Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 148 - 144: Durman’s Weakness

Chapter 148: Chapter 144: Durman’s Weakness

According to the headquarters’ instructions, the Hunter squad would undergo a month-long magic practice training in the Otherworld, led by Tangmo and Baiyue from the Advance Team, who had a wealth of experience in magic combat.

However, to carry out this training, the mansion they currently resided in was clearly inadequate. The distance from the mansion to the Otherworld Gate of Yazhi City was only about ten kilometers. The opening of the Otherworld Gate consumed a lot of magic power in the vicinity, resulting in a scarcity of magic power in this area.

Moreover, the area near Yazhi City was infested with spies and hired mercenaries from countless other nations in the Otherworld. If they used magic here, and it was detected by these individuals, the whereabouts of the Hunter squad and the Advance Team would be exposed.

Even though magic was difficult to master, magic sensing was relatively easy to learn. During their missions, Luo’er and the others discovered that many inhabitants of the Otherworld, who were not mages, could perform magic sensing. They could detect changes in the magic power in the air to discern if someone nearby was using magic.

To provide the Hunter squad with a suitable training environment, the frontline headquarters needed to find them a secluded place for training.

For this purpose, Wang Xu sought out Durman Flach, a Blaiqi merchant who had a long-standing collaboration with them. He had been working with the headquarters for over twenty years. The mansion used by the frontline headquarters was provided by him. Many pieces of information about the Otherworld were provided by him before the Advance Team entered the Otherworld.

Durman evidently rushed over from the outside and seemed a bit disgruntled about Wang Xu’s sudden summoning. He was in his fifties, sturdy, and sported a horseshoe mustache. His hair was slicked back, and his temples were already flecked with white.

More than twenty years ago, right after the Otherworld War ended, Durman had made contact with the headquarters. When he learned that the United Nations had approved the export of Otherworld weapons, he hurried to Yazhi City, sensing a business opportunity, and passed through the Otherworld Gate to come to Earth for negotiations.

Not all merchants could obtain the qualification to export Earth’s weapons. Without a sales permit issued by the United Nations, it was impossible for the merchants of the Otherworld to import even a single weapon from Earth.

Luckily, as soon as Durman arrived in Ulysses City, he made contact with the people from the headquarters. They promised him priority in terms of weapon supply. In exchange, he needed to use his information network in the Merchants Association to provide them with the intelligence they needed.

Selling information about the Otherworld wasn’t a concern for Durman, hence, the two parties quickly signed a cooperation agreement and started a more than ten-year-long collaboration.

Durman’s fortune flourished during this collaborative period. Through selling weapons, he amassed considerable wealth and became a local tycoon. However, he wasn’t happy. Although he’d been married several times and had countless concubines, he still had no child.

He had visited Earth to seek medical advice. The doctors on Earth told him that he was sterile. They frankly stated that Otherworld inhabitants couldn’t survive on Earth, let alone the fragile embryos. Moreover, the conception rate was low when Earthlings mated with Otherworld inhabitants; until now, the total number of children naturally born from such a union was less than one hundred.

This matter had troubled him for a long time. Although his Earth partners promised to help him, there was still no news until today.

" Mr. Durman, thank you for your hard work!" Seeing Durman’s arrival, Wang Xu slightly bowed in respect.

"May I know the reason for your summon, Mr. Wang?" Durman asked.

"Well, it’s like this," Wang Xu got straight to the point, "Our members need a secluded place for training. I wonder if there are any such properties in Mr. Durman’s name, even if it’s far from the Otherworld Gate would be acceptable."

Durman looked at Wang Xu, an inexplicable sense of frustration surfacing from within. Recently, these people had been continuously demanding more from him. Even though they had indeed helped him in his business, he had also provided a lot of intelligence for them. So, no one owed anyone anything.

More importantly, Durman, who was nearing the age of fifty, had grown tired of the competition in the business world and had a strong desire to retire. The only thing he cared about currently was the issue of his succession.

"Mr. Wang, I’m afraid I can’t meet your demands. You should know that I have given a lot to you recently, and it’s simply not fair to me," Durman explained, opening his hands.

"What do you mean? You should realize that we have also provided a lot of convenience for you. If we hadn’t advocated for you in the United Nations, I doubt you would have received the qualification to sell Earth’s weapons!" Wang Xu retorted to Durman’s defiant attitude.

"You provided me with the qualification to sell weapons, and I provided you with information. We were supposed to be helping each other, and nobody owes anyone anything. But recently, your constant demands have put me in a tough spot," Durman sighed and said, avoiding Wang Xu’s gaze.

