"Rest assured, everyone. The Inspection Bureau will protect every citizen of the Federation!"
Liu Zheng rubbed his shoulder and said, "But I still have a few things to do. Please wait patiently."
"The fog will be here soon. Redfang Village is outside its range..."
As Wu Yu approached, he heard Liu Zheng speaking confidently.
He opened the [Map] and glanced at the countdown.
"It really won't be long now."
When asking the inn's attendant for information, Wu Yu had also asked about the fog. But the attendant knew nothing about it. He said there was occasionally morning mist here, but no dangerous fog.
The weather had been clear lately, and there hadn't been any morning mist, either.
So,
Wu Yu concluded that the "fog" would most likely only affect those climbing the tower!
Whether it was poison, monsters, or corrosive gas, he could only guess.
Bzzzz-
Suddenly, he heard something.
He immediately looked up and saw a Micro Drone flying over the houses, something rotating beneath it.
That drone that could fire Spirit Energy shells!
I've never even seen anything like it at the Black Crow Merchant Guild.
Looks like... it's recording video?
Wu Yu considered this.
Liu Zheng was an official, after all. He was probably gathering intelligence about this place.
Just then,
Liu Zheng spotted Wu Yu and called out, "You're here too, young man!"
"Inspector Liu."
Wu Yu greeted him politely.
Liu Zheng nodded slightly and asked, "May I ask whether you've seen Boss Jin?"
"Boss Jin?"
Something stirred in Wu Yu's mind, and he immediately realized whom Liu Zheng meant.
Thinking back, Wu Yu replied, "I haven't seen him since we split up, but I saw him running toward the Wasteland while we were escaping."
"He was too panicked to watch where he was going!"
Liu Zheng frowned deeply, knowing Boss Jin was in danger.
"Inspector Liu, there's something I'd like to discuss with you."
Wu Yu spoke slowly.
"Oh?"
Liu Zheng looked Wu Yu over, then nodded. "Looks like you spent the night here too. Shall we talk upstairs?"
"Please!"
Watching the two head upstairs, Brother Kun and the others were baffled.
Yu Tiezhu scratched his head without thinking much of it and gave a guileless smile. "Since Inspector Liu has things to do, let's wait in the village a little longer."
"Okay!"
Bai Xiaotian nodded obediently.
"Wait, why does he get to do that?"
Brother Kun's expression darkened, but he dared not say anything more.
Upstairs!
After closing the door, Wu Yu went to the table and poured Liu Zheng a cup of tea.
The latter raised a hand to stop him. "No need to beat around the bush, young man. Speak plainly!"
"Sure."
Wu Yu didn't like formalities either, so he said directly, "I assume you're investigating this Secret Realm World, Inspector Liu. I've discovered a few things, and I'd like to make a deal with you."
"A deal?"
Liu Zheng frowned slightly,
but Wu Yu seemed neither servile nor overbearing, showing neither arrogance nor fear.
He couldn't help sitting up straight, taking the young man before him seriously for the first time.
"That's right. I do want to gather enough information as quickly as possible."
Liu Zheng continued, "But how do I know your information is worth anything?"
"I'll give you the information first."
Wu Yu smiled slightly. "You cherish the people like your own children, Inspector Liu. I'm sure you won't go back on your word."
"What kind of weird ancient expression is 'cherish the people like your own children'?"
Liu Zheng looked speechless, then couldn't help laughing.
"Stop beating around the bush! But a deal is possible. Go ahead."
At that,
Wu Yu wasted no more words and told him about the Evil Tiger Stronghold, the Lostway Cave, and the village chief.
None of this was top-secret information. Anyone could learn it by spending some time and money asking around. Wu Yu simply had the advantage of a head start and some silver.
The others might not be able to match him,
but Liu Zheng had killed so many bandits that he might well have gotten cards such as "Ten taels of silver" or "One tael of silver" as drops, perhaps more than one.
Of course, Wu Yu wasn't going to mention secretly stealing the kill on the bandit leader.
"This world... is actually so realistic!"
Liu Zheng marveled and murmured, "This could be a vast otherworld. We're simply confined to the area shown on the [Map]!"
"A complete transcendent system, martial artists who surpass ordinary mortals, and even Storage Bags! The village chief showed his off so casually. They must be quite common in this world."
"Silver has far too much purchasing power. It must have some special use in this world."
After listening for only a little while, Liu Zheng already had plenty of theories.
He looked at Wu Yu in surprise and smiled. "You learned all this by asking around too? You little rascal, you're using that information to make a deal with me?"
"I'm just saving you some time, Inspector Liu. Doing my duty as a citizen."
Wu Yu smiled slightly.
"So now that you need something, it's all 'Inspector Liu.'"
Liu Zheng shook his head with a smile. "Tell me, what do you want me to do? Protect you on the way to the Evacuation Point?"
"No."
Wu Yu said, "I'd like you to give me a piece of Psionic Equipment to protect myself."
"That's a big ask!"
Taken aback, Liu Zheng said incredulously, "Any equipment with Spirit Energy costs a great deal more!"
"Secondhand is fine. It doesn't have to be fully intact."
Wu Yu answered hastily.
"..."
Liu Zheng looked at Wu Yu with uncertainty and suspicion.
Could that earlier chase...
Of course. The bandits had chased me for who knew how far. All that commotion would have been visible from a long way off!
"Fine! I can't give you the Inspection Bureau's standard-issue equipment, but I happen to have an old piece of junk I've retired. Consider it payment for this information."
After a brief moment of thought, Liu Zheng touched the Blue Wristband on his wrist.
A gleam of light flashed, and a somewhat battered badge appeared on the table.
A brand-name Spatial Wristwatch. It can access the Spirit Network and has a storage function.
Wu Yu looked at the Blue Wristband and recognized it immediately.
Even a shoddy off-brand version cost thirty thousand on the market, let alone a brand-name one!
It combined modern psionic technology with the Storage Bag techniques of cultivators. No wonder he'd sounded dismissive of the village chief earlier.
As for the badge, Wu Yu thought for a moment and remembered it too.
It was the Diamond Badge released by Spirit Mountain Technology three years ago. It could protect its wearer automatically by deploying a "Diamond Shield" that hovered over the surface of the body!
It was an ingenious combination of talismans, magical artifacts, and psionic technology.
"A Diamond Badge. I've used it a few times. It probably has about fifty percent left."
Liu Zheng asked, "From the looks of it, you're planning to kill monsters for drops?"
"Young man, let me give you some advice! [Vitality Pills] may be valuable, but your own life matters more." "Those bandits aren't pushovers, and not all of them are ordinary people. That's not even counting their archers."
With that said,
Liu Zheng shook his head with a sigh, stood up, and left the room.
Only after Liu Zheng had gone downstairs did Wu Yu pick up the Diamond Badge on the table, narrowing his eyes slightly.
My targets... aren't those ordinary bandits!
Suddenly, someone knocked on the door.
Wu Yu frowned, put away the Diamond Badge, and opened the door.
A pretty young girl stood outside. Her fair little face was innocent and adorable, and her large eyes were different colors. The Japanese school uniform she wore looked utterly out of place against the backdrop of this old-fashioned inn.
Before you continue