Chapter 90: Bottomless Depths
Red Moon Mountain, marketplace street.
"Has Hall Master Lin gone mad?"
"Those are advanced apprentices! And he's having them mine?"
As one player after another disappeared on the street, it wasn't just Abner who was greatly shocked; even Fluo, who knew something about the Black Obsidian Martial Arts Hall, stood there stunned.
Although Fluo had already experienced the craziness of the Black Obsidian Martial Arts Hall in past deadly battles, where they would not even spare their own to deal with enemies, even sacrificing promising intermediate apprentices when needed.
But now seeing advanced apprentices mining still refreshed Fluo's worldview once again.
If he suggested letting these advanced apprentices mine, his uncle, who is also the gang leader Valorde, would probably slap him twice immediately to wake him up.
Even if advanced apprentices are much more efficient at mining than ordinary people, able to run with ease while carrying three to four hundred kilograms of weight, and can dig through hard mountains like slicing tofu.
But putting advanced apprentices in major gangs in the wild, they are at least core members at a higher level, and even the gang leader often has to consider their opinions.
Sending such a batch of advanced apprentices to mine is definitely a sign that the gang doesn't think it will last long.
Even suburban gangs with advanced apprentices as common as dogs aren't so extravagant as to let advanced apprentices mine; just sending some intermediate apprentices to supervise would be great.
"Fluo, could you introduce me to the person in charge of the Black Obsidian Martial Arts Hall?" Abner, after the brief shock, almost immediately turned to Fluo and asked, "Of course, I won't shortchange you, my old friend. For future energy ore trades, I'm willing to offer you 5% more. How about that?"
Abner didn't originally believe Fluo's claims that the Black Obsidian Martial Arts Hall could rival the Demon Star Gang, but now seeing those advanced apprentices mining, he started to believe a bit more.
Unlike Fluo, who's only sensitive with his senses, Abner has an exceptionally keen intuition that can perceive many subtle mindsets.
It is precisely because of this perception that Abner clearly sensed the enthusiasm and dedication of these players towards mining. It wasn't simply obeying the gang's orders but rather a genuine willingness from within their hearts.
One advanced apprentice might be explained by their character, but if all advanced apprentices are like this, the implication is entirely different.
Clearly, in the minds of these advanced apprentices, being an advanced apprentice at the Black Obsidian Martial Arts Hall is not a big deal; they're no different from ordinary gang members, lacking any self-recognition as a skilled individual.
There are only two situations that could induce such recognition in advanced apprentices: either the Black Obsidian Martial Arts Hall's brainwashing is so miraculous, or these advanced apprentices have truly seen greater heights and realized their insignificance, finding being an advanced apprentice insignificant.
The first situation is arguably a hundred times harder than the second, as there's no one foolish enough to become an advanced apprentice without substantial intelligence. Brainwashing such individuals would require raising them from a young age and producing a substantial number of talented individuals in one go, setting much higher demands on an organization than the second scenario.
Therefore, it's more likely that these advanced apprentices have seen a large number of experts and consider advanced apprentices nothing more than ants.
From this alone, one can imagine the true strength of the Black Obsidian Martial Arts Hall, undoubtedly more terrifying than Fluo describes, likely surpassing even the Demon Star Gang by far.
Abner suddenly understood a bit at that moment, recalling the look in the eyes of the guards at the gate. Clearly, even as intermediate apprentices, despite their considerable strength that could threaten him, a quasi-martial artist, none showed even a bit of awe.
Especially given that he, the leader of the convoy driving a large transport, certainly hailed from a significant gang, even the dumbest vagabond would be slightly wary.
But not one intermediate apprentice at the Black Obsidian Martial Arts Hall displayed that, showing their utmost confidence and assurance in their martial arts hall.
Such a Black Obsidian Martial Arts Hall, especially with a transit market here.
With such a business opportunity, if he passes up the chance to understand it, he's not doing his job as the deputy gang leader of the Demon Star Gang justice.
"My dear old friend, I never expected you to be so generous," Fluo said with a smile, feeling that Abner must have guessed something, "Of course, no problem, I'll be happy to help."
