Major

Major!

The only person who could have such a title and be connected to Vulture was naturally Vulture's mysterious trader within the rebel forces.

Qin Ran narrowed his eyes at the phone's white screen as it rang incessantly.

Instinctively, Qin Ran was about to hang up.

He had no desire to get entangled with the rebels entrenched in this city.

He knew perfectly well that, having killed Vulture, he was naturally standing against them. Any involvement would inevitably lead to conflict.

Although he had easily dealt with Vulture, that did not mean Qin Ran had become overconfident.

He knew exactly how he had killed Vulture.

Aside from the power of his in-game skills, the greater reason was that he had exploited Vulture's contempt for him.

From the very beginning, Vulture's side had never regarded him as an equal opponent.

That was precisely why Qin Ran had succeeded again and again.

But the military was different!

The military had its own discipline. They would not make the low-level mistakes of gun-wielding thugs!

Even if they were rebel forces, that remained true!

With their training, more advanced and comprehensive equipment, and numbers in the tens of thousands, a battle against them would be utterly hopeless.

Qin Ran had no intention of having just two people face an entire army!

His thumb rose toward the hang-up button.

But the instant his fingertip touched it, Qin Ran stopped.

He remembered why he had entered the Underground Game!

To earn enough money to treat his illness!

And he only had one year of real-world time!

That was not long. Based on Qin Ran's gaming experience, converted into game time, it would not be long either!

Therefore, he needed to seize every opportunity in the game and make himself stronger as quickly as possible!

Only then could he fulfill the purpose of entering the Underground Game: earning money!

And right before him was such an opportunity—

A rebel major!

Killing a thug leader and killing a rebel major were completely different concepts!

Even though this was Qin Ran's first time experiencing a dungeon world, he was confident that if he killed this rebel major, his clearance rating would rise by at least one grade!

Qin Ran pressed his lips together.

He thought and hesitated.

He understood clearly that such tempting rewards existed because of the danger involved. Calling it a nine-in-ten chance of death would not be an exaggeration.

And once someone died in the Underground Game, they were truly dead!

Reason told Qin Ran that he should give up for the sake of caution!

But deep down, he was unwilling. He asked himself, If I give up this time because it's dangerous... what about next time?

The answer was obvious.

If there was a first time, there would certainly be a second.

If he retreated once, he would naturally retreat again.

Retreating again and again!

How many times could he afford to retreat in one year?

"If I don't have enough money for treatment, I'll die in a year anyway! I might as well take a gamble now, while I still have time!"

Qin Ran gritted his teeth.

The next moment, his raised thumb pressed the answer button.

"Vulture, I hope the reason you kept me waiting is because you've brought me good news!"

A deep voice with a mechanical tone entered Qin Ran's ear through the receiver.

At once, an image of a cold-faced soldier appeared in Qin Ran's mind.

"If not, you'll learn what happens to you!"

The other party continued without waiting for Qin Ran's reply.

The tone remained mechanical, but the words carried a heavy sense of aggression, like a lion bearing down on a jackal.

Without question, this was how the other party normally spoke to Vulture.

Clearly, Vulture was absolutely not an equal trading partner.

It was more like one side was the other's subordinate.

Considering Vulture's identity before the war, such a situation was not impossible.

Or rather, only this made sense!

One was a field-grade officer among the rebels, while the other was merely a gang leader who had gathered a group of thugs. If they truly were equal trading partners, that would be absurd!

And if one side was truly subordinate to the other, was Vulture really just plundering women?

"Good news? It's definitely not women! It should be some other kind of goods!"

Qin Ran looked at the woman on the bed beside him, her limbs bound and her mouth gagged. Clearly, the other party's so-called "good news" was definitely not the woman before him!

Qin Ran frowned slightly, speculating about the other party's true intentions.

Then an idea suddenly flashed through his mind!

Qin Ran recalled the first sentence from the dungeon's background introduction—

"War suddenly swept through the city, catching everyone completely unprepared!"

