Splitting Up

After breakfast, the car arranged by the Solence Family to take them into town arrived.

After hearing Lin Yu's idea that "the theft and explosion in the city may be the work of 'Schreiber'", "Xiao Nian" and "Dionysus" did not continue to inquire or investigate the matter further. They boarded the car ahead of time and waited for the others inside.

But...

Even assuming that Schreiber was responsible, this incident did occur, and the simplified action plan set yesterday was indeed altered.

On the bus, Ren Gu, who had been busy all morning, also talked about the latest action plan.

"Because of the bombing incident involving the Divine Power Group, we'll have to temporarily change our objectives for today. The original plan was for Xiao Nian and Good Night, as Group A, to go to the Inner City the City That Never Sleeps to meet with the Solence Family and find the relevant person in charge. Paper Kite Loquat Candy and I, along with Zhi Yuan, would form Group B, while Dionysus and the Director would form Group C. The two groups would investigate and visit the ruins of the Supreme Evolution and the secret Warehouse storing related items in the eastern and western districts of the Outer City, respectively, to plan the infiltration route and assess the feasibility of the infiltration..."

"Now, because we need to assign a group to prioritize confirming the movements of the 'factory area' in the Outer City, I think Xiao Nian and Good Night's group will remain unchanged. I will take Lin Yu back as Group B to prioritize confirming the explosion site of the Divine Power Group in the Outer City. Comrades Dionysus Shen, Paper Kite Yuan, and Loquat Candy will form Group C to continue visiting the ruins and Warehouse of the Supreme Evolution."

"I've sent the new route plan to the three members of Group C... You might have to do some extra legwork—any objections?"

Xiao Nian listened to Ren Gu's arrangements and nodded. "I have no objections... The only thing I think we need to be concerned about is that after this reorganization, your Group B's combat strength is far from sufficient. The previous grouping was based on the consideration that 'Dionysus' as the strongest could protect 'Director,' a 'Tier 2' character; 'Ren Gu,' you and 'Loquat Candy' can coordinate well, and 'Paper Kite,' a high-attack, low-defense solo character, can handle most situations; Good Night and I both have backgrounds in the Barren Realm and the City That Never Sleeps, and we're in the Inner City, so we're unlikely to encounter any high-intensity battles..."

"But after you split it up like this, you and 'Director' need to be careful separately... 'Ren Gu,' your fighting style is rather unique, leaning towards maneuvering and support, requiring someone to tank for you in front, while 'Director' is ultimately only 'Tier 2'..."

As Xiao Nian analyzed this, Ren Gu spoke up, "The 'Director' and I went to confirm the traces left by 'Schreiber'... According to the 'Director's' report, 'Schreiber' was relatively friendly to him, so we shouldn't encounter any battle."

Xiao Nian pondered for a moment and said, "Although the premise is that it really was Schreiber who did it... what if it wasn't? If it was actually done by a third party, and you were attacked after you arrived, how would you deal with it?"

"Well, we're not entirely without fighting power after all," Ren Gu. "The Director's Tier 2 abilities are numerous and far more powerful than you imagine... You've seen them in the Pure Ruins, but that's not the Director's limit." He continued, "I've improved a bit recently—even if we encounter a particularly troublesome enemy, I can protect the Director and hold them off until Reinforcements arrive; that should be fine."

Lin Yu also spoke up, "Yes, there's no need to worry too much about that, Comrade Xiao Nian... Moreover, as Comrade Ren Gu said, I have a rather delicate cooperative relationship with 'Schreiber,' and if we really encounter a crisis, he might actually lend a hand to us."

"Furthermore, Comrade 'Sherlock' has quite a few connections in the City That Never City That Never Sleeps, and I have ways to utilize some of them... Therefore, I really don't think we need to worry too much about the safety of Comrade Ren Gu and me."

Good Night bit her nails and said, "Yes, seriously, Xi Ba... if you're really talking about combat strength, it's a bit of an exaggeration to say that the Director is stronger than me, but it's certain that he's more capable of fighting and holding his own than that 'Tier 3' Doctor Loquat Candy!"

"Sorry, Loquat Candy, I didn't mean to say you're Xi Ba..."

Loquat Candy smiled and waved her hand, "It's alright, Comrade Good Night, I'm really not good at head-on combat—if I had to say, I'm the one who absolutely can't be left alone."

Lin Yu said, "In short, I think this new grouping is fine... Comrade Xiao Nian, if you're still worried, you can come to the Outer City and ask us for help after you've completed your basic tasks in Group A."

Xiao Nian nodded slightly upon hearing this.

"Okay, I have no other questions."

After the new grouping and action plan were finalized, they had already approached the edge of the City That Never Sleeps —where border checkpoints and sentry posts began to appear.

