I Don't Agree to the Terms

"Chairman Xiao, do you have any clues?" the City Guard Commander asked.

"I don't either; I'm not even sure when it was placed on my desk. However, I can be certain that this was not the act of one individual but that of a force that has even managed to infiltrate my bodyguards."

"Perhaps the disappearance of my son is also related to this force."

Xiao Yongsheng's face was bitter; he showed the sense of grievance of someone who came back to his hometown to contribute, only to be treated like this. Anyone would be annoyed in his shoes.

Yet nobody would have guessed that he himself had written the threat letter, a response granted to him by the boon he received from the Eyes of Serene Death—"Futuristic Clairvoyance". No one would associate the threat letter with him, since he seemingly had no motive.

Who would think that a person who invested ten billion would do such things?

"Five days, within five days, we at Yunxing City will definitely give you an explanation," the City Lord said with a grave voice.

The incident had a huge impact and involved future business investments.

It was still classified information at this stage, but once the news became public, the reputation of the entire Yunxing City would be ruined.

Imagine investing here, only to have your son and future daughter-in-law disappear without a trace and receiving threats on top of that—who would want to invest here?

Even the renowned Eternal Life Technology suffered a blow; what about other companies then? They didn't consider themselves a match for Eternal Life Technology.

"Alright, I'll leave it to you then, City Lord. I suspect they might..." In seeing this opportunity, Xiao Yongsheng naturally struck while the iron was hot and revealed some of the locations.

These locations were key nodes for the sacrificial ritual and would be the best places for sabotage.

"Understood. With Chairman Xiao's help, everything should come to light within five days," the City Lord acknowledged, knowing that this was not the time to be vague. Assurance had to be given to the investors.

After a bit more discussion about intelligence, everyone got up and left.

Once everyone had gone, Xiao Yongsheng also dropped his facade.

"Hmph, once categorized as a terrorist act, let's see how you'll sabotage anything." Xiao Yongsheng realized one thing—there was no need for evidence when dealing with terrorist organizations; simply dealing with everyone on the list would suffice.

As for taking the matter into his own hands, how could he with his body in such a state? Stepping into the fray himself would likely result in him being picked off by the enemy.

He had never underestimated the power of the authorities; a thousand years earlier they had managed to stop his ancestor, who even then had such strength. And even more so now. Hence, only by leveraging the power of the authorities, he could complete his mission unnoticed and not repeat the same mistakes as his ancestor.

"Yun Ting, your disappearance was very timely."

Xiao Yongsheng gave a low chuckle. A mere threat letter would have been taken seriously by the officials, but not to this extreme.

The real bargaining chip was the uncertain fate of his son; this was what made the officials take such great interest.

In this world, money and status can also be invisible weapons.

...

"Changed again?" The face of the elusive and odd creature changed abruptly.

According to the perfect route he had figured out before, he could easily destroy the sacrificial ritual. But now that he simulated it again, not only had he failed, but he had also gone on a killing spree, becoming the world's enemy, ultimately failing the sacrificial ritual and even implicating Gu Shanhai, causing the monster he nurtured to be born ahead of time.

"What's the situation? Did Gu Shanhai do something to alter the future again?" The elusive creature's first thought was that some action taken by Gu Shanhai had changed the future, indirectly affecting his own plan.

Upon further thought, it seemed unlikely to be Gu Shanhai, as he had been tucked away, not venturing past his doors, and at most remotely monitoring Xiao Yongsheng with the Spirit Plant without ever leaving his underground lab.

"With multiple changes, it's more likely that someone is aware of my actions and has made preparations in advance."

The expression of the elusive creature grew ugly, suggesting that a standoff would be necessary.

"Is it Xiao Yongsheng?"

Apart from Gu Shanhai, the only other person capable of causing such a significant impact was Xiao Yongsheng, no one else. Only he had the authority to mobilize official forces to besiege him.

He wasn't concerned about the power of the officials; after all, their conventional weapons inflicted virtually negligible damage on him.

Even missiles were no cause for fear for him, yet what he was wary of was Xiao Yongsheng. The other might have already acquired some power from the "Eyes of Quietude."

Should an actual confrontation occur, he might use some tricky ability to kill him.

"It looks like now, all the ways I've died before were probably Xiao Yongsheng's doing."

Previously, he could only survive a year in the simulator, and the cause of death was untraceable. Now it seemed, it must have been the fully grown Xiao Yongsheng after a year who was responsible.

"It's not safe for me to go alone; I have to figure out a way to drag the *** along." The first thing that came to mind was to form a group.

After all, the simulator's results were no longer valid on Xiao Yongsheng.

It was like two mind-readers playing rock-paper-scissors, both knowing what the other was about to play.

Thus, the idea of a perfect outcome transformed into going to kill the opposition directly with Gu Shanhai.

"Before we go, let's simulate it," he had developed the habit of simulating everything first to plan his strategy.

[You're dead!]

"Why do we get wiped out tomorrow as soon as we bring the *** along?" His face changed dramatically; he was eager to know what exactly Gu Shanhai had done.

With him, he'd perish on the spot; without him, he could slaughter his way through for more than a month.

"So this teammate is a trap, isn't he?!" Thinking this way, he felt his mindset explode. If he had known, he would have invited Shura instead.

He had thought Gu Shanhai was strong, a powerful support, but it turned out he was a huge liability. Since advancing to the middle-tier region, he'd been squatting in the lab doing some horrific experiments that were unbearable, just like a villain.

In spite of this, how he became so strong was a mystery.

"Since I can't rely on ***, I'll have to do it myself."

He simulated several times; taking Gu Shanhai with him while going to settle scores with Xiao Yongsheng the next day would definitely result in instant death, but going alone wouldn't be an issue.

He just couldn't kill Xiao Yongsheng, and instead, he'd be calculated by a Xiao Yongsheng who was just an ordinary person. The best outcome would be a pyrrhic victory.

However, if he sustained a pyrrhic victory and then sought Gu Shanhai, recovery would be fast. Gu Shanhai could only be considered as logistics support; in battle, he was a huge liability.

"I need to rethink my strategy."

...

"Why does this guy keep muttering about me behind my back and peering at me? What's going on?" Gu Shanhai was a bit perplexed.

Under normal circumstances, his simulations wouldn't include him because including him was like adding an uncertain variable, as the simulator couldn't affect him.

"This thing is too annoying." Gu Shanhai felt somewhat helpless. He then put down the work in his hands, rummaged around in the Spirit Plant, and plucked out some fate-related Spirit Plants to grow on his skin.

"Let's boost my shielding ability. That way, the simulations will disregard me, saving me from being provoked from time to time."

Each simulation and muttering from Gu Shanhai felt like someone was tickling the soles of his feet. The sensation was not very clear, but rather vague; once or twice was fine, but it became infuriating after numerous repetitions.

"But come to think of it, why is this guy dragging me into his business for no reason? From what I can tell, there's no malice. He's not scheming against me; could he be wanting to take me to fight a boss?"

Gu Shanhai thought this was practically courting death. With his propensity for trouble, if they really went to fight a boss, he might directly face the "Eyes of Quietude."

"Tsk, if he really comes to find me, I'll just refuse," Gu Shanhai resolved. If he hadn't been provoked, he might actually have gone with him to fight the boss.