?During his previous interactions with Lin Yuan, Zhan Lu would always probe, seeking to confirm Lin Yuan's background. Despite Lin Yuan's elusive demeanor, Zhan Lu could tell that he did not belong to a local faction in the East Universe.
Lin Yuan believed that if he asked Zhan Lu for help, the latter could use the Fortune Treasure Palace's influence to help him obtain a spot to enter the Second Eastern Region. If Zhan Lu were capable of doing so, Lin Yuan believed that he would not refuse him. This was not a small favor. However, Zhan Lu desperately wanted to curry favor with him at the moment.
Kani said in all seriousness, "Master, the factions that besieged Treasure City are much stronger than the official factions of Treasure City. After a brief confrontation, the official factions initiated mobilization. Almost all the chambers of commerce in the city received the mobilization orders issued by them.
"Almost all the merchant groups of the chambers of commerce in the outside world that haven't managed to return have become captives of the factions surrounding Treasure City. The deployment of factions targeting Treasure City is too unified. I have reason to suspect they are not just combined star pirates."
Lin Yuan pondered for a moment and felt that Kani's words made sense. These factions targeting Treasure City lurked in the shadows, and they could only see two void pa.s.sageways on the surface.
Given that the officials of Treasure City were already so tense, the emergence of the Abyssal Beasts from the void pa.s.sageway must have intensified the pressure they felt.
"How's the situation with the Purple Feather Rain Pigeons?"
Kani was somewhat surprised by Lin Yuan's question. In Kani's heart, the Purple Feather Rain Pigeons were not significant enough to get Lin Yuan's attention. She did not expect him to be concerned about their safety.
"Master, the Purple Feather Rain Pigeons occupy a good location in Treasure City, which is close to the Fourth City Guard Division of Treasure City. As long as they keep a low profile, no faction should target them at this time!
"These factions are all in the open, and targeting the factions that are officially certified in Treasure City at such a time will have a huge impact on their reputation. The Bloodwood Lion Bees shouldn't be able to find trouble with the Purple Feather Rain Pigeons within this short period of time. The Bloodwood Lion Bees can suppress the Purple Feather Rain Pigeons, but they're not a very powerful faction in Treasure City."
Since Lin Yuan was prepared to use the Purple Feather Rain Pigeons as his figureheads, he decided to protect them during this upheaval.
"Kani, return to the Purple Feather Rain Pigeons. Take care of them on my behalf and help me obtain information in Treasure City, which will allow me to have some understanding of the situation outside Treasure City, even though I'm in Fortune Treasure Palace. If you encounter pinnacle World Emperor/Divine Kingdom corpses, remember to collect them and bring them to me."
As Kani listened to the first half of Lin Yuan's words, her heart leaped into her throat. Kani thought that Lin Yuan was dissatisfied with her spending too much time and effort on the Purple Feather Rain Pigeons.
If Lin Yuan really blamed her, Kani would feel wronged. During this period, Kani had actually helped Lin Yuan in gathering resources and efficiently completing the tasks he a.s.signed to her.
Upon hearing the latter half of Lin Yuan's sentence, Kani knew that Lin Yuan did not blame her and was really prepared to protect the Purple Feather Rain Pigeons amidst the turmoil. They were truly fortunate.
"Master, in that case, I'll go back now. These are the resources I've collected for you using the resources you provided me during this period. Please check them."
Lin Yuan took the spatial equipment he had given to Kani and realized it was already more than half full. There were all kinds of materials inside, and each of them was carefully labeled. It was evident that Kani was very serious about completing the mission he had a.s.signed.
Lin Yuan was increasingly impressed with Kani's meticulousness. It appeared she could potentially replace White Speak by his side.
"Kani, you've performed exceptionally well. Remember: if you encounter danger, don't try to be brave just because you've reached the Holy Spirit level. You have to inform me immediately. Otherwise, if your roots are damaged, not only will you rely on me for resources, but you will also need a long time to recover, and it will affect your future strength enhancements."
Kani earnestly kept Lin Yuan's instructions in mind and could feel how much value he placed on her, which warmed her heart.
