Grassroots Travel: The Star Lord of Another World

Chapter 71 A flash of inspiration

Gao Xingchen's brows were almost twisted into a knot. The Dark Alliance, this name was like a nightmare hanging over everyone's mind. They acted secretly and cruelly, and the rumors about them always made people shudder. However, apart from these sporadic rumors, they knew almost nothing about this organization.

"The internal structure of the Dark Alliance is complicated, and its members are spread across all levels. How easy is it to find their weaknesses?" Ling'er frowned, with a hint of worry in her tone.

"No, there must be a way." Gao Xingchen took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. He remembered what Grandma Sun had said before, that the Dark Alliance was not monolithic, and there were also power struggles and conflicts of interest. If he could take advantage of this, he might be able to find a breakthrough.

As if responding to his thoughts, a deep and hoarse voice suddenly sounded in their ears: "Are you looking for the weakness of the Dark Alliance?"

The three of them were startled and turned around suddenly, only to see a figure in a black cloak appear behind them. He was tall and exuded a cold aura, making it difficult for people to approach him.

"Who are you?" Gao Xingchen asked vigilantly, his right hand quietly grasping the dagger at his waist.

The mysterious man did not answer, but slowly took off his cloak, revealing a handsome and unfamiliar face. He had a pair of deep eyes that seemed to contain endless secrets, and a faint smile hung at the corners of his mouth, making it hard to understand.

"Maybe I can help you." He looked at Gao Xingchen and others, his tone calm, but with an unquestionable certainty.

Gao Xingchen and the other two looked at each other, their hearts filled with confusion. Who was this person? Why did he help them?

"Why do you want to help us?" Nan Li asked coldly. She never trusted anyone easily, especially someone of unknown origin like the one in front of her.

"Because I hate the Dark Alliance just like you do." The mysterious man said calmly, "I am an insider of the Dark Alliance, but I have long been dissatisfied with the leader's brutal rule. This time, I am here to help you dismantle this evil organization."

The mysterious man then revealed to them some secret passages and defense loopholes in the Dark Alliance headquarters. This information was detailed and accurate, and obviously only insiders could know it.

Gao Xingchen and the others were stunned. If this information was true, their chances of success would be greatly increased. However, they were still full of doubts and vigilance. Was this mysterious man really trustworthy? Why did he betray the Dark Alliance?

Just when they were hesitating, Nan Li, who had been silent all the time, suddenly spoke up: "I believe him."

"What?" Gao Xingchen and Ling'er exclaimed at the same time.

"My intuition tells me that he is not lying." Nan Li said lightly, but his eyes were unusually firm.

Although Gao Xingchen and Ling'er still had doubts, they both believed in Nanli's judgment. In the end, they decided to trust this mysterious man. After all, this was their only chance. Gao Xingchen, Nanli and Ling'er looked at each other, their eyes full of doubt. The mysterious man's appearance was too sudden, and his words were too unbelievable, making it difficult for them to believe easily.

"How do you prove that what you said is true?" Gao Xingchen stared at the mysterious man closely, with a hint of hostility in his tone.

The mysterious man smiled slightly, as if he had expected them to have such questions. He took out a black token from his pocket, on which was carved a ferocious ghost head, exuding a cold aura.

"This is a token of the Dark Alliance, and only core members have it." The mysterious man explained, "My name is Night Owl, and I used to be the assassination captain of the Dark Alliance."

Gao Xingchen took the token and looked at it carefully. The material of this token was very special, emitting a faint smell of blood, and the ghost head on the token was carved lifelike, as if it would come alive at any time.

"Even if what you said is true, why did you betray the Dark Alliance?" Ling'er asked. She still couldn't fully believe this mysterious man who suddenly appeared.

"The leader of the Dark Alliance is a madman. He wants to destroy the entire Nine Star Realm." Night Owl's tone was filled with resentment. "I can't just watch him do this. I have to stop him!"

Gao Xingchen and the others fell silent. Night Owl's words shocked and disturbed them. If what Night Owl said was true, then the threat of the Dark Alliance was even more terrible than they had imagined.

At this time, Nan Li, who had been silent all the time, suddenly spoke up: "Let's go find Granny Sun."

Granny Sun is the most respected animal tamer in the star field and a wise person. She may be able to help them judge the authenticity of the Night Owl.

