novelraw Chapter 230: Alexander’s Prank
Chapter 230: Alexander’s Prank
"Brother, is that Mr. K’s voice? How did our contract get linked with him? It seems different from our own pact," Full Moon asked, puzzled.
The terror of the Ghost Servant Contract lay in its fundamental nature—it altered one’s inherent perceptions, like bending the laws of cognition. Ever since Full Moon had entered into the contract with Alexander, she had come to regard him as her everything.
However, clearly, the voice emanating from the other end of the thread-like connection indicated that the same did not hold true for Mr. K.
"There’s a possibility," Alexander ventured, "Mr. K might have used some sort of innate talent to seal your memories and brainwash you. This sealing is also powered by Mr. K’s mental strength.
Because the two are intertwined, our contract managed to erase the part that could cause conflict, yet it also left a mark within the remnants of Mr. K’s mental power. Hence, this unique psychic channel emerged."
"Does this channel serve any real purpose?" Full Moon inquired in astonishment.
"We’ll have to test it to find out," Alexander responded. "So far, it doesn’t seem as binding as a real contract. Mr. K still bears malice towards me. The question now is, what can this psychic channel actually do?"
Saying this, Alexander closed his eyes, his entire being plunging into that fine thread of connection.
He was all too familiar with the Ghost Servant Contract, which not only secured complete loyalty but also had several other unique functions, such as determining the ownership of ghost bead.
In normal circumstances, a ghost or a chosen one could possess only one ghost bead—simultaneous control over two ghost beads was impossible. However, through the Ghost Servant Contract, Alexander had gained ownership over two such beads.
In actuality, these beads still belonged to Su Rong and Annie; otherwise, they couldn’t have absorbed ghostly energy through the beads’ fear value. Yet, in the adjudication of horrifying instances, both were deemed to belong to Alexander. Naturally, the ghost beads also belonged to him.
Moreover, if Alexander immersed his consciousness completely into the psychic link of a contract, such as with Su Rong, he could directly view the world from her perspective and even manipulate her actions remotely.
Now, Alexander intended to test this very aspect of the contract. Could he control Mr. K directly? If so, what a formidable weapon that would be!
As Alexander immersed his mind into the psychic connection, a blurry, amputated figure materialized in his thoughts, roaring angrily,
"Inform the Fourth Brother to hasten the gathering of troops! Tell Netherworld and Undead City to speed up their process! In one month, at most, we’ll take over Dark Hell and increase their share of the promised benefits by 20%!"
Netherworld? Undead City? So, Mr. K was also aligning with other ghost cities. A ripple of surprise flitted through Alexander’s mind, but he quickly suppressed it, preparing to begin his test.
"Don’t worry, Second Brother, we’ll get right on it! Soon, the whole of Dark Hell will be ours, and we’ll see where those damn insects can run off to.
Dark Hell is the only ghost city that still has Chosen Ones; just thinking about it makes me salivate," Turtle Imperial said, his eyes gleaming with greed.
"Those Chosen Ones in Dark Hell can at most fulfill some petty desires; they’re nothing significant," Yao added coldly. "Maybe Dark Hell’s decline is because they’ve grown too complacent."
"On that point, I agree," Ice Ghost Emperor nodded solemnly. "Remember how powerful Empress Alice of Dark Hell was? She was someone everyone looked up to. And now? The entire Dark Hell has become a joke. Louis, who possesses forbidden power, dares not to break through and stays at the level of an evil spirit.
Most ridiculous is Prince Hurricane, the heir to Dark Hell, who turns out to be a homosexual!"
Ice’s words elicited unanimous laughter and nodding from everyone present. Although they were ghosts, such an eccentric one was still rare, especially one with such high status. Even if he had such preferences, as a prince, he should keep a low profile.
"Slurp!"
Before the laughter had even subsided, a sound of slurping reverberated suddenly through the hall. Everyone turned incredulously towards Mr. K. Could it be?
Had it not been for their millennia-old camaraderie and deep understanding of each other, they might have suspected that Mr. K also had questionable sexual orientation.
