Netherworld Retrograde

Chapter 281: Chapter 131 Cooperation_2

Jing Lin now seemed like the male lead in a romantic drama who was about to propose.

Jing Lin smiled and then lowered his voice, ”During the Disaster Fog, I saw you summon a mount with a bell. I seem to have seen it somewhere before. It was a Thunder Stepping Dragon Colt, summoned with ashes, right?”

Li Yelai’s heart stirred, but he maintained a smile on his face and responded, ”Yes, you should have seen it. Lord Camellia.”

Jing Lin looked at him for a long time and gradually showed a smile, ”It really is you! Copper Face!”

This was an honest and open confrontation.

Jing Lin had seen Li Yelai’s Thunder Stepping Dragon Colt in the ark and had confirmed over time that Li Yelai was the ’Copper Face’ from the ark. After all, only Black Umbrella could craft the Summoning Bell.

And only an ark elector could recognize this.

Since Jing Lin brought it up himself, he also proved his identity. Among the electors in the ark, the one who resembled Jing Lin’s appearance and who was emotional when Book Holder mentioned the 71st Disaster Fog, was the new elector ’Camellia.’

In fact, during their first meeting, Jing Lin had mentioned wanting to treat Li Yelai to White Mountain Tea; one should have guessed it then.

”I never thought that the officials would plant an undercover in the ark,” Jing Lin raised his eyebrows. ”When I mentioned that you might be Copper Face, even our Jing Family’s Think Tank couldn’t believe it. You really are daring!”

”I also didn’t expect you would openly come and ask me,” Li Yelai replied. Although this was also anticipated by the officials, he was still somewhat surprised by Jing Family’s frankness, ”We officials only had suspicions about you, we haven’t taken any verification steps.”

”Indeed, you had already discovered me. Regarding my frankness... I really want to make friends with you. Plus, my grandfather expressed his intention to show kindness to you.”

”Your grandfather?” Li Yelai frowned. Was it that mysterious elderly man? He was said to be a significant figure of the Yaoqing Jing Family.

He was the third successor of the Jing Family Supreme, holding considerable power within the Jing Family.

Why would such a being take an interest in Li Yelai?

If it’s just about Face, it shouldn’t be so benevolent, right?

”Who knows? The old man didn’t tell me. Maybe it’s simply for the sake of gaining advantages in the ark,” Jing Lin laughed. ”Well, it’s good either way. Since we have no conflicts of interest, you and I can be considered friends. I represent the Jing Family and invite cooperation with the No.3 Border City Processing Department on matters related to the ark.”

”Of course!” Li Yelai nodded. ”Our No.3 Border City Processing Department is willing to cooperate with the Yaoqing Jing Family.”

Then, Jing Lin frowned, ”Speaking of which, since you are Copper Face, why would you sell information about the Night General?”

Jing Lin remembered that the information on the special abilities of the Night General was exactly what ’Copper Face,’ that is, Li Yelai himself had sold.

”My ability is hard to conceal. Since I had already been noticed by Black Umbrella, rather than being investigated by other electors, I might as well sell it myself,” Li Yelai responded. ”And it earns me something.”

”Selling your own information and making good money, indeed it’s hugely profitable,” Jing Lin nodded. ”We missed the last meeting in the Disaster Fog; they might think we are dead. Next time, it could be quite a little surprise for them. Does your official side need our cooperation on anything?”

”Not at the moment, I will contact you if need be,” Li Yelai said.

”Good,” Jing Lin nodded and then inquired, ”Your sister has become a Spiritual Ability User but is still unable to suppress the curse, right? If there’s an opportunity, bring her to the Jing Family’s Mansion; my grandfather says he might be able to help suppress her curse.”

Li Yelai found it increasingly curious. Is there such a thing as unreasoned love in this world? Why is this old man so overly concerned?

But still, he responded, ”Thank him for me, we’ll see if there’s a chance. My sister’s situation is special; she can’t easily leave the house.”

”I’m not sure what your sister’s curse is, but I can understand a brother’s concern for his sister,” Jing Lin thought for a moment and then said softly, ”I don’t have many friends in No.3 Border City, or rather, I rarely have friends outside of the Jing Family. You’re one of them.”

”Stop, that’s a bit cheesy!” Li Yelai commented.

