“Do you hear the people sing…” Yu Lian softly hummed the beginning of a song he, and his Past self, had loved, as he walked deeper into the lower district.
As for the more rousing songs, better suited for the current scene, Yu Lian felt it wasn't the time to bring them out yet.
This massive urban village, even its tallest buildings were only five or six stories high. The passages between houses were winding and narrow, truly like a maze. Coupled with various hidden staircases and entrances, along with the sewers, it was indeed a very suitable place for urban warfare.
However, there was still that problem… Yu Lian, relying on memories from decades later, surprisingly didn't get lost. When he thought about the deeper reasons behind this, he really didn’t want to think about it anymore.
In any case, let's do something productive first. Even if he wanted to achieve that small goal, he would take it step by step, he told himself.
Yu Lian quickly arrived at his destination, an inconspicuous small door on the side of a three-story building. Even the struggling vagrants living in this urban village might instantly overlook it.
Yu Lian walked over, silent for a few seconds, recalling the access codes he (in the future) knew, and decided they were probably unusable. So, he decisively and directly knocked on the door.
A "zzzz" sound came from inside the door, followed by a clearly pre-recorded, sickeningly sweet voice: “Hello, this is the staff entrance of the Lumi Club. Guests who want a happy time, please enter from the front. Turn left here and walk fifteen meters, then turn right at the first alley you see, and you'll reach the main road where you can see the main entrance! The first floor is a bar, the second floor is a casino, and the third floor is hehehe~~~”
“I have business,” Yu Lian said.
“Hello, if you have business, please enter through the back door. Walk twelve meters to your right from here, and that's our back door. Also, we don't accept illegal items, whether it's narcotics, or moon sugar, or anything else, we really don't accept them, okay~~~”
Yu Lian pondered for a moment, focused his gaze, and quickly discovered the miniature camera hidden inside the lampshade. He looked up, pointed to his mouth, and silently mouthed: “Sabbion’s Crown, weiyang's mithril scepter, and the Dark Sky Sword.”
These three were all spiritual energy user treasures, but despite their impressive names, they were all more famous than valuable, more symbolic than practical. Their mascot properties were even stronger than their equipment attributes as spiritual energy user treasures.
Yu Lian wouldn't feel any pain in giving them up for trade.
What’s more, he had information on even more and better secret treasures in his possession; this was a quality a qualified ranger should possess.
After Yu Lian finished speaking, he closed his mouth and waited for nearly a minute. When he found there was still no response, he shrugged and prepared to leave. However, just as he took a step, the door suddenly opened, and a gloomy human voice finally spoke.
“Please come in, Warrant Officer Yu Lian.”
...Heh, this must be a show of force too.
Yu Lian also smiled. It would be strange if this intelligence organization, which had been operating for thousands of years, couldn't find out “his identity.” But what did that matter? Could they guess what was truly behind the facade of an ordinary student?
So, after Yu Lian walked down a staircase that was almost a hundred meters deep, a dimly lit corridor appeared before him. There were twenty doors in the corridor, but only one was open.
Yu Lian entered that door and walked into a room with a partitioned window. He sat down in a chair in front of the window and smiled at the person behind it. It was a smile filled with madness, ferocity, bloodlust, and a hint of insanity.
However, it was decidedly not the smile of Warrant Officer Yu Lian, the top student of the Central Defense University’s 830th class, the pioneering hero of the Xiwei Star System campaign, who had martyr parents, and grew up in a small restaurant, a truly exemplary individual.
“Good evening, Mr. Shared Foundation. Let’s get straight to the point. I understand your rules; you only do business with acquaintances, but since I’m already in, that makes us acquaintances. I can provide the information on those treasures I mentioned, but it depends on your price.”
The other party was silent for a few seconds, likely seriously considering whether this Yu Lian was still the same Yu Lian. In the worldview of spiritual energy users and mysticism, while such things were rare, they were not impossible.
After a moment, the gloomy voice slowly said, “…Hmm, alright, then let’s call you Mr. Mystic 07. How does that sound?”
So, there were six others who played like me, huh? Yu Lian, still maintaining his exaggerated and dangerous smile with professional dedication, continued: “I want to know this person’s whereabouts. If you don’t have them temporarily, then please tell me all her movements over the Past year, the more detailed the better.”
As Yu Lian spoke, he pulled up a hand-drawn portrait on his phone. It was an Imperial girl of sixteen or seventeen, not exceptionally beautiful, but with a serene and gentle temperament.
“She has extremely strong illusionary abilities, capable of deceiving the sight and senses of ordinary people, and can also interfere with machine recording. However, I can guarantee that this is her true appearance. She is currently very likely to be anywhere in the Milky Way Galaxy or even the Andromeda Galaxy.” As Yu Lian spoke, he licked the corner of his mouth, emitting a gloomy, cold, chilling, yet eager voice:
“Ah! Sharly… I long to see you! I truly can’t wait to see you again! Oh, Sharly is her name.”
A barely noticeable tremor entered the voice from the darkness, but it still calmly said, “…We need ten days.”
“Alright,” Yu Lian nodded. “Then, choose any one of the three I mentioned earlier.”
“Then, Sabbion’s Crown it is.”
“Excellent! In ten days, just contact me directly via email.” Yu Lian emphasized the “me” and prepared to get up and leave.
