Chapter 181: Ambush

Wu Chang first set aside the pitfalls from Choi Sung-taek's mission, looked toward Sword Star, and asked:

"When did you discover their Midian Kingdom identities, and why didn't you tell me?"

Sword Star said, "There's still one loose end regarding the intelligence on them. We wanted to finish everything before reporting to you, Boss."

Although everyone belonged to the same faction, there was still competition among them. Whether it was Sword Star and the Negotiator, or Shadow and Great White Shark, each harbored thoughts of winning the Boss's favor.

A hidden NPC like Li Jaese was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If they managed to max out his favorability and triggered some hidden item, its value would exceed clearing an entire dungeon.

Shadow had over-fulfilled the mission. Relying on skill traits, he simultaneously monitored several other factions, and his combat power was the strongest among them—his presence was maxed out.

Although Great White Shark's strength was slightly inferior, she had the talent of a Pirate Captain, and the subsequent piloting of the Star Leap couldn't do without her.

Compared to those two, Sword Star and the Negotiator held no advantage in strength, and their utility hadn't manifested yet, so naturally they were anxious.

Having finally made a breakthrough investigating Midian spies, how could they easily hand that merit to someone else?

Wu Chang guessed Sword Star's thoughts, didn't press further, and asked, "What loose end do you still have?"

Sword Star hesitated for a moment, but still decided to share the progress.

"Boss, while investigating those Midian Kingdom spies, we once overheard them mention something…"

On the first day aboard the Star Leap, after the banquet ended, Wu Chang handed the list of names to Sword Star.

This kind of mission tied to the main storyline exploration progress—Sword Star and the Negotiator took it very seriously. They immediately locked onto the targets and began tailing them.

That very night after the banquet, they had actually already discovered the true identities of those people.

Two of the rookies tried to sneak into the captain's piloting room and ran into Kang Junsuk, who had stayed behind in the room.

Don't be fooled by Kang Junsuk being killed so casually by Wu Chang with a single club to the head. As the nominal controller of the Star Leap and an active-duty Navy officer, Kang Junsuk's strength was not weak—in fact, it was a notch above the Four Vajras behind Li Jaese.

Kang Junsuk pinned the two rookies to the ground on the spot and was about to drain their blood to nourish the formation. To survive, the two rookies revealed their identities as Midian Kingdom spies.

Their Midian Kingdom identity saved the two rookies, but before they could get far—after leaving the piloting room and rounding a corner—they were pinned down again by Sword Star and the Negotiator.

The "Negotiator" in the Negotiator's name was not for nothing.

From Sword Star's tactful explanation, Wu Chang deduced that she possessed some kind of forced-negotiation ability. As long as both parties agreed on a price and passed some skill check, the other side had to unconditionally execute the terms of the negotiation.

Thanks to the Negotiator's ability, the two learned that the people who appeared at the banquet were just small-fry among the Midian Kingdom spies, and that the real mastermind on the ship was someone else.

By agreement, after entering the Shipwreck Belt, they would meet every three days to pool the intelligence each had gathered.

Then their leader would take out a communicator that wasn't disrupted by the Shipwreck Belt and transmit everything happening inside the belt to the outside.

After each transmission, the spy leader would also send a string of special numbers. Even the two spies they had captured didn't know what those numbers represented.

Because of the Negotiator's ability, after the negotiation ended, the two rookie spies completely forgot what had happened, and no one knew they had leaked the secret.

The reason Sword Star and the Negotiator had been silent during this period was that they had been monitoring this group of Midian Kingdom people the whole time.

Based on their observations, that group of spies was middling in ability. Although each had some minor tricks, when it came to real combat strength, even five or six of them bundled together would be at most on par with Qinglong—not enough for Sword Star to handle alone.

After a preliminary assessment, even including their leader, the two of them would be enough to handle it, so they hadn't been in a rush to tell Wu Chang everything.

After hearing Sword Star's report, Wu Chang asked, "Did they find out who the person in charge they mentioned is?"

Sword Star shook his head and said, "That person in charge is extremely cautious. He only maintains one-way contact with the other members. We couldn't find any trace of him."

