At the headquarters of the Black Sea Technology Corporation in Dragon Metropolis.
At this moment, a crowd was gathered in the meeting room. All of them wore a solemn expression on their faces.
"Sadly, we were a step behind. The majority of the influential game developers within the country have already signed agreements with the Jie De Corporation to mutually promote each other. Let's discuss about our plan to manage this," Wu Li spoke from the main seat after he swept his gaze across the crowd.
The higher-ups of the Black Sea Technology Corporation never expected that the Jie De Corporation would make their move so quickly.
Seemingly, during their press conference, the Jie De Corporation had already sent their representatives to different cities in the Dragon Nation to seize contracts with most of the game developers. Thinking that the years they had spent for the research and preparation might go up in smoke due to the turn of events, everyone of the Black Sea Technology Corporation was bitterly disappointed.
"Chief Wu, according to our intelligence, there is still one game developer of considerable significance that has not sealed the deal with the Jie De Corporation yet. Apparently, they rejected Jie De's offer."
"Only one?" Wu Li heaved a sigh of disappointment.
"It's better than none. Send someone over to negotiate with them. We'll try our best to fulfill their demands, and hopefully, we can work with them."
Although he felt inwardly helpless, Wu Li had no intention of forgoing this opportunity.
Soon after the meeting had ended, the Black Sea Corporation managed to connect with Lu Wu through Platform173.
Originally, the staff in charge intended to hold a physical meeting, but Lu Wu rejected and responded with only one question.
"Will I be charged for the collaboration?"
Although the person in charge was rather flustered by Lu Wu's question, he replied with a firm answer.
"The cooperative advertising project is to create a win-win situation. You will certainly not be charged. At the same time, your company's game will be pre-installed in our gaming console, meaning that once the gamers purchase our consoles, even without downloading, your game will automatically appear in the list."
After he listened to the proposal, Lu Wu immediately agreed to the deal. No one foresaw that the dialogue would go on so smoothly – even the person in charge at the Black Sea Technology Corporation was a little bewildered.
In the phone call, Lu Wu also promised the representative that they would promote the Black Sea Technology Corporation's gaming consoles in the game after its official release.
The next day, Lu Wu received the contract for the cooperative advertising project mailed by the Black Sea Technology Corporation.
Lu Wu carefully read through the contract. After confirming that all the details were correct, he signed it and kept a copy for himself. Upon returning the signed copy to the Black Sea Technology Corporation, the alliance between the two parties was officially established.
The news of Lu Wu's collaboration with the Black Sea Technology Corporation soon reached Orisha, Jie De Corporation's representative.
This left her in shock. As the person in charge of the cooperative advertising project, she did not expect to see the man who rejected her offer to cooperate with the Black Sea Corporation.
She quickly relayed the news to the headquarters back in A Nation.
Jie De Technology Corporation was never merciful to its competitors. They immediately decided to block Battle Online on all their consoles.
Then, Battle Online would not be available on any console that was sold by the Jie De Technology Corporation.
In their opinion, there were still a vast choice of games available for their consoles. Gamers would surely weigh the pros and cons, and opt for the better devices.
In the meantime, at the Mansion of the Dead in the underworld.
"Your majesty, your majesty!" Du Yan bowed with respect to a silhouette that was standing not far away.
"Why did you return? Have I not ordered you to stay beside Cha Na?" Lu Wu, appearing as the King of Bei Qi, questioned softly.
"I was forced to return. Cha Na has discovered my treachery. I'll certainly be killed if I remain by his side!"
"Oh? Why is that so?" Lu Wu asked, appearing surprised.
"When I went back to Cha Na, the Ghost General, upon Your Majesty's orders. I first lied to him about the cause of Third Ghost's death using the Tree Demon's branches. Then, I was told to visit the Sea King to respond to the matter of the offerings. However, I informed the Sea King that Cha Na, the Ghost General, had refused to deliver his request."
"This infuriated the Sea King. He commanded the sea creatures to launch a blitz. That was when I became certain that I would be exposed soon. So, I had to leave!"
Hearing this, Lu Wu was immediately reminded about the battle by the sea that was live streamed by the player the other day. He had not expected Du Yan to be the cause behind the violent exchange.
"By the way, I brought this with me before I left!"
Du Yan took something out of his black robes as he spoke, only to reveal a pitch-black orb that was sitting on his palm.
Lu Wu was puzzled. He waved his hand and a cloud of condensed Yin energy brought the black orb before him.
He activated the analyzing function of the artifact.
[Yin Soul Pearl]: 230,119 Yin souls
Item details: This item is able to store Yin souls.
"I was previously in charge of the storage of Yin souls in Liuli district. Therefore, I took all the Yin souls that belonged to Cha Na with me before I left."
He is an utter traitor. He did not forget to give his former owner a final stab in the back before he escaped! However, I appreciate a treacherous old chap like him.
Lu Wu wore a grin as he said, "Du Yan, you did a great job!"
He waved his hand. A cloud of soul power was released from his sleeves and rushed into Du Yan's body.
"Boom!"
The soul power acted like a flammable liquid, causing the soul flame within Du Yan's skull to grow explosively. The color of his head slowly morphed from green to crimson.
Simultaneously, it could be clearly seen that Du Yan's pitch black skeletal structure began to thicken, while flecks of glowing emerald appeared on it.
"This…" Du Yan was shocked.
Having lived for several thousand years, this was his first time witnessing a skill that was able to control soul power directly. This doubled his ability in an instant.
Turning back to look at Lu Wu, Du Yan knelt on the ground and presented a kowtow. "Thanks to your majesty for your gracious reward!"
Lu Wu nodded. It was not a difficult feat for him to raise Du Yan abilities.
This was different from improving a player's ability.
The growth of a player's ability needed to be accumulated in a step-by-step manner, following the correct order. It was similar to the process of digging a drain and turning it to a pond, which would ultimately grow into a lake. It required orderly advancement. On the contrary, presences like Du Yan, who had been cultivating for thousands of years, already possessed a solid foundation. All Lu Wu needed to do for Du Yan was to add water to the pond.
Even so, the technique he had revealed appeared to be a miracle in the eyes of Du Yan.
This advancement gave Du Yan a deeper understanding of Lu Wu's mysteries. He even felt a tinge of relief, thinking that his betrayal was one of the best decisions he had ever made.
However, Lu Wu had not intended for Du Yan to stay at the Mansion of the Dead despite his return. Lu Wu gave Du Yan an order.
"Du Yan, I have a mission for you."
"Pray tell, your majesty. I shall give it my all," Du Yan spoke dutifully.
"Seek refuge from the Rock Ghost King!"
"This…" Du Yan was dumbfounded.
"Your majesty wishes for me to sour the relationship between the Rock Ghost King and Cha Na, the Ghost General?" Du Yan asked unconfidently after a brief moment of thought.
"That is one of the objectives, but I will handle Cha Na. The main purpose is for you to investigate the Rock Ghost King's current status and report it to me."
"But, will the Rock Ghost King believe me?" Du Yan was a little hesitant.
"Bring this along!" with a wave of his hand, Lu Wu removed 150,000 Yin souls from the Yin Soul Pearl using his artifact. He gave the pearl with the remaining 80,000 Yin souls to Du Yan.
Upon receiving the Yin Soul Pearl, Du Yan replied with a firm nod, "I shall not disappoint your majesty's expectations!"
Then, he transformed into a black shadow, left the Mansion of the Dead, and traveled toward the North Rocks.