Life Game In Other World
Chapter 276: Copy World Character: Wilderness Wanderer (Two updates of 8000 Words, Please Favourite, Subscribe, and Vote)

Chapter 276: Chapter 276: Copy World Character: Wilderness Wanderer (Two updates of 8000 Words, Please Favourite, Subscribe, and Vote)

He Ao was in need of a translator, so he asked the Speech Master to translate what these pirates were muttering about.

After listening, the Speech Master looked at He Ao with a strange expression and said, "These pirates say that you are ’the incarnation of Nola’."

"What is Nola?"

He Ao was curious.

"Nola is the god of the sea, storms, and thunder in Alano’s legends, the chief deity in Alano’s primal myths.

It’s said that Nola incarnates as a human in Alano every so often, calming the oceans and letting fishermen return with full loads. The name Alano itself comes from this legend, meaning ’The land protected by Nola’.

The old kings of Alano would claim to be incarnations of Nola."

After pondering for a bit and chatting with the nearby pirates, the Speech Master had a sudden realization and said to He Ao, "Balan always claimed to be Nola’s incarnation, and his formidable power convinced the pirates. Now that you’ve killed Balan, all the pirates think you’re more like the true incarnation of Nola, and moreover, that you’re genuine and Balan was a fake."

Martial civilizations that live on islands or peninsulas and rely on the sea for their livelihood typically fear storms and thunder the most; hence, in such civilizations’ primal myths, the sea god or thunder god is often one of the principal divine beings.

The sea god legend of Alano is also intertwined with feudal rule; the king is the sea god’s incarnation, combining divine and royal authority, a skill that ancient feudal rulers would often master instinctively.

Once he understood all this, He Ao sighed and then asked the Speech Master to inquire whether Balan had left any valuables on the ship.

Balan had set out light this time; valuable gold, silver, and jewelries were all stored in his nest. The coal ship was empty, and after a search by He Ao and the Speech Master, not even a single ordinary Transcendent artifact could be found.

After all, Balan had shallow roots and hardly had any opportunities to explore relics. He was genuinely poor. The only Transcendent item was the Pirate Treasure Box that He Ao was holding, which might be one of the reasons he even risked his life to rob the Research Institute.

Meanwhile, as He Ao, the Speech Master, and the pirates were talking, ’Hu Wen’ had already donned a diving suit and jumped into the sea, hunting larger fish to replenish his life while fleeing into the distance.

At this time, the Research Institute’s support ship finally arrived.

...

The night was both short and long.

The Research Institute’s support ship quickly treated the injured on the cruise ship and began the aftermath operations.

Soon, an emergency cruise ship set course for the pirate mother ship to rescue the hostages there.

Fortunately, as Balan needed to threaten Yang De, no hostages were hurt, but indeed, there were bombs on the mother ship. Although they had received safe confirmation about the bomb detonator from He Ao, Yang De still tried to arrange for people to board the mercenary speedboats on the cargo ship.

All the aftermath operations kept them busy until daylight the next day.

When the morning sun scattered its light across the smooth deck, He Ao delivered the little girl Nini to the temporary cruise ship, returning her to her parents.

"Goodbye, brothers and sisters, goodbye big brother!"

Nini leaned against her mother, waving goodbye to He Ao and the others.

Watching the cruise ship slowly sailing away, leaving a trail of white waves, the Speech Master sighed softly, "That’s nice."

"Yeah."

He Ao nodded slightly.

"By the way, Blockhead, why didn’t those three C-level Transcendents go up together?"

The Speech Master blinked her eyes, looking puzzled at He Ao.

He Ao glanced at her and then out at the limitless sea, "Bias"

Hu Wen and the psychologist, belonging to a large organization, fundamentally looked down on Balan, a pirate of humble origin. Even though they needed Balan’s collaboration, they only allowed Balan to provide personnel for menial tasks.

Rather than share the looted Transcendent artifacts with a pirate, Daybreak preferred to keep all the Transcendent artifacts for himself, at most giving out one or two pieces as a token to the pirates. They also were confident that Hu Wen and the psychologist alone could deal with Yang De.

Balan probably harbored some resentment towards this behavior in his heart.

However, this time, aside from Daybreak and Balan, a third party was involved in the incident. Although Hu Wen’s memories regarding this third party’s information were not obtained by He Ao, he had roughly guessed the identity of this third-party force.

The Tia Empire.

Now, the maritime domain they were in belonged to the Nolai Republic, which in a sense was also under the influence of the Tia Empire; even Balan’s coal-carrying ship flew the Tia Empire’s flag.

From some of the information in Hu Wen’s memory, the Transcendent organization of the Tia Empire was second only to the Research Institute, and they had a long-standing discord with the Institute, with friction between the two organizations being a longstanding issue.

It was with the backing of such a behemoth that Balan dared to launch an attack on the Research Institute without any worries about repercussions.

