"You're leaving already?"
An Tong stared at the members of the Netherworld Guild as they disappeared one by one, still unable to wrap her mind around what had just happened.
All because of a single word from Shi Feng, these people from the Netherworld had been forced to abandon their pursuit and leave. They hadn't even dared to pick up Ghost One's dropped items.
It felt like a dream.
"Thank you." Youlan was not at all surprised by the Netherworld's retreat. She walked straight up to Shi Feng and offered her gratitude.
"This is White River City. Now that I, the Guild Leader of Zero Wing, have witnessed this, of course I had to step in. Otherwise, word would get around, and no one would want to come to White River City anymore." Shi Feng was rather surprised by Youlan's thanks.
Although they had only met a handful of times, he could tell that Youlan was an incredibly strong-willed woman. Even with the Netherworld hunting her down, she had refused to surrender or delete her account—that was proof enough. And if she had surrendered, there would have been no chase in the first place.
"Guild Leader Black Flame, you're too kind. Not every guild in the Divine Realm has the courage to stand up to the Netherworld and the Black Water Corporation." Youlan shook her head.
She was genuinely grateful for Shi Feng's intervention.
If he hadn't stepped in, she and An Tong would have been cut down right then and there. They would have lost most of their equipment, making it even harder to fend off the Netherworld's pursuit going forward.
"May I ask what you plan to do now, Miss Youlan?" Shi Feng looked at her and asked.
He had witnessed Youlan's abilities firsthand. Her combat level was decent, but her management skills were truly exceptional. The fact that the trading house she once ran ranked second only to the Candlelight Trading House spoke for itself.
Keep in mind, he had ten years of experience in the Divine Realm. If not for the Candlelight Trading House, Youlan's trading house would have been the number one trading house in the game.
If he could bring Youlan into the Candlelight Trading House, it would undoubtedly give it a significant boost. After all, Slightly Cold excelled at forging but wasn't particularly skilled at management. In fact, the demands of running the trading house had already slowed down her forging progress.
"Us?" Youlan was taken aback by his question and glanced back at An Tong and the others. "Our original plan was to complete the hidden quest we'd been given, then relocate to a remote kingdom outside the Netherworld's sphere of influence. But we didn't expect them to find us so quickly—they even sent Ghost One. Since they've already discovered us, we can't stay in White River City any longer."
"Would you be interested in joining Zero Wing?" Shi Feng seized the opportunity. "No matter where you run, with the resources of the Netherworld and the Black Water Corporation, finding you won't be difficult. Unless you delete your accounts and start over, those Black Cloaks won't keep you hidden forever. There are plenty of high-level Observation skills in the Divine Realm that can see through the Black Cloak's concealment effect."
"You want us to join Zero Wing?"
Youlan froze for a moment, looking at Shi Feng in astonishment. She had no idea what he was thinking.
They had been personally marked for annihilation by the Black Water Corporation. Every major guild would be doing everything they could to avoid them. Accepting them into their ranks was tantamount to declaring war on the Black Water Corporation.
If the previous killing of Ghost One had been to defend the guild's honor, the Black Water Corporation might have let it slide. But directly sheltering them was an entirely different matter.
This would be a slap in the face to the Black Water Corporation!
The Black Water Corporation would definitely move against Zero Wing.
The Black Water Corporation of today was nothing like the one that had acquired the Snake of the Body through Qi Yitao. They had already cultivated their own experts to match mainstream players' levels, secretly acquired numerous guilds and studios, and forged agreements with several superpowers. Even super-guilds were reluctant to provoke them lightly.
An Tong and the others were equally stunned, their eyes filled with both shock and excitement.
Joining Zero Wing was undoubtedly an excellent way out for them—far better than fleeing to some unknown kingdom. Moreover, Zero Wing was brimming with talented players and had tremendous development potential. It was not at all impossible for the guild to become a top-tier power in the future.