Yang Zicang’s tone turned cold:
–If both parties involved in an investment kill each other within twelve hours of the investment’s conclusion, the victor will not earn any Chronos. Instead, there will be a penalty deducting from the investment limit—correct? That was the information Moxel relayed to me the first time I nearly killed someone.–
Yang Zicang stood up, fixing his gaze on Robin Lo’s slightly dazed eyes.
–So, tell me—what favor do you want me to do? If you don’t speak now, I’m canceling this agreement unilaterally.–
[I returned 300N from the invested parties and distributed a bonus of 25N.]
–Ah, wait.–
Robin Lo, feeling the three hundred years’ worth of ordinary investment that Yang Zicang had returned, suddenly felt a headache coming on.
This damn brat is planning to bolt.
And he even made a point to remind me, as if I didn’t know that mutual attacks between investing parties cause losses.
Robin Lo found it somewhat amusing—what intelligence could I possibly not know?
Yang Zicang saw this pudgy guy still hesitating; his heart was pounding, but his face radiated full intimidation.
–Goodbye!–
–Hey hey, hold on, don’t leave. I was just going to ask you to help us leap across a great canyon—it’s easy for you.–
–Is that all?–
Yang Zicang turned around, not believing a single word that came out of Robin Lo’s mouth.
Just as Warren Wang had said outside, he was not their preferred candidate either.
Robin Lo gritted his teeth:
–If you can tell me that your Moxel has one more crucial ability, then half of the full Chronos of a thousand years will belong to you right now.–
Yang Zicang’s eyelids drooped slightly.
–Why are you so fixated on the full extent of my Moxel’s abilities?–
–It’s not that I value your Moxel’s abilities themselves, but…–
Robin Lo hesitated for several seconds before steeling himself to continue:
–I obtained a chance to upgrade my Moxel ability. I had already completed most of the prerequisites for its enhancement by the end of last year, but there’s still one crucial condition left unfulfilled.–
–An upgrade to the Moxel ability?–
Yang Zicang looked up at Robin Lo. Was this similar to his own rank advancement?
Robin Lo said, slightly tense:
–I’ve already revealed the most important information to you. This was originally meant to be part of your compensation later; consider it an advance payment. So, could you please answer my question? Don’t tell me the answer right away.–
–Ha, haha, I see. Then go ahead.–
Yang Zicang exhaled, deciding to humor this man for now.
Turning around, he walked back to sit across from the large wooden crate. The young man calmly observed the blue-hatted man with the bulbous nose on the other side.
At this moment, Robin Lo’s expression also turned serious, no longer bearing the disheveled demeanor of a drunkard; however, that forced solemnity looked somewhat comical.
Three years of heavy drinking had completely reshaped his temperament, transforming him into a greasy, middle-aged man soaked in alcohol fumes.
This was also the age he deliberately maintained. Perhaps a more youthful face paired with this drunkard’s appearance would only be more off-putting.
Robin Lo tried to put on an interrogating posture and said,
–You didn’t use any extra skills back then?–
–No.–
–Since you’re not a wind-field user, what is it then?–
–Didn’t you say the answer can’t be given directly?–
Yang Zicang forcibly suppressed his urge to reply and said.
Robin Lo cleared his throat: –Heh heh, after I ‘ask,’ it’s fine; this counts as my intelligence-gathering result.–
–Then wasn’t that you asking just now? Oh, are you saying begging doesn’t count as gathering intelligence?–
–I’m the one asking you now!– Robin Lo snapped angrily, nearly slamming his hand on the big wooden crate.
The reek of alcohol drifted over, making Yang Zicang feel an itch in his nose.
–It’s the shifting trajectory.–
–Oh, still the shifting trajectory…– Robin Lo smacked his lips, feeling a bit dazed.
The shifting trajectory was already information he knew.
–What does that mean?– Luo Bin looked up and asked.
