{There’s no way now. The ship re-entered the Misty Sea early last night, but She Liqi and a few others are still on Cheqing Island. }

｛They didn’t leave with the ship either?｝

{Yeah, those lynx guys observed that Ka Yunni seems to be packing up assets and evacuating Cheqing Island, so they plan to stay and see if they can stir up some trouble. }

Yang Zicang’s expression lit up with joy.

｛Perfect. Do me a favor—contact them immediately and ask them to help me gather some information quickly. It’s about the military conscripting labor and those special artillery shells…｝

Over in the boat, Anxi, who was rowing, had his eyes gleam.

After hearing Yang Zicang’s description and cutting off the Telepathic Link, Anxi slapped his thigh, fingers trembling as they pointed forward. He turned to Yao Xiaoqin and exclaimed excitedly, “See? Now that’s what I call professional!“

“What’s up?“

“I don’t have time to explain, but Chairman Yang is definitely cooking up another batch of ‘Glorious Radiance’! I need to get the message to him quickly.“

He threw down his oar, and just as the glow began to shine on his chest—SMACK!—A crisp slap landed on the back of Anxi’s head.

The man turned around, rubbing the back of his head, to find Yao Xiaoqin standing angrily on the boat.

“What, you thinkIcan’t deliver a message? You want to hog all the credit for yourself, don’t you—right?!“

Barefoot, she gave Anxi a sharp kick to the waist, while Anxi just laughed heartily:

“Oh, I forgot. Then I’ll assign you some tasks. Here’s what I need: quickly contact She Liqi and the others on the island. Have them immediately search for and gather information about countries forcibly taking laborers from other nations for hard labor, and any intelligence on crystal shells imbued with bloodline energy. It seems to be related to something like ‘Shi Su Fen.’“

“Shells imbued with bloodline energy? ” Yao Xiaoqin’s heart suddenly sank with dread.

Bloodline… What dangerous thing has that man gotten himself tangled up in again? No wonder he’s always one to constantly seek the birth of radiance.

If I go over there myself, will he be able to protect me… Yao Xiaoqín glanced down at her chest.

……

Lynx King, who unexpectedly received Yao Xiaoqin’s telepathic link, spat out the mouthful of water into his teacup with apftsound.

“What! Shells imbued with bloodline energy crystals? Is Yang Buchen asking for this news? And he wants it right now? “

• ｛Distributor February • Bai Bingzhu is watching my actions.｝

Under the gazes of She Liyu, She Liqing, and She Lichen sitting by the table, Lynx King rose with a slight smile on his face.

“Alright, good to go. I shall start right away. Keep me updated on whatever else he needs. If we can’t find it here, we’ll head straight to the Chebin Archipelago overnight to dig for information. “

Lynx King severed the telepathic link and excitedly addressed the group, “Brothers, got work! Seems like Yang Buchen is cooking up something again. Let’s help him gather three critical pieces of intel! “

The three men, whose arms were neatly resting on the table, exchanged surprised glances.

“Which three? “

“First, detailed information about ‘Labor and the Army,’ especially the 9th Soldier Army of ‘Fei’s Hotel-Helm’; second, news about the ‘Bloodline Crystal Cannonball’; and third, information on a woman named ‘Shi · Sufen’—she seems to be connected to the crystal cannonball. Hurry, move out! “

The Lynx King grabbed his sword and rushed out the door.

……

Yang Zicang moved stealthily through the mountain forest.

The weather was a bit cold, and night was exactly the time for beasts to come out hunting, so shouts and cries kept echoing through the woods. Suddenly, a dark shadow shot out from the side, hitting a tree that the young man had just passed with fierce momentum.

With a loud thud, the tree trunk shook, and a bristly wild boar let out a pained grunt.

Before it could even turn around, Yang Zicang took its life with a single shot.

｛I’ve Harvested 12.3N.｝

The bloody scent spread through the air. After a moment’s thought, Yang Zicang hoisted the massive boar onto his shoulder and headed back toward the village.

He noticed that many people in the village looked malnourished and sickly.

Two hours later, in a grove not far from the village, Yang Zicang, who was staring at the wild boar roasting over the campfire, received a telepathic link from Anxi. He rose and moved away from beside Old Man Long Desi.

{The Schteffen Lion Empire’s forces are waging war across the continent, with most able-bodied young men of the various nations already enlisted. As a result, abducting laborers from other countries has become a common phenomenon… even giving rise to specialized redemption departments. Many families have been driven to ruin trying to scrape together money to buy back their loved ones. }

{…As for the Ninth Legion, all that’s known is that it’s led by a certain colonel—a quite vigilant man who always finds ways to secure major advantages for Fairholm overseas at minimal cost. That’s made the unit fairly renowned… }

Yang Zicang listened quietly as his counterpart relayed this across from him.

