Chapter 233 A Deal (Part 2)

Fleeting Time shrugged, and returned to his original position, “I thought that you picked that spot at random… I’ve never actually expected that you’d be thinking so many steps ahead…”

“Well, it depends on who I am with at the moment.” Ye Ci sheathed her sword.

The smile remained on Fleeting Time’s face as he stared at Gongzi You.

The atmosphere slowly quieted down, and the two eventually drifted into sleep. There was not a single ounce of noise other than the occasional crackling of the bonfire. The storm raged on, but the cave was filled with warmth.

Ye Ci awakened to the sounds of incoming footsteps after an untold moment of time. She opened her eyes and glanced at Fleeting Time, who was still leaning lazily with his eyes closed, as if he was fast asleep. She then shifted her gaze to the mouth of the cave.

The visibility in the Bloody Wilderness was low due to the storm. Ye Ci could see an approaching silhouette through the raging rain.

Is it Absalom? Or is it somebody else?

“The person you want to see is here?” sighed Fleeting Time. It was as if he could see what was going on in Ye Ci’s mind.

Ye Ci remained silent as she stared at Fleeting Time.

Absalom’s footsteps drew closer, and he finally rushed into the cave.

As a character with cloth armor, Absalom suffered from all sorts of misery before he finally made his way into the cave. The man was drenched from head to toe, and his hair was completely disheveled. Water was dripping from Absalom as he stood in the cave.

No matter who he was, Absalom looked like a sorry figure.

“What the f*ck is wrong with this weather? Fleeting Time, don’t you know that a bad weather like this is not favourable for travel?” was the first thing he said when he entered the cave.

Fleeting Time narrowed his eyes at Absalom. He nodded with satisfaction after studying the appearance of Absalom, “Not bad. It’s slightly worse that what I expected.”

“Heh, you asshole…” before Absalom could finish his sentence, his eyes caught the form of a girl sitting in front of him.

Judging from the appearance of her character, the girl was no older than 20 years old. Her silvery long hair, pointed ears, amber eyes, and pale white skin gave her the appearance of a standard Elf. Despite her race, the girl retained an average look. However, the girl was surrounded by a brilliant aura that made her average-looking form intimidating. Her amber eyes were like two pools of water frozen by eyes, not showing fear nor interest.

Absalom could see the red glow surrounding the girl, an indicator that she was from a hostile continent. Even then, he could not detect even a hint of killing intent from the girl. She was giving off an air of calmness and serenity. With Fleeting Time showing no intention of introducing him to the girl, and the girl looking at him up and down, Absalom was slightly embarrassed. But as a born socializer, Absalom was unfazed. He took a seat and smiled at the girl, exposing his snow white teeth.

“Hello, I’m Absalom.”

Ye Ci stared at Absalom’s extended hand for a brief moment before shaking his hand lightly and spoke in a calm voice, “Gongzi You.”

“I’ve heard a lot about you.” Absalom inched closer to the bonfire and began drying his clothes. Fortunately for the man, players were not required to remove to their clothing to dry their clothes, “Are you here for sightseeing? If you are, I can arrange for a tour guide to show you around. I have to fulfill my responsibility as the host, you know?”

Ye Ci paid no heed to Absalom’s words, and responded with a smile. She was not a person with patience for superfluous words. “How many Mithril ores does Genesis have?” asked Ye Ci in a soft voice.

Absalom did not expect the straightforwardness from Ye Ci. He pursed his lips, and answered her question indirectly, “Oh, I have a bad memory. I’ll have to have a look at the guild warehouse when I get back.”

Ye Ci knew that Absalom would never expose such a vital information. Even if he might not have knowledge about the impact of Mithril to the game, there was no way the leader of the guild would offer up information about his guild to an outsider from a hostile continent. “Upwards Ho! has less than 10 pieces of Mithril. I think a million-player guild like Genesis will have at least dozens of them. But… I’m sure you won’t have more than 100 pieces of those ores.”

She’s not far off the mark. Despite his surprise, Absalom was able to maintain a neutral expression, "Ahh.. I’ve forgot… Gongzi You is the Vice Leader of Upwards Ho!.” he said with a smile, “Aren’t you afraid that I’ll expose your secret?”

“That’s right, Little Gongzi. Absalom is an absolute loudmouth. He’s like a walking news channel. Whatever you say to him will be known to everybody.”

Ye Ci leaned forward and said with a smile, “I did it… Because I’m sure that you wouldn’t dare to tell another living soul about this.” confidence was written all over her face.

“Hah!” Absalom sneered coldly, is this girl crazy? What gave her the courage to act so arrogantly in front of me?, “Heh, Upwards Ho! is just a small, insignificant guild. What makes you think that I’m afraid of you?”

The response by Absalom was something that Ye Ci had expected. She paid no no heed to the provocation, and spoke up slowly, “What if I tell you that I have control over a Mithril ore vein?”

The smile immediately vanished from Absalom’s face. Try as he might to remain calm, Ye Ci could see the surprise in his eyes. Even Fleeting Time was beginning to take Gongzi You seriously. He stared at the girl, and narrowed his eyes, just how many secrets is she keeping?

“Do you think I’ll believe that?”

“It doesn’t matter.” Ye Ci raised her eyebrows, “Just imagine the possibilities… With the Mithril ore vein in our hands… We might be able to take Light Saint City in the near future.”

“Bah! Nonsense! So what if you have a Mithril ore vein? Do you think that we the Western Continent players are pushovers…”

Ye Ci spoke up before Absalom could finish his sentence, “Even without that shirt of yours?”