–In fact, your initial question was already infinitely close to the answer.–
–Hmm?–
–Like I said, it’s still about shifting trajectories, just over thirty thousand burst shards’ trajectory changes.–
–Oh, over thirty thousand…– Robin Lo nearly lost his balance. –What are you talking about?–
–The quantity. The number of trajectories I shift is not just one—there are many. Isn’t this the data you tricked me into revealing? Don’t you believe me?–
–But, that and the aura…–
Robin Lo’s brain finally seemed to be grasping the cause, and in an instant, he felt a scorching heat prickle all over his skin.
–The shifting of nearly thirty thousand trajectories, along with the trajectories of new fragments born from their collisions.–
Yang Zicang exclaimed loudly, –In total, three to four seconds, accumulating over four hundred thousand trajectory changes. This is the power of Moxel—what you call the Wind Shield!–
Crash!
A dull thud sounded as Robin Lo collapsed onto the floor, spilling the beer in his hand everywhere.
He adeptly pushed himself up, firming his stance. –This… this can’t be possible.–
That stout man seemed utterly dazed. –No matter what, it just can’t be… you, you’re not lying to me, are you?–
Just as he finished speaking, the shocked Robin Lo’s chest ring manifested on its own.
Within it, a slowly rotating silver-white triangle materialized, its thread-like white lines, finer than a strand of hair, now shimmering with a silvery luster.
[I, Mysterious Triangle, have gathered a sufficient quantity of plausible intelligence. I begin to excavate the deeper secrets buried within.]
[The [Up-Freq] process has now commenced.]
Robin Lo’s breathing grew rapid.
–I’ve gathered the plausible intelligence. My ability is about to evolve. You’d better not be lying to me. But why so much… Wait, if it’s elevating my level of existence…–
Yang Zicang feigned a slight embarrassment, subtly flaunting his achievement:
–I happened to get temporary assistance from an Alderman. Using something called ‘Void Zero Chronos,’ I temporarily jacked up my level into the tens of thousands.–
Robin Lo felt his mind spin; a surge of sudden realization and exhilaration ignited within him!
–You, you, argh! Your upgraded aspect is quantity? Bloody hell! Why isn’t it speed, or range, or some other damn attribute—why of all things, quantity? Answer me quickly, is it, or isn’t it!–
–Is an answer even necessary?– Yang Zicang, arms crossed over his chest a nonchalant smile playing on his lips.
Moxel upgrades were grave matters, and Robin Lo, gripped by worry, kept seeking confirmation to ensure no margin for error.
With Yang Zicang’s affirmation, the spinning triangular Moxel on the plump man’s chest suddenly came to a halt.
The small light trail on Robin Lo’s chest suddenly burst open, dispersing into the air and vanishing without a trace.
–What’s happening?–
Yang Zicang lowered his hand, feeling that something seemed to be wrong with Robin Lo.
–Oh my god! Quad perfect-level intelligence, concealed from the public and known to no one!–
Robin Lo clutched his head and exclaimed.
–It’s been triggered, elevating the Moxel… I’m finally about to become, a Quad-Transformer!–
Yang Zicang’s pupils constricted.
So this was the real reason Robin Lo had unhesitatingly invested the millennium-long Chronos into him.
–So that’s what Up-Freq means!–
No wonder this guy had survived for three years here without dying.
Over the past three years, the mere cumulative monthly deduction of three hundred years of Chronos that this fat man had paid amounted to an unfathomably prolonged span of time.
Robin Lo’s expression turned extremely tense. Seconds later, streaks of silver lines of varying lengths, like arrows shot from the void, pierced into the circle on his chest.
One, two, three.
The three lines did not form a triangle but a Quad with a gap.
–Ah! I must succeed in this promotion!–
Robin Lo growled from his throat: –If this is false intelligence, I’m done for.–
A faint speck of light flickered at the gap.
