Chapter 49: An Idea

There was no surface exchange above Freedom City, but there was a parking lot.

As soon as Ying Li’s RV stopped, one of Ding Hua’s confidants hurried over to inquire, “Mr. Li, what brings you here?”

Ying Li used a false name in Freedom City, surname Li.

He had visited the day before yesterday, taking away a large number of crystal cores, and had said his next visit would be in half a month.

Now he was suddenly here, driving an RV that clearly wasn’t ordinary. This confidant was puzzled.

Ying Li said, “I encountered an… incident and seized an RV. I wanted to ask City Lord Ding if she wants it.”

An RV—how could she not want it! As for Ying Li’s talk of “seizing”… that was robbing and killing, wasn’t it? There were clearly corpses inside the vehicle; he could smell them!

The confidant said, “Someone has already gone to notify the City Lord. Regarding this matter, Mr. Li, you should discuss it with her.”

“Alright.” Ying Li replied, looking toward the entrance of Freedom City—Ding Hua had arrived.

Ding Hua stared at the RV for a moment, then asked Ying Li, “Which family’s people did you kill?”

Ying Li didn’t hide it. “The Yu Family.”

“You plan to sell this vehicle to me?” Ding Hua asked again.

Ying Li gave another affirmative answer.

Ding Hua immediately opened the RV door and entered the vehicle to inspect it.

She had worked in a great family’s hunting team before and was very familiar with such RVs. After inspecting, she knew it was definitely a vehicle belonging to some direct-line young master.

The vehicle was extremely luxurious and very new; its value was immeasurable.

Ding Hua said, “I’ll offer five Rank-A crystal cores.” The market price for a Rank-A crystal core was one million credit points. This RV would cost at least ten million credit points to buy new, with modifications costing extra.

But the actual value of a Rank-A crystal core far exceeded one million credit points. It was just that the great families colluded to suppress the price.

The price Ding Hua offered was very fair.

“Deal.” Ying Li agreed immediately.

Ding Hua said, “It’s very late. Do you want to stay overnight in the city tonight?”

Ying Li said, “Yes. And tomorrow, I must trouble City Lord Ding to send us on our way.”

Ding Hua nodded. She had her confidant take the vehicle while she personally escorted Ying Li and his group into Freedom City. “I don’t have the crystal cores on me. I’ll give them to you once we get back.”

In the past, Freedom City’s entrance had been completely open. But recently, as various equipment was being installed, a checkpoint had been set up at the city entrance, rigorously inspecting everyone entering and leaving.

The inspections were also very strict.

Ying Li was not surprised by this situation. Luo Qiming and the others, however, were very surprised.

The Freedom City before their eyes was completely different from what they had imagined.

And once they entered the city, they were even more surprised.

The city was very clean, even cleaner than Starlight City.

Ying Li knew the reason for this.

The Upper City District of Starlight City was very dirty. For one, the population was too dense. For another, the air in Starlight City didn’t circulate with the outside world.

Freedom City had fewer residents and had previously been open to the outside. Although many facilities within the city had become old, after being cleaned by robots, everything looked brand new.

Ding Hua led Ying Li to an area she had just tidied up within the city and arranged a suite for them to rest.

This dwelling was one hundred and eighty square meters. Aside from the living and dining area, it also had four bedrooms. Although it lacked everything, even clean water, just the fact that the house was so big was enough to make Luo Qiming and the others overjoyed.

Their homes in the Upper City District were only three or four square meters each.

“Captain Ying, this house is so big!”

“Captain Ying, Freedom City isn’t at all what I thought it would be.”

“Captain Ying, how do you know City Lord Ding?”

…

Ying Li knew they had many questions but didn’t intend to answer all of them. “Some things are better left unknown for your own good. I won’t tell you.”

The group: “…”

Despite saying that, Ying Li still gave a brief overview of Freedom City’s situation. Of course, he didn’t mention Boss Lin, only saying that after Ding Hua came here, she had been dedicated to building this place up.

After that, Ying Li also spoke about the Central District and the hunting teams of those great families.

He also recounted his entanglement with Yu Mingwei and Yu Juntao.

“This Yu Juntao is way too vicious! You saved them, yet he shows no gratitude at all!”

“Captain Ying, when you told us before that we were being followed, I thought you were just being overly cautious. I never imagined someone would try to kill people over such a trivial matter.”

“These people… do they think they’re above all law?”

…

Ying Li said, “They have great power and control the resources. They simply don’t regard the weak as human.”

The group talked until midnight before going to rest. In between, Ding Hua delivered the Rank-A crystal cores and some daily necessities.

Of the four rooms, Ying Li and Xiang Ye each took one; the other four shared, two to a room. It was very spacious.

Back in his room, Ying Li quickly fell asleep. On the other side, however, Xiang Ye couldn’t sleep for a long time, constantly sensing his mental power.

What happened today had shown Luo Qiming and the others a world they never understood before. It had also profoundly shaken him.

This world was far more dangerous than he had imagined.

He was a Guide; he could avoid these dangers. He could let the Sentinels around him protect him.

