After the two Praetorian Guards left the room, Lin Haifeng looked at Mara’s despair-stricken face, cleared his throat lightly, and began to speak in a slow, gentle tone.
"Your na is Mara, correct?"
Mara nodded slowly.
"I believe we can be friends... Strictly speaking, there is no animosity between us, right?"
Upon hearing Lin Haifeng’s words, Mara slowly shook her head.
"So, would you let go?"
"Probably not," Lin Haifeng answered definitively. "However... why do you insist on returning to the Demon Realm? You could easily live at the Yanjing Assembly Site. I could arrange a position for you in the institute below us. Of course, the level of your position and the benefits that co with it would depend on the information you could provide..."
After hearing Lin Haifeng’s words, Mara fell silent for a long while.
"You’re not planning to kill ?"
"No, no, no," Lin Haifeng said firmly, shaking his head. "Killing is the simplest ans to solve a problem, but it’s certainly not the most effective. Personally, I believe there’s a possibility for cooperation between us. You need to stay alive, and I need the Demon Tribe intel you can provide. We could also benefit from your assistance in studying the strategic weapons of the Demon Tribe that we’ve recently acquired."
"What do you think?"
Lin Haifeng’s words struck Mara like a beam of light piercing through the mist, making her mind noticeably clearer.
Thus, when faced with a choice between her own life and the glory of the Demon Tribe, Mara decisively betrayed the latter...
"My role in the Demon Tribe is similar to that of a Tactical Commander among your Human Race. I have quite a bit of intel about the Demon Tribe..."
"Including troop deploynt, details about the Demon Tribe’s powerful experts, types of Demon Tribe strategic weapons and their counterasures, along with the function, manufacturing principle, and usage of so strategic weapons and tools of the Demon Tribe..."
Mara was quick to articulate one of her selling points...
CLAP. CLAP. CLAP...
Lin Haifeng clapped, looking at Mara with approval. He was very satisfied with her perceptiveness...
In reality, Fran had long seen Mara’s Shadow in the future and had a clear understanding of her character. Between life and the Demon Tribe’s glory, Mara’s choice did not surprise Lin Haifeng...
"Let’s untie our friend now..."
As soon as Lin Haifeng finished his sentence, a cold light flashed. The next second, Mara felt the restraints loosen, but she didn’t make any major movents. She simply sat in the sa place, casually relaxing her wrists.
Here, the ropes binding Mara weren’t really of much use...
"Alright, since we’ve reached an agreent, we’re on the sa side now, right?"
Mara lightly nodded her head.
Of course, this was all polite banter. Between Lin Haifeng and Mara, the gap was vast from actually being "on the sa side"...
"So, Mara, my friend, I heard that you possess sothing known as the Seed of Destruction. Would you mind showing it to ?"
During her capture, the middle-aged assassin had explicitly stated what his ’Lord’ required. Now that Lin Haifeng finally spoke, Mara had little room to negotiate. She resolutely plucked a scale from her right upper limb, wiped it lightly, and a black, grain-like object appeared in her hand.
Seeing this, Lin Haifeng’s eyes flickered.
"Is that your Ancient Demon Tribe’s Space Equipnt?"
Mara nodded and simultaneously handed the black scale and the Seed of Destruction forward.
...
A pale grey mist slowly drifted.
The middle-aged assassin appeared again. First, he carefully inspected the two items Mara handed over. After confirming there were no traps or tricks, he placed them both on Lin Haifeng’s table before once again dissolving into mist.
Looking at the two items on the table, Lin Haifeng first picked up the black scale, examined it briefly, then carelessly tossed it onto his desk. He then cautiously picked up the tiny black grain known as the Seed of Destruction.
A clear notification echoed in Lin Haifeng’s mind.
"Seed of Destruction (Species-specific Esoteric Level [Incomplete, Sixth Generation Sub-seed], Special Item): Legend has it that in the mysterious Ancient Tree World, seven ancient trees that supported heaven and earth once grew. After the Ancient Tree World was destroyed by the Demon Tribe, the Demon Lord used his Tongtian power to transform the seven ancient trees into the ultimate war weapon – the Ancient Tree Seed.
The Seed of Destruction is the tree seed left by the Destruction Ancient Tree.
The current Seed of Destruction is the Sixth Generation Seed of Destruction, nurtured from a fifth-generation Seed of Destruction. When the Seed of Destruction is implanted into a living entity, after a short incubation period, it will absorb nutrients from the host’s body to nurture itself. (This involves a massive drain on the host’s maximum physique points—a loss that cannot be restored by magic crystals and is equivalent to a permanent reduction of their maximum physique points for their level. If this is reduced to 0, the host dies.)
(Note: You need to have at least ten thousand physique points to fully nurture the Seed of Destruction and obtain the Power of Destruction within it.)
(Note: Through a Connection-type skill, you can link to another creature’s body, allowing them to share the burden of the Seed of Destruction’s absorption with the host.)
(Note: Once the Seed of Destruction begins to draw nutrients, this process cannot be interrupted or stopped.)"
Seeing the attributes of the Seed of Destruction, Lin Haifeng slowly furrowed his brows...
The Seed of Destruction didn’t seem like an item designed to harm others, but rather an alternative thod of strengthening—provided one could withstand its nutrient absorption.
Of course, in reality, the Seed of Destruction wasn’t that easy to use. The consumption of ten thousand physique points—this wasn’t sothing Level 5 creatures could handle...
Except for creatures with Limit Breaking Abilities—like Tang Haofei. If his physique points were drained, he could simply take a swim in the Magma Sea, and they would recover...
"So, you planned to use this thing to screw over Wen Yu and Qin Tian?"
Upon hearing Lin Haifeng’s question, Mara hesitated for a mont and nodded slightly.
"I planned to use the Seed of Destruction on Sequence Number 4’s little sister," Mara explained. "They don’t know its properties. When its absorption power activates, Sequence Number 4 wouldn’t have much ti to react. He would only have one choice: to bear it himself. However, at Level 5, it’s predictable that Sequence Number 4 would certainly be crippled by the Seed of Destruction. Then, there’s a high probability Sequence Number 15 would also have to bear it. Ultimately, they still wouldn’t successfully nurture the Seed of Destruction. It’s equivalent to a single Seed of Destruction wiping out all the power of Sequence Number 4 and Sequence Number 15. A very worthwhile trade."
"What if Sequence Number 2 intervenes?"
"He won’t do it. He wouldn’t risk being crippled to save soone with whom he doesn’t have a significant relationship."
"Moreover, his refusal to save them would likely earn him the resentnt of Sequence Number 4 and Sequence Number 15. Those capable of becoming Sequence mbers, even if crippled by the Seed of Destruction, might still have a chance to rise again one day. This would sow a seed of hatred among the three of them."
Mara was good at reading people...
TSK, TSK...
Lin Haifeng shook his head slightly. In his eyes, Mara’s plan wasn’t all that impressive.
"Alright, one last question. If soone actually withstands the Seed of Destruction’s absorption, how strong would this Power of Destruction be?"
Hearing this question, Mara gently shook her head.
"A higher-generation Seed of Destruction can strip the Power of Destruction from a lower-generation Seed at any ti..."
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