novelraw Chapter 346: Ghost Contract
Chapter 346: Ghost Contract
Bearded Man looked at the paper in Alexander’s hands, his face changing dramatically.
This paper was the reward Alexander had gotten from breaking the duplicate cycle, known as the Ghost Contract, and there were two hundred thousand of them.
Alexander had just filled in the details; they were clear at a glance. It offered a Ghost Treasure as the hiring fee to employ the signee for six months.
During this period, the signee must obey Alexander, but Alexander guaranteed not to send them knowingly to their deaths, and in every battle, Alexander must charge at the forefront, or else the signee had the right to refuse.
Bearded Man hesitated...
"Coward, what’s there to hesitate about! By time’s reckoning, tomorrow black beetles will flood in. Without a Ghost Treasure, how many days can you survive? If you won’t sign, I will!" The man scorned, grabbed the Ghost Contract without another word, and dropped a drop of fresh blood on it.
The black Ghost Energy twined around the blood, rose from the contract, and landed on the man’s forehead, forming a blood drop mark.
"Who hesitated? I just hadn’t finished reading!" Bearded Man snatched back the contract, his gaze falling on the last clause.
With the world being as it was, a battle against fate, no one could assure survival in the next beetle surge.
Since Alexander would lead every battle, what was there to hesitate about? Having a Ghost Treasure made a world of difference in survival odds against the black beetles when compared to bare-handed combat.
With gritted teeth, Bearded Man still bit his finger and dropped his blood on the Ghost Contract.
"Can I sign too?" asked a soldier-class girl from behind Bearded Man, biting on her silver teeth.
"Of course, once you sign, this is yours!" Alexander waved his hand, and an Evil Spirit-bank brick fell at the girl’s feet.
She immediately grabbed the contract, dropped her blood on it, and excitedly picked up the brick. As a soldier-class with no Ghost Treasure, she’d likely not survive tomorrow’s beetle surge.
Seeing this, other survivors went wild, each scrambling to drop their blood on the contract. It wasn’t that they had no fear of death, nor were they content to sell their lives for a brick to Alexander.
Circumstances compelled them; if they didn’t do so, not many were confident about surviving the next beetle surge.
Like Bearded Man thought, the contract stated they wouldn’t be sent to their deaths on purpose, and Alexander, the master of the contract, had to lead every charge, so what was there to worry about?
Alexander watched with a smile as the Ghost Contract was passed from survivor to survivor, each signing their name and him throwing a brick to them.
To speed up the process, he even produced several more similar items. Leading the charge in every battle was a rule set by Alexander, but these poor minions didn’t know that the name written on the contract was Alexander, and it didn’t refer to Alexander’s body alone.
A million duplicates, all called Alexander! And it was true they wouldn’t be sent to their deaths on purpose, because Alexander’s enemy was one and the same.
Mist World!
Whether facing hordes of insects or hell warrior guardians, the battles seemed extremely dangerous. But these were the very trials Alexander had to endure; they could hardly be called deliberate setups.
As for the six-month limit...
In six months, the total assault on the world of Mist would have long concluded. If it ended in failure, they would all die together anyway. Without the contract, they wouldn’t survive regardless.
Should they succeed, there’s no need to say more. Alexander wouldn’t need a mere contract to keep control over these people.
The contract was quickly circulating among the survivors. Alexander had already left the bar. Each survivor who received a brick acted as if they had hit the jackpot, thrilled with their good fortune.
"Thalendis is here!" Suddenly, a loud shout split the crowd, and a pathway opened up. Clearly, a figure with enough prestige to command the entire survivor base had appeared.
Due to the tight schedule, Alexander hadn’t taken the time to learn about the survivor base’s hierarchy. He only knew that these leaders were among the first to stand up during the insect infestation, appointed personally by Sophia.
Seeing such respect given to this administrator, Alexander’s brow furrowed. However, as a voice rang out, his face broke into a genuine smile.
"The hell with it! Count me in too. If you don’t agree, then we’ll have to fall out again!"
"Lucy! I didn’t expect the commander of the first survivor base to be you!" Alexander’s eyes shone with sincerity at the familiar figure before him.
His old desk-mate, whom he hadn’t seen for just a few months, had changed significantly. Though her hair was still short, her aura was entirely different. The current Lucy had a more feminine charm and had grown even more attractive.
"Yeah, I never imagined that the jerk who gave me a fake address would be a god among the Chosen Ones, number 44011. You fooled me good... we’re..."
"Over!" Alexander didn’t wait for Lucy to finish before preemptively saying the word they had uttered countless times to each other. Yet in their eyes, there was nothing but smiles, like old friends reuniting after many years, their camaraderie instantly reignited.
"Alexander! So the great philanthropist is Alexander!"
"Damn! The strongest Chosen One! Who would’ve thought that the one who made us sign the Ghost Contract was the legendary 44011? This is a real score!"
"You idiots, you only realize now! I guessed it a long time ago. Who else but Alexander could bring out so many treasures from the Horror World!"
...
A buzz of astonishment swept through the crowd, everyone’s gaze alight with fervor. Despite each having gained considerable strength by now, like celebrities who encounter their idols, they couldn’t help but be thrilled.
"He really is popular! Might as well count me in too!"
With a smile, Lucy waved her hand lightly, and a Ghost Contract immediately flew towards her from not too far away. Alexander’s lips twitched, but he ultimately did not intervene.
Of course, this wasn’t because he had any particular thoughts about Lucy; it was simply that as the base’s commander, she was the ideal spokesperson. If she signed, who wouldn’t?
As expected, following Lucy’s sealing of the Ghost Contract with her blood, Paul naturally took over the contract:
"Alexander, I still don’t like the look of you, but since Lucy signed, I’ll give her that face! I also believe that hope won’t disappoint us. I hope you continue to create miracles of your own, leading the survivors to live on!"
"Don’t worry! You all are minions I’ve paid for; I certainly won’t let you die easily!" Alexander said with a laugh.
"Good, I believe you!" Paul said, his fingertip running over the paper, a drop of blood marking the Ghost Contract.
"I believe too!"
Raelthor, who had previous encounters with Alexander, reached for the Ghost Contract, added his blood to it, and jibed at Alexander:
"I’ve seen how you scrape up every last penny; I reckon the moment we signed the contract, we became wealth in your eyes. You’ll definitely do everything to keep us alive, to not waste a single drop of oil."
What a ridiculous thing to say!
Alexander felt a bit embarrassed, but with these few vouching for him, the subsequent recruitment went even smoother. The remaining hesitant survivors also signed the contract without any hesitation.
Buzz! Buzz!
As the last person finished signing, it was already the next morning. Just as Alexander was about to give a speech to inspire his minions, a buzzing of wings changed everyone’s expression.
Looking towards the source of the sound, they saw black beetles flying into the white mist that enveloped the base. Soon, the beetles gathered in the sky, forming a dark cloud, seemingly in the hundreds of thousands.
"The insect tide is here!"
Panicked exclamations erupted from the crowd, and chaos ensued among the survivors.
"Damn, to have forgotten such an important thing! Quick, organize a defense!" Lucy called out in alarm.