Wilderness Wanderer Camp

"What intelligence are you looking for?"

"An abnormal armed squad?"

"Are you talking about the corporation’s mercenary squad?"

"What do you mean by an independent armed squad?"

"There are many independent armed squads in this wilderness. Which one are you referring to?"

"The kind of independent squad that can attack the corporation’s mercenary team? Recently launched an attack?"

"There are indeed squads that can attack mercenary teams, but I don’t know if they’ve launched any attacks recently."

"To be honest, I think you’re looking in the wrong place. There are indeed quite a few capable armed squads in this area of the wilderness, but they all have some ties to the corporations. None dare to attack them."

"You head in that direction and walk a few dozen miles, and you’ll reach Ains. Do you think they’re crazy? Attacking the corporation? That’s really courting death. Any armed squad with a name around here is registered with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and on the surface, they all engage in legitimate business."

"Don’t the corporation’s caravans get attacked? Are you new to the wilderness? I can’t answer this question unless you give me a little—"

"Has any foreign team resupplied near this camp recently? Many resupply around here every day, but if you want specific intel, I know where to get it. It’s the most accurate first-hand information, even the intel from the neighboring camp, I know where to get it, as long as you give a little—"

"Hey, don’t go, the price is negotiable, the price is negotiable—"

A scrawny man with a large mole on his face stood up from his seat, looking at the elderly white-haired man walking into the crowd in the sunlight ahead, and quickly chased after him.

But by the time he entered the crowd and looked around, he found only the passersby remaining. The figure he had been chasing had already disappeared.

"Sharp Teeth, what are you looking for?" A strong fat man in the crowd asked, noticing his confused look.

"An old man just came to ask me questions," the scrawny man turned his gaze, looking at the surrounding scene, "how did he disappear in an instant?"

"Did you get a little dizzy?" The fat man laughed, "I only saw you talking to yourself there, gibbering nonsense for quite a while. I thought you had gone crazy."

"Fatty, are you teasing me?" The scrawny man quickly turned his head, scanning through the crowd.

He began to try to recall the scene just now. In his memory, there indeed was an old man asking him for information.

"Who’s scaring you," the fat man laughed heartily, "you don’t believe it, you can ask the others around here if it wasn’t just you talking to yourself."

"Really? Really?" The scrawny man looked around somewhat bewildered, and the people around seemed to be smiling at him, without denying the fat man’s words.

He scratched his head, somewhat confused.

He began to try recalling the appearance of the elderly man, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t remember the exact likeness of that old man.

A slight chill crawled up his spine, "Damn, could I have really seen a ghost?"

He shook his head, groggily returning to his seat.

——

Neighboring Wilderness Wanderer Camp

Slightly dull sunlight shone through the half-closed door, lighting up the desolate stone house.

"Ma’am, we are all civilized people. This is a civilized era," the man in a tidy suit sat opposite a slender woman with a pale complexion, handing over a tablet to her, "take a look, this is the loan agreement your husband signed with us, with this house as collateral. It is three days overdue now,"

He raised his head, looking at the woman, smiling, "Now, it’s time for us to reclaim this house."

The woman lowered her head, silently gazing at the contents of the tablet.

Faintly, people gathered at the door and the windows outside, peering into the room, whispering among themselves.

Two tall figures stood by the door, slightly leaning in, further blocking the sunlight into the room.

"Waa—"

A cry came from nearby; it was the child in the cradle waking up.

The clean-suited man glanced at the child, his gaze retracting slightly, maintaining a light smile.

The woman reached out, picking up the child from the cradle and gently patting him, softly saying, "We will repay the money; my husband said he made a big deal, and once he returns, he will repay you."

"That’s what you said yesterday," the man in the suit smiled, gazing at her, "and the day before. I’d love to believe you, ma’am, but we are in an age of rules. Late is late; as per the contract, we are to reclaim the house. You can start anew once your husband returns."

"Waa—waa—" the baby in the swaddle cried even louder.

"Baby, be good—" The woman quickly comforted the child, carefully glancing at the suited man, as if afraid to anger him. She bowed her head, softly saying, "My husband only borrowed five thousand federal coins from you, this house is worth at least thirty thousand, being overdue for three days shouldn’t result in losing my house."

She bowed her head, whispering, "Without a house, the child and I have no foundation in this camp. We will surely die in the wilderness. Please, my husband will come back and repay what he owes."

"Don’t worry," the suited man gazed at her, smiling, "your house is indeed worth more than the loan. We will follow the rules, sell the house, repay the loan, deduct due fees, and give you the rest. As for your safety,"

He paused slightly, continuing, "If you are strong enough, you will surely survive."

"That sounds quite good, the remaining money from the sale will be returned." "What’s so good about it? These guys are vicious; the fees usually eat up the remaining money, leaving a few federal coins for the original owner at best. How do you think he got half a camp’s worth of houses?" "This family is unfortunate, targeted, it seems they have no way out." Outside, the crowd whispered.

The strong man at the door swept a glance at them, and the crowd immediately quieted down.

"Can you not deduct the fees? I heard that once the fees are deducted, there’s nothing left." The woman in the room lowered her head, looking at the suited man, speaking softly.

"Hmm?" The man in a suit slightly lifted his gaze, "Who did you hear that from?"

The woman suddenly fell silent, not daring to speak, just lowering her head to soothe the child.

The child’s crying finally lessened a bit.

"Madam, don’t worry," the man in a suit said with a smile, "We do everything according to the rules and procedures. You can inquire around the entire Wanderer Camp, everything we have is reasonable. Of course, if you genuinely want a few days’ extension,"

He lifted his gaze, looked at the woman, and smiled, "You can also use other collateral to offset the interest for these days."

