Cave Refuge

After all, under normal circumstances, only the Shark People can move freely in the vortex when the Great Whirlpool is spinning normally.

As for the ship we are on, once it gets caught by the Great Whirlpool, escaping will become extremely difficult. Moreover, during the escape, we will be subject to attacks from those Shark People.

That's all I have to say. Think about it. You don't need to overthink this. We are just forming a temporary alliance. When the Great Whirlpool starts spinning again, our offensive and defensive alliance will disband, and then everyone will go their separate ways.

After reading the string of messages sent above, Dong Tianyu hesitated for a moment before replying directly in the group: "I want to ask, is this offensive and defensive alliance just a verbal agreement in the group, or does it require other procedures?"

Seeing Dong Tianyu's reply in the group, the group owner, Fred Lewis, quickly responded: "Of course it's not just a casual verbal agreement."

"My tablet authority should be a bit higher than yours, so it contains an extra contract App. Words alone are not proof. I will send this App to you in a moment. It contains the contract for the offensive and defensive alliance. After entering, you just have to read the contract and then choose to agree."

Upon seeing the group owner's reply, Dong Tianyu was stunned for a moment, not expecting that the tablet even had this feature. It was a pity that only the group owner had it, as Dong Tianyu did not see this App on his device.

I wonder where the group owner downloaded this App from and whether I will be able to use this App when I need it in the future.

After receiving the file sent by the other party, Dong Tianyu immediately installed it. Once the installation was complete, the contract App appeared on the national interface, with the App icon being a very artistically designed character for 'sincerity'.

Upon entering the App, sure enough, only one contract appeared. When he tapped on the contract, the first thing that popped up was the complete content of the contract.

After carefully studying the contract, Dong Tianyu noticed some cautionary details. Although the App doesn't hold any actual binding power over anyone and doesn't grant immunity from teammate damage like in a game after forming a team,

if someone breaches the contract and if the other party can submit evidence of the breach, then the violator will have a record in the App. It might seem useless, but actually, it's not very useful at all.

However, once a record is made, the violator's credit score will decrease. If the credit score falls below a certain level, that person will no longer be able to accept any tasks issued by the Imperial Court or the Officials.

If the credit score gets so low that it can't be lowered any further, the Imperial Court and Officials will arrange for someone to capture the violator. In addition, a low credit score will also prevent the use of any public services provided by the Imperial Court or Officials.

In short, although it cannot directly constrain everyone, it does increase the cost of breaching a contract and reduces some people's desire to breach it.

After reading the introduction to the App, Dong Tianyu carefully reviewed the contract and found that its content was not much different from the messages sent by the group owner in the group.

Still, Dong Tianyu discerned some very subtle issues hidden within, starting with the conditions for termination of the contract.

The stated methods for dissolution of the contract did not follow the typical proportionate calculation based on the number of contract members, as Dong Tianyu had seen in most contracts, but rather specified that the contract could be immediately terminated as long as six people agreed.

Someone generous might not see a problem with this termination condition, but someone like Dong Tianyu, who was more cunning, would immediately realize that despite the purpose of the contract being to form an offensive and defensive alliance,

the group owner could command at least five people within this alliance. Although the contract stated that members must not attack each other – with the aggressors not only losing a significant amount of credit but also facing a combined onslaught from everyone—

Dong Tianyu understood that with the agreement of just six people, the contract could be annulled immediately, which meant that an App designed to serve as a bridge of trust between members could also be exploited.

Beyond the straightforward cancellation clause, the contract also specified the distribution of loot after a battle and some terms that seemed insignificant but could become troublesome if someone adept at wordplay were to exploit them.

The concerns regarding other contract details weren't too great, but what Dong Tianyu found most troubling was the clause regarding loot distribution.

The principle of loot distribution in the contract seemed to be based on individual prowess, but the fine print in the supplementary rules stated that all loot, after the battle, would be distributed by the commander according to combat performance, and in the absence of corresponding materials, the commander could use other items of equivalent value in exchange.

This rule seemed convoluted, but when translated into plain language, it became quite clear: if you seized weapons made of Profound Iron from the enemy during battle,

logically, the spoils gained after defeating an enemy should belong to you entirely.

However, according to the terms of the contract, once you have the weapons, they are not yours in name but belong to your entire offensive and defensive alliance.