The Last Sentinel

A thin mist and clouds hang in the air, and a waterfall cascades past the window.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, let's get down to business.

Old Nine leaned back in his chair, twirling an empty wine glass between his fingers, and said lazily, "Let's get down to business!"

Liu Sheng pointed to the restaurant, his sleeve brushing against the wine stains on the table: "Boss Jiu, please speak frankly. This is my territory, the headquarters of the Heavenly Secrets Alliance. No one can eavesdrop or plot against this place, not even the Heavenly Court!"

Old Nine said, "You call me boss, so here's the deal: you go first. What do you want to know, or what do you need? Whether it's resources, manpower, connections, or channels, whatever you need, I'll give it to you!"

Liu Sheng's eyes gleamed, he leaned forward, and tapped his knuckles on the edge of the table: "Intelligence! I desperately need intelligence!"

Old Nine asked, "Where did this intelligence come from?"

Liu Sheng said, "Three places! First, battle reports from the Flower Fruit Mountain battlefield! Real-time reports! I need to know the battle situation of all the major immortal clans at Flower Fruit Mountain at all times, and their casualty ratios! This way, I can control the pulse of the major immortal clans to the greatest extent possible, and even extort their holy lands! Boss Jiu, you know that those in the intelligence business never make money by selling intelligence, but by extortion, intimidation, and selling anxiety."

Old Nine nodded, setting down his wine glass with a soft thud: "That's right. Later, arrange for a spy for me; I'll send him to Flower Fruit Mountain to be your war correspondent!"

Liu Sheng said, "I want intelligence about our home planet's carbon-based universe to exert continuous strategic intimidation over all the myriad worlds!"

Old Nine nodded: "Okay, we'll arrange a spy for you in the carbon-based universe!"

Liu Sheng said, "And one last place, the Dimensional Battlefield! I want to know the battle between the Seven Prodigies and the Big Boss on the Dimensional Battlefield, the battle footage!"

"This..." Old Nine frowned, tracing the rim of the cup with his fingertips. "This... I'm afraid I'm not the only one who can provide it for you."

Liu Sheng gave an awkward smile and rubbed his hands together: "You just need to give me a little guidance, a rough outline of the plot, and I can fill in the blanks myself. We intelligence operatives are very good at filling in the blanks!"

Old Nine thought for a moment, then dipped his left index finger in the liquor and drew a square area on the table. The liquor seeped into the wood grain, leaving a dark mark.

"The biggest difference between me and my clones is fairness."

"We can share all our memories."

"At this stage, Boss Seven has been in the dimensional battlefield for a week now, and he has adapted to the combat there. Let me show you Boss Seven's current situation!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Sheng hurriedly stood up, walked behind Lao Jiu, and unconsciously softened his breathing.

With his eyes closed, Lao Jiu's left fingertip emitted a black light that spread out like ripples on water across the small square area on the table.

Within the cube, a dark and oppressive scene of an ancient battlefield quickly appeared.

The setting sun, like blood, spilled onto the cracked, dark earth.

Ancient god skeletons lay scattered for thousands of miles, broken halberds stuck in the eye sockets of skulls, and flags, tattered into shreds, still fluttered in the wind.

A huge gap appeared in the sky, from which dark red light seeped out, illuminating the broken soldiers and armor scattered on the ground as if they were soaking in blood.

An eight-year-old boy stood between the ribs of a mountain-like skeleton.

The boy's armor was tattered, his shoulder armor was cracked and gaped, and his breastplate was covered with crisscrossing knife marks, the deepest of which almost pierced through his heart cavity.

He stood barefoot on the shattered divine bone, motionless, with a black spear slung over his shoulder.

The gun was taller than him, entirely black, and seemed to absorb light. Dark brown blood clung to the tip, and a murderous aura dripped down the tassel, hissing as it hit the ground and leaving tiny dents.

The boy had no expression.

His lips were pressed into a thin line, and his eyes were as black as two dry wells. There was no fear, no sadness, only silence.

The wind ruffled the stray hairs on his forehead, revealing an unhealed wound. Blood slid down his cheek along his brow bone. He wiped it haphazardly with his sleeve and looked up at the sky.

There was no one above him, yet he watched intently.

Clearly, the silent one was watching none other than the lazy, good-for-nothing Lao Jiu.

