"For the sake of money, I'll tell you why the price suddenly increased so much. Some clueless kids from Zaun, who knows where they came from, ran to the Academy District in Upper City and blew up an entire building, killing many people. This is practically a slap in the face to those Piltoverianss," the Toad Witch Doctor said with a sigh, puffing on his pipe.
White smoke rings freely billowed from his two large nostrils, and with a sneer, he continued, "If it were just an ordinary building, it would be fine. Upper City could just find a Zaunite to take the blame, and the case would be closed. But who knew, these little brats actually found their way into the Jilamanen Family's laboratory to steal something."
"Jilamanen Family?"
Durin was stunned for a moment, then instinctively pressed, "Is it the Jilamanen Family I know?"
The Toad Witch Doctor glanced at Durin as if he were crazy, and said sarcastically, "Then you tell me, is there a second Jilamanen Family in Upper City?"
"..."
Durin fell silent.
The Jilamanen Family is one of the most important noble families in Piltover's Council of Elders. The entire family has existed since the very beginning of Piltover; or rather, the history of this family is even older than the city itself. Perhaps because it is so ancient, a family that once highly valued love and equality is now difficult to describe with such words when referring to people from the same city-state.
The leaders of the Jilamanen Family have always been female, responsible for constructing the shipping lock system, opening up trade routes, and bringing immense wealth to the family.
There's even a saying in Piltover: "The Jilamanen Family crest is a pass to anywhere."
And the famous Piltover enforcer, Caitlyn, comes from this family and is the future heir. She is also only 17 years old now.
Thus, Durin became even more convinced that the animated plot of "Arcane" had officially begun.
The information given by the Toad Witch Doctor was almost 100% accurate, because it was too easy for him to come into contact with Upper City residents. Those Piltoverianss, desperate for medical treatment, would rather wear respirators and take private elevators to the back streets to see this Toad Witch Doctor.
Durin couldn't help but ponder whether he could use his knowledge of future plot developments to seize some benefits for himself. After all, working honestly wouldn't get him to the Entresol Level, let alone the Promenade Level.
Only by taking risks could he make a fortune, and perhaps even seize this opportunity to move to Piltover and become a respected Upper City resident.
Or, should he connect with Noxus, who would come to Piltover in the future?
Because too many things appeared in the entire "Arcane" animation, such as: Glimmer Potion, the Hextech that would appear in the next few years, and the priceless Hex Crystal, and so on.
Durin speculated in his heart that the easiest things for him to access in Zaun were Glimmer Potion, and the Hex Crystal that was still with Powder!
In a sense, early Glimmer Potion, in small doses, was an addictive drug, and in large doses, it was a biological agent that caused people to lose their minds and transform into monsters.
But after later improvements and mature technology, it could relieve pain, numb nerves, and heal injuries to a very small extent.
This is why Noxus later sent people to investigate, because for a country, these minor side effects were negligible compared to its functions.
And in the near future, this potion would be widely distributed in the lower levels of Zaun, given away for free and under the guise of treatment. Durin, knowing the dangers of this substance, would naturally be vigilant in the future.
The latter is even more important. At its core, Hex Crystal is a type of magic storage device that can provide magic. Each one is born from the body of the Brackern, priceless, and belongs to the type of item that is in demand in the market but cannot be supplied.
Thinking of this, Durin immediately had an idea. He had to find a way to get in touch with Powder, gain her trust, and have her hand over the Hex Crystal to him.
"So, all of Piltover and Zaun are on edge. Those Piltoverianss are desperately trying to force Zaun to hand over the people, and the herbs I brought from Ionia were heavily taxed because of this. Damn it!" The Toad Witch Doctor angrily slammed the bronze pipe in his hand onto the table, white smoke rings spewing from his nostrils, and the catfish whiskers on his cheeks waving wildly.
Durin said nothing, but silently tucked the small cloth bag containing the Dragon Laurel herb into his inner pocket, then left. He returned to the public elevator, and after paying one copper circle coin, he went back to the bottom floor.
He had already decided that he would go to the slaughterhouse first thing tomorrow morning to resign from his current job and focus on being a mage's assistant, a job with a monthly salary of 6 silver lun coins.
Having just incurred such a large expense, he had to earn more money!
On his way back to his living quarters, Durin stopped by the general store and bought three eggs and a pound of chicken, costing 2 copper circle coins and 4 copper circle coins respectively, totaling six.
After buying dinner ingredients, Durin stopped at the task board to see if there were any jobs he could take on tomorrow morning.
Dock Crab Binder: Requires nimble hands and feet, honest and reliable. Daily pay, 13 copper circle coins per day. Urgent Sewer Cleaner: Requires nimble hands and feet, diligent and hardworking, uncomplaining. Daily pay, 15 copper circle coins per day.
...
Help sell 18 bottles of intact illicit liquor. Description: A certain winery has too much liquor nearing its expiration date and urgently needs to sell it. It can be sold cheaply in bulk to merchants. Note: A minimum capital of 2 silver lun coins is required. The winery is located at Entresol Level, South District, Second Street, No. 36-39.
...
Debt collection required. Debtor lives at Entresol Level, North District, Sixth Street, No. 23. Needs to retrieve a bond worth 1 gold cogwheel. Reward is 20% commission of the bond. Requires reporting to the task issuing office first—Entresol Level, East District, Third Street, No. 12.
"Sigh, these jobs are all difficult!" Durin couldn't help but exclaim sincerely after quickly browsing all the tasks on the board.
These tasks either involved a degree of risk or required too much time in a day. For example, the crab binder job required 10 hours of work and carried the risk of getting fingers caught. The second one, on the other hand, might involve encountering rats in the sewers.
However, he was very interested in the last job. A bond worth one gold cogwheel, with a 20% commission, amounted to 4.8 silver lun coins!
That's a considerable sum! However, anyone living in the Entresol Level certainly wasn't an easy target, so this debt collection job probably wasn't as simple as it appeared on the surface.
Of course, Durin was also very interested in the sixth job, which was essentially earning a profit as a middleman.
He still needed to think carefully. After noting down the locations of the two tasks, Durin left the task board and returned to his residence.
As he was about to open his door, he instinctively glanced at his neighbor Miss Amy's room and saw light peeking through the cracks, indicating someone was inside. This puzzled him, as her job was clearly night shift, so she shouldn't have been home at this hour.
However, he didn't dwell on it and went to the communal kitchen to make fried eggs and stir-fried chicken with wild vegetables. The communal kitchen required an extra payment of 15 copper circle coins per person, which was roughly one copper circle coin for every two days.
Back in his room, Durin ate his entire meal with black bread.
After a quick wash in the small bathroom next to the communal toilet, Durin lay on his bed, ready to sleep comfortably, his heart filled with anticipation for tomorrow. He believed his life was slowly getting better.