But he didn’t want that.

He wanted to control his own destiny. He wanted to possess powerful strength. He also wanted to stand before the world and display his abilities.

In Starlight City, he couldn’t achieve all this. But in Freedom City, he could!

Once he became strong, he would never again have to worry about Ying Li abandoning him. He would be able to stand by Ying Li’s side forever.

He had never expected the things he wanted to fall into his lap on their own. He felt that if he wanted something, he had to fight for it, to seize it himself.

Xiang Ye slept very late but was full of energy the next day.

He had already decided what he was going to do! Freedom City lacked Guides. Here, he could achieve extraordinary success!

Xiang Ye got up and left his room to find Ying Li already awake, sitting at the dining table gnawing on dried meat.

When they came to Freedom City yesterday, they had brought ten catties of dried meat as rations, enough for all of them to eat.

“Come have something to eat,” Ying Li called out to Xiang Ye.

Xiang Ye came to Ying Li’s side and gnawed on dried meat with him.

Hearing their voices, Luo Qiming and the others also emerged, staring eagerly at the dried meat.

Not being stingy, Ying Li shared one catty with each of them.

Their faces full of pleasant surprise, they were reluctant to finish it all at once, so they ate slowly, bit by bit.

As they were eating, a knock came at the door.

After putting on their visors, Luo Qiming went to open the door and saw the confidant of Ding Hua they had met the day before entering.

“I’ve brought you food,” this person said, but stopped mid-sentence.

The food he had brought was nutrient paste. And Ying Li and his group? These people were eating dried meat!

Recently, their City Lord had somehow acquired some dried meat. If they did their duties well, they would receive dried meat as a reward.

But each time they received only a few finger-sized strips. When times were lean, maybe only one strip. Yet now? These people had a pile in front of them!

So the dried meat their City Lord had was also obtained from Mr. Li?

Who exactly was this Mr. Li? How did he have everything?

Seeing the man staring fixedly at the dried meat in his hand, Ying Li asked, “Want some?”

Ding Hua’s confidant didn’t hesitate. “Absolutely!”

Only a fool would refuse when there was dried meat to eat!

Dried meat made from Rank-A mutant beast was extremely filling. They couldn’t finish ten catties in one meal. Ying Li gave this man half a catty.

The man immediately put the dried meat into his mouth, then said, “This dried meat is really delicious. Mr. Li, what kind of meat is this? It tastes different from the dried meat City Lord Ding gave us.”

Ying Li said, “Well, it’s definitely not human meat.”

It truly wasn’t human meat. The confidant, like Luo Qiming and the others, savored the dried meat in his hand slowly. Just then, another person arrived.

The moment he heard movement, this confidant stuffed the remaining dried meat in his hand all into his mouth.

Ying Li was just wondering why, when the newcomer looked as if he wished he could pry open this man’s mouth. “What are you eating? Give me some!”

So that was why the man had wolfed down the rest.

Ying Li shared some more dried meat. Then, Ding Hua arrived.

“You have extra dried meat on hand? How much? I’ll pay to buy it!”

Ying Li traded some of the dried meat for a Rank-B crystal core, which he placed into Xiang Ye’s hand. After negotiating with Ding Hua, he also obtained the usage rights for this suite.

The Rank-A crystal cores he had gotten from Ding Hua were temporarily stored here.

Bringing Rank-A crystal cores back to Starlight City would invite trouble. Even the crystal cores here in Freedom City meant for Boss Lin, due to their sheer quantity, he didn’t carry back to Starlight City. He left them at a supply point Boss Lin had established outside the city.

After breakfast, Ding Hua personally drove Ying Li and his group to where they had hidden their truck. They found a river to wash the truck and sprayed odor-masking agent on it before heading back to Starlight City.

They didn’t take the same road as before. Their journey into the Safe Zone was smooth and unimpeded. Then, as usual, they processed their spoils at the Surface Exchange.

Everything went very smoothly.

For the next few days, Ying Li didn’t notice anything unusual. No one was even keeping an eye on him. The deaths of Yu Juntao and his men probably hadn’t been discovered yet.

But even if they were discovered, Yu Mingwei wouldn’t suspect him.

After all, right now, he was merely a weak Rank-B Sentinel, and Yu Juntao had offended a powerful Rank-A Sentinel during this hunt.

Ying Li was correct. The Yu Family had not yet discovered Yu Juntao’s death.

But while Ying Li was fine, Yu Juntao’s continued failure to return to the city did irritate Yu Mingwei.

One day, he vented his anger at Captain Zhang, ordering him to go find the missing men. “You’ve all been back for days, and Yu Juntao still hasn’t returned. Can’t you spare someone to look for him?”

“Young Master Yu, I’ll send people to look right away,” Captain Zhang agreed.

In the wilderness, it was actually very hard to find people. He didn’t think it was necessary to search.

But since Yu Mingwei had given the order, so be it.

Anyway, the losses incurred from delaying the hunt to search wouldn’t be his to bear. Searching counted as overtime, so his hunting team members would even get overtime pay.