Chapter 14
A thin stream of water trickled down from the cracks in the rocks, gathering into a pool of water several meters in radius below. With a splash, a porcelain-white pot made from animal skulls reached into the water, scooped out a full pot and brought it out.
Zhihuo licked his cracked lips as he looked at the water in the kettle, then stood up carefully holding the kettle, walked to Rongyuan, handed him the kettle and said, "Sir, please drink some water first."
Rong Yuan looked at her, took it, took a sip, handed it back, and said, "Thank you."
Zhihuo raised the corner of his mouth, then immediately suppressed it, brushed the hair on his forehead and said, "No need. This is the only thing I can do for you."
On the other side, Okoto made a mocking sound, but Zhihuo pretended not to hear it. She turned sideways, raised the kettle and drank water in an elegant and beautiful posture, showing Rongyuan a beautiful silhouette with a string of clear water droplets sliding down her neck.
After a few days, the elite masks that everyone had put on themselves when they first met were shattered one by one, and their true natures were more or less exposed.
For example, the beautiful Zhihuo who claimed to be saving people before was actually neither so courageous nor so kind. Everyone could see that she was just using this as an excuse to get close to Rongyuan. Zhihuo originally had an outstanding figure and appearance, and these days she made full use of the limited conditions to dress herself up, and always paid attention to showing her seductive charm from different angles, becoming more and more eye-catching day by day.
Okoto, who seemed cynical at first, was the most innocent one besides Mia. From Zhihuo's performance, it was not difficult to see what she relied on to survive. Everyone despised her to some extent, but Okoto showed this emotion most obviously, making sarcastic remarks from time to time. But at the same time, he was the only one who inadvertently revealed a bit of fascination in his expression.
The scene before her eyes had been repeated in various forms over the past few days and seemed so ordinary - so ordinary that it made Mia feel weird.
Before everyone woke up, she racked her brains to think of several excuses to explain Kira and the others' sudden disappearance, and also thought about how to convince everyone if they had any doubts. But in fact, all preparations were completely useless.
Because no one had any doubts at all.
No one asked Kira where they had gone, and no one asked how Mia and Ulves got their blood and injuries. It was as if they had just spent an ordinary night and welcomed an ordinary morning, and everyone was still the same as before they went to bed.
It’s as if... those two people never existed.
Clearly, they were together last night, eating, chatting, and laughing, as if they trusted each other and were very close.
Logically, Mia should feel relieved at this moment, but she felt as if something was blocking her chest and she felt extremely uncomfortable.
Finally, when she was getting ready to leave, she ran to ask Rong Yuan.
"You asked how many people were awake last night?" Rong Yuan's eyes had an emotion that she couldn't understand: "The answer is... all of them."
This is not a peaceful world, so how many people can sleep peacefully in this place surrounded by strangers? Even when they are resting at night, they are used to maintaining due vigilance, holding weapons in their hands at all times, and padding their bodies with uncomfortable stones, all of which are to wake up and start fighting as soon as possible when an emergency occurs.
So, yes, even though Kira was very careful not to alarm others at the beginning, Mia did not have this quality. When she was deceived by Kira, the noise she made was enough to wake everyone up. They remained in their sleeping posture and watched the development of the situation. Although they had a premonition in their hearts, they still watched Mia being deceived without any precautions, and then watched Ulves and Qiao Fei chase after her one after another.
After all, although these people were traveling together, they did not regard each other as companions. For example, Michelle and Okoto's attitude was to stay out of the matter. As for Zhihuo, she was actually secretly hoping that something would happen to Mia, so that she, as the only woman in the team, could get more attention and care from Rongyuan.
Rong Yuan knew all these things clearly. Even though Mia didn't understand at first, she gradually figured it out after Rong Yuan pointed it out.
Seeing Mia leaving in a daze as if she had suffered a major blow, Rong Yuan frowned, and once again felt that Mia was really overprotected by Mi Dong, so she was as stupid as a fool. He could imagine that before this, the grandfather and grandson probably lived in isolation and rarely interacted with other people, so Mia had traces of rigorous training and (thought she) had some understanding of the cruel current situation of Prison Star, but the facts proved that she still had too naive fantasies about human nature.
But what is this place? This is not a normal society where no matter how cruel the struggle is, there are rules, order and supervision. It is a lawless place, the source of evil, a paradise for criminals, a hotbed for mental illness, a life prison with no hope and no tomorrow, and no consequences for committing any crime. Here, kind and normal ordinary people are rare animals of national treasure level. Even Heifeng and his group, who got along well with him before, are actually prisoners who survive by looting and have blood on their hands.
In a place like this, if Mia continued to maintain her innocence and if she hadn't met Rong Yuan, she would have died the moment she left the house.
Leido squatted in a hole he had dug, staring at the blank and empty ground before him, absentmindedly calculating how much property he still had.
