Chapter 728 - 717: A Corporate Drone’s Instinct
Chapter 728: Chapter 717: A Corporate Drone’s Instinct
Clank—clank clank—
The sound of mechanisms turning echoed from the deep passage above, Tanaka guessed that someone was clearly about to come to the underground space of this Magic Prohibition Array.
"Has the Demon King... won already?"
Although he had already heard the outcome from Jiro’s mouth, the conflict ended much quicker than he had anticipated.
"Hey." He nudged Jiro beside him with his elbow, "What should we say when we meet the Demon King?"
"Cough, cough cough!" Jiro frowned, as if enduring something, but still explained, "The Demon King is a smart person, there’s no need to say anything deliberately, he will understand when he sees us."
Saying this, the Foxman tried to stand up by leaning against the stone pillar, Tanaka stepped forward intending to help him, but before his fingertips could touch the fur-shorn arm, Jiro suddenly fell heavily to the ground.
Tanaka immediately stepped forward, lifting his head: "What’s wrong with you...?"
Jiro’s pupils trembled; he seemed equally surprised at his sudden collapse, he could only grasp Tanaka’s sleeve tightly.
"Tell the Demon King..." his voice was already hoarse, sounding somewhat indistinct, "Don’t... try to explore... the sea..."
"What? Don’t explore the sea? Jiro? Jiro?!"
However, Jiro could no longer respond, his arm holding onto the sleeve also fell limp.
Dead he was not, in Tanaka’s eyes, the panel of this fur-bare fox was still there, yet his abilities had indeed severely overexerted his body.
[Comatose]
[Life Force Exhaustion·Middle]
"Jiro? Jiro!" Tanaka tried calling out again, his voice growing louder, echoing around the empty underground space.
No response.
Tanaka quieted down, the concern on his face eased, his hand originally resting on the Foxman’s chest slowly moved to his neck, and he applied pressure bit by bit...
To be fair, the two years of action with Jiro weren’t too bad.
Despite the occasional sacrificial clone and torment of transmitted pain, overall, the Foxman’s predictive simulation abilities meant he was free from fear of unexpected incidents like the Blood Race’s ambush, providing psychological stability.
If likened to a job, Jiro was like a boss who arranged everything, though Tanaka was unaware of the entirety of the orders, he only needed to do his current job well without worrying about other matters.
However, all these were just on the surface.
Before crossing over, his near thirty-year career as a corporate slave, observing people and reading situations was like an ingrained skill within Tanaka.
Tanaka knew, the way Jiro looked at him was akin to how he viewed the discarded members of the Iron Jaw Mercenary Corps.
This Foxman, to change the future, he was indifferent even to sacrificing his own life, let alone Tanaka’s.
And Tanaka was almost certain he was also one of those chess pieces meant to be sacrificed in Jiro’s plan.
Tanaka did not wish to become a sacrificial pawn, even if it was for the "salvation of the world."
In this world, he had no ties, nothing worth risking his life to save.
The reason for following Jiro this far was merely due to being suppressed by the [Restraint] ability.
However, Jiro’s predictive simulation evidently had significant flaws, life depletion being just one point.
As it stands, he seemed not to have predicted his own coma, Tanaka surmised this was because his simulation was based on his status before the simulation commenced, in the simulation he hadn’t reached a level of debility leading to coma.
Regardless, now the power of choice finally returned to Tanaka’s hands, with just a little more effort...
The mechanical sounds within the passageway grew nearer, the clanking of gears meshed with a series of footsteps.
Tanaka raised his head, casting a glance in that direction before lowering his gaze to the hand resting on the Foxman’s neck.
He slowly released his grip.
...
The last mechanism was opened, the Demon King stepped in first, with Mofulei trailing behind, head bowed.
If humans or Dwarves had assassinated the Emperor, then the Empire’s forces would undoubtedly kill the assassin first, then plunge into power reshuffling strife.
However, the Demon King was different, as the founder of the Empire, he had a legitimacy surpassing Mortis, compelling Mortis to only deploy loyal and assured forces against the Demon King.
And now, Mortis abruptly died.
Driven by the tides of change, those loyal to Mortis remained a minority, except those Blood Guards whose wills were twisted.
After the suppression was complete, the Demon King did not rush back to the throne but instead had Mofulei lead him directly to the underground of the Magic Prohibition Array.
The battle with Mortis was exceptionally smooth, the Demon King naturally sensed someone secretly aiding him.
Descending at this moment, it was for a closer examination.
Initially, he merely sought to uncover some clues, yet unexpectedly, the culprit hadn’t left, sitting not far away, watching from that direction.
"You are..." Mofulei initially instinctively wanted to inquire, but immediately recalled her current predicament, she assumed these two were likely the Demon King’s subordinates, hastily silencing herself.
The Demon King, however, raised his eyebrows, instantly recognizing Tanaka, the peculiar Hero who first released him.
Upon seeing the panel of the Foxman Jiro underneath Tanaka, he quickly inferred much of the situation.
Yet Tanaka, gazing at the Demon King’s panel, couldn’t help but blink repeatedly, filled with incredulity.
Compared to their first encounter, much of the obscured information on the Demon King’s panel now revealed itself, enough to view about half the details.
Within the visible details—
[Ultimate Magic Guide]
[Honesty]
[Undying]
[Envy]
There appeared an extra Levelless Skill and two Deadly Sins, among which [Envy] was mysteriously gray.
Nonetheless, it shook Tanaka.
His gaze drifted to the still blurred data, wondering how many special entries might lie among them?
The mere panel sparked a sense of powerless submission within Tanaka.
The Demon King approached step by step, Tanaka’s cold sweat trickled down his temple, looking up, nervously awaiting his fate.
"Thank you for your efforts," a hand, soft and gentle, patted Tanaka’s shoulder, the Demon King placated, "Don’t be nervous, you are safe now, come with me, tell me why you aided me in this."
Under the Demon King’s orders, several members of the Demon Race soon came forward to lift the comatose Foxman, while Tanaka followed behind the Demon King, narrating Jiro’s plan in full—the plan aimed at preventing the world’s doom by mushrooms.
The Demon King did not interrupt throughout, only quietly listening to Tanaka’s account, he merely had some queries about the Foxman’s words before he fell unconscious: "Do not explore... the sea? I know of Chis and the mist there, but there shouldn’t be dangers to render it unexecutable."
Tanaka pointed to Jiro: "Wait until he wakes and ask him."
The Demon King could only nod, considering it a warning from [Restraint], he naturally would handle it cautiously.
Moreover, now he needed to manage the upheaval caused by his return to the Empire; short-term contact with the ocean was not a concern.