Ian talked a lot with Mia, and after letting Mia completely rest assured, Ian also departed to Storm City first, at least to find the location where Rayne and the others were being held before Mia negotiated.
Before Ian departed, Mia handed over the forged fake identity to Ian: "This is your fake identity, the people of Storm City don't know you, this identity alone is enough, remember, you must be careful, even if you can't save Lei En and the others, you must ensure your own safety first."
"Don't worry, I will be careful." Ian set foot on the road to Storm City alone, for this operation, Ian could only rely on himself, although there were still quite a number of Resistance lurkers in the city, but their leader Grimm had already defected, I'm afraid that quite a number of the lurkers in the city had been turned by Grimm, and even if they still maintained their loyalty, they would still be under strict surveillance, and it would be tantamount to throwing himself into a net if Ian contacted them after entering the city.
It was close to noon on the second day that Ian arrived at Storm City, he purposely took a detour in order to match his identity and approached from the direction of Ash City, from afar, he could see that the walls of the city were filled with guards, the cordon was more strict than ever.
Arriving at the entrance of the city, he pulled out the fake identification that Mia had prepared for him beforehand, and after checking it over, he steadily walked towards the city gates. Just as he reached the gate, several Storm Council soldiers quickly stopped him.
"Stop, who are you! What are you doing here in Storm City?" The soldiers' tone was stern, and their eyes carried a wary look.
Ian calmly handed over his fake documents, and the soldier took them and scrutinized them, then handed them to an officer who was obviously of a higher rank on the side.
"What is your identity?" The officer stared at Ian skeptically, his gaze like a hawk.
Ian replied calmly, "I'm a trade merchant, from the City of Ashes, and I'm here to purchase goods this time. I have heard about the tense situation in your city, but I don't care about these political strife, I just want to do business quietly." After saying that, Ian also showed the officer his storage ring as a way to confirm his identity as a merchant.
The officer was obviously also knowledgeable, knowing that the storage ring was precious, and apart from those power chiefs with top strength, only merchants with strong financial resources could afford it, the officer carefully sized him up for a long time, his tone still carrying caution, "The situation in the city has been complicated lately, I would advise you to leave as soon as possible after you finish your transaction, and don't walk around, or else you'll be responsible for the consequences! "
Ian nodded his head in understanding, then carefully took his credentials and quickly walked into the Storm City.
Upon entering the city, Ian felt a very different atmosphere from before. Pedestrians on the streets were sparse, and the occasional person who passed by was in a hurry, with eyes flickering between each other, full of suspicion and uneasiness.
[Time-limited mission released: Rescue Private Rayne (Find the location where Rayne is being held, and rescue Rayne before Mia's negotiations break down)]]
[Mission Reward: Battle Skills (choose one of three)]]
The best place to find out information is a tavern, and he walked straight towards a relatively hidden tavern in the city, hoping to find out some information from it.
Upon entering the tavern, Ian looked around and realized that there were very few customers, everyone was just drinking silently with their heads down, and the whole atmosphere in the tavern was depressing and heavy.
He sat down at the bar and signaled the bartender to pour himself a drink, then asked softly, "Boss, recently I heard that a lot of rebels have been captured in the city, is there such a thing?"
The bartender's face changed slightly, gave him a wary look, and said in a low voice, "My friend, I advise you not to pry into these things, knowing too much about these things won't do you any good."
Ian didn't give up and lowered his voice, "I don't mean anything else, I'm just worried that business will be affected, this group of people were captured into the city, their accomplices will surely come back to rescue them, in case of a fight, I can also hide in advance, right?"
"Then don't worry, the city's defense is very tight now, they can't get in at all."
Ian still wanted to ask something, but was afraid that this would be too deliberate and cause suspicion, so he could only pick up his cup and drink the wine in one go, the bartender also seemed to have guessed something, and turned his head to an acquaintance next to him and said, "Have you heard about it lately, someone over in the slums has been arrested for giving information to the resistance for a long period of time."
"I know about this, I heard that he was killed directly after being caught, and I also heard that he had been doing it for quite a while before he was caught, this group of people from the Storm Council, it seems like they don't like to care about what happens there either, which is why they let it become a location where information circulates."
At this point the bartender glanced at Ian, who understood the bartender's hint, nodded his head and thanked the bartender, left two gold coins, and left the tavern, heading straight for the slum area.
The streets of the slum district were narrow and dirty, and the air was filled with an unpleasant odor. From the dilapidated houses on both sides of the road, bursts of quarrels and cries came out, and the residents looked numb and had empty eyes.
Ian found an inconspicuous small restaurant and sat down, there wasn't even a waiter, Ian took the opportunity of ordering food to inquire from the owner: "Boss, I came here to do business, I want to know a little bit more about Storm City, can you tell me about it?"
The boss didn't reply, just lowered his head to work, Ian was undeterred, "Then do you know anyone around who is better informed, I'll pay a visit." The boss still didn't reply, just brought the bowl to Ian: "Your noodles are ready."
Seeing that there was no news here, Ian finished his noodles and left the small store, during the whole afternoon, Ian used every method to try to ask for news, but everyone either kept their mouths shut or left in a hurry, "I don't know anything, don't ask me, I don't know anything!"
Ian's heart felt incredibly heavy. These people had been suppressed by the Storm Council for a long time, and had completely lost the ability to think freely, becoming numb and fearful.
Time came to dusk, and Ian was about to give up on finding clues from here when a childish but firm voice came from a nearby alleyway, "You come with me, I know what you're looking for."
Ian turned around and realized that the speaker was a fourteen or fifteen year old teenager, thin but with hope in his eyes.
He hesitated slightly before following the teenager into the depths of the alley. There were no energy fluctuations in the teenager's body, so he should be an ordinary person, he wanted to see what the teenager wanted to say, and led Ian through a few intricate alleys to a dilapidated shack, making sure that there was no one around before whispering, "You're here to look for the Resistance's detainees, aren't you?"
Ian looked at the teenager in surprise, "How did you know?"
The teenager sighed with a hint of sadness in his eyes, "My brother is a member of the Resistance, and he was taken into the city last night. I was helping someone out at the time, and I saw with my own eyes a lot of people being taken into the prison in the east end of town, it was very heavily guarded over there, and I peeked out from a bush."
Ian's heart shook and he looked at the teenager gratefully, "Thank you, why did you help me when telling me that would have put you in danger?"
The teenager looked at him with a firm gaze, "Because I want you to save them, they are the last hope. This city has been oppressed by the Storm Council for too long, we have long since lost the meaning of living, if even they fall, we will truly lose hope completely."
Ian's heart surged with an unspeakable feeling of emotion and sadness, this fourteen or fifteen year old teenager was far more courageous than those numb adults, he didn't have the ability to fight with the Storm Council's people, but the teenager still resisted against the oppression in his own way, Ian gently patted the teenager's shoulder and said solemnly, "Don't worry, I'll surely save them out of the city. "
The teenager nodded vigorously and watched Ian gradually disappear into the alleyway, with hope and prayer in his eyes.