Chapter 127
Chapter 127: Rescue is Arriving in T-24 hours
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
After Fang Ning finished reading the System Notifications, he asked, “How long would it take to recover?”
The System replied, “Two days.”
Fang Ning nodded in affirmation. “Alright. You go on and heal yourself, I’ll go and deal with something else.”
The System frowned. “Don’t tell me you’re going to go and binge your games again.”
Fang Ning rolled his eyes. “Do I look like a person that has their priorities all over the place? They have a Straight Flush as their trump card, so we must get our own Double Joker as well! Well, they’re not the same card game, but whatever…” 1
Then, Fang Ning went on QQ to contact Feng Niao. Although this matter could be easily solved by telling Zheng Dao to contact the Truth Department, Fang Ning felt that it would still hurt his image as the Venerable White Dragon if it was told to others.
Feng Niao replied, “Any orders, Venerable One?”
“Give me approximately 10 timers that look like mobile phones. They shouldn’t be too strong, I just want them to give that dog a hard time. I need something that can have a countdown of at least 24 hours, and its activation and shutdown must be controlled remotely. Most importantly, it must be the best of quality. If there is any sign of cheap knockoffs, I will never let that by easily.”
Feng Niao reassured him, “Don’t worry, all of the goods are verified to be top-quality genuine products. They’ll also be delivered to your home.”
“You must be running quite an impressive group here that you could do all this even under the surveillance of the Truth Department,” praised Fang Ning.
Feng Niao humbly replied, “You flatter us, great hero. It was difficult previously, but ever since the Giant Rats have pioneered courier services that rely on underground relay tunneling, it has been safer and easier to hide our tracks. Even though it was slower than other courier companies, traveling across thousands of miles is still doable.”
Fang Ning was surprised at that. Sh*t, how many smart people are there in the Giant Rat clan that they’ve already attempted to form their own economic structure just after a few months of exposure? Courier services may seem simple to the external eye, but it holds a very significant place in the daily operations of a society. They’re like the blood vessels in a human’s body.
By earning money from the morally ambiguous activities of humans while perfecting their own economic structure, they managed to kill two birds with one stone. There must be a board of economists advising the Giant Rats in economic theories.
Once again, Fang Ning felt immense pressure upon him. Once big groups like the Giant Rat clan had the opportunity to become stronger, they would be a formidable force in the future. If they were to come out in force and retaliate one day, it’ll be a terrifying threat to humanity.
Fang Ning asked, “Did the Truth Department really turn a blind eye to them?”
Feng Ning quipped, “Well, according to my sources, both sides have apparently reached a compromise via the Association of Spirit Kings. The Giant Rat clan will be fine as long as they don’t transport goods that ‘cross the line’, so to speak. Of course, the restriction is nothing in front of you, hero.”
As Fang Ning recalled the Straight Flush trump card of the Truth Department and that mysterious Land of Heritage, he could totally understand why they were reluctant to take any action against the Giant Rat clan.
The Truth Department was probably waiting for it to finish developing before they wipe out the Giant Rat clan once and for all. For now, the rule of thumb for the Truth Department is to maintain the overall law and order, and to provide as much resources to the development of their Land of Heritage.
Fang Ning sighed, “Thank you for your work. I’ll pass you the payment immediately when I get the goods.”
///
Two days later, in Fang Ning’s farm villa.
It was exceptionally cold in the winter here in the farm, and all of the lands aside from the still-operating greenhouses for vegetable supply were barren. Naturally, they wouldn’t plant winter wheat around here.
Brett the Black Dog was stretching its legs on one of the vacant fields, as it poked at an old phone on the ground. Much like a brick, the old device was thick and sturdy, which was vastly different with that iPhone X that it got online. This looked very much like the traditional Nokia, with a small screen and neatly arranged buttons below. One button was marked with ‘Call’ and another with ‘End’, and the others were numerical buttons with alphabets on them.
A small white dragon was asking through the phone, “Brett, this is your great reward. ‘One Cloud-Piercing Arrow for a thousand cavalry’, or Cloud-Piercing Arrow for short. 2 ”
“Once you key in the digits 139… and dial it, you would be able to summon the Dragon God. No matter where you are, the Venerable Dragon God will reach you in time. Of course, do not dial the number unless you absolutely need it. If you end the call, the Venerable Dragon God would not come then.”
