After leaving the fighting arena, Chai Lai took off his press badge and warily checked his surroundings.
Seeing that no one was following him, he boarded a city tracked vehicle, left Central City, and traveled to a settlement north of the city.
The area had originally been developed as a resort for northern Central City, but a heretical sect had performed a sacrificial ritual there, contaminating a vast stretch of land and forcing the project to be abandoned.
The half-finished buildings from the initial development had been left deserted. Soon afterward, the city's administrators underwent an internal struggle and purge, leaving no one with time to spare for the place. It became a gathering ground for gangs from inside and outside the city, along with various underground forces, and large numbers of makeshift structures sprang up around the buildings.
A large population now lived there. Although the land was heavily contaminated, that was far from the most frightening thing these people faced.
After arriving, Chai Lai put on two layers of protective clothing, then jumped into a sewer and made his way through the area with practiced familiarity. Whenever he passed certain corners, however, he checked the markings carved there before proceeding with confidence.
Two hours later, he reached an area deliberately partitioned off with obstacles. Someone was standing there. Seeing him arrive, the man beckoned, then led him into a relatively clean space.
The room was cramped, with a large square table taking up more than half the space. Maps of the various districts of V Asia Central City lay on it, with certain locations marked by symbols in different colors.
A young man wearing glasses stood there, pondering something. Despite his surroundings, his hair and clothes were impeccably groomed. Without looking up, he said, "You're here? How did