Beginning with the Ubume Bird - Chapter 137

Chapter 137: Chapter 36: Turbulent Undercurrents!

The sea of clouds churned.

The steep lone cliff pierced the setting sun.

The pointed leaves of the coconut trees glistened, reflecting the blood-red sunset on the woman’s sunglasses.

She leaned against the brown trunk, an ice bucket standing by her feet, her right hand extended out to the pale golden sky.

The wind whistling, a ten-meter-long Texas Pterosaur swooped across the sky.

Its muscular, turquoise wing membrane surged towards the woman.

The pterosaur bared its dense, sharp teeth.

The woman reached into the ice bucket.

The waves brought on by the creature’s wings sent the woman’s wavy hair flying backward.

The pterosaur clutched the fresh meat it snatched from the ice bucket and flapped away.

Cool droplets of water trickled down the woman’s pristine, slender hands as the phone by her ear transmitted a man’s voice.

“Understood, understood.”

The woman hung up the phone, her narrow eyes narrowing further.

“These newbies nowadays sure have some nerve,”

Her fingers danced rapidly, lighting up the screen, another number dialed.

“Hello?”

“Peacock, where are you?”

The woman inquired.

From the other end of the phone, a sweet female voice responded:

“Si? The door thing you asked me about, I’ve done it, is there anything else? Don’t worry, I know the rules, I don’t know anything, and I won’t ask anything.”

The background on the other end of the call was bustling, filled with various game sound effects and the sounds of the crowd’s admiration, intermittently coming through.

Occasionally, one could hear indecipherable chatter like “Howl oil follow” or “Ah! Winnie Ani Mow.”

“Peacock, there’s a postman named Ren Ni, check who his line manager is.”

The woman instructed.

“Oh, it’s ‘Shebi’, right? Should be correct.”

The girl’s voice, mixed with the sounds of keystrokes and joystick movements, answered from the other end.

“Notify Shebi that this newbie is quite impolite. After he returns from his mission, throw him into those waste grounds at Tinghai Axis. Tell him if he can’t correct the habit of peeing while on the phone, then he can cut it off and come back.”

“No problem, no problem.”

Peacock agreed absentmindedly.

The woman was about to hang up when Peacock suddenly made a sound of realization.

“You said, Ren Ni?”

“What about him?”

“He’s right next to me.”

The woman was stunned, “What did you say?”

“Wait a moment, hey, Salted Fish, stop messing around, you’re about to be blacklisted by the higher-ups!”

The game sounds ceased, followed by the noise of objects being knocked over,

“Hello~ hello~ cough cough, is this the boss?”

The woman recognized this voice she had just heard…

“I, I am Ren Ni, may I know your orders?”

In a lively arcade, a young man clad in a suit, his eyes bleary, scratching his head, his visage that of Ren Ni’s!

“…”

“Hello?”

“Where are you now?”

“I, I am in Tokyo.”

“Come back to Yan Fu immediately, I want to see you. Give the phone to Peacock!”

The woman shouted, her fingers creaking as she squeezed the phone.

“Hello, Si, what’s going on?”

“Check! Divine Jiazi Nine Hundred and Eighty-Four, all Yan Fu transit records. And…”

The woman’s voice dropped lower.

“Don’t tell the Feather Lord yet.”

…

“Shall we talk?”

Li Yan looked Cha Xiaodao up and down a few times but did not speak.

“Eh, you’re hurt?”

Cha Xiaodao tilted his chin down and dangled his gaze at Li Yan.

“How did you find me?”

Cha Xiaodao extended a finger, and a golden oil line stretched from his finger to Li Yan’s arm.

Culinary Skill: Sugar Pulling

Li Yan reached out to grab it, but his hand touched nothing.

Cha Xiaodao flicked his finger, and the golden sugar thread snapped. He spread his hands towards Li Yan to show he had no ill intentions.

“Talk about what?”

Cha Xiaodao produced a cigarette and tossed it to Li Yan.

Li Yan caught it without looking, just staring at Cha Xiaodao.

Cha Xiaodao exhaled two streams of white smoke from his nostrils. Slowly, he began to speak:

“Pei Yunhu’s group, I’ve heard of them. Now that you’ve gotten on their bad side, you’ve become a target for everyone. I admit you are strong, but that doesn’t make it easy to bear the hits, right?”

Li Yan gave a wry smile, “So, I think there’s nothing to talk about. Who knows if you might suddenly stab me with a knife.”

“Do you know about the Comrades?”

Cha Xiaodao’s tone carried a hint of smugness.

Li Yan made an interested expression but said little else.

Cha Xiaodao spoke leisurely, “After experiencing numerous Yan Fu incidents, one naturally makes friends with those of like mind. After cooperating happily once or twice, the idea of forming a team naturally arises.”

“Just spend three hundred points at a personal auction, and you can designate a walker. Form a temporary alliance for three incidents. Low-level walkers mostly group up this way. That is to say, as long as you have one Ten Cities-level walker, you can form a temporary team.”

“However, this kind of teamwork isn’t safe. Yan Fu would allow you to enter the same incident and won’t put you in opposing camps, but there is still no guarantee between each other.”

“Even without gaining anything from killing each other, for high-quality anomalies, more Yan Fu points, or a higher purchasing credit rating, unless the relationship is intimate, or they are lovers or brothers in real life, there will always be reasons, somehow, that cause the team to fall apart.”

“But Comrades are different!”

Cha Xiaodao’s lips curled into a smirk.

“Absolute trust between each other, shared incidents and rewards, and comprehensive physical enhancements.”

“Most importantly, Comrades, when facing a survival-type Yan Fu incident, do not distinguish between each other. Even if the description specifies to kill until the last person, as long as the remaining people are Comrades, the incident will be recognized as completed!”

“Comrades, can be trusted.”

In Cha Xiaodao’s hand, he pinched a pale yellow card.

Worn Brotherhood Seal

Quality: Worn

Category: Consumable

After use, you can form the Comrades relationship for one Yan Fu incident, limited to two people.

Note: When two hearts are as one, they can cut through metal; words of a like mind smell as sweet as orchids.

“How about it? It could solve your urgent problem.”

Li Yan fell silent, as if considering something, and it was a while before he spoke.

“Then, what do I need to do for you to be willing to form Comrades with me?”

“First, this thing is also precious to me, so I want you to pay me a thousand Yan Fu points. After notarization, you can give it to me after we return.”

“First? So there’s a second?”

Li Yan’s smile grew wider.

“Second, I’m about to break through my first Inheritance Peak, but I’m not quite satisfied with my specialization. 8 buildings in Yan Capital are critical for my breakthrough; I need your help with that.”

Li Yan’s smile deepened, and he gave Cha Xiaodao a look as if to say, keep talking, I’m very interested.

“Lastly, in the upcoming incident, I take the lead, and you must listen to me.”

Li Yan nodded continuously and offhandedly asked,

“Suppose, just suppose, I agree to your terms. Then what’s your plan for action?”

“Is that even a question?”

Cha Xiaodao held only the butt of the cigarette in his hand. He took a couple of strong drags, his face telling a story: “Obviously, to hide away.”