Chapter 562

Even blood brothers need to settle accounts clearly, let alone Ji Ming and Hetelu Xiya, who are meeting for the first time.

Regarding power and division of labor, Ji Ming definitely needs to straighten things out with her, so as not to cause future conflicts that would be hard to resolve.

But there's nothing to agonize over—Hetelu Xiya even infiltrated the enemy camp and walked tightropes to quickly make a fortune, so she has no leverage to argue with him.

So the discussion resulted in Ji Ming retaining the authority to appoint and dismiss his own subordinates developed in the Deep Forest, while only granting Hetelu Xiya management and punitive powers.

Moreover, as her angel investor, Ji Ming has the right to inquire about the operational status of the Deep Forest intelligence department, and Hetelu Xiya must submit monthly operational reports.

As for information sharing, operational assistance, mutual aid, and other customary clauses, there's no need to elaborate—they're all written in black and white in the contract.

In short, the Savior and the Wallfacer have equal status, but because the Savior holds more cards, he is actually more equal than the Wallfacer.

Ah this.

Although after the hot-blooded moment, Hetelu Xiya always felt when signing that she was selling herself off, but this assistance she truly couldn't refuse.

Sigh, never mind—anyway, it's all for defeating the Dark Flame False Emperor and the Machinery Moon, tearing open the suffering prison that has bound the Sun Moon Civilization for over a hundred thousand years.

Even if it really is a body-selling contract, I'll do it!

Ji Ming: ……

"No, I was thinking I didn't do anything to you, so don't look at me like that, okay?"

He signed his name on the other side, two copies, each party keeping one.

"Work hard—normally I wouldn't even give this position to just anyone!"

The facts prove that although Ji Ming was right this time and kept his promise, he indeed didn't do anything to Hetelu Xiya.

But Hetelu Xiya definitely did something to him!

Because Old Seven of the Lion family, whom he had invested in earlier, was still hemming and hawing, waiting for his superior, Archbishop Kost, to transfer him to the west.

Hetelu Xiya was like the Aurora Dance previously stuck in an EMO state, wishing she could launch a deadly chain Call on him anytime, anywhere.

Yesterday was.

"Hey hey hey? I lured the coffee to Winter Dawn City under the pretense of joint research; three days later, meet at this address, come quick!"

Today is.

"Are you there? I've gathered some info on little daisies, circled a few places she might be—want to give it a try?"

Wait until tomorrow.

"Sigh, info on Flower-rank Envoys is too hard to find, can't manage it quickly, but I have some Wood-rank Envoys here—want to consider them?"

Even.

"I feel we can't just develop the upper echelons either; the lower-level followers are also targets we can develop—I've already started a pilot, can you allocate some activity funds over there?"

Ji Ming: Amino!

Although as a subordinate colleague, the saintess is highly efficient, capable, and fully motivated—which is good for him—but this is too damn exaggerated, right?

Ji Ming felt like he was a locomotive being pushed by the train cars—clearly he should be the one holding the initiative, yet he's made to be exhausted from running around.

He even has to pay up!

Moreover, he's embarrassed to call a halt, after all the saintess is completely following the agreement, whereas he, as the Savior, is dragging his feet.

He even has to pay up!

"Geez, the Iron-wrist Saintess never admits defeat; even if she joins late, she still has to clinch MVP, right?"

However, given Ji Ming's abilities, he naturally won't bear this pressure himself; instead, right after paying up, he'll immediately try to shift it outward.

So which lucky kid should this pressure be transferred to?

Of course——

"Giuseppe? Li Peihong! You lazy dog, get out here right now!"

After rescuing the coffee-brainwashed whose souls were impaired to the point of narcolepsy, relying only on potent drugs to maintain energy, Ji Ming directly fought his way back to the underground city.

The Little Lion had just cleared the stage with his token, about to try some authentic hometown cuisine, when Ji Ming singled him out and hauled him away.

"Slacking off, slacking off, still slacking off! Don't think I don't know what you've been up to all along!"

"You're taking my money to hit on girls at the bar, right? Damn it, you're a Death Knight—do you even have blood left to pump?"

Giuseppe froze for a moment, puffed out his chest, lifted his head, and spoke arrogantly.

"I... I'm already dead, so I'm definitely hard as hell!"

I'm speechless.

The little boss couldn't hold back, but facing his nonsense, Ji Ming could already keep his blood pressure steady, and backhandedly displayed a transparent box.

