Looking at Pei Guang's expression, Amos was surprised. He didn't expect to find someone on the street who shared his faith.
Given that, he decided to trust Pei Guang a little more.
"Brother Ace! Since we believe in the same being, how about this: I'll allocate you some funds. Use the money to gather others who, like you, want to seek justice from the Xianzhou. Don't worry, you'll be well-compensated. For each person you bring, I'll give you 20,000 credits or 100 Strales. How's that sound?"
At first, Pei Guang thought Amos was just trying to stir trouble while Luofu was still reeling. But after hearing that offer, Pei Guang realized Amos was aiming for more than just chaos.
Still, as a good player, when someone's handing you money, how can you say no? "No problem! I'll bring in as many people as I can. But bro, is there a budget cap?"
"None at all! Absolutely none. If you've got the skill, bring in a hundred, a thousand—no problem. We've got the funds."
"Damn! Bro, just one question: who exactly are you guys?"
That question made Amos hesitate. But seeing the curiosity on Pei Guang's face and remembering his sincere devotion to the Aeon of Destruction, Amos finally said seriously, "The Annihilation Gang. I'm only telling you—don't tell anyone else!"
As he spoke, Amos grew more animated. And listening to his final words, Pei Guang nodded, "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. I'll try my best to bring over everyone I know. Just have the funds ready. We'll follow your lead and stand up for the outworlders!"
Amos: "Alright! I'm off to find more people! Brother Ace, I'll be counting on you!"
Pei Guang: "You got it!"
This time, having actually listened to the story without skipping it, Pei Guang immediately noticed something off. The man's tone didn't sound like someone just fighting for outworlders' rights.
He was also promoting the Aeon of Destruction? Planning to stir up trouble on Luofu? And backed by the Annihilation Gang?
Was the Annihilation Gang here to start something on Luofu?
But on second thought: this was a good thing, a great thing!
Why had he come to the Xianzhou Luofu in the first place? For quests and more rewards, obviously. And now it was clear: this was either a multi-stage mission or one with significant branching choices.
Not taking advantage of it would be a total waste.
That thought alone made Pei Guang giddy. He started thinking about how to club people from behind.
That's right: he planned to get every single person involved in this mission. And based on earlier testing, the quality of loot from bodies was affected by the mission process and the strength of the characters involved.
So this mission had to be done thoroughly and with the highest possible rating to ensure better materials could be looted.
And thinking further, didn't that guy say there were over a hundred people? And each person Pei Guang brought in would net him 20,000 credits or 100 Strales? Why not cash in while he could?
With that, Pei Guang decisively pulled out his phone and contacted Dahao from the Realm-Keeping Commission. He didn't know many people there—just Dahao.
Once the call connected, Dahao barely picked up before Pei Guang launched in:
"Dahao? That you?"
"Yeah, it's me. Got something you need me to do?"
Pei Guang said, "I met someone today who said they're going to the Alchemy Commission to help us outworlders get justice. But from the intel I've gathered, these people are from the Annihilation Gang."
Dahao, a functionary of the Realm-Keeping Commission—what kind of person was he? The moment he heard Pei Guang's words, he knew something big was up.
Ever since things had stabilized on the Luofu, he'd received reports that the Annihilation Gang was trying to stir up trouble, but there had never been solid evidence or clear leads.
He hadn't expected Pei Guang to actually find and identify these people. As expected from a Trailblazer from the Astral Express, an external agent personally invited by General Jing Yuan. Truly impressive.
"I get it!" Dahao said. "You want some manpower to arrest those guys, right? No problem!"
Dahao thought he'd nailed Pei Guang's intent. But when Pei Guang revealed his actual plan, Dahao went completely silent.
"No, I need you to get me some 'outworlders' to go with me to the Alchemy Commission to demand justice. We'll gather there this afternoon. Make sure they look like outworlders. For every person, I'll get 10,000 credits or 50 Strales. How's that sound?"
"…?"
Dahao was quiet for a moment, then asked in a hushed voice, "Trailblazer, you're not getting roped into some kind of pyramid scheme, are you?"
"How could that be?" Pei Guang replied. "It's not a pyramid scheme: it's the Annihilation Gang. One of their people gave me a quest. Said that for every person I bring to help demand justice, I'll get some money. The more people, the better the rewards. Come on~ help me get some outworlders to go to the Alchemy Commission!"
At this point, Dahao didn't know what to say. As expected from a Trailblazer: he'd already blended in with the Annihilation Gang and was even getting ready to stir up trouble with them on the Luofu?
But thinking it over, Dahao realized things weren't that simple. If Pei Guang really wanted to stir up trouble with the Annihilation Gang, why call him at all?
Ah, that was it! This had to be part of the Trailblazer's plan. It wasn't just about arresting them: he probably wanted to catch them red-handed. Maybe he even had a deeper strategy against the Annihilation Gang.
Considering Pei Guang's identity and what he'd done on the Luofu so far, Dahao decided he wasn't qualified to speculate about Pei Guang's plans.
"I understand. You need outworlders, right? We'll definitely have some of our outworlders there this afternoon at the Alchemy Commission. Don't worry, no one will notice anything off. A hundred people okay? It's a bit rushed, and that's all I can pull together."
If it were just spies, that'd be easy. But Pei Guang had specifically asked for "outworlders."
The Luofu did have some outworlder spies trained by the Realm-Keeping Commission, and some fake outworlders: Xianzhou people who looked very much like them. Scraping things together, they could maybe get a hundred. Any more would be tough.
"One hundred, huh?" Pei Guang said. "Bit low, but hey—even a mosquito has meat on it. Bring them in this afternoon. Oh, and make sure they don't call me Trailblazer or by my real name. From now on, I'm Ace."
"Got it! I'll remember. Don't worry—our people are professionally trained. They'll carry out your plan without a hitch."
"Great! Thanks. Once it's done, we'll split it seventy-thirty."
"Haha, deal! Best of luck with your plan."
After hanging up, Pei Guang pulled out his phone again and called Bronya.
"Hey, Bronya. You there?"
"I am. What's up, Ah Guang?"
"Can you help me round up some people? Just ordinary folks, but they have to be good at following orders. I need them in an hour: the more the better. How many can you get?"
"Hmm? You need people? Ordinary ones who'll follow orders? I can probably call up a bit over a hundred. If you're not in a rush, I could get several thousand by this afternoon…"
Right now, the Silvermane Guards' camp had a batch of new recruits. They hadn't been through much training yet—just had a bit of discipline. Bronya figured they were perfect for the job.
"If we wait till this afternoon, it'll be too late," Pei Guang said. "A hundred will do. I'll have Stelle fill you in on the details later. As long as they can follow orders, we're good~"
"Don't worry, they'll meet your requirements."
Bronya didn't press for more details. If Pei Guang needed people, then it had to be something important. She couldn't guess what exactly, but she trusted that Pei Guang would never risk lives needlessly. It must be something urgent.
After reaching out to everyone he could, Pei Guang nodded with satisfaction and got ready to head to the Realm-Keeping Commission.
Being able to rally 200 people was already pretty good in his eyes. At 20,000 credits per person, just going along with the crowd that afternoon would net him four million credits.
Pei Guang intended to complete the task Amos gave him, but at the same time, he was going to milk them for all they were worth. And after that, he'd loot Amos and everyone else he brought.
With such a complex and difficult mission process, Pei Guang had a hunch: this guy was definitely going to drop something good.