Pill Hunt (3)

A few days after the auction, the city of Paraj was placed under lockdown, and not by the administration, but by external influences. Naturally, the mayor complained, but in addition to the overwhelming influence that the alliance of organizations had, they made sure to stay in the grey zone of the rules. When they patrolled, even if they were imposing and scary, they weren't breaking any rules. When they searched citizens or travelers, it was always after 'politely' asking for their permission. Even though they surrounded the city, they didn't directly stop people from leaving, they only respectfully warned them of the danger they would face if they left. Cases of alliance members abusing their power were few, but the fact that they existed at all was a problem that was left unsolved.

Shui, Emily, Alicia and Alex met in a private dining room on the second floor of the Myriad Flower Pavilion, and though they started off with small talk, they inevitably touched on this topic. Even the siblings, who were from a major-level clan and technically part of the alliance, couldn't leave the city, so both were upset about it.

"I knew there would be trouble, but to think those arrogant men would be this brazen."

In response to Alicia's complaint, Alex showed a guilty expression.

"I'm sorry, Alicia. If I hadn't come here to buy something-?"

"Stop it brother. How many times do I have to tell you that it's not your fault?"

Usually, Alex tried to act strong around Alicia, so it was rare for him to be this downtrodden, and Emily didn't like it.

"Alicia's right. If you're going to be my rival then I don't want you looking so pathetic."

Alex chuckled at Emily's words, but the gloom stayed in his eyes. Alicia shook her head as she turned to Shui.

"Regardless, this lockdown can only last until reinforcements arrive. We'll likely be staying here until people from the Sphere clan come to pick us, but what about you?"

"There's a place I want to bring Emily so I don't plan on waiting for everything to be resolved. We'll be gone before the week is over."

Alicia and Alex gave Shui suspicious looks in response to his statement.

"How are you planning on doing that? Even you won't be able to completely conceal both of your presences before that many Masters."

If it was Shui alone then she could see him pulling it off somehow, but to get both of them out of the city would be several times harder, especially since Shui still didn't wish to reveal his true strength.

"I know that, but it's like you said. This lockdown can only be stable until reinforcements for one of the organizations in the alliance arrive. Once one force has a definite advantage over the others, they'll become selfish and spare no effort in finding the pill or leaving with it as quickly as possible. Although they could be stopped if the rest of the alliance works together, that won't happen since some of them will begin to curry favour with the strongest force, and this will repeat once other forces gain reinforcements. Eventually, the alliance will split up into factions that will spend more time fighting each other than searching for the pill. At that time, everyone will want to secure as much benefits as possible before they get forced out of the city."

"That's true, but at most only one or two forces are close enough for their reinforcements to reach by the end of the week, that won't be enough to have immediate effects on the situation."

"You're right, cracks will begin to form in their unity, but not enough to take advantage of. At least, not without a catalyst."

Shui stopped his explanation there, and reached for a cup of tea with a cunning smile on his face. Alicia had begun to see the outline of the plan he was crafting, so she brought up a different topic to confirm it.

"By the way, there was apparently a woman with red hair sighted with the original occupant of room 30. Does that sound familiar?"

However, she didn't look at Shui, but Emily. Emily flinched when the topic suddenly shifted to her, but Shui hadn't told her anything about how he planned on making them escape the city. When she heard of a woman with red hair, she immediately thought of the exotic woman that saved her from assassins on that dramatic day, but when she asked about her, Shui only said that the woman was a friend of his. Even so, she didn't press him for more information. Although she would help if he asked, if he was confident that he could do it without her, she didn't mind waiting patiently for the outcome.

As she stared into Emily's eyes, Alicia read many things from her. It wasn't enough to confirm her suspicions, but she considered it satisfactory.

"Very well. I suppose I'll look forward to the show."

The four eventually finished their meals and returned to their rooms. On the way there, they overheard grumbles about the bleak situation outside the inn, but they didn't brood on it. None of them liked what was happening, but they would only take action for their own purposes. Even if Shui's plan succeeded, it would only increase the chaotic state of the city. More people would likely suffer as a result, but that was inconsequential. From the very beginning, this world was unforgiving to the weak.

Later in the day, there was young man in worn-out clothes who walked down a busy street in Paraj. Despite the ongoing turmoil, much traffic still passed through this area, but there was less contact between the people. Everyone was far more suspicion of each other than before, even more than when there was a series of pickpocket incidents. However, it wasn't too different from that time. In both cases, the citizens didn't want to be wrapped up in trouble unprovoked, and as the young man went on his way, he witnessed the fate of someone who was unable to escape danger.

"Please, stop it! I really don't know anything!"

"That's for us to decide. If you can't provide proof that you're innocent then we'll have to bring you in for questioning."

A group of two looked down on a man kneeling next to a shattered fruit cart. Both parties were on the same level of the Soul Realm, but the two with red badges seemed overwhelmingly superior. The two hadn't laid a hand on the man, yet he was already reduced to this state. The strong were revered, but these two weren't relying on their own strength to bully him, they were just coattail hangers. However, like everyone else, the young man ignored this sight. In the end, was it really that different from what they were used to?

The young man headed to a tavern and went straight for the seat closest to the right wall, where a droopy-eyed young man was waiting for him.

"Hi, it's been a while."

The young man was friendly, but his droopy-eyed friend had no interest in small talk.

"I'm bringing someone with me and we're going there in a few days. I have a plan, but it'll be dangerous. Are you in?"

"Oh come on, did you really think I would say no?"

The droopy-eyed young man stared at him for a minute before shaking his head.

"Good."

The droopy-eyed young man then tapped on the table, replacing the two of them with an identical illusion. Even after the two left and the illusion was dispelled, no one suspected a thing.