When faced with the barrel of a gun, people often become more amiable and cooperative. Not long ago, the headscarf-wearing young man, who had been stubbornly insisting on costs, boss's orders, and being powerless, obediently took out the key card and opened the underground warehouse behind the supply station, hauling out crates of sealed No. 26 fuel.
"Wouldn't it have been easier to just do this from the start?" Guro patted his shoulder and then asked how they usually received payments.
"Two million Federation credits is out of the question, but we won't stiff you on what's owed."
"There's a card reader connected to the Star Network in the shop," the headscarf-wearing man replied, raising his hands, his eyes occasionally darting toward the group, especially Evony and Ruby. After all, in this desolate place, such beautiful girls were probably a once-in-a-decade sight.
"Behave. Keep your eyes to yourself," Jinzerk kicked him, nearly knocking him over. However, the man didn't dare fight back and simply led the group to the main hall.
Surprisingly, the few customers in the hall hadn't left yet. Some were drinking, while others were sleeping nearby, seemingly unfazed by the commotion. They had guns at their sides, most wearing bulletproof vests, their voices rough and loud.
This was the lawless Northern 2nd District, after all. Anyone venturing out here had to have some means of self-defense. Logically, the shop should have had some security, but the headscarf-wearing clerk, upon seeing the group's weapons, wisely chose not to resist. Fighting back might get him killed, but not resisting only meant losing his boss's money and goods—something he clearly understood.
"This is the card reader," the headscarf-wearing man crouched behind the counter, rummaging around before pulling out an old white card reader. It was covered in stickers that hadn't been fully peeled off, and the yellowed edges of the paper and the model number on the side indicated it was quite old.
"I've only seen this kind of old thing in retro games. I didn't think they actually existed in real life. The question is, does it still work?" Simu tapped it, and the hard shell echoed with a crisp sound.
"It works, but it's a hassle to set up. The current encryption methods are a bit too much for this old model, so it tends to lag," he explained as he powered on the card reader, adjusted its parameters, and entered the password. After about ten minutes of fiddling, the screen finally displayed a "Connection Successful, Ready to Pay" message.
"According to market prices, 400 liters of No. 26 fuel only costs 20,000 Federation credits. Considering the trouble of transporting it here, we'll give you 100,000 Federation credits." Although 100,000 seemed like a lot, for someone like Jinzerk, it was probably just the cost of a few meals. He generously swiped his card.
"Thank you, uh, thank you." Seeing that this "big shot" actually paid and didn't mess with him, the headscarf-wearing man's expression immediately became more ingratiating. He even asked if there was anything else they needed, realizing that these people were genuinely wealthy and unlikely to kill him.
"We wouldn't trust any food you offer, so just tell us some recent intel. Do you have a map or something?" Jinzerk sat down at a table, his posture relaxed, and began interrogating the man. Meanwhile, some of the group members carried the fuel back to the vehicle, while others looked around the shop, examining the various old objects in the shabby interior.
Ruby, on the other hand, pulled Evony over to the bar counter, pointing out some of the liquor bottles she recognized. Many were counterfeit or low-quality, but a few seemed genuine.
"I'm quite knowledgeable about alcohol. A wine company once approached me for a collaboration, but unfortunately, not many people are into red wine these days." In the new era, with all sorts of new beverages being developed, the more classical red wine had naturally lost some of its former popularity.
As the two whispered to each other, the eyes of the customers in the corner of the shop lingered on their figures. In this wilderness where women were rare, such beautiful and young girls were truly a sight to behold.
One of the customers, already quite drunk, stood up unsteadily, muttering incoherently as if seeing some kind of hallucination. He staggered toward the bar, reaching for the two girls behind the counter, but Valk grabbed his hand and stepped in front of him.
"Who... who are you? Let go of me... I'm warning you, I'm from the 'Leopard Head Gang.' If you mess with me... you won't make it out of Northern 2nd District."
His words were slurred, and he seemed on the verge of collapsing. Valk simply shook his head, gave him a light push, and sent him sprawling to the ground.
