Chapter 1 Meeting Duo Duo

Nie Yan and Kuang Ao Zhan Qi walked together through the streets, entering a low, wooden house. It was a tavern, its furnishings quite old, the lights dim yellow. At a counter in the distance, a fat, old Kobold was muttering as he calculated something.

Rows of dilapidated tables and chairs were arranged in the hall. There weren't many players coming and going here. Unless there was something to discuss, players generally didn't like to waste time sitting idly.

In a corner of the bar, a player dressed in a grey-white mage robe was sitting leisurely, raising a glass as he saw Nie Yan approach. He looked to be in his late twenties, wearing a warlock's robe, a bone-wood staff placed beside him.

Nie Yan's gaze instantly focused. This familiar figure brought back some long-forgotten memories.

This person was the guild leader of Angel Corps!

In his previous life, during the battle between the Good Order and Evil Order factions, it was him who led hundreds of thousands of Evil Order players to Link Town in Calore, continuously occupying six fortresses of Calore. At that time, Victorious Return and Holy Light hesitated to confront him head-on, but under public pressure, they had no choice but to fight with all their might. The war lasted for about a month, and Angel Corps finally couldn't withstand the Calore players' attrition warfare, retreating back underground. That battle was forever recorded in the humiliating history of Greenland.

All images related to the guild leader of Angel Corps were preserved, leaving an indelible impression on the players of Calore.

In his previous life, Nie Yan was just an unknown ordinary player. Legendary figures like Duo Duo wouldn't have noticed him.

Nie Yan never expected that in this life, he would actually be sitting together with the guild leader of Angel Corps.

Nie Yan used Super Appraisal to check.

Duo Duo, Level 51, HP 21122112.

Level 51, this level was truly amazing.

Nie Yan finally confirmed that it was him. In his previous life, the people of Calore knew his name, jokingly calling him "rich and populous" (qian duo ren duo). In its prime, the glorious Angel Corps was something even Victorious Return and Holy Light could only look up to. At its peak, it had more than a hundred top-tier professions and ten large sub-guilds totaling six hundred thousand members, controlling more than three hundred fortresses, its influence spreading throughout the underground world. Therefore, Victorious Return and Holy Light could only retreat when encountering Angel Corps.

"Hello," Nie Yan said frankly as he walked up, sizing up the person before him.

Duo Duo wasn't pretentious at all, smiling and saying, "Have a seat."

Nie Yan sat down opposite him. Having lived two lives, he had seen all sorts of things. Facing a legendary figure from his previous life, he didn't feel any psychological disadvantage. The future Nirvana Guild would definitely not be inferior to Angel Corps!

"I didn't expect you to have the guts to sneak into an Evil Order settlement. I'm a bit surprised you managed to fool the guards and get in. You must have equipment that changes your faction alignment?" Duo Duo said, looking at Nie Yan. His knowledge of Nie Yan was limited to some videos collected by his subordinates. In the Greenland Empire, Nie Yan was considered a prominent figure. In the entire Good Order faction, the only ones who could attract his attention were Angel Ascent's Angellic Demon, Nirvana Guild's Nie Yan, War Blade's Blood狂刀 (Xue Kuang Dao), and a few others.

"A necklace."

"How long does the faction switch last?"

Nie Yan said, "It lasts for 3 hours." There seemed to be no need to hide this.

"Able to last for three hours, it seems the item level is quite high." Duo Duo was slightly surprised. He took something out of his bag, a black ring, and said, "I happen to have one here too, lasts for thirty minutes." This ring was pitch black, with a thumbnail-sized black gemstone on top, dark and shiny.

Nie Yan was shocked. He didn't expect them to have obtained equipment that changed alignment as well. In his previous life, even when he was over level 100, not many people could find such items. Thinking about it, although equipment that changed alignment was rare, it wasn't surprising that the guild leader of the largest guild in the Undead Empire could obtain such equipment.

Nie Yan understood more than anyone else what two pieces of alignment-changing equipment meant!

It was easy for guards to track equipment transactions between Evil Order and Good Order players, but with equipment that switched alignment, this was no longer the case. Having two items that switched alignment meant they could secretly trade equipment without being detected by the guards. Of course, the trading process still had to be very careful. In his previous life, some people had done similar things, a few making a fortune, some being careless and dragged into prison, all 'illegal gains' confiscated.

Driven by profit, there were still many who were willing to take the risk. It was very difficult to go back and forth between the surface and the underground, having to pass through the Gate of the Dead and the Endless Caves, a journey of nine deaths and one survival, all for the sake of the rich rewards.

"Cooperation?" Duo Duo looked at Nie Yan with a smile, waiting for Nie Yan's answer. He took a sip of the cocktail in his glass, his expression leisurely. With such a huge benefit in front of him, he didn't believe Nie Yan wouldn't be tempted.

