Chapter 374 - Come With Me
The system was flashing again after a long period of inactivity.
An Lin opened the system in his mind to find that the “Special Missions” tab was flashing.
“Special Mission: Detected that host has already absorbed the entirety of the information within the 88th Purple Star Research Institute. Now assigning the following special mission: Persuade the mastermind, Bai Ling, to leave the White Cloud Lake and return to the continent.
“Mission success: Receive one raffle for the Special Spell Technique Lottery.
“Mission failure: Become impotent for three years.
“Time limit for completing the mission: Six hours.
“Note: This mission cannot be rejected.”
An Lin winced as he looked down between his legs with concern.
Impotence for three years? This punishment didn’t seem like much.
What use did he have for this metal rod? He had wasted it for twenty years leading up to this; it surely couldn’t hurt to let it go to waste for another three years!
With that thought in mind, he became a lot more relaxed…
An Lin blinked in confusion; he felt like there was something wrong with his logic.
Holy f*ck! This had a direct connection with his dignity as a man! A man is only a true man if he was adaptable enough to be able to advance and withdraw as required. What kind of a man would he be if he didn’t even have that ability anymore?!
An Lin’s attitude toward this punishment instantly did a 180-degree flip as these thoughts occurred to him.
Failure was not an option!
“You’ve got your inheritances. You can go now, I have to rest.”
Bai Ling sent them away as she massaged her brows in exhaustion.
“Hold on, what’s my dog-food-production inheritance about? Are you discriminating against dogs, woof!” Da Bai protested with indignant rage.
“When you’ve successfully produced the dog food, you’ll know just how delicious it is.” Bai Ling didn’t flare up in rage at Da Bai’s interrogation; she only looked at him with a gentle smile.
“Wait!” An Lin extended his hand and yelled, “Big Sister Bai, I think we should talk!”
He was still suffering from the after-effect of using the Origin Energy of the Netherworld so he could only lay feebly on Da Bai’s back. Even so, the gaze he directed at Bai Ling was still filled with a scorching sincerity.
Bai Ling faltered slightly at An Lin’s intense expression before replying with a smile, “Mr. An Lin, what else is there to discuss? All the information regarding the Purple Star is already in your mind and I can’t reveal anything else to you.”
“Heh, I’m not talking about that, I just want to talk about life and dreams with you,” An Lin spoke with a fawning expression.
Bai Ling: “…”
Da Bai twisted his head to look at An Lin with an expression that said: “I was wrong about you”.
“Hurry up and say what you want to say, but I have to warn you in advance, I’m not into younger men,” Bai Ling replied coldly.
An Lin’s chest tightened at her words. What the hell was this woman thinking? He was only planning to have a chat with her, how did this come across as him pursuing her as a romantic partner?
Furthermore, they had an age gap of over ten thousand years; An Lin wasn’t interested in a relationship like that either!
“Ahem, what I want to say is, seeing as I’ve already received all the information this Purple Star research institute has to offer, you don’t need to stay here any longer, right?” An Lin asked.
“The information is only part of the inheritance. There’s still bloodlines, cultivation methods, knowledge, and other inheritances.” Bai Ling narrowed her eyes and bent down to look at An Lin with her beautiful features that were mere inches from An Lin’s face as she asked, “You want me to leave here?”
An Lin looked up at Bai Ling and was treated to the sight of her porcelain-like features which glowed with an alluring hue under the white light around them.
“That’s right, I want you to leave this place.” An Lin didn’t plan to hide his intentions from her. “This world is so big, don’t you want to see it?”
“Oh, I’ve already traveled the world over ten thousand years ago, so I’m not interested now.” Bai Ling’s eyes rippled as she looked at An Lin. Meanwhile, An Lin averted his gaze slightly as he was a bit embarrassed at having Bai Ling’s face at such close proximity to his.
“But this world has undergone a drastic change since then. It’s become more and more beautiful and filled with vitality now. There are a lot of prodigious people and delicious foods, as well as elegant, moving music…” An Lin continued in his persuasion.