"They were originally supposed to meet and transmit intelligence two days ago, but it happened to coincide with Kang Junsuk and the others' plan to seize the ship. Kang Junsuk found those two rookies and had them pass along a message, which caused the scheduled meetup to be canceled."

"After that, we ran into the Boss taking control of the Star Leap from Kang Junsuk. Today your secretary brought Qinglong and the others to re-plan the cabin control zones, and the passengers are all staying in their cabins, making it inconvenient to move around. To avoid drawing attention, that group of Midian Kingdom spies went quiet for another day."

"By tomorrow, once things return to normal and there are no other interfering factors, they should make a move. Whether it's the once-every-three-days meetup or transmitting the accumulated intelligence to the outside, we estimate that by tomorrow night, they should make a move."

Wu Chang nodded, acknowledging Sword Star's analysis.

As for the identity of that Midian Kingdom spy leader, he didn't particularly care, but the communicator in the opponent's hands had caught his keen interest.

A device from the Midian Kingdom capable of breaking through signal jamming—his intuition told him that thing would come in very handy.

He was determined to get his hands on that communicator.

As for the mysterious string of numbers Sword Star mentioned, it was clearly some important clue as well. If possible, he wanted to take that clue too.

He looked at Sword Star and said slowly, "You've already done very well. I'll leave the rest of this operation to you two, but I'll find you some backup."

Sword Star was about to say they didn't need backup when Wu Chang raised a hand and cut him off.

"The backup I want to get for you isn't just Shadow and Great White Shark—I also want to call in our allies. If that group of Midian Kingdom spies really is as careless as you say, you definitely won't be the only ones watching them."

"Besides, from what I know of the Midian Kingdom people, they like to use firepower suppression. Even if they don't have overwhelming strength on paper, they wouldn't leave a mission like this to just a few rookies. Their real combat power probably hasn't been revealed yet."

This wasn't Wu Chang being overly cautious, nor was it because the Li Jaese he had replaced knew anything about Midian Kingdom spies—it was simply an information asymmetry.

As the founder of the faction, he could see his own faction ranking.

When the faction was first established, it showed his faction ranking was 5.

He had boarded the ship with his own subordinates. As the biggest backer of the Xinyuzhou Sect, on decent terms with Park Changmin, and courted by upper-class figures from the sixth and seventh floors, from every angle, his faction ranking had no reason to be lower than Li Yubin's.

So besides him and Li Yubin, there should be at least four other factions on the ship.

The Xinyuzhou Sect as one faction, the Navy represented by the captain as another, the Apocalypse faction that Yin Junhao belonged to as another—that left one more.

That last faction should correspond to the Midian Kingdom spies.

The only possible variable would be Li Yubin being the Midian Kingdom spy leader.

But that probability was extremely low. If Li Yubin were a spy, then posing as a troublemaking reporter and stirring things up everywhere would be far less efficient than returning to the Samseong Group and becoming a high-level executive to achieve his goals.

Exposing small businesses and winning hearts over is the kind of small stuff any random NGO could be trained to do, but high-level executives of the Samseeng Group aren't so easy to buy.

If Sword Star and the Negotiator continued to act against that group of Midian Kingdom spies, the two of them might end up dead this time.

Sword Star hesitated for a moment, then finally chose to accept Wu Chang's arrangement.

Wu Chang handing this operation to him to oversee had already sent a signal: that he recognized the effort they had put in.

As an excellent employee, enduring hardship and working hard is far less useful than making the boss think you are enduring hardship and working hard.

Now that the work they were doing had been shown to the boss, and the boss had acknowledged their work, Sword Star and the Negotiator didn't need to risk their lives anymore.

"We'll follow your instructions, Boss."

Wu Chang waved his hand and said, "Alright, go on out."

Xiang Jianxing nodded, about to leave, when suddenly he heard a "Wait!" from behind him.

Xiang Jianxing turned his head and saw Wu Chang, as if suddenly remembering something, say:

"I called you in because I originally wanted to tell you that a new person will be coming in tomorrow, and I wanted you to help keep an eye on him. I was interrupted by you just now and almost forgot."

