Chapter 53: The Transaction
"Equivalent exchange?"
Reed, who had been trembling with excitement, suddenly calmed down, a hint of doubt in his eyes.
Seeing Reed's doubtful gaze, Bubu Wang secretly nudged Su Xiao with his hind leg, signaling, "Master, hurry up. I might not be able to hold on much longer."
Bubu Wang's greatest strength was dragging the intelligence of the person he was negotiating with down to his own level. Earlier, he had greeted Reed and offered him spicy sticks, combining that with the effects of his Charm Attribute to form a combo move, dealing an "Intelligence-Debuff Strike" to Reed.
Of course, this "Intelligence-Debuff Strike" was just a metaphor; it didn't actually lower Reed's intelligence. In principle, Bubu Wang used his unique negotiation style to interact with Reed, with the Charm Attribute playing a crucial role. After Reed adapted to Bubu Wang's negotiation style, Su Xiao stepped in to negotiate. At that point, Reed was still stuck in the negotiation mode established by Bubu Wang, which reduced the difficulty of the negotiation.
The current situation was that Reed was simply too strong, or rather, he had lived for too long. The effect of the "Intelligence-Debuff Strike" was limited, and he could break free from Bubu Wang's negotiation mode at any moment, returning to normal.
A normal-state Reed was very difficult to deal with. One wrong move could lead to hostility, so Su Xiao had to negotiate quickly.
"Exactly, equivalent exchange. I have a way to help you enter the Void. The general process is like this..."
A butchering knife appeared in Su Xiao's hand, and he began drawing on the ground.
"First, this is the world you're in."
Su Xiao drew a circle on the ground, representing the planet Reed was on.
"The Void isn't what you imagine. You can't just break through the outer layer of this planet to reach it. If you try that, you'll likely end up in an oxygen-free environment, experience weightlessness, and eventually be trapped and die there."
Su Xiao drew several X marks outside the circle.
"Indeed. I once tried flying straight up into the sky. At a certain height, the wind was fierce. After breaking through a very special layer of air, I entered a place with no air. It was impossible to breathe—no, breathing had no effect at all."
Reed agreed with Su Xiao's explanation. Having once been driven nearly mad by loneliness, he had naturally tried to leave this world.
Hearing Reed's description, Su Xiao paused. This guy was indeed formidable, having managed to break through the atmosphere with just his physical body.
"Since you've tried it, it'll be easier to understand. First, you need to know that the Void and your world are not in the same realm. It's a world of another dimension. No, calling the Void a single world isn't quite right. It's a collection of many worlds. As for how many worlds or planets there are, that's hard to count—the number is too vast. But the Void has a stable energy system and environment..."
Reed could understand Su Xiao's first few sentences, but from his expression, it was clear that the rest went completely over his head. He was like a duck listening to thunder—hearing the noise but understanding nothing.
Reed truly couldn't grasp what Su Xiao was saying, but he could judge the truth of Su Xiao's words from key pieces of information.
"Overall, getting from your world to the Void isn't simple. It requires a long-distance spatial teleportation. Without any protection, even with your current physical strength, you'd be torn apart by the spatial forces."
"Protection..."
Reed nodded with a vague understanding. Su Xiao had already entered his persuasion mode. When it came to the Void, he could definitely baffle Reed completely.
Reed was incredibly strong, once the strongest in this world. However, the technological level of the Shia World wasn't advanced. Their understanding of spatial technology was only superficial, with no clear grasp of how it worked.
Why did Su Xiao want to send Reed into the Void? Or rather, why did he want to send Reed out of this world? The reason was simple: he was about to delve deep into the tomb. With Reed guarding the tomb's entrance, Su Xiao couldn't enter with peace of mind.
Su Xiao didn't believe Reed was the kind of friendly "NPC" who would hand over equipment. He had never encountered such a plot character. Most of the plot characters he met were either old schemers or utterly insane.
Reed was the tomb's guardian. If Su Xiao caused any damage to the tomb, Reed wouldn't hesitate to kill him.
When Su Xiao saw Reed's title as the tomb guardian, he had already decided that he must either kill Reed or get him out of the way before he could safely explore the tomb.
Killing Reed was too difficult. In fact, with Su Xiao's current strength, it was impossible. So he had to find another way—get rid of him.
Sometimes, Su Xiao's actions seemed reckless, charging in and slashing away. But if he were truly a brute, he wouldn't have survived this long.
"You should have a general idea now. That's the process of entering the Void. I'll warn you in advance: you won't have a 100% chance of reaching the Void. The spatial teleportation along the way is dangerous. It feels like... getting hit in the back of the head with a hammer."
Su Xiao didn't promise Reed that he would definitely reach the Void safely. If he had, it would have been less believable.
"What are the chances of reaching the Void? In the worst-case scenario?"
"About 60%. But the item I'm using is very precious. If you cooperate a bit during the spatial teleportation, you'll have an 80% chance of reaching the Void."
Su Xiao flipped his hand, and a Legendary-grade item, [Time-Space Coin], appeared in his palm. The [Time-Space Coin] was covered in cracks, and the spatial-temporal energy inside could be easily sensed.
Seeing the [Time-Space Coin], Reed's eyes lit up, and a faint murderous intent flickered within them.
"I've used this item once before. It's because I had it that I was able to travel from the Void to here. You should have guessed my purpose for coming here. I'm looking for the three lost gems and entering the Law-Destroyer ruins.
Using this item requires caution. If used incorrectly, you might be eroded by the spatial-temporal energy inside before the teleportation even begins. If that happens, death is certain."
Su Xiao spoke as if he hadn't noticed the murderous intent in Reed's eyes. After hearing Su Xiao's words, the murderous intent in Reed's eyes faded.
"If you had come two hundred years earlier, I would have had something to trade with you. I once forged two hammers. One was fire—the one I'm using now. The other was ice. I placed that hammer inside the tomb to suppress a restless fellow."
Reed's meaning was simple: he was poor.
"If you're looking for those three gems, the Shadow Stone has been missing for many years. The Annihilation Stone is somewhere deep in the tomb, but I don't know exactly where. As for the Law Stone... I'm one of the few who knows where it is. The others are probably dead."
"Deal."
Su Xiao extended his hand. He had originally wanted to get some high-quality equipment from Reed, but Reed was somewhat stingy and unwilling to offer too much. Fortunately, the information about the [Law Stone] that Reed mentioned was exactly what Su Xiao wanted. In other words, Su Xiao was taking the opportunity to back down gracefully.
If he asked for nothing and offered to help Reed enter the Void for free, Reed would definitely become suspicious. After all, nothing in this world comes for free. But in this situation, Reed was stingy and unwilling to offer substantial benefits. The once-strongest person in this world didn't seem as generous as one might imagine.