324: Chapter 323 Cooperation? No, it's Conquest

Beneath the dim, grey sky, the energy particles from Erlang Shen's dissipated Clone drifted slowly through the air like fireflies.

Looking at Lin Feng's smiling face so close to her, Princess Yao Ji felt as if her emotions were on a roller coaster.

One second, this man was a peerless hero exuding dominance, sending the War God of the Heavenly Court flying with a single punch—at that moment, her heart had even fluttered slightly.

The next second, he transformed into a petty, mercenary merchant holding a POS machine, ready to swipe her card; the stench of money was so strong it could be smelled from two miles away.

This massive contrast caused the princess, who was accustomed to the intrigues of the Demon Realm and prided herself on having seen it all, to feel like her CPU was overloading; she even felt a bit like hitting someone.

"Lin Feng, let's not beat around the bush."

Princess Yao Ji took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the strange emotions in her heart. She adjusted her slightly messy hair and clothes, striving to recover the arrogance and cold elegance befitting a princess of the Demon Realm.

She tilted her chin up slightly, revealing her slender, swan-like neck. "You saved me, and I will remember this debt; the Demon Race never owes favors. Now that Erlang Shen has retreated, the crisis of this God-Demon Secret Realm has not been resolved. Look..."

She turned her head to look at the colossal object spanning ten thousand miles—the corpse of the Demon God—a flash of undisguisable desire crossing her eyes.

"That is the remains of Grandmaster Pangu. Even a lingering trace of its Origin is enough to make an Immortal King go mad, or even tempt an Immortal Emperor. I know you want it, otherwise you wouldn't have gone through so much trouble to break in here."

Princess Yao Ji held up a pitch-black token that emanated ancient Devilish Qi, speaking confidently, "This is the 'Demon God Token,' which my Imperial Father obtained from an ancient ruin years ago. Only it can open the final Seal on the Demon God's heart orifice—the 'Archaic Great Restriction Array' set up to prevent the loss of Origin."

She looked at Lin Feng, a smile of certain victory curling at the corners of her mouth. "Without this key, you could tear this corpse apart and still never hope to obtain the core Legacy. So... let's cooperate."

"You will be the Protector, blocking the Vicious Beasts attracted by the Devilish Qi; I will be responsible for opening the Seal and guiding the Origin. Once it's done, we'll split the Demon God's Origin fifty-fifty... no, considering you saved me, forty-sixty! Forty for me and sixty for you! This is the maximum concession I can make."

In Princess Yao Ji's view, this was a condition Lin Feng could not refuse. In fact, Lin Feng was getting a huge bargain.

After all, without her, Lin Feng could only stare blankly at the outside of this massive treasure trove.

However...

The smile on Lin Feng's face gradually faded, replaced by a playful look. He was in no hurry to answer. Instead, using the three-pointed double-edged spear he had just seized—which, though a replica, was still incredibly sharp—he nonchalantly cleaned the dust from under his fingernails.

"Cooperate?"

Lin Feng let out a scoff, as if he had heard the world's greatest joke. He stabbed the spear into the ground with a "boom," kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Princess Yao Ji, do you have some misunderstanding of the current situation? Or did that fall earlier break your brain?"

He took a step forward, unceremoniously releasing the pressure of his powerful Physical Body. It pressed down on Princess Yao Ji like a great mountain, forcing her to take half a step back, her breath hitching.

"In my dictionary, the word 'cooperation' does not exist. Especially not with the weak." Lin Feng's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an unquestionable dominance.

"You..." Princess Yao Ji's expression changed, her originally pale cheeks flushing with shame and indignation. "You call me weak? I am the daughter of the Supreme of the Demon Realm! I am a once-in-ten-thousand-years Genius of the Demon Race! You..."

"Don't try to use your father to pressure me. I even dare to rob the Heavenly Court, so why would I care about some Supreme of the Demon Realm?"

Lin Feng cut her off rudely, wagging a finger in front of her. "The current situation is like this; let me break it down for you."

"First, you can't beat me. You saw it just now—even Erlang Shen was beaten like a dog by me. How many moves do you think you can last? One? Or half a move?"

Princess Yao Ji was speechless. This was a cruel fact.

"Second, you are currently heavily injured and were being hunted by Erlang Shen like a stray cat until I saved you. If I hadn't stepped in, you'd already be an 'Erlang Shen Special Edition Specimen' by now."

Princess Yao Ji bit her lip, unable to refute him.

"Third, and most importantly..."

Lin Feng turned around and pointed at the Demon God's corpse, the corners of his mouth curling into an extremely arrogant arc.

