He Knew How to Do Business

Amidst the unbearable stench of decay, several townspeople argued heatedly at the entrance of the residential compound. The leader, almost swearing, pointed at a lone girl standing on the opposite side, his finger trembling with anger.

"You're so filial, there's no need to burden the neighbors, is there? I was woken up this morning by the stench. My son, who's already in poor health, vomited from the smell and is still feeling weak!"

The people behind him, filled with righteous indignation, joined in the cursing. "Do you know how stinky you are? Huh? I've put up with you for so many days, how am I supposed to live like this?"

"You've turned this place into a garbage dump, why don't you just throw up yourself!"

"We have to resolve this today, no matter what. If you're crazy, you should move out now and stop dragging us down with you!"

The girl being scolded was wearing a blue top with Chinese knot buttons, a black knee-length skirt, and cloth shoes.

Listening to her neighbors' accusations, the girl's face showed fear and confusion, but no remorse.

"Your father has been dead for so many days, I'm begging you, please have mercy and bury him quickly, let us go and let your father go too!"

Upon hearing this, the girl's expression finally changed. As if she could no longer contain herself, she retorted angrily, "My dad isn't dead! He's just sick!"

"Dad used to have a good relationship with all of you, so why are you all cursing him to die?! Last time it was the same, and today it's the same again—you even tried to force your way into my house! Is there no reason for this?!"

Her anger was so genuine that it left the angry neighbors feeling helpless, wondering, "Damn it, why can't she explain herself clearly?"

Suppressing her humiliation and fear at the accusations, the girl retorted sharply, "Where's the stench? I can't smell it at all! You're just making excuses to take him away! I don't know what you're planning, but as long as I'm alive, you can't harm him unless I'm dead!"

After saying that, she turned around and ran back to the stairwell of the building behind her, probably afraid that the people at the scene would hurt her, so she went home after making those threats.

Yu Xing spotted Hua Subai among the growing crowd of onlookers.

At that moment, Hua Subai was leaning lazily against the outer wall of the guardhouse, arms crossed, watching with great interest as the residents fought amongst themselves.

Even knowing that the girl was the guide they were looking for on this mission, he had no intention of helping her.

Yu Xing and Yan walked over, and Hua Subai noticed them, turning around to look. "Oh, you're here, A Xing."

When his gaze fell on Yan, he paused, the friendly smile in his eyes faded slightly, and his expression became intriguing.

"How come you have another companion now that you haven't seen me for a while?"

Nightmare clearly sensed that this powerful figure disliked her, to the point of almost rejecting her. Wisps of eerie aura, whether intentional or unintentional, pressed down on her, causing her to tremble.

Did they get caught peeking?

Her abilities are quite well-known; a little inquiry would reveal the general outline. Perhaps Boss Hua had heard of her beforehand, hence his instinctive wariness?

The true nature of one's soul being seen is something not everyone can be indifferent to.

After all, she did peek, and she saw that enormous and terrifying sight...

Just as Yan broke out in a cold sweat, the indifference in Hua Subai faded, as if everything just now was merely Yan's illusion.

He said gently, "I know you, Nightmare. Your abilities are indeed suitable for the current situation. A Xing made the right choice in finding you. Let me introduce myself; you can call me Boss Hua."

The pressure subsided, but Yan dared not be negligent. "I came to you of my own accord; I need information."

Her hands, which were in her pockets, clenched and unclenched, and she forced a smile, "Nice to meet Boss Hua."

Nightmare belatedly realized that even though Xing didn't seem to completely trust the Boss Hua, she hadn't stopped Boss Hua from treating her that way.

Was he using her to test Boss Hua?

Yu Xing, who had been observing the two men's expressions, let it be until they finally finished greeting each other before asking, "Where's Zhang Yu?"

Hua Subai immediately turned her head, looking at him intently, no longer giving Yan even a glance. "Following Yan Li."

Yu Xing: "Oh."

He hesitated for a moment, then asked, "What about Yan Li?"

"They went to do business." Hua Subai shrugged. "We arrived early and found the guide's exact location first—it's not hard to find at all; it's the door on the whole floor with the strongest stench of corpses."

"Unexpectedly, before she even knocked on the door, her neighbors came demanding an explanation. A group of them were pulling and shoving each other. The guide, seemingly afraid of disturbing her father, simply closed the door and ran downstairs to argue."

Speaking of this, Hua Subai told Yu Xing about the rumors they had found out at the pharmacy.

After hearing his explanation, and considering the connection to the word "business," Yu Xing immediately understood. "So, while you were watching the show here, Yan Li, along with Zhang Yu... used the guide's position to exchange information with other strategists?"

Hua Subai Shen put a finger to his lips and said, "Shh, Yan Li looks like he has thick eyebrows and big eyes, but I didn't expect him to be so dishonest. Before he left, he sealed this place with an array. Anyone else... unless they are an array expert or stronger than him, will probably need a lot of time to get in."

It will take at least several hours to find the way.

"In this way, even if no one is in a hurry now, they should be getting anxious as the deadline approaches. Yan Li can at least get information on half of the strategists this time. I now know what it means to earn money through strength."

Yu Xing scoffed. Hua Subai said this, but his expression clearly showed that he agreed wholeheartedly, almost to the point of applause.

No wonder, with such a commotion, only townspeople came to watch, and no other divination experts were seen.

He entered without feeling any resistance, clearly because Yan Li had put him on a "whitelist." Meanwhile, Yan followed him the whole way, so the formation, which blended into the environment and was insignificant, naturally had no effect on Yan.

Hmm... Zhang Yu is with Yan Li, so there's no need to worry about his safety.

This dungeon is clearly increasing in difficulty so far, and it's only the first day, so there's nothing to worry about.

Several neighbors nearby were still cursing and complaining about the stench of the corpse, showing a strong sense of shared indignation.

Yu Xing said, "Now that the townspeople have finished arguing, let's go upstairs."

The lack of updates to the Main Quest indicates that it's not enough for them to simply see and confirm the guide's identity; they also need to make contact.

Time was supposed to be plentiful, but Schrödinger's father, who was in the guide's room, still didn't know what was going on—whether he was dead or alive, what the guide's attitude was, or what influence he had been affected. They wouldn't know until they got closer.

Hua Subai: "Then I'll go with you."

At this point, he no longer wanted to watch the excitement; he simply had to rely on Yu Xing.

The three followed the girl's escape route. After a while, the stench of the corpse wasn't as unbearable as it had been at first, but it was still disgusting.

Yu Xing was somewhat impressed by the guide's nose; it was probably completely out of commission.