Pei Guang and his group had walked quite a distance before March 7th teased: "Pei Guang, you're really something. I thought we'd have to go through a lot of trouble to find a way out, but you just talked to someone and it worked?"
Pei Guang shook his head: "It's not just about talking to anyone. I did some research on the city's background. Over ten years ago, the Supreme Guardian sealed off the passage between the upper and lower districts and forbade all communication. The one who issued this order was Cocolia herself."
"From my experience, the people guarding these passages are usually the ones who know how to get through. But to pass, you often need to fulfill some kind of task for them. People from the lower district are most likely to have quests. Once you take their quest, they'll definitely let you through safely."
"This is a common pattern in most games. A gate or passage is guarded, and normally players can't pass. But if you talk to the guard and take their quest, they'll let you through. But here's the question: where's our quest-giving NPC? We should've had one to guide us, but I haven't seen them anywhere."
March 7th nodded: "I see, you're really something else…"
This wasn't flattery from March 7th—she was genuinely impressed. In previous worlds, she had caused plenty of trouble, but never had she seen a situation where causing trouble didn't lead to capture, and instead, just talking to someone got them to their destination? It even got them thanked for?!
Pei Guang: "Just average~ If we run into a counter-strategy, there's nothing we can do, but those are rare!"
At this moment, Stelle was curiously asking on the side: "How do you know all these secrets?"
Pei Guang casually pulled out a book: "While we were wandering around, running errands, and collecting items, I noticed some books, notes, and records lying around. I just picked them up and had a read. If you grab books, scattered papers, or reports whenever you see them, you never know where you might find important information."
Stelle: "I see. I picked up quite a few of those, too, but I haven't had time to read them."
March 7th looked at Pei Guang and asked, "So, what should we do now?"
He thought for a moment and said, "It seems there's not much to do. Let's walk around and see what we can find. It's a pity we opened all the chests yesterday: otherwise, I could have cracked a few open for you."
March 7th crossed her arms and huffed, "Hmph! I want to try opening for a Destroyer-class battleship too! If yours ever gets destroyed, I can use mine to help you escape."
Pei Guang: "Can you stop jinxing things?"
Stelle and March 7th snickered.
As Pei Guang and his group were scavenging the city for anything they could take, an elderly couple arrived at the workshop on the other side of town.
The elderly couple entered the workshop, looking around. When they saw Dan Heng and Serval, the old butler spoke up: "We have a quest! A quest."
If it were someone else, they might not have reacted to this statement, but Dan Heng, who had spent a lot of time with Pei Guang, immediately understood what it meant.
He approached the elderly couple and asked, "What quest do you have?"
The old butler took out a letter: "This is a letter we want to send to Natasha. The madam's legs aren't good anymore, and she's been getting on in years. We don't know when our lady will come back."
The elderly woman spoke with a choked voice: "Yes! We asked her to come back in the past, but she didn't. I understand, but why did she have to stay..."
Before she could finish, the old butler interrupted: "Sir, about our quest..."
Dan Heng thought for a moment, then nodded: "We'll take on your quest, but we can't guarantee it will reach her."
Elderly Woman: "If it gets to her, that's the best. If it doesn't, that's still okay. By the way, we also prepared some gifts for her. They're all on the vehicle. Sorry to trouble you!"
Old Butler: "Thank you for your help. We'll be on our way now: we don't want to be a bother."
Dan Heng watched as the elderly couple hurriedly left, staring at the letter in his hand and lowering his head in silence.
Serval, curious, leaned in and asked: "Oh, what's the quest? Huh? Who are they?"
Dan Heng: "You know them?"
Serval: "They're quite famous. Their daughter, Natasha, is also very well-known! But it's a pity, a pity..."
Serval shook her head, not intending to continue. Some matters were considered family scandals, and although Serval had inadvertently learned about them, she had no interest in gossiping about it.
After that, more and more people started coming to the workshop. There were Silvermane Guards in armor, elderly folks, and middle-aged people. Fortunately, this was Serval's workshop, so the presence of so many people didn't arouse particular suspicion from outsiders.
Their purpose was simple: to "assign quests."
Listening to all the requests made Dan Heng's head buzz. Things like sending letters or loading gifts onto the vehicle... He couldn't help but marvel at Pei Guang's audacity. Not only was Pei Guang casually walking around the streets, using psychological tricks and the uneven distribution of information, but he also got so many people to "assign quests"?
There weren't that many tasks—just seventeen—but these seventeen people had been carefully selected by the Silvermane Guard, ensuring they wouldn't expose Pei Guang and his group. For those who couldn't keep their mouths shut, he found various excuses to collect letters from them. All these tasks were placed on the vehicle, waiting for Pei Guang to help deliver them to their families.
As for the vehicle at the station? By now, it was filled with all sorts of items. Although there were a few guards on duty at the station, the Silvermane Guard had used his connections to replace them with people he knew or those who owed him a favor.
A single order from a big shot had caused them pain for over a decade: now that they saw a glimmer of hope, they were willing to take a gamble.
With some maneuvering, things that people wanted Pei Guang to help deliver to the lower district were also loaded onto the vehicle. There wasn't anything particularly valuable—just some food, drink, clothing, and letters. Only the items prepared by Natasha's adoptive parents were somewhat precious—four crates of medicine.
The medicine was a controlled substance, but this elderly couple had connections at the hospital.
As for whether they trusted Pei Guang? They felt they didn't really have a choice. After so many years, no major incidents like the attempted assassination of the Supreme Guardian had ever occurred. Without such an event, it would have been difficult to operate in the shadows. If they were caught, it would drag down their families and friends. But now, with this major event happening, and with someone trying to use this opportunity to get to the lower district, they thought they might as well give it a try!
If they failed, they'd only lose a letter and some supplies. But if they succeeded? What if their relatives, friends, or children received these items? And if they didn't... At least they might find out that their children had died. They could still accept that.
Besides, with such a big incident, they could always blame the assassins who tried to kill the Supreme Guardian. Claiming that the assassins stole their medicine or food—what a perfect excuse. Not taking advantage of this unknown assassin would be a waste.
In a way, Pei Guang and his group weren't really even taking the blame!
When night fell, Pei Guang and his group returned to the workshop. Since they had a big mission to carry out that night, the four of them took turns resting.
At 11:50 PM, after confirming the time, the group prepared to depart.
It was late at night, and Serval couldn't turn on the lights to help, so she could only offer her best wishes to Pei Guang and the others: "Good luck!"
Pei Guang: "Thanks! After we return, I'll invite you to come play on the Star Destroyer~"
Serval whistled: "That would be awesome!"
Pei Guang led the way, pushing open the door. But as soon as he did, he froze.
Behind him, March 7th urged, "What's wrong? What happened?"
Pei Guang: "Shh!"
Pei Guang motioned for them to keep quiet and cautiously peeked outside. He saw a young girl standing by the trash bin, visibly struggling.