Episode 148

Situ Jin was stunned by this invitation and stared at Su Jin in disbelief. To him, they were like police and thief.

“Of course, I’m just extending the invitation to you. If you don’t want to, I won’t force you to,” explained Su Jin. He was inviting Situ Jin to join the team even though this man had a strange way of thinking because he was a good guy who was reliable and responsible, and he had also saved his family from harm, so this was a way of repaying the favor.

“What happens when I join a team? Do I get any benefits?” Situ Jin enquired instead of turning the offer down straightaway.

Su Jin explained patiently, “Of course there are. Operating as a team in a Challenge will reduce your chances of having to fight alongside weaker owners or owners with ill intentions, so the chances of surviving a Challenge will increase. Also, you get some extra points for being part of a team. It isn’t much, but it’s better than nothing.”

Situ Jin’s eyes lit up. He hesitated for a moment, then asked, “What’s your team called?”

“I’m from Team Boning Knife,” said Su Jin.

“I’m in!” Situ Jin immediately nodded and agreed to join the team. His sudden change in attitude surprised Su Jin.

“I’ve heard of Team Boning Knife. I heard you guys completed a Level A Challenge perfectly, which means that your team is really formidable.”

Su Jin was surprised that even Situ Jin had heard of his team before.

“I won’t say that we’re really that formidable, honestly. The team has three members now, and we’re all veterans. Three teams were involved in that Level A Challenge actually, but the rest…unfortunately did not survive,” said Su Jin with a sigh. That Challenge was a painful memory for him. A large number of owners had died in the process, including Yang Mo and Ning Meng, two of his own.

Situ Jin nodded and said, “Either way, you still managed to survive it and even completed it perfectly. I believe that even if others do ask me to join their teams, they might not be more formidable than yours, so I choose to join your team.”

His decisiveness really floored Su Jin. Was this man seriously just joining the team because of that one achievement?

But since Situ Jin was willing to join, Su Jin did not hesitate any longer. He took his Handbook out and said, “Put your hand here.”

Situ Jin placed his hand on Su Jin’s Handbook, then Su Jin squeezed a drop of his blood onto it, which caused a black smoke to rise, turn into a demon’s hand over Situ Jin’s, then shattered to form the team’s emblem that Situ Jin could move about on his body.

“That’s the symbol of our team. We’re the only ones with that, anybody else with that are imitations!” said Su Jin with a laugh. Then he added, “Because you’ve joined our team, the time of your next Challenge has shifted backwards. Our team’s next Challenge is happening a week from now, so I hope to see you there.”

“Got it.” Situ Jin nodded, then said, “I’ll make sure your family’s kept safe too. Once I get back to my office, I’ll arrange for a small team to watch over them. I don’t think those fellows would try anything funny if the government is involved.”

Su Jin didn’t expect Situ Jin to offer something like this, but he quickly realized that since Situ Jin was the cautious type, he was probably doing this not only to protect Su Jin’s family members but to use it to keep Su Jin in check. If Su Jin tried to hurt him during a Challenge or anything like that, Situ Jin was going to fight back.

This behavior wasn’t offensive to Su Jin, since it was only natural for a person to try and protect themselves in whatever way they could. Besides, his family members would get protection in return.

His family’s safety had always been a concern of his because he couldn’t guarantee their safety unless he was with them all the time. But they had their own lives to live, and he couldn’t possibly force them to follow him around like a pet either.

“Thanks then,” said Su Jin. He called Kano Mai over so that he could introduce them and help them to get to know each other better since they were now team mates.

Kano Mai was clearly surprised that Situ Jin was now part of the team and she didn’t understand why Su Jin allowed him to join either. To her, Situ Jin was a dangerous character. She hadn’t forgotten how he and his team had barged into their house.

“Not everyone stays an enemy forever, but everyone can be friends as long as there’s something to gain from it.” That was Situ Jin’s way of thinking. He didn’t like being part of Su Jin’s team either, but he needed to become more powerful and Su Jin’s team was a great place for that to happen.

“Thanks for being so honest!” Su Jin wasn’t sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing, but an honest team mate was definitely better than having to guard against a team mate who kept plotting against you.

Was Situ Jin really honest? Perhaps not. As the head of the Department of Supernatural Affairs, the most mysterious and secretive department of the government, he had to coordinate people from many departments while keeping everything top secret. If he were too honest and open all the time, he wouldn’t have made it this far.

But at the same time, Situ Jin was a very intelligent man. He knew whom he could scheme against, and whom he could not. Su Jin was not someone he could fool easily, so he quickly chose to be honest with him.