As He Ao was watching the sea, a figure stood behind him and spoke softly, "Talk?"

He Ao turned around and saw Yang De’s slightly smiling face.

He nodded and walked with Yang De to the other side of the ship’s rail.

The thick clouds had already dispersed, and the bright sunlight poured down.

"Those 25,500 points have already been credited to your account,"

Yang De remarked softly, looking at the tranquil sea.

"Mhm,"

He Ao nodded lightly, not saying much.

Yang De saw He Ao’s calm demeanor and knew he was waiting for him to make an offer,

"As for last night’s reward for protecting the cruise ship, what do you want? Transcendent items, money, or power?"

He Ao still did not speak.

"If you were in the overseas department, based on this merit and accomplishment, you would have enough to become the vice minister of the overseas department. You could command most of the powers of the Institute’s overseas institutions, and the benefits are substantial. You could use items from the Institute’s warehouse as needed for the missions.

Although you have not joined the overseas department, we can skip that step; you can come directly and be my deputy. Are you interested?"

Yang De turned around, lit a cigarette, and looked at He Ao.

This was power.

The power He Ao wanted.

With this position, he could legitimately invoke various reasons to mobilize the intelligence department of the Research Institute.

"Do I need to work regular hours and complete assigned tasks?"

He Ao asked softly.

"Of course,"

Yang De smiled.

"Then I’m not interested."

He Ao shrugged.

Although the position was good, he had to enter the Copy World periodically, uncertain of how long he might stay. If a crucial task were assigned in reality at the same time he entered the Copy World, it would be troublesome. He preferred more freedom and initiative.

"How about this," Yang De seemed to anticipate He Ao’s response and smiled, "I invite you to become the honorary vice minister of the overseas department. All benefits remain the same, but you do not have to work regular hours. If there is a task, I’ll contact you directly, and you can choose to accept or decline."

Under such terms, in theory, He Ao could refuse all tasks, effectively receiving a salary from the Research Institute for nothing, enjoying the Institute’s resources.

It seemed a bit too good.

"Is this an existing position within the Institute?"

He Ao looked at Yang De with curiosity.

"No," Yang De shook his head, "This was invented specifically for you. What do you think, are you interested?"

"May I know why?"

He Ao asked calmly.

"I’m getting old," Yang De said with a cigarette clutched between his lips, gazing out over the boundless sea as the sea breeze swept plumes of smoke and disheveled his hair, "so, I always want to foster some good karma."

He Ao fell silent for a moment before nodding lightly, "Sure."

The sea breeze stirred their clothes, creating a soft rustling sound.

"Speaking of which," Yang De suddenly remembered something, took out a letter from his bosom, and handed it to He Ao, "someone delivered this to the Research Institute this morning. It seems to come from the leader of the largest force in Alano, the Coastline Defense Force."

He Ao received the letter with some confusion; he had never had any contact with this leader.

The letter was in a stiff envelope; He Ao tore open the envelope, took out the letter inside, and unfolded it. The letter was very brief, written in neat Central Earth script, hard and forceful with sharp strokes,

[To the ’Mercenary’ Brother:

Last night as the winds arose, you boarded the enemy ship alone, sword in hand breaking through the invaders, with Qi that overshadowed mountains and rivers.

Such is the story of a hero, unparalleled.

In awe of your deeds, I wish to form a bond with you. Unaware of how to begin, I write this letter and entrust it to your hands.

If you are inclined in the future, upon your return, come and seek me out.

In my home, fine wine and clear tea are always ready to welcome a gentleman.]

To put it simply, this person wants to make friends with He Ao, suggesting that He Ao should look for him when he visits Alano next time.

However,

"Why does this person talk in such a roundabout way?"

He Ao looked at Yang De.

"I don’t know," Yang De shook his head too, "I’ve heard this leader is half of Central Earth descent, probably quite fond of Central Earth culture. But he is a very capable person, and now in good terms with the Research Institute. If you come to Alano again, you might want to pay him a visit. Maybe you can get some help."

"Hmm."

He Ao nodded slightly.

······

After discussing the welfare and benefits of Deputy Directors with Yang De, He Ao turned and went back to his cabin.

The appointment letter and contract for the Deputy Director would not be brought over until tomorrow.

He Ao closed the cabin door, set down his briefcase, and removed the three batteries from his Mecha. He then found some wires, fixed one end into the battery sockets, and secured the other end to the plugs, connecting the batteries to the power supply.

These high-performance batteries were capable of adapting to different voltages, so charging was not that complicated. Without a specialized plug, just connecting the wires and plugging into a standard power source was sufficient, though with lower voltage, current, and power, it would take a bit longer to charge.

After charging the batteries, He Ao took out the Pirate Treasure Box.

This box was indeed C-level; it was very useful for He Ao, but not much for Balan.

The reason was simple: the box was an auxiliary Transcendent item.

