Volume 3, Chapter 21 – “Advanced” Materials

Morningstar.

Those two words kept flashing through Anran’s mind.

Her favorability with Morningstar was now at -100, and the two sides had crossed paths, deliberately or otherwise, more than once or twice already. Although she had had the last laugh every time so far, things could not possibly go this smoothly every single time.

Morningstar was a massive organization, while she was only a “weak, pitiful, and helpless” Apprentice Mechanic.

Unless Anran could raise her level to Intermediate Mechanic, she would not even be qualified to stand on the stage.

If Anran tried to go head-on against Morningstar while her level was still lower than theirs, it would only lead to death.

For Anran, if she wanted to put an end to this life of being watched from time to time, there were only two paths she could take.

The first was to destroy Morningstar completely. Just as the highest realm of assassination was to kill everyone present, the most direct way to end a grudge was to annihilate the other side. Once that happened, the basic condition for that grudge to exist would no longer remain.

That method was far too difficult.

The second was to kill everyone inside Morningstar who held a grudge against her. It seemed that not many people knew about her situation. Otherwise, her favorability would not be just -100. They might even have added another zero.

This method was much easier than the first, but the premise was that she had to know who those people were.

Use herself as bait, lure them out, and then…

Anran shook her head. She was not going to do something that suicidal.

For now, the other side still had not figured out her whereabouts, so she was temporarily safe.

In short, hiding her identity and doing everything she could to improve her strength were the top priorities.

…

The next day, Anran and Aila set out as usual.

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They still had cakes to sell.

Although Aila lacked common sense, after Anran’s repeated warnings, no one should underestimate her. If she really unleashed her full strength, she could fight from one end of Qiuyang Road all the way to the other. Even a few hundred players would just be easy pickings for her.

Because the players simply could not break Aila’s defense. As for bombs and similar items, they had no way of getting them for the time being.

No one knew that little Aila, the girl selling cakes outside the research center, was actually the terror of Qiuyang Road.

The players merely admired Aila with gentlemanly eyes.

As for going up to strike up a conversation, after several players were coldly rebuffed, they gave up.

Other than the words “pay up,” the little-girl shopkeeper never wasted a word.

“I could just look at her like this until the end of time,” Nai Knight muttered.

“Boss Knight, are we still running the dungeon or not?”

“Yes, yes, yes, of course we are!” Nai Knight came back to his senses and immediately remembered why he had come here in the first place.

Sigh, better go run the dungeon.

Nai Knight had only just turned around

when cries of shock suddenly erupted from the crowd of players behind him.

“My god, somebody solo cleared that dungeon!”

“What? Solo cleared it? Are you messing with me?”

“No way, seriously? The three of us tried three times and still couldn’t clear it.”

“Why would I lie to you? There’s a record of it. Just go check for yourself.”

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“What’s the player’s name?”

“I think it was Monster Mountain Hermit?”

“… I’m so jealous of that big shot. I really want them to carry me once.”

“A big shot like that wouldn’t even look at you. Stop dreaming.”

…

“Although I can get them, what do you want these materials for?”

Inside the reception room on the first floor of the research center,

Gray frowned at Anran. In his hand was a sheet of paper covered with the list of materials Anran needed.

Although his main field was electronics, Gray was experienced enough to see at a glance that the materials Anran wanted could be used to make bombs and bullets.

Anran weighed her words for a moment, then finally decided to tell him the truth. “I got a few blueprints from Boss. These materials are for making those things. As for why, it’s because I need some weapons for self-defense right now.”

“For what reason?” Gray continued.

“Because of a misunderstanding, I’m being targeted by the Morningstar Resistance now.” Anran lifted a brow. “If you don’t believe me, you can investigate it yourself. Before Morningstar attacked Twinmoon City, they raided the detention center in the west of the city once. At the time, I was locked up next door to a Morningstar woman, and somehow I ended up being treated as the person who killed one of their members.”

Gray and Colin had a rather unusual relationship, and Anran could tell that he had been looking after her, whether consciously or not.

Besides that, the more important point was that Gray was an official figure on No. 1886.

He would be able to verify whether what she was saying was true.

And on No. 1886, the only force left that could deal with Morningstar was the government of No. 1886.

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As long as the threat could be eliminated, Anran did not mind temporarily joining the imperial side.

Of course, that was on the premise that the imperial side thought she was worth taking in.

From Anran’s own perspective, because she had the overpowered weapon that was the game forum, and because she was an external member, she could ignore access restrictions and enter any section she wanted.

To a certain extent, she could get hold of information the government of No. 1886 wanted. That was her trump card.

What Anran needed now was enough strength to back up that trump card.

Gray stared at Anran for a long time without saying a word. Just as she was beginning to feel uneasy, he suddenly straightened his collar. “Why do I feel like I, the director of this research center, have somehow turned into some unlicensed trader living off reselling goods?”

The moment Anran heard his complaint, she was overjoyed. “Thank you!”

Gray leaned a little closer. “Little girl, are you interested in becoming my student?”

“No interest.”

Although she was very grateful to Gray, Anran still refused decisively.

“Don’t be so absolute. How about giving it some more thought?” Gray was unwilling to give up.

Anran scratched at her hair. “I don’t like the feeling of being managed by someone else.”

Gray said, “That’s fine. When I teach students, I like to let them roam free…”

Stare—

After being stared at for quite a while by Anran’s strange gaze, Gray finally gave in. “Fine, fine, if you won’t be my student, then so be it. Right.”

His expression changed. “There’s one question I’ve always been puzzled about. What’s the story with that little girl who showed up in Colin’s house?”

“You mean Aila?”

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The moment Aila was mentioned, Anran immediately became wary.

There was a very high chance that Gray had met the previous Aila, which was why he was puzzled after seeing a girl with the same name as before.

The secret on Aila’s body was of enormous importance. It absolutely could not be revealed.

“That’s Boss Colin’s recently adopted daughter.”

“Adopted daughter?” Gray muttered softly. His face remained expressionless, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.

“Go to the workshop first. I’ll send the materials you want over in a bit.”

“Mm.”

Anran nodded, unsure whether she had managed to fool him or not.

She had just reached the doorway when Gray suddenly called out to her. “Wait!”

“What is it?” Anran turned and asked.

“I almost forgot to mention it. At market price, these materials cost a total of a little over 1,100 Bilu. Since we’re on pretty good terms, I’ll charge you the wholesale price. And to make it a round number, just give me 1,000 Bilu.”

Gray stood up. “Are you paying now, or will you give it to me when you leave?”

“…”

I…

Anran was furious.

And her heart was aching too…