A modding tool!
Zero City is a modding tool!
Could there be a more surprising news for Chen Xiaolian?
Naturally, Chen Xiaolian knew how much power a modding tool could bring to the table in a game.
In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms game, the modding tool could be used to increase a military officer’s rank up to military commander while giving that same officer full attributes, be it political or intelligence. He could even use it to max out the agricultural and business attributes of his cities!
In Age of Empires, he could use the modding tool to mod out countless resources and use it to trample all over the other parties…
Let’s not even go to the ‘how do you turn this on’ Godlike cheats.
That’s right! The biggest aspect of the modding tool was its ability to cheat!
Zero City can cheat!
Since it could mod out this C11 mine in the real world, then it could also mod out a C12, C13, C14…
Just by imagining this possibility was enough to cause his heart to throb uncontrollably!
Those super powerful guilds occupying Zero City who had access to these could use this Heavenly defying function for the long-term. Their strength… just how powerful had they become?
Chen Xiaolian fell into a state of silence.
…
Seeing how silent Chen Xiaolian had become, the silhouette assumed that Chen Xiaolian must have been shocked by his words. The silhouette’s words became more venomous. “It would appear that you now understand just what kind of situation you are in. Brat, give it up! A resource of this magnitude is not something that an Awakened like you can own. You simply lack the ability. Even if you do succeed in seizing it, you still won’t be able to use it. Additionally, you will only become a thorn in the other guild’s side.
“Do you know what kind of ending would befall a dog that tries to compete for food with a pack of lions?”
Chen Xiaolian remained silent.
“You don’t appear to be a fool. Surely, you know what kind of choice you have to make!
“Choose to cooperate and hand over this mine. That way, you will gain the friendship of our Rodriar Guild and also a certain amount of compensation – this will be better than getting nothing.”
“What is you offer price? Your real offer price.” Chen Xiaolian raised his eyelids and said gently. “Stop talking about meaningless things like friendship. What I want to hear is your real offer price.”
The silhouette pondered about it seriously before giving his offer.
“Firstly, you will get 20,000 points directly as reward.
“Secondly, you will become a friend of our Rodriar Guild. Those are not some meaningless words. You will become a valued guest for us Rodriar Guild. In the future, when you enter Zero City, you will be able to utilize part of our Rodriar Guild’s businesses and services free of charge. For example, the lodgings offered within Zero City… additionally, you can buy all the goods sold by Rodriar Guild at the lowest price.
“Thirdly… I can grant you the authority to enter Zero City once every year. Each entry gives you the right to stay inside Zero City for 15 days. How is it? This is a very attractive offer. This offer means that you will have 15 days’ worth of precious refuge time per year! Once you are selected to participate in an instance dungeon that you consider to be too dangerous, you can apply to enter Zero City and gain refuge. This is a very valuable condition.”
Chen Xiaolian took a deep breath and he kneaded his face roughly.
“I have a condition. I want unlimited access to enter and exit Zero City at will.”
“Impossible!” The silhouette bluntly rejected Chen Xiaolian’s condition. “This condition of yours is the equivalent of getting a permanent residence status in Zero City. That’s impossible! Besides, I don’t have the authority to give you that! You are probably unaware of this, but it is very, very difficult for a guild or a solo Awakened to gain permanent residence status within Zero City. You must get the approval of at least two thirds of the representatives of the major guilds for this to happen! Someone like you simply do not have what it takes.”
“I have a C11 mine as a bargaining chip, is that still not enough?” asked Chen Xiaolian as he looked at the silhouette.
The silhouette fell into a state of silence.
The silhouette owner was tangled and it hesitated.
Deep down, the silhouette owner believed that by using this C11 mine as a bargaining chip, maybe… if he was to report it, his Guild Leader might actually approve it!
Although Zero City was a modding tool, the functions of this modding tool were not as powerful as what one might imagine.
In order to avoid being found by the main program, the number of places that had been modded, like this C11 mine, was limited!
These places were not infinite. Additionally, they could not simply create however many they desired.
Every once in a while, Zero City’s system will create one.
Each time one such place was created, the various major guilds will eye it keenly. Next, an intense competition would occur to seize it!
Those competitions were truly intense!
More often than not, the degree of competition was so fierce and brutal, it was something that outsiders could not even begin to imagine. At times, it would be far more savage compared to a normal large-scale instance dungeon!
