In fact, the moment Luo learned Xiao Ran's participant number, he had already understood the gap between them. One was 678, within the first thousand, while the other was 10356, beyond ten thousand. The difference was obvious at a glance. The earlier a participant's number, the longer they had stayed in Prometheus.
And every mission brought more or less improvement to every participant. The longer one stayed, the stronger one became. Although participant numbers could be inherited—perhaps the former No. 678 had died and become the current No. 678, Xiao Ran—even No. 001 might possibly be inherited by a newcomer.
But while that possibility existed, the odds of encountering it were practically nonexistent. Besides, Xiao Ran had casually offered one hundred thousand Merit Points as a guarantee. Luo only needed to think with his not-entirely-stupid brain to understand that Xiao Ran was definitely not a newcomer-stage participant like them.
What kind of newcomer would casually take out one hundred thousand Merit Points just to give someone else insurance? Was Xiao Ran stupid, or were they? Moreover, Luo did not think there was anything particularly outstanding about himself, let alone that a newcomer could really produce one hundred thousand Merit Points instead of using them to strengthen themselves.
The moment they signed the contract, Luo had already taken the initiative to establish their positions. Xiao Ran was the lead, and Luo was subordinate. Even if it was only to receive some Merit Points as compensation from Xiao Ran, Luo would never easily offend him. To Luo, Xiao Ran was practically a massive thigh to cling to.
Clinging to a powerful backer was not something only people from the Real Zone—or only Eshe's group of four—could do. Luo could do it too. Although he did not know why an obviously veteran participant