Shadowweaver raised her eyebrows.
“Oh?”
Zhu Lingxi shielded Cen Yao behind her. Her voice was still quiet and serious, carrying a certain tone of certainty.
“Some things are taboo.”
Shadowweaver stared at her for two seconds.
Suddenly, she laughed.
“The successor of Nuo opera, Nuo, with an SSS-rank Talent: Nuo God. You're very interesting.”
“But don't worry. Though we are crazy, we don't like doing boring evil deeds.”
Pei Tinglan spoke coldly from his wheelchair.
“Someone from the Eclipse Corridor claiming they don't like doing evil is about as convincing as a dungeon Boss saying they don't eat people.”
Shadowweaver looked at him.
“Siren.”
“You certainly have more to say today than usual.”
Pei Tinglan remained expressionless. “Because I can't help myself when facing you guys.”
Just as Shadowweaver was about to retort, another voice suddenly rang out.
“Come to the Silent Pivot.” The voice wasn't loud, and was even a bit hoarse.
Yet it strangely drowned out all the surrounding noise.
Cen Yao froze for a moment.
She followed the voice with her gaze.
She saw the youth in gray who had been standing at the edge of the crowd all this time, his presence so low he almost blended into the background. He finally looked up.
—Ash.
The Third Leader of the Silent Pivot.
His face was incredibly ordinary.
So ordinary that even though Cen Yao had just heard Pei Tinglan introduce him a moment ago, she almost failed to recognize him in the blink of an eye.
Especially now, with people of such distinct characters standing around him—like Luan, Judge, Guanwei, Shadowweaver, and Eclipse—Ash seemed even more like a gray stone that could be overlooked at any moment.
But once he spoke, everyone's gaze couldn't help but fall upon him.
“The Silent Pivot is rich,” Ash said.
Cen Yao: “?”
His expression was calm, as if he were stating a perfectly ordinary fact.
“Aside from monthly bonus points and item rewards.”
“We can also provide clues for dungeons.”
“And give you information on your enemies.”
He paused, seemingly trying to think of what else could move Cen Yao.
“There are also internal purchasing channels for rare items.”
“Real-world identity encryption.”
“After clearing a dungeon, rewards are split based on contribution.”
“If you don't want to participate in guild quests, you can also just be a member in name only.”
Cen Yao blinked.
Wow.
How did this guy just throw out all of the Silent Pivot's core competitiveness right off the bat?
And why did his way of speaking sound like he was marketing a fully-featured product?
Guanwei glanced at Ash.
“Your Silent Pivot's recruitment style has been getting more and more direct lately.”
Ash didn't look at her, only quietly staring at the ground.
“It is highly efficient.”
Shadowweaver burst into laughter.
“Ash, this won't do.”
“Miss Witch clearly doesn't look like someone who would be swayed by points.”
Cen Yao rubbed her nose guiltily.
Well, that wasn't entirely true.
Under normal circumstances, she definitely would be swayed by points.
But these weren't normal circumstances; she had shock points.
Points weren't completely useless to her, but they were far from being as important as others thought.
Moreover, the fact that the Silent Pivot could provide dungeon clues and enemy information indeed made her a bit curious.
Cen Yao knew, after all, that she was a Witch.
Witches possessed precognitive abilities.
As her level increased, the things she could see in the future would only grow.
But she wasn't strong enough yet.
Her precognition was also limited.
It couldn't be used at just any time, nor could she see every future clearly.
If the Silent Pivot really possessed that much intelligence, it might save her a lot of trouble.
But this thought only lasted for a fleeting moment.
Cen Yao quickly dismissed it.
As for the ability to foresee the future, she would rather learn it herself.
No matter how much information others had, it would always come with a price.
And she didn't like building her choices on other people's arrangements.
“Um...”
Cen Yao looked at Ash.
“Thank you.”
Ash quietly waited for the rest of her sentence.
Cen Yao was very honest.
“But I don't need it.”
“I am a Witch myself, so I can also do some foreseeing.”
