Bai Ye felt a sense of accomplishment.
It was finally a real lightsaber, no longer a mere flashlight.
Though Bai Ye didn't know when he'd need such a thing, as flying swords were far more practical, romance and dreams still held value.
Unless...
Someone offered a high price?
With this thought, Bai Ye tossed the Skywalker into his inventory.
Allen and the others had already departed. Bai Ye leaned against the window, gazing at the City of Ruins. For now, his foray had been successful.
However, Bai Ye's true goal was the wish mission, which he hadn't yet obtained. The hidden quest had further stages.
But this couldn't be rushed. Bai Ye had completed the first step; the second would depend on Allen's negotiations with the Rhine Company. If his past life's memories were accurate, the negotiations would surely break down, leading to the android rebellion.
At that point, Bai Ye could proceed to the next hidden mission.
As for the present, Bai Ye could only wait.
Yes, wait!
Bai Ye found the word fitting. He needed to wait for the hidden mission, and also for Yimi's reply.
The Hidden Dragon Society, the Evil Spirit Gang, the Flower District.
He had already established ties with the Evil Spirit Gang. The Flower District was uncertain. Hua Zhixiao was currently just a woman surviving by her body. Although Bai Ye had offered her a helping hand, whether she could rise again like in his past life depended on her own efforts.
Simply put, Bai Ye had scattered some bait, but he wasn't sure if it would catch anything.
Yet, he had directions for two major factions. The remaining Hidden Dragon Society...
To be honest, Bai Ye disliked the Hidden Dragon Society. Those fellows had chased him when he was weak in his past life. Though he had gotten his revenge when he became strong, grudges of that nature were only truly settled by death. Since he had a second chance, he intended to make them die again to finally settle the score.
Therefore, Bai Ye hadn't initially included the Hidden Dragon Society in his plans.
His intention was to use the Evil Spirit Gang to counter the Hidden Dragon Society, and through their conflict, accelerate the progress of the world battlefield.
But now, with Yimi appearing at his doorstep, Bai Ye thought it might be a good idea to have an insider in the Hidden Dragon Society.
As long as Yimi climbed high enough and gained enough importance within the Hidden Dragon Society, she could likely be used for many purposes.
The only question was whether Yimi could be controlled.
The Evil Spirit Gang was managed through mutual benefit.
Hua Zhixiao was currently too weak, not even exhibiting traits or potential that excited Bai Ye. Thus, Bai Ye's approach was to let her develop on her own; if she could stand up, great. If not, so be it.
But Yimi couldn't be treated like Hua Zhixiao. She was already a master, and while Bai Ye couldn't help much with Hua Zhixiao establishing the Flower District, Yimi's mission to infiltrate the Hidden Dragon Society was different.
However, Bai Ye didn't think it would be too difficult to make Yimi obey.
As long as he was strong enough.
Bai Ye didn't know if Yimi admired strength, but he believed that as long as he consistently displayed his power to Yimi, she would likely remain compliant.
Because if Yimi wanted to confront the God Disciples, Bai Ye would be her greatest asset.
"Speaking of which, what exactly are these God Disciples?"
Bai Ye mused, murmuring to himself.
Bai Ye found the matter intriguing. Leaving the world battlefield was everyone's pursuit, and Bai Ye was no exception. But what about the truth of the world battlefield?
That was also something everyone sought to uncover. However, compared to the ability to leave this place, the truth was less important.
But if Yimi's speculation was correct, and the truth of the world battlefield was intrinsically linked to leaving it, then it became very important.
Still, there was nothing Bai Ye could do for now except wait.
However, Bai Ye hadn't expected that instead of receiving news about Allen's negotiations with the Rhine Company or Yimi's arrival, he would first be contacted by Gao Ming.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Bai Ye." As Bai Ye picked up the communicator, Gao Ming's voice came through, "How have you been lately?"
"Not good!"
Bai Ye pouted. He had spent two days wandering the City of Ruins, and yet there was no news from Allen, nor had Yimi sought him out. Naturally, this left Bai Ye feeling rather displeased.
"But..." Bai Ye continued, "Judging by your tone, you seem to be doing well."
"I'm doing well, all thanks to you!" Gao Ming chuckled. "Seriously, aren't you considering joining the Evil Spirit Gang?"
Bai Ye replied, "Not interested."
"Alright." Gao Ming sounded disappointed. "Then our cooperation..."
Bai Ye said, "See, that's more like it. Let's talk about cooperation, why bring up joining the Evil Spirit Gang? Do you think I don't know what your boss Harvey is thinking? If I really joined the Evil Spirit Gang, would you still be so happy to give me benefits? As a member of the Evil Spirit Gang, wouldn't it be natural to serve the gang?"
Gao Ming laughed it off without offering a defense. Truthfully, his attempt to recruit Bai Ye did carry that underlying intention.
Bai Ye stated, "I believe the map from the Men in Black should be enough for you to get by. Although they are all entry-level future technology weapons, equipping the entire Evil Spirit Gang with black-grade weapons would significantly improve your overall strength. And in such a short time, you wouldn't have been able to achieve that, would you?"
Gao Ming replied, "We won't abandon that place. We want to be the first to taste the crabs, but I think it's even better to be able to eat them clean."
Bai Ye asked, "Then why are you looking for me?"
Gao Ming sighed, "Although overall strength is essential, there's still a considerable gap between our executive-level strength and the Hidden Dragon Society. The thugs of the Hidden Dragon Society are quite formidable."
"Oh?" Bai Ye inquired, "So the low-tier matches aren't satisfying anymore, and you want to find some experts for the high-tier matches?"
Gao Ming smiled, "You can understand it that way. After all, we need top fighters to hold the line."
Bai Ye offered, "How about a red-grade lightsaber?"
A man's romance...
As long as the price was right, it wasn't impossible to sell.
Gao Ming immediately responded, "Of course!"
Bai Ye said, "What do you plan to exchange for it? And by the way, you'll need to send someone to pick it up yourself."
"Ah?" Gao Ming exclaimed, "You have it on you?"
Bai Ye asked, "Why?"
Gao Ming tactfully replied, "While it's a good item, exchanging one red-grade item for another red-grade item doesn't hold much significance."
Bai Ye countered, "Don't you have anything you don't need?"
Gao Ming replied, "We probably do, but that's not my department. I can go and ask for you, but my suggestion is that our previous cooperation model was quite good."
Bai Ye asked, "You want intelligence on the restricted zones, right?"
Gao Ming honestly replied, "Yes."