Mutual Redemption with the Villainous Boss [Infinite] - Chapter 31

Zhu Ci slowly turned her head back and looked at Zhu Yuan.

“What did you say?”

“Our parents are dead, little sister. Only the two of us are left in this family.”

Silence. Zhu Yuan’s words plunged everyone present into silence, yet he seemed entirely indifferent, speaking in a flat, matter-of-fact tone.

“When you have enough points, you can go to the Great God and enter Gladis—the place where departed souls are laid to rest.”

“There, I saw our parents’ graves.”

He Fanghui asked, “Are you sure it’s them? There are a lot of people in this world with the same names.”

“The grave of Zhu Honghua, Sector C. The grave of Ran Pei, Sector C. They died in the novice dungeon Terror Night in the Small Town the very town we grew up in.”

Zhu Yuan stood up, walked over to her, and spoke in a low voice while gazing at the face so similar to his own. “Zhu Ci, I once thought I was lucky. I passed every dungeon with ease; I’ve even been to Hell-level ones. I truly believed I could save the world save Mom and Dad, save you, save my friends, save everyone in the entire world. Until I went to see the Great God. We can never get out. You have no idea what the truth of this world is. They never intended to let us leave. They use rules and RMs to suppress us, turning those whose spirits have been contaminated into data-like RMs. You’ve seen this with your own eyes.”

Zhu Ci stared at him blankly, her mind trying to digest his words.

He continued, “No matter how many powerful item cards I possessed, I couldn’t save my teammates. One by one, they all died. When I first saw you in the dungeon, I thought you were a goner because this is a world of rules. I thought… maybe it would be better if you died. I’d bury you with Mom and Dad, and when the day finally came that my luck ran out, I’d go to Gladis to join you all. But I didn’t expect you to survive.”

“But how long can this last? How long can the world stay like this? If we don’t meet their objectives, we all end up the same. Humanity is already destroyed.”

“Stop talking nonsense!” Chen Jian walked over, pulling the stunned Zhu Ci away. He faced Zhu Yuan, who was half a head taller than him, and said, “What do you mean ‘humanity is destroyed’? I’m still alive and well! Saying such depressing things and using items on your own sister… is this how you treat your family?”

“And what is your purpose in coming to find Zhu Ci?” Yu Jiayi spoke up, her voice sharp and unapologetic, glancing at him with a look of disdain. “If you’ve lost all hope for the future, you should find a place to end it yourself instead of flaunting your misery in front of those who still have hope.”

He Fanghui leaned back on her hands and stretched. Her tone was flippant: “Yeah, it’d be great if humanity was destroyed. At least I could find some fun before the end. Otherwise, how about I kill you first, then go to that ‘Gladi-whatever’ place and dig up your grave?”

Zhu Yuan looked around at them. “Zhu Ci, it’s because you hang out with people like this every day that you’ve become like this.”

“I won’t allow you to speak about my friends that way.”

Zhu Ci gently pushed Chen Jian aside and faced her brother. “Do you think you’ve stayed the same? You’re the one who is different from my memory. I don’t like the way you talk now at all.”

She turned to the other three and said, “Let’s go,” then turned back to Zhu Yuan. “I’ve been different from you since we were kids. I could never beat you at anything, and I never wanted to compare myself to you. But if humanity is destroyed, I will go save it. If Mom and Dad are dead, I will find a way to resurrect them. I will do whatever is deemed impossible. If the day comes when you die, remember to tell me—I’ll resurrect you too.”

Zhu Yuan stood still, his deep gaze fixed on her retreating back.

“Can you really do it, sister?”

“Then join me.”

The previous night in Peleconk, Zhu Ci and the others had listened to Zhu Yuan ramble on with frustrating words, only for him to throw out an invitation at the very end.

Consequently, the four-person team was now standing in front of the teleportation gate in the Common Area.

He Fanghui let out a yawn. “Are we really going?”

“Where exactly are we going?” Chen Jian asked. He hadn’t quite understood yesterday and had just followed along.

“If Zhu Yuan really is the person ranked number one, we can definitely get some clues from him,” Yu Jiayi said. She was very bothered by the half-finished explanation Zhu Yuan had given yesterday.

What was the truth of this world?

What kind of entity could orchestrate such a massive, meticulous game and pull in the entire world?

Zhu Ci looked up and stepped into the teleportation gate without hesitation.

The gate led to a world surrounded by azure clouds the Luxury Area of Peleconk.

Aside from the Common Area they could afford, there was the Middle Area and the Luxury Area, which had the most expensive environments and facilities.

Chen Jian clicked his tongue. “No doubt about it, the people at the top of the leaderboard are loaded.”

A slightly plump girl ran out of a villa. She had her hair in two ponytails and wore several crystal bracelets on her arms, which jingled as she waved.

“Over here! Over here!”

She finally reached them, panting with her hands on her knees before saying, “Zhu Yuan’s sister, right? I came out to meet you.”

“Hey, I’m not his sister,” He Fanghui pointed to her own nose, squinting at her. “You should say you’re here to meet ‘the distinguished ladies’.”

Yu Jiayi pulled her back. “Don’t cause trouble. Hello, thank you for leading the way.”

“Exactly. Besides those ‘distinguished ladies,’ I’m a guy,” Chen Jian muttered under his breath.