"I didn't come here to tell vulgar jokes—come look at this, see how Hetelu Xiya does her work!"

"Hetelu Xiya?"

Giuseppe still thought it was the name of some little girl under Ji Ming's command, and upon hearing it he chuckled twice.

"The name sounds a bit like that noble lady I hooked up with back when I was stationed at Fuxiao City—sounds kinda stupid, who is it?"

Swiftly and solemnly.

"Just pretend I never said this, okay?"

"No."

"Trash!"

Upon learning that the iron-willed holy maiden from back then hadn't actually died either, and that she had crossed countless ages as a wall-facer, aiming to defeat the Darkflame Emperor again in the present age, Giuseppe and everyone were dumbfounded.

"Holy shit, I thought being able to hibernate for five hundred years and then reemerge was already badass, but I didn't expect someone could be even more badass than me!"

After flipping through the absolute solid evidence Ji Ming had obtained from Hertelucia, he couldn't help but start complaining.

"I've come back to life, she's come back to life, even the Magic Emperor has come back to life—damn! I wonder if anyone else will come back to life next? Who, a god-slayer?"

Ji Ming touched the necklace he had always worn around his neck, the one made from a god-slayer's eyeball.

Uh, who knows? To some extent I'm also a god… so he'd better not come back to life.

Talk is cheap, but after a round of communication, the pressure from Hertelucia meant Ji Ming still had to bring Giuseppe along.

Look at others, then look at you—others are working overtime to completely defeat the Magic Emperor.

By contrast, your own realm has been seized by others, yet you still have time to slack off here! Do you even know what shame is?

Such an obvious embarrassment, Giuseppe couldn't refute it and could only weakly say.

Uh, it's not that I've been cooped up on ShanShang for too long and need to adjust to the environment—I only fished for a day. Once I get used to it, I'll get to work.

Huh? This sounds familiar—those who after graduation don't seek jobs, using the excuse of preparing for postgraduate exams or civil service tests to comfortably sponge off their parents at home…

That's over the line—how can you insult people so harshly!

Now even if Giuseppe's hide is thick, he's too ashamed to slack off, and he didn't even last until the third day in the dungeon.

The next day at noon, he hastily joined a caravan bound for the Wasteland Plains, planning to go to New San Diego port and sail to the Lingxi Kingdom.

Of course, when leaving, Giuseppe definitely wouldn't forget to give Ji Ming the middle finger.

Just wait—I'll lead my millions of utterly loyal troops back to rescue you!

Ji Ming also returned the middle finger.

Who can't brag? Don't mess around to the point I have to rush to Lingxi to fish you out, then thank heaven and earth!

But the pressure was on the teammate; Ji Ming hadn't yet had a chance to let Giuseppe savor a taste of home when another message from Hertelucia arrived.

Hey hey hey? Have you found Little Daisy?

……

Grind on, grind on, you guys keep grinding! Anyway, as the first-generation grind king I've done plenty, I won't be anxious.

That said, after eating, Ji Ming still transmitted back to the eastern border of the Deep Forest, wearing a breath-holding talisman to search for the flower-tier envoy's trail.

In short, thanks to Hertelucia's big catfish push, this year's winter could be the busiest episode yet for Ji Ming's world-saving little team.

First came good news from the Shen Lin Wang Guo: per the Saintess's coordinated arrangement, Lion Family's Old Seven was smoothly transferred out and made bishop of a western diocese.

Although as a regional leader his rank is the lowest among the major spies, his clean background, special makeup, and bright prospects make up for it.

Then, in the Lingxi Kingdom, Little Lion after a search successfully got in touch with his remnant forces, as well as the reserve funds left from back then.

As an elite unit loyal solely to Giuseppe himself, this force—mostly made up of half-elves and other quasi-longevity beings—is also quite tough.

It has infiltrated every facet of the Lingxi Kingdom, and even the highest-ranking legion commander became a true-power marquis invested by the Golden King.

Thus the originally rather down-and-out Little Lion perked right up—let alone, wearing his old robes and armor really gives him a hint of kingly bearing.

But after sending his photo to Ji Ming to show off, all he got in return was one sentence.

Uh, is it my illusion? I feel you guys are a bit like that… uh… Na…

No, no, no! This is definitely your illusion; at least mine is complete!

