Vol-2: 098. The Night Before the Gathering

098. The Night Before the Gathering

With the Kowloon Gathering about to begin, one of the grandest festivals in Tianhuan, even the usually fierce gang members toned down their activity. White paper lanterns hung along the streets, and though gunfire occasionally broke the silence, the streets felt much more peaceful.

Meanwhile, the capital of Tianhuan, Qiong'anjing, was a different scene entirely. Inside its elegant city walls, armored vehicles and police were stationed at almost every ten steps. The security was incredibly tight, with drones and helicopters patrolling the skies.

The Kowloon Gathering is a grand celebration where major family clans, corporate groups, and royal factions come together to exchange, offer blessings, and celebrate the end of the year. Guests include political dignitaries, wealthy tycoons, and at the very least, academic giants. To maintain order in the capital's inner city, Qiong'anjing's police headquarters mobilized 20,000 officers and 100,000 volunteers to handle venue cleanliness and provide services.

Holding an invitation, Li Aozi had moved into a VIP room at a hotel two days earlier, enjoying the hot springs and drinks. Meanwhile, players from the Murloc Guild, posing as volunteers, smoothly infiltrated the event.

Tianhuan treated Li Aozi with utmost respect, not daring to neglect him. On one hand, Li Aozi's assistance in Gulant's independence aligned with Tianhuan's interests. On the other, his one-man rampage through the airspace during the Gulant battlefield nearly caused a mutiny in the Frost-Plated Air Force, showcasing his immense power.

For someone not even at Gamma rank but with destructive power on par with one, Tianhuan's higher-ups took the approach of engaging and recruiting him, careful not to alienate or provoke him.

After all, maintaining a Gamma-rank fighter is an expensive task, and Li Aozi essentially told them, "I don't need you to support me, and I'm more useful than your Gamma ranks."

However, Li Aozi had been in and out of the Red Arrow Embassy several times, displaying his ID and passport, much to the disappointment of Tianhuan's leadership—they couldn't win him over, but they also couldn't risk eliminating him.

Li Aozi was all too familiar with Tianhuan's political games. In his past life, players had often been tricked by Tianhuan politicians. If not for the excellent leveling environment, far fewer people would have stayed in Tianhuan.

After dinner, holding a cup of sake, Li Aozi stood by the massive floor-to-ceiling windows on the 63rd floor, gazing down at the bustling city nightscape.

This was the second capital of the four nations he had visited since his transmigration.

Neon lights alternated, dazzling the eye. Fireworks lit up the sky, casting bright blooms across the heavens. Guests came and went in an endless stream, the city full of luxury and decadence.

Li Aozi sipped his sake and calmly said:

"The show is about to begin."

On the other side of Qiong'anjing, Murloc Guild players, dressed in volunteer uniforms, successfully arrived at the venue for the main banquet: the Beitiao Group Tower.

As soon as the train reached the station, the Murloc Guild players were awestruck by the magnificent structure before them—Beitiao Tower stood 678 meters tall, covering an area of 1.2 hectares. It was an enormous complex of buildings, its towering canopy-like structure reminiscent of a giant tree, with various buildings and office zones connected by pipes and floating cars. It housed 130,000 workers, and 2,200 drones were used for daily maintenance and cleaning.

And that was just the above-ground portion. Underground, the tower extended 2.8 kilometers deep, operating seven internal subway lines. It housed Beitiao Group's most advanced technology labs and even a simulated town for training professional security forces. They had practically excavated an underground city, powered by geothermal resources, with self-sustaining agricultural greenhouses and mechanical factories.

To put it bluntly, even if you combined Gulant's 200 years of GDP, it wouldn't be enough to pay for a month of this tower's electricity bill.

"This is basically a wonder of the world..." The Murloc Guild players marveled.

This was the difference between the four nations and smaller countries. Similar structures could be built by Frost-Plated, Zhengxu, and Red Arrow, and the resources used to create such buildings could easily feed millions of people in the outside world.

The four nations didn't lack resources, and Tianhuan had accumulated vast wealth through long-term external plundering. The essence of the Kowloon Gathering was akin to an ancient "King of the Ring," where powerful lords and warriors gathered to divide up the spoils of their conquests and pray to the dragon god for strength and luck.

The players weren't too concerned with these historical details. As volunteers, they easily gained access to the tower, but figuring out how to find the hydrogen bomb known as "Guangzaki Arisa" was proving to be a major problem.

"Beitiao Heavy Industries, the pride of Tianhuan, has been continuously providing talented people to society for a hundred years. If the nation wants to prosper, Beitiao will help. If the country wants to rise, Beitiao will give its all... Love Tianhuan, and choose Beitiao Group."

Everywhere the players went, they were bombarded with propaganda praising Beitiao's contributions to Tianhuan. The constant barrage made it hard to forget Beitiao's name. One player tried to buy water and found even the bottled water was Beitiao-branded. In the restroom, the toilet was made by Beitiao Ceramics. A suspicious security guard pointed a Beitiao-manufactured gun at them, questioning their purpose and identity... and even the ventilation system was built by Beitiao. It seemed like everything, down to the air they breathed, belonged to Beitiao.

While Beitiao's quality was decent, the players couldn't help but feel a bit awkward at the overwhelming monopoly.

"Boss, we've been wandering around all day and haven't found any clues," one player complained to Old Blind.

"We've made it down to the third basement level. At this rate, we could wander until next month and still not find the bottom."

"What's the rush? The mission progress is still ticking up, no need to hurry."

Old Blind remained calm about the situation.

"We're here to scout, not to steal the hydrogen bomb, got it? Look at the NPCs around you—see that twin-tailed JK girl over there, with the pale skin and delicate features?"

"Whoa, those legs are so white!"

"White your ass! Look at her level!"

"Level 25 [Martial Artist]—I'm out!"

Old Blind folded his arms and adjusted his volunteer cap to hide the silver runes in his eyes. He remained calm because he understood how deep the waters ran here.

The Hojo Family was the oldest and most powerful clan in Tianhuan. Their ancestors were once royalty, and during industrialization, they naturally took control of the best resources, such as mines. Today, the Hojo Family was no longer just a family; numerous talented people in Tianhuan, from different surnames, worked for them, gaining wealth and status in return.

In a place where the average rank was Alpha, the players, with their measly levels below 10, were as fragile as paper. Anyone could tear them apart.

They couldn't keep wandering aimlessly. They needed to start asking for directions, but their [Eye of Truth] couldn't see far enough underground. So they began focusing on people who looked like researchers, providing volunteer services to tourists while covertly watching lab-coat-wearing individuals rushing through the pedestrian areas.

However, the limitations of their volunteer identities soon became apparent. When they reached the 15th basement level, a cyborg security guard coldly approached them and warned, "Get out. You have no business here."

The players didn't lose heart, obediently leaving the area, though their team had shrunk from 24 members to 23.

A moment later, an excited voice crackled over the guild's voice chat:

"Hey, hey, hey! Boss, I've infiltrated while invisible! This Omega Energy rental was totally worth it!"

Old Blind chuckled, "Good job."