Brett the Black Dog immediately held the brick phone in its mouth with utmost caution after what it heard. Then, it cradled it in its arms and said, “Understood. The Venerable Dragon God has to tend to multiple tasks, and there is no way that I should trouble him with menial tasks. I will only use it when it’s an absolute emergency.”
The small white dragon nodded in approval, “Good, you’re a mature and understanding one. Remember, you shall never press the wrong button. This is a new work of ours, and it needs to go throw long-term testing. When it’s time, you’ll test it with us by going to different cities one by one.”
(Well, it’s nothing much if you really did press it without caution. I’ll just fly over and drag you back home, then starve some meals off you so you’ll learn your lesson.) Fang Ning thought to himself.
The Black Dog answered proudly, its chest puffed up as it spoke, “Yes, master.”
The dog’s eyes darted left and right, searching for a specific dog to show off its new treasure. Sadly, the Yellow Dog was nowhere to be found. It was busy cultivating the Atmospheric Morality Technique.
Suddenly, Fang Ning added, “Mm, good. Also, you are now allowed to learn the Atmospheric Morality Technique. Remember to learn it from Xue Ba as soon as possible.”
The Black Dog beamed once again, “This dog thank you for your gracious gift, master.”
Fang Ning nodded. “Mm, off you go. Remember to keep this mobile phone safely. It’s best if you could get Butler Zheng to get you a pouch to hang off your neck for you to carry it around easily.”
With the phone in its mouth, the Black Dog disappeared immediately after it heard Fang Ning’s suggestion. Fang Ning, on the other hand, was pleased as he nodded. If everyone’s intelligence was as simple as Brett the Black Dog, maybe he would finally be relieved. People akin to that evil genius Anderson should grow all moldy in jail…
The System commented, “Host, why are you so cruel?”
Fang Ning glared at the System. “What? I’m doing all this to increase the efficiency of you unlocking the map. Do you think it’s easy for me to think of all these loopholes to take? I spent so much time brainstorming it! We still need to test it out. Let’s start from the nearby Tao City.”
“The Yellow Dog is busy cultivating, and Zheng Dao is collecting information for us. Only the Black Dog is free, and with its daily training, it has a tough build and body. Those people in the Hummingbird Society gave us a demonstration in a video of that phone’s power. It wasn’t too big that if anything did happen, you’ll be able to save everything by spitting a mouthful of water there in dragon form.”
“Besides, I realized through that incident with Butler Zheng that even if they weren’t in mortal danger, it would still be a fuss for us if they were captured and locked in a place for long periods of time. Once we’ve tested this out, we could give each of them one of this to avoid that from happening ever again.”
The System gasped in admiration. “Host, you’ve once again impressed me greatly. Your considerations are so complete! My admiration is wider than the sea itself…”
Fang Ning huffed, “Alright, hold it right there. Once it happened, you’ll need to react immediately. It’s still in its testing phase, and I can’t guarantee that everything would go on smoothly without hiccups. If Thousand-mile Assistance was triggered, you should go and rescue them without any delay.”
The System declared, “No problem. If there are any problems, we could always let its soul become our guard dog in the System Prison. We could even be more relaxed if that happened.”
Fang Ning reprimanded, “Hold up, don’t start planting flags. It’s such a loyal and useful subordinate. If anything were to happen to it, we would need to save it even if we were to ask for Bodhisattva Spirit King’s assistance.”
///
“Alright, let’s begin the test. Brett, use the Cloud-Piercing Arrow now to summon the Dragon God.”
Fang Ning was calling Brett the Black Dog on its other smartphone. At the same time, Brett that was dropped off at Tao City by Xue ‘The Flight’ Feng was excitedly placing its iPhone X down to pick up that old Nokia. Then, it used its paw to gently press the ‘Call’ button. Then, a notification was seen on the digital screen of the phone.
[Rescue is on its way. Initiating 24-hour countdown: 23:59:59…]
The next thing Brett saw was Vigilante A standing expressionlessly before it.
“Good, the test is a success. You can end the call now.”
