Now Chun needs someone to help him walk; how can he handle troublemakers looking for a fight? This room is filled with troublemakers; even a few would be overwhelming.

I'm not even bothering with other info. Once the brothers join the Commerce Association, there will be plenty of time to research slowly.

Chun quickly told the two great gods next to him, "Get out of town, as fast as possible!"

The two great gods also realized the situation wasn't good, "Brother Chun, should we call for backup?"

Chun was taken aback, "Call who?"

"The Great God can contact the big shots in the royal family. Just a word from them can mobilize... at least attract some China District players to act immediately!"

Chun, carrying dozens of Treasure Pearls, was worried something might happen, "Alright, call for backup quickly!"

As they spoke, Chun was already dragged out the door, once again leading the trend of thousands following and watching.

Just as the three were about to run out of the Dark Alley District, some obvious thug NPCs shouted, "Stop!"

The three shuddered!

—System Alert: Warning! Your Spirit has resisted the thugs' "Intimidation" skill!

But the two great gods couldn't resist and actually stopped right there!

Holy shit! This shouting skill is hard control?

But in the next moment, hundreds of players in the crowd promptly rushed out and clobbered those thugs.

Chun was amazed; the backup really arrived!

Players were clearly no match for NPCs, and many were marked as red-name and knocked down. Fortunately, it also delayed the hard control on the two great gods, who resumed dragging Chun and sprinted away.

Finally, amid chaos, there were still hundreds of players covering and following Chun and the two great gods out of the city.

Chun sighed, "How much do I owe the royal family for this favor?"

The two great gods were indifferent, "Brother Chun, no need to be polite. We in the China District all depend on you!"

Not only do I owe a favor, but now there's pressure on me?

Chun could only say, "First, pull the two brothers into the Commerce Association. As for the other six slots, should we let the brothers on the first floor discuss among themselves?"

The two great gods cheered, "Of course, all brothers from the same internet cafe, who goes first doesn't really matter."

It's not quite true; those who came first in honors surely should be promoted to cadre positions.

—Broken Bottle Commerce Order alert: You invited Blade God and Guardian God to join the Commerce Association, commerce association reputation decreased.

Holy shit!

The three were stunned. This is the first time they've seen a commerce association where joining decreases reputation!

But Blade God promptly recovered, "Brother Chun, this shows the reputation has hidden attributes! Normal reputation is positive; our Commerce Association might be a black-market Commerce Association, valuing black-market reputation, thus with lower normal reputation, the black-market reputation is higher!"

Guardian God wasn't a nobody either, "Those thugs earlier could be hidden professions; they don't get killed, nor are they marked as red-name, while the players do! Thus, our commerce association uses such gameplay, emphasizing being enforcers without turning red-name. When the commerce association level increases, commerce association skills will likely appear."

Chun also found it reasonable, "So, ours is a hidden thug commerce association?"

"Definitely! And the first commerce association in Black Iron City, but might not rank due to our reputation not being on par."

Chun sighed, "It's been ten days since the server opened, and Baka and Curry haven't claimed first place?"

"Their own doing! Baka's Sakamaru Commerce Association gives away fish for free; looks like market control, but in reality, they've offended a bunch of people. It's not illegal, thus reputation is intact, but goodwill hidden reputation is declining. Curry has twice attacked the Count's Mansion; they have a record..."

"I see..."

...

At this point, the Divine Presence Battle Team had hundreds of fixed posts across the city, and over a thousand mobile posts fully monitoring Chun.

The Peeping Immortal, a master of task flow, a journalist in the guild's newspaper while also a part-time thief, deeply understands both the upper relationship networks and the lower dark organizations of Black Iron City.

Chun entering the Astrology Shop again made the Divine Team highly anxious. Last surveillance showed Chun went to the Astrology Shop and successfully used the stray dogs siege incident.

Then saw Chun enter the Broken Bottle Tavern, intercepted by thugs, and so on...

So far, the Peeping Immortal deduced the outcome and reported, "Young Master, Chun used his low reputation advantage to successfully become the head of a gang commerce association! He first duels with the Baron, afterward likely expanding the gang using thug methods to impede the Baron Shangri-La Commerce Association's growth, also to collect debts for Bilenna."

The Young Master was alarmed, "What thug methods?"

The Peeping Immortal said, "Young Master, don't worry; thugs use various intimidation, extortion, and theft methods! The NPC skill that intercepted Chun was intimidation, but can only be used in the city, nor against monsters. Such folks are just the Thief's Guild's periphery, restrained by thieves, so as long as we increase the recruitment of thieves, we can combat it! Also, Chun becoming a gang leader makes it hard for him to blend into the noble upper circles, and he likely won't gain Fafnir's attention."

The Young Master was astonished, "Isn't he shortsighted?"

The Peeping said, "If Chun is merely a front desk clown, his low-reputation situation indeed allows for shortsightedness."

The Young Master was pleased, "Great, also accelerate the release of thief strategy tutorials."

"Ichishima Kun and Yamada-kun, their ten are progressing quickly, only one step away from job placement."

The Young Master sighed, "Looks like we need breakthroughs during the public test; despite the same strategy, they've spent ten days retracing steps. Sakamaru-kun also needs to work harder; your commerce association's formalization plan hasn't progressed."

Sakamaru was ashamed, "Understood…"

...

8 PM.

Chun and his group of several hundred people finally approached the Southern Canyon Village outskirts.

Originally, I thought sailing was boring enough, but land walking isn't easy either. Horses could be rented at the station, but Chun's state made riding impossible. Plus, the escape was so hurried, returning to town to rent was impractical.

Now Chun just wants a mount! Or teleporting would do. Otherwise, who could endure two hours of walking to get there?

Anyway, this is close enough; use the Mage's Attendant Badge to quietly contact Sherry for a try.

After a moment, Sherry's delighted voice came through, "You're finally back; that's great! But I'm on a special mission, it's not convenient to expose…"

"I know, we can pretend not to know each other. Contact me for any coordination."

"Alright, let's leave it at that. Now I'm practicing dance, we'll chat when I have time."

Practicing dance...

At this point, Aileen's laughter rang, "She's contacting you secretly under my nose; if I were not listening here, I wouldn't know what she's up to. How interesting!"

Chun was helpless, "Don't tease her!"

Aileen laughed, "I won't, wouldn't you like her to put on dance dress for you later?"

This would be nice!

Chun panicked, "No, no, no, she's on a mission!"

"A mission against me, right? Tsk…"

"Cooperate with each other; that's where the fun is…"

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