Ark Traveler, I want to take a day off today too

"As for you, little girl." The Rat King touched his chin, "I want you to go with him to find me a missing gangster. That guy is called Latorre, from Syracuse."

"Okay, I understand." Texas nodded and agreed without even mentioning the price.

097. The silly big cat is coming! (Fifth update!)

“Is there anything so special about that guy? Is it worth it for you to spend so much money to find him?” Lin Lei directly moved two chairs from behind the counter and sat on them without hesitation, while Texas moved the chair towards Lin Lei before sitting down on it.

"That guy was a member of a gang called 14K in the slums, but that gang was destroyed yesterday."

"Destroyed?" Texas repeated in a low voice, "Is the 14K a big gang?"

The Rat King nodded, and then he took out a few photos like a magician and handed them to Lin Lei and Texas. "Yesterday, Yuxia found something wrong when she passed by this compound. When I went there, this was the only thing left at the scene."

Linley was stunned when he saw the photo. It had been a long time since he came to this world and had not seen such a bloody and cruel scene. “It’s obvious that this kind of photo is not suitable for people of all ages.”

Texas frowned slightly after seeing this: "Are all of them dead except him?"

“There are still some survivors, but their number is less than twenty. He is the strongest and most powerful among them, so I need you to find him.” The Rat King looked at Linley with interest. “Do you have any ideas?”

“No, but I’ll probably have an idea when I go to the crime scene.” Linley said casually while crossing his legs, while Texas nodded in agreement.

"Take this sign and turn right and go two blocks. The compound has been completely blocked by Gray Tail. If you want to go in, you have to use a token, but let's make it clear in advance." The Rat King was still knocking on the table slowly. "We have basically dealt with the bodies. You should only see some remains."

“If it’s just the wreckage, that’s enough. The rest is not that important to me.” After saying that, Linley led Texas out of the shop.

“Any ideas?” Linley tossed the token given by the Rat King while looking at the cold beauty in black stockings beside him. “The Rat King probably wanted to see you because of your past.”

Texas nodded expressionlessly: "Well, but I have never heard of this guy named Latorre. If I guess correctly, it should be his alias... In addition, what are we going to investigate in that yard this time?"

“Of course, I’m investigating the person who killed so many thugs.” Linley held his head and said casually, “The Rat King is not a policeman, and I’m not a detective… The reason why he came to me specially is obviously not as simple as simply finding a Syracuse thug.”

"you mean...."

"We are looking for someone who killed so many thugs at once. And if I guess correctly, if the guy named Latorre is still alive, it's because that guy wants him to live."

Five minutes later, Linley waved the token in his hand towards Graytail at the door, and the Rat King’s personal thug made way for him. “It’s rare to see the Rat King’s thugs come out in broad daylight. It looks like this matter is really getting serious.”

The moment Linley pushed open the door, his expression became exactly the same as the Rat King’s: “Hmm… This is getting interesting.”

"What's wrong? Is there anything strange?" Texas looked at the blood on the ground with a blank face. "The bodies have been taken away. If there is only blood, there is nothing to see."

“I can’t really see anything, but that guy left some things behind!” Linley said as he suddenly raised his hand. An icicle rose up from the corner of the courtyard, and black smoke was frozen in the middle!

Texas' eyes lit up immediately when he saw this: "Is this your new Originium skill?"

“Yes, are you interested?” Linley waved at the girl first, then walked towards the icicle.

"No, I just think it's pretty. What's the point of that?"

“I don’t know either, but it should have been left by the culprit.” Linley knocked on the pillar, and the ice fell off, leaving only a prismatic crystal. “This thing gives me a very bad feeling.”

He handed the ice crystal wrapped in black smoke to Texas, and Texas drew out his sword in an instant and chopped directly at the crystal!

"Dang~"

Linley quickly drew out his dagger to block the attack. “Texas! What’s wrong?”

"I! I'm sorry... I seemed to have a little stress reaction just now." Texas quickly regained consciousness after the man called her, and her eyes instantly became more vigilant when she looked at the crystal. "I felt an inexplicable fear when I approached it. Although it wasn't much... it was real, and then I couldn't control myself and wanted to draw my weapon."

