This woman—is she insane?

Chen Qi looked at Peru, completely speechless.

Whether it was players or the people of the Witch’s Sea, they all called her “Miss Miracle” or “Miracle Reporter.”

Everyone agreed—her being alive was a miracle in itself.

Peru lowered her head and pulled out her inventory card, hoping to find something worth around 3,000 Beli to pay for the meal.

Unfortunately, everything in her bag was worth over 10,000 Beli!

The troubles of the rich, Peru muttered internally.

Chen Qi wasn’t interested in autographs.

Sure, with her fame, Peru’s signature could probably fetch more than 3,000 Beli easily.

But the problem was—selling autographs was a hassle.

After thinking for a moment, Chen Qi asked directly:

“Miss Peru, if you don’t have any money, I’d like some intel on the rift in Moonstone City.”

“The Moonstone City rift intel? Are you going into the rift?”

Peru looked slightly surprised.

“Yes.”

Chefs were classic support professions, and normally, they rarely ventured into rifts on their own.

In her mind, chefs usually made money and bought Transcendent gear from merchants.

Peru thought for a second and wiped the grease off her lips.

This little restaurant wasn’t much to look at, but it was tasty. She was already thinking of coming back for a second or third round!

She couldn’t leave the impression that she was dining and dashing—it would ruin her reputation!

She took out a business card and handed it to Chen Qi:

“This is my card. If you want intel about the rift, take this to the stall owner at the White Dove Newsstand.

They should know quite a bit. With my card, as long as the info isn’t top secret, they’ll tell you.”

Key item acquired!

Chen Qi took the card.

This really was a valuable item—in terms of getting intel, it cut the difficulty in half.

So easy to obtain… Peru truly lived up to her reputation as the Witch’s Sea’s most reliable source of free intel.

Before leaving, Peru said to him:

“By the way, Boss, it’s just my hunch, but I think the missing Flower Witch might’ve already infiltrated Moonstone City.

Unfortunately, I don’t have the energy—I’ve got to chase the Saw Shark.

If you have intel about the Witch, the Blackfin Crew, or any big news, you can go to the place on the card.

If the information is good, our news agency will reward you.”

“If the story’s big enough, the News Agency might even offer you a lifetime employment contract—you’ll never have to worry about money again.”

“Got it.”

Chen Qi nodded.

Normally, this card was something famous reporters gave to their informants.

But Peru handed it out pretty casually.

So far, the news agency hadn’t stopped her from doing that.

Peru walked out of the boat house, gave her big white dove a pat, and happily left the cabin boat.

…

Shortly after.

Chen Qi also stepped out of the boat house.

Rumble—rumble!

Loud roaring engines filled his ears.

Around him, massive steel ships and passenger boats were everywhere—like stars flooding toward the port.

“So many sails…”

Chen Qi was awed. The scene before him was on a completely different level from Damarro Town.

As his small boat moved forward, a massive city gradually came into view.

Chen Qi looked into the distance.

He could see an enormous city wall and tons of smoking black chimneys.

“Moonstone City…”

It was far bigger than he had imagined.

In front of the city was a huge port.

Unlike Damarro Town’s rundown docks, Moonstone City’s harbor was booming thanks to the arrival of the Rift Tide.

Passenger ships arriving, exploration ships departing—the number only kept growing.

In the midst of the turmoil, the city had entered a period of unprecedented prosperity.

Chen Qi parked his cabin boat at the packed harbor and walked through the city gates toward the heart of Moonstone City.

To encourage trade, Moonstone City had set up a huge plaza filled with shops right near the gates.

Newsboys, bounty hunters, merchants, workers, gang members—people from all walks of life passed by.

Easy place to get robbed… Chen Qi held his inventory card tightly and headed toward the plaza center.

A giant clock tower stood in the middle, adorned with ornate gears and timepieces, chiming melodiously.

Around the plaza, stores and stalls were packed with goods—from artisanal crafts to firearms, potions, and even novelty shops.

Job ads were everywhere, offering seemingly golden opportunities.

But most of them were traps for those unfamiliar with Moonstone City.

Slip up even a little… and you might lose a kidney.

Chen Qi scanned the surrounding shops.

Lots of good stuff—but way out of his price range for now.

