Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 1018 - 111: Forming Good Relationships

Chapter 1018: Chapter 111: Forming Good Relationships

Luo’er knew Wadulan’s little schemes; he wanted to leverage their relationship to connect with the headquarters. For the Blaiqi people, as long as one could establish a connection with Earthlings and stand on the right side, their prospects would be incredibly smooth.

Wadulan was actually just a branch manager of the headquarters’ partner firm, mainly responsible for trade dealings and receiving clients from the firm when required.

However, Wadulan clearly wanted to bypass the firm and connect directly with the headquarters, which could potentially transform his relationship with headquarters into a direct subordinate relationship, rather than the current sub-subordinate one.

But even so, what could it do? For Luo’er, Wadulan had treated him well, they had also faced some dangers together, and it was fair to say that they had developed some friendship.

If one were to solely use conspiratorial points to speculate on their friendship, then there would be no genuine feelings left in the world, only endless Machiavellian struggles.

Moreover, for Luo’er, his relationship with Wadulan was a good opportunity to expand his connections. Since he intended to seek power at headquarters, he should start laying the groundwork now. It wasn’t just Earth that needed connections, Otherworld needed them too, so that in the future, whatever problems he faced, he would have people to rely on.

Genuine emotions might not always bring selfless confidants, but excluding ingrates, the remaining friends were undoubtedly the most reliable ones Luo’er needed, not those who act like brothers in good times but ostriches in peril.

Realizing this, Luo’er offered a slight smile, then raised his glass to Wadulan, "Captain Wadulan, today we are fortunate to have escaped death, let’s toast to our luck."

"Sure!" Wadulan laughed heartily and clinked his glass with Luo’er’s.

His action felt strangely discordant; Luo’er was stunned after the toast and took a while to recover, then nodded in resignation.

Luo’er was confused because in Otherworld, there was basically no concept of toasting, a dining etiquette that had traveled here from Earth. So, seeing Wadulan, who had a Blaiqi appearance, skillfully clinking glasses with him, it took Luo’er a while to react and feel the odd discordance.

Wadulan did not mind Luo’er’s reaction. After the toast, he tilted his head back and drained the beer in his glass, then put down the glass, burped loudly, and looked at Luo’er with bleary eyes before suddenly tearing up and saying somberly, "Today, thanks to Captain Luo’er’s steadfast presence, we were able to save everyone on board. I truly don’t know how I can repay this."

"Captain Wadulan, you must be drunk. We were just trying to preserve our own lives, why would Captain Wadulan say such a thing?" Luo’er put down his glass, somewhat embarrassed.

"Captain Luo’er, don’t be so modest," Wadulan sniffed and then, banging the table, said, "I heard what you all said on the ship today; you could have left, but you didn’t. You didn’t abandon us, didn’t abandon this Windbreaker; I... I really don’t know what to say..."

Upon hearing his words, Luo’er then realized that Wadulan had likely overheard the conversation between him and Cheng Ziang.

The discussion at the time was mainly in Tasta and Chinese, but since it was an internal conversation among colleagues, more Chinese was used. Luo’er thought that apart from the Advance Team, no one else would understand Chinese, but he had overlooked Wadulan who had studied Chinese literature.

At the time, Cheng Ziang had asked Luo’er to utilize the Mobility Unit to leave the Windbreaker and land on the spot. However, Luo’er could not bear to abandon the people on board and thus rejected his proposal. Unexpectedly, this had been overheard by Wadulan not far away.

"Heh," realizing this, Luo’er laughed awkwardly and then, scratching his head, said, "Such a thing is hardly worth mentioning..."

"What are you saying, Captain Luo’er?" Wadulan tilted his head, furrowing his brows and loudly said, "If it weren’t for Captain Luo’er today, we would all have perished at sea. Our narrow escape was wholly reliant on Captain Luo’er and everyone’s protection!"

His voice was loud enough that many people in the bar heard him, turning their heads to look. It was fortunate that Wadulan had reserved the entire bar; otherwise, if outsiders heard it, Luo’er would be terribly embarrassed.

"Calm down, Captain Wadulan, lower your voice a bit, don’t disturb others drinking." Luo’er quickly tried to smooth things over, reassuring with a wry smile.

But despite this, he still felt the grateful gazes of the crowd. For someone as introverted as he was, these gazes were like steel needles, pricking at his back, making him restless.

"Does Captain Luo’er agree with my statement?" Wadulan sighed deeply, exhaling the smell of alcohol, then looked at Luo’er and asked.

"Agree, agree, since Captain Wadulan says so, I must not disrespectfully decline," Luo’er waved his hand, going along with his words.

Having said that, Luo’er raised his beer glass, took a sip, then sighed, continuing, "Actually, I didn’t want to take credit. Today’s event, if we hadn’t been there, you might not have encountered the Leviathan."

"What do you mean by that, Captain Luo’er?" Wadulan widened his eyes, puzzled.

"Actually..." Luo’er took a deep breath, then pursed his lips and began, "I feel that the Leviathan was very likely targeting us."

"This..." Luo’er’s words shocked Wadulan even more.

"This involves some organizational secrets, so it might not be convenient to reveal them to Captain Wadulan; I truly apologize," Luo’er said with an apologetic expression.

"No, no, no," Wadulan waved his hands, shaking his head, "Don’t say that, Captain Luo’er. Whether the Leviathan was targeting you or the ’Sailing through the Waves,’ the fact that Captain Luo’er helped us escape danger remains true. So, we should still thank Captain Luo’er for saving our lives."

"You flatter me," Luo’er said smilingly, deflecting the praise, "What virtues or abilities do we have? We were merely acting in our own interests."

"Captain Luo’er," Wadulan said seriously, "Taking this opportunity, if Captain Luo’er doesn’t mind, I wish to become close friends with you. Should you ever need my help in the future, I will spare no effort to assist. Your word will be my command, even at the cost of my life!"

His speech, entirely in Chinese, had correct grammar and structure and even carried a hint of ancient literary style. It was clear that Wadulan was genuinely interested in forming a bond with Luo’er.

Luo’er squinted at him, apparently not overwhelmed by his words. Taking a deep breath, Luo’er calmly stated, "Captain Wadulan, you are drunk..."

"No, I’m not drunk. If Captain Luo’er doesn’t believe in my sincerity, I’m willing to kneel and swear an oath to the Goddess of Light." Wadulan became more excited as he spoke, nearly sliding off his chair to kneel on the ground.

Luo’er quickly stepped forward to support him, then said with a wry smile, "Since Captain Wadulan insists, it would be rude for me to refuse... I must accept graciously."

He could tell that Wadulan’s desire to form a connection wasn’t solely for friendship; it certainly also had to do with the background of his headquarters. Even so, Luo’er was very willing to make friends with people like him.

After all, Wadulan needed the backing of Luo’er’s headquarters, and Luo’er likewise needed friends like Wadulan, who navigated amongst the diverse factions of Otherworld. Casting aside friendship, there’s nothing wrong with a mutually beneficial relationship.

Actually, Luo’er was very willing to make friends with people from Otherworld, regardless of whether they had ulterior motives. Azita was the best example initially, but this ingrate ultimately betrayed Luo’er’s trust, deeply hurting him and making him wary of trusting people from Otherworld for a long time.

"Come on, let’s drink to our friendship," Luo’er said as he pulled Wadulan back to his seat, then poured wine for him personally before raising his glass in a toast.

Not far away, Cheng Ziang sat alone at a table, holding his glass while listening intently to the conversation between Luo’er and Wadulan, yet he never opened his mouth to say anything.