148: Chapter 148 is about that chicken seller.

The real world, Jiangcheng.

The late autumn wind already carried a hint of chill. In the Green Island Park in the city center, a few white pigeons paced back and forth on the stone path.

Liu Jianguo, wearing a grey cloth gown, sat on a bench, holding a handful of breadcrumbs and slowly scattering them onto the ground.

Not far away, Colonel Zhong Ran, dressed in loose black casual sportswear, walked over quickly, carrying two cups of steaming soy milk.

"Teacher." Colonel Zhong Ran handed one of the cups of soy milk over.

Liu Jianguo brushed the crumbs off his hands, took the soy milk, inserted a straw, and took a sip.

"The soy milk in Jiangcheng is just sweeter than in Jinghai." Liu Jianguo smacked his lips, his gaze turning toward the holographic billboard on the distant commercial street.

The billboard was scrolling through the latest news.

Liu Jianguo sighed and spoke slowly: "Jiangcheng Loan King, the evil Old Granny from the black market matches, the strongest ice-element support Chu Yue, that once-in-a-millennium Prodigy from the Tang Family, and that Gu Han who pulled off an upset to win the professional league championship..."

Liu Jianguo paused, then turned to look at Colonel Zhong Ran: "Add to that the ghost-level toxic disaster at the hospital a while ago, and the disappearance of several students who underwent Awakening. Jiangcheng hasn't been this lively in many years."

Colonel Zhong Ran sat down on the other end of the bench and smiled: "Teacher, you are surprisingly well-informed? Some of these things are rumors from the underground black market, and others are just street gossip. You've figured it all out just after arriving here."

Liu Jianguo waved his hand: "That's not being well-informed; it's being talked about on every street corner. Just find a roadside stall to eat a bowl of noodles, and your ears will be filled with these stories. Especially that student named Gu Han, who even sparked a retro culture craze; students jokingly call this the 'Han Era,' which is just too cringey."

Colonel Zhong Ran, upon hearing this name, immediately pictured the student who won the scholarship assessment.

"Tell me, Colonel Zhong Ran, how do you see this situation?" Liu Jianguo asked with a half-smile.

Colonel Zhong Ran restrained her smile, her tone calm: "Teacher, you're joking. Jiangcheng is a border province, a mixed bag of good and bad people. The Military Defense Department's duty is to resist alien invasions and guard against disasters. As for who is king in the black market or which Family has produced a Genius, these are local trifles that the Military Defense Department does not need to interfere with."

After listening, Liu Jianguo narrowed his eyes and laughed, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes bunching up.

"It seems that after these few years of training in the Military Defense Department, you've grown up quite a bit." Liu Jianguo nodded with satisfaction, "Not like back in school, always wanting to meddle in everything. It's good that you can distinguish what's important."

Colonel Zhong Ran didn't respond, just silently drank her soy milk.

"It's not just a place of mixed crowds; the water is muddy everywhere." Liu Jianguo changed the subject, his tone becoming a bit heavier, "I'm just worried that your temperament won't be reined in and you'll cross the wrong people."

Colonel Zhong Ran paused, turning to look at Liu Jianguo in surprise: "You even know about the incident the night before last?"

The night before last, Colonel Zhong Ran raided a secret underground den and rescued over a dozen students who had just undergone Awakening of their Divine Kingdoms from the hands of several human traffickers.

Liu Jianguo sighed: "Some lone wolves are really hard for us to deal with. The network of interests behind those traffickers is much deeper than you imagine. You raided their den and ruined their supply chain; those guys hiding in the shadows have likely already targeted you."

Colonel Zhong Ran snorted coldly, crumpled the empty paper cup into a ball, and threw it accurately into a trash can ten meters away.

"What if they have targeted me?" Colonel Zhong Ran did not back down, "I am a Colonel of the Military Defense Department; would they dare to attack the military district? A few pieces of human scum, capturing our students to fill their Divine Kingdoms—since I ran into it, there is no way I could pretend not to see it."

Liu Jianguo shook his head: "Then you shouldn't have done it privately. You know you have the backing of the military, so you should follow standard procedures."

"You didn't make a special trip to Jiangcheng just to lecture me about this, did you?" Colonel Zhong Ran asked.

Liu Jianguo waved his hand: "No, I'm not that idle."

Liu Jianguo pulled an old handheld console from his pocket.

"Your teacher's wife went to support disaster relief a while ago, and the injury she sustained left a lingering illness." Liu Jianguo's tone was heavy, "Her group of believers suffered heavy casualties in the disaster, and the foundation of her Divine Kingdom was damaged. Now she urgently needs a large amount of Blood Jade Bodhi."

Colonel Zhong Ran's brows furrowed tightly: "Blood Jade Bodhi is an S-rank divine plant. Its yield is extremely low, and it has all been monopolized by those big Families in Jinghai. If one or two occasionally leak onto the black market, they are bid up to astronomical prices."

"Yes, it's completely insufficient." Liu Jianguo sighed heavily, "But I heard that a batch of alternative versions of divine plants recently appeared on the Jiangcheng black market. I came here specifically to try my luck and see if I could get the seller to produce some Blood Jade Bodhi."

Colonel Zhong Ran was silent for a moment, her fist slightly clenched.

"Teacher, I have never understood." Colonel Zhong Ran took a deep breath, "Why doesn't the official side take action and directly clear out those lone wolves?"

The more Colonel Zhong Ran spoke, the angrier she became: "If they had been cleared out earlier, that Dragon-level flood disaster would never have happened! Teacher's wife wouldn't have been left with a lingering illness from going to rescue people! And those traffickers wouldn't dare to be so rampant in kidnapping students!"

Listening to Colonel Zhong Ran's grief and indignation, Liu Jianguo just quietly watched the pigeons in the distance.

"There are always places the sunlight cannot reach." Liu Jianguo's voice was hoarse, "Those people are all Divine Lords who underwent Awakening in the early days of the Divine Kingdom era, before the System was perfected. Back then, there was no strict monitoring, no ratings; they grew wildly and have long since become a power to be reckoned with."

Liu Jianguo turned to look at Colonel Zhong Ran: "Their influence is deeply intertwined, penetrating into every industry. To completely root them out would involve too much and is extremely difficult."

Colonel Zhong Ran gritted her teeth: "Then we just watch them do evil?"

"You are still young." Liu Jianguo patted Colonel Zhong Ran's shoulder, "Teacher is afraid that you will act on impulse. You must understand that it is very difficult for us to intervene in wars within the Divine Kingdoms in reality; you must look after your own safety."

"Alright, don't keep such a long face." Seeing the atmosphere was gloomy, Liu Jianguo changed the subject and handed the handheld console to Colonel Zhong Ran, "Help me take a look, how do you operate this black market software trading interface? My old eyes are blurry, and I've been looking for half a day but can't find where the seller's private message function is."

Colonel Zhong Ran took the handheld, looking speechless, "Teacher, this is Xianyu Marketplace! There are so many scammers on here. A while ago, that child Zhong Mo bought a chicken, insisting it was a baby griffin."

"Damn! This seller of spirit-enlightening grass you're looking at is the same one who sold the chicken! This scammer really deserves to be reported!"