"Oh? It's true what they say—birds of a feather flock together. Miss Tianchan is indeed worthy of being Young Hero Lin's confidante; a remarkable bearing, truly." Okuda Zhou glanced at Tianchan with unconcealed admiration. Given his status and strength, ordinary women always trembled before him, scarcely daring to breathe too loudly; someone with Tianchan's composure was genuinely rare.

"Island Master Okuda flatters me. But if I may, there is one more thing I would ask of you—might you inquire on my behalf with the Central Chamber of Commerce and see whether they still offer a letter-sending service to the mundane world?" Tianchan asked. She trusted that nothing had happened to Wei Zhao, but she also knew that so much time having passed must mean something had happened. If letters could be sent through the Central Chamber of Commerce, she could find out for certain.

"A small matter. I'll ask for you." Okuda Zhou immediately understood what Tianchan meant.

The business of the Central Chamber of Commerce openly auctioning return-receipt letters to the mundane world at the Zhongdao auction had caused a tremendous stir back then—even he had heard whispers of it. But after that there was no further word, presumably because the service had been shut down. If Tianchan asked herself, the answer would clearly come to nothing, but with him it was different: for the sake of him, the acting island master, and the Okuda clan behind him, the Central Chamber of Commerce might well make an exception once.

And indeed it went just as Okuda Zhou had expected. When his message reached the Central Chamber of Commerce headquarters, every senior figure in the organization was instantly thrown into commotion. In truth, inquiries of this kind were hardly uncommon, but just as with the answer Wei Zhao had received before, they were uniformly refused. This time, however, it was different—the one asking was none other than Okuda Zhou!

They could brush off other people's face, but Okuda Zhou's background was plain for all to see; even the Center would not dare treat it lightly. After all, this was a genuine top-tier clan—no small matter at all.

Especially since the Central Chamber of Commerce's headquarters was itself situated on Zhongdao, and Okuda Zhou was now the island's public face. To offend this particular magnate would be no good thing for them.

The assembled worthies debated back and forth, and in the end none dared decide on their own authority. They could only report the matter up the chain, and after passing level by level it finally landed in Luan Xiaofu's hands.

"Okuda Zhou. Why would this one want to send a letter to the mundane world? Have the top-tier clans of Yunjie Island already begun to fix their eyes on the mundane world?" Luan Xiaofu's instinctive reaction was that the top-tier clans were about to make a major move. After all, this was precisely the time when the Taigu Alliance had emerged into the world, so it was hardly surprising that forces as unfathomable as those of Yunjie Island should stir restlessly.

On second thought, though, it seemed unlikely. The Center's position in the mundane world was deeply entrenched; any force seeking to establish itself there could not fully escape their surveillance, Yunjie Island included. Besides, if these top-tier clans truly had the means to develop into the mundane world, they would not need to ask the Chamber to send a letter on their behalf.

After a moment's pondering, Luan Xiaofu finally decided: "Fine. Sell him the favor and make an exception—send the letter for him. We have frequent correspondence with the mundane world these days as it is; one more letter will do no harm."

The affirmative reply soon reached Okuda Zhou, and Tianchan and the others were overjoyed. After thanking him profusely, they hastily wrote a letter and handed it through Okuda Zhou to the Central Chamber of Commerce. The recipient's name, of course, was Wei Zhao.

"Wei Zhao? I see—a favor done at no cost." Luan Xiaofu understood at once, though she could not help feeling a secret chill. That even a figure like Okuda Zhou would step forward on Wei Zhao's behalf—this Wei Zhao's influence truly could not be underestimated.

As she spoke, Luan Xiaofu glanced at another letter lying on her desk. This one came from the Center's headquarters in the mundane world; by coincidence, it was Lan Xiaoru asking about matters concerning Wei Zhao—so the two inquiries had landed at the same time.

At the Center's mundane-world headquarters, everything had been proceeding as usual until a letter suddenly appeared on the transfer platform. Once it was discovered not to be internal correspondence but an express letter bearing both sender and recipient, the Center's members were all thrown into shock.

"What? Another express letter has come through from Yunjie Island?" Lan Xiaoru was startled when the report reached her. The Center's express service had been personally ordered shut down by her "original self," Luan Xiaofu—how had it suddenly started again?

Judged purely on cost and profit, this service was in fact a rare case of low cost and high margin. Even without it, the Center frequently had to correspond between Yunjie Island and the mundane world, and the Central Chamber of Commerce regularly brought in goods from the mundane world; the express service was thus purely incidental—one might say it cost nothing at all.

But the problem was that in the long run this was no good thing for the Center. Given the formidable strength of Yunjie Island's top-tier powers, once they grasped the slightest thread, seizing the opportunity to reach into the mundane world was hardly unimaginable.

And the reason the Central Chamber of Commerce had been able to rise so swiftly was precisely the complete isolation between Yunjie Island and the mundane world. If that isolation were breached bit by bit, it would be a fatal blow to the Central Chamber of Commerce. After all, stripped of the gimmick of technological products, compared with native chambers such as the Hong clan's, the Central Chamber of Commerce's foundations were far too shallow.

What was more, once the isolation between Yunjie Island and the mundane world was broken, it would deal a tremendous blow to the Center's grand strategy as a whole. By comparison, that little bit of spirit jade was mere chicken feed, not worth mentioning.

Others did not know these inner workings, but Lan Xiaoru was perfectly clear on them—which was why she was so shocked. And when she saw the recipient named on the express letter, her shock deepened further.

"Wei Zhao?!" Lan Xiaoru could not help frowning. Along with the express letter came an explanatory note in the hand of her "original self," Luan Xiaofu. Only after reading it did she finallyunderstand: "So this one has projected here through his primordial spirit—and even the great figures of Yunjie Island give him face and sell him favors. He is truly no ordinary sort."

Though she had long since taken note of Wei Zhao's existence, she had never imagined he could reach such a level. Realizing this sent a chill through her. And to think she had meant to keep Wei Zhao dangling with Brother Dafeng—seen in this light, that had been playing with fire.

Faced with such a dangerous figure, the best course was to act decisively and cut the weed out by the roots; any other response risked capsizing in a ditch, and one must guard against it. (To be continued.)