It was late and Su Jin couldn’t sleep, so he decided to pay Hell’s Bar a visit with his team mates. Situ Jin had never been there before, so he was really surprised that such a place even existed.

Once inside, Su Jin tried to contact Chu Yi, but he seemed very busy and did not respond immediately. Su Jin proceeded to introduce Hell’s Bar to Situ Jin as well as the concept of multiple universes.

The concept of multiple universes made Situ Jin fall into deep thought. This wasn’t something he had thought about at all. To him, the planet he was on was the only one that existed.

Su Jin also briefly went through the Challenges he had completed. After understanding more about enemy missions, Elder Gods and more, Situ Jin felt his head spin.

“Is it too late to back out of your team now?” said Situ Jin as he massaged his aching temples. He sighed and said, “I can’t say for sure if I’d get stronger by being part of your team, but I’m pretty sure my chances of dying in a Challenge is going to increase.”

After Situ Jin pointed that out, Su Jin also realized that the Challenges he had gone through seemed abnormally terrible and he guessed that it might have something to do with the Demon Lord. Nobody else knew about his deal with the Demon Lord, but that didn’t mean that the Handbook universe didn’t know about it. He could have been unlucky because the Handbook universe was punishing him.

A long while later, Chu Yi finally appeared. Su Jin was shocked when he saw Chu Yi because the younger man was covered in injuries. There was a serious wound in his chest area and it was still bleeding.

“I’m here, Boss.” Chu Yi plonked down on his seat and said to the nearest waiter, “Do you have anything that can stop my bleeding and help me to heal faster? I’ll have one of that!”

The waiter nodded and served Chu Yi a glass containing a bright red liquid. Chu Yi downed it without hesitation. The effect of this drink was amazing. Chu Yi’s wound instantly stopped bleeding and began to heal.

“Boss, did something happen? Why did you call me to enter the bar?” Chu Yi wiped away whatever liquid was left on his lips.

Su Jin and Kano Mai were still in shock at how badly injured Chu Yi was, so it was Situ Jin who broke the silence first, “Hoho, young man, I just found out that there’s more than one universe out there. Is the universe where you’re from…going through a war right now?”

Chu Yi glanced at Situ Jin, then asked Su Jin, “Boss, who’s this guy? Why is he sitting with us?”

“Don’t avoid the question. How did this happen to you? Did you seriously go to war?” Su Jin was really horrified by Chu Yi’s injuries, since Chu Yi was strong enough to get through a war unscathed.

Chu Yi scratched his head and sighed. “It’s not a war. I got on the wrong side of this faction consisting entirely of Handbook owners and I couldn’t handle them all by myself.”

“A faction consisting entirely of Handbook owners? Was it those robbers?” The first group that Su Jin thought of were those robbers who targeted other owners.

Chu Yi shook his head. “It’s not them. Those robbers haven’t appeared in my universe. What we have is this group who call themselves the Hell Cult and their ideology is that owners ought to control ordinary people. They want to control the entire planet and make ordinary folks do their bidding.”

“I don’t even know how those people found out I’m an owner. They came knocking on my door two days ago and invited me to join their cult, but I’m not interested in making slaves out of other people, so I turned them down.”

“But the moment I did that, the other party became unhappy and started attacking me. I didn’t expect them to have so many people on their side either. After I finished off one, another two would come. After I finished off those two, another two more would come. I really couldn’t defeat them, so I’m so glad you got me access to Hell’s Bar.”

The other three were horrified by what they were hearing. One of the universes had owners who wanted to turn ordinary folks into their slaves. The one with the biggest reaction was Situ Jin. He sneered and had a nasty look in his eyes.

Situ Jin was hunting rogue Handbook owners precisely because he felt that these people could pose a real threat to ordinary people. What he had been worried about had actually become a reality in Chu Yi’s universe.

“I didn’t expect both of us to be threatened by fellow Handbook owners despite being in two different universes,” said Su Jin with a sigh. If they belonged to the same universe, they could help each other out. Unfortunately, they didn’t belong to the same universe.

Chu Yi looked like he wasn’t bothered at all. “Those fellows are insane, but not everyone thinks like them. There are some owners who have come together to fight back. When I get back, I’m going to join these owners and make sure those crazy fellows die.”

“Well said. Those with the power to do so should contribute to the betterment of mankind, and not enslave their fellow brethren. Scum like them ought to be destroyed,” Situ Jin assured Chu Yi as though he were a fellow comrade.

“Bro, you think so too? By the way, who exactly are you?” asked Chu Yi.