Old Man Hehe chuckled. “Child, you owe me your life, remember?”
Lu Yin did not deny it. On the battlefield, life and death were impossible to predict, and Old Man Hehe had truly saved Lu Yin’s life once. If Old Man Hehe had not wanted to act at that time, no one could have forced them to.
“Of course I remember.”
“Hehe, good. As long as you do not deny it. Then complete your mission.”
Lu Yin frowned. “Mission?”
“The mission that Ba Se assigned you.”
“The one to capture a branch of the River of Aeons?”
“That’s right.”
“What does that have to do with you?” Lu Yin did not understand.
Old Man Hehe replied, “Obscura will not explain everything, but there are certain things that you can figure out for yourself, such as the rules.
“Obscura does not consist of Ba Se alone. There are also all of us. Since Ba Se can assign missions, then so can we.”
Lu Yin was surprised by this revelation. Could other members also issue missions? Wait, he finally understood. It seemed that the mission of capturing a branch of the River of Aeons had been put up by Old Man Hehe, who had then made Ba Se assign it. That was why Ba Se did not care whether it was completed yet still said that the mission had to be accepted.
Lu Yin had already found that discrepancy strange. Saying that it was a mandatory mission made it look urgent, but he had not been given a time limit. That was a contradiction in and of itself, and there was finally an explanation for it. “So you’re the one who had Ba Se issue that mandatory mission to me.”
Old Man Hehe laughed. “Paying a price in exchange for a mandatory mission is within Obscura’s rules. It just depends on whether you can think of the possibility.”
“Are you also responsible for the mandatory mission of creating the star chart?”
“Creating a star chart? That has nothing to do with me.”
“What if I refuse to complete your mission?” Lu Yin asked back.
Old Man Hehe said, “You do remember that you owe me your life, right? During the war against the Plume Immortals, you agreed to seal Gao Tian because Ba Se forced you to accept that mission and also because you would receive a five-star mission reward from Obscura, not because of me. In truth, if you had immediately agreed to help me seal Gao Tian back then, you would have not only repaid the life debt you owe me, but I could have also helped you complete that five-star mission, while the reward would have still been yours. Such a pity.”
Lu Yin did not find it a pity at all. He had clearly intended to refuse back then, only he had not expected refusal to be impossible. “Old Man Hehe, is one branch of the River of Aeons really worth the life debt that I owe you? Capturing a branch shouldn’t be all that difficult, should it?”
“It is not difficult, but I cannot do it. The moment I move, the main stream of the River of Aeons will sweep me away. I can draw upon the main stream, but the main stream is also watching me. That is why I can only have Ba Se assign this mission,” Old Man Hehe explained.
Lu Yin understood. “Why not find someone else?”
“Using you is the cheapest,” Old Man Hehe bluntly replied.
It was not a matter of being cheap, but rather of being completely free. Old Man Hehe did not need to pay anything. All they needed was for Lu Yin to acknowledge that they had once saved his life.
Even between enemies, there still had to be a bottom line. Some rules had to be observed. Lu Yin could not act shamelessly in a matter like this, or else he would completely lose all standing.
Lu Yin found it strange. “You only lack one branch of the River of Aeons?”
“I lack many. As long as you are willing, this mission can continue without limit.”
Lu Yin smiled faintly. “To keep issuing mandatory missions without limit, what kind of price did you pay?”
“That is confidential.”
“Fine. I will help you capture branches of the River of Aeons when I can,” Lu Yin agreed, “By the way, do you know how to contact Second Furball?”
“Why are you looking for it?” Even Old Man Hehe found this request strange.
“There is something I want to ask it.”
“What is it?”
“Hehe.”
Old Man Hehe was left speechless.
“There is no need for you to look for Second Furball. Even if you find it, it will not speak with you. You should already have seen its true form,” they finally said.
Lu Yin nodded. “I have to say, the fact that even a shield can join Obscura is still rather unbelievable.”
“The owner of that shield died in the war of the Nine Ramparts.”
A flash passed through Lu Yin's eyes. “Killed by human hands?”
“Hehe.”
Lu Yin rubbed his head. There was nothing more that he could do about that. He had been wondering why Second Furball was so hostile toward him, targeting him every time it spoke. So this was the reason.
That meant that Second Furball was also an enemy.
“Child, human civilization has far more enemies than you can imagine. Capture a few more branches of the River of Aeons. Believe me, you will need my help, hehe.”
Lu Yin looked out at Vestigium. This seemed to make sense, but would helping Old Man Hehe really be enough? Who said that Old Man Hehe themself was not an enemy of humanity? They might have saved Lu Yin earlier, just to kill him later. Who could say for sure?
He certainly had to capture a branch of the River of Aeons and treat it as repaying the life debt, but as for capturing several more, Old Man Hehe was dreaming.
“Ba Se.”
“I am here.”
“I want to buy a star chart.”
“There are none, and purchasing is not offered.”
So they can’t be bought? Lu Yin had simply gotten the idea from what Old Man Hehe had mentioned, and he had decided to try buying something from Obscura. If it was not possible to buy it, then so be it. He had only been testing things out.
Creating a star chart was a mandatory mission, and it had been requested by a specific member of Obscura. Even if Lu Yin wanted to buy it, Ba Se was not the one to ask.