The Cycle of Fate

Chapter 137: The Trader

"You're crazy, aren't you?" Simon the Giant finally managed to speak after a few seconds of stunned silence. "If we fail, we only lose an opportunity."

Kristo the Rat quickly added, "If the task were important, the boss would go himself. If it's not important, then the risk won't be high."

Their reasoning aligned with Lumian's initial thoughts.

As Lumian glanced at the entrance to the underground Trier not far away, he smiled deliberately and said, "Maybe we're just bait. Suppose the boss suspects a force is secretly monitoring us. He could have designed this mission to fish them out. If everything goes smoothly, there's no problem, and it can be treated as a test. But if something does come out of it, the boss can follow the trail, uncover the truth, and eliminate the threat. As for whether we, the bait, will be eaten by the fish? That's not his concern. As long as the final goal is achieved, losing a few low-sequence Beyonders is a price he can bear."

These words made Kristo's face pale, and Simon fell into silence.

Though they were not deeply immersed in the world of mysticism, years of gang life and leadership had honed their basic analytical abilities. They had to admit that Lumian's guess made sense, stirring inevitable worry for their own safety—especially Kristo. His mind was filled with the memory of his brother Ailken's death and the pained expressions of his wife and children. If the boss hadn't given him a different task at the time, Kristo would have also been replaced by the so-called "mirror person" and met a miserable end in some dark corner of the underground. His wife, his dog pack, and other animals would have fallen into the hands of the "mirror person."

After a moment of these dark thoughts, the trio lit their carbide lamps and descended the iron staircase into the underground.

Kristo, with the faint blue-tinged yellow light of his lamp illuminating the dark tunnel, nervously remarked, "The boss wouldn't intentionally send us to die. Even though we're low-sequence Beyonders, we still have value. If we die underground, it could take him half a year or even a year to train new replacements."

He was likely recalling how the boss had indirectly protected him during the "mirror person" incident by assigning him another task.

"Every decision has a price. Maybe this time, the stakes are higher than the sum of the three of us," Lumian thought silently, holding his lamp as he paced through the dark, damp tunnel.

He scoffed, "I hope this mission is as the boss said—nothing too dangerous. But we can't afford to be naive. We need to be prepared for the worst."

Kristo, who had already noticed the significant improvement in Lumian's abilities, couldn't help but ask, "What should we do?"

To him, Lumian was now the most reliable person in this mission, a potential lifeline in times of crisis.

Hearing this, Simon the Giant glanced at Kristo in surprise. When had Kristo become so timid? They were both under the boss's command, yet Kristo was now openly showing weakness and worry in front of Lumian. Where was his pride and self-respect? Wasn't he afraid that Lumian might take advantage and encroach on his smuggling business?

This was exactly the effect Lumian had wanted. He responded earnestly, "The boss has helped me several times, so I'm more than willing to complete the task for him—as long as it doesn't carry a high risk of death. I haven't lived enough to make that sacrifice. So, my stance is: If we can complete the mission, we do it. If not, we abandon it without hesitation to ensure we survive. For that, we need to drop our guard against each other and cooperate fully to deal with any potential dangers."

This pragmatic approach struck a chord with both Kristo and Simon. They either visibly or subtly nodded in agreement. No one was willing to die for the boss unnecessarily. The very fact they were ready to take some risk for him was already a sign of loyalty. Given this outlook, true cooperation to face the dangers became the only viable option—at least on the surface.