Chapter 570: Chaos (Two-in-One)

"I'll raise the offer!"

While everyone was still reeling from Yan Jing's methods, the manager sitting in the first seat suddenly spoke up.

He stood up and looked at Yan Jing. "We will grant you complete autonomy, open channels for material exchange, maintain good relations based on peaceful coexistence, and ensure equal status. Furthermore, all the resources I mentioned previously will be doubled."

"Moreover—there are no strings attached."

Hearing this, everyone in the audience gasped.

These weren't trade conditions to attract someone to join them; they were straight-up terms for a friendly alliance.

It was clear he had his eye on this young man's potential and wanted to ally with his ship.

"I offer the same terms."

Seeing that Yan Jing seemed to be considering it, the second manager spoke up. "And the resources I promised earlier will also be doubled."

Everyone felt a little breathless. When it came to geniuses, anyone who made it to this venue could be called one. But compared to the young man on stage, they felt their understanding of the word was far too shallow.

What was a genius? This was a true genius.

Such a scene of frantic bidding was truly unheard of and unseen.

On stage, Haiti watched the two consecutively raise their offers. He couldn't help but grit his teeth. "I offer the same—complete freedom. But as for resources... I can only match their current conditions at most."

After speaking, Haiti secretly sighed.

He knew that his chances of success today were slim to none.

Although he offered the same terms, the other two were bound to increase their bids again.

Anyone could see that the benefits an ally like this could bring couldn't simply be measured in resources.

But as it happened, he was in the middle of a major undertaking, so the resources he had on hand were completely insufficient.

He could only hope to forge some good karma, he lamented inwardly.

Sure enough, in the next second, the other two raised their respective bids by another fifty percent.

Haiti composed himself and turned to walk off the stage.

Right then, Yan Jing's voice rang out behind him. "Apologies, you two. I appreciate that you think so highly of me, but I choose the seventh manager."

"?" Haiti froze and looked back at Yan Jing.

"A pleasure to work with you, sir. My name is Wen Xu."

Yan Jing wore a smile.

Resources weren't what he valued most.

Of course, it wasn't because Haiti was the first to offer autonomy either.

After all, Haiti only did that because he knew about the Hermit's injuries in advance.

The reason he chose Haiti was that when the Hermit had charged over earlier, he was the only one who had rushed onto the stage.

"A pleasure to work with you. I am Haiti, the Chaos Merchant."

Haiti stepped forward and happily offered his hand to Yan Jing.

The two shook hands.

What followed was a matter of course.

The meeting concluded, and both parties signed an agreement.

In name, the Cat Ship became a Second Level domain under Chaos.

However, Chaos would not impose any restrictions on the Cat Ship, nor would they interfere in any way.

The two sides only needed to maintain a friendly relationship.

"Mr. Wen, thank you so much for choosing us." Haiti used his remaining left hand to put away the signed contracts, letting out a long breath. "I thought you would choose the other two."

"I thought so too," Yan Jing laughed, cracking a joke. "Perhaps your ability worked its magic."

Haiti smiled as well. "I am indeed able to make others like doing business with me. In fact, our Chaos doesn't have the best reputation among the Several Major Domains. Whether in appearance or abilities, we differ too much from the other domains, so we are sometimes demonized."

Perhaps it was more than just being demonized.

Yan Jing recalled the state Haiti had been in when he killed that speaker earlier and tore off his own right arm. The people from this domain likely did have a problematic way of doing things, which had led to the situation Haiti mentioned.

But Yan Jing didn't really care.

Based on his travels in the Inner World, aside from Old Sin City having a few more 'good people,' the other domains were filled with lunatics, perverts, or criminals. It was just a difference in perspective.

This was already considered quite good.

At this thought, Yan Jing smiled and spoke with a hint of flattery. "The five major domains still have deep foundations. From what you and the others were saying, creating a Tenth Tier entity isn't a difficult task for you all."

"No, no," Haiti waved his hand, chuckling. "It's because the times have changed."

"Old men like me are destined to be phased out. Only supernovas like you have a chance at success in this changing world."

With that, Haiti rolled his eyes slightly and smiled. "How about it—if you have the time, Mr. Wen, shall I take you on a tour of Chaos?"

"Sure."

Yan Jing smiled. "I hope it's not too far."

"Rest assured."

Haiti's lips curled up. He reached out and tore open a rift in the air, endless chaotic aura pouring from the tear.

Then, Haiti snapped his fingers.

