Several people near the entrance approached Hong Haocheng. A tall, straight-backed young man couldn’t help but ask him:
–You mentioned your friends earlier—was there anyone else in that living room at the time?–
–Of course, plenty. Like…–
Hong Haocheng’s mouth opened wide, but in the end, not a single word could escape.
Everyone’s eyes fixed on his chest.
Hong Haocheng also lowered his gaze to look at his own chest. The moment he was about to spit out those names, a faint, circular light emerged, like a plain silver-white ring.
{Do not reveal any information about them. For every name you speak, someone will die.}
The strange woman’s voice rang out directly in his mind…
Hong Haocheng felt a thin sheen of sweat forming on his forehead.
–I forgot,– he said with difficulty.
It was a flimsy excuse. But the people around him didn’t press him and let the matter slide easily.
……
Shibin Wastes.
After more than a day of messages being passed along, by the second day, even more people had arrived at the Great Jia Manpower Cargo Crew’s base. Two teams had already shown up before dawn.
Having heard that someone had already entered the forest, the newcomers, who had been haggling just moments before, bought two passes without further ado and headed in. Before long, they came back for three more, carrying a glossy-furred young beast as a gift for the Great Jia team.
Seeing this small, furry creature trembling with wide eyes as it growled fiercely –grrr-grrr– at everyone, the people brought by Ning Yang and Song Peng Lord were overjoyed and began teasing it.
–Be good, from now on you’ll feast with us.–
–Woof!–
–It came from an A-tier Cross region, let’s call it Little A.–
Xiao A, just like a wolf cub, went –gnaw woof– and bit down on this person’s hand.
Everyone burst into laughter.
By noon, more people gathered before the temporary camp, and goods slowly began to sell.
People from around a fifty-mile radius, hearing that other daily necessities were also being sold here at low prices, set off in groups from nearby several medium and Small-sized Peng Zones, even those without much Chronos, all bringing their handcraft specialties, gradually forming an early market fair.
Saturday afternoon, Hubville.
Ju Yin Chase arrived at the door of the conference room, took down a newly delivered postal newspaper, and sure enough, saw a familiar name on the last page.
——Major Client Builds Cargo Crew: 15 Points.
It’s roughly the minimum score to make the Chart List and was also no higher than most other crews—
–Next week makes five weeks since Yang ZiCang disappeared inside.–
Ju Yin Chase murmured to himself, looking up at the intricately restored wooden corridor. Two administrators of Hubville walked over from the main hall passage.
–Futown, it’s already the tenth today. Are you heading back to your city to prepare for the newcomers’ entry?–
–If you don’t go back by the middle of this month, we’ll have to return instead,– another remarked.
Ju Yin Chase nodded. –I’ve already arranged everything over at the city side last month. You two go back this month; I’ll keep an eye on the town.–
–Then we’ll leave it to you, Futown.–
–Actually, Hubville would run fine with or without us—no need to worry too much,– he added. –If anything comes up, I’ll contact you. Crossing a Class A fault zone barely takes half a day.–
–Thanks for holding things down, Futown. Our alternate space has lasted six months now—this month we need to start stabilizing a new one.–
Although a successfully stabilized alternate dimension can last indefinitely, the passage connecting to Hubville gradually becomes more unstable, often collapsing within about a year.
As a result, city dwellers who enter Hubville via stabilized Class A fault zones usually need to consider starting the stabilization of a new Class A terrain every six months. Success isn’t guaranteed every time; a single failure means a whole month’s efforts are wasted. Hence, it’s essential to leave some buffer time.
The day swiftly passed. On Sunday morning, as Yang Zicang just woke up, he heard a voice within his heart, a will from some entity within the Shibin Wastes.
[Reputation has been born for you in the Shibin Wastes.]
–This is the benefit of having your own enterprise.–
The young man couldn’t help but sigh—those Peng Zone and Cargo Crew masters who had laid down their paths probably enjoyed such luxuries every week, easily leveraging their domains to harvest fresh renown.
Through his few days of operations last week, the temporary market he’d established beyond the mountains would likely generate a steady stream of reputation for months to come.
[Your reputation this week has exceeded 10; it is currently 25.]
Yang Zicang frowned.
This time, he had acted under the guise of establishing the Cargo Crew. Yet, just like last time, despite the Crew only just birthing its reputation, he had slept and woken up to find it had surged past twenty.
–Forget it. It doesn’t matter whether it helps or not.–
Muttering to himself, Yang Zicang yawned, threw off the blanket, sat on the edge of the bed, rubbed his eyes, and assessed his surroundings.
Perhaps due to multiple consecutive weeks, the other party had grown too familiar with him—there was no longer that sense of being watched as in the first few weeks.
–Woof woof.–
Muffled noises of commotion came from beyond the sturdy tent.
–Don’t run, little one. Hey, someone help me catch it—that thing actually scorched the rope!–
–Ow, it bit me! Pay me back for three days of Chronos.–
–Go ask Aya for that.–
Pushing aside the tent flap and stepping outside, the area in front of the row of large wooden huts was already bustling with activity, like an exhibition fair.
