Chapter 60 Fungal Remains Frenzy 21: Exposure.
"You...you want to make the ouroboros disappear? What do you mean by that?"
After a long while, the unbelievable question finally escaped Jin Jian's lips. He stared at Nanmen Jue in disbelief, questioning his own comprehension for the first time.
"Literally, I have an irreconcilable conflict with the ouroboros, so I want it to disappear," Nanmen Jue said.
"That's an ouroboros!"
“I know it’s not called Entropy Ash.”
Jin Jian glared at her. "Ouroboros may not be the guild with the most members, but it's definitely the most infamous. Do you know how many vicious red-named players are in there?"
Nanmen Jue asked, "Are there any people who have been publicly wanted by the entire universe by the main god?"
Jin Jian was speechless. He had almost forgotten that the handsome young man in front of him was the first person in the entire history of the Reincarnation Space to be wanted by the main god, and could be considered the top among those with red names.
...Wait a minute, is this really something to be reassured about?
“You’ve been by Cheng Xiuye’s side for years, so you must have had contact with the higher-ups at Ouroboros, right?” Nanmen Jue half-squatted in front of him. “How much do you know about their president?”
Jin Jian was still a bit dazed, his thoughts unconsciously following Nanmen Jue's lead, "Chairman Zhou Yiming...it's rumored he's gay."
Nanmen Jue was taken aback: "Huh?"
"...I've only heard about it. They say he's very handsome and has a special fondness for handsome men..." Jin Jian glanced cautiously at Nanmen Jue, then glanced again, "So if you really want to join Ouroboros, with your looks and abilities, you might actually have a pretty promising future?"
"..." Nanmen Jue was somewhat at a loss for words. "He admitted to this himself?"
No, not at all.
"If rumors are credible, what's the point of evidence and facts?" Nanmen Jue sneered, looking at his furtive gaze. "What's this? You were just begging me to save you, and now you're recommending me to be your lover? If I really do it, you won't be able to get out of here."
"I'm sorry!" Jin Jian lowered his head again in a panic, his eyes darting around frantically. "I just felt that with your abilities, you could live a very glamorous life instead of inviting more powerful enemies into your life."
"It sounds like they're really thinking of me wholeheartedly."
Jin Jian closed his eyes briefly. "I do want to leave Ouroboros, but if... if you could join Ouroboros, I would definitely switch allegiance to you without hesitation!"
Looking at him, Nanmen Jue felt as if he were seeing a cunning chameleon.
His only goal was to survive. He didn't care whether Nanmen Jue joined the Ouroboros or not; he just wanted Nanmen Jue to protect him.
Nanmen Jue said, "Then in your opinion, should I join the Ouroboros?"
Even though Nanmen Jue's tone wasn't cold, Jin Jian still broke out in a cold sweat, his eyes darting around, afraid of saying the wrong word.
“I…I dare not,” he said. “Whatever you choose, I am willing to do anything for you!”
Nanmen Jue smiled and said, "Stand up and speak."
Jin Jian hesitated, not daring to get up. Nanmen Jue said, "Is this how you listen to me?"
Jin Jian was taken aback, then overjoyed, "You agreed!"
“Tell me about Zhou Yiming again,” Nanmen Jue said. “Aside from gossip, I’m not interested in his sexual orientation.”
"Yes!" Jin Jian stood up quickly and leaned closer to Nanmen Jue. "Zhou Yiming is one of the four great masters, but he is not considered an old man in the Reincarnation Space. He is the last of the four great masters to arrive. I heard that he was an orphan and was the owner of a clothing company before he came in. He had to endure a lot of hardship to climb to that position on his own."
Nanmen Jue hummed in agreement.
"He founded Ouroboros, and I heard that for a while Ouroboros was almost swallowed up by another guild, and Zhou Yiming himself almost died. But in the end, Ouroboros won and became unstoppable, quickly becoming one of the four major guilds." Jin Jianju seemed a little flustered. "I've always followed Cheng Xiuye and never had direct contact with Zhou Yiming, so I don't know much about him. But I heard that he seems to have been injured, so he has rarely appeared in public in the past two years, and most of his public affairs have been handled by Cheng Xiuye... It was after Cheng Xiuye took over that Ouroboros became more and more ruthless."