After listening to their stories, Granny Sun frowned and fell into deep thought.

"The Dark Alliance's token is indeed real, and I've also heard of Night Owl. He's a very powerful killer in the Dark Alliance." Granny Sun said slowly, "As for why he betrayed the Dark Alliance, I think only he knows."

Gao Xingchen and others were still full of doubts, but they all believed in Grandma Sun's judgment.

"What should we do?" Gao Xingchen asked.

Granny Sun pondered for a moment and said, "Since Night Owl has chosen to betray the Dark Alliance, it means he is ready to sacrifice himself. Moreover, he is our only chance now."

"That's right, we can't miss any opportunity to defeat the Dark Alliance." Nanli said.

"But how can we trust him?" Ling'er still had doubts.

"I believe him." Nan Li said firmly, "My intuition tells me that he is not lying."

Gao Xingchen and Ling'er looked at each other and finally nodded. They decided to trust Ye Xiao, after all, this was their only chance at the moment.

"You must be fully prepared to deal with the leader of the Dark Alliance." Night Owl said, "I have a special herb here that can weaken his strength and give you a greater advantage in the battle."

As Night Owl spoke, he took out an exquisite wooden box from his arms. When he opened it, he saw a strange herb that was completely black and exuded a faint fragrance.

Gao Xingchen and others took the wooden box and carefully observed this strange herb, their hearts full of hope.

"I will come here again in three days and tell you the specific location and defense situation of the Dark Alliance headquarters." After saying this, Night Owl turned around and disappeared into the night, as if he had never appeared.

Gao Xingchen and the others looked at the direction where Night Owl disappeared, their hearts filled with anticipation and anxiety. Three days later, they would face a decisive battle that would determine their fate.

Three days passed in a flash, and Gao Xingchen, Nanli and Ling'er did not relax for a moment during this time. According to the clues provided by Night Owl, they re-formulated the plan, changing the original strategy of dispersed raids to concentrating superior forces and attacking Huanglong directly, aiming directly at the headquarters of the Dark Alliance.

In order to prepare for this war, Gao Xingchen practiced day and night. He integrated the animal taming skills he learned from Granny Sun with his own practice, and his strength improved by leaps and bounds. Nanli focused on improving her assassination skills. She shuttled through the training ground like a ghost, and every shot was accurate and fierce, making it hard to defend against. Ling'er used this time to visit various sects and families in the star field that had a blood feud with the Dark Alliance, hoping to persuade them to unite and fight against the Dark Alliance together.

However, just before they were confidently preparing to set off, Gao Xingchen accidentally discovered a shocking secret about Night Owl. That day, Gao Xingchen was sorting out the ancient books borrowed from Grandma Sun, hoping to find some records about the Dark Alliance. Suddenly, a portrait slipped from the pages of the book. Gao Xingchen bent down to pick it up, and the person in the portrait was surprisingly Night Owl!

Gao Xingchen was shocked. Although the person in the portrait was wearing slightly different clothes from Night Owl, his appearance was exactly the same, even the mole at the corner of his eye was exactly the same. Gao Xingchen quickly flipped through ancient books and finally found the answer in an ancient book called "Star Domain Strange Stories".

"Ye Xiao, formerly known as Ye Wuxin, was once a famous thief in the star field, known for his chivalrous deeds and robbing the rich to help the poor. Later, because he offended the powerful, he was framed as an unforgivable bandit and was eventually hunted down by a coalition. His whereabouts have disappeared..."

Gao Xingchen's hands trembled slightly. Could it be that Night Owl approached them not because he really wanted to fight against the Dark Alliance, but because he had other intentions? Could the information he provided be misleading them on purpose? If that was the case, wouldn't they be walking into a trap?

Gao Xingchen didn't dare to think any further. He immediately found Nanli and Ling'er and told them his discovery. The three of them looked at each other. The excitement of the upcoming decisive battle was replaced by a sense of uneasiness and doubt. Should they believe Ye Xiao? Should they still act according to the original plan?

At this moment, there was a knock on the door, and Ye Xiao arrived as promised, with his usual confident smile on his face, as if he was confident about the upcoming action. However, Gao Xingchen looked at his smile and felt extremely unfamiliar. His heart was full of contradictions and struggles. He didn't know whether he should expose Ye Xiao's true identity, whether he should believe this former chivalrous thief, now a "traitor"...