Chapter 293: Bonus Chapter

There really were a lot of people.

Standing on the high platform, Wei Xun swept his gaze across a dense, surging crowd. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] Countless people looked up toward the platform, though for now it appeared to them as nothing but fog. The ceremony had not yet begun, and whether to let the audience see was still within their control.

Wei Xun looked out and saw that the nearest group was Yun Tianhe leading a contingent of people; Guides and Tourists alike, they were all draped in black robes, looking remarkably like a gathering of Death Eaters.

The most basic members wore plain black robes without any decoration. Junior Councilors had dark green trim at the collar and cuffs. Mid-rank Councilors had deep blue trim. Senior Councilors had purple trim.

The Knights standing behind Wei Xun had gold trim on their black robes. Adjudicator Dreamchaser’s black robe had orange trim.

Looking out across the space, there were quite a few black robes belonging to the Mutual Aid Alliance, several hundred, by the look of it. The crowd was carried mainly by Tourists; Tourists genuinely outnumbered Guides by a wide margin.

After all, many of the Guides who had joined the Mutual Aid Alliance didn’t dare come. To speak plainly: the three Guide alliances were in complete disarray right now. Bing-1 had a grudge with the Truth Alliance, his relationship with the Shepherd Alliance was poor, and anyone from the Butcher Alliance absolutely would not show their face anywhere An Xuefeng of Return was present.

Beyond that, with the outcome among the three Guide alliances still undecided, many were watching and waiting; not everyone dared to come. Those who did come were mostly unaffiliated loner Guides with no allegiance or organization, as well as a conspicuous cluster of Guides who were clearly of the genuine shepherding persuasion.

Wei Xun noticed them at once, because a Senior Councilor in a purple-trimmed black robe was openly delivering a moral education lecture to the Mutual Aid Alliance members who had come.

The audience was sizable. It was still early in the month and many people hadn’t yet completed their moral education sessions. Rather than risk failing to do it at home and getting penalized, they had seized the opportunity to get it done together here. After all, with so many people around and the Agency watching over the virtual hall, it felt considerably safer.

It wasn’t only Mutual Aid Alliance members listening either; plenty of curious onlookers had gathered alongside them. Occasional heckling and questions rose from the crowd, but Yun Tianhe was entirely unfazed, talking with a fluency that barely paused for breath, and quite a few in the audience were nodding along steadily.

Nobody had expected him to dare show his face so publicly today.

“Yun Tianhe really doesn’t get stage fright.”

Wei Xun heard Tong Hege muttering beside him. True enough, Yun Tianhe had something of an extreme social confidence about him; Wei Xun was already wondering whether to sign him up as a Knight. Everything happening below had been organized by Yun Tianhe and a small group of people.

There was the lecture drawing in the audience, and ordinary members moving through the crowd distributing flyers and handing out small gifts; inexpensive things, all produced internally by the Mutual Aid Alliance.

Wei Xun glanced at Yu Hehui, who understood immediately and produced a sample flyer for him to see.

【Latitude 30 Degrees level organization Mutual Aid Alliance officially launches today; membership fee of 5,000 points slashed to just 2,500! Join and receive an exclusive Mutual Aid Alliance outfit, plus the option to reserve a front-row seat and meet Jia-1 Tourist An Xuefeng and the Weeping Medium and Yin-Yang Butterfly, who represent the very pinnacle of Guides, up close! An opportunity not to be missed!】

Evidently this flyer held irresistible appeal for low and mid-ranked Guides and Tourists alike. In the half-hour before the Mutual Aid Alliance’s launch, Yun Tianhe had talked his way into signing up nearly a hundred Tourists and over a dozen Guides.

National Day was one of the peak periods for new entries into the Agency; there were plenty of people traveling. New Tourist and Guide arrivals, still trembling, had just stepped into the virtual hall to explore, been drawn over by the commotion, and hadn’t yet developed enough worldliness to be wary. Nobody could say how many of them had taken a flyer in a daze. There were even special introductory deals for newcomers.

