Chapter 120 - Convergence (1/2)
Chapter 120 Convergence
After the trio returned to the Peach Blossom Spring, they sat under the tree to rest and discuss countermeasures.
It could be seen from Xue Mingyue’s words that there were tens of millions of locals and challengers in the City of the Moon. The city was larger than the Earth-era capital and it wasn’t easy to find two people in such a big city.
Xue Mingyue’s approach gave Xiao Lou inspiration. “What if we move to the station and use the search broadcast?”
Liu Qiao agreed with a nod. “We can try it.”
They left the Peach Blossom Spring and took a taxi to the train station.
Unlike the tree-shaped airport, the shape of the train station was more like a flower in full bloom. The green and leafy part of the first floor was the arrival level, while the flower was the second floor departure hall. The green leaves with the light blue flowers made the entire station look very recognizable. There were more pedestrians here than at the airport and it was hard to tell the challengers from the locals.
Xiao Lou’s group took the escalator to the arrival level. They were just going to the information desk when suddenly, a middle-aged man came to the three of them and asked, “The three of you, can I help you find a hotel?”
Yu Hanjiang looked cautiously at him. “No thanks.”
The man came to them and whispered, “I also offer a consulting service for challengers.”
Xiao Lou heard this and couldn’t help wondering how the man could see they were challengers. Was the word ‘challenger’ written on their faces? Seeing his doubts, the middle-aged man smiled and said, “You must be new to the City of the Moon but you didn’t bring any luggage. Am I wrong?”
Xiao Lou looked around and found that the pa.s.sengers coming and going did carry their luggage. Some were dragging suitcases, some were carrying travel bags and some white-collar workers were carrying briefcases. The three of them had empty hands and didn’t look like pa.s.sengers of the train.
Xiao Lou stated, “We are going to pick up people.”
The middle-aged man said, “Then you should go to the side of the arrival channel, not this way.”
His bluff was punctured and Xiao Lou had to smile helplessly, “Okay, why are you looking for us?”
The middle-aged man said, “The challengers who come here are as empty-handed you. They have nothing by cards.” The man waved the moment he saw Yu Hanjiang’s cold and sharp eyes. “I have no malice. I am looking for novices at the train station to provide consulting services. This is also a way to support myself since life is hard in the Card World!”
He had an ‘I have elderly parents and children, it isn’t easy to support my family’ sincere expression. “If you have any questions then you can ask me for advice. For example, which hotel environment is good and cheap, where are the delicious and affordable food, which agency should you use to rent a house etc. In addition, if you need a one day tour of the City of the Moon then I can contact a travel agency for you.”
He looked at Xiao Lou with a big smile. “I don’t charge much. You only had to pay after receiving a satisfactory answer. If you aren’t satisfied then you can get a refund. You will only be charged 5,000 gold coins for a question and this is equivalent to 50 yuan. By the way, you can call me Old Mo, this is my business card.”
Xiao Lou, “…”
This brother was quite talented. He actually thought of this way to make money.
However, challengers who just came to the City of the Moon really didn’t know anything. They were like headless flies and were easily cheated. If they stayed in a place that robbed or killed guests like Financial Crisis, don’t mention the possibility of their money being stolen. Their lives might be lost.
50 yuan wasn’t expensive to consult with an insider. He just didn’t know if this old man was reliable. Xiao Lou looked down at the business card.
Mo Xuemin, 40 years old, designer of Xinxin Decoration Company, Tel: 0099-86590876.
Yu Hanjiang simply took out 10,000 gold coins out of his pocket and asked, “There are two questions. If you can really answer them then the 10,000 gold coins will be given to you. First, how can I get in contact with the Intelligence Bureau?”
Old Mo wondered, “You are very well informed. You just came here and already know about the Intelligence Bureau?”
Yu Hanjiang asked, “Do you know how to contact them?”
The man smiled and touched his nose. “The Intelligence Bureau is very mysterious. Their boss has never been seen and we only know that his surname is Tang. We call him Mr Tang. The headquarters of the Intelligence Bureau is unknown but there are four branches in the City of the Moon and in the City of the Sun.”
He came over and lowered his voice. “The four branches have the big sign ‘Tang Welfare Lottery’. They are located in the city centres and sell lottery tickets on the surface. However, people in the Card World don’t understand the lottery at all. These lottery stores only operate on Wednesday. You can go to any branch to buy a ticket on Wednesday.”
Yu Hanjiang had questioned many prisoners and this man didn’t seem to be a liar, from his expression to his eyes. He dared to look into Yu Hanjiang’s eyes when answering questions and had a sincere att.i.tude. Yu Hanjiang believed his answer for the moment and gave 10,000 gold coins.
Immediately, he followed by asking, “Do you know the challenger a.s.sociations? Give us a brief introduction?”
The middle-aged man took the gold coins and replied seriously. “The largest challenger a.s.sociation among the challengers is called the Eternal Kingdom and their headquarters is in the City of the Sun. Their purpose is to live happily in the Card World. They only want to cope with the World Weekly and don’t want to continue breaking through. Among them, there are people who marry and have children with local residents. Almost all of them have a happy life with car and houses.”
“The second largest a.s.sociation is the Distant Guild. Their ultimate goal is to return to reality. Their president is called Old Gui and he is a calligrapher. He requires members to keep a distance from the residents of the Card World, in order to adhere to their original intention and not be a.s.similated here.”
“The third largest a.s.sociation is called Luoying Pavilion and it only accepts female challengers. The president is a very powerful woman and it is said that she killed everyone who provoked her.” Once he said this, he suddenly paused. “I’m trying to save more money for the next Clubs secret room. Alas, it is more tiring to do the World Weekly and continue clearing secret rooms.”
Xiao Lou asked inquisitively, “Why do you have to go back?”
A trace of loss flashed in Old Mo’s eyes. He bowed his head and smiled bitterly. “My daughter had just been admitted to middle school when I had my accident. She is in her teens without a mother and now she has no father. Will she have to get through her university entrance examination and marry alone in the future?”
The three people fell silent at the same time.
This man was really sincere. He sold information to get income and his approach was similar to the Intelligence Bureau. It was just that he worked along and could only find some new people in the city to sell daily life-related information.
Liu Qiao asked, “Uncle, have you thought of joining the Distant Guild?”
Old Mo smiled bitterly. “No, the Distant Guild’s recruitment requirements are very strict. You must have more than two S-grade cards to be eligible to join. Until now, I’ve mostly received an A evaluation when clearing secret rooms. I have a bunch of A-grade cards in my hand but no S.”
Xiao Lou thought it was no wonder the Distant Guild had directly invited him and Yu Hanjiang to join. They had refreshed the world records of 3 of Hearts and 4 of Hearts. They must’ve pa.s.sed with an S-grade evaluation and would definitely have more than 2 S-grade cards.
Yu Hanjiang seized the key part in Old Mo’s words. “You mean that in the four secret rooms of Hearts, Diamonds, Spades and Clubs, you’ve received an A evaluation?”
“Yes, it was just unfortunate that I couldn’t get an S evaluation.”
Xiao Lou reacted to these words. This Old Mo was actually quite strong. He was like some students who had no particularly good or particularly bad subjects. However, if he got good grades in all subjects then his total score would be better than students who were only good in some subjects. What did this mean? The man in front of them had a flexible mind and was knowledgeable.