354: Cooperation? (3k words in the first update)

Tenth Competition Zone.

When Lin Yang arrived, the place was already bustling with people.

There were a thousand contestants alone, and including their friends and companions, each competition zone had at least three to five thousand people.

In the center of the competition zone was a special space, large enough to accommodate a thousand people in a free-for-all.

Of course, no one would die here; the Universe Alliance had a special protection mechanism to ensure that every contestant was teleported out of the arena before death.

As for what kind of protection mechanism it was, the Universe Alliance never specified, and no news about it had ever been revealed.

However, the Cosmic Competition had been held for countless sessions without a single accident, which showed how powerful and safe this special protection mechanism was.

It was precisely for this reason that every Cosmic Competition attracted participants from various Universes.

Since no one would die, and coming here could broaden one's horizons, even if eliminated in the First Stage, one could still receive some encouraging rewards.

Under these advantageous circumstances, the Cosmic Competition became the most unprecedented and grandest event.

Lin Yang was observing the situation of the entire competition zone.

There was still a day until the official start of the competition, so there was no need to rush into the arena.

Suddenly—

"Your Excellency Lin Yang, hello, I am Black Le, the person in charge of Universe 657. It's a pleasure to meet you here."

A middle-aged man approached Lin Yang with a smile and greeted him.

"Uh... Hello, Black Le." Lin Yang instinctively returned the greeting, then asked with some confusion, "Do you know me?"

"Haha, you're too kind. Your name is known to everyone in the Sixth Neutral Universe. I was fortunate enough to see your image relayed by our Universe's Resident Representative (Resident Representative) there," Black Le said with a smile.

"Oh..."

Lin Yang immediately understood.

This was probably another Universe that wanted to try inviting him again.

Sure enough, the next moment he heard this person say, "Have you still not considered accepting an invitation from a Universe?"

"Yes, that's right," Lin Yang nodded. "I have no such intention. If you are still planning to invite me, please spare your breath."

It wasn't that Lin Yang was arrogant, but he was truly a bit speechless by these self-proclaimed Universe representatives and people in charge.

He had emphasized several times that he would not accept invitations, yet they still kept approaching him. Anyone would get annoyed by this.

"Understood." Black Le also nodded with a smile, then said, "Don't worry, I'm not here to invite you to represent our Universe in the competition. Instead, I'd like to discuss a small cooperation with you."

"Cooperation?" Lin Yang raised an eyebrow. "What kind of cooperation?"

"You are competing alone this time, and you will be at a disadvantage in a free-for-all. Even if you are powerful, you will still be at a great disadvantage. I believe you are well aware of this."

Black Le began.

"The cooperation I want to discuss with you is that all the contestants from our Universe can fight for you, ensuring your advancement."

"What do you mean?" Lin Yang frowned.

"It's simple. This kind of free-for-all, fighting alone, consumes a lot of energy, especially in the early stages when everyone is full of energy. Even a powerful individual can easily be surrounded and eliminated."

Black Le explained.

"Our contestants can block all attacks for you in the front. You only need to conserve your strength and energy until our contestants are eliminated."

Lin Yang's eyes immediately narrowed slightly.

This was possible?

He looked at Black Le, somewhat confused: "Isn't the division of zones random? How many contestants do you have in this competition zone?"

"You are unaware, although the division of zones is random, the First Stage's drawing mechanism prioritizes matching contestants from the same Universe. As long as contestants from the same Universe report in at the exact same second, there's a very high chance they can be matched into the same competition group."

Black Le explained.

"Of course, this limit is only about ten people. The remaining twenty will be assigned to different competition zones."

"It can be like this?" Lin Yang was startled. "Didn't they say the drawing was absolutely random?"

"Haha, it is random. This is just a priority mechanism, because the First Stage's thousand-person competition is very brutal, so it prioritizes matching some members from the same Universe. It's considered giving some ordinary Universe contestants a chance. Once the Second Stage begins, there will be no such priority mechanism; it will be absolutely random," Black Le explained again.

"Oh... only ten members from the same Universe will be matched in one competition zone. What about the remaining twenty? If they are scattered, wouldn't that be a disadvantage?" Lin Yang asked again.

"There's no helping that. That just means the twenty who weren't matched together had bad luck. The Universe Alliance places great importance on luck," Black Le shrugged.

"Places great importance on luck?" Lin Yang felt a strange sensation in his heart.

But at this moment, he wasn't in the mood to ponder deeply. Instead, he pointed at the arena and said, "So, according to you, besides your ten team members, this competition zone might also encounter teams from other Universes?"

"Yes, so typically, Universes that know each other will seek out alliances. Even if they can't ultimately win, being able to hold on longer and improve their ranking is still very good."

Black Le nodded and said.

After speaking, he looked at Lin Yang: "Therefore, I said that if you fight alone, you will be at a great disadvantage."

Lin Yang's eyes flickered. He looked at Black Le and slowly said, "If we cooperate, what do I have to give?"

