396: Sniper

Facing the exaggerated price offered by Mu, Telang felt it was incredibly absurd.

He couldn't fathom how the data for a mere ordinary Arena match could sell for such an unbelievable price, and immediately asked with some doubt:

"'Lin' is just a Cosmic Beast that has only recently emerged. I truly find it hard to understand why Mr. Mu would go to such great lengths to acquire his Arena data."

"Unnecessary, completely unnecessary."

Mu glanced at Telang with disdain and said impolitely, "A frog in a well simply lacks foresight."

"He's different. He's completely unlike you wastes who rely on piling up matches."

"'Lin's' strength is immense. It's said that he only used dozens of matches to enter the top ten thousand."

"His strength is far more than that; the top ten thousand is merely a stepping stone he is destined to cross on his path of growth."

"Information about 'Lin' is more valuable than you imagine."

"You only need to answer whether you will sell the information. You don't need to say any other nonsense."

"You better think carefully. If you drag this out any longer, your information could depreciate at any time."

In the Law Arena, even the same ranking has distinctions of high and low, strong and weak.

The fewer matches used to reach the current rank, the stronger the Cosmic Beast's power and potential.

It is very necessary to collect information on these infinitely potential Cosmic Beasts as a precautionary measure.

As long as Mu possesses detailed information about Lin Tianwei, he can specifically target him, defeat Lin Tianwei in high-difficulty matches, and earn a huge amount of points.

Origin energy is important, but only for Cosmic Beasts below the Immortal-level.

Cosmic Beasts above the Immortal-level focus more on comprehending laws, so points in the Law Arena are especially valuable.

Even with a ninety-nine percent commission, there are still Cosmic Beasts who engage in illegal point trading by selling body templates.

Spending a lot of origin energy to acquire information about Lin Tianwei might seem unworthy, but if Mu can use the information to defeat Lin Tianwei in one match and earn a large number of points, it would be a guaranteed profit.

Of course, this was Mu's thought when he didn't know Lin Tianwei's true battle record. Dozens of matches were already his attempt to overestimate Lin Tianwei's strength.

He couldn't imagine a Cosmic Beast being able to rank within the top ten thousand in single-digit matches.

Such existences have appeared in the history of the Law Arena, but they were all beings Mu only dared to look up to cautiously.

If he had known Lin Tianwei's true battle record, Mu would never have conceived the idea of ambushing Lin Tianwei.

Telang's face changed drastically after being severely scorned by Mu, but he ultimately endured it, gritting his teeth and saying:

"Sell, I'll sell, but you have to pay the origin energy first."

Mu's words, though ruthless, were an undeniable fact that Telang couldn't refute.

Most importantly, Mu represented the Intelligence Pavilion, the largest intelligence organization in the Law Arena, an existence he absolutely couldn't afford to offend.

As for why he demanded Mu pay the origin energy first, it wasn't that Telang didn't trust Mu and the Intelligence Pavilion's credibility; he simply feared Mu would renege on the deal after learning the match data.

After all, in this match, he had done nothing but been utterly crushed by Lin Tianwei.

In other words, the information he could provide was minimal, and if Mu gave him a hard time, he would truly be at a loss for words.

"Ding, your Tongbao Bank account has received one million units of origin energy."

Mu said nothing; his actions were his best answer.

After receiving the origin energy, Telang also breathed a slight sigh of relief and immediately transmitted the data from the last match to Mu.

Mu was right; intelligence has a shelf life, and if he delayed any longer, his information might become worthless.

After receiving the match data, Mu said with satisfaction, "Consider yourself sensible."

He immediately and eagerly extracted the match data and began to observe it carefully.

If he could discover Lin Tianwei's weakness through this match data, then this transaction would be considered a guaranteed profit.

However, Mu never imagined that what Telang gave him was merely data from a one-sidedly crushed match.

The value of information about Lin Tianwei was not nonexistent, but rather pitifully scarce.

As expected, Mu's expression grew increasingly grim as he read, and he soon roared in anger:

"Telang, you idiot, how dare you trick me?"

The thought of eagerly seeking out Telang and wasting a full one million units of origin energy on this trash data filled Mu with regret.

However, the cunning Telang had already fled far away, so how could Mu find him to retract the recent transaction?