Winter had not returned yet, but he had already explained some of the situation to Lin Yuan through the Thoughts Letter Paper. Winter's investigation result was exactly the same as what Kani had said, except it was much more detailed. He confirmed that the a.s.sault on Treasure City involved numerous star pirates. However, behind these groups of star pirates, there were people giving instructions. These people clearly possessed enough influence to make so many star pirates willing to listen to them.
Winter chose not to probe deeper. Had he probed deeper, he would have touched on the spatial restrictions set up by those people, thereby alerting the organizers of this operation.
From Winter's description, Lin Yuan gathered that these star pirates hadn't solely targeted Treasure City for plundering—they likely harbored other motives as well. Otherwise, the people behind these star pirate groups would not have gone through so much trouble.
…
Zhan Lu came to Lin Yuan's courtyard two days later and said with a bitter smile, "I'm very sorry, Young Master Lin. I haven't been able to take care of you for the past two days. I'm here to ask for your help!
"I've completely lost contact with the headquarters, but as the person in charge of Fortune Treasure Palace, it's necessary to protect this branch. Our Fortune Treasure Palace is one of the iconic buildings in Treasure City. Those people will definitely target it for attack. However, it's challenging for us to defend ourselves with our current strength.
"If you can help me guard this place, I can apply to the headquarters to help you obtain at least three precious items stored in the treasure vault!"
Zhan Lu wanted to establish a personal connection with Lin Yuan, but deep down, he was hesitant to bother Lin Yuan. Despite that, he had no other choice.
More than half of the factions in Fortune Treasure Palace had been roped in by the people from the City Lord's side. Zhan Lu regretted that he had misjudged the situation and acted too late.
At present, there were only three special honor guests in Fortune Treasure Palace whose ident.i.ties had been confirmed. On Lin Yuan's side, only Winter's ident.i.ty had been verified, but it was obvious that the woman named Spring held an equal status with Winter. She was most likely a Holy Spirit expert.
Lin Yuan was rather interested in the remuneration that Zhan Lu was talking about. The resources stored in the headquarters must be exceptionally precious. However, even someone lacking emotional intelligence would not remain fixated solely on the reward itself.
"Mr. Zhan, I believe we are friends now, and I am more than willing to help a friend in need. Hence, you don't have to be so courteous. There's something I'd like to ask."
Zhan Lu heaved a sigh of relief, knowing that Lin Yuan had agreed to help him.
"Young Master Lin, feel free to ask me anything you want. It's my honor to be considered as your friend!"
As long as Lin Yuan did not ask about the Fortune Treasure Palace's core secrets, Zhan Lu was willing to tell him anything.
"Mr. Zhan, your Fortune Treasure Palace has a large amount of strange water for sale. Why don't you have strange flames?"
Zhan Lu thought Lin Yuan was going to ask him something important, but it turned out to be such a trivial matter.
Zhan Lu hurriedly explained, "Young Master Lin, strange flames are indeed harder to obtain than strange water in the East Universe, but they're not that rare. The reason our Fortune Treasure Palace has never sold strange flames as items is that there's a Lord in our Fortune Treasure Palace who has a huge demand for them. All the strange flames collected by Fortune Treasure Palace are provided for this Lord!"
Lin Yuan's question suggested he had a need for strange flames.
Zhan Lu gritted his teeth and said, after a moment of silence, "Young Master Lin, if you need strange flames, I can help you get some through my personal connections. It's just that the quant.i.ty and quality might not meet your requirements."
In order to curry favor with Lin Yuan, Zhan Lu made such a promise, indicating that he was more important to him than the Fortune Treasure Palace's Lord.
Upon hearing that, a look of realization appeared on Lin Yuan's face. So that's what happened!
He hadn't been able to trade for even a single strain of strange flames simply because Fortune Treasure Palace had been consuming them internally!
Lin Yuan needed the strange flames to help Chimey increase its strength. Chimey was extremely weak now and had yet to successfully reach Creation Breed. As long as it was a strange flame produced by the Sky Beyond the Clouds, it could basically satisfy Chimey's needs.
