"This isn't from overexerting yourself in battle against the Eternal Sleeper Clan, is it?"

The old man's eyes twinkled, as if contemplating something.

Seeing the old man's silence, Su Mo asked, puzzled, "Is there a problem?"

"No problem. You're not far from being crippled."

The old man said coldly.

Hearing the old man's words, Su Mo felt as if he had been struck by lightning, forcing a strained smile. "Don't joke around with me. How is that possible?"

"Why isn't it possible?"

The old man retorted coldly.

"The doctors at Star Ring City told me that I can definitely recover if I take it slow. Besides, I feel like my body is slowly improving."

Su Mo replied, half believing, half doubting.

"That's right. You won't die anytime soon, but what's the use of being alive if you're crippled? If you don't believe me, you can try the super-neural link."

The old man issued his verdict to Su Mo with extreme indifference.

Su Mo couldn't help but take a breath, then looked at the old man with increasing suspicion. He felt a strong sense of incongruity.

He felt something was off. This old man suddenly saying he was crippled felt like those charlatans saying, "I see a dark aura between your eyebrows; you're about to have a bloody disaster."

So Su Mo asked Falsified Creator-Devourer.

"Little Devourer, why do I feel like this old man is planning to trick me again?"

"You better believe him. There aren't many people in this world more reliable than him. If he says you won't live past tomorrow, you'll probably die that night. If he says you're about to be crippled, then you're probably not far from being disabled."

Falsified Creator-Devourer replied without hesitation.

Su Mo's lips twitched incessantly. He couldn't help but feel that Falsified Creator-Devourer had teamed up with the old man again to set him up.

So Su Mo looked at the old man warily and asked, "Do you have a way to resolve this?"

"I do."

The old man replied without a trace of emotion.

Hearing the old man's words, Su Mo became even more convinced that this was a trap. Only a fool would believe it!

So Su Mo said without hesitation,

"Big brother, save me!"

"......"

......

"It's not impossible to save you."

The old man was silent for a while before saying hoarsely.

Hearing this, Su Mo's heart couldn't help but rise. He quickly asked, "Is it free?"

"Do you think there's anything free in this world? Free is often the most expensive."

The old man's cold water directly extinguished Su Mo's侥幸 (jiao xing - lucky) thoughts.

"Uh, I'm just asking. So what do I have to pay? Look how familiar we are, you have to give me a friend's price."

Su Mo asked awkwardly.

"Seeing as I still find you pleasing to the eye, help me do one more thing later."

The old man directly stated his price.

Hearing this, Su Mo became alert. He coughed and said seriously, "Let's not talk about friendship. Just tell me how much money you want. Forget about doing things."

No way. The things this old man asked him to do were harder than the last. One wrong move and he'd lose his life.

"Are you sure?"

The old man looked at Su Mo with some surprise.

"Sure. Let's talk money. Clear accounts make good friends. Of course, I believe someone as upright as you wouldn't try to scam me, right?"

Su Mo said with a smile.

"Ten trillion Star Coins."

The old man stated the price with extreme indifference.

Hearing the amount of money, Su Mo almost jumped up. Wasn't this blatant price gouging? His lips twitched as he said,

"Isn't that a bit much? When I turned the Jidula Planetary Fortress into that state, the compensation wasn't even that high. And you're asking me for ten trillion Star Coins."

To be honest, if he could afford to offend this old man, Su Mo would have already started cursing him.

"That's the price."

The old man didn't give him any room to negotiate.

Hearing this, Su Mo forced a very awkward smile and negotiated with the old man, "How about we talk about the friend's price again? One thing is one thing. As long as I can do it, I will."

"Deal."

The old man replied coldly.

At this moment, Su Mo felt a strange heartache, as if he had been scammed again.

Falsified Creator-Devourer said in a low voice to Su Mo, "You're lucky. You've made another profit."

"Profit my ass. With a price of ten trillion, I don't know how difficult it'll be in the future. This old man is getting darker and darker. I'll see how he plans to help me. If he screws me over, I'm not done with him!"

Su Mo complained frantically to Falsified Creator-Devourer.

"If you didn't trust him, you could have refused."

Falsified Creator-Devourer didn't hesitate to kick him while he was down.

"Bullshit. No matter how difficult the task is, I can slowly think of a solution. But if my body is really crippled, where am I going to cry?"

Although Su Mo felt heartache, he still knew what was more important.

"It's good that you're smart. You didn't do anything stupid at the critical moment."

Falsified Creator-Devourer replied in a low voice.

Su Mo coughed and said to the old man with a smile, "So, how are you going to treat me now?"

The old man glanced at Su Mo coldly and replied indifferently, "Go back first. I need to prepare. Once I'm ready, I'll notify you."

Su Mo was slightly stunned. What was this old man up to? He actually needed to prepare. This had never happened before.

"Okay, then I'll leave first."

Su Mo said after regaining his senses.

The old man ignored Su Mo, tacitly allowing him to leave.

So Su Mo left the general store. As he stepped out the door, Su Mo felt a momentary daze.

Although the old man's matter was temporarily resolved, he seemed to have gotten himself into even more trouble. The more he thought about it, the more his head ached.

Forget it, he didn't want to think so much. Su Mo then headed towards the Dark Shadow.

Just then, Su Mo's phone vibrated.

Su Mo was slightly stunned. To be precise, all electronic devices had vibrated.

On the street, people stopped and picked up their phones and wristbands.

Su Mo was no exception. He picked up his phone and took a look.

"Special Announcement: Star Ring City officially announces recruitment, and will recruit from the No. 1 Cradle, the No. 2 Cradle, and the newly promoted Twelve Civilization Nations. Requirements include outstanding strength, a clean background, and sufficient loyalty to Star Ring City. Those who pass the review will be able to join different series of direct legions of Star Ring City according to the results of the assessment and enjoy the best treatment....."

......

Seeing this message, Su Mo was also quite surprised.

"Star Ring City is actually recruiting?"

Falsified Creator-Devourer replied, "There's nothing strange about that. The seeds that have been painstakingly sown have already borne fruit, so of course it's time to start harvesting. Don't forget why Star Ring City pulled you twelve civilizations over in the first place. Wasn't it just to absorb nutrients? Now the time is ripe."