Chapter 175: Chapter 158: The Task Isn't All About Fighting and Assassinating
The spacious streets are becoming increasingly crowded as time passes, with the occasional roar of motorcycles and the tail gas from poor quality fuel bringing a different kind of vitality to the street.
"These debt tasks occasionally come up, and most of the time it's not about fighting and killing. Even the high-level partners mostly go through procedures. You were too harsh earlier," said Four-Armed Vajra, walking alongside Tao Yu on the sidewalk, taking the opportunity to mentor him.
"I wasn't thinking thoroughly," Tao Yu admitted.
Grateful for the guidance and information provided, Tao Yu was naturally willing to say some nice words and also began to ask for advice in turn.
"Brother Goudan, what's the security situation in the Inner City? It seems like there isn't much surveillance," Tao Yu asked.
"Call me Brother Vajra," Four-Armed Vajra corrected him.
The electronic eyes of Four-Armed Vajra flickered. Recalling the hard times from the past, he had inadvertently let slip his real name, Wang Goudan, and the youngster had caught on to it, which somewhat dampened his spirits and made him feel like his prestige had fallen.
Nevertheless, he answered,
"The security situation in the Inner City is mainly divided into four zones. You'll gradually understand if you stay longer. There are zones like the mission hall with a network-linked surveillance system, which can be considered high-security areas.
"If anything serious happens in these places, whether you wear a mask or disguise yourself, you will inevitably provoke a full-scale investigation by the Inner City security team. So, aside from the rarities meant to establish power or suicidal acts of revenge, it's relatively safe..."
Hearing Wang Goudan's explanation, Tao Yu also began to form an outline of the Inner City environment in his mind.
Compared to the Outsider areas, the Inner City was indeed much better overall, not as prone to fatalities at every turn, but still not entirely peaceful.
Besides the high-security areas, the second tier includes upscale communities, company bases, and club strongholds, which have their surveillance systems and where few incidents occur.
The third category includes areas that lack surveillance but are still densely populated, and the fourth is entirely comprised of dead spots in security.
Gang members and club-affiliated individuals use these areas to resolve issues, leading the well-informed Inner City residents to avoid these places as much as possible, creating a vicious cycle.
"Those places are more chaotic than the Outsider areas, so you need to be more cautious. The simplest sign is areas where shoes or other markers are hung on telephone poles," explained Wang Goudan.
Despite Wang Goudan's constant chatter, he turned out to be quite a decent person.
"Thanks, Brother Gold Egg," Tao Yu joked.
"It's Brother Vajra!"
Watching Wang Goudan correct him earnestly, Tao Yu found it amusing.
"If it weren't for Brother Vajra, I bet I'd have to take a lot more detours," Tao Yu said appreciatively.
This thanks was sincere,
not stingy despite having almost been duped by Joseph previously.
Even if Wang Goudan's demeanor changed and he wanted to deceive Tao Yu into something, the information he provided was indeed helpful.
"Had I had this kind of information when my father first came here, my childhood would have been a lot better," said Wang Goudan nonchalantly, as casually guiding someone didn't cost him anything.
It was both a form of empathy for past life struggles and a potential investment in the talent from the Outsider areas.
"Outsiders who come to the Inner City also form various small groups. To get by smoothly, it's best to band together, but since you're from the Development Zone, finding a group to join can be a bit of a hassle," he said.
These small groups within the Abyss also support each other. There used to be only the old Development Zone without much choice, but with the new Development Zone now, there are distinctions. Chapter Continue:
"We're here, this is the place,"
As Wang Goudan finished speaking, Tao Yu noticed that they had arrived in front of a towering skyscraper.
Looking up, the building had at least a hundred floors!
If it was just about height, Tao Yu, from his past life, had seen taller buildings.
But the key was that the appearance of this building was truly abstract, with the first twenty or thirty floors level with the adjacent buildings and relatively standardized. Once it surpassed the height of the neighboring buildings, it started to expand haphazardly to the side, 'developing' outward.
The building looked like a gnawed popsicle, with various LED billboards littering the windows and walls.
Glancing over, there were more than two per floor on average, adding up to hundreds.
More than half of them advertised 'partner teams,' 'mercenary groups,' 'adventure groups,' 'frontier teams,' and the like, with the rest being company or factory offices.
It was essentially a commercial office building.
"Our target is on the twenty-third floor; half of that floor is occupied by the 'White Factory' branch," Wang Goudan said offhandedly as he led Tao Yu into the lobby of the commercial building, which lacked access control, and waited in front of what looked like rows of freight elevators.
Even with a row of elevator shafts, there were quite a few people nearby at the moment.
But some of them couldn't help but take a few extra looks at Wang Goudan's four Mechanical Arms.
Before reaching a certain level of strength, those four Mechanical Arms were also a sign of capability.
"Brother Vajra, how come I don't see any surveillance? Isn't this supposed to be a second-tier area?"
Tao Yu looked around. With his vision, he couldn't spot a single camera; could they all be micro cameras? That would make assessment a bit of a hassle later on.
"No, this place is in the third tier. You generally don't need to be overly concerned about anything. Besides, it's best if you get into the habit of recording at all times," Four-Armed Vajra suggested.