Benzedrine scrutinized the holographic map, its various functions now unlocked. His brow knitted in a frown, "This is quite the rip-off~ It's just a basic map~ And it cost you a pretty penny. Doesn't that hurt your heart?"

"Not at all."

Kawada Kazuo Ichiro shook his head, stifling his anguish. He was prepared to make sacrifices for his protector god. Everyone has their ambitions, and he was to ascend higher in ranks through this man.

The resources available to a team leader were meager. Only by becoming a squad leader, or even a platoon leader, could one secure more resources, especially the much-coveted blood proof needed for the awakening transfer.

He could no longer depend on his immediate boss. His boss was self-serving and rarely showed compassion to his

"You don't need to pretend. It's okay to feel the pinch. I feel rather bad for you, seeing you squander your money like this."

Benzeda patted the man's shoulder, "According to the map, we should be at the southernmost part of the area. We need to cross a river and a canyon to reach that point."

"We should get moving then. There are still 11 hours and 32 minutes until the end."

Kawada Kazuo Ichiro pointed ahead.

"There's no rush. We're not the only ones. Let the others go ahead and fight for it. We just need to reap the benefits~"

Benzedrine stood with his hands behind his back, looking confident.

"..."

Kawada Kazuo was skeptical. What if everyone else thought the same way?

But of course, these were his personal reservations. As a subordinate, he dared not challenge his superior openly. The superior's word was law. If the superior made a mistake, a simple apology would suffice. But if a subordinate erred, they might have to part with a finger.

...

Meanwhile, Ming was preparing a meal for Alice. Seated at the doorway, he set up a mini alcohol stove, placed a pack of instant noodles on it, and waited.

In the marked area, the warehouse was disabled, so he had packed a few days' worth of food in his backpack beforehand. He hadn't anticipated that this area would be wrapped up in a mere 12 hours.

There was ample food, but wastefulness wasn't an option.

After a while, Alice returned, accepted a tissue from Ming, and wiped her sweat-soaked body.

"All set?"

"Yep."

"Exhausted, I bet. Have some noodles."

"Okay~."

"..."

[Your frogs watch you, a little disappointed. Was this the best you could do? Just noodles? Show some sincerity, give her a sausage or something~]

ƥαṇdαs ηθνε| [Foodie nestled in Alice's arms, affectionately nuzzling against her stomach. It felt her gentle touch and noticed the calluses on her palms. No wonder Ming isn't keen on her~]

"Don't you feel that you're becoming more and more like a capitalist?"

Alice slurped her noodles, pointing at Ming's chopsticks still in the pot.

Ming dismissed her with a wave of his hand, "Well, I prefer a peaceful life, but it requires ample resources to sustain. You should know, I've got a big family to feed."

"Actually, I think it might be a good thing if you could capitalize the whole world."

Alice voiced her thoughts casually while savoring a spoonful of soup, "Of course, it's just a fleeting thought."

"I've mulled over it myself, honestly."

"Ruling the entire world?"

"Do I not have the makings?"

"You do~"

After their meal, Ming brought out a sofa from the little house and positioned it at the entrance. They reclined on it, chatting intermittently while keeping an eye on their surroundings.

Alice held a coconut, sipping its juice and softly closing her eyes. When she opened them again, a fleeting glint of gold light had vanished. She casually surveyed the surroundings.

Ming lounged on the sofa, inhaling deeply, appearing at ease.

"Do you realize how many eyes are on us right now?"

Alice chuckled, her left foot lightly tapping against Ming's calf.

"If you want to take advantage of me, just be straightforward~ There's no need to beat around the bush~"

Ming shifted to the side a bit, patting off a bit of dust on his trousers.

"..."

Alice stared at the man in surprise, "You've changed."

"Yeah, I've become more fond of cleanliness~"

"..."

Alice's brow furrowed, "Aren't you concerned about the eyes watching us?"

Ming shrugged, "Why overthink it?"...

At another location, Jinx lowered his telescope and turned to his comrades, "Have you finished scouting the surroundings? What's the situation?"

"Scouting's done. There's a group across from us, Bomb Guy is off to the left, three people are to the right, and a bunch of long-range archers are hiding in the back. No one else in sight."

"Seems like they're all waiting, just like us."

Jinx's frown deepened, "If we keep dragging our feet, those two will have the upper hand. We need to brainstorm. How can this Gutmann be so arrogant? His wooden signs are everywhere."

"Could it be the legendary God Slayer?"

"The one who vanquished the desert god, Set, and skinned the Sphinx?"

"The one who skinned was Gutmann Water, there's another called Gutman Gras, who killed the Feathered Serpent God, even took out its gallbladder and ate it raw. They say he didn't find it bitter at all."

"Then we wait a bit longer~"

Jinx turned to a puppet master, "Send a small one over. The priority is to inspect the inside of that cottage. I refuse to believe there are only two of them."

At yet another spot, Leondra took a deep drag on his cigarette.

Releasing a cloud of smoke, he sighed, "Damn, This isn't working. We need to negotiate."

Someone chimed in, "But if they really belong to the God Slayer Gutman family, we might not have much to negotiate with."

"Sigh~"

Leondra inhaled another puff of smoke. If it truly was that Gutman, an even split would be out of the question. But showing his doubts before his subordinates would undermine his leadership.

With that in mind, he decided to toss the problem back to his subordinates. Exhaling smoke, he queried, "If those two indeed belong to the God Slayer Gutmann family, what's our plan to eliminate them?"

"!!"

His subordinates were taken aback, their eyes widening at their leader's audacity.

"I believe we should refrain from hasty actions."

"We could wait a bit longer. what if someone can't hold back? Right?"

"If they truly are from that family, negotiation should be our first step. We could offer some money in exchange for a portion of their land. Engaging in a fight will only hand the advantage to others."

"Firstly, we should let the puppeteer send in some smaller creatures to assess the situation. We can devise our next plan based on that information."

"Sigh~"

Leondra smoked his cigarette down to the filter, "Alright."

Elsewhere, Stalov sipped on his vodka, sighing, "Those guys are holding back their troops, which pretty much confirms that those two belong to the Gutman family. All we can do is wait for someone brave or foolish enough to take them on."

"Why not form alliances with others? We have quite a few people, can't we take them down?"

Stalov tapped the man's forehead, "You think you're the only smart one? If it was that simple, we would have started long ago. The root of the problem is that those guys have selfish genes in their blood. Working with them is even less reliable than negotiating with that Gutman to buy some land."

"So what's our plan now?"

"Have the puppeteer control a small creature to check out the situation inside the cottage. I want to confirm whether there are indeed only two of them."

At yet another location, Benzedrine set down his telescope, his gaze lingering on the farm cottage, "There must be more than just the two of them. Someone else must be in that house. Puppeteer, control a scout bird and investigate."