Apocalypse Gachapon Chapter 1917: Changxu Race's crazy choice

The Novice camp buzzed with utter disorder and uproar, echoing with shouts from all sides, the rumble of machines, the bellows of warbeasts, the groans from the injured, the swears aimed at foes, and the sharp clashes of blows.

It couldn't be helped. The remaining Novices and seasoned fighters, along with the clan folk who arrived in those two fleets, had mostly touched down on this world and clustered in the Novice camp. They didn't just replace the fallen numbers—they swelled past them by quite a margin. Expecting silence here was nothing short of a pipe dream.

The Star-Eye Clan under Aslan's command had arrived as well, of course. Wary of any mishaps, nearly all of them except the bare minimum needed to pilot the spacecraft had descended to the surface, totaling more than thirty in number!

Word had it that yet another massive Star-Eye Clan vessel was en route, loaded with over a thousand warriors from the clan.

Ye Zhongming managed to get on his feet now, though experts figured he'd require another couple of days to hit peak form again. This was the top temporary remedy the Star-Eye Clan could offer.

For the rest, including White Robe, post-treatment meant resting in specialized medical pods for a full week before they could even move about.

Aslan gazed at Ye Zhongming, who sat there in stillness, and a wave of astonishment washed over her.

How could a figure who'd pulled off such a monumental feat, right on the cusp of staggering prizes, stay this composed?

Didn't any rush of excitement stir in him? Hadn't he pondered even once how his path ahead might twist dramatically?

That edge came from Ye Zhongming's clone honing his skills right up to the end. It pushed him ahead of Jie Su, who'd benefited from the Silk Sea Light Array before, in terms of kills—and thus, his score leaped far beyond. Toss in the points from the two enduring Star-Eye Clan survivors, Robe Bai and Jie Kui, and the clan's overall tally claimed first place.

The initial target had been just the top fifty. Yet now, Ye Zhongming had seized the ultimate prize in this reward-packed Novice battlefield. Aslan pondered the fixed cosmic race rewards as one matter, but what of the clan? What bounty could they offer to satisfy this man and bind him loyally to their modest Star-Eye Clan?

Aslan abruptly realized that if he'd merely met the clan's modest aim, things might have been far simpler to manage.

Luckily, White Robe had joined the fray.

Aslan understood that should Ye Zhongming opt to remain with the Star-Eye Clan in the end, White Robe's daring support through life-threatening moments would surely rank as a key factor.

Maybe even the prime one.

Aware her influence was slight, Aslan chose to test the waters with Ye Zhongming anyway, if only to gauge his leanings.

"You've got hundreds of thousands of points to burn in the Shop. Got any ideas?"

It went by the name Shop, not Novice Shop, because once the Novice battlefield wrapped up, the Novice Shop got an upgrade, expanding its stock and options for the survivors to use up their points. Ranking was one use for those points; this was the other.

Aslan posed the question with clever intent. With that haul of points, they could likely clear out a third or more of the Shop's inventory. If one individual hogged all those gains or spread them among the group—even the Star-Eye Clan—it would hint at Ye Zhongming's ultimate choice to some degree. It might not reveal everything, but it could at least reveal his temperament.

Ye Zhongming met Aslan's eyes with a subtle, almost smirking curve to his lips. His sharp instincts picked up the underlying probe in her words without fail.

"Depends on how things play out."

Those three curt words nearly left Aslan speechless.

"Suppose, just suppose, you had to use them right away—what would catch your eye?"

"Haven't given it a thought."

"Only supposing..."

"I haven't checked the Shop's contents. How could I pick?"

Aslan's expression darkened. She itched to press further, but fury got the better of her. With a sharp turn, she stormed off in frustration.

Still, her parting words gave Ye Zhongming a moment's halt.

"Cheng Liujin, the Order Leader, is heading here."

Cheng Liujin? A Gold Order Leader? Among the Star-Eye Clan's five elite masters?

Was this powerhouse coming for him? Ye Zhongming's initial hunch was that it tied to White Robe, given the bond forged in battle between the two Order Leaders. But he quickly scrapped that notion.

Cheng Liujin might cloak his visit with that excuse for outsiders, yet deep down, he had to be targeting Ye Zhongming.

Until the prizes in Ye Zhongming's grasp solidified the Star-Eye Clan's rise, they'd pull every string to hold him close.

Whether that grip turned forceful or gentle, Ye Zhongming couldn't say for sure anymore. True to his cautious streak, he'd need to watch this angle closely.

It would shape how the Cloud Peak King handled that fortune in points too.

Ye Zhongming sought out He. The Changxu Water Race group was present as well. They'd notched a solid spot, top ten in total score. But they'd lost one of their own. For a race with such thin numbers, that loss hit hard.

After all, free-status clansmen were scarce for them. Dropping one equated to shedding a chunk of their strength, maybe several percentage points or more.

Ye Zhongming felt genuine relief that they'd stuck with the Star-Eye Clan. He credited He for that, the woman seen as her people's beacon of hope.

Ye Zhongming deemed it vital to chat with her. Her value to him outshone even the Star-Eye Clan's stake in the Cloud Peak King.

No choice about it—Ye Zhongming dreaded dying. The handful of skills that let him hold his own amid the cosmos's powerhouses were all high-risk gambles. He craved a sturdy shield at his back...

Plus, the bigger the Changxu Water Race crew grew, the tougher that shield would get. Picturing future clashes where he'd grandly flick his wrist, letting the enemy pummel him for a solid minute, Ye Zhongming could already taste that crude, guilty thrill that'd drive opponents mad.

Noting Ye Zhongming's injuries weren't fully mended and his separate visit away from the Star-Eye Clan crowd, He got the picture. Before he uttered a word, she spoke up. "I backed that scheme the hardest during the Novice battlefield. Believe me?"

Ye Zhongming paused, then gave a nod.

That backing stemmed from desperation, really. The Changxu Water Race hungered most for a turnaround now. Their perils loomed larger in ways than the Star-Eye Clan's. If survival seemed feasible otherwise, they wouldn't have thrust He forward so soon. That move was like dangling prime bait before their predators, ripe for the taking.

A strong showing from He might've bought her some leeway to decide her fate. Failure, though, would've dashed the Changxu Water Race's last spark.

Now, a daring, near-treasonous scheme had surfaced—one with razor-thin odds, yet He and her kin were ready to roll the dice.

What's more, after surviving the Novice battlefield together, He brimmed with faith in the man across from her.

She'd glimpsed a hazy shot at tomorrow. She'd rallied a few free clansmen to her side.

The choice she staked was wilder than Ye Zhongming had ever imagined.