Yet, Jing Lin’s voice sank to a whisper, ”If, I mean if ... If my sister wants to stay in No.3 Border City, if she wants to leave the Jing Family, please make sure you take good care of her!”

Leaving the Jing Family? Was this... running away from home?

Li Yelai was a bit stunned, but seeing Jing Lin’s serious face, he nodded, ”As a friend, if such a situation really happens, I will do my best to help her.”

”Good, that’s enough,” Jing Lin showed a relieved smile and then turned away.

...

After Jing Lin and Jing Nuo had left, Li Yelai immediately passed on the cooperation details to Yin Fire.

After pondering for a long time, Yin Fire said, ”Cooperation is inevitable. Both parties know that the other is an ark elector and neither intends to break the facade, so cooperation is bound to happen. But why... would that elder suddenly show such good will towards you? What exactly does the Jing Family want?”

The officials have a good attitude towards Jing Lin because he proved his trustworthiness in the Disaster Fog.

But towards the Yaoqing Jing Family, the officials always keep a certain distance.

Jing Lin, as good as he is, is just a part of the Jing Family.

And the Jing Family, or rather Spiritual Ability Families, have always been pursuing utilitarianism.

This can be seen from their monopoly on various Magic Potion Recipes or Extraordinary Knowledge. Every action is for some kind of benefit.

The old gentleman’s kindness towards Li Yelai was so sudden, it must have had a motive.

After pondering for a long time, Yin Fire suggested that we could appropriately interact with the Jing Family, but we must remain vigilant.

...

A week after the Disaster Fog had ended, a huge Hero Monument was erected within each of the major city gates of Giant City, inscribed with the names of each martyr who fought fiercely for humanity.

Some were Processors, some military personnel, and others civilians. But without exception, they were all heroes.

Processors would periodically visit the Hero Monument to mourn their comrades.

Now, the large Insect Swarms within the Giant City were almost extinct, and the reinforcements from various Giant Cities gradually withdrew from No.3 Border City after leaving a significant number of engineering teams.

The reconstruction of Giant City was in full swing.

There were still some dangers within Giant City, certain Insect Races adept at hiding, like the Hunting Insects, and some more peculiar Extraordinary Creatures still lurking in the corners of Giant City.

The officials were striving hard to eliminate these dangers, which actually weren’t too difficult.

As long as the officials used monitoring or vehicle-mounted cameras, or photos taken by eyewitnesses,

they could easily eliminate those hard-to-detect Insect Races or Extraordinary Creatures.

Even if they were well concealed, they would be quickly eliminated.

There were items such as the Level C Taboo Items, Red Wanted Order!

By placing the photo on the blank portrait of the Red Wanted Order and paying a certain amount of Giant City Coins,

that humanoid Void Realm Creature would transform into a Red Hunter.

It would automatically appear near the target and launch a hunt, ignoring any concealment!

This was arguably the best Taboo Item the officials had for handling bounties on Insect Races or Extraordinary Creatures not exceeding Four Awakenings, and the officials could still afford it.

And since the Red Hunter was a Void Realm Creature, it wouldn’t die, but only be banished. It was the best pursuer.

It was said that at its busiest, the Red Hunter was deployed over thirty times in one day; even its knife had become blunt. It’s unknown whether the Red Hunter was in pain and pleasure.

Regardless, this brought great convenience to the officials.

Even if the Red Hunter encountered a creature it couldn’t eliminate, nearby official teams could locate them based on their eruptive battles and provide firepower coverage.

In such cases, the risk in various places was minimized.

But some entities were very cunning and were never captured by any cameras or seen by witnesses.

In the outskirts of the Old City District’s farming area, a large amount of livestock had just been transported from other Giant Cities.

Thirty percent of the meat in Giant City came from this farming area.

However, in recent days, many of the livestock had been hunted by some creature.

Neither the stakeouts from the Guard Hall nor the various cameras had been able to see what the perpetrator looked like.

This made it impossible for the officials to deploy the Red Hunter.

But... they still had the Causality Weapon.

Thus, on this day, Li Yelai received the task instruction to head to the scene.

[Night·Monster Cage·Will! The organization has a tough task for you!]

”Damn it, don’t call me Monster Cage!”