He could only console himself helplessly, "Oh well, it's not entirely without gain."

"Even Telang was so utterly crushed; at least it proves that 'Lin's' strength is greater than I imagined."

"In this way, although the difficulty of defeating 'Lin' increases, the operational space also expands significantly, providing more opportunities to be matched with 'Lin'."

"Mental shockwave? He hadn't used this Talent before. I need to pay close attention to it; I can't afford to stumble in a hidden pit."

With his mind racing, Mu finally devised a relatively reasonable plan. He immediately called his subordinate, Ruiao, and said:

"A new prodigy named 'Lin' has recently appeared in the Law Arena. His strength is formidable and extraordinary."

"Execute my plan, and you will have a very high probability of being matched with 'Lin'."

"With your strength, defeating 'Lin' should be an easy matter."

"Go, hunt this delicious prey, and bring back a large amount of points."

Facing Mu's command, Ruiao spoke like a robot, without any emotional fluctuation:

"Yes, Master."

"I will strictly execute your plan."

Ruiao's true identity was actually a Slave, a Slave specifically designed to cooperate with Mu's plan by manipulating rankings and evaluations, all for the purpose of hunting newly emerging Cosmic Beasts like Lin Tianwei.

Becoming famous also means enduring greater risks.

Although ordinary Slaves are prohibited from accessing the Law Arena, the universe is vast, Talents are numerous, and there are countless ways to control Cosmic Beasts.

It's not just the Mech Clan's control chips that can control other Cosmic Beasts.

Large organizations like the Intelligence Pavilion control a number of special Slaves, precisely for use in critical moments like this.

A plan targeting Lin Tianwei was quietly brewing... On the other side, Lin Tianwei was still waiting in the waiting room for the match results, unaware that he had been targeted by Mu and become a juicy target in his eyes.

Of course, even if Lin Tianwei knew, he wouldn't care. He was already frustrated that the matching speed was too slow to find suitable opponents.

Ambush him?

These Cosmic Beasts ambushing him had better be faster and more numerous, allowing him to compete non-stop and earn countless points.

"Ding, congratulations on a successful match. Your opponent is Ruiao."

"Name: Ruiao."

"Ranking: 26254."

"Rating: Excellent (Enjoy a 20% challenge point bonus upon victory)."

"Please confirm whether to enter the Arena."

Here, one has to admire Mu's efficiency. Just as Lin Tianwei thought he wouldn't find an opponent, the Law Arena sent a successful match notification.

Although he was somewhat puzzled by Ruiao's rating and ranking, feeling that he shouldn't be matched with such an ordinary opponent, Lin Tianwei still chose to confirm without hesitation.

No Cosmic Beast could scare Lin Tianwei away with just a name.

In Ruiao's waiting room, looking at the extremely familiar name on the match result, Ruiao's eyes were filled with adoration for Mu, and he murmured:

"Master is indeed prescient; he easily matched me with the target, 'Lin'."

"Now I just need to follow Master's plan, complete this hunt for 'Lin', and acquire a large number of points."

At this point, Ruiao's eyes flashed with brilliant light, and he said firmly, "Master's perfect plan will never fail!"

As a Slave, Ruiao's mind and will were far from normal, possessing a mysterious confidence in Mu.

However, his words were not baseless but supported by reliable data.

In Ruiao's memory, Mu's hunting plans had a 100% success rate!

...After both sides confirmed, Lin Tianwei and Ruiao were simultaneously teleported to the Arena.

To ensure the difficulty of the match, Ruiao also did not choose a terrain, so this match used the default terrain—the Arena.

Aside from having no audience, this Arena, which appeared in the opening remarks, was indeed very suitable for a blood-pumping match.

Looking forward, Lin Tianwei first saw a splash of red, a blood-like red—this was a Cosmic Beast almost entirely crimson, now quietly suspended in the air.

Ruiao looked like an enlarged lizard, covered in blood-red hard scales, clearly indicating formidable defense.

On his back, he even had a pair of wings, broad and powerful.

However, these wings seemed to be ornamental, or perhaps had other uses, as they didn't flap yet still allowed Ruiao to float silently in the air.

Behind Ruiao was a thick and powerful tail, not only covered with a row of ferocious barbs, but its tip was also as sharp as a blade, boasting immense attack power.

