yi Lou] was about to go mad. But Chu Tian was unaware, and even if he knew, he would only say, *What can you do to me...?*
[Author's Note]
Congratulations to boss [For you, I will fight with a sword in hand] for becoming the top spot on both the monthly and total reward leaderboards.
Thanks to boss [For you, I will fight with a sword in hand] for the paid reward of [Urgent Update Talisman] x4.
Thanks to boss [Lu Chenzhi] for the paid reward of [Flowers] x1.