He wouldn't gain any advantage if the fight continued. He couldn't win, and the clone system obeyed the main body system, so its functions could be sealed off at will. He was simply being manipulated.
"Here." Jiaoyou threw the crystallized essence to Xiang Yu, giving up all struggle, but in his heart he cursed the human to explode and die after eating the crystal.
After receiving the crystallized dragon's blood, Xiang Yu handed it directly to Hao Jiu, without any intention of absorbing it immediately.
"Aren't you afraid to absorb it, or you'll explode and die?" Jiaoyou sneered.
"I heard from the God of Wine that the Flood Dragon is just a junior among the Dragon Clan. If I want to absorb it, I should at least get a crystal of a Five-Clawed Golden Dragon to absorb." Xiang Yu wasn't lying. There was no rush to get the Dragon Clan bloodline. There would be plenty of opportunities in the future. Absorbing it now was too risky and unnecessary.
Friendship scoffed, "How arrogant! God of Wine, I have delivered my life's work to you as promised. Shouldn't you unlock the dimensional lock and unseal the clone system's functions?"
"The dimensional lock can be opened, but as for the clone system's function, we'll have to wait and see how you perform in the future. So far, your performance has been very disappointing, so I have to punish you a little. Anyway, your system still has a shop function, and I will gradually open up some goods for you to buy. As long as we don't encounter any particularly powerful opponents, it should be enough to deal with them," Hao Jiu said with a smile.
Xiang Yu's lips twitched violently. What kind of function is it that's been sealed? There's only one function: the shop. This stupid dragon has fallen into the trap again.
"No way! All the system functions are sealed. Going back to the Dragon Cave in this state is suicide! Besides, I don't even have a single point of energy. No matter how many goods you have, it's useless!" Jiaoyou said angrily.
Hao Jiu pondered for a moment, "Then how about this, you can stay in this plane, or I can send you to another plane first, and you can return to the Dragon Cave on your own after you have recovered from your injuries."
Energy points will increase automatically. The exact amount that can increase in a day depends on the host's talent. If your talent is exceptional, I will definitely provide you with the best resources.
Didn't you say you'd go through fire and water for me? Since you call me "Your Excellency," you're mine. If you encounter any danger you can't handle, don't hesitate to ask me for help. I won't stand idly by; perhaps I'll even need your help in the future."
The friend's lips twitched violently. Hadn't he already denied being a follower before the transaction? How did he become his person again after binding with the system? But if he didn't acknowledge being his person, would he just stand by and do nothing if he were in danger? That wouldn't do!
However, from Hao Jiu's words, Jiao You roughly understood that the system's function seal was only a temporary punishment. Once he encountered a danger that he couldn't handle, it should be able to be unsealed. After all, the other party also needed his help and wouldn't let him die easily.
"Alright, then send me to another dimension first. I've got your clone system, so we're all in the same boat now. Helping each other is only right." He didn't want to stay in this dimension any longer, and it was even more impossible for him to be by her side at her beck and call.
Hao Jiu nodded. "No problem. I'll unlock the dimensional lock right away and open a portal to other dimensions for you. From now on, we'll communicate through the clone system. But don't call me unless it's something important. There's no need for empty promises of loyalty, casual conversations, or anything like that."
When making friends, his face darkened, and he said, "Stop chatting about everyday things!"
"Don't worry, I don't like chatting. Please open the portal, Your Majesty."
"No problem. The portal I opened for you is a random teleportation. I don't know where you'll go, but it certainly won't be worse than this plane. Before we part, let me give you a healing potion to treat your injuries." Hao Jiu said, tossing a healing potion into Jiaoyou's mouth and opening a portal in the air at the same time.
This item is a poor man's version of a time portal, which was seized from the Black Dragon. It cannot be used when there is a host, because an ordinary host cannot withstand time travel. If the host dies in the time portal, the system will enter a weakened state and may also perish along with the host.