The girl beamed, her facial features bunching together in her round, fleshy face. “My mistake! My name is Peng Lingshan. I’m here to pick up Zhu Ci and her friends. Please follow me.”

The group followed her into the villa. The interior was a display of low-key luxury: a massive, dazzling crystal chandelier, walls covered in paintings and calligraphy, and a floor heating system that made walking barefoot incredibly comfortable.

Cleaning robots were visible everywhere. Once they were seated around a transparent electronic table, a robot served them fruit platters and tea.

Peng Lingshan told them, “Zhu Yuan will be here shortly. Please wait a moment.”

With that, she turned on a large electronic screen on the wall and started playing an old movie.

Chen Jian nudged Zhu Ci. “Could this be our sister-in-law?”

Zhu Ci had her doubts as well, quietly observing Peng Lingshan.

Peng Lingshan simply sat there, sipping her tea with a gentle smile on her face.

After fifteen minutes, Zhu Yuan finally arrived. He hurried over, his expression completely different from the day before beaming with joy. “Have you been waiting long? Have some fruit. Even though you can use item cards to heal illnesses or mend broken legs here in Peleconk, eating more fruit is good for your health.”

“No need. Just state your purpose,” Zhu Ci refused.

Zhu Yuan nevertheless held the fruit platter out to her and picked up a piece of watermelon with a fork. “Sister, your health was always poor growing up. Have you forgotten the doctor’s orders? Come on, open up.”

Zhu Ci pushed his hand away and looked at him silently.

Finding no interest there, Zhu Yuan put it down and said, “I believe everyone has met her this is Peng Lingshan. She is one of us. Her organizational and planning skills are top-tier; most of our operations rely on her.”

Peng Lingshan stood up and gave them a bow.

“You still haven’t said what exactly you want us to join,” Chen Jian asked.

Zhu Yuan turned off the movie and switched the screen to a slide showing a few English letters.

“START”

He turned to the group. “This is the name of our guild. Although there are only two of us right now, I am sincerely inviting you all to join us. Join us and become members of the mutual aid guild, ‘START’.”

“A mutual aid guild?”

“Yes,” Peng Lingshan added. “The main goal is to help more people around the world survive. We let them become members they either provide skills or we help them reunite with their friends and family. Those friends and family then take responsibility for the basic needs of those who can’t survive on their own. We gather together to help each other; if someone lacks points, we provide temporary relief. The guild was founded right after we left the novice dungeons. Back then, we had over a dozen core members and thousands of regular members. Later… later, the members died or drifted away…”

Her voice grew smaller until she couldn’t continue, biting her lower lip. “Now only the two of us are left. If it weren’t for the fact that I can’t enter dungeons, I probably would have left long ago, too.”

Zhu Yuan patted her on the back, signaling she didn’t need to say more. He then spoke, “Actually, this wasn’t my idea. The person who proposed it is no longer in START. However, after running into you in the last dungeon, Zhu Ci, I felt that… things might not be as hopeless as I imagined.”

“Are you willing? Are you willing to join us and restart the guild?”

Hearing this, He Fanghui looked incredulous. “What? You want me to go help other people? I—”

“Okay.”

Zhu Ci agreed. She pressed He Fanghui back down and said, “We can do it.”

“I don’t agree!” He Fanghui snapped, shaking off her hand. “I teamed up with you because I respect your ability. If you’re going to drag me into some weird charity thing for no reason, I’m leaving right now.”

Just as Yu Jiayi was about to say something, Zhu Ci pulled He Fanghui’s chair toward her. She leaned over the back of the chair, her head close to He Fanghui’s, and said, “He Fanghui, I know you don’t have much of a moral compass, and you’re a murderer. But this time is different. If we have a vast information network, we can do much more than just help people. We can gather more information from dungeons others have cleared, allowing us to gain real benefits. That is the only way to get closer to the truth of this world. Don’t you want to escape this place sooner? Don’t you want to earn more points so you can eat whatever you want?”

That last sentence struck a chord with He Fanghui.

“Can we really get benefits out of this?”

“Of course. We just need to change the guild’s model slightly.”

Seeing the argument stop, Zhu Yuan asked, “Um… change it to what?”

Zhu Ci let go and turned around. “Change it into an intelligence and information network. For those who want to become core members: One, they must have ability. They must have cleared at least five dungeons and have a systematic approach to planning. They must pay a certain amount of points every month not a lot, just enough to maintain basic operations.”

“But why would they pay to be members?”

“That’s where the second part comes in. Those who want to be members must regularly provide dungeon intelligence. Whether they bought it, stole it, or gained it through their own experience as long as they provide accurate, persuasive information, they can receive a regular monthly stipend of points from us.”

“More importantly, we deal in personal information. Anyone can come to us to register their personal details. If someone wants to find another person, we provide a match. Once a match is successful, they must pay points to receive the information.”

Zhu Yuan was struck with admiration. He stepped forward and ruffled Zhu Ci’s hair, delighted. “You’ve gotten smart, sister!”

Zhu Ci brushed his hand away again.

He Fanghui nodded vigorously; she recognized the feasibility of the operation and clamored to join.

Yu Jiayi stood to the side, staring at He Fanghui and then at Zhu Ci.

To be able to coax such a difficult criminal into being so willing… she is truly not simple.

A wave of indescribable sourness rose in Yu Jiayi’s heart.

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