The feeling of the long winter had arrived. The night’s cold wind was relentless as it blew like whistles, one wave after another, taking away any residual warmth of the day.

Because of the topography, the temperature in the basin was higher than in the plains, but it was only four degrees below zero.

Outside of the basin, without the tree peaks and terrain obstruction, the temperature of the great plain in the Demon Clan’s territory was already close to minus ten degrees.

In addition, it was very humid in the middle of the night.

You could hear the mourning coming from the refugee camp as the wind blew past if you were to stand on the walls of Freedom City.

It was different from Hope Village, which had a heating system for everyone.

Inside Freedom City, there was a lack of management and balance, where the powerful vied for their own benefit.

The people in the city still lived a sensual life, with hot rice, hot water, and a fireplace. They could still occasionally go outside to the entertainment venues for fun.

Meanwhile, people outside the city could only live in ragged tents that were rustled by the wind and huddled tightly under their blankets, praying that winter would end soon.

No one cared about these weaklings’ life and death, and no one paid attention to this group of ants who dreamed of moving into the city.

The people in the city were not even worried that these refugees would riot because of the restricting authority of the mark.

After all, the security guards would only have to press a button that could control their life and death.

These refugees who bore a mark would immediately lose control of their bodies and become easy prey that could quickly be slaughtered by others.

Of course, they had other motives, which is why they allowed them to stay outside the city.

On the premise that these people could not be driven away, the people in the city had done their best to “recycle waste”.

Once the people of the Light Empire launched an attack, these people would become the first wall of Freedom City and delay enough time for the people in the city to prepare.

This was the main reason they were allowed to stay outside.

The security guards on the city wall had changed two shifts from twelve o’clock to eight in the morning. The refugees began to shout after seeing that the sun was rising again in the sky.

The security guard reluctantly walked down the walls and prepared to open the city gate.

However, their arrogant expression was instantly gone after they saw the person standing in front of them.

Instead, they were full of the humility of seeing a superior.

“Lord Harl, you’re back! I’m sorry for the delay in opening the city gates. We didn’t have enough people today and were slower. I’m really sorry!”

“It’s okay. I’m not in a hurry. It doesn’t bother me!”

Su Mo replied to the short guard that he had never seen before.

However, that did not affect the respect he showed toward Harl.

For these gatekeepers, combat was not their strong suit.

Their success relied on the ability to speak well and flatter others.

“Lord Harl, who’s this?”

“Oh, he’s my new apprentice in the exchange. He was interested in learning the trade with me!”

It was twenty minutes before the refugees were allowed to enter the city.

However, Su Mo did not drag it out any further after making casual small talk with the security guards. Seeing that they had respectfully opened the door, he quickly entered with Hao Qiang.

Buzz…

Buzz…

The familiar detection stone began to float from the ground and let out a faint blue light that started scanning Su Mo’s mark.

The light stayed for a moment on Su Mo and quickly passed by.

The detection stone scanned Hao Qiang for about four or five seconds and issued a pass with a light yellow message.

“Hey, why did the stone door prompt for manual verification?”

“Lord Harl, this…”

The stone door’s entry inspection was only the first verification procedure of Freedom City.

There would be a second manual inspection by the city guards if an undetermined identity was detected.

However, since Su Mo had explained Hao Qiang’s identity in advance, the city guards exchanged glances and nodded, quickly pressing their pass onto the stone door after noticing a trace of the displeasure on Su Mo’s face.

The water ripple-like light flashed, and the stone, which was a bit restless before, stopped moving and calmed down instantly.

“Lord Harl, there seem to be some problems with the status of your subordinate. If you want to redeem a mercenary, you need to do it in person.”

“Someone like you…”

“Lord Hal, you know I didn’t mean that, but it’s not easy for us to deal with it when it happens too often!”

It seems that Hao Qiang’s identity problem was mistaken for another situation. The two guards opened their mouths, slightly worried.

Legal principles were nothing more than human feelings.

For a race with extreme social attributes like the Demon Clan, it could be said that they did not leave any small details behind.

They quickly figured out the pros and cons of the situation.

They knew that they would offend Su Mo no matter what the identity of the subordinate with him was, and they would not benefit from the situation.

On the contrary, if they were to sell favors to the newly promoted “billionaire” of Freedom City, they could likely get some benefits from him and even make a significant profit!

Of course, Su Mo, who stood in front of them, was also a “veteran” that had been through the workplace before.

Su Mo quickly understood their intention and tapped on his mark.

The two guards’ worry instantly turned into excitement as the notification for a transaction of 2000 contribution points arrived.

“Lord Harl, the two of us saw nothing today. Please quickly register the identity of this brother!”

“Okay!

“I’ll be sure to ask you both if I need help in the future!”

