The Fourth Calamity: People in High Martial Arts, Gods in Games

Chapter 108 Audacious as a Fool (Long Chapter)

City of Light, Abandoned Zone.

As the sun rose, the October weather was already getting colder. In a dormitory room of the six-story abandoned building of the Qingque Gang, Flo, who was organizing documents at his desk, suddenly felt a cool breeze blowing in from the window. His wings on his back trembled slightly, and his whole body shivered.

"The weather is getting colder and colder."

Flo put down his pen, got up and walked to the heater next to him. He picked up a tennis ball-sized energy stone from the wooden bucket next to him and put it directly into the heater.

In just a few moments, the desk-sized heater began to radiate waves of heat, as warm as the sun.

"Fortunately, we obtained a share of the energy vein in Crimson Moon Mountain this time, otherwise we don't know how many bits we would have had to spend to buy these energy ores this year."

Flo looked at the energy ore in the barrel, quite pleased with his foresight and choice.

If it weren't for the help of the Obsidian Martial Arts School, the Azure Sparrow Gang would have to spend 30% of their gang's profits every year to buy energy ore. Besides using the energy ore to improve training results, a significant portion of it would be used for heating.

Winter in the City of Light is not a comfortable time for everyone.

Aside from the residential areas in the city center and suburbs, which are heated by the City of Light, other places have to find their own way to keep warm. Most of the homeless in the abandoned areas can only keep warm by burning wood, while some Bits use energy minerals.

As for the various gangs with strongholds in the wild, burning wood is definitely not an option. Wilderness strongholds are very rudimentary and offer no insulation whatsoever. They can only keep warm by using energy ores, which consumes a considerable amount of energy every day.

If you can mine energy ores at home and have a heater, the consumption is negligible.

However, compared to obtaining a share of the energy vein in Crimson Moon Mountain, Flo felt that his greatest gain was being able to latch onto the coattails of Obsidian Martial Arts School.

Especially recently, Obsidian Martial Arts Academy is planning to build a wilderness transit market in Crimson Moon Mountain. This is a real fortune, far more valuable than a tiny energy mine.

A miniature energy ore is considered good if its reserves are 20,000 tons, and it becomes increasingly difficult to mine as you go further, requiring more and more manpower.

But a rural transit market is a long-term business that can harvest a lot of nomads in the wild. Acting as a middleman and making a profit from the price difference, his annual income is no less than that of small businesses in the suburbs. And his personal income is probably even more than that of the gang leader.

With three million bits, you can go to the Martial Artists Association to learn martial artist-level training methods, and then ask the martial artists in the Martial Artists Association to teach you the training methods.

Even if he doesn't break through to become a martial artist in the future, becoming a near-martial artist at the limit is no problem at all.

Just as Flo was pondering what goods to resell in Crimson Moon Mountain, a Feather Clan woman pushed open the door and strode in, her face filled with panic and her forehead dripping with sweat. This Feather Clan woman was none other than Fischer, an elder of the Azure Sparrow Gang.

"Flo, something terrible happened in the wilderness yesterday!" Fischer's face was filled with fear, and he stammered as he spoke.

"Don't panic." Flo saw the panicked Fischer and knew something serious must have happened, but he still poured her a glass of water and gently comforted her, "Sit down and have a drink of water to calm down. Tell me what happened slowly."

"There's really no time." Fischer took the water and set it aside. "It's about the Obsidian Martial Arts Academy!"

"Obsidian Martial Arts School?" Flo's face also showed a hint of tension. "Did something happen to the Obsidian Martial Arts School? That shouldn't be the case. I just returned from Crimson Moon Mountain not long ago. What could have happened to the Obsidian Martial Arts School? Could it be that the matter of opening the transit market has already been exposed?"

The transit market at Crimson Moon Mountain is still in its infancy, attracting at most ten thousand wilderness wanderers. This number is negligible compared to the tens of millions of wanderers outside the City of Light. Furthermore, Crimson Moon Mountain is hundreds of kilometers away from the City of Light, making it difficult to attract attention.

Moreover, under normal circumstances, even if the gangs in the suburbs get the news, it would be impossible for them to take any action in less than ten days or half a month.

"It's not that," Fischer said nervously. "I got the news on my way back from the wilderness. Last night, the experts from the Obsidian Martial Arts School attacked the Great Ape Gang's headquarters."

"Attack the Great Ape Gang's headquarters? What's wrong with Obsidian Martial Arts School? That's the Great Ape Gang!" Flo's voice rose several octaves upon hearing this, filled with disbelief. "Attack the Great Ape Gang's headquarters? Does Obsidian Martial Arts School intend to start a war with the Great Ape Gang?"

