Chapter 420.2: The First Item Up For Auction Is From... Teng Teng's Hut!

Adan, scratching his chin in puzzlement, furrowed his brows. "It's quite strange for the palace to issue such a command at this time, especially since I heard it was due to pressure from the Lion Kingdom that the royal family took action, which is even stranger."

Battlefield Cheerleader, hiding behind the hallway, heaved a sigh of relief. Although he didn't understand much, he didn't hear his name mentioned, so the two probably didn't suspect him.

Cowley frowned slightly. "Is the situation serious?"

Adan sighed. "Not that serious... Once a decree leaves the palace, how it's implemented is up to the local authorities. As long as we don't run into the king's personal guard, even if we encounter inspections, I have ways to smooth things over."

After a pause, his expression soured slightly as he continued, "However, your identity is a bit problematic, since we're nominally at war with the Falcon Kingdom and the Army. What worries me more is that letting the Lion Kingdom realize that military supplies are being transported to the Army's positions in the north might not be good. They might send cavalry to patrol the desert."

Cowley was silent for a moment. "I've caused you trouble... Perhaps we should go our separate ways."

"Don't say that, sir, we can't just leave you to travel alone." Adan quickly interrupted him.

What he wanted was for the officer to owe him a favor, not to abandon his money tree.

Once the Army dominated the River Valley Province, he would definitely need this connection.

"... Anyway, this is no place to stay for long. There's more than one way to Oasis No.9. Let's stock up and hit the road as soon as possible." Adan quickly concluded.

Cowley solemnly nodded. "That makes sense. I'll call my companion. You can get the others. We'll meet in the backyard in half an hour."

Seeing the two part ways, Battlefield Cheerleader quietly slipped back to his room, packed his luggage, and quietly waited for his boss to knock on the door.

Soon after, a knock came from outside the door, followed by Cowley's warm and deep voice. "Pangolin, it's time to hit the road. Are you ready?"

Battlefield Cheerleader stepped forward to open the door, his luggage already on his back. He stood with his back straight. "All set, sir."

Cowley gave him an approving look and patted his shoulder. "Good, you are very spirited. The Army needs warriors who are decisive and don't drag their feet. I see the shadow of my officer Richie in you."

"Come with me. There's been a slight change in the plan, and we're leaving an hour earlier. And from now on, don't call me 'sir.' Just Cowley is fine."

Battlefield Cheerleader reluctantly nodded. "Okay, Cowley... Sir."

Cowley smiled, not minding his nerves. He patted his shoulder hard, and then headed towards the stairs.

As dawn barely broke, a group quietly left the town and headed into the wilderness.

Originally, they were supposed to travel west along Oasis No.8 and then circle to the northwest side of Oasis No.9.

But since where they were was no longer safe, they had to leave before the borders were closed and before the Lion Kingdom's patrol teams arrived. The chose an unfamiliar route to the Falcon Kingdom and the Army's positions.

It was foreseeable that the road ahead would not be peaceful.

Actually, if he abandoned Cowley, Adan would find it much easier to lead his merchant caravan alone, even secretly slipping into Oasis No.9 within the Golden Lizard Kingdom's territory. But he didn't want to give up the favor he had finally gained.

And not far from him, Battlefield Cheerleader, walking beside Cowley, was also struggling with his thoughts.

It seemed impossible to sneak into the Army's main base quietly. Their group of twenty or thirty people trying to hide their tracks in the desert could only hope for the blessing of the Spirit of the Desert.

But if, as Adan said, the Lion Kingdom sent cavalry, and he happened to encounter a patrol team... Would he really have to open fire on his allies?

And even if he didn't encounter a patrol team, did he really want to deliver those supplies to the enemy, turning them into hot metal bullets to pierce the chests of his allies or even innocent civilians?

Once he immersed himself in the game, it was hard not to think of those issues.

Of course, he also admitted that maybe because the journey was too boring, leaving him nothing else to fantasize about, so he started to overthink.

The sun rose in the east and set in the west.

The crimson twilight shone on the uninhabited desert, and everyone marched in the same direction with different thoughts in mind.

Just as Battlefield Cheerleader was lost in his imaginations, thousands of kilometers away, someone else was equally filled with complex emotions.

