Reward

Zhai Cai's pupils contracted sharply, as if exposed to glaring light. "How do you know that?!" His expression turned grave. "Elder Fu told me. As for how he found out, you can ask him yourself," Zhang Yuanqing replied, breezily passing the buck to Fu Qingyang. Zhai Cai stared at him sharply for a dozen seconds before slipping back into his cynical demeanor. "Tsk. As expected of the youngest ruling elder in the Five Elements Alliance's history—unfathomable methods. That's right, I do have a treasure map. One of the responsibilities passed down to the Knight is guarding that map. There is no way I would betray my master and ancestors to share the Holy See's treasure with outsiders." Zhang Yuanqing ignored his words completely, continuing on his own: "Four fragments. One is in your hands, one is in Elder Fu's hands, and the other two are in Old Berrent's labyrinth and on the Hunter Guild Saint, Tongtian Jiaozhu. "If you agree to cooperate and share the treasure, I will help you retrieve the fragment from the labyrinth. You should know well enough that even a Dominator would struggle to clear that labyrinth alone. As for the piece on Tongtian Jiaozhu, the Five Elements Alliance will handle it for you." The Palace Master of Halting Slaughter had already explained via text message about Zhai Cai's cooperation with Winnie and the fact that a sacred plate fragment was hidden inside Old Berrent's labyrinth. And on his way back, he had already paid Reilly Eugene, the Interest faction member from the Merchant Guild, to purchase intelligence regarding Old Berrent's labyrinth. Zhai Cai fell silent. Zhang Yuanqing struck while the iron was hot. "Inside the Holy See's treasure vault lies a demigod-grade item for the Knight profession. That item will be yours. You will become the only Knight demigod in this world. After that, even if you wear a mink coat on a scorching hot day, no one will think you're an idiot." Zhai Cai was finally tempted. "Deal!" Then he caught himself. "Wait, no. You think I look like an idiot wearing a mink coat?" "Not at all. In fact, I think it looks very handsome," Zhang Yuanqing responded in high spirits. Having settled things with the Sole-Inheritance Knight, he looked toward the Palace Master of Halting Slaughter. "Palace Master, your turn." The Palace Master of Halting Slaughter pointed at her earphone. Zhang Yuanqing shook his head. "No need. Sharing intelligence appropriately helps deepen cooperation." His implication was to share the information with the Sole-Inheritance Knight and Minister Winnie. Zhai Cai and the blind Winnie immediately turned their attention over. The Palace Master of Halting Slaughter pondered for a few seconds, sat up straight, and said, "Minister Winnie, when did you first learn of the Covenant of Freedom?" "After the Pluto incident," Winnie answered. "In other words, before Pluto's biological father was eliminated, the Covenant of Freedom hid itself very well. Even a chief prosecutor like Minister Winnie had never heard of them. For an entire century, they remained hidden in the shadows." Although she didn't know why this was being brought up, Winnie nodded cooperatively. "What are you trying to say?" "Just a casual discussion, no need to be so serious," the Palace Master of Halting Slaughter said. "Channing Lu told me that the reason he could remain undercover within Heaven's Punishment without being detected was because he received Ling Tuo's covert protection. This made me realize that the Covenant of Freedom lacked the means to plant spies on a large scale without being discovered. Otherwise, they wouldn't have needed to seek Ling Tuo's help." "Who is Ling Tuo?" the Sole-Inheritance Knight chimed in. "Leader of the Dark Night Rose, a demigod-grade Night Wanderer, and the son of the Taiyi Sect Master," Zhang Yuanqing answered casually. He then saw Winnie and Zhai Cai wearing looks of utter stupefaction. "While sharing intelligence is good for strengthening cooperation, for information this monumental, shouldn't I pay a little something to feel right about it?" Zhai Cai fished a few coins out of his pocket, using the distraction to calm the shock surging through him. A businessman worth tens of billions, and you're offering that little? Zhang Yuanqing waved a hand. "Keep it to buy hamburgers and fried chicken. Palace Master, please continue." The Palace Master of Halting Slaughter nodded. "You should know that more