"Waaahhh!!"
After being rescued, he broke down crying in excitement. He never imagined he would survive. After all, in this desolate wilderness, someone might not pass through even once a year.
All the luck of his entire life might have been used up today.
"Who are you? Who locked you up?"
After the man's emotions stabilized a little, Arden spoke up.
"I… cough cough cough!"
He had barely started speaking when he began coughing violently. His voice was hoarse, his body extremely weak—it seemed that even speaking had become a luxury.
"..."
Arden gave a meaningful look.
Belle took food and drinks out of the small bag she carried with her and placed them in front of the man.
"Sob sob sob…"
He immediately began wolfing everything down, especially the water—downing three bottles in one go.
"That's enough!"
Seeing that it was about right, Arden took the food and water away.
When someone is extremely hungry and thirsty, binge eating and drinking carries the risk of sudden death.
"Benefactors, thank you for saving me… I will definitely repay you properly in the future."
After regaining some strength, the rescued man thanked them tearfully, then dropped to his knees in front of the three with a thud.
Having escaped death, such a life-saving kindness could never be repaid enough.
"We'll talk about repayment later. First, tell us about yourself."
If it were just about saving someone, the Qingming Bird alone would have been enough. Yixuan wouldn't have sent all three of them here. This man clearly had something to do with The Vanquishers.
"My name is John. I'm a cargo truck driver… It was that bastard Lucius—he discarded me after using me. He wanted me dead!"
The name John was extremely ordinary, but when he said he was a cargo truck driver and mentioned Lucius, Arden immediately understood what was going on.
"Were you the one who crashed into a Sons of Calydon vehicle?"
Belle also put the pieces together and questioned him immediately.
"Y-Yes, yes! How did you know?"
John froze for a moment, then looked at Belle in confusion.
"Nonsense! I was in that vehicle!"
Belle was smiling, but it made John instantly feel that something was very wrong. He shrank his neck, and the joy of being rescued vanished in an instant. He felt utterly miserable.
"So, you were the one driving that truck!"
Yiji, on the other hand, showed undisguised malice. After all, she had been inside when the vehicle was overturned.
"Aaaah—It was all Lucius forcing me! Debts have owners, grievances have sources—don't come after me!!!"
John desperately defended himself. He was telling the truth. If Lucius hadn't forced him, who would dare crash into a Sons of Calydon cargo truck?
In the Outer Ring, the Sons of Calydon were the second-largest force, second only to The Vanquishers.
"Tell us everything you know."
Under Arden's questioning, John spilled everything he knew in one breath.
John had reported Lucius for colluding with major enterprises within the city. After that, Lucius captured him and threatened him into carrying out the crash.
"Hmm…"
The explanation did make sense. Big Daddy had also mentioned that Lucius had indeed been reported before. Still, Arden had one lingering doubt.
"If I were silencing someone, I'd cremate them on the spot to avoid future trouble. But you… how are you still alive?"
If Arden were in Lucius's place, he definitely wouldn't act like those brainless villains in novels or movies—clearly able to kill on the spot, yet insisting on leaving someone alive as if waiting for them to be rescued.
"He's a psychopath! He likes tormenting people, likes watching them die in despair… That's why he didn't give me a quick death!"
John explained bitterly.
If Arden hadn't shown up, Lucius really would have succeeded.
"Heh."
Arden chuckled lightly. "As expected, you can't let emotions dictate how you do things."
He admitted that people with unusual proclivities weren't rare. For example, Arden himself liked certain things when doing ahem—cough cough cough! But he would never let emotions interfere with his judgment.
"Then… do you know which enterprise Lucius was colluding with?"
Arden continued.
"Of course, I do—and I even have evidence! I made multiple backups back then. Lucius destroyed some of them, but the most important one I hid in a secret compartment under the truck's chassis. I was hoping someone would find it someday and avenge me!"
John wasn't stupid. He knew reporting Lucius was dangerous, so he made many preparations. Even though he was ultimately caught, a cornered rabbit would still bite—let alone a grown man. And now, wasn't his chance for revenge finally here?
"Very good!"
Arden nodded in satisfaction. "Come with us. I'll take you to see Overlord Pompey. Remember to clearly repeat everything you just said."
"That's great!"
John knew Pompey's character very well. He would absolutely not tolerate subordinates doing things like this.
If John had been able to see Pompey earlier, he wouldn't have ended up locked in a well by Lucius. Clearly, the people who saved him were also opposed to Lucius.
"Don't worry. Even if I die, I'll drag Lucius down with me!"
Arden rubbed his fingers and counted—four people total. Fortunately, John's cargo truck was nearby.
Guided by the Qingming Bird, the four arrived at an abandoned gas station.
"My baby… that's wonderful!"
John excitedly caressed his red cargo truck, even more gently than touching a lover.
For a truck driver, the truck was his lifeline. As long as it was still there, there was hope for the rest of his life.
"That's enough. You'll have plenty of time to caress it later. First, find the evidence you mentioned."
Feeling secondhand embarrassment, Arden stopped John's abnormal behavior.
"Ah—oh!"
John wiped the excited tears from his face and crawled under the truck. When he came back out, he was holding a box of videotapes, several photographs, and a stack of documents.
"This is the evidence!"
John handed everything to Arden.
Arden examined them, found no issues, and nodded.
"Very good! Let's move out—head to The Vanquishers' camp!"
They loaded the combat motorcycles onto the cargo truck. Then, under John's horrified gaze—as if his wife were being stolen—Arden plopped himself straight into the driver's seat.
"What? You got a problem?"
"N-No!"
John immediately surrendered.
"Then sit tight!"
Arden had long wanted to experience driving a cargo truck.
Before transmigrating, Arden had been an experienced driver—just never driven a cargo truck.
As for not having a New Eridu driver's license… that was completely irrelevant. The Outer Ring wasn't under Public Security jurisdiction anyway—license or not made no difference.
...
The Vanquishers' camp.
After Arden left, Pompey had stayed in the camp the entire time, handling affairs inside his room. He even prepared his own meals, afraid of being poisoned again.
"..."
An entire day passed without any news from Arden, and Pompey felt increasingly uneasy. He feared that Arden might never return. After all, the only one who could save him now was Arden.
Anxious and restless, unable to sit or lie down—this feeling of having one's life held in someone else's hands was extremely unpleasant.
Just as Pompey waited in mounting anxiety, the roar of an engine came from outside. He looked through the window and saw a red cargo truck ignoring his subordinates' attempts to stop it, pulling up directly in front of the building he was in.
The long-awaited figure leapt down from the driver's seat. Then—
Bang!
Arden kicked the door open.
"Boss Pompey, we're back!"
===BREAK===
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