His complexion wasn't good, and Nanmen Jue narrowed his eyes.
"What kind of injury can't even be healed by the Supreme God?"
“The main god does not treat the side effects of the items,” Jin Jian said. “It is said that in the battle where the Ouroboros was almost swallowed up, Zhou Yiming used an orange item, and the aftereffects have not yet healed.”
He spoke with a mixture of fear and longing, "During that battle, Zhou Yiming was just an orange-named player, but he killed a gold-named player, absorbed their guild, and reached the top in the Reincarnation Space. Sir, this person is not easy to deal with."
Nanmen Jue thought so too, but she was more concerned about something else.
After this battle, Zhou Yiming was upgraded to a gold-level name, which means that he was originally at the peak of the orange-level name and was only one step away from the gold-level name. At this time, he used an orange-level item, which actually injured him so much that even after becoming a gold-level name, he was still affected.
What if a golden item is used?
"That's all I know for now. Is there anything else you'd like to ask? I can ask around in the lobby for more information," Jin Jian said nervously.
“Let’s talk about Cheng Xiuye, whom you know best,” Nanmen Jue said. “He’s very close to Zhou Yiming?”
“They entrusted the guild to him, so they must trust him a lot.” Jin Jian smiled bitterly. “I heard that the two of them knew each other in real life and have always worked together. Some people say that the two of them are a couple, but those who say that were quickly killed.”
Nanmen Jue glanced at him.
Jin Jian immediately understood and slapped himself, saying, "Look at me, you told me not to listen to gossip."
"What kind of orange name is he? How high are his physical stats?" Nanmenjue asked.
“I haven’t seen the specific numbers, but his physical stats should be no less than Zhou Yiming’s.” Jin Jian lowered his voice. “The reason he’s still an orange-ranked player is because he spends a lot of points to boost his stats and buy items. After I joined him, he made me do the same.”
A heavy feeling crossed Nanmen Jue's mind, and he nodded slightly.
It seems that Cheng Xiuye deliberately placed herself in a low position in the conference room, revealing nothing.
He wanted to absorb Nanmen Jue, and he was also observing Nanmen Jue.
He's not an easy opponent; he's far more dangerous than Xu Yang.
After a moment's thought, Nanmen Jue asked, "Do you know what kind of tools he has?"
“Cheng Xiuye doesn’t trust anyone. He won’t reveal his trump card to anyone.” Jin Jian shook his head slightly. “However, I vaguely heard him mention that he has an orange-colored item.”
"What?" Nanmen Jue's eyes widened for a moment.
“He got drunk that time while drinking alone and said, ‘If I’m bold enough, I can experience the consequences that happened to Amin.’ I guess he got an orange item,” Jin Jian said. “Of course, afterwards I pretended that he didn’t say anything, otherwise I probably wouldn’t have survived.”
Nanmen Jue frowned. "I wonder what kind of prop it is?"
"I really don't know," Jin Jian said with a wry smile.
Nanmen Jue said, "You certainly know everything."
Jin Jian stiffened, but smiled broadly. "Since I've decided to work for you, from now on, all my thoughts will be on your side."
“But I didn’t promise anything,” Nanmenjue said.
“I know the rules. I’m the one who’s voluntarily surrendering, so naturally I need to show you my sincerity first,” Jin Jian said cautiously. “Since you’ve brought it up, what do you think…?”
“One last question,” Nanmen Jue said, “How can I believe what you say? What if you and Cheng Xiuye team up to put on a show for me, a spy within a spy operation, or you decide that the other side has more to gain and become their mole? What am I supposed to do then?”
Upon hearing this, Jin Jian became genuinely anxious. "Oh, my sir! How could you think like that! Even if Cheng Xiuye wanted to set a trap, he wouldn't have asked me to tell you such top-secret information as his possession of orange-grade items, would he? I really risked a great deal of danger to come out and find you..."
Looking at Nanmen Jue's ambiguous smile, Jin Jian suddenly understood that Nanmen Jue was bluffing him, and she didn't disbelieve him.
