Chapter 25: Wen Zhe's Appearance

“See? This is just a subtle exception!” Xia Yan pondered aloud. “What sort of excuse could be concocted to make the entire world believe it?”

Wen Zhe, come out. It’s time to end this tedious prelude.

Xia Yan was always so perceptive!

Wen Zhe remained utterly rational, clenching his fists tightly. “Silence! We cannot let him continue speaking. This Xia Yan is completely insane—utterly mad. And you still want to slander us?”

Little did Wen Zhe realize that Xia Yan’s lengthy discourse was a matter of survival. As long as Xia Yan died within the Free Zone, speaking these words, the Free Zone’s reputation would never be cleansed.

He could not allow this loss of control to continue. He himself was about to appear. If Xia Yan kept manipulating the situation, even Wen Zhe might lose grasp of it.

The woman in the cheongsam was merely a combatant; her intellect might not be particularly sharp. Wen Zhe secretly despised himself for entrusting this task to her. Though a formidable eight-star ability user, at this moment, she was less useful than a five-star one.

The woman’s optical brain pinged with a message. She looked down in disbelief—it was a message from their leader.

She accepted the communication. Wen Zhe’s voice came through: “Project my image. I will negotiate with Xia Yan.”

Though puzzled, she dared not disobey the leader’s orders and complied. Two seconds later, Wen Zhe appeared before everyone—wearing glasses, refined and scholarly.

“I am Wen Zhe,” he said, meeting Xia Yan’s gaze. His pupils seemed to pierce through Xia Yan’s body. “Mr. Xia Yan, you are remarkable indeed. A wanted criminal, yet you swagger boldly into the Free Zone.”

“So that’s your reason for wanting to kill me, while conveniently swallowing my Chain of Purity and one hundred and fifty diamond coins?” Xia Yan sneered, clearly unimpressed by this so-called leader.

“Xia Yan, you have no right to speak to me like this. Know your place. You are but a pawn. Only purebloods and the human leaders have the privilege to address me directly,” Wen Zhe’s displeasure was plain on his face.

“Then kill me if you must. There’s no need to negotiate,” Xia Yan showed no fear. “You don’t need to speak to me face to face at all.”

“Enough.” Wen Zhe snorted coldly. “After you obtained the Chain of Purity, we never intended to kill you. Can you understand that?”

“Even after your covert attempt to kill me failed, you remain unfazed, spouting nonsense to gloss over it,” Xia Yan mocked. “Mr. Wen Zhe, you truly are impressive. No wonder you became leader of the Free Zone.”

“Shut up, Xia Yan.” Wen Zhe’s voice was furious. “I intend to negotiate properly, not waste time with idle chatter. Can you get to the point?”

“I can get to the point,” Xia Yan sneered. “But I don’t know who you think you are, starting with a show of force. I want to negotiate sincerely, but first, how about you apologize?”

The idea of a Free Zone leader bowing to apologize seemed madness to all present.

The power gap was immense. Wen Zhe was at least a top-tier nine-star ability user, while Xia Yan was a weakling with less than fifty percent brain domain development. The disparity was as vast as between an elephant and an ant!

Ask yourself, why would an elephant, capable of crushing an ant effortlessly, apologize to it?

They all wanted to ask Xia Yan: is it really alright to offend the Free Zone leader?

There were still some wanted criminals in the Free Zone. Being a wanted criminal might not be remarkable, but being one who had earned the Free Zone leader’s enmity was dangerous indeed.

All eyes were fixed, wondering—would Wen Zhe truly apologize?

Or would Xia Yan’s reckless provocation lead to his death in a fit of anger?

Could anyone maintain composure in such a rage?

Lan Xin looked at Xia Yan with confusion; she could never understand why he stood so far apart, neither friend nor foe.

To Tao Lu, Xia Yan’s status was irrelevant. She felt as if she were back in the arena, anxious and fearful witnessing it all.

So reckless, Xia Yan. He had just had his chance—why throw it away?

He could have used his trump cards to negotiate with Wen Zhe.

If Wen Zhe lost all reason, they would suffer the consequences.

To Tao Lu, Xia Yan was the most important. If he perished in a “mutual destruction” with the Free Zone, it would be a loss for him.

The Free Zone was nothing to trade for Xia Yan.

After a long pause, Wen Zhe seemed to make a decision. He cleared his throat. “Very well, Mr. Xia Yan. If I have offended you, I apologize. Let us negotiate properly now, and seek a mutually satisfactory outcome.”

“Fine.” Xia Yan lowered his haughty demeanor. “But before we begin, I have a small request.”

“Speak,” Wen Zhe said, watching him.

“Simply put, I want the whole world to witness our negotiation,” was Xia Yan’s modest demand.

Wen Zhe’s expression darkened. He was about to refuse, but stopped mid-sentence, hesitating. Then he smiled bitterly. “Very well, Mr. Xia Yan. I must admit, your methods always surprise me.”

At the same time, across the Free Zone’s marketplaces, every large screen projected the images of Xia Yan and Wen Zhe—one on the left, the other on the right.

The network was activated, rapidly transmitting the information through all channels.

Neither Xia Yan nor Wen Zhe spoke; they waited. They waited until the world had received the news, until many had witnessed this moment, then they would begin negotiations.

This was an unspoken rule.

Though their gazes did not meet directly, anyone could see that they were locked in a deadly standoff—like heaven and hell.

A god above, and a humble mortal below.

Contemptuous eyes and unwavering resolve.

This “game” would decide Xia Yan’s life or death, and the fate of the Free Zone.

Wen Zhe swore he had never found an ant so troublesome.

He had never taken a weakling so seriously.

And now, he must give his all. Even the slightest negligence might yield unforeseeable consequences.

But one must understand—he, Wen Zhe, was the god above, holding Xia Yan’s life in his hands.

And Xia Yan was nothing but a mortal fighting for a sliver of life.

This negotiation was profoundly, utterly unfair...