Wisdom

Chapter 274: Wisdom

Muto felt completely dumbfounded. How had the whole world changed after just one night of sleep?

As a renowned Japanese swordsman, his trip to France had been an official exchange visit.

There had been some conflicts and disputes in the Reincarnation Space, but his status should have been enough to shield him from them.

People fought and killed in the Reincarnation Space, but there was obviously no need for that in reality.

He had indeed snooped around the possessions of two legions, but hadn’t he ultimately failed to get anything?

It had just been an ordinary conflict in the Reincarnation Space.

If that counted, forget a world war—even the legions within every country would have beaten each other’s brains out first.

So, after leaving that Mission Space with disappointment and almost no gains, he had properly enjoyed himself, relaxed, and blown off some steam.

But after only one night, when he woke up again—

Holy shit!

Σ(°△°|||)︴

When had Japan suddenly become France’s public enemy?

Was this some kind of joke? Their losses had definitely not been small either!

Then he received urgent messages from back home, first from his own legion, followed by one from the Shogunate, Japan’s First Legion.

They all demanded to know what exactly he had done.

At first, they did not blame him for damaging relations between the two countries. They even said he had acted for the Empire and that they would definitely protect him.

But they wanted him to hand over whatever benefit had enraged the France Zone, promising to compensate him sufficiently according to its value.

When Muto heard that, it felt as if the sky had gone dark.

Compensate my ass!

He had entered fully armed and had practically come out naked, yet they were still asking him for loot?

However, when they heard that he had gained "nothing," they immediately slapped labels on him like "liar," "damaging the Empire’s interests for personal gain," and "traitor."

Everything they had said about stepping in to protect him was thrown out the window, and they kept threatening him to hand over the item…

How the hell was he supposed to hand over something with his life?

Muto could not describe how he felt.

His strength might not have been outstanding among those of this level, but he was highly senior and held considerable status in Japan.

But now, all that status had become nothing but drifting clouds.

After he firmly refused, even his own legion swiftly cut all ties with him.

They explicitly declared to France that damaging relations between the two nations had been his personal action.

The uproar in the French Reincarnation Zone had never really been about preparing to go all out against Japan.

Since Japan had backed down, shown goodwill, and offered them a way out, France naturally took it.

That amounted to Japan clearly stating that it was willing to abandon a big shot!

Even if he was merely a unit of measurement among big shots, he was still a big shot—someone no legion would casually discard.

It seemed this man had been too greedy and unwilling to hand over his gains, thereby angering his own legion.

But for France’s major legions, this was good news.

The losses in the Reincarnation Space had been impossible for even several large legions to ignore. They did not want to clash head-on with Japan anymore either. Now, they could gain the authority to capture this man without paying almost anything extra. That was naturally a fairly good result.

Although relations had deteriorated drastically, the surface appearance was still maintained. The art of politics was compromise.

After all, the losses had already happened. Fighting Japan for real would not recover them, whereas capturing this man and using his life to force him into signing an agreement to hand over what he had obtained could make up for quite a few losses.

Among the big shots who had suffered mishaps, aside from the Curse Priest—who had trusted his life-saving abilities too much, leaving him with low escape authority and overly severe injuries—the others could recover relatively quickly…

Under such circumstances, Muto could not sit still at all.

The First Legion of the French Reincarnation Zone directly used its legion authority to issue a Level-One Wanted Order.

A Level-One Wanted Order issued using the authority granted to the First Legion by the space allowed Reincarnators throughout France to greatly reduce the penalties for violating the rules when attacking a wanted criminal.

They could even hunt them down in the real world!

This was not a Mission Space. Here, there were big shots from the entire French Reincarnation Zone!

Forget the strongest experts of one country—even if all the strongest experts of a large legion were mobilized, they would be beaten senseless.

Under such immense external pressure, with Wang Zhaoming nowhere to be found, Muto and Qi Xieyuan had no choice but to band together again.

And they kept such an extremely low profile that they looked exactly like underground operatives…

"We need to find a way to leave France first. With a Level-One Wanted Order, the higher-ups of every legion can act. If we are discovered, we will not even have a chance to run."

Inside a room in the slums, Muto, disguised as a beggar, spoke anxiously to Qi Xieyuan.