Absalom was stunned into silence. He had always thought that Gongzi You was just a naive little girl who was good in PVP and slightly arrogant due to her youth. He realised that he was wrong. She was, in truth, cunning and intelligent. So that was why she was staring at me when I first entered this cave.

This girl… Is someone who is hard to deal with…

Ye Ci then spoke in a soft voice, “Of course, I don’t have the capabilities to arm the entire Eastern Continent with the resources mined from my ore vein. So you’re actually right. The Eastern Continent still has a long way to go before we can invade the Light Saint City. We won’t have the strength to launch an invasion in the near future.” a bone-chilling smile then appeared on Ye Ci’s face, “But… I know a secret.”

Absalom was in a dilemma. He would fall for Gongzi You’s trap if he inquired about the secret, but he was curious about Ye Ci’s true intention at the same time.

“What sort of secret are you talking about?”

Ye Ci spoke in an even softer voice, “The Mithril ore vein in the Western Continent… I know where it is.”

Absalom’s heart clenched when. He found it hard to breath, and his face was a dark shade of red. It was apparent that he was deep in shock. Absalom took in a deep breath and cast a glance at Fleeting Time, but the man remained unfazed by Ye Ci’s words.

Absalom took in a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself down, “D-do you t-think that I’ll believe what you said? I can say the same thing as well!”

“You have the choice to doubt my words. But how do you think Golden Era will handle this news?”

“You’re threatening me.” Absalom glared at the girl in front of him.

“Indeed, I am.” Ye Ci was not even courteous with her reply. She knew that Upwards Ho! was not the only guild that would be affected by the arrival of Golden Era. It would have a more profound effect on a major guild like Genesis. A tall tree attracts the wind. Genesis was a large guild, and it was impossible for Golden Era to take them on right after they entered the game. However… Absalom knew that if Golden Era set its sights on Genesis, his guild would be in deep trouble nonetheless.

If Gongzi You is telling the truth.. If there’s also a Mithril ore vein in the Western Continent… If I’m able to control that ore vein… Doesn’t it mean that I’ll have an edge against Golden Era?

But… Why is Gongzi You telling me all that?

“So you’re here in the Western Continent to look for the ore vein?” Absalom found that he was not able to read Gongzi You’s intention. He was wary of how cunning she could actually be.

“Do you think that I’m dumb? Why would I come here alone to look for an ore vein? Even if I can find the ore vein, how do you expect me to mine the Mithril? Even if I somehow managed to do it, how am I going to transport them back?” Ye Ci rolled her eyes at Absalom’s question.

Fleeting Time, who was silent throughout the conversion, spoke up “Come on, Little Gongzi. Stop beating around the bush… Tell us what you’re really up to.” Absalom could see the gleeful smile on Fleeting Time’s face, and the burning passion in his eyes that he had never seen before.

“Let’s make a deal.” Ye Ci turned around to face Fleeting Time, but her words were meant for Absalom. A bright and beautiful smile lit up her face.

“What sort of deal?”

“What do you think of forming an alliance after Golden Era enters the game?” said Ye Ci with a smile, and a captivating confidence in her expression, “We’ll sign the agreement at the Middle Continent. I’ll wait for you people there. And as a show of good faith, I will tell you the location of the Mithril ore vein in the Western Continent.”

Even when Absalom knew that Gongzi You would never answer his question, he could not hold back his urge to ask out loud, “How do you know about the ore vein’s location?”

“It has nothing to do with you. You’re only here to make a choice. You can agree to an alliance, or you can reject my proposal. I’m fine with whatever choice you make.”

Absalom remained silent for a long moment before finally letting out a long breath, “Gongzi You, why are you forming an alliance with us? We’re not even from the same continent. If I’m not mistaken, you have a rather good relationship with Wolf Pack. Why don’t you talk to Sir Ditty instead?”

“That is exactly why I did not approach them. Besides, even if we’re allies with Wolf Pack, we’ll still be expending our own resources and existing manpower. But you.. You can grant us access to the resources available in the Western Continent. This means that we’ll have more manpower…” and the smile disappeared from Ye Ci’s face, “Which grants us more strength in our fight against Golden Era.”

Ye Ci was sincere when she offered her logical answer, and Absalom knew that he would make the same choice if he was in her position, “Do you have something against Golden Era?”

“Nope.”

“Then why are you…”

“We all know why Golden Era is coming to Fate.” Ye Ci sighed, “To be frank with you, I’m a professional player, and I’ve invested everything I have into this game.Golden Era is here to bring Fate down. Even if Upwards Ho! is a small guild, do you think that we won’t be affected by their actions? If Golden Era have their way, my efforts will be in vain. This is something I want to avoid. And since I happen to know the secret about the Mithril ore vein, I’m going to put it to good use. I plan to control those ore veins before the arrival of Golden Era. If we’re able to contain their influence and buy enough time, I’m sure the Glory Corporation will think of something to put a stop to the fiasco. This is why I’m looking for you.”

“So you’re dragging us onto the same boat for your own survival?” Absalom laughed. This girl is not as simple as I think she is, “I’m impressed.”

“Are you not interested? Let me tell you something, Absalom. A deal can only be made when both parties involved can gain something out of it. If it benefits only me, there’s no way you’ll agree to it. You’re not an idiot.” Ye Ci narrowed her eyes. She knew that she was very close in successfully persuading the man.

A bright grin appeared on Fleeting Time’s face as he stared at Ye Ci.

This girl… She’s exactly the type of girl I like..

Hiya minna-san! Here's another awesome chapter of the awesomesauce novel translated by an awesomtacular translator(which is me, by the way!). Hope you guys enjoyed!!!

How's everybody doing? I hope everybody is well and all! I'm enjoying life, looking forward to Christmas, and looking forward to Babylonia singularity in FGO NA...

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