Chapter 294: A Different Perspective

Looking at the hundred-square-meter apartment, the interior was simple and didn’t feel like it had been unoccupied for a long time.

“Is this identity fabricated or did something happen to this person?” Yang Bo wasn’t sure what had happened to the person he was impersonating. Zhou Rui and the others must have various aliases. As for how these aliases came about, who knows?

“Was the bad guy I just encountered working alone, or is there a team or even an organization behind him?”

“Hopefully, he wasn’t just a lone traveler. It’d be much better if he belonged to a group or organization. Someone that bad must have some sort of skill, right?” Yang Bo’s Camouflage was at the grandmaster level. He could see immediately if the other party was pretending.

Although Yang Bo didn’t know what the other party did exactly, if someone was pretending, they were usually up to no good.

There was still no word from Zhou Rui, but Yang Bo wasn’t in a hurry. He grabbed a chair and sat on the balcony, poured himself some tea, and, wearing sunglasses, kept an eye on the apartment’s entrance.

Yes, Yang Bo was staking out the place, watching to see if the old bad guy had any accomplices, and what they were up to.

Though staking out is one of the cruder methods to gather intel, it’s effective in any era.

Property in the space society wasn’t cheap, especially privately-owned estates. No matter the society, as long as it’s a human one, there’s always a value system in place. Not some paradise-like utopia.

Human nature simply doesn’t allow for such places. If you think one exists or see signs of it, there’s definitely something wrong. Yang Bo once heard of a similar village in Ame where it turned out the women were being controlled by so-called elders, generation after generation.

Without social status, human societies would cease to exist. As long as human societies exist, there’s a system to sustain them, which inevitably leads to a group holding power… and thus, classes emerge.

A few minutes later, Yang Bo glanced at the balcony next door. A muscular man wearing a short-sleeve shirt stood there, holding a cup of tea or coffee. Like Yang Bo, he also wore sunglasses as he stepped onto the balcony.

“A fellow spy!” They exchanged glances, and the same thought popped into both their minds.

Wearing sunglasses indoors? Obviously to make observing others easier.

Yang Bo judged from the man’s physique that he was quite strong. Meanwhile, the man viewed Yang Bo cautiously. Although Yang Bo’s body seemed more balanced, it didn’t give off an impression of great strength.

“Captain, the guy next door seems strange, like he’s one of us,” the man with the sunglasses said after standing for about a minute, sipping from his cup before heading inside and closing the balcony door.

“Is that so?” The captain, lazily lying on the couch watching a famous singer’s virtual performance, asked lazily without moving.

“Seems like it, but I can’t be sure,” the sunglasses-wearing man replied suspiciously.

The captain got up, stretched, and opened the balcony door. He took a look at the man lounging in a chair next door, then did a little stretching of his own before heading back in and closing the door.

“You’re overthinking it,” the captain said. “That guy’s just a poor drifter with nowhere else to go. Look at his cheap clothes and that worn teacup. He’s even steeping tea in a coffee mug. If he had any money, he’d be at the beach or the bar right now.”

The man with the sunglasses glanced at his own cup, then at the captain’s cup, and nodded in agreement.

Whether they’re assassins or whatever else, people usually make money for one purpose—enjoyment. That’s why they still care about quality of life.

“Should we check him out?” The man, now without sunglasses, asked.

“No need. Investigating now might give us away.”

“People often think doing more leads to perfection, but the more you do, the higher the risk of exposure. Look at us—how many times have we ever failed?”

“If you’re that worried, we can get rid of him when we act. If he’s got ties to us, we’ll cancel the mission. Remember, we’re here to make money and enjoy ourselves, not clean up after others. Getting that same-source ring would be great, but it’s not a deal-breaker.”

“The captain makes a good point. Let’s hit the bar tonight; there are plenty of beauties around, many of them tourists.”

“Yeah, let’s go tonight. I’ll foot the bill.”

Meanwhile, Yang Bo, still lounging lazily on the balcony chair, became more and more intrigued. “So, I’ve got a whole crew living next door?”

