Who gave you permission to travel through time with Earth?

West of the city, Luoqianfang.

This is a gambling den, a very small and dilapidated one, but it is also the best intelligence agency in the entire black market.

As for why gambling dens also act as intelligence agencies... according to Guo San, the proprietress of the gambling den never acts as the dealer when the game is open. Instead, she likes to personally go down and shake the two suits, and then loses everything.

Every time you rack up a huge debt, the landlady will put up a sign for her information agency, emptying your pockets with all the information you want to know, and then you'll throw yourself back into the gambling world once the debt is paid off.

This cycle repeated itself endlessly. Guo San met the proprietress at one of the gambling sessions. As far as he knew, the proprietress seemed to lose every time she gambled, so... the cycle of opening the information shop was actually quite short.

Fang Jin didn't have high hopes for Luoqianfang, but it was the only intelligence channel he could access for the time being (although it came from Guo San), so he should give it a try.

He lifted the beaded curtain and went straight inside.

……

The proprietress's name is Jiang Chan.

This was most likely just a pseudonym used in the underworld, because after actually meeting her, Fang Jin discovered that the owner of the Luoqianfang was of mixed race, with a voluptuous figure and golden curly hair.

With skin as white as honey and a pair of reddish-gold glasses perched on his high-bridged nose, his every move exuded exotic charm, making him completely out of place in this cramped and confined little gambling den.

Her beauty was undeniable, but her behavior at this moment was also undeniably... vulgar. Jiang Chan had one leg propped up on a high stool, her eyes intently counting the bills in her hand.

He flipped the bills from front to back and back to front repeatedly, enjoying it immensely. Every now and then, he would put a little saliva on his thumb to increase the friction, and the rough edges of the bills were all lifted up. Obviously, he had repeated this process countless times.

Fang Jin suddenly realized that she had finished eating the mints.

"Boss lady, boss lady! A customer has arrived! And it's time to pay back the bet you lost to me!"

Guo San didn't care about any of that. He squeezed into the gambling den with a loud voice, but his hairy arms were not behaving properly. He reached out as if to greet someone, but instead grabbed the red bills in Jiang Chan's hand.

Boss Jiang Chan didn't even glance at him, his strange gurgling never ceasing. He casually yanked a piece of carpet on the floor, and Guo San immediately lost his balance and fell to his knees, meeting Jiang Chan's gaze.

"..."

"Greetings..."

"Drag him out and behead him."

"Hello!"

Fang Jin pulled the disgruntled Uncle Guo behind her, then sat down opposite Jiang Chan. She placed a small bag of broken diamonds on the table, untied the rope, and gently pushed some of them out.

This is the deposit for Luoqianfang. Jiang Chan likes anything that can be exchanged for gambling stakes, whether it's gold, silver, minerals, or items and equipment. She accepts everything and squanders it all within two weeks.

After thinking for a while about what expression to make, Fang Jin remembered his identity as the vice leader of the Red Whistle Gang, which was practically part of the underworld. He was about to raise his eyes, bar his teeth, and put on a fierce look...

"There's no need to put on airs here. You may not remember, but your father brought you here before."

Jiang Chan interrupted Fang Jin's actions, then put the money away. Her mottled green pupils looked at Fang Jin through her glasses... and then a hint of doubt crept into her eyes.

"But I seem to remember you being quite chubby when you were little, with short arms and legs. You'd roll around like a ball and slip out the door if I wasn't careful. How come you've grown up to be so fit?"

Fang Jin was speechless. Guo Shi immediately turned around and whispered to the people behind him, occasionally chuckling. The young gang leader then lightly punched Fang Jin without considering the situation.

So this person was an elder? Fang Jin was speechless. Although being upright could help him correct his image in the eyes of others, he hadn't inherited all of Jin Fugui's memories.

Aside from what was recorded in the diary, he couldn't possibly know everything about the brothers' early lives and the connections the shop itself had with others. Encountering this situation could only be described as pure luck.

"Could you give me a discount, considering our past relationship?"

"Unless you tell me how to lose weight, forget it." Jiang Chan shifted into a more comfortable position, crossed her legs, and looked at the guests, waving her hand dismissively with no regard for service, and said lazily.

"Say what you want to ask. You have fourteen minutes to ask questions. As usual, it's up to me to decide how much or how little I want to say. I can't put myself in danger because of information."

"It's only human nature."

Fang Jin said softly that he had already learned about the boundaries of Luoqianfang in advance, and he had already learned the necessary information last night and on the way there. Now he needed to supplement it... and go further.

"After returning from the dungeon, the Ark Shop officially belongs to me, but it's obviously a locked treasure box now. I can't fully open it, but others can't wait to seize it."

Yes, comprehensive~

"Even with the Red Sentinel Gang's contract, the two small organizations can hardly support the situation. We can't demonstrate our strength to the outside world, and the outside world, because of our large numbers, doesn't respect our strength."

"Perfect."

"There's only one way to break the current stalemate: severely injure a few of those jackals, making them hesitant to attack, and even causing internal disagreements over who should go first..."

"Is there anything else you'd like to add?"

...To add to that, I really want to punch you right now.

Fang Jin gritted his teeth and thought, but in fact, this was all information that was already out in the open, and he wasn't worried about it leaking out if he told Jiang Chan, so he continued:

"I need a list of organizations that covet the Ark Shops, preferably the larger ones within the West Market area. I need as much information as possible about the players in those organizations."

Incidentally, Fang Jin poured out another bag of broken diamonds on the table, but this time the quality and size were much better than before, making Jiang Chan's eyes light up.

These diamonds were made using three of Fang Jin's fingernails. The greater the impact an item has on this world, the higher the cost of its projection. Value is undoubtedly an important indicator of this.

"Sure, but I don't recommend you do that." Jiang Chan quickly stuffed the two bags of diamond fragments into his pocket, and this time, he finally offered some real treasures.

"Although the West Market is scattered and unmanaged, it does not mean that it is completely without rules. Even if you have the strength to teach them all a lesson, the deterrent effect will be distorted along the way, and it will inevitably arouse public anger."

"Aside from short-term and long-term customers, there are about 200,000 people in the City of Never Sleeping who are merchants, but only 110, or 2,743, are players."

"Although most of them are concentrated in the southeast cities, there are also nearly three hundred players in the west city, scattered across various organizations. Do you really think you can beat them all up?"

"Do you intend to rule the West Market?"