Xiao Nian wasn't lying; she did indeed hold a fairly high position in the Solence Family.

This car was not only comparable in interior design and model specifications to the one Lin Yu had taken yesterday from the Nightless Sky Fire Apricot Hotel, but it was also spacious, comfortable, and luxurious. Furthermore, when going through border inspection, it did not queue with the other vehicles such as the Pioneer Team, transport trucks, and ordinary private Vehicles. Instead, it went to the adjacent car lane and quickly drove away.

They didn't even need to stop for inspection; they just had to drive through the gate of the alchemy unit.

So, although traveling on land was indeed not as fast as taking the Fire Apricot No. 3 underground, two hours was enough for them to pass through a total of seven border checkpoints and officially enter the city of the City That City That Never Sleeps.

The car then drove into a Warehouse belonging to the Universal Trade Association in the Outer City and stopped.

"Alright, Groups B and C, you can get off here," Xiao Nian said to the five people. "After you get off, someone will lead you to get your Alchemical Equipment and the citizen Identity card you prepared beforehand—three fourth-class and two fifth-class cards. They've also been given ' Profession identification'—as outsourced staff of the 'Universal Trade Association's' technical support department. That's enough to allow you to enter and leave various factories and warehouse areas without arousing suspicion."

Hearing Xiao Nian say this, even though he didn't need to get off the bus or use this identity, Good Night still had a slight doubt.

"Wait a minute, Xi Ba... they're not just going to the 'Universal Trade Association's' factory and Warehouse today, are they? They're probably going to Divine Power Group and Truth Company too, right?" Good Night asked curiously. "Wouldn't Xi Ba be more difficult and sensitive for the outsourced personnel of the 'Universal Trade Association's' technical support department to send them to these places?"

"After all, the Xi Ba locations related to 'Supreme Evolution' are inherently kept secret, aren't they?"

Xiao Nian shrugged. "No problem. The ruins and storage areas related to 'Supreme Evolution' have been broken up into smaller parts... especially the Outer City section. Although it does theoretically have a 'secret' level, in practice, nobody cares anymore."

"Anyway, this is just a site visit, assessment, and planning trip, not a direct inspection, so there shouldn't be any major problems... The employees of the 'Technical Support Department' are always running around, after all, the Three Great Corporations are intertwined. It's common for Divine Power Group to debug equipment at Truth Company's factory, and for Truth Company to repair pipelines at Universal Chamber of Commerce. Moreover, to be on the safe side, the Solence Family even applied for the pretext of 'cooperative project inspection,' so it's all perfectly legitimate."

"Even if there were 'thefts' at several of the Divine Power Group's locations just now, the employees below won't take it too seriously... The projects issued by the Inner City Universal Chamber of Commerce Headquarters have already been reported to the Headquarters Zhenli Truth Company and Divine Power Group, so why are they taking it so seriously?"

Xiao Nian explained, and Good Night nodded in agreement.

"Oh, so it's a professional... Xi Ba, I really don't know much about the technical support department."

After Good Night's question was answered, the others naturally had no new questions either.

Groups B and C disembarked, while Good Night and Xiao Nian from Group A also departed separately.

After watching the car drive away, the person Xiao Nian had arranged arrived quickly.

"Gentlemen... you must be the specialists Headquarters mentioned," a supervisor greeted them with a smile. "Please follow me."

After obtaining the necessary identification documents and paperwork from the supervisor, both groups even received two encrypted communication devices belonging to the Universal Chamber of Commerce.

"Well then... everyone, see you tonight."

Ren Gu, along with Lin Yu and the members of Group C, parted ways once again, heading in different directions.

The two people, holding their identification documents, walked out of the Universal Chamber of Commerce's factory area and came to the side of the road.

"Alright, let's get started, Director," Ren Gu said with a smile, looking at Lin Yu. "This should be our first time working together on a mission in the Ten Realms, right?"

"Hmm, it really is... my honor, Comrade Ren Gu."

Lin Yu nodded and said.

After all, the person in charge of the "Director" role had never actually gone on a mission with "Ren Gu".

"I'm honored to be on this mission with you... But let's skip the formalities and get to the Divine Power Group's base first," Ren Gu said, waving from the roadside. "Before we go, I'd like to learn a bit about... this 'Schreiber,' although, 'Director,' you seem to think he's trustworthy..."

"But he's definitely acting like a 'Psychology Society.' Do you think he might deliberately leave us with some kind of puzzle or test within that base as a kind of 'Trial'?"

Lin Yu thought to himself that there definitely wasn't any, since he himself hadn't arranged any of those things.

However, Lin Yu certainly couldn't say it so definitively.

"We'll just have to be careful... but knowing him as I do, I don't think it'll happen."

"After all, in his view, this mission might be a bit 'exceeding our expectations'—which is why he agreed to help us this time."