"How was it? Did you find him?"
Seeing Hubwick return, Lisper hurriedly asked.
"Didn't find him..."
Hubwick shook his head. "I asked around, but no one knew where Skinny Monkey had gone. One person last saw him seven days ago and said he was packing his bags, getting ready to leave."
"Seven days ago... the timing matches up."
"Even if we find him, he's probably just a corpse by now."
Hubwick said.
Having spent years in the Black Market, he understood its rules perfectly. The Black Market had continued to exist only because those above tacitly allowed it.
This time, it involved the academy and several noble houses. Skinny Monkey was definitely doomed. People who walked the line between gray and white could die mysteriously at any time. It was nothing unusual in the Black Market.
Borne walked around the room. The entire place had practically been emptied out, with messy odds and ends scattered everywhere. After a moment of silence, he said, "System, begin scanning."
A faint blue light flashed past the corner of Borne's eye.
"Found it!"
Borne stopped in front of the chimney.
"Here, boss?"
Borne nodded.
"Alright, step back a little. Leave this small job to me!"
Hubwick rolled up his sleeves and cleared away the ashes in a few quick movements. Before long, he lifted an iron plate, revealing an opening.
"Heh, it really was Skinny Monkey..."
The opening was tiny; an average adult really would not have been able to squeeze through it.
But that was no problem. Hubwick found a shovel from somewhere and quickly widened the opening.
It turned out that Skinny Monkey's actual residence was underground, while the house above was merely a cover.
The entrance connected to an abandoned sewer passage, with only the opening above serving as an entrance