Dante's Deal

"So, the Dante Organization sent a few of you to provide support?"

After leaving the parking lot, to avoid being caught by the Guard Hall, everyone looked at each other, and Xiao Xiao was momentarily at a loss for words.

There were only four people in total.

Moreover, none of them seemed trustworthy.

He had previously heard Ruan Ruan and the others describe in detail the horror of the Black Gate Mist Incident. The Hell Organization descended with the fog, and everywhere there were howling pirates and twisted, terrifying fantasy creatures. The Dante Organization should not be unaware of the terror of the Hell Organization, and should also know that the current population of Black Gate City is extremely small, but their so-called support only sent these four people.

There was even one who offended his own chairman as soon as he arrived at the location.

Yes, it is us.

The bespectacled man in the plaid shirt adjusted his glasses with his middle finger; every time he did this, it looked like he was swearing.

But he himself seemed completely unaware of it.

"No one else is interested; they prefer research to fighting Hell Organization."

"Of course, we don't like to fight the Hell Organization either, but our research team hasn't made any progress for a long time and has always been the object of ridicule within the Dante Organization. So we had no choice but to come here. If we can bring that mysterious guide back to the Dante Organization, at least we can gain some respect from others and continue to maintain our current status."

"Although they are Mingming, they have to rely on finding something to gain the respect of others."

"This whole thing makes us seem unprofessional..."

"..."

Upon hearing this, the strangers around them exchanged strange glances, their expressions turning somewhat odd.

Even Lin Bo, whose expression had always been arrogant and irritating, couldn't help but suck in his teeth, looking quite pained.

Prior to this, Black Gate City's confidence in fighting the Hell Organization came from Dante Organization.

The Dante Organization is, after all, the only one that rivals the Hell Organization in both fame and scale.

Their reinforcements have indeed arrived, but these reinforcements are only a few people...

... They don't even try to hide the fact that they're after that Mysterious Guidepost, okay?

Countless eyes were fixed on Xiao Xiao Xiao. Knowing he needed to make a decision, he pondered briefly, then simply nodded and said, "Since you've come from afar, you're all guests, so... let's arrange a meal for you first, Little Four..."

"... Take them to get something to eat first."

"..."

Little Four, who had been quietly following behind the group and was about to crawl into a nearby trash can, hesitated for a moment before agreeing. Soon, Little Four took the members of Dante Organization to the Iceberg Bar. It happened to be the time when the bar was preparing late-night snacks for its employees, so Little Four borrowed a few lunch boxes, arranged a few seats in the kitchen, and ate his meal quietly.

Xiao Xiao was already a little angry, didn't expect Little Four to be so considerate and polite.

What's even stranger is that these members of Dante Organization didn't seem to have any objections at all; they just ate obediently.

Only the man carrying the huge cannon barrel on his shoulder asked if he could have an extra serving of rice.

Little Four readily agreed and gave them three servings. After they finished eating, he arranged for them to sit in the most secluded and remote booth in the bar, letting them experience the atmosphere of the most popular bar in Black Gate City.

The group sat awkwardly in their seats, deeply shocked by the distorted atmosphere around them.

In the eerie atmosphere created by the cult music played by the Record Player Miss and the hazy lighting, they saw that the customers around them were more and more bizarre than the last. One customer sitting in the lounge stared intently at the woman without makeup, a strange smile appearing on his face. Then he slowly lit a cigarette in his hand and slowly put the burning end into his mouth to chew.

Someone stared at the man in the plaid shirt with a strange expression, picked up a banana, and stroked it little by little.

Others had their eyes on the huge cannon barrel on the tall man's back, their eyes gleaming, their legs pressed together, slowly rubbing against each other.

The Iceberg Bar is doing very well these days, but it attracts mostly customers like these.

These Dante Organization members, whose demeanor was already out of place in a bar, gradually showed signs of discomfort as they sat there. The woman, in particular, who wasn't wearing makeup, suddenly said to the person next to her, "I want to kill that man who smokes. I can sense a strong evil desire in him. There's a more than 70% chance he'll come and harass me."

"There is an 80% or higher chance that they will take advantage of my inattention and threaten me."