Even Mr. K was stunned. Why had he slurped? And at this very moment? For an inexplicable reason, he had taken an involuntary, nonexistent slurp.
"Second Brother, what’s going on with you? Are you overworked because Big Brother isn’t here?" Ice asked with concern.
Mr. K was equally puzzled but, seeing the concerned expressions of his brothers, he spoke up: "It’s nothing; I was just a bit distracted. What were you all talking about?" He couldn’t have truly been distracted, of course; his excuse was mainly to avoid any misunderstandings.
"We were talking about Hurricane—the heir to Dark Hell being homosexual!"
"Slurp!"
Ice repeated the information, but before any jeers or smiles could appear on anyone’s faces, Mr. K slurped again. This time, all eyes in the room fell upon him in strange silence.
Just as confused, Mr. K raised a hand toward his mouth to see if something was wrong. But before his hand could reach his face, he slapped himself, shouting involuntarily, "That’s for not holding back!"
This time, all of Mr. K’s brothers were truly shocked. What did he mean by ’not holding back’? Did their Second Brother really have these preferences and had just been restraining himself? The seven brothers present all shivered at the thought.
"Something’s wrong. My body feels slightly out of control," Mr. K said, his brows furrowed. No matter how he tried to sense it, there was no strange spiritual fluctuation in or around him. The only difference was a slight heaviness in his head, as if something were lodged there.
"Could it be some kind of backlash from a broken talent, Second Brother? Maybe I should help you back to your room to rest," offered Desert, the sixth in line, rising quickly to support Mr. K.
"Slurp!"
Being held by Desert, Mr. K was about to say that he felt perfectly fine when, as his eyes landed on Desert’s face, he found himself involuntarily slurping again. Desert quickly withdrew his hand, looking at Mr. K with a mix of bewilderment and fear.
The expressions of everyone else in the room were equally odd.
Mr. K was truly stumped. After triple-checking that he wasn’t under the influence of any ghostly curses or techniques, a smidgen of doubt crept into his mind. Could it be that there was actually something amiss with his sexual orientation?
In the Dark Hell, Alexander withdrew his attention with a strange expression, no longer attempting any small tricks.
Kevin’s slurping noises were naturally just spur-of-the-moment pranks. The real experiment was the slap that Alexander had tried to enforce.
Unfortunately, what Alexander had actually wanted through his psychic channel was for Kevin to slap himself as hard as he could, summoning all his ghostly energy, ideally to the point of decapitating himself.
When Kevin slapped himself, he clearly held back; there was considerable force, but not a touch of ghostly energy.
Kevin had not detected Alexander’s commands or the existence of a ghost-slave pact. Thus, it wasn’t a matter of his unwillingness but a limitation in Alexander’s incomplete ghost-slave pact that could only achieve this much.
For a Ghost Emperor like Kevin, it was practically impossible to kill someone through the pact if he couldn’t draw upon their ghostly energy. Any further attempts would only raise suspicion.
If he could keep Kevin unaware of this, the link might prove useful at a critical moment. At the very least, through the spiritual connection of the pact, Alexander could gather considerable intel.
"Pfft!"
His thoughts were interrupted by a soft giggle. Looking over, he saw Full Moon snickering silently. Evidently, she could see what he saw, serving as the medium for this psychic link.
"Full Moon, what are you laughing at?" Terrence, unaware of what had transpired, asked in confusion.
Full Moon, having regained most of her memories and at least her mental maturity, knew what should and shouldn’t be said. She simply turned to Alexander and remarked, "Big brother, you’re so naughty. I like it!"
Alexander chuckled, then changed the subject. "Call Sam and Asfur as well; I have something for all of you."
Although Alexander could quickly increase his own strength through ghost crystals, he still needed to venture into the Mist Instance. It was uncertain whether he could reach the king-tier before the invasion of the Endless Abyss Ghost City, much less control forbidden powers by consuming Emperor’s Liquor.
However, Sam, Terrence, and the others were already ghosts and didn’t have to worry about bodily limitations. They could rapidly increase their powers by absorbing ghost food.
