Chapter 420: Luxuriate Once

Chen Ling spent the night reading through all the newspapers.

He only skimmed the tabloid news. While there was occasionally important information, it was genuinely difficult to distinguish truth from falsehood. The most outrageous story even claimed that a certain celebrity, simply because they enjoyed playing poker, was accused by rival capital of being a Twilight Society member, leading to a severe two-week interrogation before their release. Of course, he was eventually confirmed not to be a Twilight Society member, and he himself gained public attention from the incident, boosting his status. It was rumored that he was now preparing for a concert.

But what confused Chen Ling most was a survey conducted by a now-defunct tabloid:"Data Census: Average Lifespan in Main City Increases Compared to Previous Years, Currently 52 Years."In this article, the writer surveyed the average lifespan over the past five years, noting a rise from 51.8 to 52 years, and praised it, suggesting it might be due to advancements in medical care.

However, the more Chen Ling read, the more he felt something was off. How could medical standards possibly improve in this era? And an average lifespan of 52 years? That was far too low. As far as he knew, the average lifespan before the Great Cataclysm was around 78 years. Even with a decline in medical care, it shouldn't drop so drastically. Moreover, when he was in the Aurora Dominion, those elderly people were all quite robust.

Though confused, Chen Ling had no clues. He temporarily put away the few valuable newspapers, noting the distant sky was already turning a faint fish-belly white.

Knock, knock, knock—

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"Envoy, people from the Whale Shark Consortium and the Paradise Consortium are here. They say they wish to apologize to you in person for not being able to greet you immediately last night," Gu Kaixian's voice sounded.

Chen Ling's eyes narrowed slightly. After a brief pause, he spoke calmly:"I won't see them."

"Understood, I'll refuse them now."

Since he had chosen to maintain an arrogant and domineering persona, he naturally had to stick with it. After flipping through the newspapers last night, Chen Ling had also gained an understanding of these consortiums. Both "Whale Shark" and "Paradise" were top-tier consortiums on the same level as yesterday's "Tripod Deer." However, their locations were too far, so it was understandable that they couldn't rush over last night. Nevertheless, Chen Ling naturally wouldn't "be considerate" towards them.

After a while, Gu Kaixian's voice sounded again from outside the door:"Envoy, I have seen them off. However, before they left, they left an invitation."

"An invitation?"

Gu Kaixian handed a finely made invitation through the door crack. Chen Ling took it, and his eyes narrowed slightly upon seeing the lettering.

It was an invitation to a banquet tonight, hosted by the five major consortiums of Red Dust Main City. Both last night's Tripod Deer Flowery Capital and today's Whale Shark Paradise were included in this invitation. It seemed they knew that no single consortium could invite him out alone, so they simply banded together to organize it, intending to compete fairly at the banquet?

"Envoy, about this banquet…" Gu Kaixian asked tentatively.

"Go."

Chen Ling calmly replied with one word.

"Understood, I'll inform them immediately." Gu Kaixian was about to leave, then seemed to remember something. "Envoy, the Big Dipper Consortium also sent someone. They said their chairman has been seriously ill these past two days and is truly unable to meet you. They have prepared a generous gift for you. Would you like it sent up now or…"

A generous gift?

Chen Ling's mind raced. He glanced at the scattered newspapers on the floor, and an idea suddenly came to him.

"No, don't send it over," the corner of Chen Ling's mouth under the mask subtly curved upwards. "Have them send it directly to the banquet hall. I will receive it myself there."

Chen Ling's answer somewhat surprised Gu Kaixian, but he wouldn't go against Chen Ling's wishes. He respectfully assented and turned to leave.

A figure in a black trench coat walked step by step through the scattered newspapers to the meticulously prepared mahogany desk. With a gentle flick of his fingertip, the invitation floated onto the desk surface.

"This is a good opportunity."

Chen Ling picked up a pen and casually wrote down the five names—"Flowery Capital," "Tripod Deer," "Paradise," "Whale Shark," "Big Dipper"—surrounding the invitation. He squinted at these five names for a long time, then began to draw intricate lines between them, like a director meticulously planning a plot, gradually sketching an invisible net, progressively ensnaring all his prey within it.

Finally, Chen Ling put down the pen and placed the list enumerating golden goods over the five names.

"I need to make some more preparations…"

Chen Ling raised his hand and tore at his chin, transforming into a mosquito that disappeared into the room via the ventilation duct.

"Is he in there?"

In the shadows of the street, two figures simultaneously fixed their gaze on the auction house not far away.

"What do we do now?" Jian Changsheng turned to look at Red Heart 9.

"Wait," Red Heart 9 said with certainty. "He can't stay there forever. Once he leaves, we'll go in and thoroughly search his room… maybe we can find some clues."

"What if we don't find any clues?"

"Then we'll pilfer some gold."

Jian Changsheng couldn't help but retort, "That's your real intention, isn't it?!"

"Since we're going, why return empty-handed? Either we figure out this guy's true identity, or we earn some living expenses. We can't just stake out here for half a day and get nothing, can we?" Red Heart 9 said self-righteously.

"…Normally, I'd say you're arguing illogically," Jian Changsheng paused. "But now I'm hungry, and I think you're absolutely right."

As they were speaking, a figure hurried past on the street, holding a freshly printed newspaper and shouting loudly:"Morning paper! Morning paper! Golden Guild Envoy befriends the five major consortiums, invited to dine together!Big Dipper Consortium reaches consensus with the Envoy, confirms trust with a generous gift, and will advance and prosper together in the future!Singer Lu Huaguang, rookie Liu Qingyan, and popular Rose Girl Group will attend the banquet! Toast to witness the friendship between the Envoy and the five major consortiums!"

Hearing these words, Red Heart 9 and Jian Changsheng's eyes lit up slightly.

"The opportunity has arrived!""He's attending the banquet tonight, so there will definitely be a loophole at the auction house. We can sneak in then."

They instantly agreed, but looking at the sky, it was still morning, with some time before the banquet began.

Rumble—

A soft rumbling sound came from Jian Changsheng's stomach, and his expression instantly became a bit awkward.

Red Heart 9 glanced at him, about to mock him, but the next moment his own stomach rumbled. His smile abruptly stiffened.

"Anyway, it's still early for the operation… and if things go smoothly tonight, we shouldn't be short on money," Jian Changsheng suggested tentatively,"How about we splurge a bit?"

"Let's go!" Red Heart 9 slapped his thigh, stood up, and walked towards the noodle shop nearby.