At this moment, the gloomy voice hastily said, “Are you willing to sell the information on the other two items as well?”
“I’m not short on money, gentlemen of the Shared Foundation. I understand your thirst for knowledge and your spirit of sharing information, but valuable commodities require more valuable returns.” Yu Lian bowed somewhat exaggeratedly to the other party, and with an even more exaggerated smile, he said, “Why don’t we exchange information when I truly have a need for it? Wouldn’t that be better?”
“Indeed, that is an excellent approach. My apologies, Mr. Mystic 07, our side was too eager.”
Yu Lian’s eyes darted. “…Hmm, however, I could exchange another piece of information from you, just to repay this kid’s favor.” Yu Lian patted his stomach and continued, “I want to know the whereabouts of Lieutenant General Minqi Vincent, his personal situation, and all the detailed information of his security personnel.”
“Then, I want to exchange for weiyang's mithril scepter…”
“Ahahaha! Do you take me for a fool? This isn’t an equal exchange of information!” Yu Lian burst out laughing, then held up a finger: “Plus 1 billion letter stars, an anonymous bearer bond from Astronomical International Bank!”
“I thought you weren’t short on money,” the gloomy voice seemed to carry a hint of amusement.
“Everyone is short on money, it’s just a matter of details. Besides, one can never have too much of this, can they? Otherwise, with such a great existence behind your Foundation, why would you engage in underworld intelligence trading? Merely for the glorious spirit of sharing?”
The other party was also silent, presumably pondering the feasibility of this transaction. Their decision was quite quick, and after only a few minutes, the gloomy voice spoke again: “200 million. You are only providing information, not delivering the item.”
“700 million. Don’t you know that a good beginning is half the battle?” Since they were willing to negotiate, it meant they were interested.
“300 million. This is the greatest sincerity from our society!”
“500 million. This is also my greatest sincerity!”
In short, after a fierce and meticulous negotiation, the deal was finally struck at a price of 375 million.
“We still need half an hour. During this time, you can take a short rest.”
The small cubicle was not large, and the lighting was dim, but the facilities were actually quite comfortable. The cabinet next to it was filled with various teas, snacks, and drinks. However, Yu Lian believed that anyone coming here to buy information would definitely not dare to eat anything, as the genetic information left by saliva alone could reveal many things. The chair he was sitting on was also a very soft sofa, which could be reclined into a lounge chair, suitable for a short nap... But in a place like this, could anyone truly fall asleep?
Moreover, shouldn't such a sealed room, such dim lighting, such a comfortable lounge chair, and such soft music be placed on the third floor?
Nevertheless, after traveling all day, Yu Lian was indeed a bit tired. He simply reclined and frankly dozed off.
Yu Lian knew the origins of this “All-Shared Foundation” too well; a mysterious organization with a history spanning at least a thousand years, the most reputable and capable underworld intelligence dealers in the All-Galaxy. It was rumored that even the Virtual Spirit Temple and the Curator Association had ties to them.
In short, they were far more reliable than the intelligence agencies of various countries.
They certainly couldn't be called unblemished white lotuses, after all, they operated in the underworld, but they generally acted cautiously, and their business credibility was quite good. Since they couldn't immediately ascertain Yu Lian's background, they dared not do anything superfluous.
Yu Lian napped for half an hour until the gloomy voice sounded again: “Here is what you want.”
A mechanical arm extended from behind the window grate, pushing out a tray with the bearer bond Yu Lian wanted.
Yu Lian picked up the bearer bond, confirmed it was real with just a glance, and nodded: “weiyang's mithril scepter is in the hands of a collector named Zavi Bin in Minlan City, Red Swan Constellation.”
“Crack!” His information terminal also chimed, indicating he had received a message from an unknown contact.
The other party did not doubt the false information Yu Lian provided, and Yu Lian was not worried that the email was talking nonsense. It was likely their first meeting, but they had an inexplicable understanding.
“Then, I shall take my leave.”
“We hope you’ll soon think of other information you wish to know; we are also very interested in the whereabouts of the Dark Sky Sword.”
Yu Lian’s heart stirred, thinking of his missing classmate, Thomas Quinn, but he immediately dismissed it. Perhaps he just wanted to find a new place to live anonymously, and there was truly no need to involve the Foundation’s power.
“First, tell me the whereabouts of my Sharly, ah, Sharly. I’m counting on you, dears!” Yu Lian winked at the counter behind him, rolled the bearer bond into a ball, stuffed it into his pocket, and left with an arrogant stride.
Through the camera behind the window grate, connected to the nebula network, in a certain corner of the Milky Way Galaxy, the following conversation was taking place.
“Shopkeeper, what do you think?”
“This young man is very interesting.”
“And the one behind him?”
“I don’t know. I can’t tell. Perhaps there is, or perhaps he’s just bluffing? Anyway, there are many such mysterious characters, why should we offend them? I’m just talking about this young man. Yes, this young man named Yu Lian himself. I can’t see his fate…”
“So, should we arrange surveillance?”
“No need for that. We are benevolent people who share information, not some strange dark organization that stirs up trouble. Why increase our own burden? It’s always right to make a friend. He is destined not to be a nobody; we just need to wait and see.”