This was a city where war had erupted without warning!

When war broke out so suddenly, how many people could take all their wealth with them?

The answer was: none!

No one could take all their wealth when war erupted without warning.

Being able to leave with even a small portion of one's wealth made someone God's favored child!

In fact, simply surviving a war was already an enormous stroke of luck.

You could not ask for more in a war!

But there were exceptions!

For example, the rebel major currently speaking with Qin Ran!

With his status, the power in his hands, and a subordinate like Vulture, the major had enough to do things others would neither dare nor be able to do.

Qin Ran's thoughts raced. Once he understood the key point, a bold plan emerged in his mind.

Then, Qin Ran spoke.

"Vulture? You're looking for that guy? Sorry, but if you're looking for him, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed—now and from now on, everything here is under my control!"

His voice was slightly excited, and his tone was full of agitation.

Qin Ran perfectly played the part of a thug who had just seized power and could barely contain his delight.

The other party fell silent.

Only after a full three seconds did the other party speak again.

"I don't care who you are! If you don't want trouble, you'd better fulfill what Vulture promised me!"

The other party's mechanical tone did not change in the slightest despite the change in caller.

"Are you threatening me?"

Qin Ran continued in the same tone as before.

"I'm merely stating the facts! Don't forget where the food you eat and the water you drink come from!"

The other party replied.

This time, Qin Ran did not answer immediately. Instead, he pretended to fall silent.

He needed to portray a newly risen leader eager to establish his authority, yet forced to abandon his dignity in order to preserve his position.

Because the other party held the initiative!

Without their supplies of food and water, no one could make those thugs obediently follow orders.

Qin Ran could not be certain whether his performance was flawless.

But this was the only way to numb the other party.

To make him believe that everything remained under his control.

Only then would Qin Ran have a chance to seize a sliver of initiative: transfer the wealth Vulture had not handed over and use it as an opening.

Put simply, he needed to stabilize the other party for now.

Qin Ran did not want to be surrounded in this mall's underground warehouse by rebels pouring out of the military camp ten minutes later.

Although the rebels had been keeping a regular schedule recently, Qin Ran believed that once they received a definite order, they would not mind coming out for some activity.

"Do you understand your position now?"

In response to Qin Ran's silence, a trace of mockery entered the other party's mechanical tone.

Like a lion watching an ignorant rabbit strut arrogantly before it.

"Fine! Fine! You're the boss. Whatever Vulture promised you, I promise it too! It's just some women. There's one in Vulture's room right now!"

Qin Ran's voice carried reluctance, along with a faint hint of ingratiation.

It sounded extremely awkward.

"Women?"

The other party gave a disdainful snort. Then, in the same mechanical tone as before, he said, "What I want is jewelry and priceless works of art... Since you're in Vulture's room, you must have seen them! Tomorrow morning, I'll send someone to collect them. At the same time, I'll bring you more living supplies!"

With that, the other party directly hung up.

"Just as I thought!"

Qin Ran looked at the disconnected phone and thought to himself.

The other party had cultivated a subordinate like Vulture not for women at all!

His contempt was enough to explain everything!

What he wanted was... the wealth of the entire city!

Qin Ran's gaze instinctively shifted to the two wardrobes placed side by side against the wall beside the large bed. Aside from the bedside table in front of him, they were the only places in the room that could store anything.

As for the iron cage in the corner of the room?

With one glance, Qin Ran understood even more clearly what it was for.

Qin Ran turned to look at the woman whose limbs were bound.

"Hello. I mean you no harm! I'm going to remove the rag from your mouth, but you need to promise me that you won't scream or do anything that puts us in danger—although I killed Vulture, he still has over a dozen lively subordinates outside! If you understand what I mean, nod!"

The moment Qin Ran finished speaking, the woman with her limbs bound and mouth gagged immediately nodded.

"Very good!"

Seeing that she understood, Qin Ran yanked the rag from her mouth.