Life Game In Other World
Chapter 606: Our Deal (Requesting monthly passes for the big - )

Chapter 606: Chapter 606: Our Deal (Requesting monthly passes for the big Chapter)

The massive old-style locomotive suddenly burst forth from the void, shooting past the tiny table of the restaurant.

The wind caused by the passing vehicle whipped up the pristine white tablecloth, and the surrounding tables and chairs trembled violently due to the heavy locomotive blazing by.

This was Li Cheng’s first time seeing the Velora.

Seeing this train emerge from the void in reality was completely different from the reports and videos he had seen.

The appearance of that gigantic mechanical monster, filling the vast space directly from the void, was as shocking to a person from a primitive tribe as a hefty truck barrelling towards them.

The aesthetic beauty of such a man-made mechanical beast combined cleverly with an incomprehensible Transcendent power, filled with a disruptive beauty that shook cognition.

Li Cheng watched the terrifying mechanical monster rush out in front of him and then dive headfirst into the void not far ahead, without hesitation.

Soon, the narrow train passed several carriages until it reached a rear car full of viewing windows.

A young man, dressed in a brown short-sleeve shirt and wearing black-framed glasses, sat in a seat at the back, peering out of the observation window at the restaurant outside.

The Velora gradually came to a stop.

Most of the train was submerged in the pitch-black void, with only the rear carriage containing tables and chairs remaining inside the restaurant.

Li Cheng watched the young man inside the carriage, and that young man shifted his gaze towards him, revealing a smile.

Click—Bang—

Accompanied by a sharp and clear sound, the doors of the rear carriage suddenly flung open, seemingly issuing an invitation to the patrons outside.

"That train is a B-level Transcendent prop, very dangerous, you can’t just casually enter it, once you do, you might not be able to come out,"

Liu Zhengyun’s voice rang in Li Cheng’s other ear through the earpiece.

"It’s okay."

Li Cheng smiled, slowly stood up, and walked toward the open carriage door.

His foot stepped onto the entrance stair, landing on the floor of the carriage.

Click—

The carriage door immediately closed behind him, and the entire train sprang into motion, the surrounding lights dimming in an instant.

The train seemed to drive into some kind of pitch-black ’tunnel’.

In this silent darkness, Li Cheng felt the floor beneath his feet move slightly.

Above his head, on the ceiling of the carriage, there seemed to be the sound of a twisting, sticky substance entwining.

At this moment, the train no longer resembled a steel creation but more like a living ’entity’.

Bang—

It was as if someone had hit a switch, and a faint light illuminated the whole carriage.

"Sorry, this carriage doesn’t have lights."

A humanoid Shadow took shape before Li Cheng’s eyes, flickering unsteadily as the dim light hit an otherwise unremarkable face.

Li Cheng lowered his gaze and saw that the Shadow was holding an old-fashioned lantern; the places touched by the lamp’s glow showed the floor was still hard, and the ceiling remained solid.

Steel was still steel, as if everything that Li Cheng had just sensed and heard were mere illusions.

But within that dark Shadow, beyond the reach of the light, Li Cheng could still hear that sticky, mushy sound, as if limbs were writhing.

"Li Cheng."

Li Cheng returned his gaze to the face in front of him and with a smile, introduced himself.

"Hao Yi."

He Ao carried a lantern and turned his head, walking forward along the corridor between the dining tables on both sides.

The dim light shone on the pitch-black glass around him.

"This lantern of yours seems to have some age to it,"

Li Cheng’s gaze swept over the lantern in He Ao’s hand; through the frosted glass, he saw the flickering flame inside, which appeared to be an old-fashioned kerosene lamp, "Is this a prop that came with the car?"

"No, I bought it from a store that sells fake antiques outside. I thought it looked quite fitting, so I got it."

He Ao reached out to place the lantern on the table where he had just sat, as the quivering firelight cast faint shadows across his cheeks.

"What was that switch sound just now?"

Li Cheng, with a touch of curiosity, looked at He Ao, "Wasn’t it some kind of start switch?"

"A lighter."

He Ao put the lighter he had been holding in his hand on the table and gently pressed down, and with a slight sound, a faint flame ignited.

Li Cheng glanced at the lighter, then at the slowly burning flame inside the lantern, and blinked.

"Do you want something to drink?"

He Ao turned over the cups and saucers with spoons that were hooked on the window sill, placing one in front of Li Cheng and one in front of himself,

"Either is fine,"

Li Cheng looked at He Ao, seemingly curious where He Ao would produce the beverage from, "What are the options?"