As his words fell, before Black Le could answer, Lin Yang added, "Of course, if you're going to ask me to represent your Universe in the subsequent battles, then there's no need to discuss further."

"Haha, don't worry, I'm not so lacking in self-awareness as to reach that level."

Black Le laughed heartily, then said:

"Our team members will fully protect you, and you only need to try your best to help one of our contestants advance with you. These are our terms for cooperation!"

"Help one of your contestants advance with me?"

Lin Yang couldn't help but frown and said,

"Black Le, you clearly understand the competition better than I do. You should know that in this situation, apart from the seeded contestants cultivated by those Universe Countries, no one can be 100% sure of advancing, let alone bringing someone else along. The difficulty doubles. This doesn't seem like a good deal for me."

"Your Excellency Lin Yang, I understand perfectly. But rest assured, our contestant's strength is not bad either. Although he can't compare to you, he is also a Primary Super Gene Warrior. With you and him working together, the probability of both of you advancing will only be greater," Black Le said with confidence.

"Primary Super Gene Warrior?"

Lin Yang looked at Black Le with some surprise, then asked in confusion, "A contestant of that power level, with the protection of other contestants, should be able to advance without much trouble, right? There's no need to find me, is there?"

Although nearly two thousand Universes' contestants participated in the Cosmic Competition, to be honest, not many Universes possessed Primary Super Gene Warrior contestants.

After all, the strength of most Universes was quite ordinary.

There were only a handful of powerful Universes.

The power level of a Primary Super Gene Warrior was considered among the top in this Cosmic Competition.

He had originally thought Black Le's Universe was an ordinary Universe, which was why he approached him, hoping to have him help one of their Universe's contestants advance. He didn't expect it to be a Universe with a Primary Super Gene Warrior contestant.

A Primary Super Gene Warrior, advancing in the First Stage, would almost certainly encounter no surprises, especially with teammates protecting him.

It was a bit strange that Black Le sought him out.

If it were an ordinary Universe, with no hope of their contestants advancing to the Second Stage, then approaching him would be understandable. After all, for every rank higher, the benefits obtained would increase significantly. Advancing to the Second Stage would bring greater benefits to both the contestant himself and his Universe.

But for a Universe with a Super Gene Warrior to still seek cooperation was very strange.

Facing Lin Yang's confusion, Black Le explained with a smile:

"Firstly, our contestant only recently became a Super Gene Warrior, and secondly, it's also to ensure advancement."

"After all, in this thousand-person free-for-all situation, as you just said, apart from the seeded contestants cultivated by those Universe Countries, no one can guarantee their own advancement."

"Oh..." Lin Yang's eyes flickered.

This reason... although a bit forced, it wasn't entirely unacceptable.

It's just... "Black Le, I have a certain level of confidence in myself. This cooperation doesn't offer me much benefit."

Lin Yang looked at Black Le.

While working together would indeed increase the chances of successful advancement.

He didn't need to do so to advance to the Second Stage.

That contestant from this Universe Country, while not exactly a burden, what if something unexpected happened?

Agreeing meant taking on an extra responsibility. This condition alone wasn't enough to make him agree to this cooperation.

Black Le was not surprised, and still smiled, saying, "Of course, we also know that this is not a profitable deal for Your Excellency Lin Yang. Therefore, on this basis, we are willing to additionally offer fifty ordinary quality Extraordinary Active Substances and fifty medium quality Extraordinary Active Substances."

"Give me Active Substances?" Lin Yang was somewhat astonished.

"Yes." Black Le nodded.

"Oh... you're quite willing to spend," Lin Yang chuckled.

Extraordinary Active Substances were actually very valuable.

Especially since fifty of them were of medium quality.

Medium quality Extraordinary Active Substances were ten times more valuable than ordinary Extraordinary Active Substances.

This was roughly equivalent to five hundred ordinary Active Substances.

This amount was not small.

Even though the Silver-haired woman had said he could obtain Active Substances within any Life planet in his Home Universe.

Strictly speaking, those Active Substances could not be called true Extraordinary Active Substances.

The extraordinary activity within each was pitifully small.

Perhaps dozens or hundreds of them would only be equivalent to one ordinary Extraordinary Active Substance.

After all, even if the existence that scattered the Universe was too powerful, it wouldn't be so extravagant as to scatter true Active Substances.

Those things were merely tinged with some extraordinary activity.

And the conditions Black Le offered now could be described as generous.

However, this made Lin Yang even more confused:

"Black Le, with such generous conditions, if you simply approach other powerful Universes, you should also be able to secure cooperation, right? That would be much more reliable than cooperating with me."

"After all, you should also know that I only recently became a Medium Super Gene Warrior."

He looked at Black Le, his eyes flickering.

—

This is a three-thousand-character chapter, equivalent to one and a half regular chapters. There will be another three-thousand-character chapter later, so today is equivalent to three regular chapters!

Thank you, Brother Tao Xiaotao, for the reward! Bowing to you, Brother!

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