Chapter 167: Niumu Sewer

Niumu, as one of the cities with the most developed commerce in the Pan Yun Province of the Servia Kingdom.

It has an extremely massive scale and a population volume far exceeding ordinary towns.

And this also requires the official side to adjust corresponding development strategies to digest those increasingly expanding labor forces.

But on the other hand, the vast majority of ordinary commoners in this world have not received a good education.

Occupations like carpentry and blacksmithing, because of their special nature of being able to be eaten as a kind of "craft" for a lifetime, have been set with a fairly high learning threshold by one "old master" after another.

If it weren't for blood relations or being really close, many people would have to be apprentices for many years before they were allowed to approach and observe, and learn some most basic skills before they were officially introduced.

Under such circumstances, for those ordinary commoners in Niumu Cheng who have neither family background nor connections, especially those living in the shacks of the slums.

What they can engage in is only physical labor occupations with no threshold like porters, unloading workers, and hired coachmen.

And correspondingly, this kind of job that relies purely on physical fitness to exchange physical strength for money, under the background of the development level of productivity in this world, the income is naturally not high.

Working hard for a whole day, filling one's stomach is basically no problem.

But if you have to feed a few more mouths, plus the cost of living in Niumu Cheng, it seems a bit stretched.

Under such circumstances, as a chain reaction caused by it.

Some young people who don't see hope for upward mobility and feel that no matter how hard they work, they can only barely support themselves, have moved crooked thoughts.

Among them, those with some ambition took the scrap metal from home and went to Hegu Town to become adventurers.

The vast majority turned into nutrients to nourish the soil of the Mist Forest, a few barely survived, and became one of the drunkards in the tavern in the town.

And those who are relatively afraid of death, or have no too many expectations for the future, stayed in Niumu and became idlers who had nothing to do all day, relying on some gray income to spend their days.

Also because this world has supernatural powers, some individuals possess combat power far exceeding ordinary people, and the official side of Niumu ignores and does nothing.

Over the years, with the slums as the core, gangs and groups of various sizes have emerged.

Grey Badger Gang.

It is just one of them, not big or small.

Perhaps the leader of this gang has some connections, and in the fierce environment of the Lower City District where forces may perish every day, it has maintained a steady growth posture for several years.

Right now, its sphere of influence has covered a small part of the slums and several streets in the West City District. 【167-

The "Iron Barrel Toad" is located within the range of their influence.

And because the tavern sees a large number of adventurers coming and going year-round, the Grey Badger Gang has developed relatively close ties with some of them for various reasons.

"Colander" Da Ben,

a former cook at the "Iron Barrel Toad" tavern, a teammate of Ba Ke, and an adventurer with a bit of skill and fairly rich experience.

His relationship with the Grey Badger Gang can be described as very ambiguous.

According to an unnamed source, this adventurer, who possesses decent strength, often accepts commissions from the Grey Badger Gang to help them resolve minor troubles.

If one wants to obtain Da Ben's address, the Grey Badger Gang... is definitely a path to take.

"Sir, what a coincidence, we, we meet again."

Tie Tou looked at the two men before him with a stiff expression, a few beads of cold sweat already oozing from his bald head.

He only felt unlucky in his heart.

Yesterday, he was just collecting protection fees as usual, but due to a slight oversight, he forgot to investigate the background beforehand.

He never expected that the tailor shop owner, who looked so honest, would turn out to be a tough nut to crack.

Not only did he have connections with "Stubborn Donkey" of the Iron Barrel Toad, but he also happened to run into a friend who was suspected to be a professional.

It was only because his own reaction was fast; otherwise, he feared he would have had to leave at least one arm in the shop.

On the way back, he saw a newcomer-looking adventurer and thought about making a fortune, but the other party acted like a suicidal madman, and even he himself seemed to have been influenced by something, losing control of his body.

He spent the night praying at a church, and the next day he caught a fat sheep, gaining the good stuff the gang leader had once mentioned.

Thinking he had washed away his bad luck under the radiance of the gods, he happily returned to the tavern with his underlings, intending to have a good drink.

He actually ran into that black-haired adventurer he had seen once at the tailor shop yesterday.

And there was even a companion beside him.

