Master of Kaidan
Chapter 68: The Inevitable Choice

Chapter 68: Chapter 68: The Inevitable Choice

"Ugh... this really is a big problem for me..." The three scavengers, clearly having misunderstood, left, leaving Feng Xue with the pressure. Although it was just a simple case of mistaken identity, for Feng Xue, there were two pieces of information in their message that he couldn’t ignore.

The first, the so-called competition for the Manager which he had always thought he was a part of, turned out to be only for the brief period before the high wall went up. Although he didn’t know how long that would be, judging by the looks of the three, it probably wouldn’t be very long.

If this message merely dampened Feng Xue’s interest in competing for the position of Manager, then the second piece of information hit him like thunder—

The appointment of the Manager in the landfill area was actually related to the inhabitant area!

He had always thought that the Manager was just the strongest person in the local landfill area, but now it seemed that he might have to add "approved by the inhabitant area" as a prefix.

But then again, it made sense. The Managers monopolized the passage to the inhabitant area, so how could they dare to do so if they hadn’t reached an understanding with the residents?

Now that he thought about it, weren’t most of the resources that those Managers harvested on trash days probably going to the residents’ area?

This might not seem like a big difference, but upon reflection, it was quite a big problem—that Manager from the Cross Sword Union had met Feng Xue face to face. Would he report Feng Xue’s information up the chain?

With this thought, Feng Xue felt a cold sweat break out and was extremely grateful that he had come to this destroyed landfill area first, instead of barging into just any landfill area as he had before.

"Wait, that guy Lao Li is so sensitive about the searches for a Manager, could it be that he’s registered in the inhabitant area?"

A realization dawned on Feng Xue’s face, followed by an even worse headache.

That was because compared to him, Lao Li had a big advantage—Lao Li had the "Hermit" element!

In other words, as long as there weren’t warrants plastered everywhere, Lao Li could still maintain a living by working odd jobs and scavenging, but Feng Xue didn’t have such convenient elements, and he dared not go to the junkyard wearing his illusion items, as it would be easy for him to be exposed to the Manager’s sight.

Feng Xue thought about the abilities he had exposed before and couldn’t help but start frowning.

He had too many illusion items.

At the very least, not a number that a Scavenger could possess.

If the Manager from the Cross Sword Union was interested in the goods on him and hadn’t reported Feng Xue, then that was fine, but considering that a normal person wouldn’t bet on the chance of encountering someone in one of several thousand landfills, the probability of him reporting to get a reward should still be relatively high.

As for not taking him seriously...

Feng Xue felt that anyone with a brain wouldn’t treat someone who had been carrying outsiders and hiding for more than ten days, who could actively create bad omens in the landfill area, and who was equipped with a plethora of illusion items as just a passerby.

"I was too careless!" Feng Xue hit his own head with some annoyance. After all, if each Manager was merely the local tyrant of their respective landfill area, then all his actions had been correct. But if these Managers formed a community of interests, or even had a higher-up structure, then his idea of "just walking away" seemed incredibly naive and stupid.

Pacing around the room, after having understood all these things, Feng Xue shifted from "considering whether to go out and take a look" to "must go to the Real World".

Although he could now obtain the necessary "Identity" for daily survival from Chen Xiyao, in the end, what humans are best at is forgetting. No one knew when Chen Xiyao’s memory of him would start to fade, and when the "Identity" provided by Chen Xiyao fell below the survival threshold, he would be in trouble.

After all, all the "Identity" that could be absorbed came from the Manager factions, whether it was Corpse Collection or other work, and none could directly obtain "Identity". Even if the Corpse Collector tag was still there, Feng Xue could only rely on this tag to collect Tower Coins, but he still had to find local factions to exchange them.

If it was only offending one landfill area, that was one thing, but if he was being hunted by all the landfill areas, then he would lose all normal means of obtaining "Identity". Aside from the supply from Chen Xiyao, which he didn’t know when it would be cut off, if he wanted to survive, he would have to consider raiding farms in the wilderness.

And this would obviously increase the intensity of the chase after him.

Feng Xue admitted that he was a bit paranoid, but he didn’t dare to gamble with something involving his life.

In the end, he wasn’t one of those fools who absolutely wouldn’t work unless they spent all their savings. Now, he still had enough "Identity" in hand and still had a chance to struggle, but if it really came down to the wire, even if there was a door in front of him, he would no longer have the "Identity" needed to exist in the outside world.

"Luckily, there’s still Chen Xiyao. She once reported her address, and the language spoken in Yan Country should be highly similar to the Mandarin I use. If I can get to Yan Country, the language barrier should be manageable," Feng Xuexin thought to himself and immediately began to organize the illusion items he had on hand.

"Nobody knows what the outside world is like—there’s a 24-hour cooldown for every entry and exit through the door, and although the cardboard box’s hidden status is useful, it isn’t invisibility. Plus, if someone’s gaze locks onto it, it can’t be moved. I must consider all kinds of extreme scenarios."

Muttering to himself, Feng Xue began selecting his life-saving trump cards. If things went smoothly, he wouldn’t need to worry too much, but if real trouble arose, he would have to cling to any straw that might save his life.

After some quick thinking, Feng Xue divided the crises he might face into three different stages—

The first stage was "can’t beat," which was actually the simplest scenario, like if he ended up facing an enemy he couldn’t deal with after crossing over, say, ending up in a war zone and being targeted by a tank cannon or something equally unlucky. In such cases, all he needed to do was improve his escape abilities, and he wouldn’t have to worry too much.

The second level of danger was "can’t run"—corresponding to situations where even escape was impossible, like being trapped by a Water Prison Technique at the start, or directly crossing into a prison cell. In these cases, apart from considering how to save his life, he also had to think about damage control. Whether it was disassembling the Holy Mother, using the Feminization Filter, or the Storage Bag, all were vital parts of his combat power. If they were captured by the enemy, even if he could escape, the final loss would be significant. So, in situations where he couldn’t run, he had to prevent his items from being seized by the enemy.

As for the highest level of crisis, it was "can’t live," which was undeniably the most dangerous situation—like getting hit by a big explosion the moment he opened the door, with no chance of survival. If he encountered this kind of problem, he had to consider how to resurrect...

Well, luckily, he did have a resurrection tool on hand, even if using it was a bit tricky...