On the other side, the people from the Merchant Organization followed the trail left by the black merchant and arrived at the area ravaged by mutated carrion squirrels.
The burly man in a gray mask looked at the corridor crowded with mutated carrion squirrels like mountains and seas, without showing a trace of fear, because to him, this kind of scene was already... commonplace.
As the most secretive grey merchant of the Merchant Organization, he, along with his subordinates, spent most of their days exterminating monsters in the Underground Labyrinth.
And the place with the most monsters was the sewer. The grey merchant and his men had been to the sewer multiple times and had faced even more terrifying dense encirclements than the current one.
Therefore, looking at this group of mutated carrion squirrels, not only was the grey merchant unafraid, but all those wearing gray uniforms also appeared very relaxed.
On the contrary, at the rear, those in black and white uniforms mostly showed timid and wary expressions.
The grey merchant glanced at that group of cowards, shook his head with a sneer, thinking that these people’s quality was only good enough to bully those adventure groups on the surface. When faced with real events, they ran faster than anyone else.
However, the grey merchant was responsible only for his own subordinates, and how the subordinates of black and white merchants behaved was none of his concern. So, he cast a sidelong glance and then looked away.
Looking at his own subordinates, the grey merchant said casually: "Who will go this time?"
Among those wearing gray uniforms, six people raised their hands.
The grey merchant pointed consecutively at three people: "You three put your hands down; this time it’s not a wiping-out operation, there’s no time for a gradual advance."
He then looked at the other three who had raised their hands, hesitated for a moment, and first looked at the man on the far right wearing a gray mask with the image of an evil ghost on it: "Ghost Shadow, we can’t determine the specific number of these monsters. Your shadow traversal may not last till the end."
Ghost Shadow said nothing, directly lowering his hand.
The grey merchant then looked at the remaining two people. One looked like a petite girl not yet fourteen years old, who had decorated her pink hair with the mask; her small hand raised highest, occasionally jumping, fearing the grey merchant might not see her. The other was a green-haired man, whose aura was lazy, without wearing a mask but having it strapped to his waist, exposing a freckled face.
The grey merchant first looked at the pink-haired girl, frowned: "Why are you causing a fuss?"
Pink-haired girl: "I’m not causing a fuss. There’s residue of illusion technique here, surely the previous people used illusion. I’m also an Illusionist, I can do this."
Grey Merchant: "If you’re just trying to compare illusions, let me tell you, you’ve already lost."
The pink-haired girl looked unconvinced, but the grey merchant had already turned to the green-haired man, leaving her puffing up her cheeks angrily.
"Shepherd, you go this time." The grey merchant looked at the green-haired man and made a decision.
The green-haired man known as Shepherd stretched lazily, pulled a short flute from behind his waist-strapped mask, "Okay, it’s been a while since encountering rodent monsters. I almost forgot the melody of a wandering rodent group... Oh, do squirrels count as rodents?"
Grey Merchant: "Stop asking boring questions, get to action."
Shepherd curled his lips, took his flute, and walked alone towards the terrible and ugly monster group.
The melodious flute began to float gently, all mutated carrion squirrels who heard it paused, their originally murderous crimson eyes slowly becoming dazed.
Shepherd just kept playing the flute as he walked towards the group of mutated carrion squirrels.
And the mutated carrion squirrels did not attack Shepherd, instead gave way to clear a path for him. The carrion squirrels on both sides swayed their heads following the flute’s rhythm, seemingly dancing.
The subordinates of the black and white merchants were all stunned at this sight, unable to believe that the seemingly unmanageable situation was resolved with only one subordinate sent by the grey merchant.
"Stop standing around, follow along," the grey merchant glanced at those in black and white uniforms and called out. As for his own subordinates, they were already following the Shepherd’s steps.
Only then did the people in black and white uniforms come to their senses and quickly followed.
The grey merchant was the last to catch up, not to act as the rear guard, but because he noticed something unusual about the white merchant, he fell behind just to ask about his situation.
"What’s wrong with you?" The grey merchant was still polite to the white merchant, who although only managed logistics in the organization, was an extremely knowledgeable person; more importantly, he possessed a rare skill in the Southern Domain: Inscription Studies.
Moreover, the white merchant often helped the grey merchant create inscription designs.
The evil ghost on Ghost Shadow’s mask was the masterpiece of the white merchant.
"Don’t worry, I’m fine." The white merchant said, but the grey merchant was not brushed off.
He merely watched quietly, then his gaze fell to the white merchant’s hand gripping his coat tightly, with veins protruding.
After a moment of silence, the white merchant finally sighed, "I’m fine, but... something happened to the black merchant."
Although outwardly opposing each other, as high-level members of the Birlos Family, the grey merchant was well aware that the black merchant and the white merchant were siblings. Their apparent rivalry was entirely black merchant’s designs; outwardly it seemed mischievous, but in reality, insiders understood that the black merchant purely wanted to create a sense of existence in front of his brother the white merchant.
As siblings, and twins at that, they shared a mind connection; when one was in trouble, the other sensed it.
Clearly, the white merchant had sensed that his brother might be in trouble.
The grey merchant pondered and asked a seemingly rude question: "Did he die?"
The white merchant understood the grey merchant’s intent; he was not being rude but was trying to confirm the situation to plan subsequent actions.
"Not dead, but seems in a very bad situation."
"Can you sense his approximate location?"
The white merchant closed his eyes, sensed for a moment, and hesitantly said: "Feels like, just ahead."
The grey merchant nodded, said nothing further, nor comforted the white merchant, and instead approached the Shepherd directly.
"Speed up, it’s too slow."
Too slow? Shepherd was almost out of breath playing the flute.
"When I say it’s too slow, it’s too slow. Speed up, at least twice the current pace; if you go faster, there’ll be a reward when we return."
The grey merchant often distributed rewards, but individual rewards were rare. The last one was Ghost Shadow, whose reward was the inscription on his mask, significantly enhancing his abilities, making everyone green with envy.
Still blowing the flute, Shepherd pointed at the inscription on Ghost Shadow’s mask, the implication clear: Would an inscription be possible?
The grey merchant: "Yes."