The news of the Wasteland Wagon’s Cargo Crew’s destruction spread faintly among the Peng Zones, making transactions for Yang Zicang’s new Cargo Crew far smoother.
This was the Cargo Crew of a brutal figure capable of annihilating the entire Wasteland Wagon’s Cargo Crew with just a few people.
In two days, Yang Zicang had swept through three small Peng Zones, delivering reasonably priced daily necessities to these small zones, even allowing trade in ordinary minerals or wood resources as payment.
Shiu Siuchuan and the others marveled at the staggering sales, never expecting business to be so easy. They couldn’t tell whether the customers truly needed the goods or were driven by some invisible pressure to offer –enthusiastic patronage.–
At this moment, dozens of people from this small Peng Zone gathered at the entrance, waving goodbye with a mix of respect and strangeness to the great client Cargo Crew.
–Come back sooner next time,– one said, his voice tinged with a trembling, almost tearful plea.
–Thanks for keeping us in mind, haha. We’ll be back.–
–Ah… So you really are coming back?–
The reputation of the Great Client Fortress Cargo Crew began to spread across this land.
[Your fame has been born in the Shibin Wastes.]
A blurry image of Hubville materialized.
It seemed as if an indifferent gaze was fixed on their group in this region.
After a long moment, it slowly and detachedly withdrew.
The fame for the third week emerged. Yang Zicang felt the unabashed gaze.
This gaze lasted longer than in the previous two weeks. Last week, his fame had already reached 75 points, and the entire Cargo Crew had climbed to 190 points.
That was because Chin Mong had joined his Cargo Crew at the very end.
A zigzag of movement flickered in.
{A new week’s coming, how’s it going?}
–Ju Yin Chase? Oh, perfect timing. I just spawned this week’s fame. Those little reporters didn’t spread the footage of our dinner party, did they?–
{What dinner party? Uh, I’ve got news here—an A-class rift just fell into your area. It involves psychic attacks and might contain related items. You might want to check it out. If you can retrieve a piece of eighty-year-old Artifact from it, there’s a reward of several thousand Chronos waiting on this side.}
Ju Yin Chase relayed the team’s plea for help to Yang Zicang in detail before snarkily asking about what happened last time.
–I was about to ask you too. Have you found out that guy’s identity?–
{I could ask Wuyou for his info anytime if I wanted, but with my status, do I really need to go out of my way and meddle in this? Still, to be fair, if it hadn’t been for that jinxed bastard causing trouble… he’s truly a jerk.}
–He isn’t plagued by bad luck—just a bit of a rough patch, nothing more.–
Yang ZiCang was about to cut the link when he suddenly recalled a prior favor, and asked, –Oh, by the way, have you prepared the materials for the well?–
Ju Yin Chase, upon hearing that, scowled and replied with a cold –hmph.–
{Rest assured, with so many cities around, a few materials are no big deal.}
[I nearly bowed to his authority.]
Yang ZiCang curled the corner of his mouth.
After setting up camp, Yang ZiCang reached out to a few still at the base and asked them to look into any news about a twilight vista in a mountain range.
Soon after, another hair-thin rift shot toward him.
{Mr. ZiCang, long time no see! Hahaha.}
Upon spotting the figure, Yang ZiCang smiled, cupped his hands, and said:
–Peng Lord Wuyou, it’s an honor. Sorry for the sudden departure last time—I had an urgent matter that left no time for goodbyes.–
{No worries, no worries—it was my fault for not being available to take your Syn-Link then. Haha, by the way, I’m reaching out to warn you to be careful. Someone’s buying information about you and putting a bounty on your head to have you killed.}
Peng Lord Wuyou lowered his voice with concern and added:
{Watch out for a plot against you. Moxel; while most of the wastes in Shibin are just scrap, there are purposefully sent some freaks with special abilities.}
–Oh?– The young man raised an eyebrow and said to the fat-headed, ugly Penglord on Syn-Link, –May I ask who released it?–
{Nine times out of ten, it’s the Wasteland Chariot Master. The one who posted it calls himself the Wasteland Ancestor.}
–Heh, I haven’t even planned to go looking for that guy’s trouble yet, but he’s coming right to my door.–
Wuyou Penglord wore a knowing smile; Yang Zicang didn’t deny the grudge between him and the Wasteland Chariot Master.
That night, when he heard that the Wasteland Chariot’s Cargo Crew had been set up and was being slaughtered, he inquired with many people. The descriptions of the attackers closely matched this guest staying with him, even down to roughly the same numbers.
When he went to knock on the door, he found only a note left inside. The man had already left long ago.
Wuyou continued:
{After you guys took out several of the Wasteland Chariot’s Cargo Crew leaders, more and more people have been eyeing that vehicle over the past two days. My few crude conspirators guess that he might use his Wasteland Chariot as bait to deal with you.}
–What exactly is this Wasteland Chariot, that people won’t just demand it outright, but dare to go after someone capable of wiping out an entire Cargo Crew?–
{They say that chariot possesses a tiny pocket dimension. Dimension-type modules are extremely valuable, you should know that. Everyone would gladly get it peacefully.}
–Ah, I see now.–
{Brother Yang, for now, few know that you’ve wiped out the Wasteland Cargo Crew. The Wasteland Master putting a bounty on your head is likely just buying time for his own escape.}
–I’m not interested in him, but can you tell me more about his vehicle?–
{Hmm… as for that carriage turned into a nightmare-grade module, it’s a bronze carriage that can autonomously travel on land.}
–Bronze?–
The plump Penglord mused:
{It’s said that it was obtained from a museum. It provides power and can pull many small cargo carts behind it—that’s what the Wastelander Cargo Crew initially used to hock their wares. Also, the bronze horse on the carriage and its rider can attack, acting as obedient humanoid guardians. People only later discovered that it hides a small space inside… unlucky, though, heh, seemingly a cemetery.}
Yang ZiCang showed a thoughtful expression.
