NOVEL NEXT Chapter 129: Is Insight Erik's Companion?!
"Hum—"
The screen of the phone by the bed suddenly lit up, and the low vibration startled the man—who had just been deeply asleep—a moment ago—to open his eyes abruptly.
He sat up, one hand picking up the phone to glance at the caller ID while the other grabbed a pair of glasses from the nightstand, slipping them on and concurrently grabbing a tablet.
"This isn't even work hours yet, it should count as overtime."
The man mumbled, answering the phone with one hand while navigating the tablet with the other, entering a page to submit an overtime application for himself.
"I actually needed to talk to you," the man's voice became steady and forceful as soon as the call connected, "However, I think what you have to say may be more important, so you go first."
Meanwhile, he tapped open another chat window on the tablet, entered "Luo's strength changes last night," and sent the message.
From the other end of the phone, Qin Chuan's voice came through, "Dragon Halberd, I have some information about the post-Elite Rank that I'm preparing to share with the Special Affairs Group."
"No problem." Chang Jinze made notes in a split-screen notepad, preparing to record.
But his recording only continued for a moment before his brows furrowed tightly.
Spirit Descent... Affinity 100%... Secret Technique...
There was much more information than he had anticipated...
As this thought arose, Qin Chuan's voice sounded again, "Oh right, I've also managed to promote a Spiritual Beast to Elite Rank Lv30."
Simultaneously, a reply popped up in the previous chat window, briefly summarizing Luo's strength changes, as well as the situation of moving from Zone 3675 to 3674.
Chang Jinze scanned the reply quickly, his tone unchanged, "In that case, you must have seen the requirements for advancing from Elite Rank to Hall Rank, haven't you?"
"If you're willing to share this information, the reward in Special Points should be substantial."
"I can share. After all, it won't be long before you find out on your own," Qin Chuan calmly stated from the other end of the phone, "To break through from Elite Rank to Hall Rank, you need four Advanced Resources and one Super Rare Resource. Besides self-selection for Advanced Resources, they can only be obtained by defeating Hall Rank Spiritual Beasts."
Chang Jinze's writing hand suddenly trembled, and he felt somewhat frustrated.
Defeating Hall Rank Spiritual Beasts?
Not to mention the difficulty in strength, isn't there only one of those creatures per zone?
But relying solely on Advanced Resource Fragments would be too slow.
And what the hell is a Super Rare Resource?!
Just the Rare Resources had already disrupted the existing plans of the Special Affairs Group, and now a Super Rare Resource pops up. How many resources would it take to find it?
Though inwardly complaining, Chang Jinze's voice remained steady, "Go into detail about the Super Rare Resource."
Moments later, Chang Jinze's expression became increasingly grim.
"That's all for the information. The main reason I reached out to you is for another matter," Qin Chuan changed his tone over the phone, "I'm planning to make a move against Erik in three days' time."
"Hm?"
Chang Jinze's expression shifted subtly, clearing up slightly.
Finally, some good news.
"No problem. I will meet with you in three days," Chang Jinze gave a firm response, and then he changed the subject, "Today, ten thousand Experience Gems will be delivered into your hands."
"How much?!" Qin Chuan's voice rose with surprise.
"Ten thousand Experience Gems," Chang Jinze said affirmatively, "To be safe, you and that player called 'Yue Li' need to max out your Contracted Spiritual Beast Levels as soon as possible."
After a brief silence, Qin Chuan's voice came through from the other end, "What do I need to do?"
"You don't need to do anything special." Chang Jinze spoke calmly, then added, to prevent Qin Chuan from overthinking, "You can think of it as another hidden collaboration."
"As a member of the Special Affairs Group, assisting you in killing a Golden Talent holder, there's a very critical factor, which is taking the initiative in Talent extraction."
"After the dimming of the nine Golden Talents, those of us who are promoted to the Official Level will not extract Player Talent under non-essential circumstances," Chang Jinze stated flatly, revealing a significant secret of the Special Affairs Group.
"If we can eliminate a player with a Golden Talent from another nation, they will extract it the moment the Golden Talent re-emerges, aiming to ensure Yanhuang possesses as many Golden Talents as possible."
"Thus, this action isn't just about taking down Erik; it's also an attempt at a new round of contention for two Golden Talents."
"The ten thousand Experience Gems are your compensation."
"...Two Golden Talents?" Qin Chuan suddenly spoke up from the other end of the line.
"During this period, many of us have challenged Erik. Through our deliberate probing, we've confirmed something," Chang Jinze's gaze flickered, "Among Erik's companions, there is a holder of the Golden Talent, Insight."
"The priority of Insight is even higher than Ascension."
"A Golden Talent that can see through other players' Talents must be in Yanhuang's hands."
-----------------
Qin Chuan put down the phone, his expression changing constantly.
At the end of the call, Chang Jinze had disclosed his own business—of the two Rare Resources Qin Chuan had been looking for, one had already been found; they just needed to find the other one to be sufficient.
Compared to the content of their earlier conversation, it really was a minor issue.
Just as the information Qin Chuan revealed had momentarily stunned Chang Jinze, so too had Chang Jinze's information stunned him.
Although the early planning of the Special Affairs Group for the Golden Talents surprised Qin Chuan, on further reflection, it seemed reasonable.
What truly astonished him was the existence of Insight.
Until today, he had never considered the possibility of Erik having a Golden Talent companion by his side.
Thinking back, Erik's initial publicity stunt—having two women pose as Golden Talent holders—what seemed like a laughable act actually had considerable meaning.
He was not only trying to lure out the real Golden Talent holders but also having the true Golden Talent holder become the most convinced of his bluff.
The world remembered only his arrogance, overlooking the potential traps beneath that flamboyance.
With a partner hidden in the dark, capable of seeing through all players' Talents, those players whose strength alone was insufficient to threaten Erik had no chance of winning through information disparity.
And those players who were truly a threat to Erik, each one of them would hesitate because of the presence of Insight.
Erik, inherently on undefeated grounds.
This lion, arrogantly overlooking all, was not foolish.
Even Qin Chuan and Yue Li couldn't unravel the opponent's combination.
As long as they appeared before Erik, their Talent Effects would be exposed, and even if they went all out to kill him, the negative repercussions would far outweigh the benefits.
After all, dying in the Dream World didn't mean true death.
Qin Chuan was certain that if he killed Erik and his partner, by the next day everyone would know the Talent Effects and ownership of Sun Needle and Prayer.
No wonder, Dragon Halberd needed to take action.
Qin Chuan's eyes drooped slightly, now understanding why the other party had taken the initiative to contact him.
Possessing the Holy Sanctuary, Dragon Halberd wasn't just a counter to Erik.