"Instead of waiting for something bad to happen before dealing with it, it's better to avoid the danger in advance."

"..."

"Can't."

The man in the plaid shirt immediately said, "This violates our rules."

"However, I don't really understand it either..."

"Judging from the atmosphere of this bar, are we here to help Black Gate City fight against the Hell Organization...?"

"... Or did we go directly to the territory of the Hell Organization?"

"..."

"..."

While these members were being warmly received by Little Four and trembling under the sinister gazes of others, on the third floor of the bar, in Xiao Xiao's office, which had now become the highest power center for outsiders in Black Gate City, Xiao Xiao, Yang Jia, Red Eyes Ling Ping, the Serpent Sisters, and Ruan Ruan were sitting on the sofa. Apart from Old Zhou Under the Bridge, only they were qualified to enter this room.

When meetings are held in this highest center of power, you can drink the chairman's real liquor.

If you want to relax, just go downstairs and you can enjoy a 5% discount at the Iceberg Bar.

However, Lin Bo, from Dante Organization, seemed unaware that he was being treated favorably by Black Gate City. Meeting Xiao Xiao and the others' gazes, he said frankly, "The fact that we have come to support Black Gate City is already a great show of our sincerity."

"Many people inexplicably feel that our Dante Organization has taken on the responsibility of fighting against the Hell Organization."

"But that's wrong. We don't want to fight those lunatics from the Hell Organization at all. We just want to do our research quietly, understand the truth of this world, and find a way to help us escape our suffering. The Hell Organization is crazy and disorderly. They don't even have a unified goal. Wasting time on them will only prevent us from accomplishing anything."

"..."

As he spoke, he looked at Xiao Xiao, his expression still arrogant. "Of course, since we are here, it represents the attitude of the Dante Organization. We will not sit idly by and watch Black Gate City be attacked by the Hell Organization, but in fact, the solution is quite simple."

"The mysterious road sign... you call it the Arcane Compass, right?"

"Give me that thing and I'll take it with me. Then the Hell Organization will have no reason to attack Black Gate City."

"..."

Xiao Xiao frowned and said, "If the Hell Organization needs a reason to attack a place, are they still the Hell Organization?"

"At least as far as I know, the Hell Organization is also short-handed right now."

Lin Bo could sense the displeasure in Xiao Xiao's eyes and said, "They are currently creating a huge monster deep in the Mist Sea. According to our information, they have failed several times, and each failure has caused them to lose a lot of manpower. At this critical moment, if they do not have sufficient motivation, it will be difficult for them to gather enough manpower to launch a large-scale attack on Black Gate City."

"Of course, the key point is still the travel permit."

"I know that many people have a bad habit of not being able to let go of something even if they know it doesn't belong to them or that they can't keep it. But I hope you understand that if the travel permit stays in Black Gate City, it will not be able to play its proper role."

"..."

Xiao Xiao remained silent, only glancing at Yang Jia.

Yang Jia frowned and asked Lin Bo, "Whose idea is this?"

"The meaning of each and every one of them."

Lin Bo gave a cold reply, then looked at Xiao Xiao and said, "I doubt whether you truly understand the importance of the travel permit."

"The so-called travel permits are twelve extremely forbidden items."

"Legend has it that these twelve supreme forbidden items are inextricably linked to the formation of our world. If we can collect all twelve supreme forbidden items, we can unlock the ultimate secret of this world and free everyone from the nightmare... Of course, this is just one version of the legend. There are also other versions that refer to twelve guides that can lead to the final throne of the gods."

"Those who sit on the throne will possess power that surpasses the Mysterious Source, namely the City Will."

"Of these twelve supreme taboos, seven have now been discovered. Four are in the hands of the Dante Organization, and three are scattered in the Mist Sea, most likely already in the hands of the Hell Organization. The one discovered in Black Gate City is the eighth. Without a doubt, if it is given to the Dante Organization, it will advance our research further and leave the Hell Organization far behind."

"But if the Hell Organization takes it, they might be able to catch up with the Dante Organization's progress."

"But no matter what..."

"..."

