Sun Han's eyes flickered a few times, and his mouth opened and closed, but he didn't make a sound. Fortunately, Tian Sanlang noticed the arrival of a distinguished guest and immediately bowed to avoid Sun Han's strange behavior. The two natives following behind Sun Han only glanced at the two children before surrounding Sun Han in the center.

"Distinguished guest, would you like to take a stroll through the boudoir tonight?"

"The 'Beauty's Tent' isn't anything special; it's all the same. Zhangtai Street is the most lively place."

"Ha, your esteemed guest is a scholar, a distinguished person. Why are you taking him to Zhangtai Street? What's the difference between that and Yinghua Lane!"

"You're being too serious!"

"Who are you……"

After arguing for a long time, the two natives finally received a lukewarm response from Sun Han: "If you like, you can go to any of the three places."

The two immediately beamed with joy and stopped arguing. Instead, they praised Sun Han for his good taste. But then Sun Han casually added, "Make yourselves at home, I'm going to rest in my room!"

The smiling man froze instantly, then gave an obsequious laugh, "If the esteemed guest isn't interested, we'll naturally stay and keep him company..."

Sun Han had already turned around and walked indifferently into the house.

The two followed closely behind, showering the audience with compliments.

"Tsk!" Tian Sanlang sneered, "If that's all they've got, they're out of luck. Let's go back! Who knows what tricks Fang Niang might use to ruin our guests' impression of us if we stay too long."

"This distinguished guest is quite shrewd!" Cheng Shuang nodded pertinently, walking alongside him, and said with a self-deprecating laugh, "Even if she didn't say it, the distinguished guest is very kind to us..."

“What does it matter if you’re shrewd or resistant? In the end, it’s still the same…” Before he could finish speaking, Tasaburo stopped talking, clearly realizing that he had spoken in the wrong place.

The young girl pursed her lips, hesitated for a moment, then quietly leaned closer to him and whispered timidly, "Do you think... there's a chance?"

Anyway, they only reveal half the story, leaving everyone to guess.

Saburo sighed silently, a bitter smile playing on his lips. "Let fate decide!"

Cheng Shuang scratched her cheek, looking troubled, but Tian Sanlang misunderstood her. He raised an eyebrow at her, "Your health isn't in a hurry, and besides..." He suddenly opened his eyes, looking slightly surprised, "You're not like Fang Niang, are you? Otherwise, what's the rush!"

This ambiguous question was truly baffling, but Cheng Shuang had no choice but to answer. She gave him a troubled look and said, "How can I not be anxious!"

Clearly, the other party misunderstood, thinking she was implying that she was the same as Fang Niang. Finally, she said something comforting that the girl could understand: "We're all just getting by, why take gender so seriously!"

At first, Cheng Shuang did not understand the deeper meaning of the sentence, until she saw Fang Niang lying on the bed with her legs crossed, picking her toes and smoking. She was startled.

Fang Niang's pose is just like Uncle Du Lanshan's...

The young girl's heart was in turmoil, with all sorts of thoughts churning within her.

The frozen body, Fang Niang's gender, the opportunity the natives were seeking... She secretly gasped. Could it be that they were after the protector's body?

A healthy body?

Does that mean the indigenous people who stole the body of the protector also possess skills?

She rubbed her cold hands together for no apparent reason. When she looked at Tian Sanlang, who was standing in front of her bed looking at Fang Niang with disgust, she felt that she could no longer look at him with normal eyes—a monster who had lived for countless years in the skin of a child.

"Why is your heart beating so fast?" Fang Niang asked, puffing on her pipe, glancing at Cheng Shuang who was sitting blankly on the bed. "What happened to you while you were out?"

The little girl looked at 'her' with resentment: Doesn't it count as recognizing your true colors?

Tian Sanlang assumed that Cheng Shuang had lost confidence after being fooled by him, so in order to win over this 'accomplice,' he cleverly changed the subject, "Is our distinguished guest easy to serve? Does he give generous tips?"

Fang Niang was just asking casually. Compared to Cheng Shuang, she was most wary of Tian Sanlang. Anyone could see that Tian Sanlang was at the critical moment of exhaustion, and anyone who wanted to live would fight desperately.

Self-respect and bottom lines probably mean nothing to Tasaburo anymore.

People like them are rotten to the core, beyond redemption, and their only thought is to greedily survive.

"Not many. How many grown men can carry around a lot of candy? Tch, he acts like a gentleman when he takes a shower and insists I leave, but his eyes are always glued to me. Even when he refuses to let me stay with him during his afternoon nap, he still glances at me several times. Tsk, men!"

Tian Sanlang glanced at her and said, "Stop touching yourself. You're not a man. Stop touching your chin. You don't have a beard!"

"I once had it!"

Cheng Shuang suddenly spoke, her delicate voice filled with dejection, "I was thinking... maybe a little boy would do!"

“I didn’t see any second-class guests this time, I didn’t see any at all!” Fang Niang tapped her pipe, casually brushed the ash off the bed, and yawned halfway before suddenly getting up and maliciously urging, “If you leave, I’ll ask someone to keep an eye out for boys at the Star Moon Festival, how about that? Second-class guests are few, but they do exist, and they’re much easier to coax than VIPs.”

Tian Sanlang, who hadn't said a word until now, scoffed, "And then what! Like me, your health deteriorates in no time? Can a second-class guest be compared to a VIP? Are you picking and choosing vegetables? The cheaper the better, the happier you are. If Xiaoshuang really leaves, will you be at ease with someone else? You should have already experienced Xiaoshuang's situation yourself, why listen to her nonsense!"

Cheng Shuang: ...No, I'm not Xiao Shuang, I'm Bai Cai!

At this moment, Cheng Shuang was absolutely certain that these unknown beings disguised in human skin wanted the protector's body.

The term "VIP" is no different from how the natives and ghosts of the previous two death zones referred to the protectors as fugitives and outsiders. It seems respectful, but in reality, they are just food to be had. Second-class guests, on the other hand, are a euphemism for newcomers or veterans.

Newcomers and veterans, lacking rest stops to rely on, cannot improve their attributes and therefore lack the attractiveness of a maintainer's body.

No wonder she was able to easily blend into the indigenous group; her attire was one factor, but more likely it was because the protectors were all between eighteen and forty-five years old.

The people of Abyss City must have long since figured out the backgrounds of the distinguished guests and second-class guests, so they divided them into different classes. Those natives who were too old or too young but were disguised as newcomers were all arranged in the outer city because their bodies couldn't withstand the clothing, their physiques were too weak, and perhaps they also lacked skills. In a situation where there were more wolves than meat, they were becoming increasingly uncompetitive.

This vicious cycle meant that Tasaburo finally got this opportunity, which is why he fought for it at all costs.

When she first entered the city, aside from her status as a protector, she was dressed in an ancient costume that second-class guests would not wear, so the locals naturally regarded her as one of their own.

As for why the Cheng brothers ostracized her at the inner city gate, it was simply to eliminate competitors first.

This long-standing city had clearly created a set of rules that the indigenous people had to silently abide by. Everything seemed orderly on the surface, yet it was fraught with hidden dangers and undercurrents.

—It's either you die or I die!