Gao Lingling knew that things were indeed very dangerous if they continued to develop in this way.

Who knows, one day some ill-intentioned person might pretend to be a refugee and attack Yun Shui Ning.

Upon hearing Gao Lingling's words, Yun Shui Ning quickly finished distributing the last of the food in her hand, then stood up and replied:

"Oh, Gao Lingling, stop nagging. You're almost as old as my dad."

"As long as you don't tell anyone, no one will know, right?"

Upon hearing this, Gao Lingling glanced at the surrounding crowd with displeasure and muttered irritably:

"These people aren't blind; the city lord probably already knows about this by now."

Looking at the increasing number of refugees outside the city, Yun Shui Ning couldn't help but sigh with worry.

Recently, a terrifying rumor has been circulating throughout Zhongzhou—that a major earthquake is about to occur.

Even in the surrounding areas of Shuicheng, this rumor has spread like wildfire.

This led to a bizarre incident.

For their own safety, people who originally lived in the city actually took the initiative to leave the city and live in the mountains, while the refugees who originally lived in the mountains fled to the outskirts of the city.

Yun Shui Ning looked at the starving refugee children outside the city, and she couldn't bear it.

However, her father, the city lord, had secretly told her that it wasn't an earthquake at all, but rather that the earth's veins in Zhongzhou were about to erupt for some unknown reason, which caused the landmasses to squeeze against each other and trigger the tremors that people felt.

Yun Shui Ning, who had studied geography, knew that these ley lines in Zhongzhou had not changed before the typhoon and heavy rain.

But recently these ley lines have become increasingly active, as if they have been awakened by some mysterious force.

It's clear that something big is about to happen in Zhongzhou, and her father hasn't told her the specifics because he's worried about her safety.

Thinking of this, Yun Shui Ning's mood grew even heavier.

After dropping Yun Shui Ning, who had been silent the whole way, off at home, Gao Lingling did not return home as usual.

Instead, she stopped and walked along the way, eventually arriving at the entrance of a dark pawnshop in the water town.

Gao Lingling cautiously looked back, and only after confirming that no one was behind her did she lower her head and walk inside.

The already gloomy environment was made even darker by the fact that the pawnshop had no windows.

However, it seemed that this was not Gao Lingling's first time here. She skillfully bypassed the tables in the dark and went straight to the pawnshop counter.

"Ta-da!"

Gao Lingling reached out and gently tapped on the counter.

With three knocks, a plump middle-aged woman slowly stood up from behind the counter.

In the darkness, the middle-aged woman's eyes were dull and lifeless; she simply asked in a hoarse, low voice:

"To pawn alive or to pawn dead?"

“I’ll take it!” Gao Lingling answered without hesitation.

As soon as she finished speaking, the middle-aged woman nodded slightly and then activated her supernatural ability.

Immediately afterwards, a hazy, ethereal figure appeared behind the middle-aged woman, flickering erratically.

Behind the phantom, there appeared to be an even smaller phantom.

Upon seeing the illusory figure, Gao Lingling's expression instantly turned serious. She immediately knelt down and respectfully spoke:

"Greetings, Young Master Ao."

She knew that this young master Ao was a master ranked seventy-fourth on the Central Plains Ranking.

Not only is its strength unfathomable, but its style of doing things is also extremely secretive and mysterious, making it difficult for people to understand.

For example, kneeling before a phantom and speaking in a manner similar to ancient sayings are things that Young Master Ao likes to see the most.

Since joining the organization, Gao Lingling has never seen Young Master Ao's true face, and even seeing his phantom image now is an extremely rare opportunity.

Today, awakened beings are emerging like mushrooms after rain, while those terrifying ancient weapons are gradually declining.

Under these circumstances, Young Master Ao decisively seized the opportunity early on, quietly infiltrating into Zhongzhou and continuously developing and expanding his covert power by relying on his own strength and wealth.

It's no exaggeration to say that if Young Master Ao wanted to, with his current wealth, he could immediately buy a city in Zhongzhou and become a local tyrant.

But it's clear that Young Master Ao had no such intention.

Upon seeing that Gao Lingling was a spy sent to Yuncheng long ago, the phantom of Young Master Ao finally spoke:

"Idiot, speak up."

Hearing Young Master Ao's curses, Gao Lingling dared not show the slightest dissatisfaction. She nervously reported to the illusory figure:

"Reporting to Lord Ao, City Lord Yunming was poisoned after returning from his trip a few days ago. I managed to see Yunming after he was poisoned, thanks to my close relationship with Yun Shui Ning."

"When I got close to Yunming, I could hardly feel the powerful Awakened energy fluctuations in his body anymore. This was definitely the best time."

After hearing the report, Young Master Ao replied in a very loud voice:

"You good-for-nothing, you've finally come in somewhat useful!"

Subsequently, Young Master Ao deliberately severed his connection with the middle-aged woman at the pawnshop, and his phantom image vanished into the darkness.

At this moment, the middle-aged woman suddenly shouted:

"Pawning successful."

Then she took out a thick stack of Zhongzhou coins from under the counter, all of them in denominations of one hundred, and slowly handed them to Gao Lingling.

Upon seeing this, Gao Lingling excitedly stood up, took the banknotes, put them away, and quickly left the almost pitch-black pawnshop.

Not long after Gao Lingling reported the news of the city lord's poisoning, Young Master Ao openly published a notice in the Central State newspaper.

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