He paused, then turned to Xiao Xiao and said frankly, "It's pointless to keep it in Black Gate City. You can't do anything with it. Although the Supreme Forbidden Ones themselves have great power, as guides, their purpose is not to fight for supremacy or to combat Aberrant Creature. Rather than keeping it in your hands, you might as well accumulate more points and exchange them for some powerful forbidden weapons."

"Our mission here is the same: to help your Black Gate City forge a deadly weapon with near-S-class power, giving you the confidence to fight against the Hell Organization's attacks. However, that mysterious travel permit must be taken away by us in exchange."

"..."

The others were slightly tempted, seemingly not expecting Dante Organization to be so direct.

Xiao Xiao frowned and said, "Since your purpose is so clear, why didn't you say so earlier?"

"Instead, you're trying to be clever and stop me from enhancing special items?"

"..."

Upon hearing this, Lin Bo seemed somewhat displeased and said, "First, it's not about being presumptuous."

"What I just told you is true. What you're doing isn't reinforcing, it's indulging."

"Indulging in the enhancement of special items is an extremely dangerous act in itself."

"Secondly, if I had said that in the first place, would you have given it to me?"

"..."

Xiao Xiao immediately shook his head and said, "Of course not."

In a state of Mind Burst, his face remained expressionless, making it impossible for those around him to discern his emotions. He coldly stated, "But your Dante Organization also said you came to provide support. However, I was attempting to enhance a powerful special item. Once successful, Black Gate City would have a trump card against the Hell Organization..."

"As a result, due to your influence, the enhancement failed, and I was short by a lot of points."

"At this point, we should have discussed compensation first, but you came up with the idea of a deal right away..."

"... How do we negotiate this deal?"

"..."

"?"

Hearing Xiao Xiao's words, the expressions of the strangers from Black Gate City beside him were somewhat strange.

Although I also felt that these people from Dante Organization didn't seem very reliable, they were still Dante Organization after all.

Isn't the president's question a bit too aggressive?

Lin Bo, from the Dante Organization, did indeed show some surprise and doubt. He carefully observed Xiao Xiao's expression and realized that he was not joking. He immediately said, "Our Dante Organization has always been reasonable, but aren't you a little too confident... I did save your life just now, preventing you from being killed by a special item that failed to enhance you."

"Although I've heard you're a newcomer."

"But now that you've become the guild leader, don't you know how dangerous it is to casually enhance a special item of Class B or higher?"

"..."

"Whoosh!"

As soon as he said that, everyone was startled and all looked at Xiao Xiao.

Even Yang Jia couldn't help but twitch her eyebrows.

All she knew was that as soon as Lin Bo from Dante Organization arrived, he went to see Xiao Xiao in private, and it seemed that the two had a rather unpleasant verbal exchange. But she didn't know what Xiao Xiao was doing before Lin Bo appeared... This guy didn't tell her.

So he was secretly enhancing a Class B special item just now?

Who would do something so crazy?

If this thing fails, it will directly cause a massive, distorted event comparable to the Rotten Kingdom.

What's the difference between this and secretly setting off a nuclear bomb in the city for fun?

At this moment, even she couldn't help but feel a little nervous, and she had many questions for Xiao Xiao.

But since there were outsiders around, I could only hold back for the time being.

The other outsiders in Black Gate City felt a surge of panic upon hearing this. "Didn't they say they had already prepared one?"

"He was secretly preparing a second one?"

"And judging from what this Dante Organization messenger said, if he hadn't stopped it, it would have been finished by now?"

"..."

Facing so many gazes from all around, Xiao Xiao paused for a moment before saying, "But why do I feel like I'll succeed?"

Lin Bo said, "You can't."

Xiao Xiao smiled gently and said to Lin Bo, "If I succeed, will you admit that you did indeed ruin an opportunity for Black Gate City to fight against the Hell Organization, and that you need to compensate us beyond that fair deal?"

Even his most confident academic theories were constantly being questioned. Lin Bo was enraged by these arrogant words. After a moment of stunned silence, he slammed his hand on the table:

"Stop talking nonsense! If you succeed, I'll give you my head!"