Feng Yuanzheng's eager attitude showed Zhou Ming an Opportunity.
There was no doubt that his situation, not being from Earth and his world not yet visited by the Main God, was not unique.
So, what did other Reincarnators in the same predicament do?
Judging by Feng Yuanzheng's attitude, it was highly likely that those Reincarnators had immediately sold their worlds, acting as guides, cooperating with other teams and even legions to seize huge profits and get rich quickly.
Such a situation, though not common, was certainly not too rare.
If it were too common, Feng Yuanzheng wouldn't be so urgent and excited; if it were too rare, Feng Yuanzheng likely wouldn't even know relevant information, or if he knew by chance, his attitude would be even more urgent and excited.
'Since that's the case, don't blame me for being ruthless,' Zhou Ming sneered, but on his face, he feigned hesitation, gritting his teeth and saying, "Alright, Boss Feng, since you've spoken, I naturally trust you. Let's sign the agreement then, and let the Main God witness the beginning of our cooperation!"
Feng Yuanzheng was overjoyed. Without thinking, he immediately pulled something out from his person and showed it to Zhou Ming.
"Team Assembly Order, a one-time consumable item. As long as team members are in the same world, no matter how far apart they are, they can instantly assemble next to the item's user."
Feng Yuanzheng said, "This thing is worth at least 20,000 in the Main God Space, and it's hard to find. As collateral, Boss Zhou can rest assured, right?"
Ignores distance? Even if two team members are a galaxy apart, it still works?
If used well, this item could completely save a teammate's life from danger, or even win a team battle.
Zhou Ming secretly clicked his tongue and couldn't help but say, "The Yuanzheng Team is indeed an eight-star team; its resources are truly abundant."
Feng Yuanzheng smiled smugly and said, "Then let's sign the agreement."
As his voice fell, the token in his hand quietly disappeared, replaced by a parchment scroll and a pen.
"Oh, the Main God has gone retro recently."
Feng Yuanzheng laughed heartily and unfolded the parchment scroll for Zhou Ming to see.
Zhou Ming took the parchment scroll and said in surprise, "You can exchange items in a story world?"
"Eight-star authority, I can only exchange for things like agreements." Feng Yuanzheng said proudly, "Little Zhou, believe in yourself. Our cooperation is mutually beneficial, and you'll soon have the same authority as me."
Zhou Ming smiled without speaking, read through the content on the parchment scroll, and said, "The agreement needs to be changed. We need to be open and honest, not just a one-way transparency of information where I speak and you listen."
"Haha, no problem." Feng Yuanzheng's smile was amiable: "Boss Zhou only needs to provide enough collateral to change it."
Zhou Ming's eyes narrowed, feeling a little displeased.
If he couldn't produce collateral equivalent to the Team Assembly Order, Zhou Ming would be at a disadvantage in information exchange, and it was foreseeable that this disadvantage would accompany their cooperation throughout.
If he produced collateral, Feng Yuanzheng would be able to discern clues from it and know a lot of information in advance.
Cooperation hadn't even begun, and Feng Yuanzheng was already scheming against him.
However, as soon as he thought that he was also scheming against the other party from the start, Zhou Ming immediately felt relieved.
"Alright." Zhou Ming narrowed his eyes and smiled, taking out the Nine Yin Profound Heaven Sword.
"I'll use this as collateral."
Feng Yuanzheng's eyes widened: "This kind of equipment... are you sure?"
"Of course, it's just collateral, it's not like I won't get it back." Zhou Ming shrugged and then smiled brightly, "Boss Feng wouldn't take the Opportunity to attack me, would he?"
"No, of course not." Feng Yuanzheng gave an awkward smile, feeling a sense of pressure rise within him.
"Then let's revise the agreement."
The new agreement was quickly revised. Both parties had to provide enough information for exchange until one party believed that no further information exchange was needed.
Of course, the exchanged information was limited to the scope of their cooperation and could not go beyond the outline. A total of more than eighty various clauses and conditions were added, making both of them frown.
"Did we really add these one by one?"
The two looked at each other, but no one deleted any clause. Instead, both were very satisfied and finalized the agreement.
"Now you can speak freely, right?"
Seeing the agreement split into two copies, with each holding one, Feng Yuanzheng said somewhat impatiently.
"Of course, but for fairness, how about we exchange information by asking each other questions?"
..."Is it really necessary?" Feng Yuanzheng stared.
"Are you going to exchange or not?"
"Exchange, exchange, exchange! Who goes first?"
"You first. It's my turn."
"???" Feng Yuanzheng was completely speechless: "That counts?"
"It counts! That's two questions." Zhou Ming said with a smile, "Boss Feng, don't ask any more, it'll be rude."
Feng Yuanzheng: "...Look at the Makankosappo in my hand and say that again?"
...The difficult mutual questioning session gradually came to an end with the "friendly" exchange between the two parties. Although both sides exhibited irrational behavior in between, the final result was still relatively satisfactory to both.
After a considerable amount of exchange and understanding of each other's intelligence, the two finally began to enter the cooperation negotiation phase.
In this phase, both sides broke out into even more intense arguments, at one point their tempers flared so much that they were on the verge of fighting. The air was filled with a strong smell of gunpowder, ready to explode at any moment.
Fortunately, both of them ultimately retained their basic rationality and did not actually fight. After multiple "friendly consultations," a first draft of the cooperation plan was outlined.
Then, this cooperation plan was quickly overturned in the bargaining between the two.
After that, a second, third, and fourth wave of discussions took place. The endless arguments bothered Qin Wumeng, Kaka, and Feng Jianye.