Xiang Jianxing: "Huh?"

It wasn't until Xiang Jianxing left the suite with a bewildered expression that he finally realized—the boss hadn't come to personally check on his progress out of dissatisfaction with his work, but had been preparing to have him mentor a newcomer. As a result, the boss had asked casually, and he had spilled everything himself.

He took a deep breath, then exhaled heavily, slapping his forehead with his palm.

After a brief moment of frustration, he could only console himself—no matter what happened in the process, the result was still good in the end.

He opened a communication talisman, calling the Negotiation Master who continued to monitor the Midith Kingdom spy.

Negotiation Master: "What is it?"

Xiang Jianxing said in a low voice: "I just thought it through carefully. The incident involving this Midith Kingdom group is too big, and the two of us probably can't handle it. I happened to run into Li Zaishi just now, so I took the opportunity to tell him everything."

Negotiation Master pressed: "How did it turn out?"

Xiang Jianxing said in a relaxed tone: "The boss said we've done a great job. He's preparing to gather people and pull off something big together, with the two of us in command."

The Negotiation Master was silent for a moment, then praised: "Alright, I admit that when it comes to judging important events, you're a bit stronger than me."

The next morning, the people who had received Wu Chang's message arrived early at the banquet hall on the seventh floor.

!

At nine in the morning, a big fellow over two meters tall with a burly build walked into the banquet hall. Even in the Silent Route dungeon where the average person was a double-door fridge, his frame was absurdly broad and thick, like a moving wall.

The wall waved at the crowd in greeting. "Good morning, everyone. My name is Sekos. I'm also a player—ahem—I mean, I'm also here to apply as a bodyguard."

Shadow and Great White Shark had an impression of the big fellow before them. When Wu Chang had recruited at the bar that day, this big fellow named Sekos had also shown up.

No need to look to know—he was a standard strength-specialized player. Even without looking at his exaggerated build, closing your eyes, you could still feel the冲击力 brought by his attributes.

Especially Shadow, who paid extra attention to Sekos's presence, because after leaving that day, he had tried to investigate Sekos.

But whether through the Star Leap's internal system or by tailing and following, he couldn't find any trace of Sekos, as if he were an invisible person who could disappear at any time.

Shadow was very familiar with this kind of state. It indicated that the big fellow before them, apart from having strength far surpassing ordinary players, also possessed some powerful stealth skill, its effect no inferior to his own Shadow Stealth.

Upon discovering this fact, Shadow couldn't help but sigh that being an assassin these days was really too competitive—even berserkers were learning invisibility to steal business.

Wu Chang introduced to everyone:

"This is Sekos. A few days ago, he found me after Shadow and Great White Shark. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to complete the task I assigned him in time. But I've made an exception and given him another chance, letting him join as a probationary member."

"I know this is very unfair to everyone, and I value fairness the most, so I'll give everyone a chance. If anyone thinks Sekos's strength isn't enough to stay, they can spar with him. If he wins, he stays; if he loses, he leaves."

"Is anyone willing to give it a try?"

The big fellow Sekos before them was precisely Wu Chang's True Self.

Having activated the Giant Whale Transformation, the True Self's initial strength value had reached 84. During this period, he had kept the True Self running Social Anxiety Disorder and Elite Stealth, hiding around himself.

Taking advantage of the crowd's inattention, the True Self devoured the life force of Captain Jiang Junxi and First Mate Li Yuanzhi. As elite monsters in an A-rank near-collapse dungeon, the two's strength was no inferior to Duke Luz in the Midnight Graveyard, each providing the True Self with 20 points of strength.

This brought the True Self's current strength points to 124.

124 points of strength, paired with a mountain-like build, was enough to make anyone think twice.

At least among the group of players, no one thought Wu Chang's decision was unfair or wanted to go test Sekos's mettle.

Especially Xiang Jianxing—he was the first to step back. He knew Wu Chang's sparring rules: bare-handed combat, stop at the point of contact.