Although for Ji Ming, who starts as a supreme god commanding eight billion troops and dozens of level‑90 big shots, such a small base really lacks substance.

But the distant Saintess, upon hearing this from him, grew so envious she cried into her blanket at night.

And as the price for making the iron‑willed Saintess weep, Little Lion's homeland—the national Forest Church—will surely continue to suffer.

As a fellow traveler of the venomous snake, Little Daisy, likewise inclined toward assassins' dirty work, naturally keeps a very low profile—even his comrades don't know his whereabouts.

But can you offend the Saintess and still think you can get away? In the end she still ferreted out the clues, after bribing subordinates, she confirmed his exact lodging for tonight.

Quick, go!

Isn't that too far? It's practically Chang'an City already.

JiMiYin, you've let me down too much—you said you'd save billions of beings on Yangyue Star!

……

Giuseppe, you've let me down too much—you said you'd save billions of beings on Yangyue Star.

???

Anyway, superficialities aside, after some back‑and‑forth, the efficiency of Ji Ming's turning of the flower‑tier envoy still underwent a qualitative leap.

In just three months, after the research‑oriented flower‑tier envoy 【Coffee】, another three flower‑tier fell to the supreme god's poisonous hand.

Besides the martial‑combat assassin 【Little Daisy】, there's also 【Jasmine】, likewise 'face', and 【Tulip】 skilled in archery.

Before anyone noticed, eight of the Forest Church's twelve flowers had fallen into Ji Ming's hands.

Looking around, the traitors actually outnumber the loyalists; the poor Forest God could practically take the hat off his head and open an online store.

And with all this help, even more information and behind‑the‑scenes secrets about the Magic Emperor were dug out by the Saintess's shield‑drilling machine.

Ji Ming's somewhat wild speculation turned out to be completely correct—many strange events over the past ten thousand years on Yangyue Star basically had that old brat behind them.

It can even be traced back to after the Dark Flame and Light factions collapsed, to that global melee that was lively to the point of being overly lively.

To give himself a chance to regain power, the damned false emperor deliberately detonated many non‑lethal conflicts, forcibly intensifying the contradictions.

The world situation that could have eased was instead made by him to keep heating up, directly causing a major decline in Yangyue Star's civilization strength.

Although accompanied by the elves' strong rise, their nearly absurd conquest victories shattered the false emperor's plan to let Yangyue stay chaotic.

Finally making up his mind to enter the fray, the Xieyue, which had long desired to occupy Yangyue, was also, due to a hasty deployment, driven back to near‑earth orbit by the elves' mighty force.

It seemed the false emperor's plot came to nothing—he was done for, the peach was taken by the elves, resentment unresolved, you could just type GG and smash the keyboard.

But just like Hertelucia, as her opponent the false emperor also has tenacious, excellent qualities and super‑strong ability to act on a whim.

Thus the elf clan ironically became his carefully chosen parasitic target, after which came a continuous bloodline curse and talent‑degradation project.

Until finally, this kingdom with a bloodline thick enough to sustain a splendid ten‑thousand‑year reign collapsed under irresistible natural and man‑made disasters.

Having accumulated enough strength, the false emperor finally got a chance to rise, repeating his old trick and usurping the great undertaking that Little Lion took pride in.

Up to this point, there have been lows and highs, foreshadowing and climax.

According to Hollywood's classic three‑act structure, the false emperor using Deep Forest's power to unify Yangyue, take Xieyue, and winner‑takes‑all seems just a matter of time.

But unfortunately, there's no such good thing in this world.

The False Emperor indeed won all the way, but he also provoked the strongest Yang Moon person Hetelusiya, the strongest transmigrator Giuseppe, and Ji Ming, such an Upper God.

More importantly, he failed to eradicate them at the root, and instead let the two of them join forces with Ji Ming in victory.

So.

Alright, then keep investigating. When the time is ripe, I'll bring you all to twist that brat's head off and kick it like a ball!

Amidst everyone's frantic revenge campaign, time passed, the weather grew cold, and before anyone realized, a new year had arrived.

January is a fine month: the New Year celebrations on Yang Moon Star, Earth's New Year's Eve, Huaxia's Spring Festival, and even the first anniversary of the public test of Double Moon Struggle all fall at this time.

Now the number of registered players in the game has exceeded ten million; according to Ji Ming's promise at launch, registration restrictions will finally be lifted completely, allowing newcomers to join the game freely.