The bottom floor was worse: dim and damp.
There weren't many people locked up here, but every last one of them was trouble.
As Fu Haoran walked past, he felt like he'd entered a large carnivore exhibit, with himself as the fresh meat on display.
Their gazes crawled all over him.
Don't get the wrong idea. They weren't thinking about making a move on him. It was more like a pack of tops had spotted a bottom and wanted to devour him whole.
Fu Haoran swore to the heavens he'd only seen this many tops in one place in some part of Sichuan.
In the time it took to blink, one of the prisoners had already slipped a hand into his pocket and started doing something unspeakable.
Fu Haoran didn't want to stay another second, but he couldn't leave just yet.
He couldn't walk away.
"This is the last floor. If I still can't find anyone, I'll have to pick the least useless one from that pack of brutes upstairs. What's the point of even trying, then?"
Fu Haoran gritted his teeth, fought down his discomfort, and forced himself to check the prisoners' stat panels one by one.
He muttered to himself, "Come on, give me someone who meets my requirements. I'll take them even if their other stats are terrible!"
[Strength: 23, Intelligence: 7, Skill: Assassination Mastery]
[Strength: 15, Intelligence: 19, Skill: Stealth]
[Strength: 16, Intelligence: 19, Skill: Deception]
The stats were clearly better, but still not good enough for Fu Haoran.
He was nearly at the end and had resigned himself to making do. But just before he turned around, a panel suddenly blazed into view, so gold it was almost black and oozing with flamboyance!
It was easy to miss if you didn't look closely.
"Could this be a legendary gold-tier character?"
Fu Haoran hurriedly checked the details.
[Legendary Character]
[Yuri Razumov]
[Intelligence: 55]
[Specialized Skills]
[False Accounting (Master): Can create fake accounts that even Inquisition auditors cannot detect. Tax evasion efficiency +300%]
[Black Market Manipulation (Grandmaster): Has contact maps for smuggling networks across three star systems. Black market transaction costs -60%]
[Capital Plunder (Master): Once used financial schemes to drain the noble treasury of a small Hive City]
[Legal Loopholes (Expert): Knows every loophole in the Empire's tax code and the Planetary Management Act]
[Traits]
[Insatiable Greed: Demands exorbitant commissions]
[Survival Expert: Can find a profitable opening in even the most dire circumstances. Efficiency under pressure +30%]
[Hates Nobles: Abandoned by the old ruling class, he bears a deep-seated hatred for them. All skill effects +50% when fighting nobles]
[Current Status: Feared for knowing too many secrets. Sentenced to 200 years of hard labor; has served 11 years]
[Loyalty: -100]
[System Warning: Recruiting this person will immediately anger Horn and the nobles behind him, potentially triggering a chain of retaliatory actions]
Fu Haoran's heart skipped a beat.
The man inside was so thin he was almost skeletal, with shoulders like bamboo poles and a face covered in wrinkles. He looked sickly, his broken glasses barely held to his ears with coarse wire. His prison uniform was covered in grease and grime, and he looked like he was on death's door.
Only his eyes were astonishingly bright.
At the sound of footsteps, the prisoner raised his head. Through the broken lenses, he stared at Fu Haoran with a half-smile. There wasn't a trace of subservience or provocation in his gaze, setting him apart completely from the prisoners Fu Haoran had seen before.
When he saw the Governor's insignia on Fu Haoran's shoulder, he let out a sneer and spoke in a hoarse voice:
"Well, well. The new Governor? Let me guess. You're here to hunt for treasure in the prison?"
Fu Haoran was a little surprised. He hadn't expected the man to guess so quickly.
"Tsk, tsk. Looks like I guessed right. No need to be surprised. If you knew who I was, you wouldn't have waited for me to say it."
"Let's see. You look like a stranger. An outsider?"
"Those noble lords' rules must have you by the throat. You've got goods to sell but can't get them to market, right?"
Fu Haoran's heart stirred.
This man had seen right through his predicament at a glance.
Yuri leaned closer to the bars and lowered his voice, speaking in an unhurried tone. "Calvin, that fatso at the Energy Bureau, won't sign the power supply agreement unless he gets a 10% kickback."
"The person in charge at the Silverthorn Chamber of Commerce is Earl Martha's front. She makes a living off outsiders like you."
"As for the black market... you won't get a good deal there, either. It's nothing but a money-laundering operation for the nobles."
With every sentence, Fu Haoran's expression darkened.
Because every word was true.
Yuri leaned against the wall and said lazily, "Let me out."
"I can open every channel for you. And I can tell you where the former Governor, Lothar von Drake, hid his 10-billion-Throne-Coin escape fund."
"Of course, I'll take a 30% commission once we find it."
Ten billion?
Fu Haoran admitted he was tempted.
That was ten billion Throne Coins. The Throne Coin was the Empire's official hard currency.
One hundred million Throne Coins was enough to equip the Guard Regiment with Bolters and basic armor. One billion could buy three Leman Russ Tanks.
Five billion could cover three years of food shortages and military expenses on this planet.
Ten billion could even buy a frigate from the Machine Cult!
Who could resist that kind of temptation?
Before Fu Haoran could speak, the guard beside him raised his Power Hammer and smashed it against the cell bars, swearing furiously:
"Shut up, you lying old crook! Last time you conned me into spending a month's wages to buy you drinks, and I didn't get so much as a hair in return!"
The guard then turned to Fu Haoran. "Don't believe this old man. He's a complete fraud. Every guard here has been conned by him!"
"Not a single word out of his mouth is true!"
Fu Haoran's mouth twitched, but inside, he was ecstatic.
He'd managed to scam drink money out of a guard in a hellish prison like this?
What the hell did you call that if not talent?!
Besides, every one of Yuri's skills—[False Accounting], [Black Market Manipulation], and [Capital Plunder]—was exactly what Fu Haoran desperately needed.
"I'll take him," Fu Haoran said, pointing at the cell.
The guard was stunned. "Sir, are you sure? Yuri is..."
"I'm sure."
It didn't take long for Horn to get the news.
"What? He actually wants that old fox Yuri?"
"No! Anyone but Yuri!"
One of his subordinates was about to leave when Horn, watching Fu Haoran's back on the surveillance feed as he headed for Yuri's cell, suddenly had an idea.
"Wait."
A playful look came into Horn's eyes.
"Tell the Governor that since he insists on taking the man, I'll let him have him."
"But he must sign a Special Prisoner Custody Transfer Agreement, clearly stating in writing that the Governor's Office will assume full responsibility for all of Yuri Razumov's future actions and any liability arising from them."
Horn had thought it through. Yuri was a ticking time bomb who knew too many secrets. If he stayed in Horn's hands, getting rid of him someday could easily bring trouble down on his own head.
Better to dump this hot potato on the short-lived Governor.
If Yuri "accidentally" died out there, or caused the Governor some kind of trouble... the short-lived Governor himself would have signed the agreement and taken the blame.
Fu Haoran had expected a drawn-out argument.
Yet the paperwork was done in less than half an hour.
"This is suspiciously smooth."
Fu Haoran didn't believe the judge, who'd been at daggers drawn with him earlier, would suddenly make things so easy.
"Looks like the first NPC I recruited is a hot potato. Whatever. When soldiers come, I'll meet them; when water comes, I'll block it."
"Besides, I'm three hundred years behind on taxes. I've got so much debt that a little more won't matter."
Before you continue