Chapter 441: The Transaction

Chapter 441: The Transaction

"A mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole's presence behind."

Indeed, rather than being the first to act, it's safer for us to observe from the sidelines."

The man in black, or rather, the First Messenger of the Zero Organization, Zhang Chen, toyed with a fragment in his hand, his eyes narrowing in satisfaction.

At this moment, he once again felt that his previous decision to avoid the sharp edge of Lu Wu Qing's power was the right one.

Although, with his strength, he should have been able to swat Lu Wu away with ease.

But if he hadn't made that decision to avoid the sharp edge, he wouldn't have been able to obtain this tender, newly refined Gateway Shard.

As Zhang Chen reveled in his success, an aged voice reached him from nearby, "But now you've exposed yourself, haven't you?"

If Lu Wu were here, he would have recognized the owner of this aged voice as the same person who had been freeloading off him for a while and whom Lu Wu was now desperately trying to find—Tie Hong.

Tie Hong watched as Zhang Chen played with the fragment in his hand, unable to tear himself away. He shook his head and said, "I think your previous decision was correct, but this time you're being impulsive!

You're even being reckless!"

"For this fragment, it's worth taking this risk." Zhang Chen narrowed his eyes.

"Lu Wu has been acting strangely lately. You must have seen how he toyed with the Elders of Yuanlao Mountain.

Take my advice and return the fragment. Hide it again and lay low for a while."

That's why they say people will do anything for money.

In response to Tie Hong's suggestion, Zhang Chen didn't hesitate to refuse!

"That's unnecessary. The Elders are the Elders, and I am me.

The fact that they were played by Lu Wu is their problem. Here, Lu Wu's methods won't work on me.

No method can surpass absolute strength!"

"Besides, even though I've exposed myself, as long as Lu Wu doesn't know it's me and can't track me down, it's as if I never exposed myself. As long as I don't cause any more trouble, he won't be able to do anything to me!"

Seeing Zhang Chen's determination, Tie Hong decided not to waste more words and simply left.

"Old Tie, where are you going?"

"I think it's unsafe here. I'm moving to avoid Lu Wu finding me." Tie Hong didn't hide the truth.

"There's no need to worry about that!"

Zhang Chen frowned, put away the Gateway Shard, and took a few steps away. "Old Tie, you can stay here with me. He won't be able to find this place!"

Tie Hong glanced at Zhang Chen's movements, a cold smile appearing on his face. "What? You don't want me to leave?"

The cold tone of his voice startled Zhang Chen.

Zhang Chen had to admit that he did want to stop Tie Hong from leaving, and more precisely, he had his eyes on the Gateway Shard in Tie Hong's possession.

But at this moment, hearing Tie Hong's words and seeing his expression, Zhang Chen ultimately lost his nerve.

"Nonsense. Since you've said that, I can only see you off, Brother Tie."

Tie Hong didn't bother to respond.

He simply snorted in acknowledgment and quickly left.

He had a premonition that Zhang Chen was in trouble and that this location might be exposed.

Meanwhile, after seeing Tie Hong off, Zhang Chen's expression turned solemn.

It was clear that he wasn't as calm and confident as he appeared.

He was nervous about his recent actions, especially after Tie Hong's departure, and he felt that this place might not be as secure as he thought.

"Although I'm not afraid of that young Lu Wu, it's better to avoid trouble whenever possible!"

As Zhang Chen spoke, he also got up and left.

He traveled tens of thousands of miles, passing through several Mystic Realms before finally stopping in a place he considered the most hidden and known only to him.

After arriving, Zhang Chen was busy for a while.

It took him half a day to feel completely at ease.

Looking at his elaborate preparations, Zhang Chen said with satisfaction, "I've gone so far and made such elaborate preparations. Now, even if Lu Wu or the Nullifier wants to find me, it won't be that easy!"

"Indeed, it won't be easy."

Suddenly, Lu Wu's voice echoed, causing Zhang Chen to shudder, his face filled with disbelief.

Stiffly, he turned his head.

As he turned, Zhang Chen saw a young man standing behind him, his handsome face beaming with a radiant smile. The man waved at him, greeting him cheerfully, "Hey, hello there!"

Damn it!

The moment Lu Wu saw Zhang Chen, his face lit up with a wide grin.

Lu Wu couldn't understand how Zhang Chen had managed to track him down, considering how far he had gone to hide.

Zhang Chen snapped out of his daze, "The fragment? Is there a problem with it?"

Lu Wu chuckled lightly, "Isn't it obvious?"

"I've already inspected it thoroughly, and I didn't find any tampering at all!"

"All the energy in the fragment is mine. What else do I need to do?"

Indeed, this was why Lu Wu dared to use the fragment as bait.

During the refinement process, Lu Wu had been supplying the energy, while Fei Yinghao was merely a tool for Lu Wu's spiritual cleansing.

After the refinement, the entire fragment was infused with Lu Wu's energy.

Lu Wu's control over the fragment had reached a level of 95% or more.

This was also the reason Lu Wu didn't bring the fragment back himself.

With this level of control, whoever obtained the fragment, without removing Lu Wu's energy, wouldn't be able to use it, and they would also be tracked by Lu Wu.

So, Lu Wu wasn't in a hurry to retrieve the fragment. Instead, he let Little Golden Dragon leisurely carry it around.

Lu Wu wanted to test if he could use the fragment to lure out the person hiding in the shadows, specifically Tie Hong.

As the one who gave the Gateway Fragment to Dudu, Tie Hong was always at the top of Lu Wu's list.

He wouldn't let go of any opportunity to capture Tie Hong.

After all, capturing Tie Hong was not only about avenging Dudu and uncovering the truth, but also about obtaining the fragment that Dudu had used before.