than twenty years ago, the Compass of Light was deliberately leaked by the Covenant of Freedom. In the end, the core fragment of the compass was acquired by the Xiaoyao Organization. "After that, Ling Tuo, who was a member of the Xiaoyao Organization, turned into a Corrupted, ascended to demigod, and took command of the Lunar power. From then on, the Covenant of Freedom gained the means to conceal spies. Isn't all of this a bit too coincidental?" Zhang Yuanqing's expression changed. "Are you saying that the Xiaoyao Organization obtaining the compass fragment was orchestrated entirely by the Covenant of Freedom, and that even Ling Tuo becoming a Corrupted was part of their scheme?" The Palace Master nodded. "That's impossible!" Zhang Yuanqing felt her imagination had run wild. The Xiaoyao Organization had four peak Dominators, along with a demigod-grade President as their ally—how could such a group possibly be manipulated? Besides, Ling Tuo's corruption was due to contacting the core secret of the Spirit Realm and suffering a mysterious curse. All four members of the Xiaoyao Organization had been tainted. The Palace Master of Halting Slaughter crossed her arms and said solemnly, "Have you ever considered this: all four were cursed, so why was Ling Tuo the only one who became corrupted? Shouldn't the one who sat withered in an ancient temple for twenty years have been much more prone to corruption?" Zhang Yuanqing froze, his mouth opening to retort, but no words came out. Winnie wore a dazed expression. What had she just heard? The Covenant of Freedom had orchestrated the struggle over the Compass of Light, dictated where the compass would end up even in a clash involving numerous demigods, and smoothly engineered a Lord of the Moon, granting themselves the means to conceal spies ever since? Just what kind of planning and foresight was that? Zhai Cai silently set two coins on the coffee table, sliding one to the Palace Master of Halting Slaughter and the other to Jumang. Zhang Yuanqing pondered alone for a few seconds and judged the likelihood to be extremely low. The Palace Master's theory was more wild imagination than fact. Of course, even if it were true, at most it only revealed some inside story of past events, offering no practical benefit to their current situation. With the discussion between the Sole-Inheritance Knight and the Palace Master finished, he finally turned to Winnie Berrent. "Minister Winnie, Elder Fu would also like to make a deal with you." "Is your Elder Fu a Merchant or a Scout?" Zhai Cai pricked up his ears. Winnie nodded with blank eyes. "What deal?" "Did the Demon Lord ever give you a treasure map fragment?" Zhang Yuanqing finally asked the question that had weighed on his mind for so long. Winnie fell silent, offering no reply. It really is on her, Zhang Yuanqing thought. Given Winnie's personality, if the fragment weren't in her hands, she would have said so straightforwardly. Her silence now indicated that she was reluctant to make the deal. Zhang Yuanqing said, "We will take responsibility for gathering all the keys to the Demon Lord's treasure. When the time comes, one-sixth of the treasure will belong to you. Minister Winnie, you wouldn't want the Demon Lord's belongings to remain sealed in the Spirit Realm forever, would you?" Winnie pondered for a moment before speaking calmly. "I can agree to this deal, but on one condition: I want the Elvis Presley speaker." "The Elvis Presley speaker?" Zhang Yuanqing feigned complete ignorance. "What Elvis Presley speaker?" The Palace Master of Halting Slaughter offered a hypocritical explanation: "The Elvis Presley speaker was an item belonging to the Demon Lord. Its last owner was Yuanshi Tianzun. But unfortunately, Yuanshi Tianzun did not leave the speaker behind. That item returned to the Spirit Realm along with him." Winnie had already received this answer from Ryo Asano before, and hearing the Palace Master of Halting Slaughter mention it again stirred deep disappointment in her heart. She furrowed her brows. "How do you know that?" The Palace Master of Halting Slaughter gave a light chuckle. "My Spirit Realm ID is the Palace Master of Halting Slaughter. If you've ever heard of me, you should know my relationship with Yuanshi Tianzun." Winnie was clearly aware of who the Palace Master of Halting Slaughter was, and immediately fell silent. Zhang Yuanqing hastily asked, "Minister Winnie, why