Runaway

The broken crossbow ultimately cost Heka eleven coppers. Combined with the remaining balance for those small items he had bought earlier, Heka's wallet took another hit, dropping down to 482 coppers.

Heka asked the boss for a box, placed the small items and the broken crossbow inside, and then tucked it away into his backpack.

As his most important support, Heka had already tested the backpack several times, and he had figured out its general mechanics more or less.

Items of the same type could be stacked together inside the backpack, up to a maximum of 99 per stack, giving it a distinct vibe of a video game inventory.

It was just a pity that boxes of the same size and material would be considered the same type of item, but once they were filled with things, as long as the contents differed, they could not stack.

Heka concentrated, and the status panel soon floated up before him. As he dragged the panel downwards with his consciousness, Heka quickly saw his already filled backpack.

[Backpack] (Ten Slots)

Inferior washbasin filled with foul-smelling well water ×1
Inferior wooden bucket filled with foul-smelling well water ×9
Box filled with food ×1
 Crude dagger ×1
Copper coins ×761
Box filled with sundries ×1
Black bread ×15
Small block of cheese ×20
String of dried fish ×20
Blood-stained money bag ×1

Heka briskly walked along with the flow of people toward his gang's territory, pulling the inferior dagger out from inside the backpack.

Then, he slightly jammed the box in his hand beneath his robes, and using the cover of the crowd, tucked it into the backpack.

Sure enough, after entering the backpack, it did not merge with the box named "Box filled with sundries," but instead occupied an empty slot all by itself.

Heka sighed, his body coming to an abrupt halt, and the local gang's petty pickpockets were shaken off by an old hand like him.

Heka quickly cast a look around, and then, before this group of somewhat rusty peers could close in, he slipped away through the gap he had just shaken open.

The local gang had simply no rules left; they even tried to touch a ragged little brat like him. Anyone on the streets with a shred of pride would never touch a poor wretch.

After returning to the turf of the Graytooth Gang, Heka immediately left the alleyway.

After exchanging greetings with a familiar thug, Heka turned and plunged into the stream of people on the main street.

Thanks to the rest reward he earned from continuously winning best thief, he was one of the few petty pickpockets who could temporarily leave the gang's territory.

It was just that this time could not be too long, or else he would be dragged back.

Somewhat counter-intuitively, the mafia actually exerted tighter control over the alleyways.

Every single person there counted as the gang's eyes and ears, and if he took that route, nothing could be hidden from the eyes of that Fat Pig.

However, the main street was, after all, the facade of Seapeak Port. Even the Graytooth Gang, as the largest gang within the port, needed to lie low here.

If they angered a certain big figure, although those people had no way to change the status quo of rampant gangs in Seapeak Port, replacing the boss of the Graytooth Gang was still a very simple matter.

The crowded mob effectively masked Heka's figure, and a moment later, Heka arrived in front of a stall selling drinks. From here, he could see Tuft of Hair waiting for him at their old spot in the distance.

Heka did not rush forward rashly. Instead, he observed the area from the roadside for a while, and upon confirming that Tuft of Hair had not brought anyone with him, he approached the other from behind.

"Follow me, don't speak."

Heka bumped against Tuft of Hair, then immediately turned toward the side—that was the busiest spot on this street.

The moment Tuft of Hair caught up to Heka, the boy directly took out twenty coppers and stuffed them into the other's hand.

Tuft of Hair instantly perked up. He tightly grasped the handful of coppers, and with almost zero hesitation, tried to shove them back into Heka's hands.

"Go buy all salt next door. I'll wait for you at the front of the street."

Heka finished speaking, brushed past him, and left.

Then he quietly watched Tuft of Hair from the darkness of the street corner.

The purchasing process went without any twists or turns. Ten coppers could roughly buy a small jar of salt.

Salt didn't have an expiration date to speak of, and it could be kept for a very long time, so everyone bought it one jar at a time.

When Tuft of Hair hugged that jar of salt and arrived at the street corner pointed out by Heka, looking around blankly in all directions...

Heka finally sighed, then stepped out from the darkness.

Never mind twenty coppers, give a petty pickpocket a single copper and tell him there was no mafia thug watching, and he would definitely run off without a trace.

"Let's go."

Tuft of Hair's eyes lit up the moment he saw Heka. Although everyone said he was stupid, he still knew whom he could follow to get enough to eat.

Heka led Tuft of Hair into a nearby alleyway, and after crawling through a dog hole, hugged the wall and entered the wealthy district.

Although the wealthy district tried every possible means to isolate itself, Seapeak Port was only so big, and the wealthy district here was, when all was said and done, just a small area carved out by some wealthy merchants for themselves.

Even with high walls and constantly patrolling guards, there were still plenty of loopholes to exploit.

"Boss, if we come here, our legs are going to be broken."

Heka glanced back at Tuft of Hair behind him while skillfully bypassing the guards' line of sight and pried open the window of a villa.

"What the Fat Pig said was that you get your legs broken only if he catches you.

Aren't we not caught yet?

Besides, he takes those merchants' money, so he acts as their dog. Did you take any?"

"I can be a dog even without taking money, as long as I can eat my fill."

Heka, who was climbing through the window, turned back to look at his little buddy.

Seeing that the other's face held only pure longing for a full stomach, he could only twitch the corners of his mouth.

"Following me you'll also get enough to eat, you don't have to be a dog."

The first floor of the villa was not safe; Heka's target was the second floor.

Upon making sure there was no one else in the room, Heka brought Tuft of Hair—who was still clutching the salt jar behind him—cautiously to the second-floor hallway.

Heka lowered his palm, motioning for Tuft of Hair to wait in the stairwell, while he himself crept into the second-floor corridor.

The curtains at the front of the corridor were not drawn. If spotted by a neighbor, he and Tuft of Hair probably wouldn't even need that Fat Pig to step in before they were strung up and beaten to death by the mercenaries hired by the merchants here.

This was also the reason Heka did not choose this place as a safe haven.

Fortunately, this villa had a windowless maid's room, and Heka sneaked over stealthily.

After opening the door to the maid's room, he beckoned backwards, signaling for Tuft of Hair—who was following his instructions and pressing himself completely flat against the stairs—to follow.

Though the villa was huge, the maid's room was unusually claustrophobic. The room contained only three bunk beds and a simple bathroom.

Heka closed the door, then motioned for Tuft of Hair to wait in the room, while he himself stepped into the bathroom attached to this maid's room.

He turned on the faucet. Sure enough, no water.

This house had been vacant for a long time. Some houses in this wealthy district didn't have independent water valves and still had water even when uninhabited, but this place presumably had its own water valve, which the owner of the house had shut off before leaving.

Heka was not too surprised by this. He took the washbasin out of his backpack.

Then came the blood-stained money bag.