That strange state of having an extremely low presence, as if they would disappear from sight if one wasn't careful, clearly indicated another veteran adventurer who had obtained a professional level.

"Damn it, could it be because I didn't bathe before praying last night that I angered the gods in heaven?"

"Or did that old thing at the church take a kickback and was just brushing me off?"

Tie Tou complained in his heart, but his face became increasingly respectful; he didn't even dare to raise his head, only looking down at the two pairs of leather boots on the ground.

"Two sirs, may I ask... what are your orders?"

Having lived in Niumu for many years, he had contact with all kinds of people due to his work.

He knew clearly that for these bullies who fear the strong and pick on the weak, one must never show a friendly face.

Wood kept a straight face, the dagger at his waist slightly unsheathed, blooming with a cold, sharp light in the air, and said coldly:

"'Colander' Da Ben, do you know him?"

As soon as the words fell, he saw the bald, burly man in front of him suddenly raise his head, an exaggerated expression appearing on his face, his right hand holding a cloth bag slapping his chest hard as he boasted:

"Of course! Brother Da Ben and I have been... since several years ago..."

He had only said half of it.

Thinking of climbing into a relationship with a "big shot" whose name he knew to escape his current dangerous situation, Tie Tou suddenly realized that these two professionals before him might have some kind of relationship with Da Ben.

If they were enemies, wouldn't he be inviting big trouble by trying to pull strings like this?

He hurriedly restrained his smile, lowered his head, his high-pitched tone dropped instantly, and he continued:

"I only met Mr. Da Ben once several years ago, and after that, we didn't really..."

"Where is he? Take us to see him."

Xia Nan and Wood were certainly not fools.

Since the bald man had acted like that just now, how could they not know that his answer was concealing something.

They simply assumed he indeed knew Da Ben's address.

Xia Nan stood to the side, silent, his expression equally cold, with no excess emotional fluctuations on his face.

They weren't ordinary residents living a stable life; it was better to be direct with these street thugs.

"No, I really..."

Tie Tou opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to argue something.

But when his gaze, wandering due to a guilty conscience, caught a glimpse of the silent black-haired youth to the side and met those deep, dark, icy eyes.

For some reason, he suddenly felt a chill inexplicably surge around his neck.

It wound eerily around the skin of his throat, raising a patch of goosebumps.

His heart went cold instantly, his whole body trembled, and he gave a violent shudder.

Not daring to conceal anything further, he forced a bitter smile onto his stiff face.

"I won't hide it from you two, I do know Mr. Da Ben—when he used to work for the boss, I followed behind and helped out."

"But where he lives... I really don't know!"

"You two should also know that adventurers with a bit of status in the city like him have always wanted to avoid getting involved with people like us."

"Therefore, it was only when Mr. Da Ben was doing things that the gang would send a few underlings to help with small tasks."

"In daily life, the only one who contacted him the most was the boss."

"If you don't mind, I can help pass a message, or simply take you two to see him, and you can talk yourselves?"

Hearing this, Xia Nan couldn't help but frown.

This made Tie Tou nervously wipe the sweat from his forehead, subconsciously thinking he had said something wrong.

Under the circumstance that the bald, burly man was not lying and truly did not know Da Ben's address.

The two plans he offered were not considered secure.

Regarding the former, letting the other party pass a message.

Not to mention the factors of efficiency and accuracy, just one possibility—what if the other party used this as a pretext and ran away directly?

Niumu is so big, and the other party is a small gang leader who has been active in the Lower City District for years; if they really wanted to hide, he wouldn't be able to catch up even if he searched hard for a few years.

As for the other plan, following the other party to their lair, seeing the Grey Badger Gang's boss, and communicating face-to-face...

Would that be a bit dangerous?

While pondering, Xia Nan turned his head and looked at Wood beside him.

But he saw the other party nod imperceptibly at him, then look at Tie Tou in front, and shout coldly:

"Lead the way!"

A sudden realization dawned in his heart.

That's right!

He hadn't thought of it for a moment.

Although he was just an ordinary adventurer who had arrived in Niumu not long ago, Wood was the personal guard of the young master of the city lord "Wickliffe" family.

Even if they were in the midst of chaos caused by high-level changes, that definitely counted as a person with status and background.