"So, you’re saying you don’t intend to cooperate anymore?" Wang Xu raised an eyebrow and asked.

"Listen, we’ve been cooperating for over ten years. Reaping great wealth, I have indeed grown weary. Therefore, I think it’s time for our cooperation to end. If you wish to continue using this mansion, please pay the rent within a week," said Durman, stating his stance.

After saying this, Durman closed his eyes, stood up, intending to leave. Wang Xu stood behind him, asking loudly: "What benefits did the Manikens offer you?"

"You..." Durman’s eyes widened as he turned to look at him. He thought the matter was seamless, but he didn’t expect that Wang Xu already knew.

Seeing his surprised expression, Wang Xu gave a cold sneer and said, "You cannot think that we only have you as a partner, Mr. Durman?"

The Manikens are the Otherworld’s nickname for Americans. The strange translation came from the High-peak Dwarves translating it into the Otherworld. After the second Otherworld war, the High-peak Dwarves actively learned Earth culture. Many Earth terms were translated into the Otherworld via them, and then translated into the Tasta language.

"Mr. Durman, we’ve been cooperating for over a decade now, but you were willing to give up our partnership and choose to work with the Manikens. I’m curious, what benefit did they offer you?" Wang Xu questioned him.

"You’re a businessman," Seeing Durman falling silent, Wang Xu continued to press him, "I don’t believe that you would abandon your partner for no reason and choose to cooperate with strangers. This carries great risk for you."

Durman remained silent; although he was a businessman, he was not good at lying. For him, finding a convincing cover story was proving to be exceedingly difficult.

Seeing him still silent, Wang Xu knew that he was right. He leisurely walked up to Durman, looked at him and guessed, "Let me take a wild guess, did the Manikens promise to find a cure for your fertility problems?"

Durman’s eyes widened. Apparently, Wang Xu’s words had hit directly to the heart of the matter. He stared at Wang Xu in disbelief. He had only thought that Wang Xu knew about his cooperation with the Manikens, but he didn’t expect him to know this intimately.

"How did you know?" Faced with Wang Xu’s question, Durman couldn’t help but ask.

Wang Xu gave a cold laugh, walked to where Durman was just sitting, and arrogantly asked while looking at him, "Do you really want a child that much?"

"Of course," Since Wang Xu already knew, Durman felt there was no need to hide, he looked at Wang Xu and answered without hesitation, "I’m already in my fifties and still childless. If I were to die alone, who will inherit my estate?"

"So, the Manikens promised to find a cure for you, and in return, you would betray us and cooperate with them?" Wang Xu asked.

"I didn’t betray you. Like I said, our cooperation is over!" Durman defended.

"Mr. Durman," Wang Xu didn’t bother to hear his defense and crossed his arms as he asked, "Are you sure the Manikens can cure you?"

"Naturally." Durman answered confidently. His first medical check-up on Earth was done in Australia, so he had trust in western medicine.

Wang Xu sighed and then said, "Don’t overestimate Earth’s medical ability. You don’t know when your treatment on Earth will be done. If I tell you now that your child is already growing healthily, will you still seek that elusive treatment?"

Wang Xu’s words struck like a bolt from the blue, shocking Durman. He stared blankly at Wang Xu, and after a while, he dashed forward and excitedly asked, "You said my child, where is he?"

"Calm down, Mr. Durman," Wang Xu said as he pushed off the excited Durman. "Your child is on Earth now. He’s safe and healthy."

After the initial excitement, Durman calmed down. He looked at Wang Xu, doubt filled his face as he asked, "How can I be sure of what you say is true? When did you have my child? Why don’t I know anything about it?"

"Remember when we first met, we asked you for a liquid sample from your body for research?" Wang Xu hinted.

Durman was stunned for a moment, then suddenly remembered their initial meeting when they wanted a particular liquid sample from him for study. He remembered hesitating for a long time before reluctantly agreeing due to their cooperation.

"Are you saying?" Durman asked wide-eyed.

"The child has been born. His mother is from Earth, so he can live on both Earth and the Otherworld." Wang Xu said.

"Where is he now?" Durman asked excitedly.

"Mr. Durman," Wang Xu looked at him, his face breaking into a strange smile, "You’ve chosen to abandon him, you don’t need to know where he is anymore. In any case, he can survive on Earth and the Otherworld. Your property can go to your soon-to-be-born child, right?"