However, the most striking feature was Ruiao's pair of Sharp Teeth.

Although only loosely clenched, they gave Lin Tianwei a sense of immense power, as if they could easily tear apart everything.

Ruiao's appearance differed from most Cosmic Beasts Lin Tianwei had seen, especially in color, where he was unique.

In the universe, most Cosmic Beasts are dark-colored, as the principle of the nail that sticks out gets hammered down also applies in the universe.

Ruiao possessing such a striking color could only mean he was extremely confident in his own strength, so confident that he wasn't afraid of being exposed in the enemy's line of sight.

As if sensing Lin Tianwei observing him, Ruiao let out a disdainful roar that echoed throughout the Arena.

His blood-gem-like eyes scrutinized Lin Tianwei from above, as if looking at an insignificant ant.

His muscles were tensed, ready to pounce at any moment and tear Lin Tianwei to shreds.

Facing Ruiao's provocation, Lin Tianwei remained unmoved. Exchanging trash talk held no meaning for him.

He would only tear apart the enemy's body, using flesh and blood to prove their arrogant ignorance.

3... 2... 1... The moment the waiting time ended, Ruiao directly swooped down, launching the most unadorned attack on Lin Tianwei.

Talent Template: Space Lockdown (King)!

Ruiao's seemingly foolish attack naturally had its reasons; this Talent Template, capable of locking down space, was his greatest reliance in daring to provoke Lin Tianwei.

Facing the already locked-down space and the utterly unusable Instantaneous Movement, Lin Tianwei directly used Talent Template: Speed Burst (King).

In a sense, the Space Lockdown was actually an advantage for Lin Tianwei.

With the assistance of Talent Template: Speed Burst (King), his speed would not be much slower than Instantaneous Movement.

Conversely, Ruiao's inability to use Instantaneous Movement severely restricted his own mobility.

No sooner said than done.

Under the burst of Talent Template: Speed Burst (King), Lin Tianwei was as fast as lightning, easily dodging Ruiao's attack.

Not only that, but Lin Tianwei also seized the opening left by Ruiao's dive, leaped up, opened his large mouth, and bit towards Ruiao's neck.

For a Cosmic Beast, the neck might not be a weakness, but Lin Tianwei's Sharp Teeth, enchanted with Flames of Destruction, were different.

Once Lin Tianwei bit his neck, Ruiao would either die or be crippled.

With the assistance of Talent Template: Speed Burst (King), Lin Tianwei's speed was extremely fast, and this bite was a sure hit.

However, just as the Sharp Teeth were about to touch Ruiao's neck, Ruiao's body suddenly vanished from beneath Lin Tianwei, reappearing at a higher altitude, and using this aerial advantage, he launched another air strike at Lin Tianwei.

His attack missed?

Could it be that the opponent possessed higher Agility and a stronger acceleration Talent Template than him?

However, what happened next told Lin Tianwei that Ruiao's speed was definitely not faster than his.

Because Lin Tianwei easily dodged Ruiao's dive again, effortlessly, without breaking a sweat. It was clear that Ruiao's speed was not as fast as Lin Tianwei's.

This abnormal situation made Lin Tianwei ponder, wondering why this illogical scene was unfolding before him.

As Lin Tianwei patiently observed, he finally discovered the truth of the matter the third time Ruiao mysteriously disappeared; the fleeting Space Energy was the best answer.

This space was indeed locked down, but this lockdown only applied to Lin Tianwei; Ruiao was not affected at all.

It was by relying on this BUG-like ability of Instantaneous Movement that Ruiao was able to turn the tide multiple times, not only escaping from Lin Tianwei's Sharp Teeth but also regaining an advantageous position.

This was Ruiao's special ability: being able to use Space-type Talents even under Space Lockdown.

One has to admit that this ability, where "you can't use it, but I can," is somewhat overpowered.

However, Ruiao's speed was simply too slow; he couldn't possibly attack Lin Tianwei, and after several rounds, neither side had touched the other.

Following this trend, unless one side ran out of stamina first, this match had no chance of ending.

This situation made Lin Tianwei very puzzled. Could it be that the opponent participated in the match just to play an interesting game of hide-and-seek with him?

Or was it simply to waste each other's time? (End of this chapter)