Chapter 392: The Endeavouring Bluesea

As Chen Xiaolian was thinking about that, his heart suddenly sank. At present, Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild might not even be able to protect itself. As such, the earlier agreed upon conditions and supplies might not come to pass.

As he thought about that, Chen Xiaolian could not suppress the feeling of regret from coming out.

Qiao Yifeng cast a glance at Chen Xiaolian. Without replying to the question, he pointed to the front and said, “Follow me.”

Not many figures could be seen on the ground floor lobby. The lobby was empty save for the occasional Sentinel mechs and their mechanical movement sounds.

They reached a point where there were rows of hexagonal tiles on the floor. Beside the spot were two oval-shaped metallic objects, which stood upward vertically.

Qiao Yifeng pointed at one of the hexagonal tiles and said, “Stand on it.”

Although Chen Xiaolian did not know what those were, he still did as told. Then, he saw Qiao Yifeng moving over to stand on the tile beside his.

Before Chen Xiaolian could react, a swooshing sound rang out and a beam of light appeared. Chen Xiaolian instantly felt weightless, seemingly having lost all his senses. That strange feeling lasted for an instant.

In the blink of an eye, he found that he was standing somewhere else.

Lowering his head, he saw that the lobby was tens of metres beneath his feet. Both Qiao Yifeng and himself were now standing tens of floors above in the honeycomb building! Beside him was a hexagonal corridor.

“Mm? How did we get up?”

“Quantum technology’s instant teleportation,” said Qiao Yifeng with indifference.

Chen Xiaolian widened his eyes.

Qiao Yifeng appeared uninterested in discussing about that. He turned into the hexagonal corridor and reached out with his hand to press on an interface on the door.

After a green light scanned his palm, the door of the corridor opened up.

“Get in, I’ll introduce you to someone.”

The corridor was about tens of metres long. At the end of the corridor was a lounge.

A holographic projection shone down from above, taking the form of a black haired and beautiful looking female human… it was clearly a virtual object. It then spoke out with a gentle tone.

“Mr Qiao, welcome back.”

Qiao Yifeng had both hands held behind his back as he turned to face the holographic figure. He said, “I want to meet Bluesea.”

“Mr Bluesea is presently entertaining guests. Please head to lounge no. 2 first.”

The holographic figure made a courteous gesture before stepping forward to lead the way.

Chen Xiaolian regarded the translucent figure and its unique looking uniform. A beam of light was constantly shining from the ceiling down at the figure’s body.

“Curious?” Qiao Yifeng was walking beside Chen Xiaolian. The corners of his lips curled into a smile and he said, “This is the AI of the guild. That Bluesea loves this stuff. He even created a seductive looking woman to act as his secretary. Seriously, that old bachelor. He won’t look for women but he likes to make up a fake thing to stay by him. Is it fun to just watch…”

When they were standing before the door of a room, the holographic figure pointed out with its hand and the door of the room automatically opened up. After Chen Xiaolian and Qiao Yifeng entered the room, the holographic figure gave a bow and the door closed.

The furnishings inside the room were not much different to that of ordinary meeting rooms that Chen Xiaolian had seen before, just tables and chairs.

At the side were two wine cabinets.

Qiao Yifeng walked over. Reaching out with his hand, he pulled out a bottle of wine.

With but a glance, Chen Xiaolian was able to recognize the wine. The bottle was the same as the one that the old man had treated him to back in Africa.

“Romanee Conti?” Chen Xiaolian gave a wry smile. “Do you fellows have to be so extravagant?”

“Fool, it’s not the real one.” Qiao Yifeng shook his head. “It’s a replicated item. We possess replication technology. As long as we have one real article, we will be able to replicate another out. Every molecule can be replicated out and the taste is completely the same as the real one. Even wines of different years can be replicated perfectly to reproduce the exact same taste.”

After saying that, Qiao Yifeng opened the bottle and brought two cups over.

“No time to decanter it. Just drink it as it is.”

He poured a cup for himself and proceeded to drink, ignoring Chen Xiaolian.

Chen Xiaolian felt that there would be some big issues to deal with later. Thus, he chose not to drink the wine.

The two of them sat there in the lounge for a while and they stared at each other without saying anything.