His heart trembled, and his smile was more like a grimace. "Alas, Mr. Nanmen... I may not be a good person, but this kind of betrayal is enough if I do it once. If I become a slave to three masters, and I'm not strong enough to stand above everyone like you, how am I supposed to live?"
Nanmen Jue patted him on the shoulder, "Since you're going to work for me, you have to follow my rules."
Jin Jian became serious, knowing that this was Nanmen Jue's final test for him. "Please speak."
“No one is allowed to kill indiscriminately, not even indigenous people,” Nanmenjue said.
Jin Jian's eyes were filled with complex emotions, and he smiled.
Nanmen Jue raised an eyebrow. "Don't you think this request is absurd?"
“I saw that you didn’t want to hurt the NPCs.” However, at that time he misunderstood the relationship between Nanmen Jue and Hong Chenxi, and Jin Jian sensibly did not mention it. “I saw your attitude towards the NPCs, and to be honest, it was this sense of contradiction that made me make up my mind.”
Nanmen Jue looked at him quietly for a long time before saying, "Is that so?"
Jin Jian immediately knew what she was referring to. This time, he didn't answer right away. He peeked out of the alley, peeled a layer of skin off his lip with his teeth, and said, "Mr. Nanmen, I've said it before, I'm not a good person. In this space, murder and arson bring wealth and power. There are no truly clean people here. I don't care how many people you've killed or whether you've destroyed the world. As long as you're willing to help me, I'll follow you. What difference does it make who I kill? We'll all end up in hell anyway. I don't expect anything in this life. I just don't want to live like this anymore. Anything is better than being worse than dead!"
Nanmen Jue stared at him for a while and said, "I'm going to kill Cheng Xiuye now. Do you have any suggestions?"
Upon hearing this, Jin Jian knew that Nanmen Jue had decided to use him. He was overjoyed, but then his expression immediately turned serious. "Do you really want to kill Cheng Xiuye? Once you kill Cheng Xiuye, there will be no turning back."
“Now he wants to kill me,” Nanmen Jue said calmly. “I can’t join Ouroboros. His conditions are clear: join or kill me. Do I have a choice?”
"Well, hehe..." Jin Jian suddenly rubbed his hands together awkwardly.
Nanmen Jue was baffled. "Speak your mind."
"Actually, well, hehe... you should say it's not my fault," Jin Jian said.
Nanmen Jue glanced at him. "Speak, what are you hiding from me?"
“Hehehe, Mr. is indeed exceptionally intelligent…” Seeing Nanmen Jue’s disdainful look, Jin Jian immediately blurted out, “Cheng Xiuye is gathering manpower tonight, including people left behind by Li Yushu, people from the quarantine facility he brought, and other reincarnators, all to lay a trap…”
"Kill me?" Nanmen Jue replied.
Jin Jian nervously rubbed his hands together.
"He thinks highly of me. He himself has the strength of a gold-medal expert, yet he has made so many preparations," Nanmen Jue said with a smile.
Jin Jian laughed along, but Nanmen Jue suddenly leaned closer to him and whispered, "Since he had already started preparing, why did he only tell me now?"
Jin Jian's smile froze on his face, and he looked at Nanmen Jue, who was smiling gently and beautifully, with cold sweat dripping down his face.
"So you're waiting to see how I perform. If I don't accept your conditions, you're prepared to have Cheng Xiuye kill me in one fell swoop, so I won't tell him that you came to see me."
With a thud, Jin Jian knelt down on the ground again.
"I was wrong! Mr. Nanmen, I was just trying to survive..."
His head, which was about to kowtow, was stopped by Nanmen Jue's toe.
“It’s alright, I forgive you,” Nanmen Jue said. “Now tell me, how many of them are there?”
Jin Jian stopped hiding things from Nanmen Jue and told her everything Cheng Xiuye had done that day.
"Were the soldiers who stopped me when I went out today Li Yushu's men?" Nanmen Jue asked him to confirm.
“That’s right. Because of Hao Hong’s concession, most of the forces at the Furnace Base are in Li Yushu’s hands. Now that he’s gone, not everyone is willing to listen to Cheng Xiuye, but he can mobilize at least half of them,” Jin Jian said. “There are dozens of armored vehicles alone. Can you… handle that, sir?”