Although Alexander had been occupied with raiding instances lately, he hadn’t neglected the affection levels of his comrades. Through various items, he had managed to bring everyone’s goodwill level up to 99 points.
Although not yet at 100, that was only a matter of time. Therefore, these individuals were unquestionably trustworthy.
"Boss!" Sam and Asfur quickly entered the room following Terrence. Sam spoke first:
"Everything you’ve asked for has been taken care of. The tobacco seeds have been planted and the first batch of one hundred thousand boxes of Black Demon cigarettes has been manufactured, thanks to the ghostly entities we purchased for rapid maturation.
We’ll scale up the production for the second batch. We have ample labor from the Fierce Ghost Association; the only limiting factor is the cultivation of the tobacco leaves. However, we’re willing to expend millions of ghost coins on ghost entities to speed up maturation; soon our daily output will exceed a million!
Blood beer has also been produced in the Motor Instance, currently amounting to one hundred thousand bottles. Its primary limitation is raw material, but purchasing is not an issue. Once we sell this batch, we can reinvest and scale up easily. The same applies to Ghost Cola, for which the current stock exceeds two hundred thousand cans."
"Good job!" Alexander nodded in approval, then turned his gaze to Asfur:
"Rest assured, Mr. Alexander, the invitations for the auction have all been sent out. All the top Ghost Imperials in various districts, as well as any ghost with some financial strength, have been invited. However..."
At this point, Asfur hesitated:
"While most have accepted the invitations, very few have explicitly agreed to attend. The subordinates of the Ghost Kings have generally agreed, but above them, only the kings from Fierce Ghost Street, Happy Street, and Undead Street have definitively said they’ll come. A small portion refused outright, while the majority, though not declining, are unlikely to attend."
These activities, including renovating the Motor Instance with Su Rong and Annie, had long been orchestrated by Alexander. The reaction from the invited parties was not beyond his expectations.
There was no need to say much about Happy Street; with the Flame King there, they would honor the invitation no matter what their inner thoughts. Fierce Ghost Street was even more self-explanatory; this was Alexander’s stronghold, and who would dare dishonor the Blood Queen and Louis?
As for everyone from Undead Street agreeing to come, that was unexpectedly pleasant for Alexander. It made sense upon reflection. Alexander’s networks were no longer a secret, and the noise he made when he raided Undead Street was quite substantial.
Whether the Imperials of Undead Street were coming to save face for Louis and the City Hall or to settle a score with Alexander, they would make an appearance.
However, the fact that slightly weaker Ghost Kings agreed to come suggests there probably isn’t any malice involved.
"Even if the Blood Queen doesn’t make it, the attendance of these three Imperials is face-saving enough," Alexander stated unequivocally.
"What I have to offer may not be too enticing for Imperials, but those Ghost Kings will certainly be interested once they learn what we’re auctioning. Starting tomorrow, the Motorcycle Instance will open for business, selling cola, Black Demon cigarettes, Blood Beer, and regular motorcycles. Additionally, we’ll also offer limited amounts of Ghost Food."
"Boss, are we really going to sell Ghost Food?" Sam’s eyes widened in astonishment. "This stuff is incredibly precious. In terms of value, it surpasses any treasure for us ghosts!"
"Of course we are! We need a large amount of Ghost Coins," Alexander retorted without hesitation. "Ghost Food can rapidly boost a ghastly entity’s power with no side effects. Even Ghost Kings will be tempted if we have enough.
With the Black Iron Coffin and Ghost God Spiritual Position, we can mass-produce soldier-level ghosts, even if it’s not as quick as using Ghost Food."
"But what if some Ghost King decides to ignore their status and snatch it? We might not be able to fend them off," Sam voiced his concern.
"Don’t worry. Who said we don’t have our own Ghost King?" A confident smile spread across Alexander’s face.
"Do we have a Ghost King on our side?" Sam was stunned before finally blurting out, "You’re not talking about Edward, are you? His power is indeed great, but he has only recently been promoted to Ghost King."
"I did invite Edward and he agreed to help oversee the Motorcycle Instance when he’s free. But the Ghost King I’m referring to isn’t just him!"