Qiao Yifeng continued pouring for himself as he drank. After finishing half the bottle, he became anxious. Standing up, he said, “You wait here. I’ll go see what that fellow is busy with.”

After saying that, the old man ran off on his own leaving Chen Xiaolian alone there. After sitting there for tens of minutes, he became so bored that his entire body felt uncomfortable.

This place was naturally a very well kept and comfortable. The wine cabinet had excellent-grade wines while the air temperature and humidity were regulated to near perfection.

However, Chen Xiaolian felt that this place was lacking in the human touch.

After waiting for another half an hour, Chen Xiaolian was no longer capable of sitting still.

Perhaps it was due to the tense mood; Chen Xiaolian could not help but feel a need to pee.

He stood up and walked two rounds before walking out of the door.

The moment he stepped out of the door, a holographic figure was projected down from the ceiling and the black haired secretary appeared before him.

“Is there anything I can do for you?”

Chen Xiaolian looked at the holographic figure before him and considered what to say. “Err…”

“Hello, I am Mr Bluesea’s housekeeper, Sarah. If you have any demands, you way ask them of me.”

Chen Xiaolian gave a bitter smile and said, “The… toilet…”

“Please come with me.” The holographic figure instantly bowed before turning around to lead him.

Chen Xiaolian thus followed the holographic figure to a door. The figure bowed and made a ‘please proceed’ gesture, a very standard gesture of courtesy.

Chen Xiaolian gritted his teeth and stepped inside. Behind him, the holographic figure, Sarah maintained the smile on its face as it bowed once more and closed the door.

All Chen Xiaolian could feel at the moment was embarrassment.

The toilet was a normal one and there were no science fictional atmosphere to it.

He quickly relieved himself before heading to the sink beside to wash his hands.

As he was standing there, the door suddenly opened up and a figure panted as it ran inside.

…

It was a short and fat figure.

How should his stature be described as? Consider a big gas tank for his body. Then, put a watermelon on top to serve as his head.

He had a shaved head while his face was full of meat that his eyes were squeezed into a pair of slits. However, he had a sincere looking smile on his face. After running inside, he saw Chen Xiaolian and was shocked. Then, he smiled and said, “Eh? We have guests? Kid, are you a newbie here to meet the boss? Or a peripheral group here for work? Why have I not seen you before?”

Chen Xiaolian stood there in shock. As for the fat fellow, he laughed with a smile on his face as he strode toward the urinal. After relieving himself, there was a pleased look on his face.

After zipping his pants, he turned to look at Chen Xiaolian, stretching out his hand. “I am Fatty. What’s your name?”

Chen Xiaolian stared at his outstretched hand.

Fatty was momentarily surprised. Then, he laughed and said, “Ha ha, sorry about that. I am a thick headed person, how embarrassing.”

He quickly went to wash his hands. After wiping his wet hands with his pants, he once again stretched out his hand toward Chen Xiaolian. “I am Fatty. You?”

“I…” Chen Xiaolian sighed. Clenching his teeth, his extended his hand and accepted the other fellow’s hand. “My name is Xiaolian (small face). What is yours?” [1]

Fatty replied, “Eh? Didn’t I just tell you? I am Fatty.”

Chen Xiaolian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry and he said, “I know you are a fatty, I’m not blind. But I am asking you for your name.”

“I am called Fatty,” said Fatty as a matter-of-factly. “My name is Fatty.”

Chen Xiaolian was momentarily stunned and he held himself back for a while before saying in an annoyed tone, “… good name.”

This fatty was quite the warm-hearted fellow. He pulled Chen Xiaolian out with him. When he saw the holographic projection of Sarah being projected down from the ceiling, he waved his hand without even looking at it and said, “Sarah, you ignore this. I will entertain this bro.”

Without waiting for Sarah to perform her bow, Fatty pulled Chen Xiaolian into one of the corridors.

For Chen Xiaolian, he felt both awkward and surprised!

Fatty’s strength was incredible!

Chen Xiaolian was someone who had enhanced his body attributes before. His strength attribute was close to the [A] class. But, he had no ability to resist Fatty’s strength and he could only be pulled along by him.

Fatty did not appear to notice anything. He spoke quickly, “This place here is good in every aspect. However, there are rarely any new faces here. Not long ago, I did something wrong. So, the boss grounded me. I’m about to die from this grounding. Since you are here, come accompany me for a talk!

