Blinded by Greed

At the Poison Dragon Mercenary Group's headquarters, inside a luxuriously decorated room.

Luo Yi sat up irritably from his bed, his hair a complete mess.

He had not gotten a good night's sleep for several days. The clamor outside his door made him even more agitated.

"What is it?! What is it?! Why are you all making such a racket outside so early in the morning? Are you going to let people sleep or not?!"

He flung open the door in a rage, an inexplicable fury rushing straight to his head.

Being cooped up here all day had already left him with a bellyful of pent-up anger.

Just then, a mercenary ran past his door, drenched in sweat and looking panicked.

"You! Get over here!" Luo Yi pointed at him and barked.

"Y-Young Master!" The mercenary jumped in fright, hurriedly stopped, and bowed.

"What happened? Why are you in such a rush? Running off to get yourself killed?" Luo Yi asked impatiently.

"Reporting to Young Master, i-it's the Desert Iron Mercenary Group. They're causing trouble at the front gate and have blocked the entrance!" The man did not dare conceal anything and hurriedly reported.

"The Desert Iron Mercenary Group?" Luo Yi raised a brow and said disdainfully, "How dare they? They're nothing but a pack of homeless dogs. Find some men and send them away. Don't let them disturb my sleep!"

He had never taken an interest in matters between mercenary groups. He merely felt that these losers had come here to wail, polluting his ears.

"Y-yes, Young Master!" The mercenary looked troubled, but seeing Luo Yi's impatient expression, he did not dare say more. He could only acknowledge the order and hurry away.

"The Desert Iron Mercenary Group? Hmph!" Luo Yi watched the man's retreating back and spat bitterly. "Instead of keeping their tails tucked between their legs, they dare come to the Poison Dragon Mercenary Group's territory looking for trouble. They really don't know their place!"

Because of them, he had been unable to go out and enjoy himself for days. He was nearly going mad from being stifled!

Just then, a familiar voice called out to him.

"Young Master Luo! Young Master Luo! Please wait!"

Hearing someone call him, Luo Yi turned around impatiently. When he saw who it was, he could not help looking surprised.

"Hm? Datou? How did you get in?" Luo Yi asked suspiciously.

For the past few days, his father had kept a close watch on him and strictly forbidden him from associating with his fair-weather friends outside. The gates were heavily guarded, so how had Datou slipped in?

"Hehe, Young Master Luo, have you forgotten what you told us to do before?"

Datou did not answer. Instead, he hurried over to Luo Yi's side with a mysterious look.

"What I told you to do?" Luo Yi frowned and thought for a moment. Then realization dawned on him, and a lewd gleam flashed through his eyes. "Oh, right! I remember! I told you to keep an eye on that little girl named Qing Lin. How is it going? Have you found a chance to make a move?"

"Young Master Luo, you truly are wise and farsighted! I took an enormous risk sneaking in this time precisely to report this to you!" Datou said with feigned excitement.

"Oh? Tell me!" Luo Yi was instantly interested. He had nothing better to do anyway, so he might as well hear what interesting news Datou had brought.

Datou first looked around nervously, then leaned close to Luo Yi's ear and lowered his voice. "Young Master Luo, do you know? Last night, I overheard a tremendous secret!"

"What secret? Stop keeping me in suspense!" Datou had piqued Luo Yi's curiosity.

Datou's expression immediately turned grave. "It's like this. Last night, I secretly lurked near Qing Mo's home. I originally wanted to see whether there was a chance to tie that little girl up and bring her out for you, but guess what I heard?"

He paused. Seeing that Luo Yi was completely hooked, he spoke each word distinctly. "I heard Qing Mo plotting with members of the other mercenary groups! They... they discovered a small Gold Sand Mine in the desert!

And after mining the Gold Sand Mine, they planned to use the money to hire a top Grand Battle Master from Desert City to assassinate Captain Luo Tai!"

"What?! A Gold Sand Mine? And they want to assassinate my father?"

The news exploded in Luo Yi's mind like a thunderclap!

His expression changed drastically as he grabbed Datou by the collar. "Is this true? You'd better not be spouting nonsense!"

"Argh! Young Master Luo, even if you gave me a hundred times the courage, I wouldn't dare joke with you about something like this!"

Pretending to be frightened, Datou hurriedly explained, "How could it be false? It's absolutely true! I wanted to come tell you last night, but the guards at the front gate refused to let me in no matter what. I had no choice but to come find you now."

He pointed toward the front gate. "Why do you think they came here to make trouble today? It's a diversion! They deliberately drew everyone's attention to the front gate to cover up their plan, so their people could take the chance to sneak out of the city and secretly mine that Gold Sand Mine!"

"Such a thing happened? Those bastards have some nerve!" Luo Yi was shocked and furious after hearing this. "No! I need to tell my father immediately!"

The Gold Sand Mine was a serious matter, but more importantly, this concerned his father's life!

Though he was a wastrel, he knew that his father was the greatest support behind all his arrogance and excesses.

"Don't! Wait, Young Master Luo!"

Seeing Luo Yi about to go find Luo Tai, Datou grew anxious as well.

His lie was full of holes. It might fool an idiot like Luo Yi, but if an old fox like Luo Tai heard it, the truth would be exposed within three sentences.

He quickly grabbed Luo Yi tightly and said urgently, "There's no time, Young Master Luo! Listen to me first!"

"What could be more important than my father's life?!" Luo Yi snapped.

"Precisely because this concerns the captain's life, you must not act rashly!" Datou said anxiously. "To keep their plan from being discovered, Xiao Ding, the captain of the Desert Iron Mercenary Group, has already used a trick to lure both Captain Luo Tai and Vice Captain Lin Qi to the Mercenary Association! The association's entire upper echelon is there now. They won't be able to return anytime soon!"

"So that's it..." Luo Yi stopped walking. Thinking carefully, it was true: his father had left early that morning with a grim expression. No wonder he was not around.

"That's right!" Datou pressed his advantage and continued fanning the flames. "The one leading the team out of the city to mine the Gold Sand Mine is that brat Qing Mo, along with the girl named Qing Lin at his side! They don't have many people, just cannon fodder below the Fighter level. They plan to take the ore and immediately detour to Desert City!"

"Then what are we waiting for?! Hurry and take men to stop them!" Luo Yi said impatiently.

"Stop them?" Datou looked at Luo Yi, a flash of greed passing through his eyes. "Young Master Luo, think carefully. That... is an entire Gold Sand Mine!"

"What is Gold Sand Mine? It's premium material for forging high-grade weapons, something with a price but no market on the black market! Even a small Gold Sand Mine would be worth at least several hundred thousand, perhaps even over a million gold coins! With that money, forget a Battle Master—even hiring a Grand Battle Master to work for us would be more than enough! If we got that money, then... wouldn't our Poison Dragon Mercenary Group strike it rich?"

"You mean..." Luo Yi was not a fool. He understood in an instant, and his breathing quickened.

Over a million gold coins... What kind of concept was that?

He had never seen that much money in his life! With that money, what could he not have? Beautiful women, grand estates, high-grade cultivation techniques and battle skills...

A mad idea began to grow uncontrollably in his heart.