Chapter 1017
Chapter 1017 - 103
1,479 words
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8 min read
Encountering old friends in a foreign land always brings joy.
At least Lu Ping’an was quite happy, while Wang Hai clearly had mixed feelings.
"...this year, I felt I had made enough progress."
They found a private room, ordered some drinks and dishes, and began to catch up.
Wang Hai still abstained from alcohol, as he needed to control the "Asura War Ghost" within himself to avoid harming others or himself.
In fact, it was the middle-aged man who should be thanked for stopping the fight, not Lu Ping’an.
Had Wang Hai been pushed to a dead end, the likely outcome would have been mutual destruction... Wang Hai’s War Ghost would kill the other party, while the frenzied War Ghost would wreak havoc on the ship, be beaten to death by a mob, or be slain with a single blow by a big boss.
"Indeed, I almost didn’t recognize you; your combat power is now on a completely different level," Lu Ping’an initially hadn’t realized it.
It wasn’t until Wang Hai prepared to fight to the death and undergo evident Ghost Transformation that Lu Ping’an recognized him from the familiar Qi.
In a sense, Wang Hai was treated the same as Lu Ping’an, both being holders of "extremely dangerous Talent Abilities."
The progress of such beings is illogical, their overpowering Talent Abilities constantly forcing the potential of the bearer... either they succeed, or they die trying.
Back then, Wang Hai himself had said that his personal strength was on the weaker side among third-tier Fighters, but considering his age, it was already quite remarkable... He needed to use the abilities of an Awakener and the Fighter series to bind and suppress the inner War Ghost to prevent a complete loss of control, and he couldn’t stop.
Therefore, even though he was admitted to Ancient City University, he spent most of his time outside, enduring harsh training.
The Fighting Series required real battles, life-and-death experiences, and tough training for improvement, while the Awakener needed life experiences and life-and-death epiphanies to temper, neither of which could be obtained by staying within the safe confines of a campus.
Through torture and tough training, in just one year, he went from the lower ranks of third-tier to actual fourth-tier combat power, which was already quite a terrifying improvement.
Considering he chose the hardest "Basic Stream" and simultaneously cultivated the strenuous path of an Awakener series martial monk, his limits and potential were quite frightening.
It’s just that this path had no shortcuts... God knows how many times he had endured the agonies of life and death for such progress.
Just now, despite being in a difficult situation, he remained calm, clearly now a seasoned warrior who had been through numerous battles.
Yet such a man, originally proud of his efforts and gains, still felt somewhat overwhelmed when he saw Lu Ping’an...
"I thought I was among the fastest of our batch."
"Uh, right, in our term, you were among the fastest batch. But I might be the fastest one... you know, our abilities are the kind where if you don’t progress, you’re done for. Who knows, I might completely crash one day."
Looking back, in fact, Lu Ping’an had always had a noose around his neck.
If he couldn’t advance quickly, couldn’t find new ways to develop, use, and acquire Life-points, running out of Life-points was just a matter of time...
"...heh, this is also why lives like ours tend to be more splendid."
High-risk Talent Abilities push those lucky/unlucky ones to constantly race against time.
If you run too slow, or just give up and don’t want to run, it’s not a matter of self-destruction; your Watcher or guardian will come to execute you early... This is actually written into the "rules" of the surveillance system.
After chatting briefly, Lu Ping’an also learned about Wang Hai’s recent experiences.
There’s not much to say, in a sense similar to his own, moving from one battlefield to another.
Such a way of survival, if one doesn’t die along the way, naturally leads to rapid progress.
In fact, Wang Hai’s progress was extremely dramatic—and that’s without comparing him to Lu Ping’an.
"Collaborate?" At this moment, after pondering for a while, Wang Hai, having determined his abilities were insufficient for the current battlefield, directly proposed a collaboration.
"Hmm, sure. What are the specifics?"
"None, we’ll adapt as things come. For us, Divine Grace should only be just icing on the cake."
"That’s right."
Although the conversation was simple, coming to an agreement brought some peace of mind to both.
As they talked, Lu Ping’an took out a contract. Wang Hai looked it over, saw nothing onerous, and signed it right away.
And so, the atmosphere became even more harmonious.
Being able to find a reliable and trustworthy collaborator on this occasion is undoubtedly a fortunate thing... The core content of cooperation has actually been exchanged in a simple conversation.
Now, most of the contestants are strangers, and it is possible that they will never meet in their lifetime... Then, they can ruthlessly make their move without hesitation, and there is mostly no need to worry about repercussions.
After all, even the illegal extent of the Secret Realm and Extraordinary Black Market in the past made Lu Ping’an marvel.
He has never casually chosen an ally because he does not trust anyone here.
The Divine Grace of the God of Martial Fight is valuable to most Fighters, and many people have already resorted to murder to obtain it.
But for the two people with clean identities and official backgrounds, it is just icing on the cake, a spoil of war... Having it is good of course, but it’s not worth crossing certain lines for it.
The situation is still unclear now, and specific details cannot be discussed yet. The two agreed on their contact method and the time to exchange information, and then they took their leave.
"I thought you would recruit him on the spot."
"No rush, let him draw some fire first... cough, we need an external, reliable ally."
Having encountered a good thing, Lu Ping’an naturally felt in a good mood.
Lu Ping’an, who had eaten his fill, had just returned to his room...
"... Where’s the cake, where’s the meal?"
As soon as Lu Ping’an entered, the pitiful little girl threw herself at his legs, her big watery eyes gazing up at him.
It was at this moment, belching contentedly, that he remembered what he had forgotten.
Looking at Qian Xiaomu’s tearful eyes, Lu Ping’an felt inexplicably guilty.
"... How about some snacks to hold you over for now?"
"They’ve all been eaten up by little girl!"
Lu Ping’an then noticed that Eve had vanished without a trace.
"Where’s the little girl?"
"Once the snacks were all gone, naturally she ran off! The heartless thing, she left me behind and went to find food on her own!"
This time, Lu Ping’an felt a subtle sense of relief alongside his awkwardness.
"Great... alright, I’ll take you out for a big meal. I’m not lying this time."
Truth be told, every time he was with Eve, in her disguise as the little girl, Lu Ping’an always felt somewhat ill at ease.
Being affected by emotional resonance was one thing, but on another level, it was the discomfort of a biological instinct sensing a threat.
"Among those individuals, Eve is one of the most dangerous..."
Being a potential "Warrior" does not mean she is on the side of justice. Instead, she only has the potential and capability to become a Savior Warrior, a kind of latent stock with boundless possibilities.
𝓯𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶
In one sentence, she was raised by the Big Cat... Grown up in the Mother Goddess cult, she couldn’t possibly have a normal set of values.
The more astonishing her potential, the stronger her distinct qualities, and the more terrible the consequences if she goes astray.
Lu Ping’an vaguely sensed, apart from things he was interested in, she had a dismissive attitude toward other life forms... It wasn’t the random killing spree of a maniac, but a kind of "indifference."
"Your life, your death, what does it have to do with me?"
With such an attitude, she probably had no sense of kinship at all... She was a potential mass murderer.
"Hopefully, she can take more interest in other things."
But some things aren’t shifted by personal thoughts.
Little girl... It wasn’t even twenty minutes after Eve left Lu Ping’an’s room that something happened.
To be precise, something happened to the person she encountered.
— End of Chapter 1017 —