"Who told you that opening this thing requires a key? That's a rule for people who follow rules. And I never follow rules."

"Fugui! Stop sleeping! Show her your special skill!"

"Squeak!"

Fugui, who had been playing dead on Lin Feng's shoulder, instantly perked up its little ears upon hearing the command. As if hearing a dinner bell, it instantly transformed into a streak of golden light, rushing toward the heart orifice of the Demon God's corpse.

There was a thick black barrier there, covered in flowing, complex runes that emitted a heart-palpitating repulsive force. This was the "Archaic Great Restriction Array" that Princess Yao Ji claimed required a token to open.

Fugui clung to the barrier, completely ignoring the terrifying energy within. It opened its freakish front teeth—capable of biting through top-tier Immortal Artifacts—and began to gnaw frantically with a "crunch-crunch" sound.

The sound was like someone eating crispy cartilage; it was loud and snappy.

Only three breaths of time passed.

The Seal that had left countless Demon Race experts helpless and was said to be unopenable by anyone without the Demon God's Bloodline was actually gnawed into a half-person-high hole by this mouse!

"Squeak squeak!" (Done! Boss, this tastes a bit like expired biscuits, can I get a raise?) Fugui turned back to claim its credit.

"This... how is this possible?!"

Princess Yao Ji was completely dumbfounded. The Demon God Token in her hand fell to the ground with a "clatter," sinking into the dirt.

She felt her worldview shatter into pieces.

"That is an Archaic Restriction! Even a Quasi-Immortal Emperor couldn't blast it open! Is this mouse a mutant? What was it raised on?"

"The Mutant Edition Treasure-Seeking Mouse—graduated from the Excavator Major at Lanxiang Vocational School. Get to know it."

Lin Feng bent down to pick up the Demon God Token, tossed it casually, and then threw it into his storage ring like trash. "This thing is fine as a souvenir. So, Princess Yao Ji, your bargaining chips have dropped to zero."

Princess Yao Ji's face turned ashen. Her last reliance was gone, and her qualification to negotiate had vanished.

At this moment, she was like a gambler who had lost all her stakes, standing before Lin Feng looking utterly helpless and small.

"Alright, stop looking like it's the end of the world. It's not like I'm going to eat you."

Lin Feng walked up to her and looked down at her with a hint of scrutiny in his eyes. "While I don't accept cooperation, I am short of a temp worker to serve tea and water... oh no, a temp worker to act as a Protector."

"Working for anyone is still working, right? If you work for me, although there are no benefits and you'll have to work 9-to-9 six days a week, at least room and board are included. Plus, I'm not like Erlang Shen, I don't kill people on a whim."

Lin Feng pulled a crumpled contract from his robes (no one knew when he'd written it; it even had a bit of grease on it) and held it out to Princess Yao Ji.

"Sign it. From now on, you are the first Demon Realm Branch Manager of the 'Lin Group Cross-Realm Trading Corporation'."

"As long as you perform well, I can recharge that ring of yours for free. I can even give you pointers to help you break through that Immortal King Bottleneck that's had you stuck for five hundred years."

Princess Yao Ji looked at the contract filled with overbearing clauses stating "all rights of interpretation belong to Party A," then looked at Lin Feng's deep, confident eyes.

Her pride as a princess of the Demon Realm was completely shattered at this moment, then reconstructed.

This man was domineering, shameless, and powerful, yet he possessed a fatal attraction. He was like a massive whirlpool that made one involuntarily want to draw closer, even knowing it was an abyss.

Conquest.

This wasn't cooperation at all; this was blatant conquest!

"Fine... I'll sign."

Princess Yao Ji bit her finger and pressed a bright red fingerprint onto the contract of indenture.

The moment she pressed it down, she actually felt a strange sense of relief, as if she had finally found a mountain she could rely on.

Lin Feng tucked the contract away with satisfaction and patted Princess Yao Ji's fragrant shoulder, flashing the benevolent smile of a capitalist.

"That's more like it, Little Yao. Welcome to the family. Now, as an entry test, take your weapon and stand at the cave entrance. If anyone or any monster dares to approach, kill them without mercy."

"Yes... Boss."

Watching Princess Yao Ji obediently walk to the side to stand guard, Nezha leaned over and gave a thumbs-up with an expression of worship. "Boss, you're amazing! You even took the Demon Realm Princess as your secretary? Can we walk sideways in the Demon Realm from now on? I want to go to the Demon Realm to eat roasted Demon Dragon!"

"Keep it down, keep it down." Lin Feng waved his hand, looking like a transcendent master. "This is called resource integration, and it's also for world peace. Alright, back to work!"