Chapter 298: Using the Arena Proof

Chapter 298: Chapter 298: Using the Arena Proof

[Zane Pierce]: Master... isn’t a 9-1 split a bit much? Besides, I’m a little tight on cash for a security deposit right now. Is it really necessary? If you don’t trust me, how about I give you more details? Or do you want to see my chat logs with my inside contact? Everything I’ve said is the absolute truth!

[Zane Pierce]: Besides... what good does it do us if they monopolize this thing? We’re in the same boat here. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have come straight to you, right?

Evasive, and skirting the real issue.

’If there was really no problem, he would have paid the security deposit without a fuss, signed the trade contract, and let the system split the profits later, wouldn’t he?’

’This guy barely reacted to the 9-1 split, but he’s having a strong reaction to the security deposit.’

But that just proved there was something wrong with this whole affair.

Seraphina Sinclair’s suspicions were now mostly confirmed. A cold smirk touched her lips, and her tone was exceptionally firm:

[Blacktiger Ford]: No security deposit, no deal. My rules. Take it or get lost.

This time, Zane Pierce was silent for much longer.

For a full five minutes, there was no reply.

Seraphina Sinclair wasn’t worried. She switched out of the private chat window and tapped on Artemis’s profile picture.

Their last conversation had ended with a cold warning from Artemis.

Seraphina stared at it for a moment, finding it more and more amusing the longer she looked. Just as she was contemplating what to say, Zane Pierce’s reply came in.

His tone sounded conflicted and aggrieved.

[Zane Pierce]: Master, your terms... Ugh, fine! For the sake of long-term benefits, I’ll accept! I’ll trade you the five thousand Black Fog Coins right now. But in return, we should sign a trade contract, right? Whether this works out or not, you have to give the money back! Otherwise, I’ll be suffering a double loss. You can’t do business like that!

Immediately after, a trade request popped up.

Looking at the trade request, Seraphina Sinclair’s gaze turned completely cold.

He was willing to accept even these obviously insulting and exploitative conditions. Even his haggling was just an act. His true objective was singular—

To make her use an arena challenge to attack Artemis or Cloudmute, at any cost.

This clearly went beyond the actions of a merely greedy collaborator.

This bait, offered regardless of cost, was like a villain fawning over you for no reason. Seraphina Sinclair didn’t need any reminder of what the second half of that old saying was.

She didn’t accept the trade. Instead, she simply closed the chat window.

She had learned enough from this exchange. Seraphina Sinclair was now all but certain. When it came to facing Artemis now, she had more than enough leverage.

Seraphina Sinclair’s fingertips tapped in the air, opening the private chat with "Artemis."

Her gaze lingered for a moment on the other party’s final word, "consequences." Then, as if nothing had ever happened, she sent a new message.

[Blacktiger Ford]: Artemis, something interesting has come up. I’d like to talk to you about it.

Her tone was placid, even carrying a hint of casual chatter, a stark contrast to the previous confrontational atmosphere.

She didn’t even say much, as if certain that Artemis would reply.

And indeed, Artemis’s reply came surprisingly quickly. It carried a natural familiarity, as if they were old friends and the prior conflict had never existed.

[Artemis]: Is there really something that would make the great Master Blacktiger come to me personally?

The words were clearly laced with sarcasm, but Seraphina Sinclair pretended not to understand, acknowledging the point without a hint of resentment.

[Blacktiger Ford]: Of course. It’s because it’s very interesting that I came to you. I just ran into a fortune teller who did a reading for me. Want to hear if he was accurate or not?

[Artemis]: I’m listening.

Seraphina Sinclair smiled, her eyes curving into crescents, but her fingers never stopped moving.

[Blacktiger Ford]: This alliance of yours has the top-ranked players from six Zones. Those people are: you, Seaview, Mountainwind, Cloudmute, and also Nathan Kane and Zane Pierce.

She listed their names one by one, as if she had a great deal of information in her grasp.

[Artemis]: Heh. Master Blacktiger’s information network is truly surprising. However, it seems your fortune teller has poor eyesight.

[Artemis]: There are five leaders, not six. It seems your fortune teller, just like certain other people, wants to stir up our muddy waters?

Artemis’s reply was cryptic. She only mentioned the number, as if daring Seraphina to guess who the outlier was, but for Seraphina, this information was already enough.

’So Zane Pierce isn’t in the alliance. That means one or more members of the alliance sought him out as an external party to carry out this plan of killing with a borrowed knife.’

[Blacktiger Ford]: Is that so? But I heard the goods are being held by you and Cloudmute for safekeeping. The reason... I hear it’s because one of you is smart, and the other has strong enough defenses? This piece of information isn’t false too, is it?

By now, Artemis would have to be incredibly slow not to understand what was going on.

’This wasn’t a casual chat. This was a probe for information...’

’Or to put it more bluntly, Blacktiger was here to deliver a warning!’

’This whole "fortune teller" story... someone must have contacted her and told her about the alliance leaders. And this bit of information she just dropped about the Expansion Crystals...’

Artemis’s brow tightened. This was no small matter!

’If Blacktiger Ford really believed this information and used an arena challenge on her and Cloudmute...’

A cold sweat broke out on Artemis’s back.

Everyone knew Blacktiger Ford was a troublesome, uncontrollable factor, and they also understood that she was the single biggest risk in this whole monopoly affair.

Since everyone in the alliance had chosen to stand against Blacktiger Ford, they were supposed to share this risk equally.

But now, someone had quietly shifted that risk onto her and Cloudmute.

This was something Artemis absolutely could not tolerate.

[Artemis]: ...So, the "fortune teller" is Zane Pierce, right?

[Artemis]: He wants you to use an arena challenge on me, or on Cloudmute.

[Artemis]: And he’s willing to pay you, even sign a contract that’s clearly disadvantageous to him, just to make it happen.

Artemis’s replies skipped right past probing and excuses. Her tone was certain, even carrying a hint of cold realization.

Clearly, she had quickly pieced everything together and immediately understood Seraphina Sinclair’s true intention in seeking her out for a chat.

It wasn’t a provocation, nor was it simply a request for confirmation. It was... a notification delivered with scrutiny. Or perhaps, a chance.

A chance to prove their innocence, or at the very least, to prove their worth.

Seraphina Sinclair appreciated intelligent people like this.

’Talking to smart people is so much easier.’

She curled her lips, and just as she was about to reply, the small group chat Chrona had created exploded with activity.

Seraphina Sinclair opened it, and even though she was already in the know, her pupils dilated for a second.

The topic of discussion was, shockingly, the fact that Artemis had just used an arena challenge on Seaview!