Initially, Fluo was wondering how to latch onto the big tree that is the Black Obsidian Martial Arts Hall. Now Abner came seeking help and even offered a 5% rebate on energy ore—each trade could easily earn tens of thousands of Bit. That's way more than what he earns being a deputy gang leader.
This made Fluo suddenly feel that grabbing onto the Black Obsidian Martial Arts Hall was one of the smartest decisions in his life.
Subsequently, Fluo led Abner, the deputy gang leader of the Demon Star Gang, and after some asking around, they found Lin Qi who was preparing to transport energy ore back to the martial arts hall.
"Hall Master Lin, long time no see."
Fluo looked at Lin Qi, who was directing vagabonds to load the vehicles, and as he was about to approach, he was taken aback by the spontaneous burst of Qi and Blood from Lin Qi, stopping in his tracks, eyes full of disbelief.
It had only been a few days, and he didn't expect Lin Qi had become a quasi-martial artist!
While he had been stuck at the extreme apprentice stage for around a year without progress, such advancement speed, even with a genetic potion, was monstrous.
"Deputy Gang Leader Fluo, what brings you here?" Lin Qi said with a smile upon seeing Fluo approaching.
Lin Qi had a pretty good impression of Fluo. In fact, the rapid development on Red Moon Mountain was largely thanks to Fluo leaving instructions with the members of the Cyan Sparrow Gang stationed there, saving the trouble of purchasing alloy pickaxes and even providing a lot of timber and iron wire for building walls and various equipment.
Otherwise, it wouldn't have been possible to shape a small marketplace on Red Moon Mountain in just two days.
"I figured Hall Master Lin probably doesn't venture outside often, and gangs ranking in the top hundred have mandatory outdoor supply missions. Having someone familiar with the outdoors help could avoid many troubles. I happen to know such a person and came specifically to introduce him to you," Fluo said with a smile, then gestured to Abner beside him, "This is Abner, deputy gang leader of the Ten Thousand Stars City's Demon Star Gang, which ranks among the top ten major gangs in the wild and oversees a vast range of activities. Abner is one of those responsible."
"Deputy Gang Leader Abner, upon hearing about Hall Master Lin's heroic feats, wanted to make friends with you. I'm sure Hall Master Lin's future outdoor activities will be much less troublesome."
"The Ten Thousand Stars City's Demon Star Gang?" Lin Qi looked at the four-armed robust Abner beside him, feeling quite surprised.
Lin Qi had already heard about the Demon Star Gang through Qin Mu, as anyone dealing with suburban business needed to know of the major gangs in nearby cities by name to avoid fatal encounters.
The death of a person is a minor issue; losing goods requires compensation.
The Demon Star Gang's latest data placed it fourth among the gangs in the Ten Thousand Stars City's wild, with comprehensive strength even greater than the top-ranking outdoor major gang in the Chasing Light City.
Lin Qi found it hard to imagine that such a major outdoor figure like Abner would proactively come to make friends with him, ensuring it wasn't a joke.
As for heroic feats, it was merely opposing the White Feather Gang, which was nothing in comparison to the Demon Star Gang.
"Hello, Hall Master Lin, nice to meet you." Abner personally came forward after Fluo's introduction, speaking with admiration, "I've long heard of the Black Obsidian Martial Arts Hall. Besides conducting a trade with the Cyan Sparrow Gang, I specifically came to meet you. Seeing you today, you're indeed as formidable as the rumors say, with such fearsome Qi and Blood reminiscent of those extreme quasi-martial artists."
Abner spoke effortlessly, with Fluo nodding in agreement, as if meeting Lin Qi had been their original plan.
"Mr. Abner, I prefer being direct, so let's get straight to the point," Lin Qi said, not believing a word of Abner's flattery.
Trying to cajole him? Without considering how he cajoles these players daily.
"Hall Master Lin, you're really straightforward," Abner chuckled, "But I honestly came to make friends with you, just looking to do some business with the Black Obsidian Martial Arts Hall in the process."
"What kind of business?" Lin Qi asked Abner, unsurprised by his intentions.
Abner, without much hesitation, said, "I want to partner with Hall Master Lin to monopolize the trade route between Ten Thousand Stars City and Chasing Light City!"