Reverse flow of the Yellow Springs

As the door opened, Li Yelai saw a room filled with smoke and littered with empty bottles.

Inside the room sat four men and four women, whose clothes were disheveled.

"Uh, you guys are pretty busy?" Li Yelai paused before asking, "Do you have time?"

"Brother, what brings you here?" Xu Shi stood up enthusiastically, bowing and scraping. His change of attitude was as fast as anyone else's.

He quickly made way for Li Yelai to come into the room and sit down.

Even though he was already in his thirties, he called a young man in his early twenties "brother".

The stark contrast between the two left the chamber of commerce's senior management with strange expressions.

But they didn't dare to complain; instead, they all tried their best to show friendly smiles.

Some offered cigarettes, some offered lighters, some opened bottles of wine, and some asked the tavern to send over a few more girls.
But upon seeing the Little Mad King beside Li Yelai, they all decisively changed their tune and told the woman in the room to leave.

In short, they were as affectionate as if they were seeing their own brother.

They had also seen this young man.

This is an employee from an antique shop in Dongcheng, who is also an official and a ruthless person who specializes in handling that kind of thing!
It is a more powerful and violent institution than the Guard Bureau and the City Defense Army. In their eyes, this kind of person is no different from the Iron Guard.

At that time, he single-handedly defeated several illegal psychics from the Red Dart Merchant Guild with just a halberd.

They were all present, and several of them were even controlled by 'Ango's' abilities, forcibly attacking him. If Li Yelai hadn't been kind-hearted, they would have been dead long ago.

When such ruthless individuals arrive in the wilderness, the danger becomes even more terrifying. The wilderness has no order; it's often a place where might makes right.

And the fists of psionicists are often the biggest. They've already experienced it.

Even if he were to take action against them now, they would be powerless to retaliate.

In this situation, you can call him not only "brother," but also "grandpa"!
Xu Shi was in a lot of pain; his experiences were full of twists and turns.

Last time, they accidentally came into contact with the Greedy Coins, and later 'Brother An' used his abilities to control the members of the Chamber of Commerce to launch an attack on Li Yelai.

This directly angered the authorities, who severely punished the illegally hired wild psionicists, and the psionicists were arrested.

If the Chamber of Commerce hadn't helped transport grain to the giant city, and if the culprit hadn't been that Brother An, the Red Dart Chamber of Commerce probably wouldn't even exist.

However, the Chamber of Commerce never recovered from that point on, and after the No. 71 fog disaster, the government needed a large amount of supplies transported by the Chamber of Commerce.

Taking advantage of the favorable conditions, the Red Dart Merchant Guild slowly recovered. They secretly hired wild psionicists in the wilderness and began to travel some dangerous but highly rewarding trade routes again.

Just when things were starting to look up...

However, this transport encountered another problem, costing the lives of two wild psionicists. The trade route will be impassable for the time being.

Xu Shi had no choice but to turn back and find a tavern in a gathering place to drink his sorrows away and utter some harsh words.

As a result, before he could finish his harsh words, the person in question arrived.

Fortunately, I didn't say the last half-sentence.

Xu Shi felt fortunate.

At this moment, he noticed Little Mad King behind Li Yelai.

The indifferent gaze of the Little Mad King sent a chill down Xu Shi's spine. It was as if his little thoughts had been seen through. His smile froze in fear.

“This is my teammate,” Li Yelai introduced, and continued, “Alright, Mr. Xu Shi, you don’t need to call me brother. I’m probably younger than you. Just call me by my code name. Give us a quiet environment; I heard you’ve run into some trouble.”

"Great!" Xu Shi was taken aback, then nodded repeatedly with some surprise.

He knew Li Yelai's identity and strength, and if Li Yelai were to step in...

They might be able to resolve the problem and continue shipping.

Seeing the Red Dart Merchant Guild's polite manner, Little Mad King said thoughtfully, "It seems your relationship is quite good."

Li Yelai thought that if he could take down their group and arrest their psychic, that would be a pretty good outcome.
"We became friends after a fight," Xu Shi explained with a forced smile.

Soon, everyone was moved to a clean private room.

After Li Yelai and Xiao Kuangwang sat down, Xu Shi rubbed his hands and told them about the predicament he was facing.