However, Hao Jiu's shadow system does not have the concept of weakness, and making friends is like a dragon, which is tough and durable, so this cheap time travel is sufficient!
When Jiaoyou saw a pill flying towards him, he suddenly thought of Xiang Yu's rapid recovery from injuries during battle. His heart burned with excitement, and he subconsciously opened his mouth and swallowed the pill.
Their teamwork was excellent...
Then, Jiaoyou felt his self-inflicted injuries instantly heal. He clasped his hands in a fist salute to Hao Jiu and rushed straight into the space-time portal. For him, it didn't matter which dimension he went to.
Hao Jiu smiled slightly as he looked at the disappearing portal. "King Xiang, I remembered Wangcai, whom I used to raise. I'll take you to my original world sometime."
Xiang Yu readily agreed, his mood incredibly pleasant. "Alright. I've been wanting to see what the future world is like, and just how powerful your Wangcai is, right?"
Hao Jiu raised an eyebrow. "From a certain perspective, he is indeed very powerful. People call him, Tai Ritian!"
Chapter 310 Mission
Thanks to Hao Jiu's frequent introductions to modern vocabulary, Xiang Yu has developed a completely new understanding of Japan.
"Tai Ri Tian? I've never heard of such a thing. But anything that dares to call itself that must be a divine beast. No wonder it can rival a dragon," Xiang Yu murmured.
Hao Jiu chuckled, "When Xiang Yu sees it in the future, he'll understand. It's practically omnipotent."
At this point, Hao Jiu suddenly remembered something and immediately opened the task panel, where the time-limited task had indeed been completed.
"Looks like we were lucky. We finished before the deadline, which saved us a lot of trouble," Hao Jiu said as he collected his mission reward.
At that moment, Hao Jiu heard a familiar and sweet voice.
"Hou Yi, the enforcer, please respond."
Hao Jiu's lips twitched violently. "I am Hou Yi, and you are the Fairy Goddess?"
"Please call me the Elf King." The voice was sweet but carried a hint of seriousness; perhaps this was the difference between a goddess and a queen?
"Oh, I didn't expect this identity module to have a call function." Hao Jiu thought to himself, "Could it also have a location function?"
Doesn't that mean that once they return to the Chu-Han world, they'll immediately expose their lair?
"The dimensional lock is open, but what about the Beast System? You didn't let it escape, did you?" The Elf King's tone was somewhat cold.
In her opinion, the best way for Hou Yi to deal with this was to first stall the opponent, then unlock his own dimensional lock, and then enter the alternate dimension to hide and wait for reinforcements.
The situation was urgent, and the Elf King hadn't thought of this method either, so he couldn't give Hou Yi this hint. But given the wisdom Hou Yi displayed, this method wasn't actually that difficult to come up with.
The key is that preventing the beast system from rebinding to its host is not easy, and killing the dragon host who can withstand the meteorite attack is even more difficult.
The fact that the dimensional lock was completely opened in such a short time, and that Hou Yi was still in the new final dimension, made the Elf King suspect that the Beast System had already opened the dimensional lock and escaped, and Hou Yi did not dare to chase after it.
"Why would I let it escape? I promised you, and I'll do it even if it costs me my life. I opened the dimensional lock, and I've already killed that beast system. Is it alright to let that dragon get away?" Hao Jiu said shamelessly.
"You killed it? How did you do that?" the Elf King exclaimed in shock. It was too fast. If she had known Hou Yi had this power, her clone system wouldn't have needed to self-destruct.
"What else can I do? I have a host but it doesn't, so hitting it is like child's play. I became proficient with that law enforcement throwing knife after using it for a while, and it made the beast system run away with its head in its hands."
Then you finished integrating the card module you gave me and equipped my host with the Bruno card. When the Beast System's energy was almost depleted during the battle, it just self-destructed like you.
