Luca shook his head slightly. “I can’t join you.”
Joining an official organization would come with too many restrictions, and joining just for some research materials didn’t make much sense.
With that time, he could be focusing on improving his own strength.
After all, once his power was strong enough, he could easily acquire those materials on his own.
Drumph remained just as firm in his stance. “Since you refuse, then go ahead and kill Coarmy. ”
“Afterward, we’ll avenge him!”
Coarmy didn’t say anything, but in his heart, he thought that if he made it out of this alive, he’d definitely need to find a new superior. freeweɓnvel.com
Luca chuckled lightly and wasn’t intimidated by the threat. “So, is that it? No more negotiations?”
Having worked with Drumph in his previous life for so many years, Luca knew exactly how this old man operated.
“You young people are always so impatient,” Drumph coughed before adding, “Actually, I think we could still talk some more.”
This old fox hadn’t changed at all…
Luca shook his head slightly. “I’ll agree to be listed as a member of Morning Star. If there’s a situation you can’t handle, you can contact me, and if I have the time, I’ll handle it. Of course, that’s only if I’m available.”
Coarmy was stunned.
What’s the difference between joining and not joining then?
“No,” Drumph said, clearly displeased. “If there’s a problem in Celephais, you’ll have to handle it. ”
“Of course, we can put a limit on the number of cases. You’ll deal with up to ten Transcendent events each month…”
Luca’s expression darkened. “Ten? You old man! Are you treating me like a slave?”
Drumph furrowed his brows. “You young people can’t take any hardship. What’s wrong with ten? Let me tell you, back in my day…”
For the next half hour, the two of them haggled over the terms.
In the end, Luca managed to limit the number of Transcendent events to four, meaning he would handle one case per week.
Luca was getting dry-mouthed from the back-and-forth and was too lazy to continue wasting words with the old man, so he agreed, but on the condition that he would get the materials that same day.
On the other side of the phone, Drumph didn’t hesitate and immediately agreed.
The process was much faster than Luca had expected.
Not even an hour later, there was a knock on the office door.
Luca opened the barrier, and the door was pushed open immediately.
Before he could even see who it was, a rushed voice came through.
“Coarmy! We’ve come to save you!” A young, lively figure appeared in the doorway.
Luca glanced up, surprised.
The girl looked to be in her early twenties, with a delicate face, wearing her hair in a high ponytail, a white t-shirt and denim jeans that exposed her pale midriff.
What surprised him most was that he recognized her.
“What’s with the look? You’re the one who kidnapped Coarmy, huh? You’ve got quite the guts!” The girl with the ponytail cracked her fair fists together, her beautiful eyes glaring at Luca with hostility.
“Drumph must have sent you here, and I’m guessing you didn’t come to fight me,” Luca said calmly.
The woman’s name was Ivanka, the daughter of Drumph. In the past life, her name was not well known, but her nickname was something few people had never heard of.
“Martial Emperor!”
She was a Transcendent-level powerhouse, a professional martial artist with the S-class talent ” Blood Energy Tempered by a Hundred Strikes.” Each attack she landed would accumulate damage, and the limit was unknown. Her temper was fiery, and she was a warlike person, excelling in close combat. She was even known as the “Knight Killer.”
Luca had faced her many times in his previous life, losing more often than winning. Her talents and combat style countered his perfectly, and he had suffered greatly. He hadn’t expected to run into this annoying woman here, of all places.
“Where’s the stuff?” He held out his hand, showing no politeness.
Ivanka stared at him for a moment before her eyes curved into a smile. She pointed her finger at his nose and huffed, “Fight me! If you can beat me, I’ll give you the materials!”
Coarmy stared out the window at the blue sky and white clouds, a look of deep concern on his face.
Miss, is this really the time for a fight?
“Ivanka, stop fooling around,” a deep voice came from outside the window.
Luca turned his gaze toward the source of the voice and realized that there was a young man hanging from the window ledge.
He was around twenty-four or twenty-five years old, pale, with faint dark circles under his eyes. He was wearing a well-tailored suit, his hair combed neatly, giving off a slightly sickly appearance. When he noticed Luca’s gaze, he smiled modestly.
He then climbed through the window, only to crash straight into Coarmy.
“Why didn’t you just use the front door?” Coarmy groaned, wincing as his face twitched in pain.
The young man responded earnestly, “Because this way is cooler!”
Coarmy’s breathing became rapid, his chest heaving.
He really shouldn’t have asked that question!
Luca stared at this strange person, surprised.
He didn’t expect to see another familiar face.
Fuzzsir, a peak-level Transcendent, nicknamed “Dead Ghost,” his main profession was as a ghost assassin. However, his secondary profession was even more renowned—an “Undead Mage.” He had the S-class talent “Godslayer Soulbinder.”
Every soul he killed would become his servant, retaining 50% of their abilities from their living days. Even more terrifying, this ability ignored rank, making him a literal game-breaking character. He was one of the most powerful of the Human Race in Luca’s past life.
