"Discovered by the guards? Should we retreat first?"
"Not necessarily." Caoyuan wasn't flustered at all, pointing to a corner of the courtyard. "Let's hide first and see."
With him, a legitimate scout, planning the route, how could they be discovered so easily?
Ten-odd seconds later, the courtyard gate was pushed open, and a group of six people walked in, four men and two women. Leading them was a woman with a graceful figure and slightly curly black hair.
The five people following behind her were very alert. They first peeked out to confirm no one was following them before locking the gate from the inside. Their movements were swift and neat; they didn't look like ordinary citizens at all.
"Everyone, you've worked hard. Just rest at my place tonight. The atmosphere in the city has been tense recently, so try not to wander around alone during the day either. When dawn breaks, I'll have a driver take you home."
The leading woman said to the others.
Her face and voice were very young, probably just over 20, but she gave off a feeling of being quite capable and mature.
"Mm, you too!" another person said. "It's a pity, we were busy all night but didn't get anything useful."
This person was a bit older but also not over 30.
"The harvest wasn't big, but it's okay. We can go to Red Iron Town ourselves later to inquire."
Go to Red Iron Town to inquire?
Inquire about what?
Cooperation or targeting?
Hearing this, Caoyuan and Ye Xing exchanged glances, already knowing what to do next.
Impersonate Apollo and probe them!
"Oh my!"
Ye Xing immediately acted like a movie star, walking out from the shadows with a swaggering gait.
The tall Caoyuan followed behind him, gripping his power armor gauntlets which didn't clank, looking like a thug.
"Who!"
The six people opposite suddenly turned their heads, startled. Two of them directly pulled out handguns from under their clothes.
"Wait..."
The leading young woman quickly stopped her companions. She had already clearly seen that the two people walking up were wearing power armor, and only Apollo's employees could wear power armor in this city.
And not low-level employees!
These two couldn't be provoked...
"This is my private residence. You... weren't invited. Who let you trespass!"
"Hehehe!" Ye Xing was getting into it. "Does that matter? What matters is that we're already here. As for whether we'll leave, that depends on whether you cooperate."
Caoyuan pointed to the opposite side: "The leader, stay. I have something to ask you. The others, go inside and wait."
The six people opposite didn't dare to act rashly.
"It's alright, you guys go in first."
The leading woman said to the others.
"But..."
"Go."
When only three people were left in the courtyard, Caoyuan spoke.
"What are you doing inquiring about Red Iron Town? Don't you know the City Lord has cut off contact with them? Confess truthfully!"
"Actually... there's no special reason. Precisely because the City Lord cut off supplies to Red Iron Town, I wanted to privately discuss some business with them. Please don't let the City Lord know about this. The hush money is negotiable!"
The leading woman acted nervous, but she answered quickly and articulately, clearly having prepared for similar questions."
"You're not being honest!"
Ye Xing continued playing the bad cop.
"Do you think I don't know that what you really want to inquire about are those Celestials who are cooperating with Red Iron Town?"
The other party widened her eyes: "Celestials? No, I haven't heard of that..."
"It's okay if you haven't heard. I can tell you now that there's another Celestial company competing with Apollo on this planet. Anyone who dares to cooperate with them like Red Iron Town did is our Apollo's enemy! Don't blame me for being impolite!"
"No! I absolutely wouldn't dare. I was inquiring about Red Iron Town just to find out why they angered the City Lord. If I had known it would be like this, I wouldn't have even thought about smuggling! I won't dare again, please don't be angry..."
Ye Xing and Caoyuan exchanged glances again.
Her words had no logical flaws.
Her expression, a mix of fear and piteousness, could be considered excellent acting. Coupled with her decent looks, it was a deadly weapon against men.
An ordinary person might really have been fooled.
What a pity, Miss. You probably don't know that power armor comes standard with a heart rate detector, right?
Your heart rate, as steady as an old dog's, was simply too much of a contrast with your lines.
"You don't need to be so nervous."
Caoyuan was still uneasy, fearing the other party had malicious intent towards Cangyuan. He stepped forward, playing the good cop.
"Here's the situation. City Lord Cole got some information about this new Celestial company through his merchant caravan, but he didn't tell us in time... If you've investigated and found any information, you can share it with me. I won't tell Ke'er what I heard tonight, and in the future, I'll give you extra benefits!"
Ye Xing couldn't help but glance at Caoyuan.
Brother, you look so righteous, but you're even more ruthless than me when making up stories!
The young woman hesitated for a second or two, then shook her head.
"I'm sorry, I don't know anything."
"It's okay, we can investigate slowly later. With us backing you, what are you afraid of?"
"I'm just a young woman who only knows how to use a bit of cleverness. I can't do things like gathering intelligence."
"You clearly took your subordinates to investigate Red Iron Town and were even armed. How can you say you can't do it?"
"I'm really sorry, my abilities are limited..."
Ye Xing raised his voice: "I think you're deliberately going against us!"
Caoyuan sighed.
"If it were someone else, I'd already suspect you want to cooperate with that other Celestial company. Otherwise, why wouldn't you be willing to do something that would harm them?"
"Because... because you don't need me at all."
The other party raised her head and looked at Caoyuan with a scrutinizing gaze.
"If what you're saying is true, Ke'er's suspicion of wanting to cooperate with that company is clearly greater than mine. And the only reason he would risk doing so is if he perceived their strength to be much greater than yours, and that they would give him more benefits. So you see, I don't need to investigate; I can still deduce useful information, can't I?"
Caoyuan and Ye Xing opposite didn't speak again.
"Hey, not bad." A few seconds later, Ye Xing spoke first.
"Alright, I think that's enough."
If they kept acting, they would be exposed.
What's not bad?
What's enough?
Under the other party's confused gaze, Caoyuan stood still, nodded, and then bowed slightly.
"Forgive us! Actually, we are not Apollo. My name is Caoyuan, and this is my comrade, Ye Xing. We are from the Celestial company that is cooperating with Red Iron Town, Cangyuan Future Technology."
Eh!?
You... are the other Celestial company going against Apollo?
The young woman was stunned. She wasn't a three-year-old child, so of course, she didn't dare to easily believe such words.
Caoyuan didn't explain further. He directly handed over his pad and opened a video to play.
That video was Ye Xing's work, recording the glorious battle where Cangyuan ambushed the Stormwind Gang!