Seeing Valk's imposing stature, the drunk's companions didn't dare to make a scene. They just helped him up and moved him to the side, muttering, "Brother Long, wake up."
Meanwhile, Jinzerk finished listening to the headscarf-wearing man's account of the situation.
"So, Northern 2nd District is mostly barren, with only a few settlements, and the two biggest factions are the 'Burning Sun City' and the 'Withered Tree Garden,' right?"
"That's right. There used to be the 'Thousand Towers City,' but last year they changed their strategy and left Northern 2nd District altogether. Their convoy was massive, and it surprised a lot of people."
"Oh? They just left? Where did they go?"
"I'm not sure. Rumor has it they went to another district to start over. Now, only a few old folks remain in the ruins of Thousand Towers City, and the surrounding areas have gradually become deserted. Several wandering factions have fought over the now-vacant settlements, and the ruins are currently occupied by a few newly formed gangs."
"That's quite a change. I've heard of Thousand Towers City before. They were a unique faction, with a culture quite different from ours," Alen analyzed from the side.
"Let's not worry about that for now. Have you finished marking the major faction territories on the map? Let us take a look."
After some more fiddling and questioning, Jinzerk and Alen realized they weren't going to get any more useful information, so they stood up to leave.
"Uh... you haven't paid yet," the headscarf-wearing man stammered, looking anxious as the group prepared to leave, despite his earlier fear and resentment.
"Paid? Didn't I just give you 100,000?" Jinzerk glanced at him. He wasn't short on money, but he didn't like giving it to people like this.
"That... wasn't that for the fuel?" The headscarf-wearing man was at a loss for words, unsure how to argue.
"Don't worry, it's all the same," Jinzerk said with a grin, leading the group out of the supply station.
Not long after, the large vehicle started up again. Though the exhaust emitted a faint black smoke, it roared to life and soon disappeared into the wilderness, leaving only a trail of dust behind.
"Those bastards!"
As soon as they were gone, the headscarf-wearing man's expression changed. He crushed the beer can in his hand with a loud crunch and threw it aside.
"Daring to mess with me, huh? After I even drew the territory map for them. Well, they won't get off easy either, pulling this stunt in Croc Boss's territory." Muttering to himself, he ducked back into the supply station to report to his boss, naturally embellishing the story to make himself look loyal and clever, claiming he had protected the boss's assets and even managed to scare the group into leaving some money.
"Sure, they left some money, but this clearly shows they don't respect you, Boss. Everyone in the shop saw it. If we don't teach them a lesson, who's going to take us seriously?"
...
"Who else was in the shop? Let me think... there was Aqiang from the Leopard Head Gang, Redbeard the lone ranger, and a few laborers on the run."
...
"Got it, Boss. I'll send you the shop's surveillance footage later. Heh, let me tell you, there were two girls in that group who were especially good-looking. If we could sell them on the black market, they'd fetch a sky-high price."
…
On the gray-yellow wilderness, the large truck rumbled along, leaving a trail of dust. Inside the cab, rhythmic music played as N leaned back in the driver's seat, one hand lightly shaking a drink, the other propping up his chin.
As the driver, he didn't need to be constantly at the wheel. With modern AI-assisted driving, he only had to make occasional adjustments to handle unexpected situations.
He hadn't gone inside the shop, but he had learned about the entire incident through other means. He didn't comment on it, finding it rather amusing, like watching a seasoned player observing a newbie struggling through the first level.
So reckless, leaving so many loose ends. But it's still quite entertaining.
Meanwhile, inside the truck's cabin, the atmosphere was different.
Jinzerk sat with his arms crossed, his protective jacket draped over his shoulders like a cape, one hand lightly touching his forehead and sunglasses, striking a cool pose.
"See? My way worked, didn't it? Hahaha~" He patted Alen's shoulder, not saying a word, but the message was clear.
In this expedition, aside from Thilan as the president, Jinzerk now had the highest popularity and prestige, surpassing even Alen. It seemed he was eyeing the position of second-in-command.
Among the others, while Evony and Iyepher weren't particularly impressed, the rest couldn't help but agree somewhat, as his approach had resolved their current predicament.
