Chapter 431: 401: The Desolate Guild

Chapter 431: Chapter 401: The Desolate Guild

Pingliang Sanctuary, Mercenary District.

This area, centered on mercenaries as a key industry, flourished.

Survivors coming and going were mostly Awakeners clad in sturdy gear, armed with swords, guns, and other weapons, each exuding a fierce aura. There were also some ordinary people, who specifically provided logistical support to ensure that the mercenaries could go out on missions in the best condition.

The core of the district was a building over ten stories tall, and the words “Mercenary Task Management Center” hanging on the second floor were conspicuously prominent.

Awakeners came and went in an endless stream.

“Have you heard? A few hundred meters away, a new ‘Adventurer Guild’ building has been erected, similar in nature to the ‘Task Center’. It’s rare that it could open within the Sanctuary.”

“What’s so surprising about that? Heard that the ‘Adventurer Guild’ is backed by other large Sanctuaries, something called… Green Shadow, yeah, Green Shadow Sanctuary. It’s quite a distance from us, but it’s said to be much stronger than our Pingliang.”

“Not only that, have you seen the exchange list inside the ‘Adventurer Guild’? F*cking full of rune equipment! Whatever you want, they have it, and they’ve even classified the rune equipment into EDCB grades. I wonder what rank this Dragon Roar Blade that I exchanged at a great cost from the ‘Task Center’ would be. It should at least reach C rank, right?”

“I have a friend whose uncle works at the ‘Adventurer Guild’ recently. He says there really are lots of rune equipment. At least hundreds of pieces can be seen just in the warehouse… So, I’ve already registered as an adventurer at the Guild, since it’s free anyway.”

“But, although the ‘Adventurer Guild’ has a rich exchange list, there are too few missions, and you can’t buy rune equipment directly with Source Crystals. I think it’s just a gimmick, the reality is…”

The speaking mercenary shook his head.

The ‘Adventurer Guild’ was a hot topic recently, the word ‘Adventurer Guild’ even trended on the ‘Battle Network’ where the mercenaries casually exchanged posts. The topic of most discussion was the dazzling array of rune equipment they offered.

It was said that with a piece of C grade equipment, an ordinary Awakener could easily kill a Demonized Beast with a level difference.

But how is that possible!

Even with the team leader’s superb combat skills, wielding the high-grade rune weapon, Dragon Roar Blade, overcoming a level difference would still end in a stand-off with a Demonized Beast.

Mercenaries scoffed at the rumors circulating outside.

It was just a rankless hype-creating tactic.

“Exactly, no matter how many rune equipment there are, it’s fake if you can’t get your hands on it. Moreover, there are hardly any missions inside the ‘Adventurer Guild’. Even for their internal staff, I suspect that it’s the senior officials of the Guild who used them to spread those fake messages.”

Even the mercenaries who had registered as adventurers, seeing what others were saying, didn’t argue.

No matter how trendy the new guild became, it was just a talking point. The ‘Task Center’ was where they truly belonged.

A group of people, chatting and laughing, walked into the mercenary building, only able to maintain their livelihood by taking on missions since they didn’t want to work for others.

Several hundred meters away, the ‘Adventurer Guild’s sub-guild building, though not as tall as the ‘Task Center’, the newly constructed building was more magnificent and grand.

At the entrance, two extraordinary spirited stone lions squatted, their large, bell-like eyes staring at every person who came in and out.

But embarrassingly, the ‘Adventurer Guild’ was deserted.

In the morning, only a few Awakeners walked into the lobby and glanced around; the sub-guild had been established for several days, but only two missions had been taken, and none had been completed.

Of course,

there weren’t many missions on the guild’s list, mostly time-consuming tasks like “Finding ** mineral” or “Finding ** plant” that might not even be completed.

The adventurers who took on these missions were mostly hoping to get lucky, with no idea when they would actually hand in the items for the mission.

At the counter window, the lady who handled the business, the handsome young man ready to assist adventurers at the entrance, and the uncles and aunties responsible for cleaning within the guild were all worried.

Having too much idle time was not a good thing!

In the apocalypse, there was no job that tolerated idlers, so they worried that the ‘Adventurer Guild’ would not last and that they would lose this rare opportunity for employment.

Across from the guild building, there was a teahouse.

Two people in a private room on the second floor had been sitting there for several hours, steeping tea and sipping from large cups, having drunk countless refills, and they had lost count of how many times they had gone to the bathroom.

“The higher-ups asked us to keep an eye on this ‘Adventurer Guild’, but there’s really nothing to watch. There are hardly any people all day, and I reckon it won’t be long before they close down.”

The intelligence officers implanted in the guild for work also hadn’t received any valuable information.

He felt the higher-ups were making a mountain out of a molehill. As outsiders without resources, how could the ‘Adventurer Guild’ possibly threaten the ‘Task Center’?

The person across the table poured himself a full cup of tea and sipped it slowly. “Isn’t it quite nice? We’re reimbursed for the cost of the tea, and I heard that it’s not very peaceful lately. While others are in a frenzy, it’s rare for us to have some leisure here.”

“True. After this task is done, we don’t know how busy we will get. I heard the director is so stressed out about the cult remnants that his hair is turning white.”

Both of them still had a bit of professional spirit. While enjoying their tea, they occasionally glanced at the entrance of the ‘Adventurer Guild’ across the street. Even when going to the bathroom, they dared not go together; one had to stay to keep watching.

“Make it quick, don’t take as long as a big one. My bladder is about to burst.”

The other person nodded, preparing to leave.

Suddenly, they both froze, simultaneously raising their heads to look out the window. A giant Floating Ship was slowly descending in the sky.

They rubbed their eyes in unison.

Looking again, the huge ship was still there in their vision, and the survivors on the street also noticed the enormous object, stopping in their tracks and looking up with shock.

“Wait, the direction the Floating Ship is landing seems to be right behind the ‘Adventurer Guild’ in the vacant lot? I was wondering why they didn’t lay a foundation there…”

The expressions of the two Pingliang intelligence officers became very serious.

The unexpected had finally happened during the mission!

“Zhang, go inform the higher-ups. I’ll check out what’s happening at the ‘Adventurer Guild’.”

“No, let’s go together and split up to investigate… With such an eye-catching target as the Floating Ship, the higher-ups must have noticed and sent someone already. We need to produce preliminary results before the higher-ups arrive.”

They looked at each other, nodded solemnly, and hurriedly pushed open the door to the private room heading for the stairs. Suddenly, they both instinctively stopped in their tracks, glancing toward the corner marked with the bathroom sign.

Their bladders were feeling more and more full.