{As for the crystal shells, She Liqi said he shelled out a few silver coins to a shopkeeper for the information. Those shells can only be manufactured by a special imperial department, and the person firing them must have survived miasma pollution. There also seem to be many other restrictions. }

｛Did he get any more info about the artillerymen? Like, whether a stronger operator means the shell carries more power?｝

{Let me ask. }

After a few dozen seconds, Anxi’s new message came through.

{That shopkeeper demanded a full hundred silver coins and uttered one sentence: “As long as there’s miasma, anyone can fire the shells.” }

Upon learning this, Yang Zicang felt half the threat from those shells—imbued with bloodline energy—melt away in his mind.

He walked back over to the old man who was watching him. Qiushui sat quietly on the other side of the campfire, while Long Mingjie had already retreated deep into the mountains.

“Mr. Yang, I’ve seen you constantly contacting people these past two days. Do you have friends here? “

“Mhm, they’re at sea, quite far away. “

“Oh. ” Long Desi heaved a sigh.

Many Fogfolk possessed special powers, like the sorcerers of legend. If two more such individuals were around, they might be able to protect the people here—there had been similar cases in history. Just a handful of Fogfolk had once managed to deter an entire army.

But unfortunately, before him stood only one.

Throughout the day, the old man’s mind had played out the scene several times where a Fog dweller could protect all his countrymen from being taken captive by Felheim.

This was, however, no legend. Such a thing was highly unrealistic.

He only hoped that this Fog dweller before him could truly protect his son. Honestly, even that seemed like a long shot.

Yang Zicang cut off a piece of roasted meat, handed it to Long Desi beside him, and said:

“If they’ve hidden in the mountains, they shouldn’t get caught that easily. “

Taking the meat, Long Desi shook his greying head.

“Even if they can’t get enough young folks, they’ll grab middle-aged or elderly folk who look healthy, chubby, decent, or dignified. Those might fetch a ransom. Anyway… they won’t be allowed to head back empty-handed. Just think how much it costs to run those ships for half a month. “

The old man had already wrapped his bloodstained bandages anew. His expression needed little disguising to begin with—after all, he was exhausted from the long journey.

Yang Zicang looked at the segmented wild boar meat and realized why his earlier offer of roasted meat had been refused.

“Brother Yang, sorry for calling you that—maybe you’re even older than me. “

“Not at all. “

“My son—I’m entrusting him to you tomorrow. “

He poked the fire with a wooden stick, thought for a moment, then pulled a pocket watch from his chest:

“I don’t think there’s any problem here, but could you go protect him tonight? I know it’s a rude request. Well, this—this was passed down from my father. I’m giving it to you. “

It was just an ordinary pocket watch, but finely crafted, with a woman like an angel engraved on its surface.

“No need. I probably can’t go protect your son. “

Long Desi was instantly panicked, “I, I only have this horse and this carriage that’s still worth something. Please, I beg you… “

Yang Zicang stood up and looked straight at Long Desi, “Don’t worry. Under these circumstances, saving one person doesn’t count for us. “

With that, Yang Zicang took off the soft hood covering his ears, tossed it into the old man’s arms, and quickly disappeared into the forest.

“Saving one person… doesn’t count as saving… ” Long Desi lifted his head in shock, staring at the young man’s figure vanishing into the woods.

……

{Brother Bucheng, what are you planning to do to save those people there? }

As Yang Zicang moved forward, a faint silver-white ring glowed on his chest, with a four-pointed shape slowly rotating inside it.

{I guess we can’t protect everyone. } Anxi said.

Hurrying along, Yang Zicang kept his gaze fixed on the turquoise waves in his sensory vision. In the sea breeze, a woman timidly wrapped most of her body in her clothes, leaving only a hint of snow-white cleavage exposed.

Her long hair gently brushed against her delicate face, and her slightly reddened, moist eyes shimmered like a lotus bud ready to bloom.

｛There are several villages here, plus those driven out—at least twenty to thirty thousand people. It’s indeed impossible for me to save every single one.｝

Anxi remarked from the side: {That’s right. A single volley of cannon fire or a concentrated attack from hundreds of guns is extremely dangerous for newcomers like us. }

{I see you’re heading for the mountains. Don’t tell me you’re planning to take on their army single-handedly? }

｛Ha! Inflicting lethal harm on ordinary people will bring us severe punishment. So fighting an entire army? Just think about it—unless they strike first.｝

{What do you plan to do then, President? }

Both of them gazed through the void, watching the young man glide nimbly through the forest.

｛Don’t worry. As long as your intel is correct, I’m more than sixty percent confident about this operation.｝

{Only sixty percent? }

Yang Zicang stared at the dark silhouette of the mountains ahead. Faint sounds of movement came intermittently from all corners of the forest—people burdened with heavy hearts felt that no spot was truly safe here, and kept shifting their positions.

But in this woods, where was ever absolutely safe?

“It’s enough.” Yang Zicang muttered under his breath.