The surroundings suddenly fell silent.
Guanwei's gaze instantly became more focused.
She reopened her ledger, the tip of her pen landing on the paper, writing down who-knew-what.
The interest in Shadowweaver's eyes grew even stronger.
Even Eclipse, who had been clashing with Luan, had stopped nearby at some point and cast a glance over here.
Only Pei Tinglan frowned.
He turned his face and lowered his voice.
“You're just saying it out loud like that?”
Cen Yao also replied in a low voice.
“It's fine to say a little bit.”
“They were already guessing my Talent anyway.”
“Rather than letting them make wild guesses, it's better to give them a direction they find reasonable.”
Pei Tinglan fell silent for two seconds.
“You sure know how to throw up a smoke screen.”
Cen Yao blinked.
“How can a Witch's business be called a smoke screen?”
Pei Tinglan: “...”
This person was really hard to communicate with sometimes.
Cen Yao paid him no more mind.
She looked at the circle of high-ranking figures from major factions before her—all possessing powerful auras, prominent statuses, and clearly having no intention of leaving easily. She finally realized that this matter could not be dragged out any longer today.
If she only gave vague answers, these people would continue to look for her.
One today.
One tomorrow.
And perhaps even more strangers blocking her at the dungeon exits the day after.
She didn't want to be surrounded every time she exited a dungeon as if she were a celebrity walking the red carpet.
Cen Yao took a deep breath.
Then, she grabbed Zhu Lingxi with her left hand and held the armrest of Pei Tinglan's wheelchair with her right.
Zhu Lingxi immediately caught on to her intention and obediently moved closer to her side.
Pei Tinglan looked up at her.
“Running away again?”
Cen Yao whispered, “Don't talk yet.”
“I'll take you with me in a bit.”
Pei Tinglan: “...”
Cen Yao took half a step forward.
A very polite, very obedient, yet very firm smile appeared on her face.
“Thank you all for taking the time out of your busy schedules to invite me to join your guilds.”
“I really appreciate everyone thinking so highly of me.”
Standing not far away, Luan sheathed her short daggers and raised an eyebrow at her.
Eclipse leaned against a stone pillar in the plaza with a beaming smile.
Shadowweaver stood with her arms crossed.
Guanwei closed her ledger, listening patiently.
Ash remained expressionless.
Judge stayed silent throughout.
Cen Yao continued, “However, I currently have no plans to join any guild.”
“You've all heard the System announcement.”
“Future dungeons might lean more and more toward team modes.”
“And I just happen to have a Permanent Team Card in my hands.”
She didn't take out the card.
Yet it was enough for everyone to understand her meaning.
Cen Yao glanced at Zhu Lingxi, then at Pei Tinglan.
“Right now, I'd rather focus on my own fixed team first.”
“As for guilds, we can talk about that later.”
Luan's gaze swept across the three of them.
The smile on Eclipse's face faded slightly.
Shadowweaver narrowed her eyes, as if remembering that Permanent Team Card rewarded for first place in that special dungeon.
Cen Yao didn't give them too much time to think.
“Also.”
Her tone grew a bit lighter.
“I believe you've all watched my live streams.”
“To be honest, game points aren't that important to me, and items are pretty much optional.”
Right after she spoke, Zhu Lingxi nodded cooperatively.
“Miss Cen can make a lot of things herself.”
“Potions, arrays, and even food.”
Pei Tinglan hadn't planned on speaking.
But seeing Zhu Lingxi speak so solemnly, he couldn't help but add a line.
“You could say points are useless to her, and the items and supplies purchased with points are even more of a waste of space.”
Cen Yao looked at Pei Tinglan in surprise, as if shocked that a dog's mouth could actually spit out ivory.
Perhaps her gaze was too nakedly obvious, as Pei Tinglan felt uncomfortable and turned his head to glare at her.
Cen Yao: “...”
If she hadn't seen Pei Tinglan's reddened earlobes, she would have thought she had accidentally angered Princess Pei again.
Rate on N.U.
