134: Chapter 134 Still Nowhere to Start

[Act 1 Rule 5: Danger lurks under nightfall, especially for outsiders, as it attracts calamities from the Void. Please ensure you find a room to rest before night arrives.]

Because of this rule, they could only rest in the small inn at night.

After a night had passed, the four members from Dragon Country did not harbor any wishful thinking because of last night's analysis.

True, [Act 1 Rule 4] and [Act 1 Rule 6] allowed for a lot of maneuvering room in Act 1, but this room for maneuvering only applied to countries with high favorability rankings.

If the favorability ranking was too low, there was simply no way to play.

As for the two Compass NPCs that had already appeared, Dragon Country hadn't improved their favorability with a single one.

"The more disadvantageous our ranking, the less reckless we can be.

Here is the plan: Zhao Hongxiu and Xiao Zhenghong, you continue to search the city for the other people in the Compass, and keep earning coins.

Fan Ling, come with me to the City Defense Army encampment first to take a look.

If there's any intelligence, we'll gather to discuss it at night..."

"Why wait until night to discuss? Isn't it better to communicate intelligence in real-time?" As she spoke, Zhao Hongxiu pulled two mobile phones from her bosom and handed them to Chen Aoyun and Fan Ling, "One for each of you; communicate whenever something comes up!"

Chen Aoyun stared blankly at the phones Zhao Hongxiu handed over, his eyelids twitching.

He had forgotten that this plot world had a disordered timeline; phones were things you could just buy at a shop...

They continued to split up and act.

Chen Aoyun quickly arrived at the City Defense Army encampment with Fan Ling.

With the disguise of [Pseudo · Crossing the River in White Clothes], there was no need to worry about being detected by other factions. The two posed as merchants supplying daily necessities to the camp and walked into the encampment brazenly.

Zhao Hongxiu was right; the officer in charge of the military camp was indeed the corresponding NPC in the Compass.

After seeing the 'Officer', the icon lit up and favorability was activated. The other party even smiled and said to Chen Aoyun and his companion,

"Outsiders, your disguise is quite unique, very suitable for gathering intelligence or capturing thieves in secret.

How about it?

Have you caught any of the people I want?"

The Pseudo Heroic Spirit skill could deceive Raiders from other countries, but it couldn't deceive this NPC from the Compass. However, if the Pseudo Heroic Spirit skill were replaced with a real Heroic Spirit exclusive skill, it should be able to fool the other party, right?

Chen Aoyun immediately pulled back his wandering thoughts and replied,

"This is my first time meeting you; I don't even know who you want me to capture yet..."

The City Defense Army 'Officer' was stunned upon hearing this. After looking at Chen Aoyun and his companion carefully, he gave an awkward smile,

"That's true... you all look the same. Regardless, I have a new direction here." He handed a city map marked with various ranges to Chen Aoyun,

"New information: no more people I'm looking for will be entering the city. These are the areas where the wanted fugitives might appear. If you investigate according to the ranges on the map, you might be able to find them."

Taking the map, he glanced at it. It was a map covering the entire area of the city, with over a dozen ranges of various sizes circled. If they had to investigate these one by one, when would they ever finish?

Moreover, it wasn't a case of just investigating once; you didn't know when the people you were looking for would appear.

Along with this map, there was also a list of wanted fugitives attached.

Knock, knock, knock.

It was right at this moment that the door to the 'Officer's' office was knocked upon. After a 'Come in', four people walked into the room. One of them was the [Strategist] Saku Kenichi from Sakura Country!

"Yesterday's mission has been completed, Officer.

We are here to accept a new mission."

It was Saku Kenichi who spoke. Worried about being exposed, Chen Aoyun calmly put away the map and the wanted list, and said to the Officer,

"Since you have guests, we can discuss the matter of the military camp's supplies later. You go ahead and be busy."

The Officer nodded at Chen Aoyun with a subtle expression. Under Saku Kenichi's suspicious gaze, Chen Aoyun walked out of the room and left the City Defense Army encampment.

Less than ten minutes after walking out of the encampment, Xiao Zhenghong and Zhao Hongxiu called one after another.

"Boss, it's very strange. The Raiders from other countries at the city gate seem to have all withdrawn," Xiao Zhenghong said over the phone.

With the same content, Zhao Hongxiu also called with a similar message.

"It's because the 'Officer's' mission has changed. The people to be captured won't appear at the city gate, so there's no need to keep people stationed there anymore."

After thinking for a moment, Chen Aoyun told everyone over the phone to return to the small inn to gather.

Back at the inn, Chen Aoyun showed the wanted list and the map to Zhao Hongxiu and Xiao Zhenghong, then said,

"Find a print shop to copy these two documents; everyone gets a copy.

Zhao Hongxiu and Fan Ling, rather than wandering around the city aimlessly, it would be better to try your luck at the locations marked on the map.

The fugitives might appear here. Perhaps these areas also have NPCs from the Compass, and you might still encounter 'injustices'—killing three birds with one stone.

As for Fan Ling and me, we will continue to head outside the city to try and help the students enter.

The ranges circled on the map are numerous and large. If other factions divide their manpower into this mission, there will be an opportunity for the students' mission outside the city!"

The idea was good, but a whole day passed. When the sun set in the west and everyone returned to the room in the small inn once again, they still had nothing to show for it.

"It's as if they had conspired beforehand. Almost every area circled on the map had Raiders from other countries. I could only hide from them while looking for people within the area; the efficiency was appallingly low.

I even watched helplessly as a criminal on the wanted list was just a short distance away, only to be taken away by Raiders from another country who rushed over..."

Zhao Hongxiu felt this way, and so did Xiao Zhenghong. Even Chen Aoyun and Fan Ling, who went outside the city, were the same, constantly having things snatched away from them.

Fan Ling counted the total number of areas circled on the map; there were exactly 16. With each country assigning two people, they occupied all of them perfectly,

"Four Raiders per country: two left outside the city, two inside the city—it covers all the areas perfectly!

This is terrible. Unless we find a new NPC and get a new mission, otherwise, we still won't have a single chance to get started here!"

It was indeed true; in the current situation, Dragon Country remained extremely passive.

"Why don't we just find an opportunity, catch someone from another faction, and kill them!" Xiao Zhenghong raised his eyebrows, "Four against one, there's still a chance!"

"Four against one? The three of us are all lv5; acting together with Chen Aoyun will only make us dead weight!" Fan Ling retorted.

"Then what do you propose? The mission is right in front of us, yet we can only stare helplessly. Isn't this torture!"

"Quiet!" Chen Aoyun knocked on the table to make everyone quiet down.

"This is only Act 1! This is only the second day of Act 1!

We haven't even engaged with other countries yet, and we are already in chaos ourselves. What does that look like?"

Fan Ling was talkative, and Xiao Zhenghong was easily impatient. Whenever the two were together, it was like this,

"If there's really nothing else, everyone should just go back to their rooms and rest first."

No one went to rest, and no one left. Instead, they all quieted down to think together.

In the blink of an eye, the midnight bell rang.

The information in the depths of Chen Aoyun's mind updated accordingly.