Chimey didn't actually have much demand for strange flames. The strange flames that Zhan Lu had obtained for himself with his own energy should be enough for Chimey to raise its grade to the World Emperor/ Divine Kingdom. Apart from the strange flames, Lin Yuan could also use spirit qi to support Chimey.
"In that case, I'll have to trouble you. Since you have already provided me with channels, I naturally want to do something for you as well. These spirit qi crystals will be your reward for providing me with channels!"
Lin Yuan handed a brocade box to Zhan Lu.
Zhan Lu had spent so much effort on him not because of their friends.h.i.+p but because of benefits. If Lin Yuan provided Zhan Lu with more benefits, the latter would be able to serve him better. These spirit qi crystals were enough for Zhan Lu to collect strange flames for Lin Yuan.
When Zhan Lu finished collecting the strange flames for Lin Yuan, he would like to take a look at the quality of these strange flames. Lin Yuan, who was a businessman before he became a spirit qi professional, would not give others a chance to cheat him!
Zhan Lu hesitated briefly before accepting Lin Yuan's reward. It was a resource that could only be prepared by at least a Grade 4 Creator and was something that Zhan Lu could not refuse at all.
Zhan Lu had already regarded Lin Yuan as someone with character. However, Lin Yuan was also a shrewd person. Otherwise, he would not have remained hidden all this while and waited for Zhan Lu to seek his help. Had Lin Yuan shown up earlier, there was a chance that he might have been invited by people from the City Lord's side.
"Young Master Lin, once the turmoil settles and communication resumes, I guarantee that I can obtain more than 20,000 strange flames for you in three days!
"Young Master Lin, if you have time now, why don't you come to the conference room and sit for a while? I also invited other guests and special honor guests. I wonder if you're interested in meeting them? It's also good to inform everyone in advance and discuss how to navigate through this crisis together!"
In Zhan Lu's opinion, even if Lin Yuan was a direct descendant of a hidden and powerful species, by venturing out to establish his faction, he would definitely harbor a certain desire to befriend other factions with Holy Spirit experts.
Regardless of whether it was because Lin Yuan had promised to help him or to get to know other special honor guests, Lin Yuan wouldn't reject his invitation.
Lin Yuan was almost done with his work these few days. He believed that it was time for him to meet other factions. It would be beneficial for him to establish connections with factions with Holy Spirit experts.
However, based on Winter and Spring's previous reports to him, several factions attempted to establish connections with him, only to be turned down. This had led to discontent among some factions. Included among them was a special honor guest from Fortune Treasure Palace.
However, all misunderstandings could be resolved in the face of benefits. Lin Yuan hoped that the dissatisfied factions would not take advantage of this opportunity to stir up trouble. Otherwise, he wouldn't show them any mercy.
He had made a large transaction with Fortune Treasure Palace, and while he had displayed his wealth to them, he had not revealed his temper and strength. It appeared that Lin Yuan needed to show his temper and strength to Fortune Treasure Palace to make them pay more attention to him.
Even if Zhan Lu was in a hurry, he still did things very meticulously. He arranged a VIP room for Lin Yuan in the conference room.
Lin Yuan was the first to enter the VIP room, indicating that, in order to express his sincerity, Zhan Lu had invited him first. The VIP room was designed to separate special honor guests from regular VIPs so that they would not be influenced by those regular VIPs.
The special honor guests who had agreed to Zhan Lu's invitation would also arrive at this private room to meet Lin Yuan.
Not long after, a tall and st.u.r.dy young man with long dark green hair and fair skin walked in with eight followers.
In the Sky Beyond the Clouds, appearance had always been unrelated to age but rather heavily influenced by one's own sense of aesthetics. Even when some powerful lifeforms were about to reach the end of their lifespan, they could still maintain their appearance in their youth.
When the young man saw Lin Yuan sitting at the table and Spring standing behind him, he snorted coldly.
This young man had never interacted with Lin Yuan before, nor had he been rejected by Lin Yuan before for visiting him. There was no enmity between them and Lin Yuan.
His reason for treating Lin Yuan with such an att.i.tude was mainly that the young man believed that if there were multiple special honor guests willing to support Fortune Treasure Palace, there must be someone influential among them.