After the broadcast ended, the in-car music resumed.
Melodious music filled the car, a sound Ikenouchi Toyohiko and the others had never heard before, seemingly popular music from this world, yet not something Ikenouchi Toyohiko and the others could appreciate.
"Oh dear… it seems things aren't peaceful lately~"
Just as Ikenouchi Toyohiko and the others were silently contemplating, the driver in front suddenly spoke, breaking the silence.
"Guests, you must be careful during this period, not only the Central District, but the Far East Society's activities also include several surrounding Residential Areas."
"Is that so… Driver, how much do you know?"
The driver raised his eyes and glanced at the rearview mirror, meeting Ikenouchi Toyohiko's gaze through the glass, then chuckled heartily.
"You've come to the right person asking me about this. For us drivers to make a living, we have to stay well-informed, and I'm the intelligence leader of this area! Not to mention these major events that everyone knows, I even know the gossip chatted by the village grandmas in District XX!"
The driver boasted proudly, revealing some yellowish teeth, then began to talk incessantly, clearly a very talkative person.
From the driver's mouth, Ikenouchi Toyohiko and the others indeed obtained a lot of useful information, and they had to admit that this driver truly had a knack… However, most of this information wasn't very valuable, as it seemed to be information that ordinary people could easily find.
The current national situation is still openly managed by the national government, but secretly, the Magic Aristocrats rule this land.
This is already something most intelligent people know, after all, no one is a fool, and those Magicians are so high-profile.
In the current situation, the Buren Family stands alone as the dominant power, with four other High-Level Magic Aristocrats below them—Elvin, Elizabeth, Kazama, and Hasegawa. These five powerful families occupy three-quarters of the Central District's territory, while the remaining quarter is the Residential Area and commercial districts. Most wealthy families live there, and due to the flourishing commercial atmosphere and the presence of various families'Station also in the Central District, adhering to the principle of 'it's good to enjoy the shade under a big tree,' housing prices there are now extremely expensive.
Other Magic Aristocrats, within their respective territories, can be roughly divided into four factions, each following the arrangements of the four High-Level Magic Aristocrats.
The four high-ranking families are constantly in friction and conflict, always vying for resources… But strangely, no one has ever tried to shake the Buren Family, never.
Ikenouchi Toyohiko and the others knew that this was probably Ye Tian's doing; the Buren Family was likely Ye Tian's base camp.
As for the [Far East Society], the so-called terrorist organization, the driver's words contradicted the broadcast…
"You don't know, that Far East Society or whatever, I actually think it's not a terrorist organization at all."
"Hmm? How so?"
"Well, we business runners actually often encounter those people, and they're quite nice.
You don't know, we occasionally might pick up some Magicians from the Magic Aristocrats, but they are all high and mighty, acting as if a mere Magician is so noble, very disrespectful to us, and sometimes they won't even pay, but we can't get angry, right? But those people are different, we've given them rides many times, and there are some high-level Magicians among them, but they are all very easy to talk to, very respectful to us, and pay enough."
"You use that standard to measure an organization?"
"Isn't that enough? Good to people, pays well, I'm just a driver, that's more than enough!"
Wuwei was speechless, but it seemed to make some sense, so he stopped refuting.
"Forget it…"
Wuwei pulled out a cigarette from his pocket and handed it over, his practiced movements making the Ikenouchi father and daughter beside him stare wide-eyed.
Why do you have this?!
The driver in front, however, chuckled at the sight, and unceremoniously took the cigarette from his hand, put it in his mouth, then rubbed two fingers together, and with a flick, a ball of flame shot out from his fingertips, lighting the cigarette.
Of course, after lighting the cigarette, the driver didn't forget to open the window. He could tell that the three in the back probably didn't smoke, so he casually pressed a button on the side of the car, and a cool breeze blew inside, sweeping all the secondhand smoke out the window along its path, so the three in the back didn't even smell it.
"Driver, I'd like to ask, what's the situation with the Buren Family now?"
The driver raised his eyes and glanced at the rearview mirror, and saw Wuwei in the back seat remove his eye patch. Through the mirror, the driver and that crimson heterochromatic eye met gazes.
"The Buren Family… I don't know, there's very little information, but there's one person inside that everyone keeps discussing."
"Who?"
"A man named Ye Tian. It's said that more than twenty years ago, he was just a Magic apprentice, yet he was able to marry the Buren Family's eldest daughter directly. Even now, he's still a legend among many young people, the number one gigolo."
The scenery outside the window kept receding, the pedestrians on the roadside became fewer and fewer, but the vehicles on the main road became more and more numerous.
The driver seemed to have a lot of information and was very well-informed. Under Wuwei's illusionary hypnosis, they finally got something more valuable.
Ye Tian seemed to have many descendants, perhaps because he had many wives… However, most of their descendants were not in the Buren Family, but had gone out to make their own way, and some had already started families.
The Buren Family's internal situation seemed very chaotic, with many ambitious people gathered there, ready to make a move, but seemingly not daring to act presumptuously due to Ye Tian's presence.
The high-level national government has been hollowed out, and various Magic Aristocrats have sent personnel to hold high positions in state organs. Various new policies and laws enacted, ostensibly for the people and for society, actually direct the vast majority of benefits to the various Magic Aristocrats, who are the biggest beneficiaries.
This is also why most people believe that this country has been secretly ruled by those Magic Aristocrats, especially the Buren Family. In fact, it has long unified the world, establishing a tyrannical empire, where the common people have no freedom and no human rights. This country needs to be saved.
Therefore, the Far East Society came into being, led by six incredibly powerful Magicians, resisting the rule of the Magic Aristocrats and restoring a bright and clear world.
At Wuwei's signal, Ikenouchi Toyohiko asked the driver about the Ikenouchi. Interestingly, they got a very interesting answer from the driver.
"Ikenouchi? Oh… are you talking about that Magic Aristocrat family that was wiped out by the Buren Family more than twenty years ago? Weren't they already destroyed, becoming the first victims of the Buren Family's unified dominion… Oh, guests, we've arrived."
The three still wanted to ask more, but they had already reached their destination. The driver turned around and gave a hearty smile.
Wuwei and the other two didn't linger, opening the car doors and getting out. The driver reminded them to take their belongings and then drove away.
"Mr. Fang…"
"Hmm… that driver is probably one of the so-called [Far East Society] people."
"Looks like we're lucky… Should we try to make contact?"
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Later, let's go find those people from the Far East Society and see."
Watching the taxi speed away, the three stood by the roadside, seeing it off.
Inside the car, the driver shook his head, feeling a bit dizzy… This wouldn't do, driving while fatigued was deadly!
He immediately pulled over to the side of the road, took out another cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and began to smoke.
"Wan Lun… Wan Lun…"
A voice suddenly came from the car radio. The driver immediately became alert, looked around, closed the car windows, then stretched out his hand and waved it over the radio. A light blue magic circle appeared in his hand, then dissipated, turning into magic power that enveloped the car.
"Aisha! How many times have I told you not to speak directly over the radio!"
"Oh, I sensed it, there's no one in your car~~"
"Bah!"
The driver, named Wan Lun, took a deep puff of his cigarette, exhaling smoke.
"What is it?"
"You should drive around the Central District more often recently. Those Magic Aristocrats have big moves lately, it seems they're going to start a purge."
"What about the other brothers?"
"More manpower will be sent to the Central District and surrounding Cities. Our strongest Magician will also be active nearby recently. You all need to pay more attention, and intelligence work cannot be neglected."
"...It's going to be busy~"
"Just get through this period. For the people, for freedom."
"Far East forever."