At first, they would be nervous about the situation that could break out into a fight at any moment, but later, realizing that the two's arguments were only to strive for more benefits, they simply stopped bothering with them.
Finally, this negotiation stumbled to a final result. A "Team Cooperation Agreement," signed by both parties, was divided into two copies and fell into their hands.
"Happy cooperation!"
The moment they received the agreement, the faces that had been full of anger just minutes before immediately became all smiles, and they shook hands very amicably.
"Boss Feng, now that the agreement is signed, it's time to show your sincerity, isn't it?" Zhou Ming said with a smile.
"Of course, it depends on Boss Zhou's methods. Please!"
Feng Yuanzheng did not dally, leaving here and walking towards his teammates.
"Let's go. Abandon the main mission; this place has nothing to do with us anymore."
"Have the Mission Failure Exemption Orders ready. No need to save them; we'll earn more in the future."
Kaka and Feng Jianye silently followed Feng Yuanzheng. They didn't know whether using a valuable Exemption Order was a loss or a gain, but they chose to trust Feng Yuanzheng.
The Yuanzheng Team left, and in the vast underground cave, only Zhou Ming and Qin Wumeng remained, along with an unconscious Yagyu Killing God.
"Captain." Qin Wumeng walked up, opened her mouth as if to ask something, but nothing came out.
Although she hadn't deliberately listened to Zhou Ming and Feng Yuanzheng's conversation, she had learned quite a bit from their fragmented words.
This made her feel inexplicably complex, with a "I was here first" kind of painful feeling.
"Do I need to explain to you?" Zhou Ming asked seriously.
"No, no need..." Qin Wumeng shook her head: "Of course you have your reasons for not saying anything. I know that when you think I need to know, you will tell me everything."
"You're right!" Zhou Ming felt greatly relieved.
"Alright, you step back first. I'll finish the final cleanup work. It's time for this mission to end."
Beneath Zhou Ming's feet, the Deep Root Gu was activated, and roots grew outwards into the earth.
The ground beneath his feet suddenly rumbled and hummed. Qin Wumeng dared not disturb Zhou Ming and quickly retreated, entering the passage to wait.
The Wood Charm Gu was quietly activated. Zhou Ming felt an extraordinary control over the surrounding vegetation. His "vision" extended with the roots spreading underground, gradually exploring all the roots of the entire bronze dream tree scattered in the soil.
Tracing back to the source, Zhou Ming wanted to find the origin of the bronze dream tree's growth.
Completely incongruous with the one-meter-tall sapling above ground was the vast, intricate root system underground, some extending over a hundred meters, covering a considerable area beneath the earth.
"Such a massive root system, tsk, digging it out without damage is quite difficult, and whether the bronze dream tree can survive in a new environment is still a question."
The Deep Root Gu continued to spread, quickly surpassing the bronze dream tree's root development, gradually loosening the soil, and constantly approaching the bronze dream tree's roots.
From the thick roots grown by the Deep Root Gu, slender rootlets emerged, drawing close to the bronze dream tree's roots, meticulously coiling around each root, regardless of its thickness.
When the hundred-meter-long root system was completely enveloped and secured, it began to exert force, intending to pull out the entire bronze dream tree, roots and all.
"Huh?" Just then, Zhou Ming felt resistance appear. The soil was no longer soft, and the Deep Root Gu could only expend greater effort and consume more True Qi to dig through the mud.
"Dragon Vein?"
Zhou Ming sneered, bursting forth with greater power, forcibly tearing through all obstacles and compressing the surrounding soil.
Rumble... A series of tremors came from underground, rapidly increasing in magnitude, gradually turning into earth-shaking quakes. Qin Wumeng, in the distance, found it difficult to stand steadily. Her heart was filled with awe, and she carried Yagyu Killing God, continuously retreating.
Crack, crack. Cracks appeared on the surrounding rock walls. A small pebble fell, and then more stones clattered down.
The entire underground cave began to collapse.
Zhou Ming stretched out his hands, and vines surged from his palms, growing rapidly, intertwining and branching, quickly filling the entire cavity and solidifying quickly, supporting the cavity from being buried by the collapse.
Hundreds of tons of soil were turned over, and the entire bronze dream tree was finally extracted little by little.
The massive root system almost occupied the entire underground cavity. Zhou Ming gently combed the soft root stalks with the gentlest possible force, shrinking the volume of the entire bronze dream tree.
"Whoosh!" The bronze dream tree was put into the Doushuai Grass Gu, and the entire underground space immediately became empty.
"Kill Yagyu Killing God!" Zhou Ming roared.
Qin Wumeng immediately drew her gun, blowing off half of Yagyu Killing God's skullcap with a single shot, blood mixed with brain matter splattering everywhere.
[Mission complete, returning immediately!]
The next moment, Zhou Ming and Qin Wumeng's figures vanished into thin air, and along with them, the supporting vine roots of the entire underground cavity also disappeared.
"Rumble..."
The underground cavity immediately began to collapse. The tremors underground grew stronger and stronger, gradually spreading throughout Yunxia Mountain, transmitting along the mountain range. The surrounding mountains and even this section of the Changyun River began to surge with waves.
A massive earthquake, shaking for hundreds of miles, further exacerbated the already precarious Great Qi Dynasty, leading to widespread chaos and continuous rebellions.
In the imperial court, in the Jianghu, people fought for fame and profit, with flashing swords and endless conflicts.
The fourth story world ends. Next is a long story in the Gu World. thank you for your support~