Rodriar Guild was not the only guild inside Zero City. There were various other guilds that would cast tiger like gazes at the resources.
‘Not enough to go around’. Chen Xiaolian’s words just now were truly accurate.
If he were to surrender this C11 mine, the Guild Leader might actually be tempted.
This brat’s strength might still be insufficient to become a formal member of Rodriar Guild. However, with the ownership of this C11 mine as a bargaining chip, it might be possible to make an exception…
However, there was a problem. The silhouette owner did not have that level of authority. That was something that required the approval of his Guild Leader.
Should I accept his request first? But this brat don’t seem easy to fool.
“I will need to apply for it. I don’t have the authority to do something like this.” The silhouette sighed. “But, in my opinion, there is a very high possibility of it being approved. Maybe I can put up a special request to have you become a formal member of Rodriar Guild. That way, you will be able to obtain the permanent residence status in Zero City.”
Chen Xiaolian knitted his eyebrows and said, “Let me amend my words. The permanent residence status that I want is not me entering your guild, rather… I have my own guild. I want to have my guild become one with permanent residence status in Zero City!”
“Absolutely impossible!” The silhouette instantly rejected in a loud voice. “There is absolutely no such possibility of that happening!”
Stop joking around! Become a resident guild of Zero City?
Zero City was crowded enough as it is! The number of guilds inside Zero City is big enough as it is! No one would allow another guild to enter Zero City!
There is not enough to go around to begin with! Allow newcomers to enter and snatch from them?
Stop joking around!
Additionally, the procedure to join Zero City… there were some other aspects to it!
Whenever a new guild joined Zero City, the other guilds would have to share out some special ‘portion’.
The other guilds would never accede to that!
Not even for the C11 mine!
The decisive rejection shown by the silhouette made Chen Xiaolian sigh.
For just a moment, he had been tempted.
If he could make his guild a resident guild in Zero City, he would be very willing to hand over this precious C11 mine.
Chen Xiaolian was not a fool after all. This C11 mine may be precious. However, it was not something he could afford to use.
The right to become a resident guild of Zero City however, was something that was very, very valuable to him!
Although he already possessed his own secret base, the functions of his secret base was very limited. At present, it would appear that it could only function as a refuge.
Who would not want an additional refuge?
Moreover, Zero City also possessed the modding function.
It could issue out some special quests.
Furthermore… there were the super powerful resident guilds inside Zero City!
By making exchanges with those guilds in Zero City, he would be able to greatly develop his own guild!
Others aside, many equipment and materials were only available for trade inside Zero City! Those items were simply not available elsewhere!
There was also… the secret of Mr San and the others!
Chen Xiaolian believed that if he could become a resident of Zero City, it would help him discover the shocking secret surrounding Mr San.
Obtaining that by handing over this C11 mine that he could not use was something that Chen Xiaolian was very willing to do.
However, the other side had bluntly refused him. There was no room for discussion at all!
Chen Xiaolian suddenly understood. Compared to what he had imagined, the qualifications to become a resident guild of Zero City might be much… higher?
Complicated?
“It’s really not possible?”
“Absolutely impossible! Brat, be realistic! What you have here is a mine, not Aladdin’s lamp!” The silhouette’s words were filled with ridicule. “Your price is simply outrageous.”
Chen Xiaolian suddenly smiled. “So… it would seem… it’s been a pleasant chat. Thank you for telling me so many things. What a pity that we could not come to an agreement.”
After saying that, Chen Xiaolian suddenly raised his hand.
In his hand was the spirit-force handgun!
Bang!
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
He pulled the trigger in quick succession! In one breath, he had emptied all his bullets!
Every single bullet struck the silhouette’s body and a silvery liquid burst out from each impact. The silhouette howled miserably as the ‘contamination’ brought forth by the silvery liquid caused the silhouette’s body grow dimmer!
It twisted furiously as it attempted to escape. However, Chen Xiaolian was faster!
After having emptied a magazine, he quickly replaced another into the gun!
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang…
“You! You damned… argh! I will kill you! Argh!”
The silhouette screamed in misery and its body contorted back and forth, seemingly in an attempt to dodge. However, every bullet shot out struck it squarely on its body.
It was not long before it became akin to a piece of Swiss cheese.
