The moment the doors swung open, air thick with the smell of smoke and alcohol hit him, followed by music so loud it nearly deafened him.
The pounding beat, the noisy crowd, the men and women wildly gyrating on the dance floor as they vented their emotions.
Some of what was going on was downright unfit to describe. He had to admit, this game had a pretty high age rating. In the corners, glasses and bodies were "colliding" everywhere.
Alan, standing beside him, was clearly good at reading people. One glance from Wang Qianduo was all it took for him to realize Wang Qianduo didn't like the atmosphere on the dance floor.
"Sir, there are quieter places upstairs, along with a casino and a few other entertainment venues!"
"Take me there!" Wang Qianduo thought it over. He wouldn't learn anything investigating in this atmosphere, so he might as well check out the casino and the other places Alan had mentioned.
"Of course, sir. Please follow me!"
With Alan leading the way, Wang Qianduo left the seemingly endless dance floor by a hidden stairway and headed up to the second floor.
Wang Qianduo realized he'd misunderstood. Night Wharf wasn't just a nightclub.
It had casinos, nightclubs, and every kind of entertainment venue imaginable. There was almost nothing you couldn't do here.
For Alan to offer to cover his expenses for the night at a money pit of this caliber, that identity of his he didn't even know about sure came in handy.
It also showed that Alan had far more authority than his humble appearance suggested.
Wang Qianduo had some idea what his identity might be. Wasn't the one thing he had that others didn't his VIP 15 status?
There was also the fact that he was Old Luo's apprentice, but that had cost him ten thousand Gold Crystals, and ten thousand Gold Crystals wouldn't even cover a night's entertainment here!
So it was most likely his VIP 15 status that was doing the trick.
"Do you know anyone who sells information?"
After wandering around aimlessly for a while, Wang Qianduo spoke directly to Alan, who was following behind him.
He wasn't some professional agent or someone who knew his way around the underworld. He'd barely ever been to a place like this in either of his two lives. Figuring it out on his own would be far too difficult.
He might as well ask an NPC directly. Now that he had this mysterious identity, he could put it to use and get some help.
"Huh?! Yes, I do. So you came here to buy information, sir? Please follow me!"
At that, the tension on Alan's face eased a little. It was the unknown that was truly frightening.
Now that he knew what this important figure wanted, things would be much easier to handle.
If Wang Qianduo had walked around the place and then left without a word, Alan and the people behind him wouldn't have slept well for at least half a year.
It wasn't that they feared you having demands. They feared you wanting nothing at all!
From their perspective, as long as you had a demand, no matter how difficult it was to meet, at least they had a goal.
People who wanted nothing often had the biggest appetites. They were the sort who could devour you whole without even spitting out the bones.
With Alan leading him, Wang Qianduo wound his way to a private room. Alan pushed the door open without even knocking.
The scantily clad men and women inside, cuddling up to one another, all looked toward him, then started to "get dressed."
Alan didn't pay them the slightest attention. After clearing a space for Wang Qianduo and arranging for him to sit down, he said to a man with a long scar across his face:
"Scarface, we have a customer. This gentleman needs something from you!"
"Alan, you're overstepping your bounds, aren't you?"
Things had taken an unexpected turn. Scarface hadn't given Alan the slightest courtesy, so he clearly wasn't a simple character either.
"Cut the crap. I'm telling you, this man is someone we can't afford to offend!" Alan hurried over to Scarface and whispered to him.
The exchange between Alan and Scarface made Wang Qianduo forget that this was a game. Every NPC in it was practically indistinguishable from a real person.
"Oh, all right, then. What do you want to know?" Scarface remained seated as he looked at Wang Qianduo and asked.
"The reason the Black Shark Pirates can infiltrate the Homeworld Star Domain almost at will!"
Wang Qianduo didn't hide what he wanted. Political maneuvering and acting weren't his strengths. Being direct was the best choice. That was what he'd just discussed with Zero.
"This information involves a lot of people. It won't come cheap," Scarface said.
"How much?"
"I don't take Gold Crystals. They're nice and all, but I prefer things with collectible value." Scarface looked at Wang Qianduo with a mocking grin.
