“What kind of thing are you?!”
The Goblin, nicknamed Zhen Ji, was clearly not good-tempered. Upon hearing the other party’s remark of ‘third-rate rogue’, his expression immediately changed.
He flicked his hands, and two dark iron cases popped out from both sides of his wrist. Several grooves on them were embedded with long, dark blue needles, aimed steadily at the human man in the room.
He said coldly, “I’ll give you a chance to rephrase, otherwise… hmph.”
This time, Muse did not stop his companion. Of course, this was not because the man’s slightly arrogant words had caused him any displeasure.
This deep-scheming Elf merely wanted Zhen Ji, whose strength was by no means weak among the four people (excluding Cole) behind him, to test the other party.
This was necessary.
If the opponent’s strength was not difficult to deal with, even if he wouldn’t take his life immediately due to various concerns, he could at least set a tone for the subsequent communication—a tone more favorable to their side.
However, what he didn’t expect was…
“Alright, I apologize.”
The other party bowed slightly to Zhen Ji and admitted defeat without hesitation.
“Could my judgment have been wrong?” Muse thought with some surprise.
After all, according to his previous analysis, the person in front of him should definitely not be someone timid and afraid of trouble, otherwise he wouldn’t have used those slightly cruel methods to demonstrate to the Thieves' Guild through Cole.
But this was not a bad thing!
Muse subtly adjusted his emotions, then slowly turned to Zhen Ji and shook his head, saying, “Watch your words a little…”
“He’s absolutely right.” The man standing in the room calmly interrupted Muse’s mild reprimand, a half-smile on his face: “My wording just now was indeed ill-considered, and it’s only right to apologize to this Goblin gentleman.”
Muse frowned, then said softly, “Alright, since you’ve already…”
“So I need to correct myself now.” The man’s voice suddenly turned cold. He casually glanced at the somewhat bewildered Muse, his gentle voice sounding particularly harsh: “Only you count as a third-rate rogue. As for the others… I’m sorry, I mean the other small fry, they are all worthless trash.”
Zhen Ji immediately flared up. He took a sudden step forward and roared, “What do you mean?!”
“Exactly what it sounds like.” The man narrowed his eyes slightly, the smile at the corner of his mouth becoming even more pronounced. He said softly, “If you have an opinion… want to try taking another step forward?”
“You… what are you doing!?”
Zhen Ji, burning with shame and anger, was about to rush forward and cover the other person’s face with poisoned needles, but he found Snake Flower, Blood Chain, and Ye Yin simultaneously grabbing him.
He immediately turned back, his eyes wide with fury, and shouted, “Let go of me!”
“Although I don’t know why I have this feeling,” the Lizardmen Blood Chain gripped one of Zhen Ji’s arms tightly, saying in a low, uncertain voice, “but I feel that if you take that step, you might die…”
The Tree Elf Snake Flower also pulled Zhen Ji’s shoulder hard, her small mouth, painted with light purple lipstick, pursed nervously: “I don’t care if you die alone, but don’t drag us down with you!”
And Ye Yin, who had been in Stealth, only said three words: “Very dangerous!”
As for Cole and Muse…
The former also looked horrified on the surface, but secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
That feeling was too familiar—the cold, dangerous, sharp, chilling, blood-soaked, purely theatrical killing intent he had experienced many times himself.
This mysterious man, of whom he had no impression, who merely stood there and was enough to intimidate several skilled members of the Thieves' Guild, was undoubtedly Mr. Mo Tan!
“Stimulating! This is truly stimulating!”
The little Thief, his face pale, couldn’t help but think to himself, and secretly resolved that he must practice diligently in the future to master Mr. Mo Tan’s so-called ‘pretentious’ and ‘facial acting’ techniques as soon as possible… no, they were arts!
Indeed, the man before everyone, who seemed full of flaws and whom even Muse couldn’t see through, was Mo Tan.
But Cole knew this, Mo Tan himself knew this, I knew this, and everyone present knew this, but Muse did not…
This second-in-command of the Black Tower City Thieves' Guild, who was formidable in strength, cunning, and means, was inexplicably flustered!
Even though Mo Tan might not even be able to withstand a single move from him, this reaction was not foolish or embarrassing.
