Great, I'm surrounded by villains.

It is neither about investigating the missing old hunter nor about finding out the truth behind the disappearance of 13 people.

For those who are involved in underground exchanges, they naturally know what is shady in it.

"They just need someone with authority to make a statement to the public."

“This is also an opportunity to bring the association back into people’s attention. It was originally a win-win deal.”

"What about the 13 missing persons? As far as I know, besides me, there are also people taking action against them."

“They want to take care of the chores themselves.”

Xinghe emphasized his tone and advised, "It's time to turn back while there is still a chance to make amends."

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 212 The hidden corner

Xinghe's words were both unexpected and reasonable. Being in a place like Siyang City, if the stationmaster had not been more alert, he would probably have become one of the many missing persons.

After all, on a planet where evil is rampant, anyone could go missing.

Seeing that Duan Mingyuan did not respond, Xinghe continued, "The former Imperial Hunting Court knew the special situation in Siyang City and would not easily provoke people from the Chamber of Commerce. If you can't make a decision, why not let me make the decision for you? Give up Xing and Zheng Liu and pretend that you have never met them. After helping the police issue the announcement, return to Yunlong City and have a good sleep, and everything will be over."

Someone once said something similar to Duan Mingyuan.

That was the security captain of the Yunlong City Universal Company branch. During the process of escorting the "cargo", he advised him not to take these things to heart and to have a good sleep after returning home. What mattered most was getting a lot of money. After more than ten years, he would leave this planet with a large sum of money, and everything that happened on the Blue Star would have nothing to do with him.

Many people do this.

"Stationmaster, what you just said was very dangerous. I can pretend that I didn't hear it."

Duan Mingyuan said.

If the person who heard these words was a young man whose blood was still hot, the liaison station in Siyang City would probably have suffered a severe blow.

However, Duan Mingyuan is no longer the passionate young man he was back then. After going to school and working in an orderly manner and experiencing the process of institutionalization step by step, he realized that the security captain and Xinghe are just part of the entire system. Even without them, there will be thousands of people to take over their positions.

It’s just like when the hover car crashed into the company building, making this explosive news hit the headlines and sparking widespread discussion in society.

But after the discussion, everything remained the same. Even though the Imperial Hunting Court was destroyed, the "trade chain" of the life science department did not disappear.

It was not until Bai Kou's death and the appointment of a new director that changes were brought to the stagnant Yunlong City.

"With just a few words, you decided the life of a young hunter from the association and an outstanding young police officer."

"But this is the current situation in Siyang City."

" Xinghe said, "I'm not the one who wants them dead. The only decision I can make is to let them die, or to let more people die with them."

"Then count me in. After all, I am also one of the insiders to them. I may make the underground exchange public at any time. Once I do so, the influence I will bring will be much greater than that of a new member of the association or a young police officer."

Xinghe didn't respond, and he didn't know how to respond.

Now that the newly appointed leader of the Imperial Hunting Court has said so much, he no longer has room to mediate.

This is clearly an attempt to stand in opposition to the Chamber of Commerce.

A simple decision could lead to the destruction of the entire Siyang City Association, and many hunters would be buried with him.

If it were the previous leader of the Imperial Hunting Court, he would never make such a blind decision. They have always been able to maintain good relations with all parties and get the best of both worlds. This is why the association can survive in this complex society.

"Can I ask why?"

After a long moment, Xinghe asked, "Just for two friends you just met on the first day?"

“No, it’s to follow my heart.”

Duan Mingyuan recalled the teller he met at the guild registration office on the day he reactivated the Royal Hunting Court. Although the hunter group had disappeared for a long time, there were still people who remembered the contributions they had made.

At least in the eyes of many people, hunters are like knights.

But in fact, the former Yu Karin was not as outstanding as people imagined. His cooperation with the company led to internal strife, which led to the burning of Yu Karin's headquarters and gave birth to the terrorist organization Wang Xu.

"I am not interested in moving between various forces, but I respect the efforts you have made as the stationmaster over the years."

This bar is proof of that.

Long after the fall of the Imperial Hunting Court, he heard that Xinghe had been maintaining liaison work in Siyang City and doing his best to provide help to hunters who had nowhere to go.

So Duan Mingyuan thought of a way to have the best of both worlds. "Tell me the location of the underground exchange. This way, you will be handing me, a direct insider, over to them. If I follow Master Xing's footsteps, then for you and the Siyang City Association, there is no more important token of allegiance than this."

"But you have to know that the Chamber of Commerce is different from any force you have encountered so far."

Xinghe's face also turned gloomy.

