You Know, Right?

Amid the jeers around them, Moxiu and An Bo were drenched in sweat. They knew they had run into an unprecedentedly tough opponent.

Even Moxiu, the famed gambling master, had fallen without any warning.

After a long while.

Moxiu hesitated to speak, but in the end, it became a sigh. Dejected, he said, "I lost."

Tang Chuan gathered the cards on the table into a stack and set them in a corner. "Then it's time to answer my questions."

Moxiu sighed. "I want to know how you did it."

An Bo was equally baffled. "Did you use some kind of magic, or black tech? Can you sell it to me?"

Tang Chuan waved a hand airily. "Nope. Trade secret. No point saying more."

Moxiu shook his head. "Ask away. I'll answer anything I know."

After thinking for a moment, Tang Chuan asked, "Was there some kind of riot recently? What caused it?"

Moxiu's pupils seemed to contract, and his expression turned somewhat ugly.

After a moment of silence, he said, "That's two questions. I can only answer one."

Tang Chuan narrowed his eyes. "Fine. Then tell me what caused the major riot in this area recently."

Moxiu froze, then squeezed out a single word. "Dirty!"

That was right—too damn dirty!

Wasn't that just combining the previous two questions into one?

You really are something.

And it even sounded perfectly reasonable.

Though Moxiu was a bastard, he was still fairly trustworthy. He did not try to evade the question and said directly, "There were indeed some disturbances in certain areas recently, but the authorities quickly suppressed them. As for the exact reason, I don't know.

I heard...

It had something to do with some evil ritual? Another theory was that some invisible, terrifying Cosmic Being had invaded.

Neither claim has any established factual basis. Pick whichever one you want to believe. That's all I know."

Tang Chuan frowned. "It was suppressed that quickly? The scale wasn't large?"

That did not quite match the information Quintessa had uncovered in the classified files.

And the owner of that bizarre diary had described it as if the world were ending. Could it really have passed in such a short time without leaving behind even a trace in history?

Moxiu rolled his eyes. "Don't know, no clue, none of my business. I've already answered two of your questions, so I don't owe you anything.

Besides, aren't you an outsider here on vacation? Why are you investigating this stuff? Are you some kind of interstellar agent?

Convince me or buy me off, or I'll spread the news."

Tang Chuan ignored him.

Instead, he turned to look at the equally dejected An Bo.

Knowing he could not avoid it, An Bo immediately said, "Don't ask me who the underground forces' secret backer is. I won't tell you. I'd rather cut off my hand or fight you to the death. Any other question is fine. Oh, right, and don't ask what I did on the night I consummated my marriage with my seventh wife."

Tang Chuan waved his hand. "I'm not interested in that. I want to know what happened to the people who took part in that riot."

This was also something that could not be found anywhere on the entire planet's network. There was something faintly sinister about it.

An Bo scratched a spot that might have been called his ass. "Don't know."

Tang Chuan stared at him expressionlessly.

The look made An Bo uncomfortable. "I really don't know! A group of people disappeared. How would I know where they went? Ask the authorities."

Tang Chuan studied his expression. "But I couldn't find any missing-person records from that time."

An Bo said that had nothing to do with him. "I already answered you. We're even now. Missing-person records aren't under my jurisdiction, and I don't care."

In his mind, Quintessa said to Tang Chuan, "There are no signs that he is lying."

Without a ripple in his expression, Tang Chuan tossed the neatly arranged Brahma Cards to Moxiu. "All right, that's it. Leave me a number. I'll find you for cards sometime."

Moxiu and An Bo both gave Tang Chuan their private numbers.

Seeing Tang Chuan preparing to leave, An Bo could not help asking, "That's it? That tiny bit was all you wanted to ask? I was worried for nothing."

Tang Chuan glanced at him. "I'm not interested in your concubines or underground forces. If you learn anything related to this, let me know immediately. You'll be paid."

Moxiu, standing nearby, could not help adding, "Forget cards. Drinking is fine, cooperation is fine, but are you really an interstellar agent? If you are, we have connections. We can work together more deeply."

Tang Chuan looked surprised. "You're not afraid of the authorities?"

Moxiu shrugged. "Any one of the cases hanging over us would get our heads chopped off if it came to light. We have no sense of belonging here. Money and power are what really matter."

Tang Chuan patted his butt, turned, and walked out. "I'm not an interstellar agent, so stop trying to fish for information. If you want to make money, help me investigate this."

Behind him, Moxiu said, "All right, I'll keep an eye out. But the price might be a little high."

Tang Chuan did not reply.

He made his way through the crowded throng and left the Prehistoric Beast Bar beneath the gaudy, neon-colored lights.

Once he left the street and disappeared from sight.

Suddenly, a passing pedestrian stopped with a blank expression, looked at a "stranger" beside him, and whispered, "You know, right?"

The stranger did not answer. He likewise looked at another passerby and whispered, "You know, right?"

"You know, right?"

"You know, right?"

Like a virus, it spread from person to person. Before long, the crowd in that corner seemed to freeze, whispering those words to one another: "You know, right?"

The wave of whispers came quickly and vanished just as fast. It lasted less than a few seconds before disappearing in an instant, and the crowd immediately returned to normal.

The pedestrians resumed the behavioral patterns from before they froze and passed one another as if they did not know each other and knew nothing.

Back at the hotel.

Tang Chuan leaned against the sofa, pondering the various possibilities Quintessa had provided, but he still found nothing.

Nokton had not returned yet.

His thoughts had also stagnated.

Fortunately, Tang Chuan shifted his view into the Cosmic Sandbox. On Cangmang Star, that pale-blue continent had nearly entered a stage resembling Azure Star's medieval civilization.

"Chiliu, come here. I need to draw some blood."

Tang Chuan looked blank, yet he did not even raise his head as he beckoned in Chiliu's direction.

Chiliu was so startled that he slipped off the sofa with a thud.

Draw blood?

What for?

How much?