Chapter 193: Jack’s Goal
Jack extended the metallic card toward the staff member before him.
"Since I cannot meet him, then help me deliver this to him."
The staff member still did not accept it.
"Before the tournament concludes, we similarly cannot forward commercial invitations on behalf of any organization to the contestants."
"Not now," Jack said calmly. "Give it to him after the tournament ends."
Hearing this, the staff member finally accepted the card.
"We can temporarily hold it for you, but we cannot guarantee that Zich will definitely accept."
"I know."
Just as Jack was about to turn and leave, a person in charge from a large elixir company finally couldn’t help but take half a step forward.
"Young Master Jack. Pardon my presumption, but what conditions is the Green Group prepared to offer?"
Jack stopped in his tracks.
The gazes of everyone around instantly focused on him. Even those representatives from media and entertainment companies perked up their ears, clearly all wanting to know just what kind of price the Green Group was prepared to put forward.
"Conditions?" Jack slowly turned his head. "There are no fixed conditions."
The person in charge was momentarily stunned.
"What does that mean?"
"It means, after he is willing to meet with me, he can personally propose the conditions."
The calm voice slowly fell. The entire corridor was immediately plunged into a deathly silence.
Let Zich personally propose the conditions?
This was no longer an ordinary endorsement invitation. It was the Green Group proactively handing the decision-making power for the cooperation into Zich’s hands. As long as the requests he made were not so exaggerated as to be completely unacceptable, the Greens would probably seriously consider them.
"Crazy..."
"The Green Group has gone mad too?"
"That’s their highest-tier cooperation invitation, and they’re just giving it directly to a sixteen-year-old newcomer?"
"Newcomer?"
A representative from a guild beside him shook his head.
"From the moment he defeated Nameless, he has ceased to be an ordinary newcomer."
Jack did not stay any longer and, under the complex gazes of everyone, walked toward the outside of the corridor. Those representatives of the various powers who had originally been blocking the path ahead all proactively moved aside to clear the way, no one daring to obstruct him.
...
The real world, inner ring of Stoneheart City.
A small aircraft, entirely silver-green in color, quietly hovered in midair. The surface of its streamlined fuselage showed no connecting seams. Only the Life Ancient Tree emblem of the Green Group glowed faintly under the sunlight.
Inside the aircraft, Jack’s eyes fluttered open as he exited the Ascension Mountain. A middle-aged man who had been waiting for a long time immediately came forward to greet him.
"Young Master. How was it? Did the Players Association approve your visitation request?"
"They did not," Jack said as he sat up from his resting pod.
"That’s quite normal." The middle-aged man was not surprised. He then went on to explain, "This year’s Chosen One Tournament is under the scrutiny of the entire Players Association. If the Players Association allowed the Green Group to contact him in advance at this time, other powers would certainly lodge protests immediately."
"Still, I’m somewhat puzzled."
The middle-aged man paused.
"Although the talent Zich has currently displayed is indeed extremely astonishing, we could have waited until after the tournament to send someone to make contact. There was no need for you to personally go there, and even less need to directly extend the highest-tier cooperation invitation."
Jack kept silent for some time before raising his hand.
The desktop before him immediately lit up, and a segment of battle footage that had already been replayed countless times slowly emerged. In the footage, Zich was continuously retreating under Nameless’s suppression, the injuries on his body growing increasingly severe.
The middle-aged man frowned slightly.
He had already seen this footage.
Although Zich ultimately achieved victory, from the beginning of the battle until the end, he had been at a disadvantage most of the time, even coming close to being directly defeated by Nameless on several occasions.
"What did you see?" Jack suddenly asked.
"A very talented summoner," the middle-aged man answered seriously. "His summoned creatures are numerous, and their coordination with one another is quite refined. Moreover, he possesses several special abilities that have never been recorded before. If he can continue to grow, he indeed has the chance to become one of the most powerful summoners in the Ascension Mountain in the future."
"The Green Group does not lack spokespersons, nor does it lack so-called genius players who can be cultivated through resources." Jack raised his head from the screen and looked at the middle-aged man.
"What we truly lack is a person capable of continuously advancing toward the higher layers within the Ascension Mountain. Right now, all the Green Group has is wealth. If we could somehow snatch someone like him, we would finally have a true powerhouse, not those fake arrogant bastards."
The middle-aged man finally understood, and the way he looked at the young master, who had taken charge of the Green Group for some time now, was filled with respect.
What the Green Group wanted was never just the current popularity Zich possessed, nor merely an ordinary endorsement contract lasting only a few years.
What they truly valued was the height Zich might reach in the future.
"Then what if he refuses?"
Jack did not hesitate in the slightest.
"Then raise the terms."
"And if he still refuses?"
"Then it simply proves that the terms we offered were not yet sufficient."
...
Central Medical Wing.
The gentle green healing light continued to fall unceasingly upon Zich. The injuries that had penetrated deep into his body were now largely stabilized, and even his originally pale complexion had gradually recovered a trace of color.
Just as a senior healer was preparing to change the recovery potion, Zich, lying on the hospital bed, suddenly moved his fingers lightly.
Immediately afterward, those eyes, tightly shut for so long, slowly opened.
Zich quietly looked at the unfamiliar ceiling, his consciousness rapidly returning after a brief moment of chaos. The last image surfacing in his mind was still that scene of Nameless collapsing in the center of the arena.
A moment later, he turned his head and looked at the healer standing beside him.
"Where am I?" his hoarse voice came out.
"You are currently in the Central Medical Wing receiving treatment. It’s great that you are finally awake," the healer said with a warm smile.
Still a bit skeptical, Zich scanned his surroundings. Only after confirming where he was did he rest his head back down.
Then, just as he was preparing to rest a little and think properly, his eyes suddenly shot open when he thought about something.
’Fuck!’