At the sa ti, Leo was running toward the Butterfly Pavilion with Chiaki following behind him closely. The slum was located at the outer area of the city, while the pavilion was located at the center. It would take so ti for them to reach their destination.
But then suddenly...
"Leader, there is soone following us."
Chiaki glanced at Coco, who used its head to poke her neck. The doll signaled them that there was soone behind them.
"Really? Who?"
Leo slowed down his pace as he checked his surroundings using the smart lenses. His eyes flashed with a faint green light as he scanned the area. All people were normal.
Until...
A person was standing on top of a roof. Their appearance was hidden, and it was hard to make out any distinct features. But the way they stood there and watched the two was obvious enough.
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’It’s the beggar from earlier.’ He thought as he turned his attention back to the street.
"Let him be. It’s not important."
Chiaki was surprised by Leo’s indifferent attitude. But she didn’t say anything. She knew better than anyone that the follower wouldn’t be able to do anything. All mini Cocos she spread in the area had followed the follower. In case he did sothing unpleasant, they were ready to bite and reduce him to atoms.
And surely, Leo had plans involving the follower, so she just nodded.
"Yes, Leader."
While the distance between the slum and Butterfly Pavilion was far and usually took 10 minutes to arrive, the duo’s enhanced physical strength was nothing to scoff at. Even when they were careful, they arrived in under 3 minutes.
A row of beautiful girls were lining up in the entrance. When they saw Leo approaching, they imdiately smiled and bowed their heads politely.
"Welco, sir. Would you like to have fun with our lovely girls?"
"No, thank you. I’m here for business. I believe your owner has been expecting . My na is Leo from Hallowed Insects."
Leo shook his head and stated his purpose. The beautiful girls nodded their head and showed him the way.
"I understand. Please, this way."
He and Chiaki followed the servant girl who guided them into the pavilion.
They walked past several doors and rooms. Many sounds could be heard from the doors. This was the area he never visited before. The first ti he was here, he got to the top floor where they had a party and drank a lot. The second ti, they were in a large hall to have a party.
But today, he wasn’t here for that. They finally reached a door with a luxurious engraving. The servant knocked three tis and spoke.
"Lady, sir Leo from Hallowed Insects has arrived."
"Please co in."
Nabi’s voice sounded from the inside.
Nodding, the servant girl opened the door and Leo entered. He scanned the room quickly, noticing that Jessica had sat across from Nabi, the beautiful owner of the pavilion.
’Ah, they are already discussing the job.’
Upon seeing him, they stood up. The owner imdiately greeted him with a smile and a bow.
"Greetings, sir Leo. It’s been a while."
"Nice to see you, Miss Nabi."
Leo nodded his head politely in return. He didn’t forget to give her a charming smile. In the past, she had helped him to deal with an annoying guard and gave him a bonus. Was that a calculated move? He didn’t think so.
Anyway, they had a chance to be acquainted. So, being polite was the best way to do.
After greeting each other, he sat down next to Jessica while Chiaki stood with Jack.
"So, what’s the job description?" He asked as he looked straight into Nabi’s eyes.
As she had negotiated with Jessica, there was no need to small talk anymore. His attitude shifted instantly, putting on a serious air befitting a leader of an amazing rcenary band.
"Please allow to explain the situation."
Nabi gestured at the scroll on the table. Then, she explained the whole situation, the job, and the pay to Leo who had just arrived.
He nodded a few tis while listening, connecting her story with the knowledge he had from the novel. He tried to rember what kind of first epigraph the Hao Sect found that contained a way for a normal person to use Qi. But nothing ca to mind.
’There is nothing like that in the novel. Kim Min-Gu has almost no relationship with the Hao Sect even until the latest chapter, so this sect is still shrouded in mystery. But well, this is reality, not a story.’
The epigraph belonged to Venom Sect. It was a strong and vicious group that focused on poisons and dark techniques. They were not as influential as the 5 Great Sects, but they were not a pushover in the past.
’They are an atrocious Sect. After Supre Evil is defeated, the conservative group has been absorbed into the Tang Clan and created a Poison Sect.’
What an ominous combo and relation. Was it just a coincidence?
Perhaps so. However, Leo didn’t have ti to think about it. He was a rcenary and a leader. His priority was to secure the item and get paid.
Leo gave a sign to Jessica and left the negotiation to her.
"Hmm, it’s not an easy job. I can’t promise we will succeed, but we can try. But... Make it 10,000 Gold. If I rember correctly, the epigraph is around half of this room and made from stone. Moving it manually is difficult without any kind of help.
So, the extra 5,000 is for our specialized equipnt. How does that sound?"
Nabi didn’t expect them to succeed in the beginning. It was a treasure of a Supre Evil, so it was expected to be very well-guarded. The reason why she gave out an initial 5,000 Golds was to test them and see how they worked.
’A specialized equipnt. Is it their strange vehicle?’ She wondered, but she didn’t question it.
In any case, paying extra for a job with specialized equipnt was always the norm. And the paynt wasn’t that high, considering what the job entailed.
"10,000 Gold, huh. You drive a hard bargain, Miss Jessica. Doubling the amount you asked is not an easy task." Nabi said, a hint of surprise in her voice. "The content of the first epigraph we secured is worth more than any Gold. Is that not enough for paynt?"
"Our specialized equipnt needs fuel to operate. And because it’s a precious material, it’s not cheap. We also have to produce it before use, which also costs money. The cost of running the vehicle and the fuel consumption is quite high."
Jessica’s explanation was reasonable. No one could deny that. And because the other party had no idea of the true nature of their equipnt, she could bluff easily.
’At the sa ti, we can fool them to think it’s sothing expensive and hard to replace. So, we can get more money. They will definitely try to recreate the ’fuel’ we talked about by tracing the materials we buy. However, they will never be able to because they are just fakes.’ Leo thought as he smiled warmly.
Facing two people from the Hallowed Insect, Nabi felt a sense of danger coming from them. She felt that sothing was amiss but couldn’t place her hand on where it was.
Still, their request was reasonable and not too outrageous. She had heard from her contacts that their vehicle was very useful and versatile, not to ntion fast, but they never got to see it in action. So, they had no idea of the truth behind their claim.
’No matter how much fuel they need, 10,000 Golds is still too much.’
Indeed, securing the epigraph was their priority, but they also had to do it without hurting their pocket too much. Hostile parties could use the mont of their weakness to exploit them.
"How about we exchange 3,000 Golds for information? We will pay 7,000 Golds, the content of the epigraph, and free information that you want to know. We, the Hao Sect, is the biggest information gathering group in the world. We have a wealth of information. We even have a complete map of Central Plain."
Nabi was quick to offer information as a counter. She was confident in her offer, especially with the vast information in their possession. Not to ntion, she put bait on the Central Plains complete map.
Due to the fact that there were many mountains, valleys, and even rivers in Central Plain, creating a map was not an easy task. It was a closely guarded secret of the 5 Great Sects.
"No, thank you. We will prefer gold over the map. Information is not sothing that we can trust fully, especially if it cos from an unknown source." Jessica answered politely. "And if we need your service, we will buy it through the right way."
Nabi’s proposal was declined imdiately. They were a rcenary group, and money was their main goal. They had no interest in information unless it could help them get more money. Besides, they had their smart lenses to scan and create maps for them. A more detailed and accurate one.
’I don’t think she will accept our offer.’ Nabi sighed in her mind.
She had prepared the map, hoping to convince them, but it was in vain. It was sothing unexpected for her.
At that mont, a commotion suddenly could be heard from outside.
"Stop right there!"
"Get back here, you bastard!"
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