The box could contain up to five single items, each measuring no more than one cubic meter and capped at C-level. However, every time the box was to be opened, a Transcendent item had to be placed inside first in order to retrieve anything. If no Transcendent item was available, the box would absorb the user’s soul as the price for opening it.

Interestingly, the box had to be soul-bound to its owner, allowing the owner to sacrifice someone else’s soul as the price for opening it. After opening the box, the owner could then remove an item.

But if the owner wished to continue taking items out, they would have to keep putting items in. They could put one item in and take one out, but the number of times they could retrieve items was not cumulative. Once the box was closed, to open it again required a new item to be placed inside.

Aside from the owner, other people could also open the box. They would need to put a Transcendent item in as well, but they wouldn’t be able to take anything out. It would be tantamount to the box thieving the items. If individuals didn’t have a Transcendent item to offer, it would steal their soul instead.

However, the box could actually be manipulated by exploiting a loophole; if the owner possessed two Transcendent items, they could repeatedly alternate placing one in and taking one out.

Regrettably, Balan didn’t have a single Transcendent item, so all he could do was leave the box out as a trap to absorb souls. Once the Pirate Treasure Box recognized its owner, it formed a connection, allowing the owner to vaguely sense its location, making it less likely to be lost.

Of course, Balan did not locate the cruise ship thanks to the Pirate Treasure Box with He Ao.

Clearly, from the beginning, Balan had been trying to track the cruise ship’s location through the ship’s automatic identification system broadcast. After all, Balan had been following the cruise ship even before He Ao got the box.

The topic returned to the Pirate Treasure Chest, which would constantly try to entice others to open it, regardless of whether they were the owner or not.

However, after some thought, He Ao discovered another possible loophole in the chest.

He opened the chest, and as a condition for opening it, he put the Arbitration Scales, which were useless at the time, into it as a price.

Then he closed the chest.

After closing it, if one wanted to open it again, they would need to put a new item inside.

But this time He Ao didn’t open the chest; instead, he placed his hand on it and activated his Miracle Magic.

Retrieve objects from the air!

The Arbitration Scales instantly appeared in his hand.

Indeed, Retrieve objects from the air could directly remove items from the chest, although it consumed more energy.

Although the Pirate Treasure Chest contained a completely illogical vast space, it still was classified as a chest by Retrieve objects from the air, and anything that was a chest could be tried with Retrieve objects from the air to take items out.

However, activating Retrieve objects from the air had a prerequisite; He Ao had to know what was inside the chest and what it looked like in order to take the item out.

And at the moment He Ao retrieved the Arbitration Scales, he felt the Pirate Treasure Chest jolt as if it were angry.

Then He Ao took out the Miracle Wand and placed it beside the chest.

As a result, the Pirate Treasure Chest was only briefly angry before it couldn’t muster any more ire.

Next, He Ao placed the Arbitration Scales in front of the Pirate Treasure Chest, and without opening the chest, he used the ability of Retrieve objects from the air to put the Arbitration Scales back inside.

Before the Pirate Treasure Chest could react to the Transcendent item returning to its belly, He Ao took out the Arbitration Scales again.

And so it went, back and forth.

At first, the Pirate Treasure Chest tried to resist, carefully expressing its anger next to the Miracle Wand, but eventually, it just stopped moving.

After trying a few times and ensuring there were no problems, He Ao put the Arbitration Scales back into the chest.

Then he picked up the Puppet Crystal Ball, gently lifted it, and sent the crystal ball into the chest too; at this moment, his link with ’Hu Wen,’ who had become a puppet, was not severed.

This meant that the chest would not block such a soul connection.

He Ao thought for a moment, then added the bone sword into the chest as well.

Now, there were three items inside the chest, and because they were put in directly through Retrieve objects from the air, he had bypassed the restriction of having to place a Transcendent item inside first.

He Ao glanced at the silver briefcase with its battery removed and put it into the chest as well.

Now, all he needed to do was use ’Silence Concealment’ to hide the existence of the Pirate Treasure Chest, and he could carry these items without anyone noticing.

Although the Pirate Treasure Chest seemed like a very rare item with storage capabilities, its special storage rules—being able to take out only one item at a time, and requiring an item to be put in before use—actually made it not so practical.

However, in the hands of He Ao, who possessed the Miracle Wand and the ability to Retrieve objects from the air, it was possible to circumvent these complicated rules and maximize its abilities.

He Ao removed the Multicolored Ring, interrupting the accumulation of its charming power, then packed up the Pirate Treasure Chest and quietly looked out at the sea through the window.

Sunset, moonrise.

When the brilliant stars were strewn across the sky like pearls, the countdown in He Ao’s field of vision hit zero once again.

[Game is loading.]

[Welcome to the Life Simulation Game]

[Randomly matching you with a life role.]

[Match successful]

[Your role is: Wilderness Wanderer