A swap brought Franklin onto the vehicle.
All at once, the atmosphere in the team became much more harmonious.
At the very least, Xiang Nan could engage in "productive" conversation with this particular Spider member.
He maintained constant communication with Shalnark on the other end.
"They're returning to the city of Glam Gas Land once more to attack the mafia, so the military and hired guns sealing off the city's exits will definitely deploy at once to reinforce them. But some will likely remain. From here, our task is to break through the remaining blockade. We particularly need to watch out for… those from Nameless Town."
As the vehicle sped along, Xiang Nan issued this reminder.
He meant that Shalnark's group would continue attacking the city's mafia to draw away forces and create a "lure the tiger from the mountain" situation.
Though the mafia plus the wealthy magnate's private armies might have been partially diverted, the remainder still had to be contended with.
Even if it was not the main force, Glam Gas Land was a large metropolis on the Yorbian Continent, and the mafia's foundation was nothing like the small town of Zerta, where Xiang Nan had previously dealt with only three local factions. In Glam Gas Land, there were easily dozens—if not hundreds—of underworld cliques, intricately entangled, some even linked to the Ten Dons.
"I'd heard that in your Nameless Town, members often kill each other. A strange organization indeed," muttered Franklin, his eyes fixed on the highway outside the windshield, his voice muffled.
Numbers alone aren't frightening, but if the person commanding the opposing side happens to be a player, that would change the dynamic significantly.
Xiang Nan let out a short laugh, offering no explanation.
"You're in the mafia, right? Judging from how you seem to know what we did."
Franklin spoke again.
It was clear Shalnark hired this "security team" from somewhere, with an obvious purpose.
"I only have some contacts in the underworld. Although we're escorting your stuff, this assignment also concerns our own survival… Even if Shalnark decided not to tell us details, for the sake of completing the task, I believe it's necessary to gather some intel."
Xiang Nan said.
Indeed, Xiang Nan had learned from Mia what kind of colossal mess the Spiders had stirred up.
Recently, a world-renowned symphony orchestra's performance attracted a large number of top-level dignitaries in Yorbian continent, including some mafia bosses with deep roots in Glam's local territory, as well as the world-famous tycoon Howell.
Then… the Phantom Troupe attacked the performance venue, kidnapping these high-profile figures. Afterward, they demanded ransom. But once the mafia and the rich families paid an enormous sum, the Spiders reneged, killing them all anyway and discarding the corpses.
Such betrayal infuriated the entire city's underworld, plus those rich families also went all out trying to kill the Phantom Troupe. Because the Troupe's approach lacked any semblance of "honor"—they took the money yet still murdered the hostages, an act that incited everyone's wrath.
Over the years, plenty of forces had fallen victim to the Spiders, whose infamy was well-known.
But this time, Shalnark's small squad had provoked not just the mafia, but wealthy moguls as well.
Those who reach such pinnacles of wealth definitely hold stakes and influence across many spheres. A single death among that circle would make other top magnates very wary of the Phantom Troupe—nobody wants to become their "food."
Moreover, this wasn't the Troupe's first time targeting the wealthy, so when the matter blew up, countless other big-money individuals likely joined in clandestine support to rid themselves of the Troupe.
In any world, while money isn't truly omnipotent, it can function as if it were.
Look at the original story's Greed Island arc with that top tycoon Battera: just for his beloved, he could easily muster numerous Nen users with enough funding.
Similarly, here, the murdered wealthy figure in Glam—though perhaps not as loaded as Battera—was still among the ranks of the world's richest. Before, when the Troupe attacked major targets, none had reached this level. This time, they touched the nerve of that entire social echelon.
Such a wealthy family's resources might even rival a small nation's GDP. Their private armies, though not a nationwide force, remain formidable.
That, in Xiang Nan's view, was the real headache. Not just the mafia but also these magnates.
And that's without factoring in potential hostile players. With enough money, who knows how many hidden Nen users might come at them?
Worst of all, if they tried fleeing Glam Gas Land but remained within that country's borders, the official military might also get involved, so until they reach Meteor City, there's no guarantee they're safe.
Eventually, after a while, Xiang Nan's group parked the van in some mountainous woodlands.
They awaited Shalnark's call.
Inside, nobody spoke.
Beep beep beep…
Suddenly, Franklin's phone rang.
He calmly answered.
"Franklin… have you reached the checkpoint of the enemy?"
From the background came noise of gunfire, clashing and chaos, with Shalnark cheerfully asking.
"Mm."
"Their forces should've redeployed, flooding into the battlefield. You can make your move now."
Shalnark informed him.
Franklin hung up.
Dylan promptly floored the accelerator, driving the vehicle out of the woods toward the winding roadway.
They'd chosen this route as the most remote access point connecting Glam to the outside.
Nonetheless, it might still be guarded. Presently it was deep into the night, pitch-black outside.
Unsurprisingly, after barely ten more minutes, just as they were about to leave Glam's jurisdiction, they spotted a row of blinding searchlights ahead, turning night to day.
They saw large numbers of mafia operatives standing on the road, with a row of black sedans parked nearby.
"Leader, what do we do?"
Dylan asked, panicked.
Though there was still some distance, he could see clearly that these men were all armed, some with heavy weapons.
"Step on it. We're breaking through."
Xiang Nan said expressionlessly.
"Huh?"
Dylan froze.
"Boss… maybe we could pretend to accept inspection, then once out of the car…" a female player in the team suggested.
If they didn't slow down but rather sped up, the other side would immediately suspect something and open fire.
"You know nothing of the mafia."
Xiang Nan simply replied.
Spiders caused a massive uproar, so in the eyes of the mafia and the wealthy, it's likely a savage retribution.
"Inspection" was probably just a charade. They must've planned to kill anyone who tried leaving, to ensure Spiders can't slip away disguised.
Anyone wanting to leave Glam typically would've arranged connections or official clearance in advance. Anyone else… likely had no chance.
Hence, by the moment they appeared on the road, there was no chance to negotiate or retreat.
Indeed, that's exactly how it was.
"Boss, a car's coming."
A mafia lieutenant on the highway spoke into his walkie-talkie.
Having heard his subordinate's report, the underboss—flicking away his cigarette—didn't even glance at the approaching headlights. He simply gave a cold directive:
"Blow it up."
"Yes."
~~~
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