"No, I don't even know who you're talking about. I'm just curious if the person who entered the eighth floor last time was my disciple. To be honest, I entered the eighth floor to find my disciple." Chen Zhou had no choice but to explain, otherwise the woman would misunderstand again. At this crucial moment, Chen Zhou obviously didn't want to be misunderstood.
"Apprentice? How old do you look? You already have an apprentice? What does your apprentice look like?" The woman's reaction was similar to Zhuo Miaoyan's. At first, neither of them believed that Chen Zhou could have an apprentice at such a young age. However, Zhuo Miaoyan had indeed had contact with Wo Wan and had heard Wo Wan mention that she had a master, which is why she believed Chen Zhou. But now Chen Zhou was not sure if that person was Wo Wan, so it was normal for the woman not to believe him. After all, he did look very young, and he was only eighteen years old.
This age was calculated by Chen Zhou based on his age in the modern world. If calculated according to the age in the Tianyun Continent, bone age can be measured, and Chen Zhou still doesn't know how old he really is.
“My disciple is a woman. She looks about your age and height.” Chen Zhou said directly. It had been a while since Chen Zhou had seen Wo Wan, so he couldn’t quite remember what his disciple looked like.
Therefore, Chen Zhou's explanation was still somewhat vague. Upon hearing this, the woman's expression changed slightly, and she directly asked, "Are you lying to me?"
"I'm telling the truth, but now I'm not quite sure what she looks like," Chen Zhou said weakly, seemingly realizing he was indeed in the wrong.
"Are you gambling? Gambling that there really is someone like that around me? And then you can use that connection to your advantage?" This woman was clearly still very wary of Chen Zhou and the middle-aged merchant, as could be seen from her words.
"Really, no! I really do have such an apprentice. If you don't believe me, if there really was such a person among the new residents who entered your village from the ninth floor to the eighth floor last time, please bring her here immediately! I really do have such an apprentice." Chen Zhou's voice couldn't help but rise a few decibels; Chen Zhou was now slightly agitated.
"Really?" The woman seemed stunned by Chen Zhou's voice and asked somewhat obsessively.
Chen Zhou immediately nodded and said directly, "If you can bring her here now, I can identify her right now, provided that the person is really my apprentice."
"Fine! I'll trust you this once. But what if you deceive me?" The woman was clearly still wary of Chen Zhou. She asked this question to save face. If he was indeed deceiving her, she would have every reason to expel him. She could take this opportunity to gamble. She could then make all sorts of demands.
"If I've lied to you, I'll take my brothers and leave right now, and never bother you again," Chen Zhou said directly without any hesitation. This woman seemed harmless, but she had many ulterior motives. For example, her words were clearly meant to get Chen Zhou to make a verbal promise.
This put Chen Zhou in a passive position, which is why he readily agreed. Now that Chen Zhou is quite familiar with the situation here, it's understandable that he'd try his luck. If the woman isn't Wo Wan, he'll leave immediately to find her; if she is, then he'll save a lot of time.
“Alright! It’s a deal. If you lie to me, you can leave here with your people,” the woman repeated.
Chen Zhou nodded silently, then exchanged a glance with the middle-aged vendor, who nodded back to him, indicating that he had no objections.
The woman got up and left Chen Zhou and the middle-aged merchant, walking towards the door. Immediately afterwards, Chen Zhou and the middle-aged merchant only heard the door close, and then the woman disappeared from the room.
"Are you really going to gamble with her?" The middle-aged merchant glanced back, and after seeing that the woman had really left, looked at Chen Zhou again to confirm.
Chen Zhou nodded and said, "It's true. We're quite familiar with the situation here now. If it's not true, we can leave immediately."
"That's right. So, have you thought about what to do next?" the middle-aged merchant asked. Now, everyone in the Advanced Alliance listened to Chen Zhou. Naturally, as a member of the Advanced Alliance, the middle-aged merchant wanted to know Chen Zhou's next plans.
"Next, let's see if the person that woman brought back is my apprentice. If not, we'll leave immediately. The brothers are hungry, so let's find some food to replenish our strength, and then go to that so-called capital to register for residence," Chen Zhou said after thinking for a moment.
As the woman mentioned earlier, one must abide by the rules of this eighth level. Reaching the capital city level is likely one of these rules; otherwise, one might be hunted down by the inspection teams within this eighth level. Chen Zhou clearly didn't want that; he preferred to resolve things peacefully rather than make them so complicated.
"What if the capital separates us?" The middle-aged merchant was used to considering the worst-case scenario before making plans. Just like now, he considered the worst-case scenario and asked Chen Zhou.
The issue of the middle-aged merchant has indeed stumped Chen Zhou. If he opposes the allocation of the capital city, he'll likely be accused of violating the rules of the Eighth Floor. Now, he can only pray that the capital city won't turn out to be so disgusting.
“If such a thing really happens, then we have no choice but to resist. The Advanced Alliance must never be disbanded,” Chen Zhou said.
The advanced alliance that the railway had built with its entire life's work was handed over to Chen Zhou and the middle-aged merchant. Both of them had secretly vowed to lead this advanced alliance to its peak, and that no matter what difficulties they encountered, they could solve them.
"We'll just have to see how it goes then," the middle-aged vendor said sheepishly.
While the two were talking, the woman had already run away from her house and soon reached the edge of the field. She brought a woman who was about the same height as her back home. This woman was naturally confused and didn't know what had gotten into her master today, that she wanted to be called back. She hadn't finished her farm work yet, and she was worried that she wouldn't have anything to eat.
"Young Miss, what are you taking me to do?" The woman asked immediately as the other woman led her by the hand and they ran.
Because she really didn't know what she was supposed to do.
"I'm going to see someone. Do you have a master?" the woman asked as she ran.
"Master? Of course I have one. Before entering this eighth level, I served in the army on the ninth level, so of course I have a master. What's wrong? What does this have to do with you dragging me back now?" the woman asked, puzzled.
"Oh dear, I can't really explain it, but your master is really young and keeps asking to see you," the woman replied hastily, her voice trembling from her hurried run.
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