Chapter 63: Negotiation, Reward

Within Tokyo City

In a private room of a yakitori restaurant.

Su Lin sat to the left of the entrance; opposite him was a man with a lazy aura, as if he hadn’t slept, and beside him sat a boy with aristocratic grace, his face refined and handsome.

“Could you bring me another fifty skewers of chicken, five lantern skewers, and refill the draft beer?” Su Lin said to the server beside him: “Roast the chicken liver well, ten skewers; char the chicken skin a bit more, twenty skewers.”

“Understood, please wait a moment.” The server quickly scribbled on the order slip with a neutral pen, bowed lightly, then slid shut the wooden door.

“Where do you even get this gluttonous trait…” The messy-haired young man sighed, ruffling the boy’s neatly groomed hair: “Bro, did you bring enough money?”

“Aren’t you the one treating?” The boy’s golden pupils flickered with mockery as he smiled elegantly: “No one would seriously promise to treat and then make their own brother pay the bill.”

“No way…”

He frowned, watching Su Lin, who acted as if he’d just come to eat, and muttered: “Aren’t you even a little surprised? Seeing me appear again—don’t you find that shocking? Even if you mistook me for someone else, the Lu Mingfei you know is still inside Genji Heavy Industries!”

The man before Su Lin was naturally the culprit behind the shattering of the Dayan Pearl.

Lu Mingfei from another timeline.

And the boy beside him—no need to say, Su Lin knew he was Lu Mingze, that little devil; Su Lin was merely curious whether this creature could manifest physically, or if this Lu Mingfei had done something to make it possible.

“Why be surprised?” Su Lin tugged off a chunk of chicken from his skewer; the salty-sweet sauce spread through his mouth: “I don’t believe someone like you lacks the skill to do sit-ups.”

“You’re both Lu Mingfei—I’ll just call you Old Lu.”

From the very beginning, Su Lin never believed that was their final meeting.

“In movies and TV, someone like you gets dragged out at least several times, squeezed for every last drop of value, only released by the writer right before the grand finale.”

“You understand storytelling…” The future Lu Mingfei buried his face in the table, wondering whether he should just skip out on the bill.

“Hold on, I’m replying to a message.” A notification popped up in Su Lin’s vision.

It was Kleine.

Kleine: “You there?”

Su Lin: “Here.”

Kleine: “Can you help me buy something? I need it here.”

Su Lin: “What?”

Su Lin was curious—surely not weapons or ammunition.

Kleine: “Some luxury goods… and pack some modern food… buy plenty of Cantonese dishes.”

“Also Western food—hire several chefs…”

Kleine: “【Image】”

It was a list, written in ink on yellowed paper…

Hss—

Su Lin sucked in a sharp breath.

Perfume, handbags, women’s clothing, pants, skirts—all brands clearly labeled.

Steamed lamb, steamed bear paws, steamed deer tails, roasted duck, roasted chicks, roasted goose, braised pork, braised duck, soy-braised chicken, dried meat, pine nuts, small intestines, air-dried meat, sausages, assorted fried platters, smoked chicken with white belly, steamed eight-treasure pork, glutinous rice-stuffed duck, canned wild pheasant, canned quail, braised mixed offal, braised goose belly…

A handheld game console?

And a smartphone? What do you even need a smartphone for?!

Su Lin: “What is this…?”

Kleine: “Don’t ask. Got caught reselling stuff—had to pay tribute.”

In a wooden cabin, three candles stood on a slightly stained floor; the two in front represented “Night” and “Secrecy,” the one behind represented Kleine himself.

Under the veil of the Spiritual Wall, full-moon oil was sprinkled upon the ground.

Herbs to please the gods burned in the air.

Ashes on the floor shifted into word after word.

Kleine watched the characters on the ground shift endlessly, his eyelids twitching.

The Faceless Man could control his expression—but not his money.

Quietly calculating how much he still had in Su Lin’s account, he used the dexterous hands of the Magician and the Jester to copy down characters with a feather pen dipped in ink on yellowed parchment…

Almost enough…

Please, stop!

I’m out of money!