He Ao lifted a large old-fashioned thermos from the corner, removed the cork, and faint steam wafted out. He poured himself a cup of boiled water into his own cup, "Boiled water, or coffee, milk."

Then he looked up at Li Cheng, "Would you like some hot coffee?"

"That would be fine."

Li Cheng glanced at the thermos in He Ao’s hand, feeling something was off, yet it seemed fitting for this car’s environment.

It appeared that He Ao used such a thermos to preserve beverages. However, just as Li Cheng thought He Ao would put down the thermos and reach for a thermal carafe with coffee inside, he saw He Ao lift the thermos again and pour a cup of boiled water into his cup.

"Do you want regular coffee, or a cappuccino?"

As He Ao put away the thermos, he asked softly.

Li Cheng looked down at the cup of boiled water in front of him and chuckled, "Is there a difference?"

He Ao took out a packet of instant coffee powder from his pocket and placed it on the table, "Regular coffee,"

Then he took out a packet of instant milk powder, placed it beside the coffee powder, and pushed both packets toward Li Cheng, "Put them both in, and you have a cappuccino."

Li Cheng blinked, looking at the instant milk powder and instant coffee powder on the table. He paused for a moment, picked up the instant coffee powder, tore open the packaging, and poured it into the cup.

"Actually, when I’m in the lab, I often make instant coffee powder drinks,"

He then slowly picked up the milk powder, opened the packet, and poured it into the cup; he picked up the spoon and stirred the solution gently, "I’ve just never tried mixing milk powder with coffee powder before."

Then his eyes swept over the packaging of the instant coffee powder, "Vedsk? Actually, their instant coffee isn’t bad, but I remember this is a small brand of instant coffee that’s only sold within the Tia Empire."

"I wouldn’t know,"

He Ao took out a packet of milk powder from his pocket, poured it into the cup in front of him, and stirred clockwise with a spoon, "I just grabbed it off the supermarket shelf."

Li Cheng looked up at the young man in front of him, not about to deduce that this young man lived in the Tia Empire from this single detail.

For Velora, traveling around the world was an easy task.

However, ’Hao Yi’s series of actions made this mysterious and unknown C-level seem more down-to-earth and approachable.

At the moment, Hao Yi behaved not like a mysterious visitor from the ruins but more like an ordinary young man mingling in the city.

The invisible barrier between the two dissipated significantly with these gestures.

Of course, Li Cheng did not take the ’Hao Yi’ before him lightly.

Since he had boarded the train, a series of actions constructed mystery then willingly dispelled it, simultaneously disbanding any distance between them.

This tactic alone implied a formidable ability to control the situation.

Just now, the situation had already fallen completely into the young man’s grasp, leaving Li Cheng to speak only at the other’s pace.

"We’re arriving."

It was at that moment that He Ao set aside the spoon in his hand, glanced at the dark train window, and then turned his gaze back to Li Cheng’s face, stretching out a finger to point at his own chest.

Li Cheng plucked a jet-black button from his chest and crushed it in his hand.

The button was a miniature camera, directly connected to Moonlight and the World Tree, as well as the communication equipment of the Research Institute headquarters.

Seeing Li Cheng’s movement, He Ao revealed a smile, bent down, and blew out the flame of the lantern.

In the instant the flame dimmed, the train burst out of the ’tunnel,’ and the brilliant sunlight instantly filled the entire carriage.

The dazzling light outlined a divine aura on the young man’s swaying hair and well-defined profile as he lifted his head.

"So what is the reason you were looking for me?"

He Ao lifted his cup, bringing the rippling, mixed milk to his lips.

Outside the window lay a crystal-clear lake as smooth as a mirror, with distant snow-capped mountains reflected atop its gleaming surface, the old-fashioned train of the era carrying a breeze over the water, crossing high mountains beneath the lake, creating faint ripples.

A leaf drifted down from a tree on the lakeshore, floating on the tremulous water, rising and falling with the shimmering reflection of the snowy mountains.

This scenery was not something He Ao had sought out, but just a random sight nearby that the Velora had found.

The Velora always managed to find the most beautiful spots nearby.

Li Cheng’s gaze shifted away from the beautiful view outside the window, focusing on He Ao’s face, "Theoretically, my reason for seeking you out is to thank you for your help during the blackout incident in Eren City, to thank you for saving so many lives."

"No thanks needed; I just did what I had to,"

He Ao blew on the steaming milk, "They were helped simply because they were fortunate enough to have me involved in the matter."