Since Lu Wu couldn't guarantee that the refined fragment would revive Dudu, he had set his sights on that particular fragment after completing the refinement.

The bait worked, but it wasn't Tie Hong who took it, which left Lu Wu slightly disappointed.

"With your malevolent aura, you must be from the Zero Organization. If I'm not mistaken, you're the First Messenger, right? So, I'll ask you directly, do you know where Tie Hong is?"

Lu Wu casually asked, not expecting the other party to nod firmly.

Lu Wu was so taken aback by the man's straightforwardness that he didn't know how to react.

What surprised Lu Wu even more was Zhang Chen's subsequent behavior.

As soon as the word 'know' left his mouth, Zhang Chen, who had just been in disbelief and a bit flustered, smiled.

"How about a deal?"

Lu Wu was taken aback, but then he smirked.

"Things are getting interesting now, aren't they? Alright, go ahead, what kind of deal do you want to make?"

"It's simple. You give me the fragment, and I'll tell you Tie Hong's location."

Zhang Chen took out an artifact, "I've already set things up on him. Now, you can track him through this artifact. If you don't believe me, you can check it first."

As Zhang Chen spoke, he tossed the artifact towards Lu Wu.

Lu Wu's eyes lit up, and he reached out to catch the artifact, examining it with a mocking smile, "So, you had already decided to buy a teammate from the start, huh?"

In the 1619 version of the book, this was how it went!

"Let me correct you, we're not exactly teammates, just barely acquaintances.

Besides, isn't selling him out what you wanted to see?"

"You're right!"

"Alright, stop wasting time. Check the artifact and if there's no problem, let's make the trade."

"How do I check it?"

"Input energy into it, you don't need me to teach you that, do you?"

"Oh, I get it!"

Lu Wu quickly infused energy into the artifact.

As soon as Lu Wu's energy entered the artifact, Zhang Chen's eyes lit up, and he seized the opportunity to activate his setup.

"Whoosh!"

The other party was fast, and before Lu Wu could react, Zhang Chen's trap was already in motion.

Dark vines sprouted from the artifact, entangling Lu Wu, while Zhang Chen picked up the Gateway Fragment and pressed it to the ground.

As the Gateway Fragment touched the ground, its energy began flowing towards Lu Wu.

"Success!"

Upon seeing this, a delighted expression spread across Zhang Chen's face.

At this moment, Lu Wu also seemed to have just realized what was happening.

"It seems you already knew about the issue with the Gateway Shard from the start. Hiding so far away wasn't to avoid me but to buy time to set up this trap, right?"

Zhang Chen grinned, "After living for over a hundred years, I've seen all sorts of plots and schemes, especially while living under the Zero Organization as a Nullifier. My environment was far more treacherous than those old folks at Elder Mountain."

"So, I saw through your fishing trick right away."

Lu Wu shook his head, "If you saw through it, why did you still take the bait?"

"Of course, because I was confident I could swallow the bait you threw out!

Everything is going according to my plan, isn't it?"

Zhang Chen smirked, a smile of control spreading across his face, "From the moment I obtained the shard, I knew it was under your control. With complete control over the shard, you could not only pinpoint my location but also possibly understand my actions."

"So, from the moment you got the shard, you've been putting on an act for me, right?

Pretending to be driven by greed and confidence, all to lower my guard and pull off this plan?"

Zhang Chen nodded, "The greed wasn't an act; I am greedy. But the rest is mostly true."

Lu Wu shrugged, "So, what do you plan to do next? Kill me?"

"No, no, no. I don't have the skills or the guts for that. I can't be sure if you're a clone or the real you, and I don't want to offend you."

"After all this, you still don't want to offend me?"

"I just want to ensure the safety of our transaction. The item I gave you is real; it can track down Tie Xiong. As for why I did this, I just wanted to separate your energy from the shard."

"The method might be a bit extreme, but you did agree to our deal."

Lu Wu shrugged again, not saying a word, while Zhang Chen got straight to work.

Three minutes later, Zhang Chen successfully extracted Lu Wu's energy from the shard.

"Done! Lu Wu, with this, our transaction is complete. The bindings on you will automatically release in five minutes, and I'll be on my way."

After saying this, Zhang Chen collected the shard and left without waiting for Lu Wu's response.

Lu Wu, still bound and unable to move, watched Zhang Chen depart without saying a word.

What Lu Wu didn't know was that someone, or rather, an angel, had witnessed this scene.

Unquestionably, this angel was Illya's Father God.

He had just arrived from the Holy Church Alliance, using his rule-breaking abilities to track down Lu Wu and witness this event.

Watching Lu Wu, bound and unable to move, Father God suddenly felt that this boy wasn't all that impressive.

The tactics he employed were far inferior to his own.

Moreover, standing in the omniscient perspective of a god, Father God believed he was much smarter than Lu Wu. From the start, he knew there was something off about Zhang Chen. If they switched places, he would have slapped Zhang Chen down immediately, and that would have been the end of it.

With this thought, Father God felt a surge of health.

"My wife always says that our father-daughter duo isn't very bright, but she's wrong.

Illya might be a bit slow, but I feel like I'm doing alright!

At least better than that boy down there."

Recalling Lu Wu's actions in the Holy Church Alliance, Father God suddenly felt that perhaps he could do the same.

Just as Father God, in his divine perspective, started to feel a bit arrogant, the bindings on Lu Wu suddenly released, and Lu Wu's previously stoic face broke into a smile. The item in his hand, the crucial artifact, shattered with a 'bang.'

"These old foxes from Elder Mountain are indeed more challenging to deal with. To catch a big fish, we must continuously raise the stakes. I hope this time, the stakes are high enough to reel in that big one too!"

As Lu Wu spoke, his figure disappeared from Father God's slightly dazed eyes.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end