Chapter 25: The Neutral Lands (Part II)

“Is that so?” Qian Ye did not show any surprise or anger, but merely looked at the fat man calmly.

The fat man started sweating again, his back bending almost to the point of breaking, and said, “General, it’s not that I wanted to swindle you out of this airship, but there are indeed special circumstances. Your airship is clearly an imperial special model; ordinary people simply can’t replicate it, let alone afford it. Those who can take such an airship to the Neutral Zone are generally only imperial envoys. If you want to go to the Neutral Zone discreetly as a commoner, this ship is really not suitable.”

Qian Ye nodded and said, “You do seem to have my best interests in mind. What is your name?”

The fat man hurriedly replied, “My humble self is Chen Xuan. It would be an honor to serve you in any way possible.”

“Actually, going straight to the Neutral Zone with this ship shouldn’t be a problem, right? Even if something happens, it wouldn’t have much to do with you.”

Chen Xuan laughed bitterly, “Please don’t joke around. Although I don’t know why you want to go to the Neutral Zone, even if you’ve committed a great crime in the Empire, you still have relatives and friends. Not to mention, the Zhao clan is in the Western Continent! The Empire hasn’t given me any benefits, so why should I risk my life for them? If your acquaintances come looking for me, I can’t afford to offend any of them! If you sail this ship, you might have to fight the Neutral Zone’s guard fleet before you even get there.”

Qian Ye nodded slightly. Whether the fat man was telling the truth or not, at least his words were correct. He had long heard that the Neutral Zone was difficult to penetrate, with a complex environment. Without a special identity, even a warship from Eternaria or the Empire would be attacked.

Next, the fat man detailed some taboos about going to the Neutral Zone and arranged a journey for Qian Ye. The airship Qian Ye brought was sold to Chen Xuan at a discounted price. Though it was basically the market price, judging by Chen Xuan’s delighted expression, he had made quite a profit. In reality, such high-speed airships were in limited production and could not be found on the market. Only the wealthy and powerful could possess them.

Most of the money from selling the airship was used to purchase beast meat, and surprisingly, Chen Xuan’s warehouse also had a piece of genuine void beast meat, which was an unexpected bonus.

With a good half-day before their airship arrived, Qian Ye took Night Pupil to stroll around the small town. As for Zhu Ji, the little one had eaten a full meal and was now so drowsy that she couldn’t keep her eyes open, and was left to sleep in the room. The fat man had specially arranged a few guards, though only Qian Ye knew that these guards were more for protecting the townspeople than Zhu Ji.

The town was small, but it had many shops, offering goods from both factions and some rare items. However, with Qian Ye’s current discernment, nothing caught his eye. After a walk, he bought quite a few trinkets for Night Pupil.

As they passed a modest weapon shop, Qian Ye suddenly felt a familiar presence. Intrigued, he pulled Night Pupil inside.

This was a cramped and simple shop. The front served as a display, while the back was a tiny workshop, crammed with a workbench, a materials cabinet, and two beds. Behind the counter sat a boy of about fourteen or fifteen, dozing off. At the workbench was a short, elderly man wearing thick glasses, carefully tapping a thin, wing-like part.

Qian Ye remained silent, waiting quietly. Only when the old man finished the part did he say, “Master, we meet again.”

The boy behind the counter finally woke up, startled. The old man removed his glasses, walked over to Qian Ye, and looked closely before recognizing him, hesitantly asking, “Is it you?”

Qian Ye smiled, “It’s me. The ‘bullet’ you made for me was a great help. But…” Qian Ye pointed to the extremely crude workshop, asking, “With your skills, how did you end up like this?”

The old man laughed bitterly, inviting Qian Ye and Night Pupil to sit down, and sighed, “Isn’t it because I offended a noble family? There’s no place for me to stay except here.”

“Is there a warrant out for you?”

“The highest level,” the old man chuckled bitterly.

“How could that happen? You were just selling things.”

“Someone used the bullet I made to kill the noble family’s heir. Since they couldn’t catch the murderer, in their fury, they bribed the military to issue a warrant for me. To avoid being hunted, I had to hide here and stopped selling those bullets.”

Hearing this, Qian Ye sighed. An imperial warrant was easy to issue but hard to revoke. Revoking it meant direct confrontation with the noble family. With a warrant, the old man could barely move within the Empire. The bounty hunters who roamed were not just after dark races but also made a living chasing imperial fugitives.