He then took a sip of milk, looking at Li Cheng, "So the actual reason is the Space-Time Anchor of the relic passage? Indeed, the Space-Time Anchor is with me, but what can you offer?"

Li Cheng heaved a sigh of relief when ’Hao Yi’ directly admitted to having the Space-Time Anchor. If even ’Hao Yi’ did not possess it, it would have complicated matters.

Moreover, the other party was clever; since he had pinpointed the issue directly, there was a chance for negotiation. He looked at He Ao, tentatively asking,

"According to the agreement among the major organizations, the group that holds the Space-Time Anchor can obtain most of the entry spots into the relic."

"As you know, that is not important to me."

He Ao set down his cup of milk, smiling at Li Cheng, "And I believe your agreement doesn’t have my signature on it."

The implication of that statement was that he was not bound by their rules.

The most challenging aspect of negotiation is being pulled into someone else’s system of rules; even without cheating, a novice can hardly outplay an old hand who has been immersed in those rules for many years.

Li Cheng certainly understood this, and he also knew that the relic passage’s entry spots meant little to a lone C-level Transcendent like ’Hao Yi’ with no organization – after all, being C-level, he couldn’t enter relics and had no subordinates needing to cross over.

"We can provide you with transcendent items," Li Cheng pondered for a moment before replying, "If you need it, considering the importance of this relic, we can offer you two C-level transcendent items."

This was the bargaining chip he and the World Tree, as well as Moonlight, had agreed upon beforehand.

Of course, the price was negotiable.

"I don’t seem to be in need of transcendent items right now,"

He Ao said calmly, lifting the cup of milk.

Li Cheng watched He Ao intently, knowing that the mysterious young man before him likely had his own valuation in mind; he asked slowly, "Is there anything we can provide?"

"Information."

He Ao took a sip of milk, speaking slowly.

"Information?"

Li Cheng was startled.

"I need reading access to all your research data and intelligence about relics. I can sign contracts with you separately, promising not to leak your intelligence to other families. Of course, you can choose to trust me, or not,"

He Ao enunciated each word, his tone calm, "Aside from that, I need all of your animals or plants that contain Transcendent power but have not formed into Transcendent props. I don’t need any specific herbs or materials; you can keep those for yourselves."

"I just want the animals or plants that contain Transcendent power, with the Transcendent power in the main world having increased so much over the years, you should have lots of these in your warehouses."

He Ao glanced at Li Cheng’s ears, then continued lifting the milk, "You can discuss it."

"We do have a lot of that stuff in our warehouse, but what is he going to use it for?"

Rudel’s voice resounded in Li Cheng’s ear.

"He possesses many pieces of knowledge that we are unaware of, perhaps he knows some precious materials that we do not."

A weak voice rose in the communication channel; it was the C-level from Moonlight who Li Cheng had injured before.

"Regardless of whether it’s precious, if we cannot use it, then it’s the same as any ordinary, useless material," Liu Zhengyun pondered for a moment before slowly saying, "Li, I think it’s feasible to trade the relic passage slots for things that are of no use to us. Storing those materials requires special structures, and it costs a great deal to manage and store them every year."

"I have no objections."

The C-level from Moonlight said weakly.

"Then neither do I," Rudel paused for a moment, "What about the intelligence? Are you willing to share intelligence with him? What he wants is access, not an intelligence backup, meaning he can see our latest results anytime?"

"I have no objections."

The C-level from Moonlight spoke calmly.

Rudel fell into a brief silence.

It wasn’t that Moonlight had absolute faith in ’Hao Yi’, but because Moonlight couldn’t afford to provoke a strong C-level now. Thus, for Moonlight, intelligence that wasn’t core could be open.

"We can do that as well."

During Rudel’s silence, Liu Zhengyun also spoke slowly.

"That’s settled then."

Rudel opened his mouth.

"Have you finished discussing?"

He Ao asked softly.

"Fine, we agree to your terms," Li Cheng nodded his head, looking at He Ao, "How will the slots be allocated?"

"I’ll stand with whoever gives more, according to that agreement of yours—the one with more slots, right?"

He Ao shrugged his shoulders.

After all, the Research Institute was the richest and the most willing to spend.

Then he looked at Li Cheng, pointing at Li’s ears.

Li Cheng looked at He Ao with confusion and crushed the earpiece in his ear.

"Now that we’ve finished discussing that, let’s talk about my trade."

He Ao looked at him with a smile.

He lifted his hand, and suddenly the whole carriage was covered in shadows,