Fearsome Indeed

"The mission carries a certain amount of risk, but the rewards are correspondingly generous."

Just as Tella was about to continue discussing the rewards, Yang Yu cut him off.

"Say, you know about the Giant Umbrella Merchant Guild, right?"

Yang Yu's casual question made Tella tremble. "Why are you suddenly asking about that? It has nothing to do with the mission we're discussing, does it?"

What nearly scared the life out of Tella was Yang Yu's utterly nonchalant attitude.

"Nothing. I was just asking."

Yeah, right. Like I'd believe that crap!

A bead of cold sweat slid down from between Tella's white brows.

They were still discussing the mission. There was no way this kid would ask something like that so casually—unless he already knew the Giant Umbrella Merchant Guild was behind this mission.

That shouldn't be possible. I clearly didn't give anything away. How did he see through me?

As though he had seen through Tella's thoughts, Yang Yu threw out another question. "Do you know what the Giant Umbrella Merchant Guild does?"

The Giant Umbrella Merchant Guild had been one of the country's foremost merchant guilds a few years ago, something nearly everyone knew. Only in recent years had it been squeezed out by the Silver Orchid Merchant Guild. If anyone was most likely to be the mastermind behind this mission, the Giant Umbrella Merchant Guild was naturally the first suspect.

Tella was panicking inside, but he acted as though nothing was wrong. The dense wrinkles on his forehead made the subtle changes in his expression difficult to notice.

"The Giant Umbrella Merchant Guild is a state-owned merchant guild in this country. It was jointly established by several families. After each family takes a portion of the profits, the rest is handed over to the state. Though the major families take a rather hefty cut, the convenience they provide cannot be denied."

"I'm not asking about its structure. I want to know its business scope. You understand what I mean, right?"

That was practically probing from the side. Tella stroked his beard and suppressed his inner shock.

The Giant Umbrella Merchant Guild's business overlapped heavily with that of the Silver Orchid Merchant Guild, and the two had always been evenly matched. This kid had already decided that the Giant Umbrella Merchant Guild was the mastermind behind it.

What should I do? Should I deny it to the bitter end?

No. Even if I shamelessly refuse to admit it, he already knows where this mission came from. I might as well speak frankly.

What Andeno had told Tella remained vivid in his mind. Yang Yu could accurately predict the other party's actions without ever meeting them, then use that prediction to guide them into making the wrong decisions and ultimately secure victory.

This man was far from as simple as he appeared.

In just a few exchanges, he had guessed that the Giant Umbrella Merchant Guild was behind the mission and seen through Tella's connection to it. He was truly terrifying.

"I understand what you mean." Tella cleared his throat. "Don't worry. We definitely won't shortchange you."

"Oh, then let me ask you this: can we choose among the Skill Scrolls you've prepared? I don't want to end up with a useless skill."

You saw through even that?

Tella's eyes nearly popped out of their dry sockets.

This mission was extremely dangerous, and only reasonable rewards could ensure adventurers remained highly motivated. Of those rewards, Skill Scrolls—which allowed one to learn a skill simply by opening and absorbing them—were the most appealing to adventurers, especially scrolls containing valuable skills.

This time, in order to make adventurers work wholeheartedly for them, the Giant Umbrella Merchant Guild had decided to bleed a little and offer several decent Skill Scrolls as rewards.

Unexpectedly, he had seen through that as well.

"You can rest assured about that. We will give you a certain degree of choice based on your class. We definitely won't mistreat you."

"Good. I'll trust you this once. I'll take the mission. I hope you'll satisfy me when the time comes."

Since he could get skills for free, Yang Yu naturally welcomed missions like this. But—

This old man stammered the moment I asked about the Giant Umbrella Merchant Guild, and he avoided answering my questions. Could it be that despite having "giant" in its name, it's actually some insignificant little merchant guild?

I didn't want to get a discount voucher and then make a fool of myself because I had nowhere to use it. That's why I wanted to ask about the Giant Umbrella Merchant Guild's business scope.

But from the looks of it, they really were just a small merchant guild.

Were they trying to obtain evidence so they could seize someone else's weakness and use it to threaten or extort the Silver Orchid Merchant Guild? Or were they planning to report them directly and break the monopoly?

Well... what exactly they plan to do with those things has nothing to do with me. As an adventurer, all that matters is that they pay enough.

As far as this mission was concerned, the Silver Orchid Merchant Guild was no good either. If their skills were bad, then this would count as getting rid of evil in the name of justice.

But after talking for so long, it seemed that the rewards did not include the Species Essence he wanted.

"One more thing. Species Essence doesn't seem to be among your rewards."

Having been exposed again in a single sentence, Tella did not know how to respond. In the end, he could only stammer out the truth.

"Species Essence isn't something that's easy to obtain. To be honest, the Giant Umbrella Merchant Guild doesn't have any. You can't get that sort of thing without special methods. But I can tell you clearly that the Silver Orchid Merchant Guild has it. They probably stole it from the Plantfolk of the Demi-Human Kingdom, and they're using it to produce the Life-Restoring Potion that's so popular now."

The moment Yang Yu heard the words "life-restoring," he immediately perked up. "Life-Restoring Potion? Can that thing really bring the dead back to life?"

"That's purely a marketing gimmick. But I've heard that no matter how severe the injury, as long as someone still has a breath left in them, taking that potion will let them jump right back up. It can also cure all kinds of illnesses. It does have some effect in that regard, otherwise such a tiny potion couldn't possibly sell for an astronomical price," Tella explained.

"Tch... so it really is a scam."

Since it could not truly bring back the dead, Yang Yu was a little disappointed. During his year of farming, he had asked around about many things.

In this world, resurrection seemed to be a miracle reserved exclusively for gods. Once a person died, not even the most noble saintess could revive them.

Therefore, Yang Yu could not arrange for anyone to die in his strategies. After all, if an NPC companion died, they were really gone. If he needed those NPCs later on, would he not be left staring helplessly?

Only after continuing to talk with Tella for a while, finalizing the rewards, the date of the operation, and a series of plans, did Yang Yu bid Tella farewell and head to the tavern to look for information about Bai Jin.

As the door slowly closed, Tella let out a sigh of relief and took out a purple crystal ball. The crystal ball quickly connected, revealing another aged face. Yet that face looked more prosperous than Tella's, and its eyes carried the weathered weariness of someone who had endured many hardships, along with a hint of anxiety.

He was Carlo Joy, the current president of the Giant Umbrella Merchant Guild.

The moment the crystal ball connected, Carlo impatiently asked Tella about the situation.

"How did it go? Did you find anyone suitable?"

Tella remained silent for a long while. He did not know where to begin in order to explain everything that had just happened.

"Was the mission too difficult after all? I thought we could find someone as long as the rewards were sufficient." Carlo's gaze dimmed. If so, they could only risk exposure and send their own people.

Tella shook his head and slowly said, "No. I found someone. Just as you requested, his level isn't too high, and he has excellent judgment. Everything is perfect."

"Then why do you look so troubled?"

"Perhaps I found an extraordinarily remarkable young man to help us."

Carlo fell silent. It had been a long time since he had heard his old friend evaluate a young man this highly.

"If you think so highly of him, perhaps I should meet him myself."

"I think so too. Don't forget to find them an escape route. Whether they complete the mission or not, I don't want them falling into the Silver Orchid Merchant Guild's hands."

"That's what I hope for as well."