"Brother Qi, only your identity can still be seen in public. After all, nobody knows you. I’ll have to rely on you to find a way. If we succeed, I will come to China to make a living in the future, and I will follow your lead without question."

Muto had been completely abandoned by his legion and could no longer put on the airs he once had.

"Mr. Muto, you overestimate me. This is what I should do."

Qi Xieyuan hurriedly waved his hands, looking as though he could not bear such praise.

But no one knew what he was really thinking.

Seeing Qi Xieyuan’s expression, Muto instead began explaining again.

"Brother Qi, I know you also suspect that I got something, but I truly didn’t! Forget rewards surpassing Dust Release—I didn’t even get Dust Release itself, or any lesser reward. What reward could be more important than one’s life?"

"How could that be? Of course I believe Mr. Muto."

Qi Xieyuan’s expression remained flawless, but perhaps Muto’s repeated explanation had some effect.

Or perhaps they were now grasshoppers tied to the same rope, so he naturally shifted the subject to practical matters.

"In France, it certainly would not be convenient to make use of Beiyang’s influence. But there is another large Chinese legion in the France Zone that we can make use of."

"You mean the French Laborers? According to the rumors, weren’t the French Laborers taken over by the Penguin Merchant Guild?"

Because the rumors concerning him also involved the Penguin Merchant Guild, Muto had specifically looked into it. It seemed that after he and the others had fought those bankers, the Penguin Merchant Guild had stepped in and settled things.

"That’s right, them. Don’t worry, the French Laborers are not a monolith. Without outside interference, they would naturally choose submission. But if there is outside pressure, some people who have been oppressed for too long can become quite twisted… I happen to know someone among them…"

A strange smile appeared on Qi Xieyuan’s face, and a wise gleam flashed through his eyes.

Heh heh, Zhang Zuolin was very likely the Penguin Merchant Guild’s representative in France!

Only his elusive spatial methods could accomplish something like this. Perhaps the Penguin Merchant Guild had been created by the Beiyang Army from the beginning.

Their refusal to acknowledge it and such extreme secrecy were only because they feared provoking the nerves of the other great powers.

The greatest possibility was that the blame Japan was carrying this time had also been orchestrated entirely by that bearded Zhang Yulin!!

Several experts of that level could not possibly appear one after another. There was a ninety-nine percent chance my deduction was correct.

And if that was the case, I could fully use this secret intelligence to make a deal with Zhang Yulin.

Of course, because Zhang Yulin himself was too formidable, I needed to take a roundabout route.

Those French Laborers were one avenue. The other was that newcomer who had also come to France and had been arranged by Zhang Yulin as a pawn to get close to Wu Pei.

First, I’ll have Muto stir up trouble among the French Laborers and draw Zhang Zuolin’s attention.

Then, while he is occupied, I will subdue that newcomer with lightning speed and deliver the terms of the deal to Zhang Yulin.

I will conceal it from everyone and make a private deal with Zhang Zuolin, that big shot.

Since Zhang Yulin could make such a grand move, his abilities had exceeded all previous understanding and imagination.

In that case, even temporarily working for him would be acceptable. And he would definitely need an outstanding subordinate of my caliber.

I intend to remain at the Elite Reincarnator stage for a while longer!

Although that would slow the improvement of my strength, it would give me a far wider range of applications than ordinary big shots. Zhang Yulin would definitely not reject me.

Having the strength of a big shot at the Elite Reincarnator level was terrifyingly rare.

My strength, talent, and value were the foundation of my negotiations.

As someone who put profit above all else and was full of bandit-like ruthlessness, Zhang Zuolin’s way of thinking was already completely within my grasp.

That was the advantage of identifying Zhang Yulin’s identity in advance. That was the advantage of asymmetric intelligence. At this moment, I already held every advantage…

That’s two updates finished!

The past two days were probably the days with the highest subscriber retention. When the story shifts into a new instance, some readers will definitely stockpile chapters. I just hope it will not hit me too hard.

I’m anxious and uneasy~ Normally I can handle it just fine, but the featured promotion starts the day after tomorrow. If the numbers drop during the recommendation period, Integrity Fungus might lose the will to live~ Wah wah wah~