Chapter 493: Befriend

Together with Bluesea, Chen Xiaolian left the Board of Patriarchs’ building. However, he did not follow Bluesea to Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild’s headquarters, the hive like building. Clearly, Bluesea was not lying when he said he did not want people to know that Chen Xiaolian had come to Zero City.

After sending Chen Xiaolian into a hotel established by one of the resident guilds, Bluesea left.

Before leaving, Bluesea informed Chen Xiaolian that he should rest for the night and that he would bring him to visit the other parts of Zero City tomorrow.

After entering his room, Chen Xiaolian cautiously chose not to take too much action. He simply ate some food and rested himself on the bed.

He was unable to completely trust Bluesea – although Bluesea appeared to be very sincere, the secret that he was holding was too big. The forces that might be interested in it were too big. Thus, Chen Xiaolian would not completely trust Bluesea simply due to the way he treated him.

This was Zero City and Bluesea was the Guild Leader of Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild.

Although this hotel belonged to another resident guild, Chen Xiaolian could not be certain that Bluesea had not done anything to this place.

Chen Xiaolian recalled today’s experience of going underground the Board of Patriarchs’ building to see Zero City’s main control system. Bluesea’s behaviour… … although he seemed normal, Chen Xiaolian kept getting a hint of something wrong.

The reason for that feeling… Chen Xiaolian felt that the way Bluesea was treating him was…

Too good!

Too sincere, too kind, too… … frank.

In this world, there was no such thing as a baseless love, nor was there such a thing as a baseless grudge.

Although the matter of Blood Verdict was the foundation of their relationship and he had done Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild a favour, that was something Skyblade did. Skyblade had simply borrowed Chen Xiaolian’s hand to do so. Chen Xiaolian was not naïve enough to think that the favour was really in his name.

…

Bluesea sighed. He stood beside the window in his room. Beyond the top-to-bottom window was the blue sky, white clouds, sea, beach… …  the colourful clouds in the sky and the winds blowing in through the window appeared natural.

Yet, Bluesea’s brows were knitted.

Because he knew that all of those were fake.

The window was fake. It was just a highly powerful system holographic projection. This fake item was good enough to pass as the genuine article… even the faint scent of beach entering his nose felt real… however, no matter how real it felt, it was nothing more than the natural breeze simulated out by this hive like building’s main control system.

By standing there, it seemed as though he was facing the sea. However, just by reaching out with his hand, this illusion would be broken.

Perhaps, if someone else were standing here, that person would marvel at this magical technology.

But not Bluesea.

Every time he stood here, he would feel a deep sadness within his heart.

The fake can never be real.

No matter how beautiful this illusion was, it was no more than a mirage. One that would be broken by raising his hand forward.

“No matter how beautiful it is, it is nothing more than a cage,” Bluesea muttered to himself.

He turned around and walked to his table. When he sat down, the young man known as Guan Shan, who knew him well, quickly poured him a cup of coffee. He placed the cup of coffee before Bluesea.

Bluesea picked up the cup and took a small sip. It tasted genuine. If a coffee aficionado were to sip it just now, that person would certainly recognize this as a genuine Cuban Cubita coffee.

However, it was not.

Despite how genuine it felt, Bluesea knew that this was simply Zero City utilizing its illusionary simulator device to create an illusory world of Cuba’s coffee plantation to create this product.

The taste was infinitely close to the real deal, the legendary and one-of-a-kind Caribbean coffee.

However, a fake remained a fake.

Guan Shan heard Bluesea’s mumbling about ‘prison cage’. However, his face remained unchanging, not showing any change in expression at all.

After drinking some more of the coffee, Bluesea put down the cup and pointed at the sofa before him. “Sit down.”

Guan Shan sat down. The way he sat… … how should it be described. It was neither too stiff nor too lax. It was a truly strange way of sitting. It appeared as though his entire body was relaxed. And yet, it also appeared that he was ready to jump into battle at any moment.

“Let us talk about this fellow. What is your opinion on him after meeting him?” Bluesea rapped his finger on the surface of his table.

Guan Shan thought about the question for a moment before slowly answering, “Cautious, distrustful.”

“Mm.” Bluesea nodded. “He is cautious because he is holding onto a very big secret. As for him being distrustful… what is your opinion on that?”

“Normal.” Guan Shan’s reply was brief. “If I were him, if I were to holding on to a big secret, I too, would not trust others easily.”

“Mm.” Bluesea’s reaction was indecipherable. Suddenly, he said, “Continue.”

He did not explain what he meant by “continue”. However, Guan Shan did not appear shocked nor did he appear troubled by the question. He simply considered for a moment and said, “Don’t do anything.”

Hearing that, Bluesea narrowed his eyes. A look of surprise flashed across his eyes. “Oh?”

“He is being cautious. Perhaps he is fearful that someone would harm him or that someone would plot against him. Thus, we might as well do nothing. Allow him to relax and build up his trust toward us.”

