Arknightcraft Modpack
Chapter 516: The Soul Accessory of a Bandit
Hei Ye naturally felt too embarrassed to tell Steven that she had merely heard of the Rat King's name and had never actually met him in any real sense.
However, she was quite certain that the inn where she and the children lived had been specifically named by the Rat King. After all, the thugs on this street had told her so themselves. As for why that important figure had given such an order, she had no idea.
Perhaps he hoped to see the children grow up healthy? Or maybe he'd simply had a moment of kindness? Hei Ye didn't know the reason, but it didn't really matter. None of it prevented her from feeling grateful toward the Rat King.
"How could someone that important be someone people like us can just meet whenever we want? Even if I have a bit of acquaintance with him, I wouldn't dare disturb him while he's busy."
After coughing awkwardly a couple of times, Hei Ye stammered out her reply to Steven's question. But from her expression alone, Steven had already guessed part of the truth.
"Alright then. I'll rent this room for half a month. As for dinner, wait until that chubby mare wakes up and ask her what she wants."
Pointing at Centaurea, who was already leaning against the bed with her eyes closed and softly snoring, Steven casually pulled several dozen Lungmen dollars from his inventory. Under Hei Ye's visibly greedy gaze, he handed them over.
As for the matter of the Rat King, if he couldn't rely on this purple-haired bunny, he could just look for the man himself.
Once you had a fixed target, finding someone became much easier.
"Sir, would you like to add another three hundred as hush money?"
Beaming, Hei Ye took the Lungmen dollars from Steven. Like a little money-grubber, she quickly counted the exact amount, yet at the same time shamelessly demanded an extra fee.
"Hush money for what?"
"For respectfully calling the young lady behind you a 'chubby mare'..."
"...Heh. You really do know how to make money."
Looking at the girl who lowered her voice mysteriously and pointed toward Centaurea behind him, Steven couldn't help but laugh in admiration before pulling out another three hundred from his inventory and placing it into her palm.
"I'm heading out for a stroll. I'll be back tonight."
Steven patted the Cautus girl's shoulder and walked straight past her out of the room.
Along the way, the children all cast curious glances at him. If Alina, that little deer, were here, she'd probably already be supervising the kids' studies at this hour.
Back on the streets of the slums, compared to the alley where Steven had been earlier, this area—perhaps because of the heavier foot traffic—felt less desolate. It even had a bit more of a bustling, everyday atmosphere. If you ignored the infected people, it almost resembled an urban village scene.
Scanning the people around him with curious eyes, taking in this environment brimming with life, Steven narrowed his eyes slightly. The restless gene in his bones made him itch to stir up trouble. After all, if he wanted to find the Rat King, it would be far more convenient to have the man come looking for him rather than the other way around.
The question was how to cause just enough of a stir to attract the Rat King's attention without drawing the entire Lungmen security force instead.
Causing trouble was an art. Mastering the degree of it was something that required careful control.
"If he's a godfather knockoff, then the easiest way to get his attention would probably be to kick in the door and cause trouble at one of his establishments, right?"
Half pinching his chin, Steven—someone who enjoyed stirring up trouble but didn't particularly like initiating it—wasn't actually very good at deliberately drawing aggro. The only method he could think of was the simplest one: kicking down doors. Following the usual trope of "hit a small fry and the big boss shows up," he figured that as long as he dealt with a few lackeys and underlings one by one, it should be enough to make the Rat King appear before him.
Having made up his mind, Steven reached into his inventory and pulled out an AK-47—the standard gear of countless FPS players. Then he shifted his gaze toward the bar at the end of the street, the one with the conspicuous bottle sign hanging outside and currently open for business.
When it came to anything related to the underworld, gray industries like this were never uninvolved. And to be able to run a bar in a chaotic place like the slums—an establishment prone to even more trouble—and still have such booming business? Steven absolutely refused to believe there wasn't someone backing it.
Decisively, he pulled the charging handle and chambered a round in his bandit's tool of choice, then strolled leisurely toward the bar, where people reeking of alcohol were constantly coming and going.
In his original world, just appearing on the street dressed like this would've guaranteed a quick escort by the police. After all, swaggering around with something like an AK—no one would believe it was a toy.
But this was Lungmen. In a place where most people didn't even know what firearms were, and anything capable of ranged attacks was lumped together as "staves," the thing in Steven's hands was, to these passersby, little more than a metal stick.
Moving at a relaxed pace—more like taking a stroll than anything else—Steven arrived at the entrance of the bar. He glanced at the steady stream of patrons and the noisy, chaotic sounds that could be heard even through the door, then nodded, confirming his target.
Just as he was considering what kind of persona he should adopt for his grand entrance, he accidentally pinched his chin a bit too hard and suddenly paused, as if recalling something.
If he was going to play the role of a proper bandit, then aside from the necessary tool in his hands, he seemed to be missing one crucial element.
Determined not to lose the very soul of a bandit, Steven turned around and began scrutinizing the pedestrians passing by.
Fortunately, it didn't take long for him to spot exactly what he needed.
His gaze settled on a young girl walking down the street toward the bar, and his eyes shone with appreciation, as if he were admiring a cherished work of art.
She had long pink hair tinged with light gray, cascading down around a delicate and beautiful face. A long dress dominated by black and accented with bright purple stripes added a touch of sharp, capable elegance to her appearance.
More interesting than her outfit, of course, were the round animal ears atop her head—blending almost seamlessly with her hair like twin buns—and the slender, flexible rat tail swaying behind her.
But none of that was what truly caught Steven's attention. At this moment, all his focus was on her long, shapely legs—round and straight, full of vitality and allure—encased in black stockings.
Just as Steven was about to step forward and ask the girl where she had managed to obtain stockings—quite a rare item in the slums—and whether she might be willing to sell him one or half a pair, a group of black-clad men with distinctly foreign features suddenly emerged from the surrounding crowd and surrounded her.
"Oh? People are competing with me for this kind of thing too?"
Steven grinned. He hadn't even started his performance yet, how had the fun already come knocking at his door?
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The pink haired girl is Lin, by the way, here's how she looks like:
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Note: Character Illustration is in this Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iuyfwNVFHzIi9H4rWNT_lAm7jTSiah_M
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Tn: I updated the story daily, but if you want to see more chapter of this story ahead of time, please go to my Patreon.
Latest Chapter: Chapter 617: A Bold Guess[1]
Link: https://www.patreon.com/Thatsnakegirl/posts/arknightcraft-160680628[2]
[1] https://www.patreon.com/Thatsnakegirl/posts/arknightcraft-160680628
[2] https://www.patreon.com/Thatsnakegirl/posts/arknightcraft-160680628