Yan Jing felt a dramatic shifting of the stars around him. In an instant, the two of them shifted from the backstage of the Gods' Association into a vast sea of stars.

Splendid. Spectacular.

That was Yan Jing's first impression upon seeing the sight before him.

Countless large and small cyclones spun slowly in the boundless expanse. At first glance, they all looked similar, but upon closer inspection, each one was unique. Their colors varied, their shapes differed slightly, and even their rotational speeds were unalike.

Red, purple, orange—different colors of starlight bloomed on those cyclones. Some cyclones seemed to have reached the end of their lives, erupting in a dazzling brilliance before vanishing into nothingness. Meanwhile, in empty voids, new cyclones resembling seeds were born.

"Once, I was one of them too."

Haiti looked at the cyclones, an affectionate smile appearing on his face.

"In fact, every entity in Chaos is born this way. Even now, no one can clearly explain our origins, nor can anyone explain the principles behind it."

"Do we have a guest, Haiti?"

As they spoke, a woman's voice, cool yet carrying a certain depth, rang out to their right.

A gray Umbrella drifted over to the two of them.

"Hello, my name is Chelora."

The Umbrella swayed gently in front of Yan Jing, as if giving a slight bow.

"Hello."

Yan Jing reached out his hand, but not to touch the Umbrella itself; rather, he reached for a spot beneath it.

With his palm facing upward, it was as if he were lifting a patch of starlight from thin air. He then lightly pressed his thumb against a nearly invisible back of a hand in a gesture of etiquette.

Beside him, Haiti paused in shock, and the Umbrella in front of him also froze in midair.

It seemed equally stunned.

"It's a pleasure to meet you."

Yan Jing smiled. "My name is Wen Xu."

The Umbrella shook vigorously twice, unable to hide the excitement in her voice. "This is truly rare! You are—you are the first. Yes, the first. Thank you! I don't know if you understand, but it's true. I'm sorry, I'm just a little too excited."

Beside them, Haiti looked thoroughly amazed. "Indeed, Mr. Wen. Chelora's true form is not the Umbrella. Out of everyone who has met her, you are the first to discern this on the very first meeting."

"I am deeply honored."

Yan Jing smiled.

In truth, he hadn't seen her form either.

But he had heard her voice.

His absolute control over sound allowed him to perfectly distinguish the noises made by her every movement. By piecing together the sounds emitted from all the different parts of her in his mind, it was as if Yan Jing could truly see her.

It was a woman with long hair draping over her shoulders, wearing a cheongsam-style dress.

"I really like you."

Chelora's voice trembled slightly. "Could you marry me?"

Yan Jing was taken aback.

Haiti's face flushed with embarrassment. "I am so sorry, Mr. Wen—"

He immediately grabbed the Umbrella, walked off to the side, and forcibly dragged Chelora away.

The two broke out into a fierce argument and even nearly came to blows.

Fortunately, Yan Jing stepped in to stop them, preventing a tragedy from occurring.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Wen. I've made a fool of myself in front of you." Since the fight didn't break out, Haiti quickly led Yan Jing away, dodging a sulking Chelora.

"As you can see, not everyone here is composed purely of chaotic aura like I am."

"Chaos is called Chaos precisely because it has no so-called logic."

"Although we are all born from aura, most of my compatriots eventually grow into completely different entities."

Yan Jing smiled. "I think this is quite nice too. Miss Chelora is very friendly; I didn't mind it at all."

"Shh, shh, shh!" Haiti brought a finger to his lips. "Keep your voice down. That woman is trouble, much more trouble than you can imagine."

He looked around and, seeing no sign of Chelora, finally let out a sigh. "Do you think I wanted to be the Gods' Association representative? It's just that the way the others handle things is... a bit off. So I had no choice but to take the job."

"The previous Gods' Association representative for Chaos was a gourmand."

"At our election meeting for the Gods' Association representative, he said he was running for the position because the Gods' Association provides gourmet food."

"And we all believed him."

At this, Haiti's formless face darkened slightly, as if recalling something unpleasant.

Beside him, Yan Jing recalled the meal before the voting began. "The food at the Gods' Association did seem quite good."

"Was that just an excuse?"

"No, he really was there for the food." Haiti's face twitched involuntarily. "Before the meeting started, there were 130 gourmet dishes in the conference hall. By the time the meeting ended, there were only 117 left."

130—

Yan Jing remembered that Mantou's vote count had been 87 to 43, and blinked.

The people in this domain were all very interesting.

They possessed a unique sort of aesthetic.