Ordinary nomads might not know the situation of the Great Ape Gang, but the top 100 wilderness gangs all know that the ape clan is one of the ten strongest clans in the City of Light. The Great Ape Gang has intricate connections with the Great Gorilla Gang in the suburbs. Even the top three wilderness gangs don't dare to provoke the Great Ape Gang.

The Obsidian Martial Arts School had finally established itself in the wild, and after provoking the White Feather Gang, it turned around and attacked the Great Ape Gang.

Flo was completely baffled by what kind of ingenious operation the curator Lin Qi was performing.

Is this how relationships are handled between gangs in the wilderness?

"I don't know either." Fischer shook his head and said, "I heard it from a passing ape nomad. The Great Ape Gang's headquarters was attacked by a group of human experts wearing silver-gray long-sleeved T-shirts. They went completely berserk in the Great Ape Gang's headquarters. I estimate that four or five hundred members of the Great Ape Gang died. The deputy gang leader Noko, who was in charge of the headquarters, was even killed on the spot."

"They've gone mad! They've really gone mad!" Flo felt like his brain was about to explode. "They killed the deputy gang leader Norko and wiped out four or five hundred members of the Great Ape Gang. This Great Ape Gang is definitely going to fight to the death."

"What do we do next?" Fischer asked quietly. "Should we continue our cooperation with Obsidian Martial Arts School?"

"You're asking me? I don't know either." Flo covered his head, looking very troubled. "If we continue to cooperate with the Obsidian Martial Arts School, we'll definitely face retaliation from the Great Ape Gang. But if we don't cooperate, the transit market will be gone. This Master Lin is really giving me a tough problem."

Meanwhile, not only Flo received news of the attack on the Great Ape Gang, but many other well-informed gangs in the wild also received the news and were extremely shocked.

Everyone thought the leader of the Obsidian Martial Arts School had gone mad.

As a long-established outdoor gang, the Great Ape Gang has consistently ranked among the top twenty and has close ties with the Gorilla Gang. Other outdoor gangs would rather avoid them than risk a fight. The Obsidian Martial Arts School, which is only ranked in the top fifty, dared to launch a night raid on the Great Ape Gang. Even if they wanted to rise to the top, they wouldn't do it this way.

Even major gangs in the wilderness strongly suspect that Obsidian Martial Arts School became arrogant after winning a fierce battle against the White Feather Gang, which was ranked seventeenth.

Thinking that the twentieth-ranked Great Ape Gang was nothing special, they launched a night raid on the Great Ape Gang, completely unaware of what kind of entity they had provoked.

"That Obsidian Martial Arts School is really ruthless!" Isaac, the leader of the White Feather Gang, flapped his wings and looked at the information transmitted from his smartwatch. He couldn't help but gasp. "A night raid on the Great Ape Gang's headquarters, how could they do something like that?"

"They wiped out a total of 617 members of the Great Ape Gang in one fell swoop. 241 of them were apprentices or above. They also lost a vice leader and two elders. If that old gorilla Watu knew about this, he would probably go crazy."

"And if that old gorilla Vatu goes crazy, even I'm afraid of him. I don't know what they're thinking. They're really something else."

In any gang in the wild, the vice leader and elders are very important, not only because these people are powerful, but also because they are responsible for managing many gang affairs.

Now that a deputy leader and two elders are gone, not only will many affairs of the Great Ape Gang be thrown into chaos in the short term, but it will also be difficult to find replacements.

With the Great Ape Gang suffering such heavy losses, Isaac dared not even imagine what kind of retaliation the Obsidian Martial Arts School would face next.

Inside the hall, a middle-aged man from the Feather Clan, whose figure was somewhat hunched, did not show any joy after reading the information transmitted from his smart watch. Instead, he frowned slightly.

Isaac noticed the middle-aged hunchback's expression and asked curiously, "Mans, is there a problem with this information?"

"There are indeed some problems." The middle-aged man named Mans nodded. "According to this intelligence, the Obsidian Martial Arts Academy only sent nineteen experts to attack. They killed so many people, yet thirteen of them still survived. It's simply unbelievable."

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"Although the thirteen survivors were all seriously injured and had little fighting power left, the strength of the Obsidian Martial Arts School was far greater than we had anticipated."

"Moreover, according to the information, that Master Lin is suspected to be a martial artist, which is a big problem. Facing a martial artist, and a gang with a strong foundation, I am worried that the Great Ape Gang may not dare to make a move against Crimson Moon Mountain now."

"Don't worry, it's just a suspicion," Isaac said with a smile. "Besides, even if Lin Qi really is a martial artist, given the losses suffered by the Great Ape Gang, Vatu of the Great Ape Gang won't let the Obsidian Martial Arts School off the hook. Others may not know, but I know that old gorilla Vatu all too well."