“But one thing has not changed even with the passing of ten thousand years…” Bai Ling’s face fell as her interest in seeing the world only decreased after hearing An Lin’s words.
An Lin knew that Bai Ling was having recollections of her home, and his mind began to race as he scrambled for something else to say.
The Purple Star civilization was completely different from the Kingdom of the Nine States.
To be precise, even the people of the Purple Star civilization were a different species to the citizens of the Kingdom of the Nine States. Bai Ling was a member of the Purple Star clan, and she was the sole survivor of that clan who had lived for over ten thousand years.
What kind of determination would it take for her to seclude herself for so long in this research institute? Just what was she trying to achieve through her determination?
“Big Sister Bai, do you have any dreams? Or in other words, do you have any goals?” An Lin felt like he would definitely be able to persuade her to leave with him if he knew what she was living for.
“I want to spread the remnants of the Purple Star civilization across this continent.” Bai Ling paused for a moment before continuing, “And I want to live on as a reminder for people to not forget the Purple Star…”
“Well, did you know there’s a Purple Star State in the Kingdom of the Nine States? They’ve undergone a drastic transformation after they received an inheritance from your civilization,” An Lin spoke slowly.
A flash of interest finally flickered across Bai Ling’s eyes. “The Purple Star State? I’ve heard of their existence from a past trial-taker; what is the Purple Star State like now?”
“I’m not telling you, you’ll have to find out for yourself if you want to know!” An Lin replied with a serious expression.
Bai Ling: “…”
“Golden Crow, Mirror Combination, Dark God, Extreme Cold, Shadow Demon, Life Force, Mechanical Engineering, Divine Food, Demonic Darkness, Taichi; those are the ten inheritances of the research institute if I’m not mistaken.” An Lin scanned through the information in his mind before continuing, “My beast pets and I have received eight of those, and the other two had already been obtained by two other trial-takers a long time ago.
“Thus, all the main inheritances, as well as the information, have been passed on so it’s no longer a valid excuse to stay here in order to pass these things on to future trial-takers. As for the other inheritances, you could run trials on people during your travels and pass the inheritances on to those who you deem worthy…
“In doing so, you’re also taking initiative and this would definitely speed up your progress!
“On top of that, you can enjoy traveling and exploring the world. It’s definitely a much more appealing option than staying in this lonely prison, right?
“The information in my head tells me that this research institute is a mobile fortress capable of transporting itself. I don’t know the specifics, but if you can take the research institute with you, then you won’t have to worry about not having trial grounds…”
…
An Lin rattled off a list of reasons as Bai Ling listened with a slight smile.
“I feel like you’re even more concerned than I am about whether I go out to explore the world; why do you care?” Bai Ling suddenly asked.
“Because we’re friends!” An Lin lied with a perfect poker face.
“Friends?” Bai Ling’s smile widened. It was like a flawless white lotus blossoming silently in a spectacular display of beauty and elegance.
She pondered his words for a while before finally nodding in agreement. “What you’ve said makes a lot of sense, and I want to see the Purple Star State for myself as well. You can leave here first and let me think about it.”
“There’s no need for that, traveling is only fun if it’s spontaneous!” An Lin prompted.
Are you kidding me?
He only had a time limit of six hours. If Bai Ling stayed here to think things over, he would become impotent for three years!
“We’re gonna leave just like that?” Bai Ling’s heart stirred.
“That’s right!” An Lin grasped onto Bai Ling’s slim, delicate hand and nodded with a serious expression.
Da Bai felt like the dog-food-production inheritance he had received was utterly pointless. He had more than enough dog food already, what was the point of receiving the inheritance?
An Lin’s promise that they were going to rescue a princess trapped within these ruins had Da Bai excited for a long time.
Da Bai now knew that Big Brother An hadn’t lied to him.
However, the princess was Bai Ling…
An Lin also didn’t expect his lies to swindle Da Bai into accompanying him would actually come true…