Watching this from the side, Alan grew anxious. Scarface was usually as shrewd as a hyena. Why was he being such an idiot today?
You're going to get everyone at Night Wharf wiped out!
"Something with collectible value?" Wang Qianduo glanced at his backpack.
Of the few things in his backpack that might be valuable to an NPC, the only possibilities were the little trinkets he'd received in the VIP top-up gift packs.
Those items couldn't be traded, but there was no problem using them as quest items for NPCs.
"Will this do?" Wang Qianduo placed a golden pistol, covered in dazzling patterns, on the table.
[Golden Desert Eagle] (Legendary) Charisma +3 Note: Compared to its negligible firepower, its collectible value and status as a symbol of identity far exceed its practical value.
This was the one with the worst stats out of all his little toys.
The gun worked, but compared with the laser weapons of this era, its firepower was truly insignificant.
But after Wang Qianduo took out the gun, things took another turn he hadn't expected.
The moment Scarface saw it, he slid right off his seat and onto the floor. Then, with a thump, he knelt in front of Wang Qianduo.
"Sir, I was only joking. Please put it away. Don't let it get dirty. I'll have the information you want brought to you right away."
Things had gone so smoothly that Wang Qianduo could hardly believe it. He was still completely bewildered himself.
With the information in hand and the Desert Eagle in tow, Wang Qianduo left Night Wharf with his head full of questions.
The system notified him that he'd completed the information-gathering quest and could return to turn it in.
"Were you trying to get me killed?"
After Wang Qianduo left, Scarface stormed over to Alan.
"Me? I nearly died of fright because of you! Do you even know who that man is? Have you ever seen someone's identity verification glow red?"
Alan was furious at Scarface's words.
He'd told him right from the start that the man had a special identity. He'd been afraid Scarface might offend him.
Scarface: "..."
"I thought you were trying to suck up to another rich kid! You've done this before!"
Alan: "...Forget it. Looks like he wasn't offended, anyway. How did you figure out who he was?"
"Did you see his gun? I've seen it once before. Remember the Bone-Piercing Mercenary Corps, the ones who ran rampant for a while after their leader reached Rare Rank level 40?"
"Of course. Weren't they... You mean?"
"That's right. One day, the grandson of the Bone-Piercing Mercenary Corps leader snatched a collectible from a tourist in Fairy City.
"That very night, three Perfect Mecha and twelve Rare Mecha wiped out the entire Bone-Piercing Mercenary Corps.
"I'm interested in collectibles, so I specially looked into what the item was. You got to see it for yourself today, too.
"And most of the Bone-Piercing Mercenary Corps were killed after their Mecha were torn apart, then someone shot them with that gun..."
"You mean that guy got angry and wanted to wipe us out? What a ruthless bastard!" Alan frowned.
Scarface didn't reply. Night Wharf had powerful backers, so it wouldn't be wiped out that easily. But he himself wouldn't be so lucky.
If he'd accepted that gun without knowing what he was dealing with, he might have been sent back along with it.
And then...
Scarface's thoughts were none of Wang Qianduo's concern. He was sitting in an inn, looking over the information Scarface had given him.
Scarface really was impressive. What Wang Qianduo held was a complete list of the Black Shark Pirates' bribes to personnel stationed along the Fairy Star Homeworld Defense Line.
He didn't recognize a single name on the list, but with over a hundred names on it, this clearly wasn't a minor matter.
Wang Qianduo felt his quest had gone off track again. Yue Ming had asked him to investigate the interstellar defense line. He definitely hadn't meant for him to dig up every corrupt official on Fairy Star. He only wanted him to catch a few small fry.
And that was exactly how it was supposed to go. Wang Qianduo hadn't been wrong to head straight for Night Wharf.
But a normal player who got this quest would never be able to enter Night Wharf at level five or six.
They'd wander around the area, then discover a small outpost belonging to the Dark Night Intelligence Office. Through a few quests, they'd obtain information about some small fry.
They'd never do what Wang Qianduo had done: scare Scarface, the head of the Dark Night Intelligence Office, half to death and get a complete dossier on Fairy Star's corrupt officials right off the bat.
This was a problem. Having just seen how lifelike the NPCs in this game were, he didn't dare turn in the quest carelessly.
Before you continue