Nie Yan took a deep breath, hesitated, and said, "We can consider it." No one could calculate how much profit was hidden behind two pieces of alignment-switching equipment. If they cooperated, everyone could make a lot of money!

Nirvana Guild and Angel Corps wouldn't confront each other directly for the time being. If both sides had common interests, they would naturally avoid each other when conflicts occurred between the two factions in the future.

Cooperation was beneficial in every way!

"How long does it take you to cross the Gate of the Dead and the Endless Caves?" Duo Duo asked, looking at Nie Yan. "I've sent people to try, but no one has been able to cross the Gate of the Dead and the Endless Caves. You need to be at least level 100 to cross the Gate of the Dead and the Endless Caves."

Duo Duo looked at Nie Yan. He was a little curious about how Nie Yan had come.

"I didn't come here through the Gate of the Dead and the Endless Caves. As for how I got here, I have to keep it a secret for the time being," Nie Yan said. He had to keep some trump cards for himself.

"So you didn't come through the Gate of the Dead and the Endless Caves, no wonder."

"I can come and go once every ten days," Nie Yan said. The Dark Portal opened once every five days. If the cooperation was successful, they could complete a transaction every ten days, the volume of the transaction being five backpacks of goods.

The two chatted about some details of the cooperation, finalized the cooperation plan, and exchanged contact information in the real world. Nie Yan gave his mobile phone number to Duo Duo. He was using a special phone that couldn't be tracked. Every once in a while, Nie Yan would come to the underground world and then use his phone to tell the other party his location. Duo Duo would immediately send someone over. That person had to switch to the Good Order state when they came. Nie Yan would trade the equipment he brought from the surface to him. After he left, Duo Duo would send a second person over. Nie Yan would switch to the Evil Order state, and that person would trade the underground equipment to Nie Yan, and then Nie Yan would take it back to the surface to sell.

Many people had completed transactions this way in his previous life. Because switching alignment equipment was too rare, there weren't many people who could find two at once. It was difficult to cross the Gate of the Dead and the Endless Caves, generally requiring a large team to travel back and forth, so the cost of each transaction was very high. Moreover, if there was even the slightest error during the transaction, if they were even slightly careless, they would be exposed, so the risk was also very high.

Nie Yan had the Dark Portal, which could reduce transaction costs. As for the transaction process, they had to be extremely careful.

This was somewhat similar to the situation in the real world. No matter how strict the customs laws were, they couldn't completely eliminate smuggling. The huge profits of smuggling would still make many people take the risk.

Nie Yan and Duo Duo agreed on the specific details. He had his men help Nie Yan collect equipment, including equipment that increased dark vision and concentration. These things weren't worth much in the underground world, but when taken to the surface, they would be hundreds or thousands of times more profitable.

"Return the Black Serpent King Shield in your hands to me, it's useless to you anyway," Duo Duo said, looking at Nie Yan. This sub-legendary heavy shield was very important to Angel Corps.

Nie Yan weighed it in his mind. No matter how valuable the Black Serpent King Shield was, it was only worth five thousand gold coins. If he and Duo Duo cooperated successfully, the money earned from one transaction would be far more than five thousand gold coins.

"After your men find all the equipment, I'll exchange the Black Serpent King Shield for other equipment," Nie Yan said. Equipment exchange was much safer than buying with gold coins.

Duo Duo pondered for a moment, understood Nie Yan's meaning, and nodded, "Okay."

"Happy cooperation."

"Happy cooperation," Nie Yan smiled. Getting in touch with the guild leader of Angel Corps here could save a lot of trouble.

"You have to be careful not to be exposed, otherwise you'll be in trouble if the Evil Order guards盯上 (ding shang, keep an eye on) you," Duo Duo said seriously.

"I know what I'm doing," Nie Yan said. If he was targeted by the Evil Order guards, he would hardly be able to move an inch in the underground world, and future transactions would definitely be monitored by the guards.

"To avoid suspicion, I have to leave first. We'll contact each other using real-world communication tools."

"Okay."

Duo Duo stood up, put on his cloak, and walked outside with Kuang Ao Zhan Qi.

Watching Duo Duo's back disappear at the bar entrance, Nie Yan calmly thought for a moment. He didn't know where this Duo Duo came from. He had to have Guo Huai and Ah Chen help investigate, at least to know what his background was. Being able to dominate the underground world, this guy named Duo Duo was definitely not simple.

Nie Yan sat in the tavern, recalling news related to Angel Corps from his previous life. He suddenly remembered an important detail: Angel Corps and Angel Ascent didn't seem to get along very well, Angel Ascent's Angellic Demon, Angel Corps' Duo Duo. The corners of Nie Yan's mouth curved slightly upwards. Things were about to get interesting.

After Duo Duo left, some time passed before Nie Yan stood up and walked outside.

Leaving the tavern, Nie Yan walked towards another building, wondering if he could buy basic consumables at the general store here. He still had to stay in the underground world for three days and needed to replenish his consumables.