Especially when a second Senior Councilor in a purple-trimmed black robe stepped forward to speak from personal experience alongside the lecture, that set off an entirely new wave of enthusiasm.

Though the person wore a black robe, anyone who listened to the account could tell from the details being shared that this was none other than the Fainting Goat, one of the most talked-about figures of the past two days.

In everyone else’s eyes, the Fainting Goat had gone completely berserk: killing Butcher Guides, openly defecting from the Truth Alliance, publicly calling out the Shepherd Alliance for scheming against her, and then leading an entire flock straight into the Mutual Aid Alliance.

Nobody had expected her to be bold enough to appear in public like this.

But in the next instant, the mood shifted sharply. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] A flash of silver cut through the air, shooting straight toward the Fainting Goat; someone had struck from the shadows at the moment the atmosphere was at its most heated.

The crowd erupted in an uproar, but before the uproar could fully take shape, it transformed into something louder still. Countless eyes watched as the silver light vanished before it could reach the Fainting Goat, while somewhere in the crowd, one person broke into frantic, hysterical wailing, then dropped to their knees sobbing and begging for mercy right then and there, as though trapped inside a nightmare.

The people around them immediately began talking all at once. Some were shouting that they had seen it, this person had struck secretly. Others said the silver light was a one-time special item that teleported its target to another location.

Only a teleportation, not technically an attack, but everyone could imagine that the destination had certainly been prepared in advance with a waiting crowd. It was a blatant exploitation of an Agency loophole.

Then suddenly, from somewhere in the crowd, an unidentified voice rang out:

“That thing is a limited edition teleportation rune from the Yi-4 Guide! Only Truth Alliance members can buy it!”

“The Truth Alliance is trying to kill the Fainting Goat!”

“This is serious; a Yi-4 Guide making a public move, challenging the Mutual Aid Alliance’s authority!”

“Fight! Fight!”

The atmosphere ignited immediately. Countless people craned their necks trying to see the action, while some in the audience, frightened of getting caught up in trouble, tried to edge away.

“Where are you going? Dreamchaser’s already made his move, do you think anything can happen to us?”

Someone shouted at the top of their lungs, sounding almost deliberately planted. The moment those words landed, the whole scene erupted.

“Dreamchaser is here? It was Dreamchaser who did that??”

“Holy hell, I got to see a Jia-3 powerhouse in action, this trip was absolutely worth it!”

“I haven’t seen enough yet, will any more Truth Alliance people try to attack the Fainting Goat? Dreamchaser is too cool!”

“I’d like to see if the Yi-4 Guide dares make another move right in front of Dreamchaser!”

The atmosphere in the hall shifted entirely. Watching the situation slide toward something unmanageable, the Yi-4 Tour Guide, Rune Guide, hidden in the crowd went dark in the face, expression cold and rigid.

He had come today with the actual intention of communicating with the Fainting Goat and Bing-1 of the Mutual Aid Alliance. He had already punished the Guide who had driven the Fainting Goat away, and had discovered there was a mole inside the Truth Alliance. He had also received certain other information he wanted to pass on to Bing-1. He absolutely had not come here to make a move.

“When I return… conduct a thorough investigation of the Alliance.”

Extremely grave, his voice carryied a chill that made the skin prickle. He had been secluded drawing runes for so long, and had planned to enter journeys without interruption throughout October, surpassing Pinocchio in rank to reach Yi-3.

He hadn’t anticipated any of this happening.

The Rune Guide’s gaze swept like a blade toward the person still trapped in their nightmare, sobbing and begging on the ground.

“I want to know exactly who made that move.”

With that, he put on the purple cloak marking him as a B-class elite and walked out of the crowd with a few trusted companions. He had paid the Agency’s fee, and his voice carried to everyone in the virtual hall.

“A misunderstanding. All of this is a misunderstanding.”

The Rune Guide walked out at a measured pace, his tone grave.

