102 Chapter 102 - A Large-scale Organization (1/2)

The axe-wielding Warrior left with his 10 gold coins. The onlookers also gradually dispersed when they saw that the show was over. Currently, the three teenage wannabe heroes, who had tried saving the damsel in distress, were stoically being complimented by Xi Xiaotian for their efforts.

Standing by the side and watching all these, Gu Fei tried to slip away. However, Xi Xiaotian noticed his minute movement and hollered, ”Stay there!”

”There's nothing else to do, so I'm leaving. Chat on without me,” Gu Fei passed this as goodbye.

”There's something!” Xi Xiaotian stated rather firmly.

”What else is there?” Gu Fei asked, beaming.

Xi Xiaotian looked at him without saying another word.

Gu Fei sighed, ”Fine! Today's my fault for slandering you. I'm sorry!” Deep down, Gu Fei was unwilling to apologize. Xi Xiaotian squatting at a corner of Peddlers' Street to sell odds and ends was something he could not accept as for real; it was a pity that he had no evidence to prove her otherwise. Gu Fei remained suspicious largely because he intuitively knew that Xi Xiaotian's passion for swindling was not inferior to his passion for kung fu.

Hearing Gu Fei apologize, Xi Xiaotian smiled triumphantly, ”You didn't slander me; I really do have an ulterior motive.”

D*mn! Knew it! Gu Fei howled in his mind. On the surface, his facial expression remained unchanged, ”What's your purpose, then?”

Xi Xiaotian did not speak but looked toward a certain direction. Gu Fei followed her gaze and saw that she was looking at a man. It was the guy from that group Gu Fei had expected to get his second battle from previously. The man was currently squatting by the corner with a stall set up in front of him. From time to time, he would throw a glance over to them.

”What?” Gu Fei asked, puzzled.

Xi Xiaotian turned around and coaxed the three 'wannabe heroes' to leave, before pulling Gu Fei to squat by her stall, ”That guy right there is part of that equipment-robbing gang that I've just told you. They've a few good items on them.”

”How long have you been eyeing them?” Gu Fei asked.

”Quite a while,” Xi Xiaotian admitted, adding, ”I noticed their gang in my trips at the Trade Exchange and Auction House. They took note of those players who had bought top-grade equipment. Afterward, they attacked them. I thrice witnessed them PKing players possessing top-grade equipment.”

”That's too much,” Gu Fei felt disgusted.

Xi Xiaotian nodded her head, ”I feel that this gang isn't just a random party. The members most likely belong to the same gaming workshop, or maybe they're part of the same clan guild.”

Seeing Gu Fei's look of confusion, Xi Xiaotian gave a more detailed explanation, ”When we, the players, first entered Parallel World, we're randomly assigned a city. The world map isn't officially released yet; there ain't teleportation portals for traveling between the in-game cities either. These workshops and clan guilds naturally can't gather in one place. Thus, every city has some of their players, temporarily doing their own things. For now, they won't unfurl their workshop or clan guild banners.”

”Gaming workshop? Clan guild?” Actually, Gu Fei was confused about those.

”Don't you know what they are?” Xi Xiaotian asked.

Gu Fei laughed awkwardly, ”I've heard of them. I just don't know the particulars.”

”I'll give you a quick rundown, then. Gaming workshops exist for the purpose of earning profits. So if those of a gaming workshop obtain the dropped equipment of the targeted players, they'll sell them when the time is ripe. If it's a clan guild doing the stealing, I'm afraid the goal will be strengthening the clan guild using the ill-gotten equipment. The pieces of top-grade equipment are probably used by them once they obtain them,” Xi Xiaotian explained.

”So which group do those guys belong?” Gu Fei asked.

”I've a feeling they belong to a clan guild. The purpose of workshops is to earn money; they care more about the gaming regulations and environment than anything else. Renowned workshops are organized and have strict rules, so they won't do such lowly acts. Still, there's a possibility of those guys belonging to a small workshop that does this sort of 'killing the goose that lays the golden egg' thing. But the scale of these small workshops is limited. In games like this where entering a city is entirely random, it's quite difficult for them to gain a foothold in any city,” Xi Xiaotian elaborated.

”That makes sense,” Gu Fei nodded his head.

”I've reached out to the gang's victims for more information; I was thinking of identifying the gang members through the stolen equipment. Yet, those stolen goods all vanished. They didn't appear in the Auction House or any Trade Exchange platform. They're not seen in any players' hands in various grinding maps, too,” Xi Xiaotian said.

Gu Fei realized what she was doing, ”So you came all the way to Peddlers' Street, hoping to see if they'll appear here?”

Xi Xiaotian nodded her head, ”While the chance of them appearing here is slim, this is the only trail I can pick up.”

Gu Fei laughed, ”You've forgotten another trail.”

”What?” Xi Xiaotian asked.

”Mailbox,” Gu Fei answered.

”OH!” Xi Xiaotian knocked her head lightly with her fist as she received this epiphany.

”If this gang really belongs to this sort of large-scale organization like you supposed, it'll definitely have manpower in various in-game cities. This method of strengthening themselves must've been adopted in every city they've a presence. This gang's members are probably cautious enough to not use the equipment in the city they've gotten it from. They must've used the mailbox to exchange equipment with their fellow clan mates across the game, which will explain why you no longer see the stolen equipment,” Gu Fei hypothesized.

”You're right! That must be it,” Xi Xiaotian patted Gu Fei on the arm, ”You ain't half bad.”

Gu Fei chuckled. He did not actually possess a deep understanding of the game. It was only because he had written a letter back in Yueye City and learned about No Smile mailing Zephyr's Whisper to Dusky Cloud a few days ago, so Gu Fei easily made the connection.

”It'll be difficult to track them down if that's really the case,” Xi Xiaotian sighed. It was really easy for players to hide their identities in Parallel World. No one would know the players' IGNs unless they gave those themselves, faces could be covered with pieces of cloth, and equipment could be changed if players had a few sets – exactly what Gu Fei had done to hide his identity.