Infinity, The Arcade Age-Chapter 285: A Battle of Wits

The glowing eyes of the man across from Qin Ming flickered slightly as they scanned him. Although Qin Ming's body was shrouded in black mist due to the protection of the Nightmare Space, making his true appearance impossible to discern, the man known as "The King of Fighters" stared intently, as if trying to pierce through the darkness and see Qin Ming's true form.

"Your talent is mass-enhancing story equipment, isn't it?"

"Correct."

"So, you're the second Arms Dealer, then?"

"Huh? Arms Dealer? Who's that?"

"...Little brother, I recognize your strength. How about joining us? Work together, and from now on, you only need to listen to me, while the entire King of Fighters team—over ten thousand adventurers—will listen to you."

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At this point, The King of Fighters paused briefly before adding, "And when I say ten thousand, I'm not including the ordinary low-level adventurers. Those cannon fodder recruits are a dime a dozen and don't count as official members of the King of Fighters team. I'm talking about the elites."

Qin Ming's eyes flickered as he glanced around the room again. Hundreds of advanced adventurers, over ten thousand intermediate adventurers, and countless low-level adventurers—this guy's influence was no joke.

"You want me to join you?"

"Correct."

"But I don't have a habit of working with enemies."

"Your enemies are already dead, aren't they? When has the King of Fighters team ever been your enemy? If you join us, we won't revive Gui Yan. But if you refuse... well, who knows what might happen."

Although he wasn't sure how this kid had managed to defeat Gui Yan despite being weaker, The King of Fighters, who was well aware of Gui Yan's abilities, refused to believe Qin Ming had won easily.

He was convinced that even if Qin Ming had won, it must have been a pyrrhic victory. After all, no one could easily withstand that S-rank ultimate skill! No one!

So, without hesitation, The King of Fighters used Gui Yan as a bargaining chip.

Hearing this, Qin Ming's eyes indeed flickered, but instead of fear, anger flashed across his face. He leaned forward, staring at the black mist-shrouded figure across from him.

"Are you threatening me? You think I'm scared of your threats? If I were scared of you, I would've surrendered worlds ago! I wasn't afraid of you before I leveled up, and now that I've succeeded, you think I'll be afraid of you now?"

The moment these words left his mouth, the surrounding adventurers' expressions changed, and they stepped forward aggressively.

But before they could speak or act, The King of Fighters raised a hand, signaling them to back off.

His gaze fixed on Qin Ming, he suddenly reached out and placed an item on the table.

Seeing this, Qin Ming's pupils constricted.

Name: Duel Invitation Scroll (Exclusive to Advanced Adventurers)

Effect: Forces the target to enter the same mission world as the user. The mission world can be freely chosen.

Description: Come on! Let's duel! Now you have two choices! One! You fight all of us! Two! All of us fight you!

By pulling someone into their own chosen battlefield, the threat posed by this item was self-evident.

Staring at the scroll on the table, Qin Ming remained expressionless but silently pulled out a Town Portal Scroll from his pocket and slammed it onto the table.

Seeing the Town Portal Scroll, The King of Fighters raised an eyebrow, then pulled out another item from his pocket.

This item was called the Space Lock Device.

Another exclusive item for advanced adventurers, its effect was to seal space, preventing the use of any teleportation items.

Qin Ming's eyes flickered again, and he casually tossed a Military Satellite Phone onto the table.

The phone landed with a loud clatter, its special properties on full display.

Having already heard from his subordinates how troublesome the Hound Unit was, The King of Fighters' expression finally shifted slightly for the first time.

His brow furrowed as he rummaged through his pocket once more.

Finally, he pulled out a pair of boxing gloves and gently placed them in front of Qin Ming.

Seeing the properties of these gloves, Qin Ming's face darkened, and he even stood up in shock.

Because this item's properties were absolutely outrageous! What kind of unfair, broken item was this?!

