These words left Ye Zhongming and his group momentarily stunned.
They could tell these people meant no harm, but… what did “messengers” mean?
“Same as usual—a hundred level-five magic crystals! Here you go.”
The leader tossed over a bag as he spoke. Ye Zhongming instantly sensed its contents before catching it.
“Alright, where’s the list? Hand it over. We won’t keep you. You know the reason. Next time, I’ll bring you two level-five snow foxes to try.”
The man stretched out his hand toward Ye Zhongming and the others.
Ye Zhongming had no idea what “list” they were talking about, let alone what they meant.
He tossed the bag back to the man and was about to speak when he noticed the group had already drawn their weapons.
“Kid, you looked unfamiliar from the start, but I figured Boss Wu must’ve briefed you. Didn’t expect you to be so ungrateful!”
“Cutting off someone’s livelihood is like killing their parents. Think carefully before you say no. This business isn’t worth losing your life over!”
Ye Zhongming felt a bit helpless. He could tell these people weren’t malicious—they’d just misunderstood.
He didn’t mind, but Xia Bai and the others certainly did, especially the dozen or so men Xiao Peng had brought along. They were eager to prove themselves in front of their boss, and if they could impress one of the female guards, even better.
Seeing someone dare to glare at their boss, several of them immediately stepped forward.
“Get back!”
Xiao Peng barked, stopping his subordinates.
He then shot Ye Zhongming an apologetic glance. “Sorry, boss. My men are too wild, no discipline.”
Xiao Peng had noticed during the journey that while the core members of Cloud Peak might seem arrogant and unruly, they followed orders absolutely. No one would act without permission or overstep their superiors—not even someone with special status like Xia Bai or Xia Lei.
Yet before Ye Zhongming could even speak, his men from the Linhai branch had nearly acted. It made Xiao Peng’s face burn with shame, so he quickly stopped them.
Ye Zhongming didn’t mind and waved it off. He turned to the group in front of them. “You’ve mistaken us. We’re not here to deliver any… list. We’re heading to Black Dragon City.”
“Passing through?”
The leader froze, looking skeptical, but he still signaled his men to lower their weapons.
“Where are you going? What for?”
The interrogative tone rubbed Cloud Peak’s people the wrong way, but since Ye Zhongming hadn’t given any orders, they waited quietly behind him, staying alert.
“Further north. We plan to resupply at Black Dragon City and see if we can find a guide.”
Hearing this, the leader’s expression inexplicably softened. His earlier coldness melted away, replaced by a smile.
“Brother, you’ve got guts!”
Ye Zhongming was baffled. His words had been half-truths, only concealing their real purpose. He had no idea why the man was suddenly praising him.
The man walked over familiarly. Ye Zhongming subtly signaled his team not to act.
He had already sensed that this man was a six-star evolved—decent strength after five years in the apocalypse—but even standing right next to the King of Cloud Peak, he posed no threat.
Clapping Ye Zhongming on the shoulder, the man grinned. “After the apocalypse, this place got even colder—cold enough to kill. Few evolved are willing to come. Most of Black Dragon City’s people have lived here for years. This time, with the conflict against those Russians, we hired a lot of help, but not many showed up. Seeing your group, you’ve even brought your family—so many women! You’re a real man! Good on you!”
“Come on, come on! Since you’re here to help, you’re friends with Black Brother here! Good food and drink are on me. Let’s get you to Black Dragon City and drink our fill!”
With that, he slung an arm around Ye Zhongming and started leading him north.
Cloud Peak’s people followed. Without their sleds, they moved slower, but nothing dampened Black Brother’s enthusiasm. He chatted and laughed with Ye Zhongming the whole way, occasionally exchanging a word or two with the others, almost as if he were in charge.
Ye Zhongming didn’t mind. Before they even reached Black Dragon City, he had already pieced together some things.
He first figured out why this man’s attitude toward them had shifted so abruptly.
Originally, they had mistaken Ye Zhongming’s group for “list deliverers.” The so-called “list” referred to the country rankings published by the Five Ring Money organization, which were disseminated nationwide through various means. Due to Black Dragon City’s harsh environment, Five Ring Money hadn’t set up remote reception points or teleportation arrays there. So every time the rankings were updated, they had to be manually delivered from a city further south—Wujiang City. A journey that might have taken a few hours before the apocalypse now took two or three days, sometimes longer.
This created an opportunity for certain people. Once the country rankings gained fame, this manual delivery route became a target—specifically for Black Brother’s group.
They would intercept the list in advance, send the original deliverers back, and then take the rankings to Black Dragon City themselves. There, they’d distribute the list like newspapers—door to door.
Yes, they delivered a copy to every organization, with a somewhat forced sales approach. But since each copy wasn’t expensive—just one level four or five demon crystal—no one made too big a fuss.
The price varied depending on the organization. Stronger groups paid a level five crystal, while ordinary teams paid a level four.
As for the cost? They only paid the original deliverers a hundred level five crystals each time.
How many organizations were there in Black Dragon City? That cost was probably less than a thousandth of their pure profit—maybe even less.
“Then aren’t you worried about missing the actual deliverers?” Ye Zhongming asked curiously. If Black Brother was leading them back, what if the real deliverers showed up?