Looking into the eyes of the man in a suit, the woman slightly froze, seemingly understanding something, then gritted her teeth, and in a husky voice said, "I’m willing, just don’t drive me and my child out, you can do whatever you want, if you want me to go out..."

She bit her teeth tightly, "That can be done too."

The child in her arms seemed to sense the change in his mother’s emotions, and his crying intensified again.

"Madam, I think you might have misunderstood," the man in a suit smiled slightly, raised his hand, and swiped the page on the tablet in front of the woman, smiling, "Stars Pharma’s subsidiary drug company is recruiting volunteers for drug testing, offering substantial compensation. Perhaps you can consider it."

"Drug testing?" The woman slightly froze.

"If I’m not mistaken, that kid from the north of the camp also went for drug testing, and then died in less than two months." "Don’t mention that, that kid was only eighteen or nineteen, strong as an ox, considered to have lived long enough. The blind man from the south died even quicker."

People outside the door were still whispering.

Yet inside, the man in a suit seemed not to hear the conversation outside, continuing to smile as he gazed at the woman, and asked with a smile, "Madam, what do you think?"

The woman was silent for a moment, tightly holding her child, finally relaxing slowly, and said softly, "I can go for drug testing, as long as you can grant me a few extra days."

"No, no," the man in a suit hurriedly waved his hand, smiling, "Madam, you misunderstood again, it’s not you who will undergo drug testing,"

He turned his gaze, looked at the child in the woman’s arms, "It’s this little master, Madam, you are not worth that much money."

"What?" The woman instantly held her child tightly, glared with eyes wide open, gazing at the man in a suit, "What do you want to do?"

"Madam, no need to be so tense, I can give you some time to continue considering," the man in a suit smiled, "We all follow the rules, if you are unwilling, we can normally repossess the house,"

He looked at the woman, his gaze swept over the entire empty stone house, finally stopping on a plastic flyer beside the pillow.

He raised his hand, picked up the plastic flyer, and read out the words on it, "’Dawn City is open to all Wilderness Wanderers, enter Dawn City to gain Federation identity, welcome to the city of freedom and beginnings.’"

He flipped over the flyer, the backside of the flyer was also drawn with a simple ’K’ letter figure.

"Madam, do you still want to migrate to Dawn City?" The man in a suit smiled.

"I picked that up by the roadside," the woman lowered her head, holding her child, softly said, "We were just looking."

"Of course you can look," the man in a suit laughed, "Dawn City is a good place. It’s said that milk and honey flow from the taps there, much better than this wilderness,"

He paused slightly at this point, "It’s just that there’s a bit of a distance from here to Dawn City,"

He tossed the flyer to the side, smiling, "But now is a perfect timing. If you lose the tether of the house, you just might be able to go to Dawn City, if you are strong enough, it’s possible to cross the wild and reach Dawn City, carrying your child."

The man in a suit took back the tablet, gently rose, looking at the woman, smiling, "Madam, I will only give you the afternoon to consider, by evening I will return. Whether it is to chase a ’dream’ or to preserve the status quo, you can surely choose freely."

The stout man standing at the door immediately stepped aside, revealing an opening.

The man in a suit also turned around, heading for the door.

The swirling flyer slipped down from the sky, finally landing on the dirty stone floor.

An aged hand reached out from the void, catching the drifting flyer before it fell into the mud.

Then he gently dangled the flyer, returning it to the woman holding her child.

The woman instinctively reached out to take the flyer, "Thank you."

Then she slightly froze, raised her head, stared at the elderly man with white curly hair in front of her, bewilderedly asking, "Sir, when did you get here?"

"I’ve always been beside you," He Ao smiled looking at her, warmly asked, "Can you tell me what your husband has been through?"

"My husband originally ran a grain business, but always small, only able to take on scrap work," the woman lowered her head, instinctively narrating, "A few days ago, he suddenly told me someone contacted him about a big business. It was a trade caravan from the south, unfamiliar with the area, needing a large amount of supplies. Though it wasn’t much profit, it was enough for our fare to Dawn City."

As she said this, she tightly hugged the child in her arms, her gaze glistening, continuing, "This is a confidential deal, he borrowed a lot of money, amassed the supplies—he usually never touched those high-interest loans—then he took those supplies to trade and never came back.

"He always told me we cannot let our child grow up in this wilderness where death may come any time," she lowered her head, looking at the flyer in her hand, suddenly clutching it tightly, the plastic flyer instantly covered with fine wrinkles, "I really shouldn’t have picked this thing up initially, without this he would have led a stable life, there wouldn’t have been any problems."

"I understand," the elderly seated opposite her slightly rose, "Thank you for your information, I will pay for this."

"It’s nothing," the woman bewilderedly raised her head, looking forward.

The elderly who had just sat opposite her was nowhere to be found, as if he had never existed.

At the end of her sight, the man in a suit had already reached the entrance, as if perceiving her gaze, the man in a suit turned back, his gaze sweeping over the child in the woman’s arms, smiling, "Lady, you can seriously consider it."

The woman bewilderedly lowered her head, looking at her own palm.

In the hand she freed, she was tightly clutching a flyer.

"Boss, I heard there’s a great ’treasure’ in the wilderness." And at the door, the tall man guarding the entrance looked at the man in a suit, then whispered in his ear, muttering something.

"Really?" The man in a suit suddenly widened his eyes, some disbelief was evident in his voice.

"Yes," the sturdy man whispered, "A junior saw it, it’s possibly still there."