After Dress hung up the phone, Su Mo contacted a few more middlemen he was closely connected to.
But their responses were similar to Dress's—there was no advantage in protecting Nuobai, a retired former mercenary.
Even if they had dealings with Nuobai in the past and had good relationships, that was all in the past, and each transaction had been fully paid. They owed her nothing.
What's more, the bounty was five billion; you'd be a fool not to try to get it.
Some "well-intentioned" middlemen even advised Su Mo to rely on his friendship with Nuobai to get ahead of others, find a way to lure her out and kill her, and take the benefits for himself.
The phone calls went round and round, but in the face of great benefits, none of the connections Su Mo had built up were of any use.
In a last hope, he called Audiana, the first middleman he ever met.
But no matter how much he called, she didn't answer, and it was unclear if she genuinely didn't notice or if it was on purpose.
