She Was Connected

Zhou Sheng's hands tightened instinctively on the steering wheel.

"Sir, are you going to one of the private merchant associations?"

"Just asking."

Zhou Sheng did not answer right away. He pondered for a few seconds, as though searching for the right words.

"Sir, let me put it this way." His tone turned serious. "If you're not Level 100 yet, it's best to go through the association."

"Why?"

"Something happened over there last year."

Zhou Sheng coughed and cleared his throat.

"An Awakened, First Tier, over Level 70. That wasn't low, right? He thought the association was underpaying him, so he went to a private merchant association in West City to sell his goods himself."

"What happened afterward? Once he went in, he never came out."

Gan Ming raised an eyebrow.

"It was confirmed that the merchant association did it?"

"No one could confirm it."

Zhou Sheng shook his head.

"His family filed a report. The Security Bureau went to investigate, but the merchant association said they had never seen anyone like him that day. Surveillance footage? None. Entry and exit records? None. Witnesses? Even less."

"The Security Bureau couldn't do anything either. That area wasn't directly under their jurisdiction, and private merchant associations had their own territorial rules. They investigated for two months, and in the end, it was dropped."

He continued, "That's the only case I know about. But it definitely wasn't the only one that happened."

After hearing this, Gan Ming had a clear understanding.

"Alright, I understand. Thanks."

"Ah, sir, you're too polite. I'm only telling you what I know. It's nothing."

Zhou Sheng's tone returned to its earlier relaxed manner.

"I've just been driving for a long time, so I hear more rumors. Don't take it too seriously. Just treat it as an interesting story."

Gan Ming gave a quiet hum and filed the information away.

The association was shady, but safe.

Private merchant associations offered high profits, but you needed the ability to make trouble in there.

Below Level 100, it was better to obediently go through the association.

The car passed two intersections.

Zhou Sheng turned on the radio, failed to find a station he wanted to hear, then turned it off again.

The car was quiet for a few seconds before he began rambling.

"Sir, you wouldn't believe it. Yesterday, on my way back after dropping you off to buy clothes, I saw something especially interesting. An Awakened, probably just back from the Fallen Zone, was walking down the main road in full gear. There was even an arrow stuck in his armor. He just walked like that, and everyone around him gave him a wide berth."

"Doesn't equipment automatically enter Stealth after leaving the Fallen Zone?"

"Exactly! So that guy kept using skills and deliberately making himself visible the whole way. He strutted around shopping like that. What do you think he was after? Just the looks in the passersby's eyes."

Zhou Sheng shook his head, his face full of incomprehension.

"Some Awakened care about appearances so much it's ridiculous. They even show off their equipment when buying groceries."

Gan Ming smiled after hearing that.

It was actually not hard to understand.

In a world where ordinary people and Awakened were sharply divided, that equipment was a mark of status.

Wear it outside, and the way passersby looked at you instantly changed from disregard to awe.

He had spent so long in the Lower District that he knew all too well how intense that desire to be seen could be.

But he did not need it.

Being seen meant being remembered.

Being remembered meant being watched.

The last thing he needed right now was for people to remember him.

Zhou Sheng told another story.

A couple of days ago, he had picked up a female Awakened who cried the entire ride.

She cried while arguing with someone on the phone. It seemed her teammates had cheated her out of her share of some equipment.

The woman cried all the way there, gritting her teeth as she spat threats.

After getting out, she wiped away her tears, scrubbed her face, and walked into the Fallen Zone without looking back.

"When women get ruthless, it's really terrifying. I was afraid she was going in to get revenge," Zhou Sheng concluded.

Gan Ming listened very attentively.

Not because the story was entertaining.

It was because those trivial stories concealed a great deal about the behavior patterns and unspoken rules of the Awakened community.

Cheating people out of equipment shares was normal.

The cost of trust between Awakened was extremely high.

The distribution of benefits in a team depended on private negotiation, with no mandatory mechanism for fairness.

No one would write such things on an exploration guide sheet.

You had to listen and judge for yourself.

The car passed another intersection.

Just then, static crackled through the radio, and a man's voice came through.

"Attention, everyone... Don't bother heading toward the Ruins Zone. It was purified early this morning. If you're taking Awakened in that direction, go somewhere else."

Another voice cut in. "Since when has the Security Bureau been so diligent? They cleared it overnight? Does that place have development value or something?"

"Heh, you didn't know?"

The first voice carried a hint of gossip.

"It was lively over there last night. I was on the night shift, taking a passenger toward the Ruins Zone, when I ran into a huge group from the Iron Arc Guild. They were riding motorcycles, dozens of them rushing over in a swarm. That scene..."

"Iron Arc?" A third voice cut in. "That Upper District guild?"

"Yeah."

"What were they doing in the Ruins Zone? That place only recommended levels in the teens. Wouldn't their people cut through it like vegetables?"

"Who knows? Anyway, it wasn't just Iron Arc. The Security Bureau showed up afterward too. More than ten vehicles. They said Second Tier Awakened were the baseline."

A burst of noise came from the radio.

Several drivers began chattering over one another.

"Even the Security Bureau went? Then something huge must have happened."

"Obviously. Have you ever seen the Security Bureau mobilize in the middle of the night? The last time was that thing with..."

"Enough, drop this topic. Anyway, that area's sealed off. If you're taking Awakened around today, head south or east. Tunnel Zone Seven opens today, so there'll definitely be people going there."

The chatter gradually faded.

Gan Ming leaned against the back seat, his expression unchanged.

But his right hand clenched slightly inside his pocket.

The Iron Arc Guild.

Dozens of people.

They entered the area overnight.

The Security Bureau mobilized.

More than ten vehicles.

Second Tier Awakened as the baseline.

Could they be looking for those four Level 16 or 17 team members?

Was such a huge operation really necessary?

No.

They were probably not looking for "four team members."

They were looking for the masked female crossbow user named "Xiao Tong."

Gan Ming analyzed the matter carefully.

The Iron Arc Guild was actually an Upper District guild.

Could a guild president mobilize dozens of members in the middle of the night to search the Ruins Zone?

And even get the Security General Bureau to send people?

That was a municipal government agency.

The relationship between a guild and an official agency was not something that could casually move people into action.

To accomplish that,

Either the Iron Arc Guild had enough influence or bargaining chips,

Or...

Xiao Tong herself was no ordinary person.

She was not an ordinary guild member.

Gan Ming ran through the masked woman's circumstances again in his mind.

First Tier, Level 16.

Lock-On talent, dual specializations, six skills.

She had a fine crossbow among her equipment.

Her setup was not top-tier, but for a Level 16 Awakened, it was already luxurious.

Fine equipment was not cheap at that level.

And then there was the label "Iron Arc Guild."

Could Xiao Tong be related to someone high up in the guild?

This possibility suddenly surfaced in Gan Ming's mind.

If that were true, the situation was serious.

He had not killed four ordinary guild members.

He had killed the relatives of some important figure.

And that important figure had the ability to summon the Security General Bureau in the middle of the night.