Chapter 108: Escort

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In the golden autumn of October, the grass had withered and turned yellow, leaves fell from the trees, and a sudden autumn wind stirred within Phoenix Song Valley. Amidst a grove of poplars by the roadside, mist lingered heavily. After an indeterminate length of time, the mist gradually contracted until it gathered around a solitary figure.

Fan Bei exhaled deeply; another day of cultivation had come to an end. Reflecting on recent events and watching the wind sweep through the poplar forest, where withered leaves carpeted the ground, he shook his head and muttered to himself, “The tree longs for calm, yet the wind will not cease...”

The death of Lin Qing had only intensified his already diligent resolve to cultivate. Had it not been for Lin Zhongqing’s bond with the steward system and the influence of its inclinations, he would have fully understood that, under normal circumstances, he would now be the one bearing the brunt of misplaced anger—at best compensated with land, at worst, paying with his life.

This was a wasteland; this was the apocalypse.

Lin Qing’s demise brought Fan Bei a profound awakening: in life, one must rely on oneself. The host was merely an aid, the system an aid, and even the system’s creator was but an aid. No matter how great the assistance, without inner strength, one remained worthless.

If one’s spirit faltered, if one’s character was weak, then even possessing vast wealth and supreme power meant nothing.

Countless realms had fallen to ruin by the second generation, countless family legacies squandered. What they owned, compared to ordinary people, was no less than many so-called “golden fingers.”

Fortunately, Fan Bei believed his spirit and character were steadfast—he was diligent and resilient. After surviving more than a decade of life in the apocalypse, there was no reason he shouldn’t continue on.

“If only the world were filled with good people, life would be so much easier...” he said casually, then laughed bitterly at his own naivety, a notion born only of youth.

Children think in terms of good and evil; adults only consider sides.

Lin Qing was not necessarily a villain. From the standpoint of the other party, using the authority just established by Lin Zhongqing to intimidate and seize territory cheaply was the most advantageous and profitable course of action.

Fan Bei swept away these extraneous thoughts, returned to his vehicle, and called out to Dabai, who was still chasing autumn butterflies, “Let’s go, Dabai. Play less and train more these days. I’ve got a lead on where you can practice.”

Dabai quickly scampered back and nimbly climbed into the car.

Together, man and dog returned to their refuge.

Within the poplar forest stirred by the autumn wind, two voices sounded once more.

“A world where only good people exist? So he thinks just like I do,” the voice of a kind-hearted girl rang with surprise.

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“Yes, clever people each have their own thoughts; fools all think alike. The world isn’t that simple. Children talk about good and evil; adults only recognize sides,” said a fierce girl with disdain.

“That’s impossible. Why can’t good people share a common stance? As long as there is love and justice in the heart, as long as kindness prevails, all differences—race, skin color, wealth, status, nationality—can be erased!” the kind-hearted girl argued confidently.

“I’m not going to waste time talking with you, you deluded girl. Anyway, that matter just settled, and you mustn’t cause me trouble again. I’ve just subdued the surrounding plants and trees within a hundred kilometers and am about to take root, solidify my foundation, so no one can detect any traces,” the fierce girl said reluctantly.

Suddenly, the kind-hearted girl brightened, “Oh, I remember—he has a talking orchid at home. Did you subdue it?”

“What do you want to do with it?”

“I want to borrow its body for a while.”

“Oh, that weakling who fears the strong? I subdued it long ago. I didn’t even have to act fully—just showed it my two main roots, and it obediently surrendered, recognizing me as its master,” the fierce girl said proudly.

“Good, I’m coming over now.”

“Go quickly.”

“Don’t think of me. If I’m done here, I’ll come back.”

“You don’t need to come back. Fools belong together.”

The voices in the forest soon faded away.

…

At Fan Bei’s home, he sat in his study, communicating with someone via a personal radio.

“Don’t worry, Mr. Fan, the information is reliable. With the evil tide gone, everyone is troubled over the source of the Spiritual Core. Many have been searching, and recently someone discovered a suspected evil spirit nest. Numerous freelancers and trade caravans are rushing there to investigate.”

“Good, I’ve purchased the information. But what about our transaction method?” Fan Bei asked.

“I’ll give you the exact location first... As for payment, just wait for the next Silver Guild caravan to reach you. You can have someone bring the payment along,” the voice complained casually after giving the address, “I wish online payments were possible—a simple transfer would suffice. Now, everything is so troublesome. You can’t expect everyone to travel hundreds of kilometers for a small matter, especially when the travel expenses aren’t even covered.”

“Thanks for your trust, Mr. Hu,” Fan Bei expressed gratitude, then agreed, “Exactly. We’re so used to the internet age; without it, conducting business is really a hassle.”

“I think some big shots, like the ‘Constructors,’ can directly send and receive supplies remotely and could handle our business. But unfortunately, for small orders like ours, the big players probably don’t care,” the other side sighed.

“Yes, only 500 silver coins. It’s not like we can burn incense and pray for a big shot to carry things back and forth. One or two urgent jobs are manageable, but if it scales to millions or tens of millions...” Fan Bei shook his head.

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“It would be best to rebuild the logistics and payment networks we once had, but that still depends on human technology...” The voice lowered, clearly hesitant to say more, fearing taboo.

After some casual chat over the radio, they ended the call.

The man on the other end, surnamed Hu, owned a private detective agency in Silver City. Their business overlapped somewhat with the Starry Commerce Guild—they took all sorts of commissions, from finding lost pets to vendettas and assassinations.

But their scale was too small, with only a handful of freelancers, far inferior to the Starry Guild in capacity and scope.

They once considered joining the Starry Guild but abandoned the idea due to requirements of personal loyalty and fears of being used as cannon fodder.

Now, Fan Bei was at least a VIP Level 1 member of Silver City, making it easy to inquire about such matters from the Silver Guild.

He then opened the map to locate the place Detective Hu had mentioned.

The location was not far from Phoenix Song Valley, also in the Taihang Mountains—only 90 kilometers in a straight line. But getting there was another matter.

Unlike the refuge, there were no roads; one had to cross mountains and ridges. After more than thirty years of apocalypse, such unexplored mountains were desolate and perilous.

Fan Bei frowned and recalled Hu’s words. Since a caravan was already heading there, he decided to spend more money and find a team to travel together.

With this in mind, he picked up his walkie-talkie and dialed the duty number of the Tenacity Commerce Guild.

Lin Xiaolu answered. It seemed Lin Xiaohong was right—she was the most available.

Fan Bei explained where he wanted to go and asked if the guild could provide escort.

“Oh, Brother Fan,” Lin Xiaolu said cheerfully, “We just accepted a commission to escort a caravan there. If you go with us, you won’t have to pay extra for the escort.”

Sure enough, Detective Hu was reliable. Clearly, the caravan’s true purpose was to open a new source of Spiritual Cores.

This was currency harder than gold or silver.

After a brief exchange, they agreed on a departure time. Lin Xiaolu asked about Dabai’s condition, then the call ended.