After Chen Xiaolian emptied two magazine’s worth of bullets into the silhouette, its body suddenly let out a “bang”… like a mirror that had been placed under too much pressure, it broke apart!
The sharp screams also ended abruptly and the underground cave regained its quiet atmosphere.
Chen Xiaolian blew the muzzle of the handgun and watched as the fragments from the silhouette disappeared. “What a pity…”
…
“Bastard! Bastard! Bastard!!!”
Somewhere by the edges of the forest outside the mining site, a figure clad in black clothes suddenly jumped up.
The figure’s mouth coughed out blood three times and his body staggered. He used his hands to hold onto a big tree for support.
“Bastard! Bastard!! This despicable brat!!”
The face of the figure in black had turned pale and appeared nearly transparent. The figure’s face that was originally very gaunt now appeared terrifyingly skeletal.
Black smoke leaked out from his entire body. It was as though the figure was on fire.
After a series of violent gasps, the figure’s rate of breathing turned weak. However, resentment grew within those pair of eyes.
“I will… definitely kill you! Brat! I will have you pay the price for this! Argh! My magic avatar!”
The figure then plopped down on his knees onto the ground. With both hands placed on the ground for support, the figure coughed out another spray of blood.
Countless tendrils of black smoke could be seen emerging out from this mouthful of blood.
That was undead energy! The grasses on the ground that came in contact with that undead energy immediately withered away!
The silhouette owner panted furiously. However, the figure could only grit his teeth in rage.
“This won’t do… Theodore and Jacob are still here… now is not the time to take vengeance… if I continue staying here, with my weakened state, if I were to bump into them, I would be killed by them… I… I can only return. I have to give up on this quest… damned brat! I will definitely have you pay the price for this! I will torture you for 10 days and 10 nights!”
With a burst of black smoke, the silhouette owner then disappeared.
…
Chen Xiaolian stood silently within the underground cave.
Just now, he had acted decisively!
He knew all too well that was the last choice he had to make.
That silhouette owner was not some kind-hearted fellow. Since he had rejected the silhouette owner’s offer, would the silhouette owner let him go if he were to let the silhouette go just like that?
Stop joking!
If he had chosen not to attack and had let the silhouette go, the silhouette would definitely still turn around to cause problems for him!
At present, there were two fellows digging their way through the collapsed entrance passageway.
Plus a silhouette?
Chen Xiaolian might as well finish off the avatar to deal a heavy blow to the silhouette owner!
At any rate, they were already enemies. There was no need to be soft-hearted toward enemies!
He walked to the side, pulled up the unconscious Una and checked her condition.
Fortunately, this woman was just unconscious. Her heartbeat and rate of breathing was fairly even.
Chen Xiaolian frowned as he pulled her back with him into the main control room.
Turning to look at the countdown, he saw that there were still 20 hours left on the countdown timer.
There on the metal screen, he could see that the two fellows were still digging their way through the caved-in passageway.
What should I do next?
Chen Xiaolian contemplated.
After around half an hour, Chen Xiaolian’s eyes lit up and an amused expression could be seen within his eyes.
He walked to the metal screen of the main control room and began tinkering with the controls.
A few minutes later, he found the function that he was looking for.
After gently tapping on the screen a few times, he saw a picture of something similar to a microphone appear on the screen. He then used his hand to rap it.
Knock! Knock! Knock! Sounds emerged from the loudspeaker.
“Are you two having a good time digging?”
Chen Xiaolian spoke up with a smile as he watched the two Awakened ones who were using Mechanical Arms to dig through the caved-in passageway.
Naturally, when he was speaking, he did not forget to hold his throat to make his voice sound hoarse.
The two fellows shown on the metal screen immediately stood at attention and they looked around them with grim expressions.
…
“The other party can see us!”
“Humph! In other words, while we have been digging like mice, the other side had been monitoring us?”
Jacob grunted before coldly speaking out, “Who are you?!”
…
Chen Xiaolian observed the two fellows shown on the screen and smiled. Next, he used a very arrogant sounding tone and hoarsely spoke loudly, “Don’t be so excited. It’s just that you’ve been working hard to dig your way in, so I thought I should be kind and tell you something. As of right now, this C11 mine…”
After saying that, Chen Xiaolian deliberately paused for a moment before continuing while emphasising every word that came out his mouth.
“Belongs to our Rodriar Guild!”
…