Identity

The alley was dim.

The only bright spot was the skull-shaped oil lamp by the entrance of Tatam's Nightfall bar.

The woman was half-hidden in shadow, but her posture and the tone of her voice exuded an overwhelming aura of dominance.

Intimidated by her presence, Wolf Rat's lips moved, but he couldn't utter a word. He was even forced to lower his head slightly under her gaze.

"He's just a pirate. In your current situation, it wouldn't matter much even if you killed him."

The woman looked in the direction Maud had fled, her meaning perfectly clear.

In other words, you got shot by someone, and now you have to grovel and apologize. After the other party realized the situation was unfavorable and fled, you don't even have the courage to pursue.

Wolf Rat subconsciously glanced at Tatam.

He had explained the reason to Tatam about ten seconds ago.

But now, facing this woman, who was technically his superior, he had to explain it again in a different way.

"That guy just now, he's from the weapon shop."

"What?"

The woman was startled. Her body flickered, and she instinctively used Six Powers' Shave, chasing after Maud's escape route.

The next second, she appeared dozens of meters away, but instead of using Shave a second time, she silently stared ahead.

Wolf Rat silently watched the woman's slightly flustered back, wishing he could say, "Go on, chase him, why aren't you chasing?"

But he wanted to live a few more years.

So, such words could only remain in his heart.

The woman stood there in silence for a few seconds before turning back towards Wolf Rat.

She walked up to Wolf Rat and tilted her head, glancing at Tatam standing at the bar entrance.

This was the first time she had looked at Tatam since she appeared.

Even though Tatam had previously shown an intent to attack, she had completely ignored him.

In a way, it was like her aura; she had extremely high confidence in her own strength.

"Don't kill him."

Wolf Rat said in a deep voice, "This has nothing to do with him, and I can guarantee he won't cause trouble."

The woman remained silent, but her thumb slightly pushed the hilt of her knife.

Seeing this, Wolf Rat's expression turned cold. He directly moved in front of Tatam and looked at the woman, saying, "Trust me."

"I trust you, but I don't trust him."

The woman's thumb rested on the knife hilt, continuing to push it.

"Oh, well then I'll have to quit."

"..."

Seeing Wolf Rat's stance, the woman, with a hint of confusion, could only release the knife hilt, compromising for the first time.

This was because Wolf Rat's job was extremely important to them.

If Wolf Rat quit, they might not find another suitable candidate for a long time.

Seeing the woman compromise, Wolf Rat breathed a sigh of relief. He turned back to Tatam and said, "You go in first."

Tatam frowned but refused to move.

Wolf Rat's gaze gradually became serious.

Seeing this, Tatam cast a subtle glance at the woman who was putting immense pressure on him, then turned and walked into the bar.

The bar door closed.

Only then did Wolf Rat withdraw his gaze and turn to the woman.

"A few days ago, I took on a commission from some pirates. The job was to find the killer of their comrade. Unfortunately... that killer came from the weapon shop."

"You've been exposed?"

The woman's expression changed as she thought of something.

Wolf Rat shook his head. "For the past few days, I wasn't sure if that old man had noticed me, but just now, I'm more inclined to believe he didn't notice me."

"Or perhaps, he simply didn't take me seriously. Otherwise, I might have already become a corpse in a ditch."

"But even if he did find me, he wouldn't be able to figure out my true identity, so you don't need to worry about that. At most, you'll just have to find a replacement."

The woman's eyes softened upon hearing this, and she nodded.

Wolf Rat continued, "For the past few years, I've been afraid to get too close to that weapon shop, and I've never dared to observe that old man directly. My intuition tells me that even just looking at him with intent could lead to an encounter that brings me infinitely close to death."

"Hmm, caution is a good thing."

The woman's eyelids drooped, her wine-red eyes filled with coldness.

"After all, he's Ghost Gun. His observation skills and perceptiveness are top-notch."

"If that's the case, you shouldn't have come looking for me."

"Nothing will happen tonight."

The woman said meaningfully.

Wolf Rat sighed, understanding the basis of her confidence.

It was nothing more than the convenience brought about by the current grand event.

He glanced in the direction of the auction and asked, "How many of you are here?"

The woman held up three fingers.

"Three... Forget it, it shouldn't affect me."

Wolf Rat turned to look in the direction Maud had left, returning to the main topic.

"That guy just now, he's the murderer the pirates are looking for. Running into him here is a coincidence that lets me find the only way in."

Upon hearing this, the woman suddenly recalled Wolf Rat's fawning demeanor just now and had a sudden realization.

"You want to use him?"

"Yes."

"But he's just a newcomer, not the first, and won't be the last."

"This time is different. That old man made a move for him..."

"Oh?"

The woman's eyes changed.

Making a move meant an increased chance of exposure.

But even so, Ghost Gun had acted.

This indirectly showed how much importance Ghost Gun placed on that person just now.

This might be...

Thinking this, the woman's eyes lit up, and her beautiful face brightened along with them.

Wolf Rat was momentarily dazed.

The woman's long-standing assertiveness often made him forget, unintentionally, that she was a very charming woman.

Shaking his head abruptly, Wolf Rat drove away the thorny thoughts.

Some women, no matter how beautiful, were not to be touched or even thought about.

"Ratty, I don't care what your plan is, as long as you succeed, I can guarantee that the effort you've put in these past few years will not be in vain!"

"There's something I've never understood. Since you've been meticulously planning to get rid of that old man, there must be a significant motive for such a major undertaking. Why didn't you just transfer enough forces from headquarters to deal with him, instead of beating around the bush?"

"Do you think we didn't want to? Whether it's..."

The woman's mind flashed with the images of those two elders, and she stopped herself in time.

Wolf Rat became even more confused, "Then why is it?"

"Because..."

The woman gritted her teeth, "He runs fast."

"..."

Wolf Rat was instantly speechless.

The woman took a deep breath.

"In short, getting a bird to walk into a cage willingly is never an easy task."

Maud ran very fast.

He ran for several blocks before he finally stopped.

"Is that guy crazy or something?"

Shaking his head slightly, Maud took out three guns and loaded them one by one.

Before he could achieve Yasopp's divine loading speed, Maud always complained in his heart about the inconvenience of flintlock pistols every time he reloaded.

"The haul is decent. Before midnight, I might be able to find a few more suitable targets. At this hour, the auction shouldn't be over yet, right?"

After loading his guns, Maud looked in the direction of the auction.

The moment he looked over.

Several explosions sounded from that direction.

Maud froze.