Who gave you permission to travel through time with Earth?

The conversation couldn't possibly continue in the bar, of course. Most of the tables and chairs had their legs removed, and the other half of the liquor cabinet was finally completely smashed, leaving the entire bar in a bizarre state of utter chaos.

Guo Shi sighed wearily, then ordered someone to prepare a private room on the lower level. The two sat next to each other, while Guo San stood firmly behind the young gang leader.

The meeting looked stiff, but the atmosphere was actually much more harmonious than at the beginning. Fang Jin had not met with the Red Whistle Gang before, and Guo Shi and the others were also very unfamiliar with the predecessor, Jin Fugui.

They don't know each other inside and out yet, but at least they have reached a basic consensus... For example, his dominant position has been confirmed, and Fang Jin's strength and potential make Guo Shi feel like he should bow down and worship her.

"Be reserved... Boss, you must be reserved..."

"Oh, oh, oh... (wiping drool)"

Fang Jin felt inexplicably cheated. He opened the flip-top and threw in a few mints, the icy sensation shooting straight to the top of his head. Only then did he speak first:

"Let's be honest with each other first. You're a player? But why didn't I sense anything before? I couldn't feel even the slightest bit of source energy fluctuation from you."

From a pseudo-data perspective, the player's panel is divided into six dimensions, among which Source Energy is a special power within the player's system, similar to the spiritual energy in the world of cultivation... but with a broader scope.

It is precisely the existence of source energy that makes players stand out from the crowd of ordinary people. Even if they are separated from the main star system, this energy is the most obvious sign of their leap in life level.

It's hard to hide... At least after officially becoming a player, Fang Jin also had source energy in his body, and he had no way to suppress the energy fluctuations and radiation.

"...Nothing special, just a piece of equipment."

"Equipment? But where are you wearing any equipment? The equipment produced by the system is never understated."

"So we made it more low-key."

With a subtle, enigmatic smile, Guo Shi removed the red whistle that had been tied around his neck and placed it in front of Fang Jin. He then gently tapped the surface of the whistle to bring up the system panel.

[Equipment: The Coward's Red Whistle]

[Quality: Tier 2 Common (Level 20)]

[Feature: Suppresses the wearer's energy fluctuations. Players below level 20 can conceal their identity after wearing it, while players below level 30 cannot detect it without special means.]

[Equipment requirements: None, binds when picked up, but never blow it]

[Note: My previous owners... seemed to be a brother and sister from the ruins.]

Fang Jin's eyes widened. The Red Whistle Gang's defining feature was the red whistle that everyone wore around their necks. These were cheap whistles sold for 9.9 yuan for 20 downstairs. Who would have thought that a piece of equipment had been mixed in with them?

Moreover, it's a concealment device. Combined with the illusion created by the equipment itself and the red whistle, it's no wonder that the identity of the Red Whistle Gang leader has not been leaked to this day.

This is the survival strategy of small gangs: the players are the sole core of the entire organization, and they keep the identities of their gang leaders hidden to the end, so no one can destroy the Red Sentinel Gang at its root.

"...Did you come up with this yourself?"

Fang Jin resisted the urge to put the little red whistle in his pocket. After returning it, he said softly, "The design of the red whistle alone is enough to show the little gang leader's intelligence, which sets him apart from the other four idiots."

This is also a quality that Fang Jin values ​​highly. There are many bases for cooperation, but the ability to survive and continue to survive is fundamental. It was only at this point that Fang Jin truly regarded the Red Whistle Gang as a partner.

"Of course... but this is the limit we can do, and we don't have any other cards to play."

Guo Shi sank into his seat in distress, raised the small red whistle above his head, and looked at the warm red glow cast by the overhead light around the edge of the whistle. He said softly.

"Being selected by the main star system to become a player is a good thing, but the danger factor increases exponentially. A perfectly healthy person might be talking to you yesterday, and today they're doing a dungeon run and tomorrow they're having a feast."

"My father fell in the seventh instance, and my older brother fared even worse, perishing in the fourth instance. Now, only my uncle and I are left to support the Red Sentinel Gang... Sigh, our lives are hanging by a thread."

"So we need to come up with several ways to ensure everyone can survive."

Fang Jin composed himself. Every year, at irregular intervals, the main star system would bestow evolution stones upon beings that met the standards, forcing them to enter the dungeon. The probability of this happening across the entire region was about one in a hundred.

But that's the percentage for all age groups. If it's specifically for the sixteen to thirty age group, the percentage rises to one in ten... one in ten people will be selected and sent to the world.

The scenario in the heavens faces a mortality rate of at least 30%.

The deeper you go, the greater the dangers you face. Even if you can avoid death with increased experience, the risks will eventually explode one day as you accumulate experience from each instance.

but……

"Are you trying to complain to me?"

Fang Jin said with a puzzled and indifferent tone, "If you don't even have this much awareness before stepping into the dungeon, then Guo Shi should be the first batch to be eliminated. How can a person who wallows in self-pity have the right to live?"

He was merely analyzing the current situation, but he had no dissatisfaction with it whatsoever. Fang Jin had only two reasons for choosing to live, and he was more than willing to embrace possible death for their sake.

...By the way, one of them was to have fun.

"Of course... I was hoping to gain some sympathy to increase my leverage, but who knew you were so heartless."

Guo Shi immediately changed his tune, jumped up from his chair with a grin, and then eagerly spread out a large map of the entire Black Market of Never Sleeping City on the table.

Their so-called cooperation, besides sharing the burden and Fang Jin serving as the deputy gang leader, also included revenue sharing from distribution channels. The Red Whistle Gang was originally one of the channels through which shops sold equipment, and it was quite extensive.

After all, not all the items, consumables, and equipment that can be obtained in dungeons are useful to oneself. Even ordinary people can use those dilapidated items that are below level 10.

The Red Whistle Gang targets lower-level players and a large number of ordinary people. Although the profits are pitifully small compared to other channels, it is still a decent income for both sides in the current situation.

Moreover, Jin Fugui had already stored some emergency dungeon items in the Red Whistle Gang, which was clearly stated in the agreement, and Fang Jin, as his successor, was naturally entitled to inherit them.

"Vice Boss, could you leave us an extra 10%? I'll give you a higher share of the profits!"

"Okay, but you have to listen to two conditions. If you deliberately don't comply, I'll hang you up and whip you."

"Eek!"