By evening, Thilan, who had just woken up, sat by the campfire, listening to Ruby recount the day's events, occasionally covering her mouth to yawn.
"So, you just waltzed in, made no attempt to hide, and strong-armed your way into buying a batch of fuel?" She rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on.
"Giving them 100,000 was probably still a profit for them."
Although she had never been involved in illegal smuggling, based on what she had learned during her time in Thousand Towers City, the cost of certain things in Northern 2nd District was likely much lower than elsewhere.
When the North Star District was evacuated, many of the old factory equipment left behind had been abandoned here. With a bit of maintenance, it wouldn't be hard to get them running again.
"Producing advanced, cutting-edge items might be impossible, but something like old-fashioned fuel, a universal industrial product, wouldn't be a problem. Plus, the Northern 2nd District is extremely poor, and labor costs are ridiculously low. You could probably make a decent profit even if you paid them 40,000 Federation credits, let alone 100,000." Still feeling drowsy, Thilan slowly analyzed the situation for her companions.
"Shops in the wilderness are usually well-informed. The way you all acted so generously, with your brand-new guns and weapons, and spending money like it was nothing, you might as well have written 'rich and clueless, come and get us' on your foreheads." The girl sighed.
"Chances are, we'll have a lot of greedy people coming after us on the road."
"What do we do then? Oh no, if a cute and beautiful idol like me gets caught, the kind of things that would happen are only seen in banned videos!" Ruby pretended to be terrified.
"Alright, alright, it's not entirely that bad. While there are plenty of greedy people, most of the factions here are pretty weak and don't have access to high-end, advanced weapons. We'll just deal with them as they come. After all, we're here to train, so we were bound to run into trouble sooner or later." Thilan shook her head.
During the winter break, she had heard many stories about Northern 2nd District from Gu Qianlou. Although she hadn't spent much time here, she wasn't completely clueless. Additionally, through her battles with her uncle, she had a rough idea of the power levels in Northern 2nd District.
There were probably quite a few ordinary Sequence 5 professionals, but Sequence 6 transcendents were rare, likely only found among the higher-ups of "Burning Sun City" and "Withered Tree Garden."
Half a year ago, she had been able to infiltrate the depths of Thousand Towers City alone. Now, facing two factions of similar strength, she wasn't too worried. If things got really bad, they could always call for backup, like N, who was currently lounging in the driver's seat, sipping his drink and slacking off.
As for getting injured, that wasn't a big deal either. Her talent made healing incredibly convenient, and with each awakening, Thilan herself wasn't sure where her limits lay.
If she only used her "Crystal of Convergence" talent, she could barely hold her own against a Sequence 6 expert at Sequence 4. But if she added the changes brought by her Songstress talent, she could probably defeat some unprepared or caught-off-guard Sequence 6 opponents, like in her previous battle with Ranbell.
After understanding the situation, Thilan had dinner with the group and then returned to the vehicle to sleep. Ever since that night's song, she seemed to have undergone another change. Lately, she had been feeling constantly drowsy, and her dreams were filled with scenes she had never seen before—some were echoes of the past left by the first two Color-Grade Songstresses, while others were chaotic bursts of collective emotions and subconsciousness. The images were so chaotic that she sometimes couldn't tell which era they belonged to.
It would probably take some time before things returned to normal. As for this change, she seemed to be getting used to it. After all, when you're deep in debt, a little more doesn't make much difference.
After that day, the group continued to follow the mission map, collecting samples along the way. Throughout the process, the team gradually adjusted and adapted to each other. Having never traveled or lived with peers before, their habits and ideas, which hadn't clashed on campus, now began to collide.
Although Thilan was often drowsy, she still made an effort to come out and talk with everyone every day, participating in the nightly summaries and discussions.
With everyone's personalities and ideas being different, disagreements were inevitable. But for the sake of the shared mission and keeping the team from falling apart, everyone was finding their place and learning how to get along. Slowly, some of their youthful naivety faded, and through daily discussions and analyses, the group's rhythm began to align more closely.