Against Qinglong he could still give it a try, but facing the little giant before him, if the other side slapped him over, wouldn't his health insurance card get sent flying?

Seeing no one step forward, Qinglong could only brace himself and walk out.

As Wu Chang's number one bodyguard, it was his duty to screen qualified candidates for the boss.

Feeling the sympathetic gazes of the crowd, Qinglong didn't wait for Wu Chang to speak and proactively said:

"Bare-handed sparring, stop at the point of contact!"

The True Self answered with a smile: "You got it."

The two slowly approached each other. Qinglong, who had always been known for his fierce and aggressive fighting style, unusually assumed a defensive guard stance, and right from the start activated the Qi within his body. The Azure Dragon tattoo on his body seemed to come alive, coiling around him, defending against the incoming attack.

Wu Chang's True Self, on the other hand, was very relaxed. After the Thunder Art Remnant Chapter was upgraded to the Thunder Art Remnant Scroll, he had fully mastered all the skills from the previous Thunder Art Remnant Chapter, and now was just the time to try out his newly familiarized skills.

One moment the True Self was standing in a relaxed posture, the next he suddenly accelerated, his body swift as lightning, arriving before Qinglong in an instant, throwing a punch.

Qinglong raised his arm to block, only to find his block met empty air. Focusing his gaze, he realized the fist that had swung at him was only an afterimage.

Not good!

Qinglong sensed something was wrong and had just prepared to dodge, when his ribs suddenly tightened—two hands as big as palm-leaf fans had clamped around his torso from left and right.

The next moment, the big hands exerted force, and like holding a child, gripping his ribs, they lifted him straight off the ground.

Wu Chang spoke up from the side: "That's enough!"

The True Self smoothly stopped, setting Qinglong back on the ground, and said with a smile: "You let me win."

The ability he had just used was the movement technique from the Thunder Art Remnant Chapter—Lightning Flash Thunder Shadow.

Back when Seeing Chiyuan had performed Lightning Flash Thunder Shadow, he could use thunder spiritual energy to split into two afterimages that moved together with him. Not only was it extremely fast, it could also prevent the opponent from identifying the true body.

Now, Wu Chang, who had upgraded his art to the Thunder Art Remnant Chapter, could also use this move to split out afterimages, and the afterimages he split out were even more lifelike than Seeing Chiyuan's at the time—even Qinglong had been fooled by him.

Qinglong's strength was known to all the players present. He was quite a bit weaker than those max-level players among them, but defeating Qinglong without using killing moves wasn't easy for them.

Especially Xiang Jianxing and the Negotiation Master—without using killing moves, even if they could take down Qinglong, they would have to take no light injuries.

Seeing Qinglong, in his best field of bare-handed combat, being easily lifted up and down by the newcomer like an adult playing with a child, how could the crowd possibly have the slightest dissatisfaction? They immediately applauded and welcomed the newcomer's joining.

Having successfully mixed the True Self in, Wu Chang next began arranging the evening's operation.

The Sunken Ship Belt during the day was a picture of calm.

Cui Chengze continued arranging the ritual to absorb the Mysticism Origin. Wu Chang met the visiting Yin Junhao and told them there was no problem, they could continue modifying the Aboveground God Kingdom according to the agreement between both sides.

However, Wu Chang specifically instructed them to leave the most critical node at the fourth deck to be modified last.

Night fell quickly at sea—the sun flashed and sank behind the mountains.

As the moon rose, Wu Chang and the others joined forces with Li Yubin's group, lying in ambush at the location Sword Star had prepared in advance.

Several Midas Kingdom spies Wu Chang had long since marked were sneaking around, gathering on the first level of the cargo hold, waiting for their boss to appear.

Before long, a mysterious figure shrouded entirely in a long robe swiftly arrived at the first level of the cargo hold and said to the group:

"Have you finished preparing the intelligence I asked for?"

The group hurriedly handed over the intelligence they had prepared.

The mysterious figure took the intelligence and was about to turn and leave. Just as Wu Chang and the others were about to make their move, a white shadow suddenly burst out from the shadows, charging toward the mysterious figure ahead of them.

(End of chapter)