Facing the questions from the two of them, all Nero did was spread his hands.
"If I really have to say it, honestly, I can't quite explain it either. I call it the tacit understanding between smart people!"
Nero's words made March roll her eyes and complain, "The moment you say something like that, you're already not a smart person anymore, right...?"
Listening to the exchange between the two, Dan Heng and Stelle both showed helpless smiles.
After that, with Dan Heng's help, Nero briefly explained his encounter with Sampo. Basically, Sampo wasn't an ordinary person, so he decided to squeeze some coins out of him, and at the same time discuss matters related to the Fragmentum creature supplies industry.
March and Stelle, likewise with Dan Heng's help, fully understood all of this.
Afterward, the group casually chatted about some other things.
Suddenly, a familiar deep blue flashed past March's eyes.
Deep blue hair, a wine-red short jacket, a tall figure, a slightly flirtatious, energetic-young-man-like posture, every one of these traits pointed that back figure to a single person.
"Ah, look, Sampo's over there!" March shouted.
Sampo, who was walking toward the exit of the Fight Club, didn't turn his head. He only glanced back with the corner of his eye.
As Mr. Cold Feet, whose business connections were extremely wide, he was usually very busy.
Aside from cheating people and pulling petty tricks, he also had to bring supplies to the Underworld, play with children, and now, on top of that, he had to shoulder new tasks like developing big business, training Sampo Korgi, and playing around with newly acquainted little colleagues.
Poor Sampo could barely squeeze out even a bit of time for himself… he could only seize every moment to set up the stage and theater he needed.
Of course, even though it sounded busy as hell, Mr. Cold Feet still enjoyed it.
Very soon, Sampo walked out of the Fight Club.
He first showed a smile, then began to mobilize his facial muscles, putting on an expression that looked a bit nervous and cautious, as if something bad were staring at him from behind.
When the others heard March's voice, they also turned their heads, but only caught sight of the tip of Sampo's hair.
Considering Sampo's act of "repaying kindness with virtue," Stelle said, "We should properly thank him."
Dan Heng nodded lightly. "Let's go."
The group pushed through the crowded mass of people and quickly left the lively Fight Club as well.
After returning to the streets, the Trailblazer squad followed Sampo's trail and circled around the streets.
In the end, they slipped into a small alley, turned behind a building along it, and there they found Sampo, holding his breath, shifty-eyed, fully on guard.
This guy stood at attention against the wall, as if trying to make his body as thin as a sheet of paper, his green eyes cautiously observing the surroundings.
When he discovered that the newcomers were the Trailblazer squad, he immediately let out a sigh of relief, then put on his usual shrewd and fawning expression.
"Uh… hi! So it was you guys. I was wondering why a few people were following behind me, thinking maybe I'd run into bandits, so I couldn't help but walk faster and faster… If I'd known it was you, I would've opened my arms wide to greet you!"
"Bandits?" Nero blinked. "Aren't you in that line of work yourself?"
"Huh?" Sampo froze for a moment. "No, that's different! How can you lump me together with those riffraff?"
"Mm, that's true." Nero nodded, seeming to agree with Sampo's words, but immediately added, "You're still different from them. They rely more on brute force, you're more civilized."
Sampo tugged at the corner of his mouth. "A civilized bandit isn't much better than a bandit anyway…"
Nero and Sampo casually bantered for a couple of lines, looking like they were already quite familiar with each other.
Our big dummy Stelle still remembered the matter of giving thanks and expressed her gratitude to Sampo.
Sampo instantly beamed with joy, "Not at all, not at all, no need to be polite! As the saying goes, when you're out and about, you rely on friends. Since we've met, of course we're all good friends!"
"What's more, we still have business to discuss. I, Sampo, would definitely stab my ribs for friends and stay utterly loyal to partners!"
After that, Dan Heng spoke in a calm voice, "So then, do you have any thoughts about the next plan?"
Sampo blinked, looked at Dan Heng, and played dumb. "What plan?"
Dan Heng slightly narrowed his eyes, his gaze becoming oppressive, and continued, "You already took action and led us underground while we were surrounded by the Silvermane Guards. Do you really think you can still stay out of it?"
"From the current situation, the surface is already very difficult to serve as a space for us to operate. Although we don't know the reason, it's obvious that Cocolia has no intention of letting us off."
"In terms of identity, the few of us, at this moment, should be no different from you in the eyes of the Silvermane Guards, wanted criminals."
"Down here, although the living environment is even worse than on the surface, the Guards won't chase us down. For now, it can be considered a safe place."
"But staying holed up here forever is obviously not an option…"
At this point, Dan Heng didn't continue, but calmly looked at Sampo, waiting for the other party's response.
Although he didn't like communicating with people, at this moment, as the external brain and logistical support of the Trailblazer squad, he had to step forward and say more.
Teacher Dan Heng was still in C…
In the current situation, Sampo was undoubtedly a good choice. Moreover, in his words, Dan Heng didn't forget to pull Sampo into the same predicament, making it sound like they were all ants tied to the same rope.
As an excellent and well-regarded "businessman," the connections behind Sampo were all options worth trying for the Trailblazer squad at this moment. Given the current circumstances, choosing to ride the momentum was a strategy right in front of them.
Of course, if the four members of the Trailblazer squad were all hanging out with Nanook, then there would be no need to consider things so carefully like this, for example, the possibility of establishing future ties with this planet could be completely crossed out.
And if all four were with Nanook, then this kind of situation wouldn't have appeared in the first place.
Most likely, the moment they landed, the four of them would've been howling, shouting about friendship, bonds, destruction, and the like, and rushed up to shave off Cocolia's scalp.
"Uh… tsk…"
Sampo bared his teeth, mouth pulled wide, his brows filled with worry. A few beads of sweat seeped from his temples as he put on a troubled and distressed expression, as if he'd been persuaded by Dan Heng.
More than ten seconds later, as though he'd made some decision that went against his ancestors, he finally said in a tone of reluctant compromise, "Alright, I get it. Your analysis is very correct. I really can't stay out of this anymore. Sampo will help you, help you without holding anything back!"
"Hehehe… As a show of sincerity, I'll first introduce you all to Wildfire. If you want to find anything underground, just ask them!"
Nero watched Sampo's performance from the side with half-lidded eyes, thinking to himself, 'Amazing, really amazing, he acts just like it's real. Oh, no, wait, this actually seems to be exactly what he wanted in the first place. Anyway, truly impressive. Ah-trash-ha, worthy of the Masked Fool.'