These seven or eight youths were all skinny, skin and bones, but their faces looked relatively clean.
They ran into the light and shrank back in fear when they saw Lan Yuzai, a few of them clearly recognizing him.
But when they saw the figure behind Lan Yuzai wearing a mask and a duckbill cap, their eyes lit up instantly, and they shouted:
"Boss! Need a guide, boss!"
"I know all the fun places in Lower City! I can take you there! You just need to pay me two starch sticks! I can also wait outside for you!"
"Boss, I can take you to some truly thrilling places! Thrills you can't even imagine!"
Clearly, in their minds, anyone who comes to Lower City incognito is a boss from Upper Middle City here to 'spend'.
"Get lost! Come any closer and I'll chop you up!"
Lan Yuzai looked menacing, yelling and even making a motion to kick.
The group of youths spread out to avoid him, still shouting. Had it not been for Lan Yuzai showing the tattoo on his arm, they would have probably lunged at him.
Lan Yuzai dropped the short sleeves of his shirt, muttering:
"A bunch of little devils that don't spit out bones when they eat people! Do I look like it's my first day here!"
After shaking off those youths, the two of them entered a long passage.
Lan Yuzai's demeanor became a bit twisted, and he said quietly:
"Well, that, big boss... would you handle these? I'm not running, I now want to follow you and learn some skills! I really want to get strong, make them all scared of me! After all... I'm well-known in our local area on that floor..."
"You're also well-known here?"
Wang Jixuan took the bag of emergency food that had cost Lan Yuzai two months' food quota with his right hand, while his left hand still clutched Lan Yuzai's right elbow.
This was the most dangerous moment, and Wang Jixuan had opened his Spiritual Sense to the maximum.
"Can't say it's significant, but I have a bit of a reputation!"
Lan Yuzai stood tall and proud, suddenly looking spirited, and with Wang Jixuan in tow, he strode forward, saying:
"Not to mention, I, Rotten Fish, am loyal, have a wide network; there are people I know in all Seven Great Gangs, so later on you'll just have to pretend to be my underling... Oh, right, what are we here for?"
To directly take down the Black Fire Gang?
If Wang Jixuan were in the Golden Core Realm, he would not hesitate, but now... reason told him that he should prepare some low-level talismans and a few Magic Artifacts first to better cope with the gang's numerous firearms.
He said, "I've heard there are some general stores in Lower City that sell various things."
"There are many, all on a few streets, but most of these shops trade items for items, and they all have dark dealings, and are run by gang members too."
Lan Yuzai asked quietly:
"What do you want to buy? I have a few shops I frequent."
"Do you have a gun, are you looking to buy bullets? Those are expensive, even more so than the guns!"
As they spoke, the two of them turned a dark corner, entering a street bathed in orange-yellow light.
Wang Jixuan maintained high alertness, staying slightly behind Lan Yuzai.
In his perception, there were many people ahead, and these people...
were lifeless.
Spiritual Energy here was mired in mud, with turbid Qi released from human bodies everywhere.
As far as the eye could see, a relatively spacious straight street stretched inward, ending in a hallucinatory sight of lamp signs and neon lights.
Both sides of the street were lined with rusty, narrow tin houses, with several people either lying or sitting in each room, most skeletal, barely clothed, countless at a glance.
The row of low street lamps on the roadside was the only source of light for these people.
Wang Jixuan frowned as he walked through.
He thought this Fortress's Lower City would be rough, but he hadn't anticipated a scene like this.
It was almost no different from the famines recorded in the sectarian texts during mundane times.
Lan Yuzai, long used to such sights, bared his shoulder tattoo, glaring at everyone around; those looking their way immediately lowered their heads, not daring to speak.
At the end of this street.
A few well-dressed men and women were laughing and chatting, each wearing a tactical vest accessorized with a handgun and magazines, two of the men even holding submachine guns with large magazines.
Past these men and women, one could see a cluster of low buildings overlaid with lamp signs and neon lights.
There, people bustled about, and there were some simple modes of transport.
Lan Yuzai, previously boastful, immediately grew timid, lowered his head, and pulled on Wang Jixuan, taking two emergency food bars from Wang Jixuan's bag and fumbling a crumpled paper bag from his top pocket.
Lan Yuzai tilted his head and advised: "Don't speak a word, and definitely don't make a move; they all have guns, there are rifles on those rooftops, this territory belongs to Joyful City."
No sooner had he spoken, than the group guarding the street looked over.
"Hey! Rotten Fish!"
"Hey! Zhang! Guarding the street today? Hard work, hard work."
Lan Yuzai nodded and bowed as he approached, presenting a few cigarettes and a skull-shaped lighter from the paper bag.
Wang Jixuan quietly gripped five pencils, calculating his angles to strike.
Should Lan Yuzai dare call for help...
The few Joyful City gang members laughed as they took the cigarettes, each pulling out a button lighter and lighting up, casually taking the two bags of emergency food handed over by Lan Yuzai.
"Rotten Fish, wasn't it just a few days ago you came down here? What, you've expanded your territory, got more Blood Bags?"
"Hey, I'm on Thirteenth Floor, you know it, there's barely any good pickings there, and that new captain is rotten tough."