–The fourth line has been born!–
Robin Lo cried out in astonishment, roaring with a voice choked with tears of joy:
–Holy shit! Hee-hee, no way, it’s actually a perfect-grade intel. I’m a Quad now too, oh my damn, mother of God!–
He was both overjoyed and in disbelief.
The point of light stretched into a line, filled the gap, and formed a Quad.
Robin Lo flipped over a large wooden crate, jumped over, and grabbed Yang Zicang in a tight hug, shouting and hollering, squeezing the young man so hard he flinched in sheer panic.
After being pushed away by Yang Zicang, Robin Lo looked down at the faint rotating of the Quad on his chest; it transformed into a diamond shape within the ring before fading and disappearing.
–Hahaha.–
After flailing and dancing around for a while, Robin Lo tumbled to the ground in wild laughter.
–I made it!–
Speechless, Yang Zicang ran a few steps away, watching him, and said with slight sarcasm:
–I can tell you weren’t exactly high-ranking back then, were you? Haven’t you seen that anime? Once you eliminate all impossibility, whatever remains—no matter how improbable—must be the truth? The information was right before your eyes, yet it took me repeatedly telling you the key was ‘quantity’ for you to get it—and even then, you didn’t believe me.–
Yang Zicang furrowed his brow. In his own excitement at this moment, Moxel’s emotions began to subtly affect him as well.
–You don’t know jack squat.–
Robin Lo was obviously in a much better mood. Though his words were still full of curses, the tone was unmistakably that of close buddies.
–But really, thank you for this. Heh, please keep it secret. From now on, I’m going to work hard to be a big shot lurking behind the scenes.–
–More like a big shot who hides away drinking beer all day.–
Yang Zicang said with a smile, his heart also racing with excitement: –Still, the fact that one can actually advance to Moxel—now that’s crucial intel.–
Does this world have a pentagon? He finally asked himself this question in all seriousness.
In a place where everyone is less than friendly toward newcomers, digging up such information is really tough.
–Can everyone advance to Moxel?– Yang Zicang looked at him.
–Pfft~ I got lucky and gathered perfect personal intel; otherwise, I probably wouldn’t have advanced to Moxel.–
–The key to this promotion is that your important ability misled over a thousand people, so its true nature remains deeply hidden.–
–And not only did I discover the real ability of your Moxel, I also unearthed the expanded properties of your slot—not to mention news about the Councilman! Because I was the first to find out! Geez, do you have any idea how damn hard that was!–
–Sounds like it really wasn’t easy.–
–Ah, give me a kiss!–
–Die already!–
THUMP! Yang Zicang kicked the greasy man who’d lunged at him flat to the ground.
–Got a little carried away. Sorry about that.–
Robin Lo got up excitedly, walked over to a nearby box, opened it, and pulled out several thick, brick-like file folders.
–Every side of each page here holds intel on some person, some monster, or some types of terrain.–
Yang Zicang’s eyes widened: –That’s insane. Do you work here?–
Robin Lo shot him a sullen glare.
–You have no idea how exhausting it was collecting all this over the past two years. They’re part of the conditions for upgrading the Moxel.–
–Besides, not everyone gets a shot at upgrading a Moxel like this. It only shows up randomly in B-rank entanglements, with a very low probability. As for me, well, it was pure luck.–
With that, Robin Lo pointed to his head again.
–Just for this opportunity, well, once-good brothers… sigh, forget it.–
So within the entanglement, there were such treasures after all.
–The current QuadMoxel owners all have their own teams. I couldn’t even get close to them, let alone dig into how many hidden cards they’ve got up their sleeves. That would be nothing but suicidal.–
Yang Zicang pondered: if I got the chance to upgrade the Moxel, where would I find another pentagon?
–The intelligence that the existing QuadMoxels have circulated through public channels is well known to many. It won’t be of much help to my successful ascension to Moxel.– Robin Lo said cheerfully, chattering away.
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