Chapter 331: Small Circle

Seeing this, Zhang Wenda frowned. ‘Just as I thought, no one’s a fool. It looks like they’re just collecting an entrance fee, but in reality, they’re also screening people. The moment you enter, they immediately target anything of value.’

‘Case in point: as soon as they saw Wang Shaojie’s oil packet, they connected it to instant noodles. And just like that, they’ve zeroed in on a potential resource point worth exploring.’

“Alright, no problem.” Zhang Wenda crossed his arms and leaned back slightly. ‘If they want to get themselves killed in Area 1, I won’t stop them. As long as I make the risks clear and get what I want out of this trade, it’s fine by me.’

Hearing Zhang Wenda’s words, the old man beamed. “Excellent. I love doing business with straightforward people. So, let’s begin. Why don’t you go first?”

“Are you kidding me? Why should I go first?”

Zhang Wenda had barely finished speaking when the cold barrel of a gun was pressed against the back of his head. “I dare you to say that again!”

SLASH! The gun, along with the fingers gripping it, was instantly severed into pieces by a sharp scythe. The movement was so fast that no one even saw what had done it.

As a scream of agony rang out, the man behind Zhang Wenda collapsed, clutching his severed hand. The train car filled with the sound of weapons being cocked, all of them now aimed at Zhang Wenda.

Zhang Wenda remained seated, his expression impassive as he looked at them. His sheer presence seemed to overpower everyone else in the car.

“I don’t appreciate negotiating with a gun to my head. If you’re not interested in a fair trade, perhaps we can resort to a more… conventional method of negotiation for this place.”

The old man’s expression flickered between anger and uncertainty before he plastered on another smile. “That boy was just being reckless. Please, don’t be offended. Our Small Circle operates on the principle of peaceful trade. We would never force a transaction—that would destroy our credibility.”

‘Zhang Wenda took his words with a grain of salt. If something valuable enough was on the line, he didn’t believe for a second they wouldn’t just try to take it by force.’

Seeing that Zhang Wenda had no intention of making another move, the old man finally let out a sigh of relief.

“Then let’s continue our trade. Since we’re both wary of getting the short end of the stick, how about we exchange the complete intelligence one piece at a time? To show my sincerity, you may ask first. By the way, what name should I call you by?”

Zhang Wenda pulled out a glass bottle of Coke, tilted his head back, and took a long drink. The simple act immediately drew the eyes of everyone in the car, and more than a few people started swallowing audibly.

“You can call me Director. Any question at all?”

“Yes, anything at all,” the old man said, his eyes glued to the Coke in Zhang Wenda’s hand, shimmering with excitement. ‘This could be a huge score. The intelligence this guy has must be extraordinary.’

After a moment of serious thought, Zhang Wenda met the old man’s expectant gaze and asked, “Has anyone found a way back to our original world?”

“What?” The old man’s expression froze. He hadn’t expected such a question.

“What? You don’t know?”

“I do, of course I do. As far as I know, no one has ever returned. Furthermore, there’s a persistent rumor from inside the Big Circle that our old world was utterly destroyed. All the great Tides of Thought were annihilated by the apocalypse on September 9th, 1999.”

Zhang Wenda’s heart sank. ‘So, Rabbit was right after all. The year 1999 fundamentally altered the entire world across time and space.’

“Director, is it my turn to ask now?” There was a hint of sycophancy in the old man’s voice, a change that had occurred the moment Zhang Wenda demonstrated his strength.

Zhang Wenda gestured with the bottle in his hand, indicating the old man could ask.

“Is the danger level of the Threshold Realm where you acquired these supplies high? Even for someone like you?”

“Very high. Even for me,” Zhang Wenda replied, then immediately asked his next question. “How many areas have been collectively discovered so far? I mean the Threshold Realms you mentioned.”

The old man pondered for a moment before deciding to tell the truth. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know? Are you kidding me? How can you be an intelligence broker if you don’t even know something that basic?” Zhang Wenda stood up to leave, but the old man hastily blocked his path.

“I honestly don’t know. And it’s not just me; I’m sure even factions much larger than our Small Circle wouldn’t know either.”

“Every discovered Threshold Realm is a resource, and no one shares their resources freely. That’s why it’s impossible to have a running total of how many there are.”

“However, I can say with certainty that methods for accessing new Threshold Realms are being discovered constantly. Some people even specialize in this work now.”

“On average, the information for accessing an unknown Threshold Realm costs between 8,000 and 20,000.”

“What’s the unit of currency?”

“Kilocalories. It’s a unit of food energy. The price can increase substantially depending on the degree to which the realm has been explored.”

Zhang Wenda mulled this over, trying to assess the value of his own information on the Midsummer Region.

“Since that question was a bust, let’s try another. You should at least know how many organizations there are right now, right?”

“Well…” A flicker of embarrassment crossed the old man’s face. “There are six that we have contact with.”

“Impossible,” Zhang Wenda immediately countered. “Think about how many people there are in the world. In a desperate situation like this, countless factions must have banded together to survive. And you’re telling me you only know of six?”

‘Even with all the deaths, there have to be more than just six. The gods of Maya, for instance, must still be out there.’

“It’s not as simple as you think. Different factions can be very far apart from each other, and without the internet, communication is extremely difficult.”

“Then tell me this: how many people does the largest faction have?”

“Well…”

He was stammering even on a question like that. Zhang Wenda watched the old man’s expression closely, and a look of sudden realization spread across his face.

He had already learned enough from their conversation.

“You’re not really with the Big Circle at all, are you? I’ve dealt with their people before. They’re not the type to play fair and conduct business. In a situation like this, they’d be off creating their own Tides of Thought across different worlds.”

“Let me guess. You’re just a bunch of wannabes using the Big Circle’s name to scare off trouble, to keep others from eyeing your business. Am I right?”

With that, Zhang Wenda stood up once more. “If that’s the case, then you’re nothing more than a group of survivors who’ve been pushed to the fringes, barely managing to get by.”

“I seriously doubt you have the information I’m looking for. I see no need for us to continue this trade.”

The prize was slipping through his fingers. The old man couldn’t let that happen. “Wait! You can’t just leave.”

“I didn’t say I was leaving.” Zhang Wenda gave him a serious look as a portal slowly opened behind him. From within, all the inhabitants of his Inner World emerged.

“Since you aren’t with the Big Circle, this makes things much simpler. I have an announcement to make.”

Zhang Wenda pointed to the subway car. He enunciated each word slowly and clearly. “This place… now belongs to me.”