Yang Bo was genuinely curious. The second person to appear had undoubtedly strong abilities. His cautious movements and posture made it obvious he wasn’t just some random guy.

At that moment, Yang Bo’s wristwatch displayed a discount promo from a bar—a coded signal for a meet-up. Yang Bo prepared to check it out.

“If there’s no solid evidence, I’ll let it go.” Yang Bo wasn’t someone who killed indiscriminately for skill points. Otherwise, he could’ve initiated a terror attack on the city’s pharmaceutical company for a rapid skill boost.

“I’m inherently a good guy,” Yang Bo thought, concluding that a man needs some moral boundaries. Perhaps it was this line of thinking that led to his current misfortunes.

“The old villain’s back. Let’s see where he’s staying.” After almost an hour on the balcony—and one more cup of tea—Yang Bo spotted the villain from earlier returning through the apartment complex gate, looking rather cheerful and friendly.

Yang Bo moved to the door and pressed his hand against it, activating his ‘Listening’ ability along with passive detection.

“Hmm?” Yang Bo remembered the villain’s walking rhythm and realized the guy was on his floor, likely living next door.

Thrilled, aren’t you? Surprised as well?

Yang Bo pressed his hand against the wall, trying to listen, but it was difficult. The walking sounds came through the floor and got muffled by the wall.

Though soundproofing was in place, let’s not forget the building’s concrete had reinforced steel bars running throughout, connecting to the heavy doors for stability. Footsteps traveled through the steel structure, reaching the door itself.

But it was different indoors, with soundproofing for the rooms, so almost no sound reached Yang Bo.

The apartment’s construction even blocked eavesdropping devices, making Sonic Detection almost impossible.

In the public hallway outside, though, things were different.

“Five people.”

“Five grown men. Strange.” By the afternoon, Yang Bo confirmed his neighbors included five men, which was unusual.

What’s more, Yang Bo noticed that a lot of shady individuals seemed to be in the complex. Each one was clearly disguised, but who they might be and why they were here was anyone’s guess.

By afternoon, Yang Bo heard the group leaving—all five of them together. He decided to follow.

At the elevator, on one side were five men, and on the other was Yang Bo.

Yang Bo glanced at the five. An old man, two middle-aged men, and two young men. The group also looked at Yang Bo.

Their elevator came first. Yang Bo watched them enter, then stepped into the same elevator. They were all dressed well, their clothes certainly not cheap.

The five exchanged glances but didn’t find anything suspicious.

Soon, two women entered. Both looked like housewives, and one was the same woman Yang Bo had seen earlier chatting with the old villain.

“Right on time,” the old villain beamed at the two women as they entered, putting on an approachable smile.

“Are you all together?” One of the housewives eyed the six men, feeling something was off.

“Ladies, I’m nothing like these newcomers. I’ve been living here a long time and often run into you at the local UT Supermarket.” Yang Bo picked up a faint scent from her—a fruit fragrance sold only at UT, where he often shopped.

“Really? I don’t remember,” the wary housewife replied, her big eyes now cautious.

“Maybe you’re just too eye-catching, and I’m too ordinary.” Yang Bo smiled while quietly using his ‘Lure’ ability.

The leader of the monkeys had given him this ‘Lure’ ability. Yang Bo had thought it was meant to lure zombies, but maybe it could work on humans, too. Time to test it.

“Is that so?” The housewife seemed less on guard.

“Of course. I love eating Stardrop Fruit, and there’s a sale tomorrow.” Yang Bo continued.

“Oh really? I didn’t know it was on sale.”

“I saw it on a flyer.”

“I like it too, it’s just so expensive.”

“I can let you know about tomorrow’s discount. I’ve got plenty of points on my membership card, and some are about to expire.”

“Thanks!”

“Cough, cough.” The old villain cleared his throat, inwardly cursing the idiot beside him.

At that moment, the elevator reached their destination, and Yang Bo asked, “Where are you headed? I’m going to KT Bar. I’ve got a bottle of gold-label Kuti whiskey there.”

Yang Bo only mentioned this because he’d seen a bottle in the housewife’s trash earlier, one that matched a premium type of alcohol.