The only weakness was that the guy was a little off in the head—his thought process didn’t quite match up with that of a normal person.
At that moment, another petite figure entered the office.
She was covered in bandages stained with blood, and the strong smell of blood instantly filled the room.
Luca couldn’t help but narrow his eyes. This person was radiating an intense killing intent!
“Give him the materials, there’s a mission,” came a hoarse voice, impossible to tell whether it was from a man or a woman. The words were short, as if the speaker wasn’t willing to say more.
Once finished, the bandaged person didn’t even glance at Luca. They turned and left the office.
“Melania is too cold. No matter how you look at it, she’s a new member of our Starfire Organization,” Ivanka shook her head, clearly a bit helpless.
She then took out a USB flash drive and tossed it to Luca, smiling as she warned, “The USB has a self-destruct program, and you can only view it in front of us. You can’t share it with anyone afterwards, or there will be consequences. Don’t say I didn’t warn you~”
Luca caught the USB drive and nodded slightly, thanking her.
He then plugged it into the office computer.
A notification sound rang through the office, and Luca opened the USB drive.
Research data appeared on the screen in front of him, and as he scanned the information, his eyes narrowed.
The research from various countries on Eternal Game was progressing much faster than he had imagined. Summer Country had already confirmed that the game would descend soon, with the timeline set to within a year.
Unfortunately, this information, which had been common knowledge in his past life, was of little use to Luca.
He focused on the investigation data from Zenith Technology Company, examining it closely.
Although he had already suspected this outcome, Luca couldn’t help but feel a slight disappointment.
There had been no real progress at all.
After the release of Eternal Game, the people involved in the research seemed to have vanished from the world, as if they had disappeared without a trace.
The manufacturing chain for the Eternal Game helmets was also extremely ordinary, even outsourced to a production line.
But this was within Luca’s expectations. After all, even ten years later, humanity’s research into Zenith still hadn’t made much headway.
It seemed nearly impossible to track down the people from Zenith through this method. Ultimately, the answers would likely have to be found within the Eternal World itself…
With these thoughts in mind, Luca turned his attention to the research on game feedback and was unexpectedly pleased with the new insights.
“So it’s the nodes…” He had a sudden realization. No wonder some players, despite having high talents, couldn’t obtain game feedback in advance, while others, with only average abilities, could strengthen themselves early on.
The most important factor wasn’t talent or strength, but whether the player had encountered a Spatial Node.
According to the research data, all the players who had received game feedback had, without exception, interacted with or encountered a Spatial Node.
This included people like Fuzzsir, Ivanka, and Coarmy.
The only problem was that Spatial Nodes were completely random. Whether one encountered them was entirely based on luck.
Because of this, even knowing the method, Summer Country couldn’t mass-produce players with Transcendent powers.
Unless they spread the news, letting more players know about it.
However, doing so would undoubtedly be a suicide mission…
Luca finished reading all the information in just a few minutes.
He then unplugged the USB drive and tossed it to Coarmy.
“Finished already?” Ivanka and Coarmy were both a bit surprised.
They had expected Luca to take a few more looks, but he had just skimmed through it and was done.
“Just like a wind-blown youth,” Fuzzsir sighed in admiration.
Now that he had what he wanted, Luca waved his hand and said, “Alright, I’ll be heading back now.”
“Just leaving like that?” Coarmy stared at him in shock.
Luca stretched lazily and glanced at him, saying, “What else? I didn’t sleep well last night. I need to go catch up on some sleep.”
Coarmy and Ivanka exchanged a look, both at a loss for words. This was the first time they’d met someone with such a big heart.
He’d threatened the police chief, blackmailed a military bigwig, and now he was casually planning to go home and take a nap?
Coarmy rubbed his temples and sighed. “Don’t go just yet. Ivanka and the others are on a mission right now. Go with them, it’ll be a good opportunity for us to see your strength in action.”
Luca frowned slightly but didn’t refuse.
After all, he had taken their things, so it was only right to show some appreciation.
“Oh, by the way, here’s this for you.” Ivanka suddenly remembered something and pulled a black leather badge out of her pocket, tossing it to Luca.
Luca caught it and opened it. Inside was a bright star emblem, and on the other side was his personal information.
The badge, however, was stamped with an “intern” designation.
“Starfire’s badge, huh? Thanks…” Luca glanced at it and then casually slipped it into his pocket. The Starfire department had high-level authority, and having this badge would make things much more convenient for him.
The group then headed downstairs, with Coarmy accompanying them. He still needed to conduct a danger level assessment on Luca.
The general danger levels were S, A, B, C, D, and E. These were determined by a comprehensive evaluation of talent, strength, and level. Ivanka and the bandaged person were both rated A, while Fuzzsir and their team leader, Quagmire, were rated S.
Based on Coarmy’s estimation, Luca should be rated A.
Luca only smiled in response.