WEF - Chapter 33

Chapter 33: Bad Luck on One Side, Spoils on the Other

"Will this work?" Zhong Wentao asked uneasily. "I have no relevant experience, I don't have [Rewind] anymore, and I don't feel remotely secure about taking on such an important task..."

"So long as I feel safe, that's enough. If it really doesn't work, wait until time rewinds, then die. If I'm in a good mood later, I'll revive you."

Zhong Wentao instinctively wanted to object, but after thinking it over, she decided the plan was best for her.

To her, staying alive was too dangerous. She might expose the secret that she had lost her ability, or she might accidentally betray Ning Dali.

Rather than live in constant fear, she might as well die temporarily, then crawl out of her urn once everything had settled.

When Ning Dali took over the World Bureau, Zhong Wentao would be one of the founding shareholders who had bet on her from the very beginning.

If Ning Dali failed, [Nirvana] would fall to the Federation, and she would be revived too.

With the Zhong Clan behind her, Zhong Wentao felt she had a fair chance of being revived.

That was the plan!

Zhong Wentao grinned. To make absolutely sure nothing went wrong, she rubbed her hands together and said, "Can we discuss something? After you rewind time, could you sign another contract with me to guarantee that you'll revive me?"

"I can."

Zhong Wentao had not had time to celebrate before Ning Dali added, "Bring ten blank sheets of Contract Paper over, and I will sign you one contract of your choosing."

Zhong Wentao: "..."

Ten? Why not just rob someone? You could not get ten sheets even if you tried.

"I can't do that. If I went out to rob ten sheets of Contract Paper, it would be no different from outright rebellion... [Trade] has a cooldown too. Those are strategic reserves."

In the past, the Director had been able to use [Allocation] to grant or strip away most people's abilities, reigning supreme over the World Bureau.

Now that the Countdown was back in Ning Dali's hands, the Director had lost her trump card. Everyone was bound to be wondering what they could do next.

The World Bureau was in turmoil, and even the Director had begun to suspect everyone around her.

At a time like this, every move had to be made with extreme caution, especially when it came to something as sensitive as contracts.

"Then five."

Zhong Wentao was drenched in sweat and pleaded, "Five is still too many. Given my capabilities, I can get at most two. You take one, and I take one."

Two was exactly Ning Dali's bottom line. She also knew that asking for more would arouse suspicion, so she said, "Then give me two. With two contracts, we will not write a written guarantee. I pledge on my honor that I will revive you later."

"Trust me," Ning Dali said reassuringly.

Zhong Wentao: "..."

She had no standing to say she did not believe her.

"But my family can get at most two ordinary contracts. We cannot get a Permanent Contract like the one from before."

[Trade]'s contracts came in two kinds.

An ordinary contract took effect once it was signed.

The other was a Permanent Contract, which remained in force forever once signed, across the past, present, and future.

Permanent Contracts were practically tailor-made for time abilities. Even when time rewound, they remained in force and did not revert to an earlier state.

They could be signed only once. There was no bug to exploit.

Normally, [Trade] did not create Permanent Contracts. The one Zhong Wentao had just snatched had been made by [Trade] moments before its death.

"Bring two ordinary ones first." Ning Dali did not press her, afraid that driving Zhong Wentao too far might make her do something foolish.

Zhong Wentao let out a breath of relief.

"How am I supposed to get the contracts to you when the time comes? After you go back, at least four people will be monitoring you in rotating shifts. If I send someone to find you, that person will definitely be spotted."

"Pay attention to developments inside the World Bureau. In no more than half a day, you will find an opportunity." Ning Dali did not elaborate.

There was no need to tell Zhong Wentao the details of her plan. Zhong Wentao was not yet someone she could trust.

In fact, Ning Dali had let her keep her memories only because Zhong Wentao could not possibly be kept in the dark about losing her own ability.

There were no absolute guarantees in this world. She could only minimize the risk of accidents.

Ning Dali looked deeply at Zhong Wentao, adding one final safeguard for herself.

"After the rewind, find a way to deliver the contracts to me. Then arrange a convincing death immediately. When I rise to the top of the Federation, you will be the foremost contributor."

As she spoke, Ning Dali activated the first skill of [Old Liar], reapplying the skill that had been invalidated by the rewind of time.

"A smart person's choice, understand? Choice matters more than effort, understand?"

The skill activated successfully.

Ning Dali's words became utterly believable in Zhong Wentao's mind.

"I understand! I understand!" Zhong Wentao nodded vigorously and said, "I understand! Completely! Rest assured. I will die as soon as possible. I will not hold you back, and I will not expose your secrets or mine."

"Remember what you said."

Once they had settled the practical details, Ning Dali snapped her fingers.

[Rewind] could return one hour at a time. Ning Dali used it twice, pulling time directly back two hours.

Everything before her eyes raced backward, and the world around her transformed at the speed of light.

In an instant.

Ning Dali was back in bed, playing dead.

The Shadow King stood beside her bed, watching her with a sinister expression.

After her trip to the Federation, Ning Dali was surprised to find that even the Shadow King now looked handsome and amiable in her eyes.

"Have you given up on living?" Ying asked. "Why are you lying there without moving?"

"Aren't you going to look for Plague? Don't you want your Single-Character Ability anymore? Are you going to turn down the life of boundless wealth and status Sis Yuan is offering you?"

Ning Dali: "..."

So that was it. That was exactly what had happened.

That was how just two hours had held such a series of twists and turns.