And it didn't involve life-or-death issues; it was just the boss of a medium-sized gang, so he would certainly be willing to give a little face.

And this rogue, who had been engaged in guard work for many years and always handled things steadily and properly, acting like this, must have sufficient confidence in his heart and wouldn't let the two fall into a dangerous situation.

Thinking of this, Xia Nan felt much more relaxed and was relieved to let the other party handle the negotiations.

"Two sirs, follow me this way."

The high-pressure atmosphere, which had been somewhat suffocating under the gaze of the two big brothers before him, eased slightly.

Tie Tou visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

He turned around, waved his hand at the clueless underlings behind him, signaling them to disperse temporarily and go about their own business.

Then he began to lead the way for Xia Nan and Wood with a cautious expression.

……

……

"This is it?"

Xia Nan looked at the pitch-black sewer inspection manhole in front of him and asked with a suspicious look.

At this time, it had been no more than an hour since they left the Iron Barrel Toad.

After following Tie Tou around the small alleys beside the street for a long time, as the surrounding environment became increasingly dilapidated and dirty, they gradually approached the slums.

Only then did they stop at the end of a hidden alley.

Having already stuffed the blood-stained package into his bosom, Tie Tou grabbed the manhole cover he had just lifted from the ground with both hands, a somewhat incongruous, awkward smile appearing on his fleshy face:

"Sir, you think too highly of us. The slums are not small, but they aren't big either. Our Grey Badger Gang only occupies that little bit of space, and the people living inside might be more than those in several streets of the West District combined."

"We can't just go and rob the houses of those poor people."

"And there are people coming and going above, so it's inconvenient to do anything."

"Although the sewer is a bit smelly, the space is large and the concealment is strong; there's nothing more suitable."

Hearing the other party say this, it actually made some sense.

He nodded, stepped forward, and was about to go down the manhole.

Wood beside him suddenly reached out and stopped Xia Nan.

"Don't be in a hurry."

His left hand slid across his belt, and silently, a short dagger shimmering with cold light was already tightly gripped in his hand.

His eyes, exceptionally sharp from years of guard work, swept coldly over the bald, burly man.

"I'll go down first, you second."

"Xia Nan, you last."

The Niumu sewer is intricate and complex; without someone to lead the way, it's easy to lose one's direction inside.

If Tie Tou were allowed to walk in the first position, if he took advantage of the complex environment within the sewer to escape, the two would likely not be able to catch up.

And if there was a trap below that the other party had set in advance considering the current situation, walking in the back, and having the manhole cover closed after the two went down, would be even more troublesome.

Keeping Tie Tou in the middle of the team, if any situation arose, both he and Xia Nan could react and handle it.

As for why he was the one walking in the most dangerous front of the team, while letting Xia Nan bring up the rear...

The reason is actually very simple.

Just like Wood being willing to sacrifice his vacation time to actively participate in helping Xia Nan complete the mission.

Back in that adventure in the Mist Forest several months ago.

In the encounter with the magic beast "Corrosive Monster", he did not fulfill his due responsibility, letting the young master encounter a danger that could threaten his life.

At the critical moment, it was Xia Nan who withstood the pressure and cleared the siege for the young master.

This is exactly the reason why Young Master Haian was willing to consume the favor left by the Matriarch to move Mr. Fugang.

Almost causing a major disaster, Wood attributed it to his own negligence in his heart and still feels remorseful to this day.

And for Xia Nan, who saved his professional career and prevented him from living a life of regret,

his attitude is also foreseeable.

This overly young adventurer hadn't even stayed in Hegu Town for a full year before coming to Niumu because of an association mission.

As a host, he should have treated him well.

It's just a pity that it coincided with the master's accident and the undercurrents surging; neither he nor the young master dared to make any big moves.

Even daily actions were restricted.

After his "vacation" ended, he had to return to his post immediately.

Now, taking advantage of having free time, being able to help the other party with some insignificant small favors, naturally, there was nothing to decline.

A cold light flashed, and he gripped the dagger in a reverse hold.

He moved his gaze away from the nervous Tie Tou.

Wood looked at Xia Nan beside him, his expression as serious as ever, just like when the two first met.

"Be careful."

"Concentrate."

(End of chapter)