"You feel fear?"

"Well, it should be the thing in the middle." Texas pointed his sword at the black smoke in the middle, "Can you take that away from me? I'm afraid I will subconsciously attack it again."

Spreading fear, or using fear as a weapon? Linley was stunned. Isn’t this a green-skinned technology studio? How come there are still such weird things? However, there is a way to deal with such weird things. Linley did not hesitate at all. He directly called the phone number marked as "My Dearest Boss Kelsey".

"Hello? Moshi Moshi?"

"Stop speaking to me in your mountainous Eastern language, and change the notes for me. This is too disgusting! It's so disgusting that Mon3tr would shed a layer of skin if he heard it!"

“Oh, I thought you would like it very much~” Linley said with a very regretful tone, and Kal’tsit naturally would not take the bait:

"Then I think you will also like the scenery on the bridge of Rhodes Island. You probably haven't seen the sun at four o'clock in the morning yet, right?"

"No, the last person who said that has already crashed and become a meme."

"Then let's get down to business. What do you want to talk to me about?" Kal'tsit sighed, looking disappointed. "By the way, your arm armor is on the way. The person delivering it is Huang. She seems to really want to meet you."

“Huang? All right, I hope her chainsaw never overheats~” Linley sighed in the same way, “I have a commission…” He then told Kal’tsit the whole story and what he had discovered in the compound.

"Are you sure? You will feel scared if you get close to me..." After a long silence, Kal'tsit spoke.

"I'm sure it sounds like you know who this thing belongs to?"

"Remember the Emperor's Guards that night? This is their stuff..."

098. I'll leave it to you when the time comes

“The Emperor’s Guard?” Linley glanced outside the door to make sure no one was eavesdropping before repeating, “Are they the people you mentioned whose fighting ability is no weaker than those guys in the black hats?”

"That's right. As time goes by, those black-capped shadow guards will only grow old. The Emperor's inner guards have a very standard recruitment process, and this process allows the inner guards to continue to grow. It can be said that as long as Ursus survives, the Emperor's inner guards will not disappear."

Linley instantly understood what Kal'tsit meant. This was what they meant by "I may not be able to beat you, but as long as I live longer than you, then you are no match for me." "Have you ever fought against them?"

Contrary to what Linley had expected, Kal’tsit did not answer his question directly. Instead, she remained silent for a long time. “If possible, I hope you can give up the Rat King’s order. The biggest difference between them and the Shadow Guards is that as long as it is a method that can help Ursus continue to prosper, no matter how immoral it is, they will choose to do it.”

"If I remember correctly, the death of the previous emperor of Ursus was related to them."

This extremely explosive news immediately made Linley raise his eyebrows. “So they are still called the Emperor’s Inner Guard? Also, Kal’tsit, I know you are worried, but I have accepted the order and there is no reason for me to give up. Besides, I may not necessarily face that Inner Guard head-on.”

"Ah... I know I can't persuade you, but remember try not to fight with them in the Inner Guard's kingdom. As for what the kingdom is... you'll know it when you see it." Kal'tsit said as she involuntarily touched an almost invisible scar on her body - that wound was caused by a former Inner Guard.

"Okay, I'll invite you to the cafeteria for dinner later when you're free."

"Just the cafeteria?"

"Uh...what do you want to eat?"

“Hmph, let’s talk about it when the time comes. Don’t make a fool of yourself by saying you don’t have the chance to die!” After saying that, Kal’tsit hung up the phone, and Linley also put away his phone.

Texas, who had been waiting for a long time, came forward and asked, "Is it Kal'tsit?"

“Well, if there is anyone who knows more about this kind of thing, it should be her.” Lin Lei nodded. “Where should we go next? Do you have any ideas?”

“How about we go eat first?” The Lupo girl tilted her head and proposed an idea that Linley could not refuse. “Then let’s go to the underground boxing ring in the Longmen Slums. That is the most mixed place in the slums. If a gang is destroyed, most of the gang members will go to such a place to vent their emotions.”

The man immediately understood and nodded: "Then let's go eat first, and I'll tell you about the situation."