The two continued forward and encountered another person along the way. It was an Old Man entirely composed of bones, sitting in meditation. In front of him was an object shaped like a wooden fish.

But when Yan Jing got closer, the Old Man claimed it wasn't a wooden fish, but a Computer.

They didn't meet anyone else further along. The two arrived at a boundary that looked like it was made of glass. Beyond the boundary, there was no chaotic aura at all, only a pitch-black emptiness where no figures could be seen.

"Is this already the boundary?"

Yan Jing reached out and touched the boundary. It didn't feel very solid to the touch; his palm only felt icy cold.

"Yes, the Chaos domain is not particularly large. At most, it's only on the level of two Third Level complete domains. But for us, this couldn't be more suitable."

"Because there are few people?"

"Yes," Haiti nodded. "I can't tell you our exact population, but we are indeed the domain with the fewest people. Of course, I can also assure you that we have the most Tenth Tier entities among all the domains."

Spirits of all things—

The phrase popped into Yan Jing's mind.

Only, the entities before him seemed to be chaotic, fused versions of these spirits.

"But there must still be many inconveniences, right?"

Yan Jing looked at Haiti.

"Yes," Haiti smiled bitterly. "Although our overall combat strength isn't weak, our small numbers mean fewer people to do chores. And as part of the Gods' Association, we inevitably have to handle some menial tasks—"

"Why not call on some subordinate domains to do it?" After asking, Yan Jing vaguely seemed to understand.

He looked at Haiti, whose expression was a bit awkward.

"That bunch of lunatics often can't control themselves. Once we get a subordinate domain—they would—"

"Understood." Yan Jing nodded. Eating over a dozen Ninth Tier entities over the course of a single meeting... no subordinate domain could possibly survive that kind of torment.

"But please rest assured, Mr. Wen. We are partners, and we absolutely won't lay a hand on the domain behind you. I'm confident about that."

Haiti quickly interjected. Then, as if recalling something, he blinked. "Of course, I believe you're quite confident as well."

"I wouldn't say that."

Yan Jing smiled. "Whenever you have time, you can come find me on our Ship. Although life there isn't as colorful as it is in Chaos, it should still be a nice experience."

"Certainly, certainly." Haiti nodded, a joyful expression on his face.

Because of his bad reputation, let alone friends, there weren't even many people he could exchange a few words with on a regular basis.

He approved of Yan Jing's temperament and strength, considering him an unexpected delight from this trip.

"You mentioned earlier that there are some menial tasks you can't handle. Could you write me a list to look at?" Yan Jing smiled. "Perhaps I can help."

"This—how could I impose—" Haiti rummaged through his pockets but couldn't find a pen.

Finally, he simply snapped off a finger from his left hand and used it as a pen to write a list in the air.

As for why he didn't just use his finger directly to write—

Yan Jing couldn't quite figure it out either.

He took the list, scanned it, and then his lips curled up.

"We can help with this one."

He pointed to an item marked in red on the list.

"Really?!" Haiti was overjoyed. This was the most troublesome matter among them all.

He hadn't expected Yan Jing to voluntarily offer help with it.

"Yes." Yan Jing smiled as he looked at the item.

[Quell the Pure Blood Heavenly Kingdom's War of Aggression]

"Then I can't thank you enough!"

Haiti spoke impatiently, "I'll go submit the roster right now. Is it fine to just submit your name?"

"Yes," Yan Jing nodded. "Anyone's name is fine."

"Good, good, good."

Haiti turned around, seemingly unable to wait to submit the roster. "You can find your way back using the same method I used to bring us here. I'll go hand in the list first."

"Alright." Yan Jing tore open a rift in the boundary, leaving Chaos and returning to the backstage of the Gods' Association.

Only after watching Yan Jing's figure completely disappear did the joy on Haiti's face gradually fade. He frowned as he looked at the spot where Yan Jing had vanished, a hint of contemplation flashing in his eyes.

"Why would he take on such a troublesome task—"

Most of what he'd said had been the truth.

He harbored no hostility toward Yan Jing either.

But there was one particular thing he had deliberately left vague.

That was the fact that the people of Chaos might all be lunatics, but they were not idiots.

Especially him, a merchant.

Even less so.

"Perhaps by following this thread, I can dig up more of his secrets, and maybe find out why he was able to make the Deities—"

The corners of Haiti's mouth curled up slightly.

Up in the sky, the corners of Xiao Xin's mouth also curled up slightly as it raised the camera in its hands.