Chapter 165: Encountering the Cloaked Figure Again

The convoy was moving at an extremely slow pace now, as there were simply too many pedestrians on the road. It was impossible to go fast, forcing them to stop and go repeatedly.

Everyone inside the vehicle gradually woke up.

Human beings are truly fascinating creatures. Out in the wilderness, no matter how bumpy and rutted the road might be, once the body adapts to that rhythm, it feels almost like lying in a cradle, inducing deep drowsiness.

However, the moment that rhythm changes, one snaps awake instantly.

Still, crawling forward at a snail's pace had its advantages: it gave Ye Chen enough time to observe this unfamiliar town.

He noticed that, unlike the people of the inner city whose expressions betrayed a sense of self-proclaimed nobility, the people here appeared far more untamed and rebellious.

They possessed a genuine wildness!

Lining both sides of the road were rows of shops, crowded with pedestrians and hawkers.

Ye Chen even saw some stores set up on the right side of the street within the ruined, roofless foundations of a building, completely open to the elements from all four sides.

Yet the owner showed not a hint of fear, still shouting out to peddle their wares with full vigor.

Further along stood a wooden structure that looked on the verge of collapse, yet upstairs, a large crowd was partaking in breakfast.

They paid no heed to the floorboards creaking loudly beneath their feet as they laughed and chatted animatedly.

Crude...... and casual!

This was Ye Chen's third impression.

Right at that moment, a figure suddenly walked past the vehicle, causing him to freeze momentarily.

Ye Chen was stunned for a few seconds, his eyes widening abruptly as he frantically racked his brain.

Seen her... where had he seen her... a deeply familiar feeling. Who could it be?

Massaging the bridge of his nose in deep thought, he suddenly raised his head and muttered to himself: Damn it, it couldn't be the cloaked person?!

"What's wrong? Did you run into an acquaintance?"

Although Chen Bingfeng was curious that Ye Chen, a newcomer to the black market, could somehow run into an acquaintance, he figured it was likely a wilderness hunter he had known previously, so he didn't show too much surprise.

"Not sure yet, just a feeling," Ye Chen answered evasively.

"But the one who just walked past was a young chick. Are you talking about her?" Xu Fan asked with piercing insight.

Why the hell do you always know everything?!

Ye Chen didn't give a direct answer, but he had a strong intuition that the person who had just walked by was precisely the cloaked figure who had ambushed him and Qiao Mucao that night.

To say he would remember an opponent who almost sent him to his death even if they were turned to ashes was admittedly an exaggeration.

However, precisely because the adversary had never revealed their face, only their silhouette remained in Ye Chen's memory.

At that moment, he was matching the person against that silhouette.

He had only caught a fleeting glance just now and hadn't seen the person's front, only a profile with a high ponytail.

The impression left on Ye Chen was—spirited and valiant!

By the time he turned his head to search for the figure again, the crowd had already swallowed them up.

...

The Outer City Patrol Office convoy slowly came to a halt inside an open-air parking lot.

They would wait here for the arrival of the convoy coming from the wilderness.

The soldiers belonging to the border outpost would return to their respective posts.

The remainder of the journey would be handled by this massive fleet from the Outer City Patrol Office.

As the reinforcement convoy, arriving early and waiting was common sense.

Everyone disembarked in succession, some stretching their limbs, others rubbing their sore rear ends, resting lazily in place.

The trio of Ye Chen remained gathered together, and Qiao Mucao drifted over to join them as well.

Truth be told, he quite liked hanging out with Ye Chen and the others because it was lively.

Passersby in the black market caught sight of the convoy's impressive array inside the parking lot and gave it a wide berth, as if fleeing from a plague.

Next to the parking lot stood a large warehouse, with porters carrying goods in and out at frequent intervals.

Chen Bingfeng explained:

"This is the black market's cargo distribution center. Its jurisdiction belongs to the inner city."

Ye Chen gave an absent-minded "hmm" in response.

Xu Fan was standing on tiptoe, gazing into the distance. Chen Bingfeng noticed his gaze was directed toward the direction of a leisure club.

Suddenly, Xu Fan asked:

"Bingfeng, I remember you're still a bachelor, right?"

Having just taken a swig from his insulated mug, Chen Bingfeng was slightly baffled. With a mouthful of coffee still held in his cheeks, he wondered what on earth this idiot was sticking his nose into.

After swallowing it down with a gulp, he asked suspiciously:

"What about it? You make it sound like you aren't one."

Xu Fan stroked the stubble on his chin, his gaze drifting into the distance as he made a suggestion:

"How about I set you up with a girlfriend!"

Chen Bingfeng replied with a straight face: "No thanks, I'm afraid the ones you introduce might be a bit too expensive."

Recalling an auntie Xu Fan had once brought along to dinner, Chen Bingfeng shuddered and deliberately added:

"Besides, your taste has always been terrible!"

"Tsk, what do you know? You're too young to appreciate the fine qualities of an auntie, mistaking young maidens for precious treasures," Xu Fan retorted defensively for once.

Chen Bingfeng shot back:

"That must be the place where you engaged in wild spending, no wonder you couldn't afford to eat for a month after that escort mission."

Listening to the two clowns bicker, Qiao Mucao was startled at first, but wisely chose to stay out of it, happily watching the show and gathering gossip.

Meanwhile, Ye Chen squatted on the ground, smoking a cigarette Qiao Mucao had handed him earlier, his mind entirely consumed by memories of the girl he had seen on the road.

... Setting aside the similar figure, that high ponytail seemed to be her trademark. When she rescued the child that night, she had worn the exact same hairstyle.

No, there was one detail that didn't match: where was the bow?

As an artifact-type Awakened being, how could she not keep her Awakening artifact on her person?!

Take his own broken blade, for instance; it was always hidden close to his body in an inner pocket of his clothes.

Even when taking a bath, he would place it within arm's reach.

Yet the girl just now, although carrying a travel backpack, judging by the dimensions of that pack, it definitely couldn't fit the bow from that night.

Either he had recognized the wrong person, or that self-awakened artifact possessed some other hidden mystery.

Let's look at it from another angle: what was she doing in the black market?

Wait, Jin Yinghui had once said that Grade-Zero Serum could fetch a very high price in the black market.

Black market...... black market...... Damn it, this chick is here to fence stolen goods!

At this thought, Ye Chen, still squatting on the ground, slapped his knee hard. This logic clicked completely.

He suddenly wanted to go stroll around the streets; perhaps, or rather very likely, he might run into that girl again along the way.

If it really was that young chick, he really wanted to beat her up...

Ye Chen stood up, patted Qiao Mucao—who was currently engrossed in watching the verbal sparring match—and asked:

"The wilderness convoy hasn't arrived yet. Do we have to wait here? Can't we go take a walk in the streets?"

Qiao Mucao said with a hint of regret:

"I've contacted my brother; they'll be here in an hour.

"Even if Team Leader Dai allows you to move about freely, he'll only grant you half an hour at most. Do you still want to go?"

Ye Chen nodded heavily.

"All right then. I'll go submit a request as well. Just in case you get lost and can't make it back in time, it wouldn't be good. I'm familiar with this place."

How are you familiar with literally everywhere... Ye Chen was mentally flooded with complaints.

The application for freedom of movement was approved very smoothly because upon learning that Qiao Mucao would accompany him, Team Leader Dai agreed without a second thought.

After all, getting familiar with the surrounding environment of the handover area in advance was still quite necessary for a newcomer.