...a small stir-fry restaurant in the slums...

Although Lin Lei didn’t know the shop owner, he still enthusiastically took him and Texas to a window seat: “No, buddy, do you know me?”

“I don’t know him.” The shop owner still had an extremely bright smile on his face. He pointed at the sign in Linley’s hand and said, “But I recognize this. This is a token of the Rat King. Seeing it is like seeing the Rat King himself.”

"I see, it seems that the old man has a very good reputation in this area." The man touched his chin with satisfaction, "Boss, cook two special dishes for me, and can I ask you something?" As he said that, he quickly took out a hundred-dollar bill from his pocket and stuffed it into the boss's hand. The boss was also very happy to see this:

"You said that as long as I know something, I will tell you everything I know."

"Where is the nearest place for black boxing in your area?"

"Turn left three blocks away and you'll see an adult sex toy store. Once you go in, tell the owner that you want to see something more exciting and he'll take you in." The owner whispered, "However, you'd better abide by the rules of the black boxing ring. This token may not be that useful to them."

“Okay, okay.” Linley nodded in satisfaction. “By the way, Boss, bring over two more bottles of beer!”

"okay!"

At this time, Texas asked in a low voice: "Is it really okay for us to drink like this?"

“Of course, no problem. Drinking the right amount of alcohol can help you relax.” Linley smiled as he picked up a piece of steaming hot liver. “Also, Texas, remember to follow me closely, because we’re looking for the mastermind behind this…”

"Strong?"

“Right, so don’t get lost.” Linley clinked his glasses with Texas. “Also, I want to ask, when did you quit smoking?”

"Not long after you left..." Texas drank the wine in the glass. His beautiful eyes with a slightly gradient feel seemed as warm as water. It was hard to imagine that this was the expression that Texas, who usually showed a poker face, would make.

"After all, you said that no matter what happened in the past, I should always have a new beginning, so I thought I would start by quitting smoking... and now I live a free life with noisy friends, although it always brings me trouble, but... I think it's not bad now."

"That's good."

The two of them clinked their glasses again, and at the same time, the Rat King in the candy shop looked at Lin Yuxia beside him and raised his eyes slightly: "My girl, do you have a change of heart today and come to see your empty-nest father?"

Lin Yuxia puffed out her lips, and her beautiful face looked particularly cute now. "Don't come on, when have I not met you? At the very least, I called you."

"Then why are you here? Well, it's true. There have been so many things going on recently that fewer children come to buy candy from me." The Rat King sighed and rocked the rocking chair. "I even specially bought a batch of famous brand candy from Victoria."

"Even if there is, the kids here can't afford it, right?" The Zalak girl complained, "I want to ask, if it's just Dredger, can he really handle this problem? After all, I heard from Beatrice that Governor Wei got very angry this morning."

"All we have to do is believe, otherwise... Wei Yanwu's butcher knife will move on the slums." Lin Gerui looked at his daughter: "Yuxia, I mean, if, if Longmen's survival requires the lives of all the infected people, what will you do?"

"I will stop this from happening and leave Longmen!" Lin Yuxia gave her answer without any hesitation. "This is too inhumane in my opinion, and there is no so-called justice."

"Really? If things really develop to that point, I'll leave it to you."

099. In fact, he was already dead when he came out

"What day is today? Why am I still alive?" Countless thoughts like tangled vines assaulted Latorre's not-so-clear brain. Until now, all he could think of was the tragic death of his sworn brother.

And this man, Lupo, whose appearance could be described as ferocious, ran to the underground boxing ring after hastily telling a few vendors the news that the internal guard asked him to spread. After all, the boss here was also a Syracuse. It was said that his gang was defeated by a white lone wolf, so he fell into the situation of doing black boxing in the Longmen slums.

But in fact, Latorre himself knew that the person who killed his brother was not someone else, but himself, but it was not just himself, but also that monster. Now, in just one night, this former ruthless character had no less than five nightmares, and the content of each nightmare was different.

From the sworn brother's death-seeking behavior at the beginning, to the gang boss's wailing, and finally to being stabbed in the heart with a long knife by the black shadow, it can be said that Latorre has thought of all possible ways of his death.