Not far to the left and right, more tents were being pitched—some serving as temporary bases for mountain expeditions, and others as makeshift stalls set up by people from the nearby Little Peng Zone to take in goods.
These folks also took the opportunity to sell their own local specialties, such as wicker baskets woven from vines, or iron tools and ordinary weapons they had forged themselves.
Shin Engines like wells, standard foundations, and icehouses built from materials delivered by Ju Yin Chase and headquarters had been continuously shipped out since their days as traveling merchants; now, some were also displayed here for sale, drawing the attention of many medium and small Penglords.
For this reason, Zuo Feixian had sunk a well here, its sweet spring water delighting the crowd and earning the great client, Cargo Crew, even higher regard. For only a temporary base, they had been willing to invest in a well here, producing water of excellent quality that sparked a unique thought in many—perhaps this place could be permanently preserved in the future.
Thus, the reputation of the big shot Jiafang Cargo Crew became even more prominent.
On the wasteland.
–Damn it, this Jiazi Term is really no good. I scrounged and borrowed left and right to barely get two hundred years of Chronos, and he goes and ships ahead of schedule.–
Many, who were still foolishly waiting for Tuesday’s sale, upon hearing that some had already paid a high price to enter, were cursing the big shot Jiafang Cargo Crew for being untrustworthy while swarming off like a procession of refugees.
Cries of condemnation were everywhere against him.
–What’s the big deal? You’re the only one who took those profiteers’ words seriously. The moment I heard him say sales wouldn’t start until next week, I knew something was fishy—and sure enough.–
–No, it’s not that. I’m just worried that bastard might pull a ‘limited supply for the day’ or something. You think us regular folks who can only afford the standard price have a shot? They’ll definitely jack up the prices.–
The traveling crowd fell into deep thought.
–So you think he was planning a hunger-marketing scheme?–
One man, backpack slung over his shoulder, fumed as he walked: –Damn, they should all be boycotted together!–
–Oh, give it a rest! Would those ace players be foolish enough to let latecomers have a shot at entering the mountains?–
A rider on a beast’s back cleared his throat:
–Hey, let me tell you—turns out that big shot Jiafang’s Cargo Crew has people with mental attack abilities. That’s hush-hush info, so don’t go blabbing it around.–
–My god, really? How do you know that?–
At these words, most of the group traveling on this road turned to look at the man riding the beast, listening as he vividly recounted how the people from Dusk Canopy had gotten the short end of the stick two days earlier at dusk.
Meanwhile, the main instigator of Dusk Canopy was still kept in the dark.
At the Carefree Trade Zone, Carefree Penglord set down his chopsticks, picked up a napkin, and wiped his mouth.
Glancing at the sky outside the window, he estimated that Yang Zicang had already woken up. A fold of light shot out from his chest, successfully connecting with him as expected.
–Good morning, Mr. Zicang.–
{Morning, Carefree Penglord. Have you prepared the materials for me?}
–Yes, yes. Ah, it has to be you, Mr. Zicang. This kind of thing—living off the land—would be hard for me to pull off. I’ve already sent someone to deliver them over. Just one cartload, haha, don’t think it’s too little. I’ve taken the liberty of making it into incense pills for you, brother.–
A full cartload of incense pills—warmth surged through Yang Zicang’s heart. This was Carefree Penglord’s free help; he himself hadn’t spent much Chronos on it at all.
{Thank you, Penglord. Compared to you, Carefree Penglord, my little business is nothing. I’ll come by to thank you in person another day.}
–Haha, you gave that formula to me for free without expecting anything in return, which proves you truly trust me, Carefree. If I don’t lend a hand on this, could I still be considered an ageless immortal?–
After a bout of mutual flattery, Wuyou Penglord finally ordered someone to deliver pills made from medicinal herbs gathered nearby. Given Wuyou’s power, crossing hundreds of kilometers in no time was hardly a challenge.
After the connection was cut off, one of the voluptuous beauties seated at the table remarked,
–Penglord, this Mr. Yang is truly generous—giving away such a powerful incense pill formula for free. He really does trust us.–
–Indeed, and especially at a time like this, he doesn’t even worry about us stealing his business. That’s tens of thousands of Chronos.– Another person at the table chimed in.
Penglord was clearly delighted. Yang Zicang had made him shine in front of his own people:
–That’s exactly why friends like him are worth keeping. Ah, I, Wuyou, have amassed so many endless eons, yet the more I have, the lonelier the coming years feel. If I can have more such companions in the days ahead, it will truly be a blessing.–
He stood up, –As for this incense pill formula, only Elder Hao and I need to know. If we encounter similar opportunities in the future, we shall explore them ourselves. Just remember: do not spread this around unnecessarily, lest we invite trouble.–
The playful and charming women at the table laughed softly, saying, –We understand, of course.–
On the other side, Yang Zicang, who had just finished breakfast, had barely set down his chopsticks when he received a connection from Boss Zhuang of the Dupin Inn.
{Damn, Jiazi Term, you kept me in the dark so well. I invited you to take on a mission, but you went off to fence off land and sell tickets. What’s the deal, not even giving your big bro a piece of the action?}
Yang Zicang scratched his head, having long forgotten about this guy.
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