The Red Dart Chamber of Commerce's convoy was quite large, consisting of ten large trucks and twenty-three off-road vehicles.

There were more than eighty people, most of whom were experienced scavengers who owned firearms, including pistols and even rifles.

Furthermore, they hired two wild psionicists at a high price in a certain settlement.

This size and firepower are more than enough for them to roam freely in the wilderness.

Danger in the wilderness often comes from bandits, wild animals, or some strange creatures.

Needless to say, with the Red Darts Merchant Guild's firepower, it's hard to say who will be the one to eat whom.

The same applies to wild animals; they only pose a threat to lone scavengers with little equipment. Against firearms, whether you're a brown bear or a Siberian tiger, you're just prey.

This is also why the Red Dart Chamber of Commerce dares to accept long-distance business orders.

In the post-apocalyptic world, the technological gap makes communication between megacities extremely difficult.

People in the same city cluster can still make contact, but it's very difficult to reach people in different city clusters.

The harsh environment, coupled with the restricted area's radiation range, makes it extremely dangerous for people from different urban areas to travel between them.

Numerous forbidden zones, fraught with calamities, lie scattered across the vast land, inhabited by beings and extraordinary creatures. Those who venture too close rarely return.

Over time, humans discovered relatively safe trade routes from these routes.

However, it was only relatively safe; many caravans found themselves either fewer or more people as they traveled.
There have been many cases where entire caravans have mysteriously disappeared the next day. It's eerie and dangerous. But the profits from long-distance trade routes are enormous; for example, the white mountain tea, a specialty of Yaoqing Giant City, sells very well in the third border city.

Furthermore, the lava marrow fuel from the lava mining city is a military resource that every major city is willing to acquire in large quantities. It is also the exclusive material of official caravans.

The Red Dart Merchant Guild first purchased a large quantity of local specialties within the border city cluster, intending to sell them in the city clusters of major cities such as Bashu and Shuchuan, and then purchase supplies in those major cities to return to the border city.

If the round trip is successful, the Red Dart Merchant Guild will reap profits dozens of times over. This is unimaginable windfall!

They might even make some extra money on the way. Of course, in front of officials like Li Yelai and Xiao Kuangwang, they hesitated for a long time before saying that certain major cities would buy special items at high prices.
This includes, but is not limited to, forbidden objects, supernatural beings, psionic weapons, exotic substances, and so on.

These can be encountered occasionally in abandoned cities or dangerous wilderness.

A lucky caravan unexpectedly acquired the old hide shed by a supernatural creature and sold it for a high price in the giant city.

Actually, a small portion of the forbidden items were found in the wild by scavengers or caravans. They were incredibly resourceful at scavenging.
“If you encounter something like this, notify the nearest major city as soon as possible. You should also be aware of the dangers of forbidden objects,” Li Yelai clicked his tongue.

"You're right, we understand completely." Xu Shi was bitter inside. He should have just handed over the greedy coins to the authorities; he could have received decent compensation and maybe even made connections with them. But greed destroyed all possibilities.
This time, the campaign also got off to a bad start.

The Red Darts Merchant Guild encountered trouble just a few days after setting off.

Their route required them to pass through an abandoned metropolis about 20 kilometers away from this settlement.

This city was once very prosperous, ranking among the world's major cities before the disaster. Books say it was known as the "Gourmet Desert."

However, it has now truly become a desert, with only ruins bearing witness to humanity's glory.

The city was divided by rivers, and the magnificent bridge that once spanned those rivers was destroyed long ago during a time of chaos.

But people found a small path that bypassed the river. It was also one of the routes to the outer metropolitan area. Taking a detour would have taken a much longer distance.

But there is something strange in the abandoned city.

“Originally, our caravan was led by three off-road vehicles, with two psionicists in one of them. The trucks followed behind. The remaining off-road vehicles patrolled the surrounding area,” said a member of the caravan who had witnessed the strange events. “If there was any problem ahead, the guards in the off-road vehicles would issue a warning.”

Li Yelai nodded slightly; there was no problem with that. Sentinels, after all. Psionicists have sharper senses and are stronger than ordinary people, so clearing the way is the right thing to do.