are you so fixated on that speaker?" "The Demon Lord had a habit of recording audio. He would record his dungeon strategies, operation plans, and daily life details onto audio tracks," Winnie said, sadness coloring her voice. "In his final battle before returning to the Spirit Realm, he couldn't have failed to make a recording. I want to know if he left behind any contingency plans—whether he truly returned to the Spirit Realm, or..." Winnie trailed off. Zhai Cai shrugged. "Didn't Yuanshi Tianzun inherit the Demon Lord's character card? Ever since the dawn of the Spirit Realm, no Spirit Realm walker has ever been able to detach a character card. And once detached, it means death." Such a simple truth was something Winnie naturally knew. Her lingering obsession with the Elvis Presley speaker was fundamentally her inability to let go of that heartless man. That's going too far, boss. Say fewer hurtful truths, or you're gonna get beaten up... Zhang Yuanqing had a sudden realization. Winnie's words made complete sense. Given the Demon Lord's personality, he definitely would have recorded audio before his decisive battle with the Deceitful Eye Judge. Although the Elvis Presley speaker was stubbornly rigid and might not be willing to play it for him, as long as he held onto the item, the day would come when he could hear it. "So, regarding Elder Fu's deal...?" Zhang Yuanqing probed. "I'll think about it." Winnie neither agreed nor refused. Before dawn, Sean Meade hurried back and conferred behind closed doors with Winnie for a long time. When the first light of dawn broke, Winnie handed Channing Lu over to Sean. Then, escorted by the Sole-Inheritance Knight, she left the Heaven's Punishment branch and headed for her grandfather Old Berrent's villa. Zhang Yuanqing also regrouped with his teammates, sharing their respective gains and merits. By now, his teammates possessed more and more items, and their combat strength was growing stronger and stronger. They were already a force that could not be overlooked, fully qualified as his assistants. If the Saints of the support team joined forces, taking down a peak Saint would pose no problem at all. At nine o'clock in the morning, the New York County branch published an official announcement about the harbor battle on the Heaven's Punishment forum. It declared that under the wise and valiant leadership of Chief Executive Officer Sean Meade and Chief Prosecutor Winnie Berrent, New York County's orthodox organizations had engaged the evil faction in an unprecedented clash at New York Harbor, involving numerous Dominators. In this battle, the two Chiefs rooted out the evil faction spy concealed within the organization—Channing Lu—and thwarted the Covenant of Freedom's conspiracy. In this battle, Saint Jumang from the Second District killed Typhoeus, along with peak Saints from the Second District including Jealousy Divine General and Dream Tapir, leading the New York County Saints to a glorious victory in the holy war. The announcement was a lengthy treatise spanning over two thousand words. This announcement shocked all of Heaven's Punishment and the entire Western world of Spirit Realm walkers. Level 8 Dominator Channing Lu was an evil faction spy; Typhoeus, a legendary Saint who had bestrode the West for a decade, had returned to the Spirit Realm; nearly ten peak Saints had perished in a single night; faction conflict had escalated and might herald battles between Dominators. Every single incident was a headline-worthy, trending event. Spirit Realm walkers across Heaven's Punishment's various branches were overjoyed. Though hindered by their duties from participating in the faction war in New York County, they followed the conflict daily. Most orthodox walkers possessed a strong sense of faction belonging and honor. Jumang, who had achieved one military feat after another in New York County, became a hero in the eyes of Heaven's Punishment's walkers. At this very moment, the hero in everyone's eyes was sitting at the conference table, receiving commendations from Sean Meade. "Your performance at the harbor was exceptional. I have already verified the combat report you submitted with Chazo and the others and confirmed there are no issues." Sean Meade spoke with rare gentleness as he picked up the tablet beside him, pushed it across to Zhang Yuanqing, and said: "Headquarters intends to reward you with three Saint-grade