Chapter 309: The Light Chaser

"Heh heh heh—Kou Ge, my old friend? What a rare guest! Let me calculate; I'm afraid it's been several millennia since I last heard your voice. What, have you finally deigned to seek me out?" That will emitted bursts of laughter, carrying the composure of one long accustomed to ruling from above.

Suppressing the physical pain caused by the rapid consumption of the Thousand-Soul Golden Crystal, Kou Ge strove to keep his mental fluctuations steady: "'Light Chaser,' it is not that I did not wish to contact you, but the price of trading with you is simply too heavy. My meager assets cannot withstand such torment many times."

"Hahaha!" The Light Chaser's will laughed loudly, "Price and reward are always directly proportional, my friend! You are simply too cautious!"

"Take my advice: in this endless void, opportunity often accompanies risk. Go out and venture forth more, take more risks! In any case, with me here, whatever information you need, I can obtain for you, sufficient to let you evade most dangers and maximize your profits!"

"No, I feel that within the endless void, caution is still paramount—" "Oh, do not be afraid, I am here!"

Kou Ge sneered inwardly.

Spoken so lightly; if one truly followed the other's words and frequently relied on external information to take risks, then more than half the resources he had painstakingly accumulated would likely flow into this fellow's pocket.

In that case, would he not become a puppet working specifically for him, yet still bearing all the risks?

He, Kou Ge, had become the master of a world; he was no such fool who liked relying on others.

Thinking this in his heart, Kou Ge revealed no emotion on his surface, responding only with silence.

Seeing Kou Ge remain completely unresponsive, the Light Chaser also found it somewhat boring and cut straight to the point: "Very well, let us return to the main topic. You expended such a great price to contact me this time; what information do you desire?"

Kou Ge immediately replied, "I require detailed information on a world, an unknown civilization that suddenly appeared near my territory—I wonder what price must be paid?"

"Detailed information on a world?" The Light Chaser's will seemed to ponder for a moment, "That depends on which world it is."

"Although our world has recorded information on many powerful worlds and ancient civilizations, the void is infinite, and there are always places beyond our reach."

"If it is merely some insignificant, tiny world, we may not have paid it any attention. Speak the name of the world you wish to query, so I may judge its value and provide a quote."

It paused, then added, "Furthermore, when providing the name of a world or civilization, it is best to use the name they 'call themselves'; this will improve retrieval accuracy and avoid confusion."

Kou Ge looked at the golden crystal in the center of the formation, which was shrinking at a speed visible to the naked eye and beginning to dim in color; his heart ached so fiercely his entire body nearly convulsed.

He dared not delay further and swiftly transmitted the organized information: "They call themselves 'Wizards'."

He packaged and sent over data including some vague images recorded at the front lines, energy spectrum characteristics, and the few deciphered language fragments.

"Wizards?"

The Light Chaser's will received the information and fell silent for a moment, seemingly searching through a vast database, before responding with a hint of uncertainty:

"This name—does not seem to match any records of known powerful civilizations. It sounds like a recently risen world, or perhaps a title a native civilization, content to remain in one corner, has given itself. There is no direct data in the information archive."

"This..." Kou Ge's tone grew stiff, clearly quite dissatisfied with this result.

"However—" the Light Chaser changed tack, "since you have expended a 'Thousand-Soul Golden Crystal' to open communications, we will naturally provide service. I can exercise my authority to conduct a targeted prophecy and information gathering for you, but this will require time. Wait for me a while; once I have results, I will contact you again and inform you of the final price to be paid."

The words had barely fallen when, before Kou Ge could ask anything further, that grand descending will receded rapidly like a tide.

The suffocating pressure within the secret chamber vanished abruptly, and the formation's light dimmed swiftly.

Click—

A faint sound of cracking rang out.

In the center of the formation, that originally brilliant golden crystal had now completely lost all its luster, its surface covered in cracks.

Finally, it collapsed into a small pile of dull gray powder, like ashes after something has burned to nothing.

Kou Ge looked at that pile of powder, his massive body swaying powerlessly.

The condensation of billions of high-grade souls was simply gone like that!

All exchanged for nothing but a promise of "wait for notification."

"Looking on the bright side, even that fellow Light Chaser has no specific information, which proves this Wizard civilization is not famous. It must be a weak civilization—"

Although he comforted himself thus, Kou Ge still felt some heartache.

"I hope—your intelligence is worth this price." He whispered hoarsely, filled with endless heartache and a trace of unease, as he slowly exited the secret chamber.

On the other end of the endless void, in a mysterious realm shrouded in eternal brilliance.

An existence composed of pure energy and the light of order—

The "Light Chaser"—withdrew its projected will.

It "looked" at the remaining fragment of the Thousand-Soul Golden Crystal floating before it; though half had been consumed, it remained invaluable, and ripples of pleasure rippled across the surface of the light sphere.

"What a generous local tyrant—just for some communication and buying a bit of time, I can reap so much as a 'down payment'. Small places have their small advantages," it pondered with satisfaction.

After all, if it were some major world, they would easily see through its behavior of stealing a bite.

"So, how long should I wait before sending a reply to that blob of slime?"

It began calculating precisely: "Reply too quickly, and the information will seem easy to obtain, making it difficult to demand a high price later—reply too slowly, and while it may whet their appetite, it seems it might also damage my reputation for efficient response—Hmm, I must find a time point that is just right."

While weighing how to maximize profit, it almost subconsciously activated the innate talent ability inherent to its race.

Relying on the name "Wizard" provided by Kou Ge, along with those images and energy characteristics, its perception, like invisible tentacles, quietly reached out toward the torrent of information in the nether related to these details.

It attempted to peek at some clues first, so as to add more bargaining chips for the subsequent "quotation."

However, just at the instant its perceptual power touched the edge of a certain vague concept...

A calm, indifferent piece of information, yet one that seemed to contain the weight of the entire void, without any warning, directly and brutally branded itself onto the very core of its mind:

"Oh? Interesting, you actually dare to actively probe us? Let me see—"

Upon hearing this, the Light Chaser's brilliance suddenly froze.

(Extra chapter today, another one coming soon!)

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