Otherworldly Affairs Office-Chapter 442 Formal Negotiation (Seeking Subscription)
A gust of chilly wind woke him, and he slowly opened his eyes, feeling the dampness of the sheets beneath him soaked with his sweat. Already dizzy and lightheaded, the stench of sweat made the newly awakened Pei Yan retch.
He forced himself to sit up on the bed, summoned his mechanical assistant to heat the bathwater again, and directly immersed himself in the suitable temperature bath. The water washed away the grime on his body while giving the physically and mentally exhausted Pei Yan a great sense of relief. Resting his head on the edge of the tub, his right hand continuously played with the water, and as he suddenly lifted it, he gazed at his outwardly normal arm with a knowingness that its inner strength had undergone a complete transformation.
The transformation was a painful process. Despite having endured hardships many times, he couldn't withstand the pain during the transformation and fainted multiple times. Each time, he quickly regained consciousness, tormented by immense pain, repeating this cycle until the entire piece of the Origin Law fragment was shattered by Lin Junzhao, melted, and fully integrated into his arm.
Feeling the energy contained within his right arm, Pei Yan knew all the pain was worthwhile. What satisfied him the most was that his arm maintained a human appearance. No matter how nonchalant he tried to seem outwardly, deep down, he still hoped to appear human rather than becoming a real monster.
After washing and feeling refreshed, he changed into a new set of clothes. Having finished the breakfast prepared by his mechanical assistant, Pei Yan noted that the five-day deadline he and Sifuer had set had already passed by one day. Yet, no one dared to cross the hundred-meter death boundary. However, from the information relayed by the surveillance system, it seemed the group led by Sifuer was becoming restless. It was time to have a good talk with them.
Looking at Pei Yan stepping out into the sunlight, Sifuer let out a long sigh of relief. Even she didn't understand why she felt relieved. As the deadline approached and Pei Yan didn't step out of that house, numerous thoughts flashed through her mind. Had he been exhausted from their previous battle? Had she missed the best chance to gain the upper hand, to coerce or even kill him? Or was it another trap laid out by him against her? One thought after another weighed heavily on her mind,
But all those thoughts vanished when Pei Yan stepped out of the house looking vibrant. The decision had already been made for her: cooperation was the only option. She sensed the aura of a Demon God in him! As someone with the noble bloodline of Demon God ancestry, she could clearly feel how pure this aura was. Thus, she turned to look at Uncle Bailang, who wore an equally shocked expression. From his eyes, she understood their assumption was correct: this person indeed was a descendant of a Demon God Nobility Grand Duke!
"In my hometown, there's a saying: it's impolite to receive without reciprocation in battle. No matter what motives you held during the previous banquet, I did enjoy a grand feast from you. While away from home, I didn't bring anything particularly good for gifts, so let me treat you to something that's considered a specialty of my place!" This time, Pei Yan chose not to hold the negotiation in the dreary banquet hall. With the weather being nice, the sun shining high, and the air fresh, he decided to hold the meeting on the open plaza. Once the other party set up the tables and chairs, he sat himself down unabashedly, chatting as he took out multiple bottles of Coca-Cola from his storage ring, chilled them a bit, and had his mechanical assistant serve them to the others.
Sifuer and Bailang looked warily at the bottles of Coke in front of them. Seeing Pei Yan twist open a cap and drink heartily with a satisfied expression, Bailang seemed to make a major decision. He grabbed the Coke bottle in front of him, mimicking Pei Yan by twisting the cap open and taking big gulps.
"Cough cough cough!"
Seeing Bailang coughing continuously, Sifuer hurriedly stepped forward, holding her uncle's back with concern, "Uncle, Uncle, are you alright? Is there something wrong with this drink?" Hearing this, the guards standing behind Sifuer shot sharp glances at Pei Yan, their expressions turning hostile.
"No worries, no worries! Relax, there's no reason for him to tamper with this." Bailang straightened up, speaking softly, "It can be drunk; it's not poisoned, just a somewhat strange taste. People from the foundational plane are indeed odd, using something akin to medicine as a beverage."
After listening to her uncle, Sifuer suspiciously opened her bottle and took a sip, immediately getting choked. She nodded in agreement with her uncle's words, but out of courtesy, she maintained a smile and made an effort to drink a few more sips. After downing half the bottle, she gradually understood why Pei Yan liked this drink—the refreshing coolness and peculiar taste were indeed memorable.
"Alright, we can now discuss official matters. My primary purpose here is for information. I hope everyone can be open and tell the truth. If there are areas you find inconvenient to discuss, you can skip them, but do not deceive me!" Pei Yan leaned back in his chair, holding the Coke bottle in hand and crossing his legs casually.
"He's really too rude!" whispered Leohard, standing behind Sifuer. As the commander of the Thorn Flower Knight Order of the Kataraga Autonomous Territory, he was supposed to be the standout among the younger generation after Bailang. During the breakthrough, he should have been guarding Sifuer but was entrusted to protect the younger lord sister Reina, so due to different routes, he arrived late.
In the past two days since his arrival, his ears were filled with stories of this Pei Yan. He held skepticism and disdain towards the claims made by Hel and others. In his view, aside from relying on alchemical items to fight freely within the Red Disaster, there was nothing remarkable about the other party. After all, the combat proficiency of Alchemists has always been obvious. Although he disdained Raphael, he didn't find anything wrong with how he dealt with Pei Yan; Raphael was just too weak and lost to the opponent.
If it weren't for Bailang's repeated strict orders against being impolite, he would have already exploded. Now, seeing Pei Yan behaving this way reignited his fighting spirit.
"Shut up, don't forget Lord Bailang's instructions!" A cold voice sounded behind him. Out of respect for this person's power and position, Leohard exhaled a long breath through his nostrils and loosened his grip on the sword hilt at his waist. By this time, Lord Bailang in front of him had already given a positive response to the other party.
"Then I won't be polite. How long has this Disaster Legion been invading the Hell Plane?" With a definitive answer, Pei Yan directly asked.
"A hundred years, two hundred years, or even longer, it's uncertain," Bailang answered after pondering for a while.
"What?" Pei Yan was startled upon hearing this, immediately straightened up, and questioned, "Are you sure? But according to current intelligence, you've only been out of contact with us for over half a year. Before that, your situation here was supposed to be normal. Even if calculated with the time passing at a rate of one day equating to a month between the two realms, it would at most be twenty or thirty years, how could it be a hundred or two hundred years."
"You're talking about the time when the war officially started!"
