Who gave you permission to travel through time with Earth?

The world is so small; people can always connect with each other in some way. They may have the same friends, or their friends' friends may know each other well. They may meet again just a few steps away from meeting.

At least Zhou Tongtong herself did not expect that the way the housekeeper arranged for her to obtain a temporary identity was through the business of Xu Rou's former teammate. The two had already completed a communication remotely.

The so-called backup "supplies" were Zhou Tongtong and his team's bargaining chips to complete this transaction. After all, a string of numbers on a card was basically meaningless to both parties; only equipment could serve as hard currency.

Therefore, the Forest Merchant Guild dispatched a small group of mercenaries to come here to collect their wages. If they happen to be passing by, they can also check if there is any chance of taking back control of the shops that were seized by the Jiang family.

And then... he unexpectedly ran into a few members of the Red Sentinel Gang.

"Who...are you?"

One of them stood up, carrying a gun. He had a short, dark green haircut, a clean but fierce face, and a lollipop dangling from his mouth. He looked at the five people frozen at the door with some impatience.

The Forest Merchant Guild is not primarily composed of businessmen, but rather mercenaries who acquired their initial capital through firearms. Their camouflage is not merely for show; it is a brutal symbol of their survival through countless battles.

The man in front of me is named Lin Wei. He is a young generation that the Forest Merchant Guild is focusing on cultivating. He has just come of age and can already lead a hunting dog squad. In terms of combat strength, he is at least no less than the five-man Iron Diagram squad that came from the Lu family.

But if Fang Jin could win over Zhou Tongtong, how could Guo Shi possibly achieve the same result? If they were to offer their five sticks to someone else, they would be bitten in the end; there would be no exceptions in a fight.

So, although the young leader tried to remain calm, several thoughts had already raced through her mind. Even Fang Jin hadn't anticipated this situation. Ye Zhi had laid too deep a trap, and now she had to solve it on her own.

Should we back down and then try to take things slowly, like before? No, we simply don't have the combat capability to carry out any action, and it's questionable whether the other side will even let us leave now.

Moreover, if we withdraw now, the actual owner of this shop will be exposed. It's only a matter of time before the ten shops, having lost Jiang Chan's influence, are taken back by the Forest Merchant Guild under threat, leaving us with nothing.

Fang Jin's potential is an advantage, but now is definitely not the time to clash with the Forest Industry Chamber of Commerce. They must feign strength, but if they rely on Jiang Chan as a backer now, it could very well backfire...

……etc?

...Could we try the other way around?

"This is private property. The moment you step onto this property, we have the right to kill any intruder. Now, answer my question immediately: Who are you?"

Lin Wei raised the muzzle of his gun slightly, the porcelain-white barrel already gathering energy. If Guo Shi remained silent, they would lose patience to ask any more questions, and a single volley of fire would be enough to end his life.

This is a wasteland city, the outer city, where there are no laws or human rights, at most only a set of unspoken rules in operation... but what reason do they have to abide by them?

"..."

"Are you fucking out of your minds? This is your private property!"

"Then who are we? Why is the surname on this land deed Jiang instead of Xu?"

After a final silence, Guo Shi suddenly erupted, cursing as she threw a stack of land deeds at Lin Wei's face, only to have them deflected by the latter with the tip of his gun.

"...Are you from the Jiang family?"

"So those two crazy women sent this kind of scum to take over our chamber of commerce's store? There was absolutely no point in agreeing to that bet."

Lin Wei said coldly. He had witnessed the losses suffered by the Senxi Chamber of Commerce half a year ago. The Jiang family had taken a big bite out of the Xu family. This shop, and even the ten shops that Jiang Chan had given to Fang Jin, were just the skin of that fat piece of meat.

The reason for biting people was unclear, and the flesh they bit off was disposed of arbitrarily, or even just thrown to these mortal agents who weren't even players. They were fucking... a bunch of mad dogs from beginning to end.

"No, we're just letting it retain the surname Jiang for now. Jiang Chan has already loosened its biting jaws."

Guo Shi, however, changed the subject, slowly walking to the middle of the group of mercenaries. He bent down, picked up a piece of paper from the ground, and casually pressed a blue, transparent chess piece onto it.

"We are from the Lu family, the Lu family of the Ninth Military Region. When Miss did business with you before, she must have inquired about our reputation. We are not your enemies."

The Lu family is famous for its equipment, not because they have special supply channels, but because the family has a lineage of blacksmiths. Otherwise, why would Lu Chen have taken out two pieces of spiritual equipment during his first dungeon run?

This arrogant quality was now being displayed in front of these mercenaries. A little girl who was almost as close to an ordinary person as they perceived her... actually casually grabbed a third-tier spatial equipment?

It has to be said that most people present believed it. After all, even if such a weak guy managed to get his hands on this equipment, he would never be able to keep it, let alone display it casually in public.

But Lin Wei still didn't believe it. He always felt that this group of people didn't look like they came from the military region at all, but their guns were still slightly pointed downwards and their voices were slightly softer.

"...Since it's a misunderstanding, let's each take a step back. However, our mission here is to take over the reward promised by the Lu family. Why...why did you come back now?"

"Because the terms of the transaction have changed, we are no longer satisfied with a simple exchange of identities. What you want is to increase your stakes and exchange them for cooperation between your chamber of commerce's candidates and us at the core level."

Guo Shi spoke fluently and nonchalantly, but it was indeed a hint given by the deputy gang leader. He had actually reached a cooperation agreement with the Lu family, and he was just borrowing the name of his partner.

"What kind of cooperation? And what are the bargaining chips?"

Lin Wei frowned even more. He hadn't received any prior notice from his master. Although the mission was hastily assigned, it was hardly necessary to issue such a drastically changed order.

"The bargaining chips are simple. Just look at our deposit and you'll guess. We can take half of the flesh that the Jiang family has taken from you and give it back to the Chamber of Commerce, thus restoring the face that this pack of jackals has completely lost."

"Cooperation is even simpler. We've received a hunting mission and must kill someone at the Bronze Hall Trial Grounds. Miss wants help from the Merchant Guild to increase the probability of taking that person's head."

Mixing truth with falsehood is always the most effective way to deceive, and this statement did indeed explain why Miss Lu changed her identity to infiltrate Tie Tu. A question that had been lingering in Lin Wei's mind was thus resolved.