Compared to their last meeting, the old man seemed to have aged ten years, and soon showed signs of fatigue.

Qian Ye asked, “Do you want to go to the Neutral Zone?”

“The Neutral Zone?” The old man was taken aback, then shook his head, “You don’t know how expensive a ticket to the Neutral Zone is. How could I possibly afford it?”

“I’m going to the Neutral Zone, and there’s room on the ship.”

The old man finally looked up, saying, “You’re going to the Neutral Zone?”

“Yes.”

“But…” The old man put on a special pair of glasses, scrutinizing Qian Ye, hesitating, “With your strength, it might be difficult to survive in the Neutral Zone.”

“What is this?” Qian Ye was curious about the glasses in the old man’s hand.

“Just a little gadget, sensitive to primal force.”

Qian Ye took the glasses and put them on. His vision became blurry, but the primal force nodes became very prominent. Through these glasses, even without using his true vision, Qian Ye could see that the old man had seven faintly visible primal force nodes. In the glasses’ view, Night Pupil had no primal force reaction, while Qian Ye simulated eight nodes, the rest hidden by his bloodline abilities.

“There’s something like this, it’s quite good.” Qian Ye handed the glasses back, then picked up a metal rod the length of a finger from the materials cabinet and casually rolled it into a ball.

The old man’s eyes widened!

This alloy was used for crafting primal force shells, extremely hard. Yet Qian Ye had effortlessly rolled it into a ball, a terrifying strength the old man had never seen even in high-ranking warriors.

The old man immediately realized that Qian Ye had hidden his strength. The quiet girl beside him, though seemingly powerless, exuded a composed and calm demeanor he had rarely seen.

After a moment’s thought, the old man firmly said, “Alright, I’ll go with you! Give me some time to pack.”

Qian Ye nodded, “Alright, I’ll send someone to pick you up before we leave.”

Leaving the weapon shop, having finished their tour of the town, Qian Ye returned to Chen Xuan’s residence in the center of the town, waiting for the airship.

In a side room of the residence, a sly-looking man pushed the door open and ran to Chen Xuan, whispering something.

The fat man was drinking tea and, hearing this, was taken aback, saying, “He wants to take the old man away?”

The man said, “Yes, boss! That old man must have some secret. Otherwise, why would he take him instead of others? We can’t just let this old guy go!”

Chen Xuan’s face was uncertain, obviously struggling internally. After a moment, he sighed, “Let him go.”

The sly man was surprised, “Boss, just let him go? This could be a lot of money!”

Chen Xuan snorted, “You need to live to spend money!”

The man’s eyes glinted with malice, and he whispered, “Boss, this Qian Ye is rushing to the Neutral Zone, he must have done something big. Why don’t we team up with the nearby towns and capture him? Handing him over to the Empire will bring a huge bounty. After this, we won’t have to do this anymore.”

Chen Xuan’s face twitched, sweat pouring down, and he slammed his hand on the armrest, shaking his head, “No!”

“Boss!!”

Chen Xuan closed his eyes, saying, “No means no. I know better than you what kind of scum those other towns are. They’re not even my match. Do you really think numbers can defeat us?”

The man was about to argue further, but Chen Xuan waved his hand, indicating there was no need for more discussion.

Night fell, and an old airship rose, flying into the vast emptiness. At the end of the route lay the world beyond the two factions, a haven for criminals and the strong, chaotic and lawless, the Neutral Zone.

In the city, tension hung in the air. Warships kept landing, and countless emotionless officers disembarked, directly entering waiting off-road vehicles and leaving.

The defense of the landing field was even tighter, with the number of guards doubled. A closer look revealed that, besides the Zhao clan’s soldiers, there were also many soldiers with military insignias. The airship landing field of the Indestructible City had, in fact, become co-managed by the Zhao clan and the military.

However, when the patrol soldiers from both sides crossed paths, they neither greeted each other nor made eye contact, almost sparking conflict. Clearly, their relationship was not harmonious.

In the main camp of the Zhao clan, Zhao Jundu sat upright, his eyes lowered, expressionless.

Several generals sat on either side, most of them agitated. One said angrily, “These military guys are too arrogant! They came and took control of the landing field. Not only that, but they even dared to summon the Fourth Young Master for questioning. Who do they think they are!?”

Another slammed the table, adding, “The Indestructible City was built by our Zhao clan, and the military has no part in it.”

“Those bastards, they’re nowhere to be seen during wars, but now they’re all jumping out!”