“We were just heading there…” The housewife glanced at the old villain and the others.

“That old villain really knows how to pick up women,” Yang Bo thought. “Was it only a morning elevator ride that led to this?”

Yang Bo wasn’t particularly interested in the two women—who knew if they were actually just men in Camouflage? He was just testing his abilities. But despite the old villain’s constant smile, his eyes screamed discomfort toward Yang Bo.

“Let’s go together then,” Yang Bo smiled gleefully, giving the five men a sidelong glance.

Yang Bo and the two women walked ahead, while the old villain received a fierce glare from his four companions. Feeling a bit guilty, the old villain shot a hateful look at Yang Bo, thinking, “Kid, I’ll make sure you have a blast when Hurricane Night comes around.”

At the bar, Zhou Rui saw Yang Bo chatting and laughing with the two housewives and let out a sigh of relief. “So, Third Master likes the mature type… I’ll make a note of that for future arrangements.”

Zhou Rui was well aware that with Third Master’s status, countless women would flock to him.

Yang Bo quickly noticed the five men’s growing impatience and couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Third Master,” Yang Bo whispered after sneaking off to the bathroom. He met up with Zhou Rui at a prearranged spot in the bar.

“Grab me two bottles of liquor, and also find out some details on those five guys,” Yang Bo said with a nod.

“Already done. They’re from the Pharmacists Guild. But I haven’t dug deeper into why they’re on March Planet,” Zhou Rui informed.

Yang Bo understood. Generally, if someone’s background checks out, no deep probing would be conducted. “Aha, so they’re pharmacists. I’ll look into it myself then. Got any other intel?”

“Nothing confirmed, but it seems the Brotherhood sent people here. Word is Silver Butterfly lost something crucial.”

With this, Yang Bo knew it was true. These folks were likely after the same-source ring.

“The Grey Ash Organization also seems to have people here. They’ve been in big trouble within the Alliance recently, though the reason’s not yet clear. They’re desperate to find out what’s happened.” Zhou Rui added.

Yang Bo chuckled. “Heh, I know exactly how the Grey Ash Organization got exposed.”

“What?!” Zhou Rui was stunned.

“The Grey Ash Organization approached me once. They wanted us to attack the Green Demon Planet Fleet. Two fools went for it, and they’ve since secretly taken control of some of the resources on Green Demon Planet. They’re also conspiring with the Alliance’s Four Seas Gene Serum Company and the planet’s mutants to spark chaos so that other nations could intervene.” Yang Bo briefly explained.

Zhou Rui was taken aback and suddenly enlightened. “Isn’t that basically a suicide mission?”

“Heh, the Grey Ash Organization almost succeeded. If Green Demon Planet’s fleet had been attacked and other nations took the opportunity to jump in, the Alliance would’ve been too late to respond. Fortunately, the Green Demon Planet’s main warships evaded the pirate raid, and their military fleet commander was one of the high-ranking officials who got attacked.” Yang Bo continued.

By now, Zhou Rui saw Yang Bo, or rather Third Master, in a new light. She hadn’t expected him to know so much, even in his current state.

“No wonder the Grey Ash Organization wants to investigate the leak.” Zhou Rui now understood that their interest in capturing her cousin was to figure out how the leak happened.

For an intel group to face such a critical blow, no one would sleep well until they discovered the source.

“Where did you stash those mechas from the other day?” Yang Bo was thinking about the Brotherhood likely looking for those—which meant a chance to make a move.

“I believe they’re in the evidence center at the security bureau. What’s your plan, Third Master?” Zhou Rui wasn’t slow to catch on, realizing the Brotherhood was probably after those too.

“See if there are any other goodies worth snagging in the evidence center. We might just score big. Split the loot fifty-fifty,” Yang Bo’s next words took Zhou Rui by surprise. But after considering Third Master’s roots as a pirate, it began to make sense.

For some reason, Zhou Rui couldn’t suppress a slight thrill of excitement. “Understood, I’ll get back to you soon with an update.”

“Good.” Yang Bo nodded and returned to messing with the five guys again. Pharmacists, huh… let’s hope they really are just that.