Apocalypse Gachapon - Chapter 1923: Prize

When Order Leader Cheng Liujin arrived at the Star-Eye Clan, Aslan breathed a sigh of relief.

During these two days after the Novice battlefield ended, she was truly afraid someone would come and kill everyone here without asking for reasons.

The first thing Cheng Liujin did upon arrival was to visit White Robe, who had regained consciousness in the treatment pod. The two of them sent everyone away. No one knew what they talked about. It wasn’t until two full hours later that Cheng Liujin came out.

Surprisingly, he did not go to talk to Ye Zhongming immediately.

Everyone knew how important Ye Zhongming was to the Star-Eye Clan now. Shouldn’t such an important figure as Cheng Liujin make contact with him right away?

Fortunately, Cheng Liujin met Ye Zhongming the day after his meeting with White Robe.

“Don’t blame me for the neglect. It’s just that your results were too good, and the clan is having some difficulty deciding on your rewards.”

Ye Zhongming looked at Cheng Liujin, but his thoughts were actually on the legends about this Gold Order Leader he had learned from other Star-Eye Clan members after becoming familiar with them in the two days since the Novice battlefield ended.

It seemed that, although not as famous as White Robe, he was also a legendary figure.

Not to mention other things, such as battle records, some Star-Eye Clan members mysteriously told Ye Zhongming that this Cheng Liujin, dozens of cosmic years ago, was allegedly involved in a major robbery, hijacking a convoy of a major clan transporting Moonspan Gold.

Ye Zhongming was really very curious about this and asked for details, but everyone was vague. They actually heard it through the grapevine. Anyway, Cheng Liujin had disappeared for a period of time, and after returning, he convalesced for a long time. However, during that time, the Star-Eye Clan, which was on the verge of collapse, suddenly received an influx of funds and survived the crisis.

Ye Zhongming was skeptical about this.

If the rumor was true, would that major clan let it go? If they couldn’t deal with others, couldn’t they deal with a Star-Eye Clan?

Fine, even if they cared about face, or due to rules couldn’t act without solid evidence, but giving you trouble or making things difficult occasionally, could the Star-Eye Clan withstand that for dozens of cosmic years?

However, when Ye Zhongming saw Cheng Liujin and saw the indescribable something in his eyes, for a moment, he really felt that this person had committed robbery.

“Let me first talk about the clan’s hopes. That way, when I explain what the clan can give you, you can judge more easily.”

Ye Zhongming nodded in agreement.

He wasn’t an ungrateful person. He understood the meaning in Cheng Liujin’s words. If extended, it could even define the relationship between the two parties.

Cheng Liujin, or the Star-Eye Clan, meant, ‘You created value for me, and I will also get some things from you. But I won’t let you name the price first. I will state a figure first. You see if it’s acceptable. If not, we can discuss further.’

If both sides were equal, this would be fine. But even though Ye Zhongming obtained Novice number one, and even though the Star-Eye Clan was close to extinction, the latter was still countless times stronger than the former.

At least for now, Ye Zhongming alone could not compare to any of the cosmic races, even one like the Star-Eye Clan.

The Changxu Water Race? An existence with only a few dozen free people, all of auxiliary nature, compared to a race like the Star-Eye Clan that still had an independent base and three major combat teams—that was the difference between an egg and a stone.

So, the premise of the dialogue between Ye Zhongming and Cheng Liujin was that Ye Zhongming was the weaker party.

Now the stronger party was speaking in the tone of the weaker party; Ye Zhongming naturally felt it.

At the same time, Ye Zhongming was also filled with gratitude.

Before he had a clear understanding of the personal rewards from the Novice battlefield, the racial rewards, the value of items exchangeable with points, and many other aspects, if he named a price, it would either be too high or too low.

Now, the Star-Eye Clan was telling him: You don’t need to name the price; I’ll name it first. Before naming it, I’ll first state your value.

This avoided the situation of asking for too much or too little, preventing the loss Ye Zhongming might suffer due to information asymmetry with the Star-Eye Clan.

It had to be said, with just one sentence, Cheng Liujin greatly increased Ye Zhongming’s impression of the Star-Eye Clan.

Ye Zhongming perceived a message the Star-Eye Clan was conveying to him: they truly needed him.

“I won’t talk about the personal rewards; those are all yours. The clan will not reach out to take them just because we provided you with some support.”

Another very commendable decision.

Ye Zhongming knew about this point because he had Novices like Helsky and Ji Ruiguang around him. He knew that races like the Luther People had pre-agreed with their spokesperson that they would deduct a certain percentage from the personal rewards as costs for providing equipment, medicine, companions, even travel expenses, etc.

Compared to these races, the Star-Eye Clan, besides the normal costs, had even sent the clan’s hope, White Robe, down, which basically equaled saving Ye Zhongming’s life. Now, they weren’t taking the personal rewards; they had already done things very beautifully.

As for the argument that White Robe came because of the changing overall environment and that he also gained huge benefits, if Ye Zhongming thought that way, it wouldn’t just be a matter of narrow mindset, but also small character.

“You helped the Star-Eye Clan achieve a total score ranking first. In the past, the rewards would be fixed. But this time it’s different; all reward items have been altered to some extent. The most important one among them is ten spokesperson numbers and five tickets for the next Novice battlefield.”

The first place got ten spokesperson numbers? And five entry tickets?

The Cloud Peak King thought of his own Cloud Peak immediately.

Up here, Helsky, Jie Kui, and others were good. Ji Ruiguang was also someone who could stand alone. There was even He, a future right-hand man. But… they ultimately had too short a time working with Ye Zhongming, far less handy than the Cloud Peak people. If he could use this opportunity to bring a few people from the villa up, that would be beneficial.

“Besides that, there is also a trade discount valid for one cosmic year, meaning until the next Novice battlefield begins.”

The gold mask on Cheng Liujin’s face prevented Ye Zhongming from seeing his expression, but judging by his tone, his attitude towards this reward seemed somewhat… complex?

Sensing Ye Zhongming’s confusion, Cheng Liujin said, “For other races, this trade discount condition might rank even before the spokespeople spots because they have money, and their trade volume is large. One cosmic year can save them a lot. But for the Star-Eye Clan…”

Cheng Liujin shook his head and didn’t continue, so Ye Zhongming understood.

The Star-Eye Clan… now even had to spend money to buy spokespeople spots or entry tickets. Their Moonspan Gold had to be kept for the basic operation of the race. But even so, they were almost unable to hold on. Where would they have much money for trade? Without trade, the discount naturally had no meaning.

“Also, for first in the rankings, there is the right to open a planetary hunting ground.”