"You don't think I'm lying to you, do you? Oh dear, what should I do? No one but my host can verify this. By the way, the law enforcement identity module is so powerful, doesn't it have a recording function?" Hao Jiu asked tentatively.
"There's no recording function, but what about that dragon? The Beast System doesn't even have a chance to bind to it?" the Elf King asked, puzzled.
"I fought the Beast System, and my host fought the dragon. We both risked our lives to stop them from binding. Of course, if the dragon hadn't been seriously injured by the meteorite, we probably wouldn't have been able to stop it. It turns out he had been holding on, and his internal organs were all damaged by the shock."
Hao Jiu figured that if the Elf King still didn't believe him after all this, he could just tell him about the poison sword and that defeating the dragon wasn't actually that difficult.
As expected, after hearing Hao Jiu's explanation, the Elf King fell silent, regretting that he hadn't let the clone self-destruct.
The Elf King suddenly thought of something, "After the Beast System self-destructed, did you find the Enforcer's Throwing Knife? That throwing knife can't be destroyed easily."
"Ah, yes, there are three of them. Right, having these proves that I killed the Beast System, right?" Hao Jiu said excitedly.
"It can be proven, but you need to tell me the serial numbers of those two throwing knives first. I can find out by scanning them with the identity module. Do it now, immediately," the Elf King ordered.
"Oh, good." Hao Jiu thought to himself, this law enforcement officer identity module is really powerful.
It turns out that the throwing knives actually had hidden serial numbers inside; Hao Jiu had thought all the throwing knives were the same.
After Hao Jiu did as instructed, the Elf King breathed a long sigh of relief. "Hou Yi, you did a good job. I am now officially informing you that you have passed the Enforcer assessment. Everything you gained in this battle is yours, plus everything I gave you before, that's your reward."
"Huh?" Hao Jiu curled his lip. Sure enough, the promises of law enforcers cannot be trusted.
"Not enough? Do you know how valuable the modules on my clone are? Do you know how valuable those throwing knives are? Every law enforcer is issued one throwing knife as standard, and only those who make great contributions are rewarded with a second one. The throwing knife module can bind multiple throwing knives to form a knife array to injure enemies. Once you master controlling all the throwing knives, you'll know how powerful they are." The Elf King was in a good mood and explained a few more words.
"Oh, I see. When will you come to this plane again? Or I can come find you. After all, we were comrades who fought side by side, risking our lives together. It's been a few days, and I've really missed you..."
"Enforcer Hou Yi, this matter is settled. Everything related to this operation is classified as top secret and must not be disclosed to others, including other enforcers. I will contact you again if there are any new missions. Try not to activate the dimensional lock in normal times." The Elf King then ended the call.
"My dear concubine, it just so happens that I'm not ready to chat anymore." Hao Jiu shrugged helplessly. He saw the Elf King's name in the call log of the identity module, so he should be able to call back, but there was no need for it now.
"The God of Wine wants to see her?" Xiang Yu revealed his gossipy nature.
"Yeah, right. She's not giving me a reward, so why would I see her? If I didn't say that, she might ask me a few questions, and what if I gave myself away? Luckily, she's not very interested in making friends, otherwise this would have been easy for her to slip up..."
Before Hao Jiu could finish speaking, another unexpected event occurred: the sky suddenly darkened.
"Oh my god! You're finally here! Your most loyal newbie system almost died in the mission again!" Hao Jiu suddenly had the illusion that his heart was about to jump out of his throat.
"How loyal! They've even colluded with the law enforcers. You humans call this betrayal, right?" came the voice of the System God.
"My God, what are you talking about? I was forced to infiltrate the enemy's ranks! If I hadn't been quick-witted, I'd be dead by now! Are you sure you didn't assign me the wrong mission? The target even took down a high-ranking enforcer. Such a strong opponent, and you give me a newbie system? Is that reasonable? Or are you only having me as your subordinate?"
