"Ah?" Bai Ye's face showed surprise, "Didn't they say the Hidden Dragon Association still needed to prepare? Are we going to fight so soon?"
Gao Ming said, "It's been almost two months. They should be ready by now."
Bai Ye was stunned again, "Two months?"
Gao Ming replied, "It's been over a month since I received the news and contacted you. What do you think?"
Bai Ye almost spat out a mouthful of blood.
This Taiyi Zhenren was a scammer!
Is this what you call just taking a nap?
I slept for over a month?
You immortals dream for a thousand years, but I'm not an immortal.
Isn't this just wasting time?
However, thinking about what happened over a month ago, Bai Ye suddenly felt it was somewhat normal. If it were just one night, this place wouldn't be in such a state, with ruins everywhere and a doomsday atmosphere.
But why didn't he feel hungry?
Bai Ye touched his stomach. After more than a month, he should have withered away from hunger.
Bai Ye tilted his head. Could it be the tea that Taiyi Zhenren gave him?
Could that stuff fill him up?
"Hello, hello..." Gao Ming's voice came from the Den Den Mushi, "Bai Ye, are you still there?"
"I'm here!"
Bai Ye came back to his senses and stopped thinking about it. It was an immortal's ability, after all. It shouldn't be difficult for him to go a month without eating or drinking and not die. They themselves practiced fasting.
Bai Ye released Cheng Long from the beast-taming ball and then sat on Cheng Long's back to head out to sea. Holding the Den Den Mushi, he said, "I'm coming over now. The Summit War hasn't started yet, has it?"
Gao Ming replied, "No, it's expected to take some more time, but the progress is already very fast. The Navy sent Ace to Marineford and announced the public execution. Whitebeard was enraged upon hearing this and gathered all forty-three pirate crews under his command."
"This is the background of the incident. Both the Navy and the pirates have started gathering their forces, so the Summit War is imminent, but the exact timing is still unclear."
"According to my estimation, the time when Whitebeard's pirate crews are all gathered, plus the travel time to Marineford, will be the time when the Summit War begins."
Bai Ye said, "That's good, it should still be in time."
Gao Ming nodded, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Our captain wants me to consult you about something."
Bai Ye asked, "Hmm?"
Gao Ming continued, "Can we get involved in this matter?"
Bai Ye raised an eyebrow and pondered for a moment, "Are you planning to confront the Hidden Dragon Association head-on? Given the current situation, the Hidden Dragon Association has invested a lot of manpower and resources into this matter. If the Evil Spirit Group gets involved, it can be considered a direct declaration of war. This is completely different from the situation in the virtual game world last time."
Bai Ye was naturally pleased to see the relationship between the Evil Spirit Group and the Hidden Dragon Association deteriorate.
When they were in the forbidden zone of the virtual game world, Bai Ye had intended to provoke the relationship between the two sides. However, the existence of forces would inevitably lead to conflict.
Bai Ye's killing spree in the virtual game forbidden zone was merely adding fuel to the fire.
But meeting at the Summit War, the nature of the matter was different.
It was like the former was just teasing the other's wife, touching her hand, and kissing her cheek, while the latter was directly sleeping with the person's wife, and doing so in front of them...
To put it bluntly, at most, their relationship was strained, but they hadn't completely fallen out. If they clashed at the Summit War, they would have completely lost all pretense of civility.
Gao Ming said, "It's not that simple."
Bai Ye asked, "How not simple?"
Gao Ming replied, "This time, it's not just our Evil Spirit Group wanting a piece of the pie. More than a dozen other factions are eyeing the Hidden Dragon Association."
Bai Ye was stunned, "A dozen?"
Gao Ming explained, "Yes, for example, the September Alliance, which is an allied force formed by nine small factions."
"Also, in the northeast of the 24-grid map, there are three magic zones. There are three small factions there called Mourning Bell, Magic Raven, and Great Sword. They only operate in those three magic zones, but now they have also set sail."
"There are other scattered forces, adding up to about ten to twenty factions."
Bai Ye scoffed, "So they're just small fry."
Gao Ming said, "Too many small fry can be troublesome. Besides, if they all form an alliance, they won't be afraid of the Hidden Dragon Association seeking revenge later. After all, they're all in the same boat. If the Hidden Dragon Association can destroy one today, they can destroy another tomorrow."
Bai Ye raised an eyebrow, "Your captain is quite something."
"Uh..." Gao Ming asked, "What do you mean by that?"
Bai Ye continued, "You Evil Spirit Group must have put in a lot of effort behind the scenes for this, right?"
Gao Ming quickly said, "You shouldn't say such things casually."
Bai Ye retorted, "Why are you acting innocent with me? The information was definitely spread by your Evil Spirit Group. It's not for the alliance at the Summit War, but for what happens after the Summit War. Those smaller factions must be afraid of retaliation from the Hidden Dragon Association, so they can only maintain their alliance to counter the Hidden Dragon Association."
"In this way, wouldn't your Evil Spirit Group be able to fish in troubled waters? By playing the strategy of vertical and horizontal alliances, you can unite with those smaller factions under the guise of protection, on one hand countering the Hidden Dragon Association, and on the other hand, secretly devouring those smaller factions and annexing them."
"Exactly!" Gao Ming slapped his thigh, "Great idea!"
"Huh?" Bai Ye was confused, "What do you mean?"
Gao Ming replied, "I mean, this matter really has nothing to do with our Evil Spirit Group!"
Bai Ye exclaimed, "Ah?"
Gao Ming clarified, "Whether you believe it or not, this time the smaller factions uniting to snatch the prize from the Hidden Dragon Association really has nothing to do with our Evil Spirit Group. We only learned about the alliance of these smaller factions and thought it was an excellent opportunity that shouldn't be missed, which is why we considered getting involved."
Bai Ye suddenly felt numb and couldn't help but say, "This..."
Gao Ming continued, "But regardless, your idea is excellent. We can definitely do that after the Summit War ends."
Bai Ye asked, "So, I missed an opportunity to charge a fee?"
"We're all friends, talking about money will only hurt our feelings," Gao Ming smiled and said, "In any case, I've delivered the message. If you still want to participate in the Summit War, you'd better hurry."
Bai Ye replied, "Got it. I'll contact you later."
Bai Ye hung up the communication with Gao Ming, gave Cheng Long some food, and then patted Cheng Long's head, signaling him to speed up.
While sitting on Cheng Long's back, Bai Ye first drew his gacha.
This was Bai Ye's biggest regret. In a month, his Steel Slime and the Gate of Babylon might have leveled up, but he slept for a month, and it was all in vain.
However, Bai Ye's luck was good this time. His three consecutive draws were all weapons. Then, using the synthesis effect, he combined them to create new weapons. Bai Ye had already reaped a lot of benefits in the forbidden zone of the virtual game, and had recorded many weapons in the Gate of Babylon, which had already brought it to the verge of quality improvement.
Now, with the final push, the Gate of Babylon had been upgraded to Red quality.
Gate of Babylon (Noble Phantasm) (Red): The treasury of King Gilgamesh, containing endless treasures. Its quality increases based on the number of weapons recorded within the Gate of Babylon (quality improvement has no upper limit).
Currently recorded weapons...
Current quality improvement: 306/500
...