"Vatu has been in charge of the Great Ape Gang for over thirty years. Back then, Vatu was already a quasi-martial artist in his early twenties, and was considered a genius by many in the wild. When he became the leader of the Great Ape Gang at the age of twenty-five, he had already demonstrated the strength of a quasi-martial artist at the limit. Now, more than thirty years later, how could he still be a quasi-martial artist at the limit?"

"Boss, do you mean Vato has already become a martial artist?" Mans asked in surprise. "But if he's already a martial artist, if he were to demonstrate it, he could probably hold a high position even within the Gorilla Gang, and becoming their leader wouldn't be impossible. What's the point of him being the leader of a wilderness gang for so many years?"

"Mans, you haven't been in the City of Light for long, so you don't know the ins and outs yet," Isaac explained with a smile. "Becoming a warrior in the City of Light does indeed greatly improve your status and identity, but within the city's social circles, you're just at the very bottom of the warrior hierarchy. The resources you can get are what the middle and upper-level warriors have left over."

"Vatu has great ambitions. His goal is not just to become an ordinary martial artist. Over the years, he has been secretly accumulating strength, so the management of the main camp is handed over to several vice leaders in rotation, while he himself stays in Night Patrol Town year-round, managing everything in Night Patrol Town. Why do you think that is?"

"Boss, you mean he's going to take Nightwatch Town for himself?" Mans gasped. "How dare he? Isn't he afraid of the wrath of the higher-ups in the City of Light?"

"What's there to be afraid of?" Isaac couldn't help but laugh. "Do you think Night Watch Town was originally under the jurisdiction of City of Light? It's all about the victors and the vanquished. Back then, it was snatched away from a warrior in City of Ten Thousand Stars by a high-ranking member of City of Light. Now that high-ranking member is dead, and his children are just ordinary warriors. Many people are eyeing it. Vatu is just one of them."

"Once they seize control of Nightwatch Town, they can defect to StarCity at any time. If LightCity does not want to lose the benefits of Nightwatch Town, it either has to go to war with StarCity or recognize the legitimacy of the new administrator of Nightwatch Town."

"With the resources and financial support of the entire Night Watch Town, it's not impossible for Vatu, with his talent, to break through that barrier."

"Now that the little guy from the Obsidian Martial Arts School has made the Great Ape Gang lose so much face, and the Obsidian Martial Arts School has also lost a number of its top experts because of this battle, and the rest are all seriously injured. Watu is not stupid. Even if it means exposing some of his trump cards, he will take down the Obsidian Martial Arts School to wash away the shame and consolidate his position. Not to mention the small energy vein in Crimson Moon Mountain, I don't believe he can resist."

"These days, newcomers always think that gang wars are just about fighting and killing. They don't know that gang wars are never just about fighting and killing. Next, Mans, send two teams of secret guards to keep an eye on Crimson Moon Mountain. The Obsidian Martial Arts School has made our White Feather Gang lose face. We can't not show some support at this critical moment. Let the secret guards send them off."

"Two squads of bodyguards? Boss, isn't that too many?" Mans looked at Isaac in surprise.

The Dark Guards were a group of highly skilled individuals that Isaac secretly cultivated over ten years, using most of the gang's resources. Each Dark Guard possessed strength comparable to a quasi-martial artist, and the captain of the Dark Guards was even comparable to a near-martial artist at the limit. They were all fearless suicide warriors, and only four teams were trained in total.

A team of six guards, two teams would be twelve, a force enough to wipe out any large gang in the wild with fewer than fifty members. Using them to finish off the Obsidian Martial Arts School at this moment would be a waste of their potential.

"It's rare for a young man to bare his teeth at me, so of course I'll give him face." Isaac waved his hand. "Alright, pass the word down."

"Yes." Mans could only nod and leave the room.

The City of Light, on the outskirts, the phosphorus trading market.

A middle-aged half-scaled guard wearing A6-level armor carefully pushed open the door to the underground chamber, walked slowly to Xia Ling who was practicing her leg techniques, and said with utmost respect, "Miss, we have just received some big news. The Great Ape Gang's base camp in the wild was attacked last night, resulting in the deaths of more than 600 members of the Great Ape Gang, and the deputy gang leader, Noko, was also killed."

After breaking the arm of her training robot with a kick, Xia Ling wiped the sweat from her forehead and asked nonchalantly, "Which gang did this?"

Gang fights in the wilderness are all too common in the City of Light. Even the attack on the Great Ape Gang's headquarters is not a rare occurrence.

"According to the information we've gathered, it should be the Obsidian Martial Arts School, the same group that made the deal with you a while ago, Miss," the middle-aged guard from the Half-Scale Clan said cautiously.

"Them? How could that be?" Xia Ling immediately stopped what she was doing, unable to help but look at the middle-aged guard, her eyes filled with surprise. "Are you sure the information is correct? That's the Great Ape Gang!"

(End of this chapter)