"Alright, that's enough. It seems you already know quite a bit about me, but it may not be what you think. As for this mission, didn't you complete it successfully? Encountering law enforcement was an accident, but it was something you had to face sooner or later."
"I only suspect you right now. If I had already decided you'd betrayed me, you would have been eliminated long ago. But because you've joined the law enforcement, I've decided to give you an extra mission. Complete it well, and I'll trust you; otherwise, eliminate you!"
"What mission?" Hao Jiu grinned, knowing it couldn't be anything good.
"One month...kill one law enforcement officer!"
Chapter 311 Black Steed
The voice of the God of the System echoed continuously, as if—no, not just as if—it was clearly an effect deliberately created to create an echo in the valley!
"Kill a law enforcer, a law enforcer, a law enforcer, a law, a law..."
"Another deadline? Another month? My God, law enforcers are hard to kill, how about a bigger reward?" Hao Jiu knew there was probably no room for negotiation, so he could only ask for more benefits.
"The reward is the modules and energy from the enforcers, plus I'll help you modify the enforcer identity module so they can't accurately locate your plane. That's all the reward. And you can find these enforcers yourself; the more you kill, the better."
"Where am I supposed to... find it?" Hao Jiu understood immediately after asking; he could actually find at least one.
"You can do it. Haven't you already infiltrated the law enforcement? You can easily accomplish this with a little trick. This task isn't difficult. You won't disobey orders, will you?" the God of Systems said with amusement.
"I guarantee I will complete the mission, please rest assured, my God!" Hao Jiu replied respectfully.
"Very good. I also have some good news for you. After killing one more law enforcement system, your host will be able to advance to the Profound Realm. From now on, your advancement journey will officially begin. Killing ten systems of the same realm will advance you, and killing two systems of a higher realm will advance you."
To avoid infighting among your own factions, please use the system radar I provided to scan the enemy host before killing them. Green dots represent friendly forces, red dots represent law enforcers, and yellow dots represent wild systems.
However, you can't completely trust your allies. The system can betray you. For example, if you're currently a green dot, but you can't kill the law enforcement officer to prove yourself, you'll become a red dot. But until the deadline arrives, you'll remain a green dot.
Now, reveal your law enforcement identity module. I'm going to modify it. After the modification, you can mark any known plane to conceal your true location.
But be careful, once law enforcement contacts you, answering the call will reveal your true location. Never let law enforcement know you're in two places at the same time, understand?
"Understood, subordinate." Hao Jiu said, then revealed his law enforcement officer identity module.
"It's all fixed. Don't let me down." The voice of the System God grew fainter and fainter, and the sky returned to normal.
"God of Wine, where are we going to find the enforcers? Are we going to kill the Elf King?" Xiang Yu frowned.
"Kill her? We'd have to be able to kill her. Let's wait and see. What if the Elf King assigns a mission to assist other law enforcers in rounding up the target? If all else fails, we can ask for help and have the Elf King send a law enforcer to support us. At least that would be easier to deal with than the Elf King himself."
Even if it really comes to the point where I have no choice but to fight the Elf King, it's better to fight closer to the deadline, as the odds of winning are higher then. A month is enough time to improve significantly.
Hao Jiu didn't think he had the ability to kill the Elf King right now, but it was clear that the God of the System was more difficult to deal with. He had to choose the lesser of two evils. Moreover, the essence of this matter was to prove his loyalty to the God of the System. He just wanted to infiltrate the law enforcement team as a spy, not to actually join the law enforcement team.
As long as the God of the System isn't stupid, he should understand how much of a role a spy can play, and the greater his value, the less the God of the System will be willing to kill him.
If I were merely an insignificant existence, the God of the System would certainly not bother arranging tasks to kill law enforcers and verify their authenticity; instead, He would simply eliminate me. It would be safer to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free, and there would be no need for Himself to come and modify the law enforcer identity module.
It must be because the task of retrieving the ferocious beast system was completed very well, which once again made the God of Systems see its potential, and that is its value.