He had heard some stories about Duan Mingyuan from Dajiang, including his training of new recruits and teaching at Yunhai Academy.

Perhaps the new leader of the Imperial Hunting Court is an expert in the field of evil spirit research, but what he is facing now is far beyond the scope of evil spirits, and even beyond the scope of this planet.

"Siyang City is just a tiny part of their power. They hired a mercenary organization that is famous throughout the universe."

Xinghe had only heard of the reputation of those mercenaries.

"Those people have experienced interstellar wars and fought on cocooned planets. They are strong men who have walked out of true purgatory. Compared with them, the deeds we have experienced in dealing with some evil spirits on our homeland are just a drop in the ocean."

Xinghe thought Duan Mingyuan would back out, but the latter didn't care and said, "Isn't this better? If I am killed by them, with this letter of surrender, they might support you to become the next leader of the Imperial Hunting Court."

"This joke is not funny."

Xinghe emphasized his tone.

He was not joking, so he hoped to find some emotions similar to his in Duan Mingyuan's eyes.

For example, the fear and awe of the Chamber of Commerce and those space mercenaries.

After all, the Hunter Association is just a civilian organization on Blue Star, and it has not been established for a long time. In comparison, the Chamber of Commerce in Siyang City has a much longer history. They appeared almost from the moment the company's flagship landed over Blue Star.

But compared with Universal Company, their style of operation is much more secretive.

They seem to prefer hiding in the shadows, controlling the city in an unknown way.

"This is no joke, I'm sure they will welcome my arrival very much because I feel like I share the same thoughts with them on this matter."

Duan Mingyuan said, "We don't like to leave unfinished business, but hope to solve the problem once and for all."

Thanks to Yuezed for the reward of 1000 Qidian coins!

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 213 Star Sea Merchants

As Duan Mingyuan expected, after Xinghe contacted the Chamber of Commerce, the other party readily agreed to let him visit the underground exchange in Siyang City, on the condition that he bring Xing and Zheng Liu with him.

"It's time to make a clean break."

After learning about the Chamber of Commerce's requirements, Xing's eyes became determined. Before leaving, she told Duan Mingyuan and Zheng Liu all the skills she had.

Under the guidance of her master, she mastered her current abilities step by step. She can integrate her body into the surrounding environment. Later, after a long period of training, she can move freely between objects. This is also related to her character that does not like to fight with others.

She is a person who likes to escape, and when she meets the enemy, the first thing she thinks of is to avoid fighting.

"Let me introduce myself again. My name is Zheng Liu. I'm a rookie police officer who has just worked for a year. My abilities are driving and making coffee."

"Everyone can only awaken one ability."

Duan Mingyuan reminded him.

After careful consideration, Zheng Liu made his choice, "Let's drive."

He thought he was better at driving than at making coffee.

At this point, the three of them formally formed a temporary team.

The agreed time was after midnight. According to Xinghe, the underground exchange would only open after midnight, and everyone needed an admission ticket to enter. The card Duan Mingyuan received in the hotel was an invitation letter from the exchange, aimed at the lowest-level members. This was a means for the Chamber of Commerce to attract new customers.

After entering with the card, it will be much more difficult to enter the exchange again.

The atmosphere in the temporary team was a bit solemn. Duan Mingyuan bought three box lunches from the supermarket, and several people sat on a bench near the square, which seemed like they were having their last meal before execution.

"The wind is whistling and the Yi River is cold, brave man——"

Zheng Liu's attempt at a morale-boosting chant was interrupted by Xing, who inspected the plastic bag and asked, "What flavor do you want?"

"Strong man...I want braised beef rice."

He took the warm braised beef lunch box handed to him by Xing and couldn't help but feel emotional.

The sky is so blue, but life is so short. He still has many dreams to realize, and has not yet completed the legendary task issued by his grandparents to "bring his girlfriend home for the New Year."

He heard that completing this task would earn him a huge amount of experience and item rewards.

"apricot."

Zheng Liu thought about the packaging bag and asked casually, "Besides Master, do you have any other relatives or friends in Siyang City? Do you want to say goodbye to them?"

"No."

Xing's mood calmed down. She was no longer panicked after having narrowly escaped death on this trip. "But you, why don't you give them a call?"

"I do not know how to describe."

While the two were chatting casually, Duan Mingyuan demonstrated with practical actions how to report safety to their families before the battle.

He answered the video call from Jiu Yue. Jiu Yue on the other side of the video had already escorted the eldest princess back to Yunhai Academy and was now on the back mountain. From time to time, a few monsters passed by her.

Jiu Yue was also having dinner, holding a bowl with fried chicken and rice that she had cooked herself.