Unlike the sunset hues of the desert, in the Among Cloud Province on the East Coast of the continent, night had already quietly fallen.

There, night and day represented two completely different aspects of the city.

When cloaked in the veil of night, the entire city seemed to dance.

Skyscrapers swallowed by colorful neon, and flying machines operating between steel and concrete like endless rainbows.

Information as vast as the Milky Way filled every corner of every eye.

Even a moment's pause could draw one into it with no hope of escape.

Every resident in Ideal City had no doubt they were living in the best era, living in those great and prosperous times, with flowers and wine flowing like the ever-fruitful riverbeds that would never dry.

However...

They were not ignorant of savagery.

They were well aware that most of this land was still wilderness, especially the remote West Coast, which was the source of all chaos.

The people there were like blood-sucking wolves, plundering wealth, enslaving populations, chaining captured slaves in the fields like cattle, and dividing people into ranks from birth through created bloodlines.

Whether it was slavery or bloodline theories, those were historical toxins swept into the garbage heap before this planet entered the Prosperity Era.

The capital named after triumph sounded more like a glorification of war to their ears.

By comparison, the cities of the New Alliance sounded much nicer. Whether it was Dawn or Daybreak... Those were the names civilized cities should have.

The residents of Ideal City could quarrel over trivial matters as small as sesame seeds, calling each other's mothers into question, but there was no disagreement on the issue of the Army.

They were the common enemy of the civilized world.

Considering that two centuries ago, everyone had worked to promote that committee, they could turn a blind eye to the atrocious acts those gunpowder-minded folks performed on the West Coast.

But now, they had even reached out to the Great Desert to the east, even attempting to control Shelter 0, which was discovered first by the Silver Wing Corporate Group.

This time, there would be no compromise.

Of course, if someone else were willing to teach those beasts a lesson for them, that would be even better.

In a corner of the city's core region.

In a magnificent top-floor space, figures in silver, gray, and black attire held champagne whild standing in the center of the dance floor.

Most were shareholders of various subsidiaries under the Enterprise, some from the five major corporations, and many from lesser-known smaller companies.

At this moment, their gaze was focused on the stage in front of the dance floor, where two figures stood.

One was the ambassador from the New Alliance, Shu Yu.

Everyone had heard some stories about him, said to be a refugee who had lost his family due to the chaos brought by the Army's expeditionary forces.

Such a young man, who should have been studying and advancing in his career within the Enterprise, had to take on the heavy responsibility of being an envoy to a friendly nation, traveling thousands of miles to a strange city.

His poignant background made it hard not to sympathize with him, even if it wasn't entirely out of political correctness against the Army.

The person standing beside him was the director of the Enterprise Management Group, Yue Qian.

Unlike Wu Changnian from the Ideal Corporation, he belonged to the Silver Wing Corporate Group, and he was a shareholder with a significant stake.

The Enterprise Management Group was similar to the New Alliance's Official Division, was in charge of ceremonies and event planning, and also had some diplomatic functions.

As for the actual decision-making power, the department was directly responsible to the highest council.

It could be tentatively understood as the foreign ministry with the highest authority.

After a day's time, Shu Yu had gradually figured out the power structure of the Enterprise.

Here, although nominally ran through decentralized management, in reality, the highest council was their center.

And the positions in various important departments were basically held by shareholders of the major groups.

As for the rules of inheritance and trading of shares... He hadn't figured it out yet. But based on the surnames of the influential figures of the various groups, he could sense some clues.

For example, many influential figures in the Ideal Corporation had the surname Li, those in the Endpoint Group often saw the surname Yun, and the Silver Wing Corporate Group mostly had the surnames Yi and Luo.

"Let's toast to eternal friendship!"

Hearing the voice beside him, Shu Yu returned from his thoughts, smiling as he clinked glasses. "Cheers!"

The sound of glasses clinking filled the entire venue.

Standing among the crowd, Ample Time also made a toasting gesture before sipping the sour sparkling wine in his glass. He couldn't help but feel a bit worried.

At that moment, his mind was not on the party, but on the task given to him by the administrator.

Promoting the culture and products of the Alliance...

That sounded easy, but upon arriving in Ideal City, he realized that things were far from as simple as he thought.