“Er… Great One… there might be a slight issue with funds,” Kleine tried to keep his tone steady, adding a note of negotiation: “Could we leave the rest for next time?”

The ash-formed characters paused. After several seconds, two words appeared.

“Next time.”

The characters vanished; a faint breeze appeared out of nowhere, scattering the ash.

Glug, Kleine swallowed his saliva and turned his attention back to the chat group.

Kleine: “【Image】”

Kleine: “That’s about it…”

Su Lin: “…”

Su Lin: “Alright.”

Kleine: “Thank you.”

Su Lin: “You’re welcome.”

Su Lin closed the group chat and turned his attention back to the two brothers before him.

Lu Mingfei, seeing Su Lin return, asked: “Is that the tool you usually chat with?”

Su Lin nodded, picked up a skewer of chicken liver, and dipped it in chili powder.

“Can you invite people into it like QQ?” Old Lu raised his cup, puzzled—he knew his counterpart in this timeline had a chat group, but didn’t know what kind.

“No such function,” Su Lin denied.

At that moment, the server knocked on the wooden door.

“Excuse me.”

“Your yakitori has arrived. These are complimentary chicken cartilage and side dishes—please enjoy them.” After placing the skewers, the server set down two small plates.

“Thank you.”

The server bowed again, then slowly withdrew, sliding the door shut.

“Good business sense,” Lu Mingfei picked up a skewer of the free chicken cartilage: “Could it be you didn’t recharge, which is why you can’t invite people?”

“There’s no recharge function either…” Su Lin raised his beer cup and clinked it with Lu Mingfei’s.

Glug glug glug—

Lu Mingfei lifted his glass, tilted his head back, and downed a full liter of chilled beer in one go.

Clink.

“Haah! That’s good!”

Setting down the cup, Lu Mingfei suddenly remembered something: “Forgot to introduce—though you probably know him already.”

He pulled Lu Mingze, who sat upright beside him, into his arms, burying his face in the boy’s medium-length black hair like he was hugging a cat, inhaling deeply.

“My dear brother, Lu Mingze~.”

Lu Mingze made a disgusted face: “Can you please move away, you drunkard? You reek of alcohol—it’s unbearable.”

“Nope,” Lu Mingfei hugged him tighter, resting his chin on Lu Mingze’s head: “This is Su Lin—my good friend.”

“Hello, Su Lin,” Lu Mingze glanced at Lu Mingfei helplessly, then smiled at Su Lin: “I’m Lu Mingze.”

“Hello, Lu Mingze,” Su Lin corrected: “Old Lu, you’re wrong—I’m the creditor until your debt’s paid off. Thank you.”

“Hahaha, that’s harsh~.” Lu Mingfei chuckled, then grew slightly serious: “You’re helping my counterpart find Herzog, right?”

“Looks like you don’t need to look anymore,” Su Lin picked up a tentacle with wasabi sauce—it was a complimentary side dish, its sharp, salty-spicy flavor perfectly suited his taste.

“Yeah, no need,” Lu Mingfei confirmed: “That worm can wait.”

“Interested in doing three things for me? Of course, you’ll get three rewards.” Lu Mingfei’s black pupils flickered with an intense golden hue, his lips curved in a smile.

“…”

“What are the rewards?” Su Lin asked.

“You don’t ask what the tasks are—you jump straight to the rewards? Hahaha, you’re definitely my kind of guy.”

Lu Mingfei laughed until his whole body shook; soon, he calmed, his expression turning serious.

“First reward: I allow you to do whatever you want in this world.” Lu Mingfei remained unchanged—just sitting cross-legged across from them—but the atmosphere subtly shifted.

“Hmm.” Su Lin nodded, asking: “What about the other rewards?”

Seeing Su Lin’s calm expression, Lu Mingfei slammed his fist on the table, lowering then slightly raising his voice: “Don’t you feel any resentment? That something you could’ve achieved easily now demands extra payment—don’t you feel even a sliver of anger, frustration, bitterness, suppression, irritation, or betrayal?”

“I got used to being exploited when I worked at a company,” Su Lin said matter-of-factly: “Besides, this is your world, isn’t it? And most importantly, I probably can’t beat you.”