“Your name is Xiaolian? Is it because everyone says that your face is small? Eh? You don’t seem that old. How old are you? You aren’t by any chance an old guy are you? Did you use some system modification tool to modify your appearance? Or did you use some serum to retain your youth? Oh right! Where are you from? Are you a resident in the city or are you from the outside? Do you like to drink? Fight? The boss rarely meets people. Why would you come over to meet him? Right, bro. What development route are you following? Magic-type or technology-type? You aren’t a melee-type, are you? That would be great!

“Huh? Brother, why aren’t you saying anything?”

This fellow shot out a stream of questions in a single breath, which made Chen Xiaolian’s mind buzz. Before he could even reply to his questions, Chen Xiaolian found that he had been pulled into a room.

This room was much bigger compared to the lounge that he was in earlier. The interior of the room was rather empty save for a few couches.

On the left side was a large screen mounted upon the entirety of the wall.

Chen Xiaolian was dragged by Fatty into the room. Next, Fatty sat down cross-legged before the screen and quickly picked up something with his hand and he fiddled with it…

When Chen Xiaolian saw the item that was placed before Fatty, he could not help but feel dumbfounded.

Fatty’s hand continued fiddling with it as his mouth revealed a smile. “Come, come, sit! Even if you want to meet the boss, you will still need to wait for the appropriate moment. Just now, I saw Old Qiao coming over. Every time they meet, they’ll end up arguing for hours. You’ll have to wait! Might as well sit here and play with me! Come, sit!”

Chen Xiaolian was pulled by him and his body involuntarily plopped down beside Fatty.

As for Fatty, he simply picked up the device in his hand and pressed a few times. Then, the screen before them changed…

A cheerful and simplistic music filled the room and a little fellow appeared on the screen.

The little fellow ran and jumped. When he struck a flashing box above him, a gold coin popped out.

The little fellow ran and jumped. When he struck a box with a question mark on it, a mushroom popped out.

The little fellow ate the mushroom and grew bigger…

Chen Xiaolian’s eyes nearly popped out of his eyes!

Am I bloody dreaming right now?!

Such a high-tech place! Such a science fictional place!

Someone here would still play this game?

He observed as Fatty clumsily held onto the controller with a cheerful look on his face…

After holding himself back for a whole minute, Chen Xiaolian was finally unable to hold back any longer. He whispered, “I say, brother. Are you messing with me on purpose?”

Fatty who was concentrating on the game pulled himself back and turned his head. “What?”

“Are you messing with me?”

Fatty froze up. Next, his face twisted! He quickly jumped up, put down the controller and stuffed the gaming device under the couch. After that, he clapped his hands and the large screen before them instantly blacked out.

“Quick! Someone’s coming!”

Fatty grabbed Chen Xiaolian, jumped up and rushed to the door. However, his face quickly turned even more anxious and he said, “Not good! There’s not enough time!”

He dragged Chen Xiaolian with him as he turned around and ran back a little. Seeing another door inside the room, he rushed inside with Chen Xiaolian in tow.

Chen Xiaolian was completely at the mercy of this fellow. He was unable to stop himself from uttering, “You…”

“Shh!” Fatty used his hand to clamp Chen Xiaolian’s mouth before whispering into his ear. “Don’t make any noise! I’m still being grounded! If the boss finds out that I’ve snuck away to play games inside his room, I’ll get a beating! Please don’t make any noise. Let’s hide here for a while.”

It was then that a sound came from beyond the door.

Fatty’s face changed and he turned to look at Chen Xiaolian. “Why aren’t you hiding?”

“What do you mean by hide?”

“… aiyah!” Fatty uttered in frustration and suddenly reached out with his hand. A device appeared on Chen Xiaolian’s palm, round in shape like a button.

Before Chen Xiaolian could say anything, he suddenly noticed a translucent light shining out from his palm. The light then formed a thin transparent cocoon.

Fatty’s voice came from beside him. “Don’t be afraid. This is my concealing equipment. The boss is very powerful. Even if we hide here, he would still be able to hear your heartbeat. Using this device, he will not be able to sense us. I personally made this device that can block the transmission of sound. However, it can still receive it. Amazing, isn’t it?”

Chen Xiaolian could not help but swallow his saliva.

It was at that moment that voices could be heard from beyond the door.