Su Mo smiled with his hands behind his back and nodded at the guards, then disappeared through the city gate.

However, the moment they turned their heads, the two city guards, who were still ecstatic about getting a considerable sum of money, did not notice the momentary smirk on Su Mo’s face!

Moreover, they overlooked Hao Qiang, who was forcibly suppressing his unfamiliar temperament!

The darkness in front of them gradually returned to a familiar brightness.

The two of them quickened their pace with a silent, tacit understanding and stopped at the street corner that they had agreed on before.

‘That was close! It seems that the choice of marks should be selected more carefully in the future.

‘It was a low-level mark so we could brush it off easily this time, but if it were a high-level purple mark today, they would definitely report it. There’d be a big problem if a stranger were to appear suddenly!

‘Fortunately, I didn’t argue with them, or else we couldn’t have settled it easily!’

The two showed signs of exhaustion after a night of traveling.

Su Mo clenched his fists gently and slowly let go after he turned back toward the city gate to confirm that no one was following them.

“Let’s go to the Fire Exchange first!

“We should stay hidden for a while and not rush to inquire about information!”

Su Mo followed a familiar path and greeted those he was both familiar and unfamiliar with along the way.

Everyone had good intentions toward the famous overlord of the Fire Exchange.

The refugees had not yet entered the city, so Su Mo easily passed through several blocks and came to a small road.

They turned the corner and saw the “Fire Exchange” sign appear in their field of vision.

Su Mo’s footsteps slowed down, and a hint of relaxation spread across his face.

“There it is! That’s our exchange center!”

It was a little past eight in the morning.

The doors of the Fire Exchange were already opened, and an Ent holding a broom diligently cleaned the floor by the entrance.

Their exchange center was evidently more dirty than the surrounding shops.

However, the dirt represented the current “popularity” of the Fire Exchange!

The Ent was surprised to see Su Mo from a distance but was quickly overjoyed.

He ran in frantically through the doorway, and seconds later, Turner rushed out with a flustered face!

“Oh, my brother! You’re finally back!

“Didn’t you say you’d be gone for only two days, but it’s been four days!”

“If it wasn’t for the news of Alec’s death, I would have thought…”

“Wait, who is this?”

Turner, who had taken up heavy responsibilities, had obviously grown a lot after not seeing him for a long time. At the very least, he stopped speaking and put on a polite but embarrassed smile after he noticed Hao Qiang.

However, Su Mo’s focus was not on them.

Behind Turner’s figure, he could clearly see the mercenaries that rushed out of the exchange with similar expressions on their faces…

They had expressions of shock!

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As expected, these mercenaries that were easy to recruit were already infiltrated, and they had become someone else’s spies.

“Hey Turner, this is not the place to talk. Let’s go inside.”

“This is our new shopkeeper who I hired at a high price. Our business will depend on his performance in the future!”

Turner was stunned as he heard the three keywords, shopkeeper, hired, and high price.

He was visibly taken aback, but after seeing Su Mo’s gaze, he turned to the other figure that was standing at another shop.

He stopped his doubts very quickly and walked inside.

“Hmm? Has our shop been renovated again? These things are very expensive!”

Unlike the poor state it was in when he had left, the wooden cabinets were completely replaced with jade

The light reflected from the jade made the whole space seem a little noble as if it was a shining jewel.

“After you left, the top ten exchanges sent someone over and said they were here to help. Then, they renovated the whole courtyard for free.

“That wasn’t all, and they even helped renovate the inside of our exchange!”

Turner reluctantly shrugged his shoulders and was obviously past the stage of surprise toward the unexpected renovations.

He led the way through the outer lobby, and they arrived at the courtyard’s center.

This place was once really untidy, full of overgrown grass, gravel, and rubbish that was scattered over the ground.

However, the bleak and dilapidated appearance had disappeared and had been replaced by a small, exquisite garden after the renovations.

The three main houses had already been completely renovated.

The walls, floor tiles, beds, cabinets, and anything that could be replaced, were replaced with high-quality furniture!

At first glance, this place was actually a bit more luxurious than the underground shelter.

“Have you checked the house?”

“Yep, I’ve checked, and there wasn’t any problem!”

Turner replied to Su Mo, who was looking out the window, but his hand vaguely pointed at the middle room.

“Hmm?”

“Come to my room! A lot has happened after you’ve left!”

Seeing that Su Mo did not try to be secretive with Hao Qiang behind him, Turner also did not bother. He pushed open the door of the room and walked in immediately.

In the fireplace, there was still a charcoal fire that had not been extinguished, which exuded a generous warmth.

On the table, there were also several plates of exquisite pastries with a tempting fragrance.

Su Mo picked up a plate of pastries and jumped on the bed, crossing his legs as he ate after he had verified with the system that there were no problems.

“You don’t have to be secretive. He’s on our side. Just tell me!”