“The Truth Alliance came today to offer congratulations on the Mutual Aid Alliance’s launch. There is absolutely no possibility that we would send someone to attack a member of this Alliance. I hope we will not allow certain lurking petty villains to poison the friendship between us.”

With that he waved a hand; someone behind him stepped forward immediately, and the Rune Guide accepted the gift box from them.

“With one Legendary item, five Legendary runes, and a number of lower-grade runes, we offer our wishes for the Mutual Aid Alliance’s eternal prosperity.”

Was the person who attacked the Fainting Goat truly a Truth Alliance member? Honestly speaking, not necessarily.

But there was no other way out of this. They had to resolve it like this.

The Truth Alliance really wasn’t what it used to be.

Thinking this, the Rune Guide felt a quiet bleakness settle inside him.

The B-class Guide who had driven the Fainting Goat away had been punished, but expelling them was not an option. That was the state the Truth Alliance was in: at the very top level, money was the most useless thing in the world. What good did it do the Rune Guide to earn more and more of it? Without reaching A-class, without even cracking the top three among B-class elites, every battlefield was a dead end.

Having no face left to stay any longer, the Rune Guide handed over the gift box and moved to leave with his group without delay.

“What do we make of this Rune Guide?”

Mutual Aid Alliance members had already received the gifts and sent them up to the high platform. Wei Xun glanced at them. Zhang Xingcang looked over as well.

“The Rune Guide is showing genuine goodwill this time.”

Zhang Xingcang had sharp eyes and knew quality when he saw it.

“These runes are all useful ones. Many of them are top grade.”

“The Rune Guide is the most profitable Guide there is.”

The Beekeeper leaned over to look as well, impressed.

“There’s a mass-production rune here that can actually enable mass production of purified royal jelly. It’s just a shame the most critical runes are sold exclusively to Truth Alliance members.”

“If you want to draw people in, go and become an A-class Guide.”

Tong Hege clicked his tongue.

“Yi-4 is still too low. If the person at the top is always stuck at Yi-4, there’s not much of a future in it.”

He said this without the slightest awareness that his own person at the top had only just reached Bing-1.

“Most profitable Guide…”

Wei Xun’s expression was thoughtful. Then his gaze swept to Zhang Xingcang.

“The one who attacked the Fainting Goat just now, was that one of ours?”

The timing had been perfect, right as Dreamchaser arrived, giving the Mutual Aid Alliance a boost of prestige into the bargain. The whole thing felt far too well-placed to have been an actual Truth Alliance move.

“No, it wasn’t one of ours.”

Zhang Xingcang shook his head, phrasing it delicately.

“We did have people arranged, but they were set up for a completely different purpose; to create trouble for the Shepherd Alliance.”

The Truth Alliance was currently in a weakened state, and the Rune Guide had been keeping a low profile all along. Apart from runes, there wasn’t much to work with against them.

“So, who exactly is he calling a petty villain?”

Speak of the devil: the Rune Guide’s group hadn’t even left yet when another group of people came around and blocked them head-on. These people wore sheep’s-head badges on their chests, and at their front was the newly appointed Yi-3.

The Shepherd Alliance had sent people too.

“A Legendary item, is that all? The Truth Alliance is one of the three Guide alliances, isn’t it? Isn’t that a little underwhelming?”

“You—!”

The Rune Guide’s expression went iron-dark, but one look at him made it clear he was the type to guard his dignity and avoid open quarrels. Especially when the other party was a B-class Guide, engaging with them would only be lowering himself.

“Whoever I was referring to knows perfectly well.”

In the end he could only drop a parting remark that was threatening without quite landing, then turned and left with his people.

And from behind him came the Yi-3’s voice:

“The Shepherd Alliance offers one Unsolvable-level item, two Legendary items, five opportunities to enter an Abyss node, and a number of other gifts, to wish the friendship between the Shepherd Alliance, the Mutual Aid Alliance, and Dreamchaser eternal and everlasting prosperity!”