Old Nine greeted him politely, "Seventh Brother, is the Dimensional Battlefield fun?"

The boy's eyes were cold, and he spoke slowly, "Are you coming?"

"No, no, no! Seventh Brother, don't joke around!" Ninth Brother hurriedly waved his hands, shrinking back: "How could I possibly do that! My personality is that of someone who just lies around and waits to die. If I went to the dimensional battlefield, wouldn't that be like an old man hanging himself, courting death?"

"By the way, Seventh Brother, I heard that the Seven Heavenly Prodigies all went looking for you. Did you run into them?"

Upon hearing the words "Seven Prodigies," a crimson halo appeared deep within the other's eyes, and the tip of his spear trembled slightly: "Of course, the Heavenly Court is still very efficient. The envoy of the Seven Prodigies has already come to me, but that woman was too inexperienced. I cut off half of her body, and she escaped."

Old Nine pulled Liu Sheng, who was beside him, forward half a step: "Seventh Brother, this is the war correspondent I found for you. If you have any information, or if you kill someone, pass the intelligence to him!"

"Not interested." The seventh brother shook the black iron spear on his shoulder, the tassel spraying out a string of blood droplets. "Let's go."

As soon as he finished speaking, the projection on the table blurred and disappeared, never to be seen again. The stains of alcohol dried, and the table returned to its original state.

The atmosphere was slightly awkward.

Liu Sheng and Lao Jiu exchanged a glance. Liu Sheng chuckled twice: "Seventh Boss's temperament is truly unique, perfectly fitting the template of a strongman who only kills and doesn't save! Seventh Boss's abilities must be extraordinary!"

"That's right!" Old Nine said smugly, leaning back in his chair. "I'm not afraid to tell you, in terms of skill, the Big Boss is number one, but when it comes to ranking by murderous intent, Old Seven is definitely number one! Old Seven's murderous intent is too great! He's the only one among our nine bosses who could get a medical record from a mental hospital!"

Liu Sheng was taken aback, then whispered, instinctively lowering his voice, "Does Ninth Boss mean that Seventh Boss... he has a mental illness?"

"That's right!" Old Nine said, "Let's just keep this between us, don't tell anyone else!"

"After all, no normal person could handle things like fighting and killing well!"

"Most people who can do this kind of thing well must be mentally ill, so Seventh Brother is the sharpest knife in the big boss's hand! He's also the most extreme manifestation of his personality!"

"If you want to know anything about the dimensional battlefield in the future, come to this table, activate the screen with a drink. I've already set up my personal coordinates here, so you can contact Old Seven directly!"

"I have to tell you something: you absolutely must maintain a good relationship with Seventh Brother, and don't provoke him! He's mentally ill; he's capable of anything! Even the big boss himself doesn't dare to suppress him!"

Liu nodded repeatedly, beads of sweat forming on his forehead: "Understood, understood! Thank you for your guidance, Boss Jiu!"

Old Nine stood up, dusted off his sleeves, and said, "Alright, I've fulfilled all your requests. Now I have one small request!"

Liu Sheng said, "Please give your instructions, Boss Jiu!"

Old Nine asked, "Have you ever heard of Endless Tears?"

Liu Sheng blinked: "Of course! The infamous Endless Tears, which defy the test of time—who doesn't know it? Legend has it that this item is the life essence born from the divine marrow of a fallen dimensional battlefield giant. It ignores the laws of time, is milky white like breast milk, and is extremely precious!"

"Collect the Endless Tears," Old Nine said, his tone calm yet leaving no room for argument. "Use your connections and resources at all costs to buy up the Endless Tears like crazy!"

Liu Sheng said, "Boss Jiu, the Endless Tears market doesn't have many, and..."

Old Nine waved his hand, took out a jade pendant, placed it on the table, and pushed it over: "Money is no problem. Just tell Hua Xiaobai a number; he has plenty of money."

Liu Sheng took the jade pendant and patted his chest, "No problem! I'll acquire them as soon as possible!"

"Very good," said the Ninth Brother. "From now on, let's rename this Endless Tears to Wild Dog Milk!"

Liu Sheng blinked: "Wild dog milk?"

Old Nine rolled his eyes: "Is there a problem?"

"No problem!" Liu Sheng said, tucking the jade pendant into his robes, his lips twitching slightly. "Very down-to-earth!"