Lu Zhaoran looked at the unconscious Shen Yan in the glass room and turned to Cipher.
"How do you plan to handle this Shen Yan?"
"Let's just leave him here for now. It'll prevent him from going back and contacting the Backcurrent Alliance or something. It won't be too late to let him go after we finish the trade."
"OK." Lu Zhaoran agreed with Cipher's decision. She turned around and closed the door, leaving Shen Yan alone in the room.
"I've made sure he won't be able to wake up at least for the rest of the day. Let's head back."
With that, Lu Zhaoran switched off the basement lights and headed up the stairs. Cipher followed, and they soon emerged from the study.
"Sister Cipher, Sister Zhaoran, we're back!"
Just as they left the study, Luo Lin's voice reached Cipher's ears. She turned toward the front door and saw the members of the Spark Squad walking in from outside.
"Little Lin is back. What kind of commission did you pick up this time?"
"It's a commission to seize an important item from a gang."
Hearing Lu Zhaoran's inquiry, Luo Lin pulled out her terminal and displayed the details of the commission to them. The description stated that the Tiger Gang had intended to trade this item with the Maelstrom Gang, but it had been intercepted during transit.
Furthermore, the hijackers were a gang from another sector. Since the Tiger Gang operated in the North, they couldn't directly move in to take it back without other gangs interfering. Having one trade interrupted halfway and now having their cargo hijacked mid-transit made the leader of the Tiger Gang furious, so he decided to hire outsiders to snatch it back.
The reward was generous—100,000 Credits—but the requirement was that the goods must be returned intact.
"The Tiger Gang? Old acquaintances, huh. But your last commission was targeted at the Tiger Gang; how come the next one is helping them? Aren't you afraid they'll trip you up?"
At the mention of those three words, Cipher instantly remembered that their previous mission was to disrupt the trade between the Tiger Gang and the Maelstrom Gang.
Luo Lin shook her head. "It is quite a coincidence... but most commissions can be accepted anonymously. Plus, we didn't leave any survivors last time, so they have no idea it was us."
"Oh... I see." Cipher rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "It seems the Mercenary Association's confidentiality is actually decent. It's quite something that the person picking up a commission might be the very enemy of the one who posted it."
"When do you plan to head out?"
At this point, Lu Zhaoran spoke up, questioning Luo Lin and the others.
"We have to head over at 4:00 PM. According to the intel, they'll reach their gang branch after 6:00 PM. Once their numbers increase, it'll be much harder to fight."
"4:00 PM..."
Hearing the time, Lu Zhaoran knitted her brows in conflict.
"Sister Zhaoran, did something happen?" Luo Lin asked with concern, seeing Lu Zhaoran's troubled expression.
Lu Zhaoran shook her head.
"It's nothing major, it's just that Cipher and I also have to head out around 4:00 PM to trade with the Backcurrent Alliance. I'm just worried that if both of us are away and you guys run into trouble, then—"
Before she could finish, Cipher, who was standing beside her, hurried to cover her mouth.
"Little Lin, don't go planting flags for them!"
"Flag? What's that?"
After moving Cipher's hand away from her mouth, Lu Zhaoran looked at her with confusion.
"Ugh, anyway, just don't say stuff like 'running into trouble.' It's bad luck."
Cipher waved her hand, telling Lu Zhaoran not to worry about it.
"Besides, Luo Lin and the others have survived in the Pit District for so long; how many times did they rely on us? There's no need to be so worried."
"Big Boss Cipher is right; I was being overly concerned."
Lu Zhaoran scratched her cheek awkwardly and admitted her fault. It was a case of concern clouding her judgment; she had subconsciously forgotten that Luo Lin and her team had lived in the Pit District for a long time and were the ones capable enough to save her in the first place.
"Little Lin, go get some rest first. You've been interrogating Shen Yan since you woke up, and we have to go trade with those people this afternoon. You need to keep your spirits up to have the energy for negotiations."
"Alright." Lu Zhaoran nodded. "But it's almost noon; I'll prepare lunch before I rest."
With that, she turned and walked into the kitchen.
"So diligent..."
Watching Lu Zhaoran's retreating back, Cipher suddenly felt a surge of guilt crawl up her spine.
Zhaoran had contacted the Backcurrent Alliance, picked her up, interrogated Shen Yan, and was now preparing lunch—she was busy with all sorts of things.
But what about herself?
Reading novels, playing games, sleeping in, mooching food and drinks...
This was simply outrageous!
Feeling her own laziness, Cipher felt that her mood should have become quite foul.
But a new problem quickly arose.
What should one do when their mood turns foul?
Cipher pretended to think for a moment, then expertly retrieved her personal terminal and keyboard from her system inventory. She dashed into the bedroom, started the screen projection, and began her grand gaming career.
The answer was to go play games to restore her mood!
As for everything she had just thought—of course, it was all an excuse to make playing games even more enjoyable!
She, Cipher, was definitely not the type to suffer from internal conflict!
★ ★ ★
Time flew by. After lunch, it was 4:00 PM in the blink of an eye.
"Sister Cipher, Sister Zhaoran, we're heading out for the commission now. Bye-bye!"
After waving goodbye to the two, Luo Lin and her team left the house and headed toward the mission location.
After waving back, Lu Zhaoran lowered her hand and turned to Cipher, reminding her:
"Big Boss Cipher, it's about time for us to leave too."
"OK, I'm ready."
Hearing Lu Zhaoran's words, Cipher also lowered her hand and responded.
Lu Zhaoran nodded, then looked down to check the items in her satchel. After a moment, she looked up and said:
"I'm ready too. Let's go. I'm sure the people from the Backcurrent Alliance can't wait any longer."
Lu Zhaoran walked toward the door. The two stepped out of the house, and after Lu Zhaoran locked the front door, they walked over to the off-road vehicle.
Opening the trunk, the two men were still lying there. Compared to Tan Rui's condition, Chu Ke's face was significantly paler, giving off the impression that he was on the verge of death.
Sensing Chu Ke's extremely weak breathing, Cipher said with some concern:
"Are you sure he's okay? I feel like this Chu Ke is about to die. He's worth over a million Credits, you know."
"It's not a big deal." After confirming the two were still there, Lu Zhaoran closed the trunk and moved to the driver's seat. "The vitality of a B-rank ability user isn't something to scoff at. In his state, he can survive for at least another two or three days without a problem. Get in, we should head out."
"I see." With Lu Zhaoran's explanation, Cipher stopped worrying.
Once she sat in the passenger seat, the car drove off toward the trading location.