He walked into a weapons shop and sold the mechanical arm he got from Iron Hand, along with some useless contraband blades.

If a mechanical arm was cut off, its neural link was usually damaged, so the value dropped sharply.

The rusty arm sold for 40,000, the junk blades for 20,000—total 60,000 Beli.

As for things like Devil’s Chili, those needed to be sold at inner-city shops, which were a long walk away.

He quickly spent the money in the same store.

Bought a bulletproof vest to boost defense, four fire grenades, and some ammo.

Since he was at odds with the Black Rabbit Gang in Moonstone City, he also bought a Hunter’s Cloak to cover his face.

In this bustling city, being bundled up was pretty normal.

That was another 30,000 gone.

After some quick shopping, Chen Qi headed toward his goal—the rift containing the Deep Sea Hunter’s treasure.

According to the map, the treasure was hidden inside a rift in Moonstone City’s slums.

Moonstone City was a place of both prosperity and decay.

Far from the commercial and wealthy districts were the slums.

Compared to the busy business zone, the slums were much quieter, with the added scent of kerosene and trash.

Police presence was minimal in these areas, replaced by numerous crime syndicates.

Spent shell casings still littered the ground.

Clearly, there’d been another shootout not long ago.

Chen Qi planned to check the rift status first.

When the Rift Tide came, rifts would awaken.

Sure enough, the one with the treasure must’ve reopened.

As long as its mutation level wasn’t zero, it would require at least a three-day cooldown after being cleared.

If someone beat him to it, he’d have to come back another time.

“Hope there’s still a spot for me…” Chen Qi thought.

Before he realized it, he was near the spot marked on the treasure map.

Looking ahead, a massive wormhole squirmed on a ruined wall, like a giant mouth ready to open.

This was his destination!

“It’s huge—that’s a large rift…”

Chen Qi frowned the moment he saw it.

Large rifts only reopened about once a month.

If he missed this chance, he’d have to wait another thirty days.

And near the wormhole, there were at least thirty armed hunters guarding it.

Gang members stood outside with guns, like vault security guards.

“This area is under our protection. Without our permission, no one gets near the rift!”

“Only after our people go in—and after you pay the entrance fee—do you get access!”

“Genuine Insight Information, from professionals with over 25 Inspiration—50,000 Beli per copy!”

“Custom flamethrowers for rift-clearing—100,000 each, includes entrance ticket!”

“Fully armed, retired soldier bodyguards—20,000 Beli per day!”

Looked like a gang had taken over the public space, claiming the rift for themselves.

They were trying to rake in a fortune through coercion and monopoly.

The situation was worse than he expected.

Chen Qi scanned the area.

Besides the gang guarding the rift, there were also solo hunters like him, quietly waiting for a chance.

A large rift drew in many people.

He glanced behind him—near a newsstand stood an informant holding a newspaper.

That informant was probably part of the stand’s staff.

White Dove Newsstands were common in Moonstone City.

Let’s test out that business card Peru gave me… Chen Qi walked along the street, heading over to get some intel.

But before he could reach the stand, he suddenly heard chewing and squirming sounds by his ear.

Smells delicious—

Chen Qi turned his head.

Someone seemed to be in the bushes nearby!

He saw a person in a gray cloak lying in the bushes, wiggling as they ate something.

That crawling posture… that wiggling butt… that fully covered gray cloak…

Wait—is that a ghoul?!

Chen Qi’s instincts kicked in. He instantly backed up, eyes alert, staring curiously at the cloaked figure.

The cloaked person noticed his gaze, stopped moving, and turned her head toward him.

In the dim light, her face under the hood was impossible to see…

But judging by her size and skin tone—seemed like a woman?

Chen Qi took the initiative:

“Uh, can I ask… what are you eating?”

Surprisingly, there wasn’t a hint of blood. Instead, he smelled a faint medicinal scent.

“Um…”

The cloaked woman seemed startled, her little bandaged hands nervously twitching on the ground.

Chen Qi eyed her warily and took another step back.

She seemed conflicted—what could she say in this situation to maintain her mysterious, elegant image?

After a long silence, she finally replied slowly:

“Don’t… be alarmed. I’m… absorbing the earth’s natural essence…”

“You’re… eating grass?”

“…Mm.”