She deliberately filmed the tempting rice with gravy in the video to awaken Mr. Mingyuan's yearning for her cooking skills and urge him to finish his work in Siyang City as soon as possible and return to Yunhai Academy to find her.

Seeing this, Zheng Liu and Xing came over with their lunch boxes.

"Fox demon!?"

Seeing Jiu Yue's pointed ears, Xing blurted out, and at the same time she was in awe of Duan Mingyuan, "There are some books about monsters in the master's collection, and fox monsters are mentioned among them."

The fact that he could marry a fox demon indirectly proves that Duan Mingyuan enjoys eating and is in good health.

Zheng Liu had a bewildered look on his face. He couldn't see through Jiu Yue's trick. He just felt that the girl on the other end of the video was extremely beautiful, much more beautiful than the big stars on TV. She must be the most beautiful person he had ever seen in his life.

"This is Jiuyue, the intelligence master of the Imperial Hunting Court, known as Intelligence September."

Duan Mingyuan introduced the two people.

Before leaving, he sent what he had learned from Xinghe to Jiuyue. Jiuyue called him via video at this time, presumably because he had found some clues.

"Let's get down to business first."

"Ah."

Jiu Yue nodded at the other end of the video and said seriously, "The lunch you are eating is not good. Eating this kind of lunch for a long time will cause malnutrition. Mr. Mingyuan, please finish your work as soon as possible. I will make chicken soup for you when you come back. I asked the monsters on the mountain to help raise many free-range chickens. They usually eat a lot of spiritual fruits, so they are big and fat."

?

The same question mark appeared above Xing and Zheng Liu's heads at the same time.

Obviously, this is not what they consider to be "serious business" at all.

"That's not what I'm referring to. It's about the underground exchange that I asked you to help investigate."

Duan Mingyuan corrected, and looking at Xing and Zheng Liu's expressions as if they had suffered a heavy blow, he could only say that he did not mean it, but just misjudged the ranking of "important things" in Jiu Yue's mind.

"Oh, about this matter." September said, "You are facing the most notorious Flash Flag Chamber of Commerce in the universe. Their footprints are all over the universe, and wherever they go, they are like locusts passing through. They are on different planets, but they do the same things - establishing exchanges, forming consortiums, and controlling entire cities and even planets behind the scenes."

The above is the sharp comments from their good friend, the Third Prince, on the Flash Flag Chamber of Commerce.

The Third Prince, who was known for his ability to get along with everyone, rarely showed obvious disgust towards a certain group of people, and he even disdained to pretend, "They are complete parasites. After blowing up their own planet, they began to wander among the stars. When you find traces of the Flash Flag Chamber of Commerce in a place, it means that the place has been contaminated by them."

The Third Prince sent a long review to Jiu Yue in a very proud manner, and she now read the Third Prince's evaluation of the Shanqi Chamber of Commerce to Duan Mingyuan verbatim.

The following paragraph is the evaluation she received from another good friend, Baptist.

Before leaving the Embers Consortium's flagship, September added Baptism as a friend.

"Having said that, the Flash Flag Chamber of Commerce should be considered the second largest force in the universe after the company. This group is very good at business. After the planet was destroyed, some of them joined the company. One-third of the Mandala Consortium are descendants of this group. The rest are wandering around various planets, trying to rebuild a larger business empire... The relationship between the company and the Flash Flag Chamber of Commerce is not good, so you don't have to worry about the company coming to Siyang City to find a place for the Flash Flag Chamber of Commerce.

"Inspector Baptist also believes that the reason why the Flash Flag Chamber of Commerce did not dare to expand in Siyang City before was because of the influence of the company. They do not have the strength to challenge the company openly for the time being. However, do not underestimate the mercenary organization hired by the Flash Flag Chamber of Commerce. It is said that there are several strong men in it who are no less powerful than "Long Branch".

"Finally, the Baptist Inspector also pointed out that white-feathered chicken and onion and lemon are a good combination. This refreshing taste may become a new trend in the future universe. The church's flagship captured a batch of adult white-feathered chickens... Uh, I made a mistake. This paragraph seems to have nothing to do with the Flash Flag Chamber of Commerce."

September coughed lightly.

The essence of intelligence is connections, and the intelligence expert Xiao Jiuyue’s connections have already gone beyond Blue Planet, and he has officially been promoted to a universe-level intelligence expert.

After reading the descriptions of the Third Prince and Jinli, Jiu Yue came to the conclusion, "In summary, they are a group of troublemakers comparable to cockroaches. If you encounter them, you must kill them, otherwise there will only be more and more of them."