"Hey, Latorre, how did you sleep last night?" The boss, who was also Rooper but now had a big belly, walked over slowly.

"I slept well. Thank you for your care." Latorre quickly got up from the hard bed, and the boss waved his hand:

"Yes, I don't need to go into all this nonsense, but I'm curious about what you've been through. And this morning, the 14K compound was surrounded by the men of 'Gray Lin'."

Facing his boss's question, Latorre broke out in a cold sweat. The nightmare-like image of the Emperor's inner guards lingered in his mind: "Brother, if possible, I don't want to lie to you. This matter is not easy to say."

"Hey, that's a bit unkind of you. I'm the one who took you in, and this is how you repay me?" The boss said immediately with dissatisfaction, and as he clapped his hands, three or four shirtless and quite strong underground boxers appeared in front of Latorre.

"Huber! What do you mean!"

"We both came from Syracuse, so I naturally don't want to embarrass you, but you have to tell me what happened in the 14K compound." Huber narrowed his eyes and subconsciously took a few steps back, "Otherwise, you will have to drink a forfeit!"

"You..." Just as Latorre was about to fight to the death, a very young male voice interrupted the conversation in this dark corner.

"Excuse me, are you Latorre, the one with the 14K double flower red stick?"

Then, everyone including Huber looked in the direction of the voice, and saw a man and a woman slowly walking towards them. The race of the man could not be determined, but Huber was quite familiar with the woman!

"Celinnina Texas! What are you doing here?"

"Call me Texas, and hand over the guy behind you." Texas raised his sword expressionlessly, "We have some questions to ask him, and we'll give it back to you after we're done."

Huber was delighted when he heard this: "What a coincidence, we also have some questions we want to ask my fellow countryman, how about..."

"No, get out of here, or I'll do it."

"How dare you, little bitch, say that to our boss..." When one of the thugs heard Texas's almost threatening words, he immediately counted on his fingers and rushed towards Texas.

"boom!"

“How come you fell down after I only fired one shot?” Linley blew away the nonexistent muzzle smoke. “Dude, I thought you were going to perform a ‘1000-7’ when you snapped your fingers.”

The extremely loud gunshots also caused the originally noisy underground boxing gym to fall into a deathly silence in an instant. Everyone, including the boxers on the field, looked in the direction of Lin Lei and his companions, while Huber's security personnel rushed towards Lin Lei with outdated electric batons.

“If I were you, I definitely wouldn’t rush over here so hastily. After all, no one knows if I’ll shoot next.” Linley looked helplessly at his boss, who was already sweating. “Do you really want to do this? You were originally doing business happily. Do you have to make something so complicated when I just ask the person behind you a question?”

"Don't come over here!" Huber immediately shouted to stop his security guards from taking action, "Sir, please go first. I'll come over when you're done..."

“Okay, okay.” Linley nodded in satisfaction. He even took out the coins he had just received as change from lunch from his pocket and threw them to Huber. “We’ll just ask for a while.”

As Huber and the others left temporarily, Latorre breathed a sigh of relief: “No matter who you two are, thank you for your help…” Just as the man with the double-flowered red stick was about to thank them, Linley interrupted him with a gesture:

"Don't be in a hurry to thank me, because if you can't answer the questions I ask, you may suffer more than before." The man smiled and shook the thorns in his hand, while Texas walked silently behind Latorre and put the long sword directly on the other's neck.

"You...you ask."

"I won't ask what happened in your compound. The first question is... How many people in your 14K are still alive besides you?"

"Less than fifty." Latorre hesitated for a moment before deciding to speak directly, "Including those who got out of the compound alive, there are probably only about thirty of us."

“Okay, the second question is, why did the guy who killed so many of you let you go?” Linley nodded with satisfaction.

"He...he asked us to spread the rumor that the Longmen government was planning to clean up the infected people in the slums."

"It's that simple?"

"It's really that simple. Besides, he said before that he thought there were too many of us. It would be enough to leave less than half of us to spread rumors." Latorre felt the cool sting on his neck and was about to cry. "My lord, I am telling the truth."