Thieves have always been a profession that walks with shadows. They excel at disguise, deception, assassination, and pickpocketing. A mature and excellent Thief finds it difficult to trust others, because these people themselves are professional liars.
They have seen and done too much of gaining others’ trust, disguising their own strength, and setting traps in places where people are least guarded.
Even if we all know that Mo Tan’s current strength, let alone these individuals, he might not even be able to defeat Number Three Chicken of Tian Zhu Mountain, but Muse and the others don’t know that.
They don't believe that the other party is as simple as they appear, they don't believe that there are no traps beneath the seemingly unguarded exterior, and even if they used something like a detection scroll on Mo Tan, and it reported back 'this guy is just a weakling', they still wouldn't believe it.
They only trusted themselves: their observations, their instincts, their judgments.
That’s why Mo Tan successfully bluffed Muse and the others.
Of course, nothing is absolute. If Muse had only sent Zhen Ji to deal with Mo Tan today, the latter might already be dead or on the run.
Unfortunately, Muse came in person and was then trapped by his own vigilance. And the other mainstream Thieves, Snake Flower, Blood Chain, and Ye Yin, were also intimidated, and even managed to restrain the only famous Thief—Zhen Ji—who looked like a child but had below-average intelligence!
“My apologies, sir.” Muse’s voice, which had previously cooled, suddenly became incredibly cordial, almost unlike a Thief: “Zhen Ji has a bad temper, but since you also know he’s only ‘unremarkable’ in skill, please don’t take it too seriously.”
Mo Tan let out a soft snort, then lazily pointed to himself: “Link Zelda.”
Muse immediately smiled and said, “My name is Muse, the Vice Guild Master of the Black Tower City Thieves' Guild. These are…”
“I know who you are, and I know why you’re here.” Mo Tan yawned lazily and waved his hand: “As for those few small fry, I’m not interested. Come in and talk.”
In fact, he had no idea who Muse was; his earlier remark, ‘I’ve long heard of your esteemed name,’ was naturally a fabrication. He simply knew that the Thieves' Guild would never send some insignificant small-time character to negotiate.
Muse nodded, and, with his senses fully engaged, slowly walked into the room, and then…
“Just you, a third-rate, can come in.” Mo Tan suddenly turned back and said softly to Cole, Zhen Ji, and the others, who were about to enter in single file: “As for the kid and the unremarkable ones, wait outside. I find them dirty.”
The expressions of several people stiffened, and then they saw Cole, as if remembering something terrifying, quickly retreat two steps, looking at Mo Tan with vigilance: “You…”
“Hehe~” The latter smiled slightly and shook his head: “Don’t worry, as long as you don’t come uninvited like before, I won’t do anything to you.”
Cole, who had been cool and composed from beginning to end, immediately fell silent.
The others, however, looked at Muse with some hesitation.
“That’s it. You all wait outside. I’ll talk with Mr. Zelda alone,” Muse said softly, then made a few subtle gestures.
Zhen Ji and the others immediately understood and nodded. The Tree Elf woman named Snake Flower even obediently closed the door from the outside.
One minute later.
Muse and Mo Tan sat opposite each other at the small round table in the main hall of Room 11.
“I apologize for disturbing you,” Muse began.
Mo Tan merely shook his head noncommittally, absentmindedly pulling out a bottle of seemingly expensive red wine from under the table, uncorking it, and taking two large gulps.
Muse: “…”
He had lived for over four hundred years and had never seen anyone drink red wine like that.
To be honest, he had been a bit worried that the other party might poison the wine, then pour him a glass or something. Now, it seemed he had been a bit presumptuous.
“Let me ask you a question.” Mo Tan, with his legs crossed, shook the wine bottle in his hand at Muse: “Have you heard of the Legend of Zelda?”
Legend of what?
Muse was stunned for a moment, then suddenly connected it to the other party’s name—Link Zelda. He figured that Legend must have something to do with this unknown, unidentifiable, and unfathomable human.
So he quickly searched his mind, and then…
“I really haven’t heard of it,” Muse shook his head sincerely.
“Oh.” Mo Tan took another particularly hearty gulp of wine, then raised his hand and pointed towards the door: “Then there’s nothing more to say. Get out.”
From this moment on, the initiative of this ‘negotiation’ was formally and completely seized by Mo Tan.