Brett was overjoyed. It quickly clicked the ‘End’ button and thought to itself. (Master treats me so well. Master must’ve been worried after that last assassination attempt, and created this talisman specially for me. It must’ve cost him a fortune, so I must take care of it like how I care for my own sibling.)
Vigilante A spoke again, “Okay. You’ve contributed much to the test. Now go and play somewhere you like, and just ask the butler to transfer some money to your card if you need it.”
The Black Dog adjusted its posture to be entirely upright and proper as it sat and raised its paw in respect. “Yes, master,” it replied before slotting two phones into the pouch on its neck. Then, it leapt off in glee. How rare the chance was for it to have a fully-paid holiday! Of course it would be delighted!
Vigilante A was left standing. He scanned his surroundings, and soon his eyes shone as he sprinted towards a certain direction.
///
There’s a place in Tao City where a specific residential building was located. In a rented room on the 12th floor, there was an old man with a sunken face and gloomy expression, just getting out of bed despite it was already 11 in the morning.
He walked to a window in his rented room and gazed out to the road below. Traffic was busy, and people filed into the place like ants to a candy. As his eyes laid on the numerous blooming youth below, his eyes glittered with a sudden predatory greed.
(Soon, I will be the Grim Reaper in this world. Now, I can only hunt you ordinary people down, but I will hunt those strong and powerful beings in the future. All of life and death will be to my whim. What does the Truth Department even amount to? Once I’ve grown my strength in a more isolated city, you’ll learn to fear me soon enough…)
At the same time, an average looking young man who looked very much like a university student was cycling an electric bike through the winter, his face gleaming with sweat. He rode the bike at the right side of the road, and the back of his bike was a box with XXXX Food Delivery written on it.
All of a sudden, a gust of wind blew at a pile of fallen leaves that the roadside cleaners has gathered. Coincidentally, a leaf landed on his spectacles and blocked his vision. The university student instinctively went to swipe at his spectacles with his right hand, but he never imagined that the bike would suddenly lose its balance and fall into the lane where the motor-powered cars were driving on. At that same time, a Passat was zipping down that same lane at high speed…
As the car screeched to a halt, the Passat came to a forced stop. The window to the car was soon lowered to reveal a young man, his face pale from the ordeal. He patted his chest, still reeling from the shock as he extended his neck to look at that electric bike that was a mere 30 centimeters away from his car. Then, he looked at that cyclist.
‘Thank God my girlfriend dragged me to play Battle of the Beast recently. I’ve cultivated that Basic Cultivation of the Spirit, and all the talk among the players in the forums seemed to be true. My reflexes seemed to have improved that I could react in time to stop the car. Otherwise, I would have never been able to step on the brake in time, and I would’ve run him over. This car was just bought on loan, and I only bought the compulsory motor vehicle insurance on it…’
The student turned to look at the driver and bowed to apologize. “I’m sorry for causing you so much trouble,” he said before quickly moving the electric bike to the side of the road. The young driver waved his hand, indicating that he was willing to let this by. It was definitely not intentional, and the driver soon continued his journey after he started his car again.
It did not take long for the traffic to return to normal, and no one would know that a special incident just took place in that same location.
“It was unfortunate that it’s a failure again. It’s indeed not a good idea to choose youths as prey even though they would provide the best benefits,” the old man sighed as he shook his head by the window. Then, he looked at the next one and said, “I won’t pick them next time.”
“Why don’t you pick your next chance in prison?” A cold voice was heard by his ear, and the old man vanished entirely from his rented room.
…
In the System Prison, a new Cell No.3 appeared out of the blue.
Anderson commented, “Well, we could play Landlord now…”
Elder Feng snorted, “Leave me out of it, I still want to sleep.”
Anderson shrugged, “That’s a shame. I wanted to tell you an idea of how to live a longer time here, actually.”
Elder Feng sat up straight immediately. “We could?”
“Play Landlord with me.”
“There’s nothing here, how should we play it?”
“Why not…”
“Amazing, Anderson, you’re truly a master of the Psions. You could still make an Arcane Soul Realm in a place like this!”
An unknown old man asked, “Where is this place? Where am I?”
Anderson smiled, “Elder Feng, wake this newcomer up.”
Elder Feng’s grin was sinister. “No problem, Anderson.”