The Bounty Hunters' Guild

"Luo De!"

Towel in hand, Zhang Yao opened the door and stared in surprise at the man outside. He had never imagined that the person knocking on his door so early in the morning would be Luo De. He had assumed it was a waiter or some other member of the inn's staff.

"Hehe. Zhang Yao, you really made me hunt for you! I spent practically the whole night running around most of the inns in Andal Harbor!" Luo De walked straight into the room, tossed the bundle on his back onto the table, and grumbled at Zhang Yao.

"What's all this?" Zhang Yao showed no reaction to Luo De's complaints. Instead, he pointed at the bundle Luo De had put on the table.

"Hehe. I've officially left the Free Pirates! I realized that someone as weak as me really wasn't suited to staying in an elite-based crew like the Free Pirates. So now I'm homeless, and I've come to throw myself on your mercy!" Luo De sounded quite relaxed as he said this, but his eyes betrayed a deep reluctance to leave and a trace of uncertainty.

"Well, Luo De, I'm sorry! You really didn't have to do this."

Zhang Yao stood there, staring blankly at Luo De.

He had seen the reluctance and uncertainty in Luo De's eyes all too clearly. Coupled with the heartfelt pride Luo De had shown whenever he mentioned the Free Pirates, it told Zhang Yao that Luo De truly loved being part of the crew.

Yet now he had simply up and left because of Zhang Yao. There might have been other reasons as well, but Zhang Yao's own situation had ultimately been the spark that lit the fuse. For a moment, he had no idea what to do.

"Hey, Zhang Yao, why are you apologizing to me out of nowhere? I only did this because I felt I ought to rethink my goals in life! Your arrival just moved that process forward a little!" Luo De dismissed Zhang Yao's words of thanks with utter disdain and argued his case with complete conviction.

"Heh. Here, take this!" Seeing Luo De still stubbornly refusing to admit it, Zhang Yao couldn't help smiling. He took a gemstone out of his Spatial Ring and tossed it to Luo De. Although he still didn't know how to handle Luo De's situation, he understood that this man, who seemed a little timid, afraid of trouble, and fond of petty bargains, was straightforward at heart and absolutely worth having as a friend.

"What's this?" Catching the gemstone, Luo De looked up at Zhang Yao in puzzlement.

"It's just like the one I gave Doreze. It represents our friendship!" Zhang Yao said with a smile. Then he tossed the towel back into the bathroom and walked out of the room, rubbing his stomach. As he went, he said, "Ah, I'm starving! Luo De, shall I treat you to breakfast?"

"Of course! I spent all night looking for you. You've got to make it up to me somehow!" Luo De carefully tucked the gemstone inside his clothes, then shouted as he hurried after Zhang Yao.

Zhang Yao had originally intended to eat a simple meal in the inn's dining room, but Luo De, the local old hand, insisted on dragging him out of the inn and down two streets to a shabby restaurant that didn't even have a sign.

"Boss, one large serving of roast beef, two bowls of oatmeal, black bread, and two eggs!" The moment they entered, Luo De led Zhang Yao to a seat in a corner by the wall, then ordered with practiced familiarity.

"Luo De, why go to all this trouble to eat here? This place doesn't look like much to me." Zhang Yao had assumed that if Luo De was dragging him so far for a meal, he must know somewhere good. Who would have thought it would be such an unremarkable place? Its appearance alone would have been bearable, but the hygiene inside was a sight too dreadful to behold. Looking at the dust-covered tables and the empty liquor bottles strewn across the floor, Zhang Yao seriously doubted whether anything prepared here was fit to eat.

"Hehe, Zhang Yao, don't worry. There's absolutely nothing wrong with the food here! Besides, haven't you noticed anything different about this place?" Seeing Zhang Yao's dissatisfaction and confusion, Luo De immediately spoke up, finishing with a rather mysterious gesture at their surroundings.

At Luo De's words, Zhang Yao began examining the room. By now, he had also guessed that since Luo De had gone to so much trouble to bring him here, it certainly wasn't just for breakfast. After studying his surroundings carefully for a while, he noticed a few clues.

First, with the restaurant this filthy, there should have been plenty of flies, cockroaches, and similar pests, yet there wasn't a single fly or cockroach in sight. Second, there seemed to be far too many waiters. A restaurant of less than a hundred square meters actually had more than ten of them, which was decidedly strange. Finally, those waiters either looked vicious or radiated murderous intent. They resembled bandits or butchers more than waiters. In any normal restaurant, having people like these serve the tables would scare away every last customer. Wouldn't the restaurant lose money hand over fist?

"Noticed something, haven't you?" Seeing Zhang Yao's thoughtful gaze, Luo De asked in a low voice.

"Yes! Could this place be...?" Zhang Yao nodded and asked uncertainly.

"That's right. This is the underground bounty hunters' branch in Andal Harbor!" Luo De answered.

There were many powers in Rodos World, some operating openly and others in the shadows. The Bounty Hunters' Guild belonged to the latter. Its main business consisted of selling intelligence, stealing items, accepting assassination commissions, and all manner of other activities that could not bear the light of day. The Bounty Hunters' Guild had branches throughout the Western Continent, but nobody knew where its headquarters was. Only the locations of its branches were known. Thus, although the various countries dearly wished to cut out this malignant tumor, its vast influence in the shadows and elusive movements left them unable to strike. Even if they wiped out a branch, that was all it was: a branch. To the Bounty Hunters' Guild, whose headquarters remained unscathed, such a loss meant nothing. Worse still, the attackers would then face the guild's endless retaliation! Thus, even when countries and other powers knew that a bounty hunters' branch existed within their jurisdiction, they kept one eye open and the other shut, choosing to ignore it.

Zhang Yao had learned all this from the Overview of Rodos. He hadn't expected this place to be a branch of the famous Bounty Hunters' Guild! With even greater curiosity, he examined everything around him.

Before long, a burly waiter approached with the breakfast Luo De had ordered. He took the food off his tray and set it on the table. Just as he was about to turn away, Luo De placed a crumpled ball of paper on the tray. The waiter acted as though he hadn't seen it and left carrying the tray just as before.

"Are you commissioning a job, or buying and selling information?" Sitting across from Luo De, Zhang Yao had naturally seen what he did, so he asked curiously.

"Selling information! Information about a Heaven Tier expert! Hehe, all right, Zhang Yao, let's eat first! I reckon someone will come looking for us in a little while!" Luo De gave Zhang Yao a sly grin, then lowered his head and began devouring his food.

"A Heaven Tier expert? Lancelot!" Understanding dawned on Zhang Yao, and he nodded before lowering his head to eat as well. At the same time, he sighed inwardly. He really is a native of Rodos World! Even after reading the Overview of Rodos, I still can't compare with the people born here! After all, we think about things differently! If it were up to me, I'd never have thought of selling information about Lancelot for money.

To be honest, although this bounty hunters' branch hadn't done much with its outward appearance, the food was delicious. After his first bite, Zhang Yao abandoned his reservations entirely, bent over the table, and dug in.

"Excuse me, gentlemen!" After Zhang Yao and Luo De had polished off nearly half their food, a man's voice, slightly weathered by life, sounded beside them.