Name: Real-Life PK Gloves (Exclusive to Top-Tier Adventurers)

Effect: Locks onto a target, initiating a life-or-death duel within the Nightmare Space. Only one party can leave alive. Cooldown: ten worlds.

Description: You think you're tough? Fight me in real life! Come on, let's have a real-life PK! You think you can combo me? Try pulling off a combo in the real world!

Seeing Qin Ming's shocked reaction, The King of Fighters crossed his arms, a faint smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

"Little brother, the benefits of being a top-tier adventurer far exceed your imagination. We have the authority to kill directly within the Nightmare Space. So, have you decided to join us yet?"

Qin Ming's mouth twitched. He glanced at The King of Fighters, who seemed confident of victory, then suddenly pulled out a coin from his pocket and slammed it onto the table.

Leaning forward with both hands on the table, he stared directly into The King of Fighters' face, his expression filled with defiance.

With both hands on the table, Qin Ming leaned forward, his face almost touching The King of Fighters', his expression filled with stubborn defiance.

"I don't believe your team has a second top-tier adventurer! Or a second pair of gloves! If you've got the guts, just kill me outright! Otherwise, in ten worlds, when I become an advanced adventurer, I'll come back and fight you to the death!"

What Qin Ming had slammed on the table was none other than the reward he had received for clearing the game—the Nightmare Revival Coin! UP+1!

Looking at the coin on the table and then at Qin Ming, who was now practically in his face, The King of Fighters took a deep breath, rubbed his forehead, and spoke with a hint of frustration.

"Why are you so stubborn? What good does it do you to keep fighting us like this?"

"I'm a man of principle! I can't stand being bullied! If someone messes with me, I'll make sure they pay! No matter what!"

"What if I offered you the position of second-in-command of the team? Would that work?"

"If this had happened before we became enemies, I'd have been honored. But now? Not a chance!"

"...Alright, I understand."

Sighing, The King of Fighters collected all the items from the table.

Crossing his arms and looking up at Qin Ming, he suddenly spoke again.

"On behalf of the King of Fighters team, I apologize for the previous misunderstandings. As a gesture of goodwill, I'm willing to offer you 50,000 points as compensation. How does that sound?"

"200,000!"

"60,000."

"Fine, I'll give you some face—190,000!"

"My face isn't worth that little. 70,000."

"Let's just call it friendship—180,000!"

"Enough. Let's meet in the middle. I'll give you 100,000 points, and we'll consider the past grievances settled. How about that?"

"Deal!"

Expecting one person to take down an entire team was absolutely impossible. Qin Ming had already risked his life just to kill one advanced adventurer, and now there were hundreds of them in front of him! Even if he could kill one per world, how long would it take to finish them all?

So, the only possible outcome was a truce. Qin Ming's relentless fighting was all aimed at forcing a negotiation—but one where he could sit at the table as an equal, as the victor.

Not as a frightened, threatened party. Otherwise, forget about gaining any benefits—if he didn't join their team, whether he could even leave alive was a question!

The transaction was quickly completed, and Qin Ming couldn't help but smile brightly as he received the 100,000 points.

On the other side, The King of Fighters, who had just lost a battle of wits to a newly promoted intermediate adventurer, also couldn't help but chuckle.

Shaking his head with a smile, he suddenly stood up and said,

"Little brother, now that we're no longer enemies, how about we become friends?"

Qin Ming, who was busy checking his account balance, didn't even look up.

"I don't work under others."

"Really not willing to join? We can discuss the terms."

"Not interested."

"What about cooperation? As equals."

"Cooperation?"

Hearing this, Qin Ming finally looked up, a hint of curiosity in his eyes.

The King of Fighters nodded with a smile.

"Yes, cooperation. When we undertake large-scale war missions, we'll pay you to help. Let's make a fortune together, how about that?"

"This..."

"Your fee will be 50,000 points, and the team members will fully cooperate with you to maximize your gains. Think about it—your abilities combined with my people. What kind of scene would that be?"

"Deal!"

(End of Chapter)