“I admit—you’re stronger now,” Su Lin urged: “Come on, spit out the other rewards. If you don’t, I’m leaving.”

“…”

Lu Mingfei felt an inexplicable sense of loss and failure—how many years had it been since he last felt this? When had his last friend who wasn’t afraid of him vanished? He couldn’t remember…

Only when observing his clones did he gain fleeting experiences—but those were like reading a novel or watching a movie: perhaps moved in the moment, yet over time, the heart grew still, leaving only emptiness.

“Hmph hahaha,” Lu Mingfei chuckled, revealing the next reward: “Power and authority. The second reward: power and authority.”

“…” Su Lin wasn’t sure if this “power and authority” meant what he thought: “Authority?”

“Will you accept?” Lu Mingfei raised his beer cup, slightly expectant.

Clink—

Glasses clinked.

“Deal.”

Another beer went down, but Su Lin felt no fullness—he had retained only the taste projection of history, with no need to cultivate to accelerate digestion.

Glug glug glug.

After downing the beer, Lu Mingfei called the server for more.

“Three more cans of cola—ice cold.”

Click.

Lu Mingfei pulled the tab on the cola can, took a sip.

“Honestly, I prefer this over alcohol.”

He swirled the can in his hand; tiny droplets of condensed water clung to the cold metal, flinging off with his motion.

“Then, the third payment.”

“Hold on.” Su Lin looked at Lu Mingfei and interrupted him.

“Another group chat message?” Lu Mingfei assumed it was another notification.

“No.” Su Lin denied it.

“I have some questions—about whether I should honor this deal. I need you to answer them.”

“Oh?” Lu Mingfei was puzzled but unconcerned. “Ask.”

“How does your behavior, your very existence, affect the current Lu Mingfei?” Su Lin carefully phrased it. “Or—what is your purpose?”

“To replace him?”

“To help him?”

“Or to enjoy a second life in this era?”

Drinking cola, Lu Mingze—who had seemed uninterested in their conversation—looked up at Su Lin, his golden pupils mysterious and solemn.

“Surprising.” Lu Mingfei hadn’t expected Su Lin to care. “Do you two have a close relationship?”

He didn’t know what the past Lu Mingfei had discussed in the group chat—he could only glean basic information from his former self.

Even so, in his memory, Lu Mingfei had joined the group only recently, and they’d known each other briefly.

“Just acquaintances,” Su Lin said, locking eyes with Old Lu. “I know him well. I don’t know you.”

“So if what you plan to do harms him, I won’t help you—even if I can’t help him either.”

For a moment, the private room fell silent. All three stared at each other, no one speaking.

“Nothing more to say?”

After a long pause, Lu Mingfei spoke slowly: “I thought you’d say ‘add more money.’”

Su Lin had no reply. He wanted to see just how far this future Lu Mingfei’s mind had evolved.

“It’s not impossible…” Su Lin finally muttered.

“I won’t harm him. I won’t replace him.” Lu Mingfei sighed, relieved—he’d never intended to supplant his past self. “As for your ‘second life’—that’s not what I want. I’ve lost the chance.”

“That being, Ye Fan—wouldn’t you trust him to handle it himself?”

“Everything I was has become his experience. The process is irreversible.”

“I’m only still here because he absorbs too slowly—I exist now as mere residue.”

“Of course, I’m not residue anymore.” Lu Mingfei patted Lu Mingze’s head. “So there’s still much I can do.”

“I transferred that fifty percent to him,” Lu Mingze said. “You in the other world should know what that means.”

Su Lin nodded. He hadn’t anticipated such a method.

“I can likely persist for over a thousand years—if he doesn’t cultivate. But with his pace, you may not see me in a few centuries.”

“As for my purpose… hah.” Lu Mingfei grinned, flashing a row of white teeth, his eyes turning sharp and cruel, his voice suddenly icy. “Let those scum know who their true master is. Traitors and vile servants—obey and live, defy and die.”

“The past Lu Mingfei?”

“He only needs to live happily, joyfully, waiting for my abdication—then inherit my throne.”

Su Lin fell silent, weighed the pros and cons, then agreed to the deal.

“Deal.”