The only pair of trousers he was wearing was related to a man’s dignity, so he absolutely could not sell them. His hair had grown another finger long, so maybe he could cut it off to get some food. Although it was so short that he couldn’t sell it for a good price, it was better than being knocked unconscious by a club and cut off like last time. There were also two straw cakes hidden at home, but they were just in case, so it was best not to use them easily... But he hadn’t eaten for two days...
A black shadow seemed to appear in the corner of his eyes. Lei Duo was stunned for a moment, and then he found that it was a group of people appearing on the horizon. Without thinking, he jumped out of the cave. At the same time, seven or eight other people did the same thing as him.
As he ran, Lei Duo saw the group of people clearly, and his running pace immediately slowed down, from running to walking, and after a few steps, he stopped and watched from a distance. The reactions of the others were similar to his. The slower ones just ran a few meters more, and finally stopped far away from those people. At first glance, they looked like a row of sculptures. But if you look closely, you will find that these people are all pale and trembling, with obvious fear in their eyes.
People like Ledo are scavengers who depend on the central city for survival but have nowhere to go. Every day, they wander around the main mining tunnels leading to the central city. When they see someone approaching, they will rush out and sell anything that can be bought and sold - because most of them have nothing, so the only things they can sell are intelligence and maps. If someone is willing to pay the price , then they themselves can also be traded.
But most of those who dared to come to the central city were organizations of considerable size nearby. They would often bring some prey, ores they had collected, crops they had grown, etc. to the city for trading. Their teams would definitely have someone familiar with the central city to lead the way, so there was not much need for guides. Lei Duo and his men would at most exchange the latest news in the city for a few small things, and sometimes they would be beaten up if the negotiations went badly.
The ones who earn the best income are the newcomers who come to the central city for the first time. These rookies who know nothing about the situation in the city are eager to know any useful information. No matter how insignificant the information is, they are very interested and can easily be fooled into paying a price higher than expected.
But the most dangerous ones are also these newcomers. The old people who have been here once know the rules of the central city. They will not kill even a scavenger like Leiduo easily, so even if something unpleasant happens during the transaction, at most they will only suffer some flesh injuries. But the newcomers who don't know anything about the situation and come all the way from the remote wasteland to the central city are extremely fierce and have no fear. They will kill people if they don't agree with them.
Those who came this time were obviously newcomers.
Lei Duo knew most of the familiar faces who often took this route. But he had never seen any of the people who came this time. Not only that, the strength of these people was terrifying.
Look at what they are carrying - an old man in front is carrying a fang more than three meters long, and the animal skin he is wearing seems to have been stripped off not long ago, and there is a lot of dark red blood mixed in the hair; a man next to him has more than a dozen finger-long fangs hanging around his neck, and a shield on his arm. If you look closely, it is actually the scales of an armored dragon; a woman has a snake skin with gold and red lines wrapped around her waist, which is a venomous snake that Lei Duo trembles at the mere mention of the name; and there are two women in the team who can walk here safely, which has proved that they are powerful. As for the huge packages they are carrying and the scales and claws that are exposed from the gaps in the rattan packages, Lei Duo only glanced at them and hurriedly lowered his head, not daring to look again.
Newcomers mean danger, which is why Lei Duo and others stopped.
But the abundant wealth meant that just a little bit of what they managed to squeeze out would be enough for him to eat for ten days or half a month.
Since ancient times, money has moved people's hearts. After being stiff for a while, two scavengers showed expressions ready to move. Leiduo gritted his teeth and rushed over first, barely stopping at a safe distance that would not cause dissatisfaction to the other party. He bent his back and showed the most harmless and enthusiastic smile in his life, and said: "Welcome to the central city, sir. Leiduo Orasco is at your service, sir."
Standing opposite him was Rong Yuan.
There were seven people in the group, and only this young man was carrying nothing. Lei Duo was very sure that he was the leader of these people.
Then he heard a voice that was surprisingly gentle and pleasant:
"So, what can you offer me?"
Lei Duo quickly glanced upwards, and after making sure that the person in front of him was not the kind of pervert who would "kill with a smile and then lick the person", he breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Information, sir, all I can provide is information. For example... where is a safe place to stay with good service? Which trading house has the most fair trading price? Where should I go if I want to buy weapons and food ? What forces in the city should I pay attention to, and what are the characteristics of the major forces? As long as it is what you want to ask, there is nothing I don't know..." He glanced at Rong Yuan's expression, and mustered up the courage to say, "Of course, the price is..."
Ulves, who was carrying the giant tusk, put on a bad face at the right time. He had a dark face and snorted.
Lei Duo immediately lowered his head again, his forehead almost touching the ground. He said timidly: "Of course, of course, I dare not ask for too much, just give me some as you see fit..."
"Don't worry, as long as you can satisfy me, I will also satisfy you." Rong Yuan said lightly.
