"Who are you?" Hearing the voice, Luka paused mid-step before turning around to face the black-haired young man who had suddenly appeared behind him.
His first impression: Handsome!
Second impression: Even more handsome than that poker-faced guy earlier!
Third impression: ...I'm not even as good-looking as that poker-faced guy.
"I am Yun Fan, a traveling merchant." Yun Fan smiled faintly, stepping forward amiably and extending a hand toward Luka.
"A merchant? A traveling merchant?" Luka was slightly taken aback. Merchants were already a rare sight in the Underworld—let alone the entirety of Belobog. And a wandering trader with no fixed destination? In a cutthroat place like the Underworld, without some real skills, such a person wouldn't last long.
"Why did you stop me?" Luka shook Yun Fan's hand, though inwardly, he was already on guard. This man's appearance was extraordinary, and his attire didn't seem like something an Underworld resident could afford. Could he be from the Overworld?
"Haha, Brother Luka gets straight to the point. Then I'll be direct as well. I, Yun Fan, wish to discuss a major business deal with Wildfire. I was hoping you could introduce me."
That was Yun Fan's goal in approaching Luka. For him, the Stellaron crisis could be resolved at any time. But if he simply dealt with it so easily, this Trailblaze journey would lose all its fun.
He was quite interested in Natasha, Clara, and Seele—and Wildfire would serve as the perfect intermediary to meet them.
As for sending Dan Heng to fight in the ring? Well, firstly, Yun Fan wanted to watch. Secondly, Luka had been stubbornly lingering in the Fight Club, making it impossible to speak with him alone. So, Yun Fan had Dan Heng step in and deliver a crushing defeat to destabilize Luka's confidence.
"Pfft—Brother Yun Fan, you must be joking. How would I—" Luka stiffened slightly, about to brush off the request, but when he saw Yun Fan's faintly amused expression, the words died in his throat.
"...How did you know about my connection to Wildfire?" Luka's voice turned serious. Unseen by Yun Fan, his steel arm clenched tightly, ready to strike at any moment.
"Me? Well, gathering information is—"
THUD!
Before Yun Fan could finish, Luka's iron fist—charged with power—suddenly lashed out, slamming hard into Yun Fan's side.
"You—"
Yun Fan didn't even get to finish his sentence before collapsing like a sack of wet flour.
"Just who the hell is this guy? Tch. Better take him back and let the boss handle the rest." Luka scrutinized the unconscious Yun Fan before deciding to haul him to Wildfire's headquarters.
"Ugh… Why is this guy so damn heavy?!" The moment Luka hoisted Yun Fan onto his shoulder, he felt an immense weight pressing down, as if he were carrying a block of lead instead of a person.
"What a pain…" Grumbling, Luka trudged laboriously toward Wildfire's base.
However—unseen by Luka—Yun Fan's eyes cracked open slightly, a faint smirk playing on his lips before he feigned unconsciousness once more.
Wildfire Headquarters…
"Leader Natasha? Why have you come personally? And… Seele?"
Oleg, who had been brooding over Wildfire's financial struggles, stood up at the sound of knocking. When he saw who had arrived, he immediately stepped forward to greet them.
"Oleg, there's something urgent I need to address. Seele came to me directly with critical intelligence—something all of Wildfire needs to know. This may… concern the stability—no, the very survival of the Underworld." Natasha shook her head, her tone grave.
As Wildfire's true leader, she typically operated from the shadows, with Oleg serving as the public face. Few within the organization knew her real identity—even Seele had only stumbled upon the truth by accident.
"It's that serious?" Oleg immediately grasped the severity from Natasha's tone. She was not one to exaggerate.
"Seele, explain the situation." Natasha turned to the young woman beside her. As the first witness, Seele was the most qualified to speak.
"Right. Not long ago, near the border area—"
Seele vividly recounted what she had seen. By the time she finished, even Oleg—a man who could remain unshaken before a collapsing mountain—had paled, his expression now one of sheer horror.
"This… How is this possible?!"
Oleg's gaze flicked back to Natasha, who nodded solemnly.
"I verified it personally. From a medical standpoint, those vagrants all died of natural causes. It's as if… Death itself reaped their lives at the exact same moment."
"No time to waste, Oleg. Issue the orders immediately—tell all Wildfire members to be cautious when outside. Under no circumstances should they provoke those two men and two women. I'd rather not wake up in the afterlife tonight." Though Natasha delivered the last line jokingly, there was no trace of humor in her eyes.
"I understand." Oleg nodded gravely.
However—
Knock knock knock…
A familiar rapping sounded at the door.
Creak—
Luka pushed it open and stepped inside.
"Master, I'm back. Huh? Leader Natasha and Seele are here too?"
"Luka? Why are you back so early? And what's that on your shoulder?" Oleg glanced at the clock, puzzled. Normally, Luka wouldn't return for another two or three hours.
"Well, actually…" Luka briefly summarized the situation with Yun Fan, conveniently omitting his humiliating defeat in the Fight Club. There was no way he'd admit that his strongest punch hadn't even breached the opponent's guard.
"A traveling merchant wanting to do business with Wildfire? Heh. The guy's got guts." Oleg shook his head.
"Luka, set him down and wake him up."
"Right." Luka nodded, lowering Yun Fan to the ground and removing the black cloth draped over him. He'd added the covering later—after all, if people saw a man carrying another man, they might get the wrong idea about his preferences.
As the cloth fell away, Yun Fan's striking features came into view.
The reactions among the group varied—especially Seele's. The moment her violet eyes landed on Yun Fan's face, they widened sharply, and her entire body tensed.