Looking back on everything that had just happened, Ning Dali felt as absurd as if she had just started elementary school, then been dragged into the college entrance examination and admitted to the Federation's Qingbei University before she could write a single word.

Ning Dali gave a look of helpless incredulity and raised her head. "Are you sure that if I go to find Plague now, she won't plague me?"

Only someone who had come into contact with her knew how truly terrible Plague could be.

Only four days separated Ning Dali's revival of the zombie from her revival of Yuan, far short of the seven-day cooldown.

Ying did not know [Nirvana]'s cooldown, but the Federation knew it exactly.

Reviving the zombie was tantamount to exposing Zhuang Yuezhen to the Federation, yet at the time she had not thought of this at all.

After leaving Plague, Ning Dali's mind had cleared, and she now found the whole thing unbelievable.

She had actually done something so foolish.

"I think Plague is still pretty frightening." Ning Dali said with lingering fear.

"What are you afraid of? You have Yuan," Ying said.

Ning Dali gave her a subtle, suspicious look. "Are you sure Yuan and Plague cancel each other out? That they cannot exist at the same time?"

The lesson learned in blood was that Yuan and Plague could not cancel each other out!

She would be the one suffering the bad luck and reaping the gains at the same time.

At Ning Dali's question, Ying evasively looked away.

"Ha. Probably not."

"So you are not sure either." Ning Dali curled deeper into the warm blanket and said with no concern for her own life, "I changed my mind. I do not want to look for Plague. I am afraid she will counter me to death."

"No." Ying said firmly. "You have not gotten me what I want yet."

Ning Dali: "..."

It was only a World Bureau ID badge with Plague's name and photo on it. What good would it be to Ying except to make her own luck worse and leave her half mad with anger?

Ning Dali fell silent and pulled the blanket over her head.

From beneath the blanket, she said in a muffled voice, "I feel someone is eavesdropping nearby. Use an area attack and clear out all the obstructions within one kilometer."

Ying, who had been about to fly into a rage: "?"

A World Bureau operative crouched in the corner, invisibly monitoring Ning Dali: "?"

Her eyes widened in shock. She immediately pressed the emergency contact button and quickly backed away. Her invisible body passed through the wall, and she seemed about to get away.

At that moment.

Time flowed backward three seconds. Of everyone present, only the World Bureau operative retained no memory of the reversal.

The invisible figure passing through the wall was suddenly back in the room's corner. She listened absently to Ning Dali and Ying's conversation and picked at her own arm.

Unaware that time had flowed backward, the Shadow King frowned. Black shadow shot up from the ground and formed a huge, perfectly square cage centered on her, trapping everything within one kilometer.

Ying clenched her hand.

The cube's six faces rushed together. Its area shrank at breakneck speed, sweeping over everything nearby like a gale.

Someone who had just sensed something was wrong slammed hard into the wall of the shadow cage.

Even while invisible, the minute fluctuation drew Ying's special attention.

"Who is there! An Extremist Eater?" Ying's eyes blazed with fury.

Several shadow arrows stabbed furiously in the direction of her gaze.

"Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud."

Some embedded themselves in the wall, others in the ground, and others in empty air.

A pained groan sounded in the air, but no blood or figure came into view.

A flicker of doubt passed through Ying's eyes. She hooked two fingers and fired several more shadow arrows in quick succession, nearly reducing the unseen figure to a sieve.

But there was still nothing there.

"Strange." Ying went to the corner, crouched, and grabbed at the air, only to touch a corpse.

"Still invisible after death." Ying was shocked. "The Extremist Eaters have people like that. It seems I have always underestimated them."

Ning Dali knew exactly what had happened, but she could not say.

She mirrored Ying's shock. "What? There was someone there?"

"You didn't kill..."

"She is an Extremist Eater? Was she skulking into my house looking for food?"

"There is still food in your room? You actually have food?" Ying paused and looked around the bare, shabby room. "Where is it? I don't see a refrigerator."

"I mean, she thinks I have food. Of course, she might be after [Nirvana] too. We Resurrection Ability Users have a harder time staying alive."

Ning Dali sighed.

Ying: "..."

She was still not giving up her plan. At this, she puffed out her chest and said proudly, "If you are afraid of being hunted down, just follow my plan and help me get what I want from Plague. I will protect you from now on."

Ning Dali did not move.

It was true that Ying was powerful, but her protection could not keep Ning Dali safe.

What Ning Dali needed now was not Ying's protection, but [Shield].

She had just pulled the blanket over her head and pretended to have angered Ying, using Ying's area attack to kill the invisible operative monitoring her.

Such a trick could only be used once.

Repeating it would inevitably arouse the Federation's suspicion, but [Shield] would not.

Zhuang Yuezhen had once told Ning Dali the truth about her Resurrection Ability, but Zhong Wentao did not know this. She did not know that Zhuang Yuezhen had [Immortality].

Why?

Because their conversation had taken place inside [Shield]. Entering it required Ning Dali's permission, and the invisible operative could not get in!

[Shield] could not block Ying, but it could block the Federation's surveillance.

Ning Dali only needed to enter Fertile Base to shake off the surveillance naturally without arousing suspicion.

Once she was inside the Base... she would have more room to maneuver, and the Federation would also lower its guard.

"I think there is a flaw in your plan. Plague is not so easy to overcome. I do not want to take the risk. I just do not like taking risks."

"I am going back to Fertile Base." Ning Dali said earnestly to Ying. "I advise you to stay away from Plague as well. My advice is sincere."

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