Sweat was already beading on Muse’s face beneath his mask. He felt that the difficulty of this guy in front of him far exceeded expectations. Logically, since the other party had obtained that God Extinction Society intelligence box and knew the purpose of his visit, he should have already started planning to extort a large sum from the Thieves' Guild.
So why was he already chasing people away after only a few words?!
What about the negotiation? The transaction? The outrageous demands? The fierce fight? The falling out?
“Hey.” Mo Tan, however, had already begun to impatiently urge, “Are you, this third-rate, deaf? I told you to get out.”
Muse cleared his throat: “Actually, the reason I came here is…”
“This, right?” Mo Tan rolled his eyes, and a small box suddenly appeared in his left hand, which was lightly tapping the table.
A burning sensation immediately emanated from Muse’s chest; it was the resonance of the ‘key’!
“It’s the real thing, it really is this guy!”
His pupils suddenly constricted, and then…
“If you dare to reach out,” Mo Tan smiled slightly, “I’ll chop off your hand and destroy this thing.”
Muse’s slightly trembling figure immediately stabilized. He chuckled softly, “You’re overthinking it. I’m just here to make a deal with you this time.”
However, although he said that, the moment the box appeared in Mo Tan’s hand, Muse had already harbored murderous intent!
Of course, he wasn’t so foolish as to think the other party had no ability at all, but the Vice Guild Master of the Black Tower City Thieves' Guild was also not so naive as to think that this ‘Link Zelda’ in front of him would necessarily be stronger than him and Zhen Ji combined.
Since it was confirmed that the item was in the other party’s hands, then in a desperate situation, he had to act when the time came!
But not now…
If this guy, whom he couldn’t see through at all, could still be reasoned with, Muse was unwilling to take that extra risk.
However, he had already begun to seriously consider whether the other party was truly strong enough.
“A deal, huh.” Mo Tan, however, smacked his lips nonchalantly, then shook his head slightly and said, “I don’t make deals with insincere people.”
Muse immediately said, “I am very sincere!”
“Your sincerity is to have those few unremarkable ones making ‘small preparations’ outside?”
“Uh…”
Muse was a little surprised. The gestures he had made to Zhen Ji and the others earlier were extremely subtle, as natural as many of our habitual movements, yet they had still been noticed by the other party!
“I apologize.” He stood up decisively and said, “I’ll have them right now…”
“No need.” Mo Tan, however, gave a playful smile, shook the wine bottle in his hand, and said with a slight tipsiness, “Given your rather good attitude…”
Muse stared intently at the box: “You name it.”
“Six hundred thousand gold coins, whether it’s clean money or not doesn’t matter,” Mo Tan said softly, then with a flick of his left hand, the box disappeared, and the ‘key’ in Muse’s chest immediately lost its warmth.
Six hundred thousand!!
Muse forced a bitter smile, shaking his head and saying, “Mr. Zelda, although we are indeed very sincere, six hundred thousand is really a bit…”
“Seven hundred thousand.” Mo Tan gently placed the wine bottle on the table and smiled at Muse: “I’m a very reasonable person.”
“You’re really too reasonable! It went up by a hundred thousand in just two sentences!”
The corner of Muse’s mouth twitched beneath his mask. He forced himself to compose himself, then said in a deep voice, “Five hundred thousand, forty thousand of which is clean money. This is our maximum sincerity. You should know our previous bounty was only twenty-five…”
“You have forty thousand in clean money?” Mo Tan suddenly interrupted with interest: “Really?”
Muse, who had somehow abandoned the idea of ‘testing his strength’, immediately breathed a sigh of relief and nodded vigorously: “Yes, forty thousand in clean money!”
“Good, then it’s settled.” Mo Tan clapped his hands happily, then, just as Muse suddenly began to wonder, ‘Was I tricked?’, he added with a smile: “Since that’s the case, then the other four hundred thousand being not-so-clean doesn’t matter either.”
Muse was instantly bewildered: “You… what did you say?”
Mo Tan, leaning back in his chair, smiled kindly…
“I think you’re a good person. Bring me nine hundred thousand gold coins, and you can take the item.”
“You might as well just rob me!”
“Robbing is too slow~”
Chapter 140: End