“Bluesea, if you insist on doing this, then Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild’s blood will truly be spilt!”

It was an unfamiliar voice, one that was hoarse, full of vigour and with a faint sense of majesty.

“Humph! Do you take us Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild to be cowards!”

Qiao Yifeng's voice was heard.

Qiao Yifeng sounded very emotional as he continued, “If we have to fight then we’ll fight! We, Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild may have lost our Guild Leader, but we still have our bones! Bluesea’s decision is my decision and our entire guild’s decision!”

The unfamiliar voice snorted. “Qiao Yifeng, if not for the fact that you were one of the founders of Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild, your present status would not make you eligible to even talk to me! Fight? At your present state, can you still fight? What a joke!”

After pausing, the unfamiliar voice continued, “Bluesea, you are the one with the best mind in Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild. I won’t believe that you are the one who came up with this decision! Blood Verdict?

“You really want a Blood Verdict?

“Are you hoping to buy time? Humph! Don’t think I don’t understand what you are up to! Blood Verdict can take between one month to one year. You want to use Blood Verdict to buy time?

“Are you still dreaming? Dreaming a beautiful dream!

“You think that Guild Leader of yours will descend from the sky and return all of a sudden?

“Don’t be naïve! He had disappeared for years now! You think that by delaying for one year, he would suddenly return?

“By then, your Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild members would be utterly killed! Are you not going to regret it?

“You want to use blood and lives to exchange for time? But that is a gamble! Additionally, it is a hopeless gamble!

“Bluesea, you and I have known each other for decades. The reason I came here today is not to quarrel with you.

“My Guild Leader asked me to persuade you. He has his own intentions for doing so, but I… at the end of the day, I do not wish to see the one person I view as a friend in Zero City to die just like that!”

There was a moment of silence.

A very gentle voice spoke up.

“Your Excellency, Angel Wu, I am very grateful for your arrival. However, I have to tell you… Blood Verdict is not a reckless decision made by my fellow brothers. Truth be told… the one who wanted to request for Blood Verdict was none other than me. It was only then did the others in the guild came to an agreement to do so.”

“What? You are the one who wanted it?”

Chen Xiaolian’s heart skipped a beat.

That gentle sounding voice was likely the one known as Bluesea.

Bluesea’s voice sounded out again.

“Brother Yifeng’s words are not wrong. We, Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild may have lost our Guild Leader, but the bones are still there. If anyone wants to take something from us, they’ll have to pay the price.”

Those words were spoken in a cool manner. However, it contained a firm sense of absolution!

The one with the majestic voice was silent for a moment before finally sighing.

“Fine! If you want to go crazy, then go crazy! I’ve tried my best. Now… it’s all in your hands! Since I cannot dissuade you, then… Bluesea, listen up. The Angel Corps have accepted the request from the Board of Patriarchs. As the arbiters of this Blood Verdict, what I am going to say next are not the words from a friend, but the official statement from a member of the Angel Corps.

“Our Guild Leader has decided to accept your request for Blood Verdict. The first Blood Verdict is set to take place in six days’ time.

“Your Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild must, within three days’ time submit a list of three names for the first Blood Verdict. Furthermore, you must also submit the list containing all of your business stakes and we will proceed with the evaluation.

“Once the list had been agreed upon, it cannot be changed! If something happens to the person on the list and that person cannot step forward, it will be considered your loss.

“Remember, three days’ time! In three days, submit the list containing the names of the three people that will be participating in the first Blood Verdict.”

Bluesea replied in a calm voice, a terrifyingly calm voice. He slowly said…

“Is there a need for three days? I’ll tell you now, for the first Blood Verdict, I will personally step forward!”

“You’ll be personally going in to fight for the first round? It seems you people really do intend to fight your way out! Very well! You’ll be the first to step forward. Then, what about the other two?”

Bluesea suddenly laughed and said loudly, “Is there a need for two other people? For the first Blood Verdict, I will fight all three rounds! If I cannot win three consecutive times, then consider it our loss!”

Bluesea. Raw: ‘蓝海’, pinyin: ‘lán hǎi’.

1 Chen Xiaolian’s ‘xiǎo liàn’ roughly translates to ‘small training’, but once again, he is using ‘xiǎo liǎn’ which means ‘small face’.↩