“Should we investigate him properly? He is now inside Zero City. This is our home.” Bluesea gave a faint smile.

Guan Shan shook his head. “Not advisable. For a cautious person, any sign of trouble would rouse his suspicion. No matter how perfect our plan may be, the moment he discovers even a hint of abnormality, even without any evidence to point it at us, he would naturally associate the matter with us – this matter simply does not require evidence. Any problems would cause him to be on guard.”

After saying that, Guan Shan smiled. “I heard you talk about this story before. If you want someone to take off his clothes, sending a strong wind his way would only make the person tighten his clothes around him. Might as well bring the sun out and let that person loosen his grip on his clothes.”

Bluesea revealed a satisfied look.

“Skyblade spent his entire life finding a way to break out of this prison. Maybe he found it or maybe he did not. At present however, it is clear that this Chen Xiaolian is hiding something. Additionally, there is the fact that Skyblade chose him before his death… perhaps…” Bluesea shook his head. “Perhaps the way to break out from this prison is on him.”

“Yes,” Guan Shan spoke calmly. “If Chen Xiaolian is a boat that can reach the other side, there is no need for us to overbearingly seize control of the boat. We just need to befriend him and gain his trust. Then, find out when this boat is setting sail, get on it and reach the other side… … our objective is to cross the river, not to seize the boat.”

Bluesea looked at Guan Shan once more.

This time, he was silent for a few seconds.

“How long have you been with me?”

“Seven years.” An abashed look appeared on Guan Shan’s face. “It will be seven years next month.”

Bluesea nodded and considered it. “All these years, I had you serving beside me. You probably felt sad. Your big brother serves Brother Qiao and could travel around all the time. It is quite an illustrious life. Even those who are in the same batch as you are now holding officer positions in the outer teams. Only you alone had to serve by my side. I think you would surely feel saddened by this.”

Guan Shan smiled wryly. There was a look of shame on his face. “My brother and my other companions from the same batch are all better than me. It is because my strength was lacking. That is why I can only follow you around and help with some errands.”

Bluesea looked at him. “Lack of strength could be overcome with training. Within this system, there are many ways to enhance your strength. You can use equipment and resources to get skills and War Pets. You can use serums… there are countless ways to go about it. It is not as if the guild cannot afford the price needed to get you up to [A] class. We are a resident guild. Additionally, your qualifications are not bad. You have always remained inconspicuous because… … I feel that you simply do not care about enhancing your strength.”

Guan Shan fell silent.

After a moment of silence, he raised his head and said, “Compared to running errands outside, I feel like I can learn more by serving beside you.”

“You have already learned a lot.” Bluesea smiled. He picked up his cup of coffee and took another sip.

After the pause, Bluesea turned to look at Guan Shan and said, “You are serving by my side and I consider you as my disciple. Naturally, I also understand the way you think. Next time, there is no need to posture in front of me. Don’t make that look of shame again.”

“Yes.” Guan Shan quickly stood up. There was an attentive look on his face. No longer was there the ‘look of embarrassment on a younger generation that was commended by an elder’ on his face.

Most importantly, although his act was seen through by Bluesea, there was no expression of awkwardness on him as well. Instead, he maintained a calm demeanour.

Bluesea smiled. “I have more or less finished polishing your character. Since your character and ability to see is already there, all that is lacking now is some vision. Let us do this then, I will give you this matter to handle. From this day onward, you can put aside the other matters on your hand. Instead, focus wholeheartedly on this one matter.”

“Yes.” Guan Shan replied steadily. “Your instructions?”

“Chen Xiaolian.” Bluesea took a deep breath. “Befriend him! Do your best to befriend him! When you can truly become good friends with him, then you would have accomplished what I want from you.”

Guan Shan pondered the command. “You mean you want me to befriend him? Then do I use some…”

“You can use some tactics to do so. However, don’t just rely on them.” Bluesea shook his head. “I want you to be his friend, not to curry favour with him nor be a fake friend. I want you to be his real friend. Only by being genuine, can you really gain his trust. Feelings are not something that can be faked.”

Guan Shan did his best to digest Bluesea’s words. Next, he nodded and his eyes lit up.

“I understand. I will become real friends with him!”

…

Chen Xiaolian was lying on the bed, resting. However, his mind was recalling everything he saw and felt during his visit to Zero City’s main control system.

He appeared to have fallen asleep, but was in fact very much awake.

As he was recalling the events of today for the umpteenth time… … suddenly, he received a strange prompt from his personal system.

In the past, whenever he received a prompt through his personal system, the prompt would be headed by the words ‘System prompt’.

This time however, the prompt was most peculiar.

[????: Incoming connection. Do you wish to accept? Yes/No.]

Chen Xiaolian’s eyes abruptly snapped open and he sat up on the bed.

…