"I'm not one of the Eighteen Bronze Men, do you expect me to carry a cannon with my mortal body?" Nanmen Jue rolled his eyes. "Besides you guys during the day, who else among the reincarnators wants to come and join him?"
“He contacted Shi Nan a couple of days ago.” Seeing the unfamiliar look in Nanmen Jue’s eyes, he quickly explained, “He is known as the number one person below the orange name, and he is the most powerful among the purple names.”
"Are purple-named cabbages? How come they're everywhere?" Nanmen Jue said.
“This… I was actually quite shocked too.” Jin Jian wiped the sweat from his forehead. “I’ve followed Cheng Xiuye and experienced many dangerous worlds, some even involving Jin Ming, but this is the first time I’ve seen Zi Ming involved in so many situations.”
Nanmen Jue glanced up at the crow perched on the tree branch without making a sound, and the crow gave her an innocent look.
When does he plan to make his move?
“We should wait until tomorrow to see if you change your mind,” Jin Jian said. “Ouroboros really values you.”
"I can't accept that." Nanmen Jue snorted. "His army has already assembled. Tonight is not a good time to make a move. Go back and continue to pass on the message to me. Here, take this."
She pulled out a device similar to a mobile phone, a common communication device in this world.
Jin Jian held it in his hand. "Then what about you?"
"Is there even a question? Of course, he's running away," Nanmenjue said. "I don't believe he'll stay holed up in this base forever."
Jin Jian suddenly realized, "After he leaves, Li Yushu's army will not follow him. At that time, he will lose his strongest support. You have a good plan, sir!"
Nanmen Jue waved his hand, "Go back and hide well. If you die prematurely, don't blame me for not helping you."
"Yes, I understand."
Just then, the patrol team passed by the alleyway again. Jin Jian ducked into the shadows, but suddenly turned around as if sensing something. Nan Menjue was no longer in the alleyway, which was clearly a dead end.
...
Nanmen Jue landed on the wall, and a crow quietly landed on her shoulder.
“I walk slowly, you go back and get everyone else up first.” Nanmen Jue thought for a moment, “No, forget it. If there’s a big commotion here, Cheng Xiuye might get the news too.”
"I'll go back and call them myself."
As she quickened her pace toward the villa, Jin Jian also returned to the Ouroboros's group's residence.
He climbed back into his room on the second floor through the window. As soon as he entered, he felt a chill run down his spine. Years of combat experience gave him a keen intuition. He immediately looked into the shadows in the corner, and one glance sent a shiver down his spine.
The dim moonlight illuminated a pale, slender hand, and the gleam of metal-rimmed glasses flashed in the darkness.
"Vice...Vice President." Jin Jian was dumbfounded, his heart immediately racing. "What are you doing here?"
Cheng Xiuye leaned forward, his face exposed to the view. His gaze slowly swept over Jin Jian, cold and sticky like a snake.
"What did you go to do?"
"I was a bit curious about this base, so I went out for a look around," Jin Jian quickly adjusted his tone.
"Going out for a walk in the middle of the night, and specifically climbing through a window?"
"I knew your senses were sharp, and I was afraid of disturbing your rest," Jin Jian said with an awkward smile.
"Jin Jian," Cheng Xiuye said, "how long have you been following me?"
"Time is so chaotic here. If we only consider the time in the cycle of reincarnation, then I've been following you for a year and a half." Jin Jian felt even more alarmed, but his face was plastered with a simple and obsequious smile.
Cheng Xiuye looked out the window. "We've been to at least eight or ten bases of this type together. What's so special about this place that it attracts you so much that you insist on going out in the middle of the night?"
His voice was refined and polite, but Jin Jian's fear reached its peak. He knelt down without hesitation, just as he had done many times before.
“Vice President, I was wrong! I’m telling you the truth!” Jin Jian said, sobbing. “You punished us today, but I’m not convinced, and it hurts a lot, so I was in a bad mood. That’s why I went for a walk outside in the middle of the night. I didn’t dare to admit it to you just now, but now I know I was wrong!”
His back was tense.
He knew, of course, what he would face if he told Cheng Xiuye this, but he figured that being in pain was better than losing his life.