“Okay!”

Turned also sat on the bed and opened the curtain to confirm that no one was standing at the door before he spoke.

“Harl, the mercenaries… I suspect that they have betrayed us. They…”

“No doubt about it. They were probably bought off!”

“Huh?” Turner was taken aback.

“Do you know how Alec died?”

“Huh?”

“I killed him!”

Su Mo passed the rest of the pastries to Hao Qiang, who was beside the bed, and took a mouthful of water.

He twisted his slightly stiff neck and explained honestly.

“After I left the city, the mercenaries had already exposed my location to Alec, and he quickly caught up.

“And then I killed him~

“Their expressions were unnatural when I came back just now. You understand, right?”

Su Mo already declared these people dead in his heart after seeing their expressions, unlike Turner, who was still unsure.

In Freedom City, every mercenary was a private asset to their master.

Even if Su Mo did not have evidence that these people betrayed him, their lives were still decided by him.

Of course, these mercenaries must have been prepared from the moment they decided to betray their master.

They trusted that Alec could chase after him and kill Harl.

They were not wrong either. A Level 3 auxiliary profession killed by a Level 4 combat profession was indeed the same as killing a chicken.

Unfortunately, luck did not favor them.

They would have to pay the price for making a wrong bet.

“I’ll recruit new mercenaries tomorrow. Kill them all!”

“Okay!”

The people beside him were the spies of the enemy.

Turner was filled with anger and nodded firmly after seeing the undisguised murderous intent in Su Mo’s eyes.

“What about the top ten exchanges?”

“Apart from helping us repair the shop, they did not do anything else in the past few days. I heard there seems to be a conflict between the city guards and the top ten exchanges. They’re in quite a standoff.

“Two days ago, the Demon Domain Exchange directly cut 30% of the share of weapons and equipment provided to the guards. As a result, their shopkeeper was brought into the city wall that day. Until last night, he… never came back!

“According to the guards, he was assassinated by… people from the Light Empire!”

It was a reason that not even an idiot would believe. However, Su Mo just accepted it calmly. Hao Qiang, who sat beside him, could not hold back his shock and spat out the cake in his mouth.

“Cough, cough, aren’t they breaking the game’s rules by doing this?” After drinking a few sips of water, he slowed down and asked.

“They cut the supplies by 30%, so the guards killed him? That’s just too… Who would dare to do business with them?”

It was different from the business battle in the simulation.

Hao Qiang raised his head soon as he heard that a person was killed because of reducing the supplies.

However, Turner who was sitting across from him just shook his head gently and said, equally puzzled, “It’s weird to say, I don’t know if they have reached an agreement, but the Demon Domain Exchange has restored the supply to normal yesterday.”

“They even got a new shopkeeper. Speaking of which, this pastry is a gift from the new shopkeeper

“By the way, no one from the top ten exchanges came out to resist. Apart from the rumors that were spread about them being in a conflict, they seemed to have kept the peace on the surface.”

After saying this, the two had instinctively turned their gaze to Su Mo with a thirst for their knowledge reflected in their eyes.

The situation in Freedom City was evidently very complicated right now.

The two “beginners” who had just stepped foot into the business field would find it difficult to analyze what had happened despite having so much information.

“Wait. You said they agreed in private? Who spread the rumor? Who did you hear it from?”

Su Mo threw them a question to make them think from another angle.

At the head of the bed, Turner was taken aback for a moment but replied honestly, “I heard it from the two city guards who helped maintain order yesterday.”

“They also helped us maintain order yesterday?”

“Yeap!”

“Did the guards kill first, or did the ten exchanges help us renovate first?

“They offered to help first!”

Turner scratched the back of his head, puzzled by the series of questions.

However, Hao Qiang, who was sitting on the other side reacted at once, with a sudden realization in his eyes.

“So… Boss, are the city guards trying to use the shopkeeper of the Demon Domain Exchange to pressure us?”

“To a certain extent, that may be possible. However, I’ve never expected us to be the middle ground in this conflict!”

Before he left, Su Mo did not make his position clear and thought he should delay it as much as possible to observe the situation.

He never knew that his constant delay had brought in some fruitful results!

The top ten exchanges declared that the Fire Exchange was part of their alliance by repairing their courtyard!

Then, they reduced the supplies to the city guard through the Demon Domain Exchange to pressure them after seeing that they had yet to respond.

The city guards were aggressive and directly killed the shopkeeper to show their sovereignty by force.

At the same time, they wanted to warn the others that the rules of the game must be obeyed.

However, Su Mo had become the rule maker of the game!

In other words, the balance that Su Mo had once tried to find was perfectly achieved.

However, their balancing point had put them on the fence.

No matter which side they joined, they would completely offend the other party, and there would be no room to reconcile after that!