Upon hearing the word cemetery, his curiosity about the Wilderness Rider’s carriage dampened. While it sounded cool, the thought of living alongside it day and night was eerie. Besides, he already had the Nightmare Subway.
–Thank you for telling me, Unworried Penglord. Do you know if any A-Class lost frequencies have entered here recently?–
–There are a vast number of Out-of-Frequency Scenes scattered across the land, but stumbling upon one depends entirely on luck. As for the A-grade Shibin Wastes you mentioned, Brother Jiazi, I have no knowledge of them. If you go to the Unique Frequency Inn, you can ask around there together.–
After clarifying the source of the information, Yang Zicang let out a disdainful snort.
The Wasteland Lord tried to bribe me for intelligence—why didn’t this Chronos just earn it himself?
……
The Wasteland Chariot Master was just departing from a medium-sized Peng Zone.
The Penglord of this medium-sized Peng Zone was an old acquaintance of his. But even so, he dared not linger for long in one place now. After exchanging for water resources, he headed straight for his ancient bronze chariot.
–Still three thousand short of ten thousand Chronos. Damn it, I shouldn’t have trusted those fools to hold my Chronos.–
In a dim space resembling a cave, the Wasteland Lord sat in the main seat, gazing at the dozen or so people before him, a hint of frustration in his heart—even killing every single one of them wouldn’t get him three thousand Chronos.
If he were still in the city, the Wasteland Chariot Master would have already wiped out these remnants of a defeated army.
From among the crowd, a young man with slightly yellowed hair tips stepped forward and said,
–Boss, I’ve already spread the news. I reckon those who have ambition will, in order to obtain the Wasteland Chariot, choose to try and provoke the Jiazi Term.–
–Just giving it a try isn’t bad either. Pay attention recently—if you find any missing-frequency scenes, tell me immediately. By the way, what’s your name again?–
–Lee Shangxiang.–
In his memory, he had seen this kid a few times. Being able to escape from that massacre was itself a talent for sniffing out danger.
The Wasteland Lord’s deep gaze swept over the young man’s face several times before finally saying, –From now on, you’ll be in charge of those people.–
The crowd stirred slightly in unrest.
–Huh, me?– Lee Shangxiang looked incredulous. –What about that other guy? I’m nowhere near qualified, boss.–
–It’s fine. He’s just a registered member of our waste chariot. Shangxiang, I say you can do it, so you can. Everyone, follow Captain Li’s lead from now on. I believe he can bring you back from danger.–
–Yes.– Over a dozen pairs of eyes landed on the young man.
Lee Shangxiang turned and glanced at them, his gaze also skimming over the indistinct graves at the edge of this space.
The Wasteland Lord massaged his aching temples.
……
At midnight, Yang Zicang and Robin Lo, both transformed into middle-aged men, appeared in front of a solitary, ancient hotel-like building at the foot of a lone mountain.
Inside, the lights were blazing, and the clamor could be heard from hundreds of meters away.
–You go.– Yang Zicang nudged the slightly chubby man beside him with his elbow.
–You’re the one who wanted me to sell this—don’t come crying to me later if something goes wrong.–
–Quit the chatter and go.–
Robin Lo tugged on his hat and headed over.
By the bonfire at the gate to the fence, a few men with sinister eyes kept guard.
Seeing Robin Lo approach—while one remained at a distance to keep watch—these men stood up. One of them held up an iron badge and said: –A hundred years. Return the badge to me within ten days, and I’ll give you back ninety.–
Without a word, Robin Lo handed over one hundred and one years.
–The extra is for you fellas to buy a drink.–
–Oh, thank you, thank you.– A grin spread across the man’s face, and he bobbed his head while handing the iron badge—stamped with a numeric code—to Robin Lo.
He glanced up at the plaque above the door: The Unique Frequency Inn.
The room inside was thick with smoke. Clusters of men gathered, rolling dice or comparing cards in games of chance. Though it was Robin Lo’s first time, he moved through the tables like a seasoned veteran, cutting straight to a corner that was slightly quieter but far from empty.
Wooden boards inscribed with characters hung on the walls here.
–Sir, let me see your badge.–
Robin Lo rattled the iron badge at the bartender-like figure and said, –I heard someone here was buying info on Jiazi Term yesterday.–
–You got some? Depending on how complete and rare your intel is, we’ll pay you different rates.–
–I have all the intel on him—whatever you want, I’ve got it. The only question is: what’s your offer?–
–Oh?–
The bartender studied Robin Lo. Taking in the deliberately disguised appearance of someone in his fifties, he knew the man was concealing his true identity.
–My employer only wants intel on his abilities. Let me warn you, my ability is to verify the truth of information, so don’t even think of trying to deceive me. As for the price… five hundred years of extra lifespan.–
–Five hundred years, hmph. That’s quite a bargain.–
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