"Unfortunately, even with this arrangement, we still encountered danger while passing through the city's roads." The caravan member took a deep drag on his cigarette and said, "They all disappeared without even raising an alarm or firing a shot. We continued on without knowing anything, and then we were attacked by the river. I was sitting in the third truck when I looked up and saw the two trucks in front of me suddenly being dragged into the river by something."

"You were there, did you see what the other person looked like?" Little Mad King asked.

"No, it was too dark. I only saw the splash when the truck crashed into the river." The caravan member paused, seemingly a little frightened. "Then the river churned, and someone screamed, but the sound quickly disappeared. Then... something crawled out of the river and started chasing us."

This moved Li Yelai somewhat. The two psionicists were clearing the way ahead, and not only were they unable to retaliate, they couldn't even warn those behind them?
"What level of wild psionicists did you hire?" Li Yelai asked.

“We don’t know much about it. But we heard that they became psionicists in about three months, and that they awakened during the Zerg Swarm incident,” Xu Shi said. “But I feel that their combat strength is not as good as Scarface’s. You’ve met Scarface.”

Scarface, oh~~ that scarred woman who used a flail back then, that one was at the second awakening, she had combat experience.

Li Yelai nodded: "That's probably either the first awakening stage or the second awakening stage. They're quite bold to dare to break through so rashly."

“You guys are lucky. If they had gone astray, you would have been the first to suffer,” Li Yelai said to Xu Shi.

Ordinary wild psionicists have no access to stabilizers or potions. Furthermore, they lack the experience and guidance of predecessors, making them extremely susceptible to distortion.

The reason the authorities regulate wild psionicists is because they might become victims. In that case, even without monsters, the Red Dart Merchant Guild would suffer.

Xu Shi could only nod. The caravan member continued, "I reacted quickly, reversing frantically. My companions also unleashed their firepower on the monster, but it seemed to have no effect. When we were about to be caught, we jumped out of the car and crawled into the ruined alley. That's how we escaped the pursuit."

Li Yelai nodded silently; this was indeed the best choice. If the other party was too large, it would be difficult to squeeze into the alley.

"Then we immediately changed course, since there are still many roads in the city, although they are more difficult to drive on," another caravan member said. "We moved away from the river, but as we were passing through a street, we heard gunfire behind us. Then there was no sound at all, and the battle ended quickly. We knew something was wrong, so we immediately fled the city and returned here."

"Is the activity limited to within the city?" Li Yelai pondered.

"That's probably it. We lost five trucks, seven SUVs, twenty-six brothers, and two psionicists," Xu Shi said with a bitter expression.

The other high-ranking members also sighed. Even though they were scavengers and not exactly high-ranking, they were still partners who had worked hard together to earn money. It was upsetting for them to die so mysteriously.

Moreover, their trade routes are blocked, and if they cannot get through quickly, they fear they will lose everything. The remaining people will not fare much better afterward.

Li Yelai then looked at Little Mad King, who pondered for a moment before replying, "We're not sure what it is or how many there are. I even suspect the first and second attacks came from two different enemies."

In the worst-case scenario, there are two enemies hiding in the abandoned city.

"Hiding would be a bit troublesome." Little Mad King looked at Li Yelai, "But with you here, it shouldn't be too much of a problem, right?"

Li Yelai nodded. This kind of elusive creature is most suitable for encountering powerful enemies.

"Are we meddling in other people's business?" Li Yelai asked.

"We're just night thieves, so how can you say we're meddling?" Little Mad King replied calmly. "Don't worry about the mission time. I took this situation into account, which is why I set off early. I also wanted to hone your combat skills."

Li Yelai smiled silently.

In fact, even if Li Yelai and the others didn't make a move, this monster wouldn't live long.

It should be noted that the border city is full of martial spirit, and the night scouts are active in the wilderness.

There will always be spies passing by this place, and once they discover this monster, they will take care of it.

In fact, if they sent someone back to the city to report, the authorities would dispatch a small team.

It's just that because of the shady dealings they've been doing, they subconsciously dare not contact the authorities.

“Alright, Mr. Xu Shi. Get your men moving and prepare to depart,” Li Yelai said.

"This..." Xu Shi's eyes lit up, and he quickly said, "I will definitely give you two sufficient rewards. But what do we need your help with?"

Li Yelai thought for a moment and said, "When the time comes, stay away from me. Otherwise, you might get struck by lightning."

"Huh?" (End of Chapter)