Nanmen Jue, oh Nanmen Jue, I hope you won't make me suffer this beating for nothing...
Jin Jian closed his eyes.
"I see," Cheng Xiuye said.
“You’ve already found out, how could I dare to lie?” Jin Jian said, trembling. “Please punish me for harboring such resentment.”
Cheng Xiuye stood up. Jin Jian didn't dare to look up, only watching his calves walk past him and stop in front of the window.
"The army is ready and just waiting for Nanmenjue's reply tomorrow," he said.
Jin Jian's eyes darted around as he quickly thought, "Nanmen Jue will know what choice is better for him."
Cheng Xiuye suddenly laughed. Unlike Nanmen Jue, who usually had a smile on his face, he rarely laughed. His sudden, happy laugh startled Jin Jian, who looked up at him.
Cheng Xiuye stared at him with malicious eyes and asked softly.
"You're so sure, did he just tell you that himself?"
Jin Jian felt a chill run through his body instantly.
“No, that’s not right.” Nanmen Jue suddenly stopped in his tracks.
Crow: "What's wrong?"
“Jin Jian’s words have been going over and over in my head.” Nanmen Jue spoke in a low voice, quickly. “His intentions are questionable, but what he said about Cheng Xiuye shouldn’t be a lie. He’s inherently suspicious and doesn’t trust anyone…”
The crow listened quietly, then Nanmen Jue suddenly asked, "Were there any other reincarnators around when we were talking just now?"
"I didn't see it," said the crow.
"But what if there are hidden items? Or underground? Like that mother tree?"
"That's hard to say," said the crow. "Are you doubting it?"
“A person’s actions are not absolute, but generally they follow some underlying logic. Jin Jian said he is suspicious and doesn’t trust anyone. He’s not the kind of person who just talks and creates a persona, so he will definitely take some action to at least ensure that the people he brings into the cycle of reincarnation cannot escape his control!”
The crow said, "You suspect that Jin Jian is here to deceive you?"
Nanmen Jue's pupils trembled slightly.
"No... I doubt it's true."
She pulled the crow off her shoulder, looked it straight into its eyes, and said, "Fly back as fast as you can now and wake everyone up. Tell them to ignore everything and leave immediately! No matter what they hear, they are not allowed to stop!"
The crow said, "Speak plainly?"
"Just say it!"
Nanmen Jue turned around and ran towards Cheng Xiuye, saying, "We must make it clear that no matter what happens, we need to get out of here first!"
Nanmen Jue rushed towards her destination at top speed, not caring if she was spotted by the patrolmen. When the patrolmen couldn't stop her, they simply blew their whistles, which sounded a long alarm in the quiet night.
A group of people quickly appeared behind her, chasing after her.
At this point, she couldn't care less about anything else. Unfortunately, the people behind her not only chased after her but also opened fire. Nanmen Jue suddenly leaped upwards, dodging the bullets aimed at her, grabbed the top of the courtyard wall, and rolled down into the courtyard.
In an instant, dozens of guns were pointed at her.
Nanmen Jue lay on his back on the ground, slowly raised his hands, and called out, "Cheng Xiuye, I'm here! Aren't you going to come out and greet me?"
She dared not move, only hearing footsteps moving, indicating that someone was approaching.
A bloodstained person was thrown on top of her, the face with wide-open eyes and blood streaming from its seven orifices facing Nanmen Jue.
Nanmen Jue's fingers trembled slightly. He raised his face slightly and leaned closer to him. Extremely faint breaths came out of his nose, almost as if he was exhaling but not inhaling. If Nanmen Jue were still an ordinary person like in the first world, he probably wouldn't have been able to sense it.
He's still alive, but he's not far from death.
"With so many people welcoming you, Mr. Nanmen, isn't that enough?" Cheng Xiuye's voice rang out above her head. "You still need to let your loyal subordinate come out. After all, you two get along well, don't you?"
He already knew, as expected.
Nanmen Jue's gaze moved upwards, looking up from Cheng Xiuye's calves, and he only saw the cold light reflected from Cheng Xiuye's glasses.
"We bumped into each other while taking a walk and chatted for a bit," she said dramatically. "I never imagined that chatting with me would be such a heinous crime, enough to kill him."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com