Street Frontage (Seeking Follow-up Reads)

Deal!

The waiter spoke happily. "Guest, how about we go take a look around Damingwei District now?"

Looking at the waiter's expression, Gu Xi felt that he might have been a little careless.

"Let me warn you, I'm not that easy to fool. I agree to go to Damingwei District, but the land has to be right next to Camden District."

Faced with Gu Xi's stern attitude, the waiter said with a smile, "Please rest assured, guest. Our Fate Compass Guild has never disappointed a customer."

With that, the waiter made a gesture inviting him outside.

Outside the door, Shaya was practically itching to go along.

Gu Xi said awkwardly, "Could you step outside for a moment? At least let me put some clothes on."

Instead of backing away, Shaya poked her head farther in, her expression seeming to say, What haven't I seen before?

Gu Xi put on the clothes he had just washed. He did not care that they were still wet; at least they no longer smelled so bad and were wearable.

Seeing this, the waiter could not help frowning.

As a thief, he disliked this sort of outfit that made it easy to expose one's whereabouts.

But Gu Xi was not his subordinate, so there was nothing he could say.

He could only watch Gu Xi get dressed, then soak a piece of bread in the soup and hold it in his hand as he ate while walking out.

"Mentor, what class do you think he is, rushing around like that?"

"Built that skinny, there's an eighty-percent chance he's a Necromancer."

The waiter lowered his voice. "Shaya, stay in the shop later. Don't go out."

"It's not a big deal." Shaya rolled her eyes. "It's not even dark yet, and there's no one in the shop. Me following along won't affect anything."

The waiter shot her a glare. Shaya shrank her head back and hid behind the door.

"You think that means I won't go? Dream on."

The waiter did not pay much attention to Shaya's attitude. On one hand, this was a test for Shaya; on the other, he was putting on a show for Gu Xi.

His meaning was obvious: he did not intend to bring such a troublesome girl along, all to show Gu Xi how professional he was.

But Gu Xi did not understand the waiter's meaning at all. His mind was focused entirely on how familiar the waiter was with the roads nearby.

This waiter truly deserved to be a member of the Thieves' Guild. He was extremely familiar with every street and alley in the area.

Sometimes there was clearly no path ahead, yet he would push open a small door and lead them into another alley.

Following behind the waiter, Gu Xi nearly got himself turned around and lost.

And that was in broad daylight, with someone leading him. Gu Xi believed that if anyone dared enter this maze of alleys at night, they would not find their way out in less than three to five hours.

This area also connected to many streets. After a few twists and turns, the waiter led Gu Xi out of the alley district.

"Up ahead is Greenwich Avenue. Across that avenue is Northumberland Avenue, which is also the boundary avenue between Camden District and Damingwei District."

As they walked, the waiter gave him a careful introduction.

Gu Xi followed a little behind, looking around at the avenue before them.

The buildings on both sides of the avenue seemed rather tall. There were no storefronts on the street, and aside from house numbers, there were no markings whatsoever. It did not look like a good place.

Seeing Gu Xi looking around, the waiter quickly tugged him.

"Don't look around. This place has a nickname—Great Scotland Yard Street. You don't want to get yourself killed, do you?"

Gu Xi immediately understood. This street was under Scotland Yard's protection.

No wonder there were no signs at all.

Still, this was a good location. Scotland Yard's territory was right outside the door, so there were fewer petty thieves and pickpockets nearby.

Just as Gu Xi was thinking that, he glanced at the waiter leading the way.

This guy seemed to be a thief himself, yet he was walking freely along Greenwich Avenue.

It seemed Scotland Yard's deterrence was not that strong after all.

The waiter had no idea what Gu Xi was thinking. After leading him across the avenue, they entered Damingwei District.

The moment they entered this street, Gu Xi noticed an obvious difference between it and the previous Greenwich Avenue.

The buildings along the street were not as tall, and each one looked like an apartment building.

Between the buildings, there were sometimes one or two empty lots or abandoned old structures.

Since Gu Xi had asked to stay near Camden District, the waiter did not lead him any farther in.

He merely pointed out several apartment buildings and plots of land on this street that were available for sale.

"This plot can be exchanged for. Don't be fooled by how narrow and long it is—being long has its advantages. At the very least, it has a large area. The lot alone is nearly six hundred square meters.

Because of its shape, it has never been sold. If you want to exchange for it, three hundred Camden District Land Purchase Orders will easily secure it.

As long as its height does not exceed the surrounding buildings, you can build it however you want.

And this small building is for sale. Look at the front door. Once you step outside, see that? You're directly on Camden District's main street. Walk across, and you'll be in Camden District."

The waiter was not a professional broker, after all, so his explanation was a little stiff. But Gu Xi's requirements were not high—so long as the place was large enough and near the edge of Camden District, it would do.

Gu Xi quickly took a liking to a building that was about to be put up for sale. It was a Three Layers building, only five buildings away from Greenwich Avenue. It still looked quite new, and the paint in front of the door had only recently been redone.

Just looking at it from outside, Gu Xi liked it quite a bit.

Seeing Gu Xi's reaction, the waiter was happy to explain more.

Although the owner of this building was not a client of their guild, their guild was working on a major deal. A Land Purchase Order for Camden was the most useful thing they could get, and trading for a building like this would be quite easy.

But just as Gu Xi was about to settle on it, his gaze suddenly swept outward. He pointed toward the junction of Greenwich Avenue and Northumberland Avenue.

"Wait, what's going on over there?"

Greenwich Avenue and Northumberland Avenue formed a T-junction. At the spot Gu Xi pointed to, there happened to be a building that had already collapsed.

The building's original footprint had not been small either, roughly three hundred and twenty square meters. But after the building collapsed, all the construction materials had piled up on the ground, making the place look extremely dirty and messy.

The waiter took one look and said directly, "What else could it be? The ownership of that plot is unclear. The original landowner kept insisting that it belonged to Greenwich Avenue, making it part of Camden District.

"But anyone could see that it was in the middle section of Northumberland Avenue. How could it possibly belong to Camden District?

"So the matter has been dragged out ever since."

Gu Xi studied the ruins and considered them seriously. "If I'm willing to acknowledge that it belongs to Damingwei District, would the price be cheaper?"