items, ten million federal dollars, and thirty million worth of spirit-infused materials. "Here is the list. Take your pick." Zhang Yuanqing rubbed his hands together secretly, took the tablet, glanced over it, and promptly pushed it back: "Chief Executive Sean, I am not satisfied with Heaven's Punishment's rewards." Although the items on the list were valuable, none captured his interest. Ordinary Saint-grade items no longer held much meaning for him unless they were top-quality pieces. After all, he had clearly seen in his stargazing divination that he was about to obtain a "treasure." In an exceptionally good mood, Sean Meade nodded. "What kind of reward are you looking for?" "At least a top-grade Saint-stage item, or a Dominator-grade item. If my merits aren't enough, I can cover the difference myself," Zhang Yuanqing said. The merit Jumang had accrued was more than enough to exchange for a top-grade item. However, Heaven's Punishment would never offer up such precious top-grade items on their own initiative. If they could resolve it with money, they would never use items; if they could brush him off with ordinary items, they would never give out top-grade ones. Sean Meade nodded. "I will convey your request to headquarters, but I cannot guarantee they will accept it." Zhang Yuanqing expressed his thanks and stood up to leave the conference room. He believed Heaven's Punishment headquarters would definitely grant his request to demonstrate the impartiality and fairness of the world's foremost orthodox faction. Of course, if Heaven's Punishment failed to appreciate the situation, he would post a complaint on the Heaven's Punishment forum, using public opinion to force the higher-ups into a compromise. Leaving the conference room, Zhang Yuanqing quietly departed the Bank Building, took the subway to Queens, and turned on his spare phone. Sure enough, he had received a text from Catherine. With the mission a failure, as an underling who had bungled the job, he had to give his superior an accounting, write a report, and endure a scolding. However, the content of the text struck him as odd—Catherine had asked to meet him at two in the afternoon. Cocktail's successful escape had been deliberate on his part. Otherwise, with his original body hunting down the Stargazer and Tongtian Jiaozhu pursuing Cocktail, not a single peak Saint from the evil faction would have escaped. Yet had that happened, with his entire squad wiped out while Tongtian Jiaozhu alone survived, it would have been impossible to justify. Cocktail being alive was actually beneficial to Tongtian Jiaozhu; this Disorderly would tell the evil faction Dominators just how formidable Jumang truly was. The defeat was due to a disparity in sheer strength, having nothing to do with Tongtian Jiaozhu. Now that the battle had ended and the blame did not fall on him, if his superior had high emotional intelligence, a consoling phone call would have won over loyalty effectively; if she had low emotional intelligence, a fierce tongue-lashing would have sufficed. In short, there was no reason they strictly had to meet in person. Unless Catherine was in an utterly foul mood and wanted to vent her frustrations on his "little black rod." Poor Tongtian Jiaozhu! Zhang Yuanqing licked his lips. At one o'clock in the afternoon, just as the midday break ended, he received a message from the Executive Department: Chief Sean wanted to see him. Zhang Yuanqing knocked on the Chief Executive Officer's door and was greeted by Sean, who had gaunt cheeks and faintly silvered temples. "Headquarters agreed to your request!" Sean Meade smiled slightly and pointed to the tablet at the corner of his desk. "Pick for yourself." Heaven's Punishment really is rolling in wealth... Zhang Yuanqing perked up. He opened the tablet and saw a document detailing the item attributes of six different items. Zhang Yuanqing was instantly drawn to the attributes of one of the items: [Name: Mail of Thunder] [Type: Armor] [Function: Lightning] [Description: An item forged by an indescribable existence who harvested a core of lightning. It possesses remarkable defensive power.] [Note 1: It is one of the components of the Thor Battle Armor. The remaining four pieces are: Bracers, Boots, Helmet, and Spear. Assembling all five pieces grants the Power of Thor.] [Note 2: Please recharge it in a timely manner prior to each use.] [Note 3: Lightning will numb your body.]