Homemade Liquor

From the support team, Dodder sent a message:

"Based on the overheard information, Black Claw plans to act today."

When Su Ming personally visited Black Claw's stronghold last time, he naturally planted a listening device along the way.

As for trivial matters like eavesdropping, he certainly didn't need to do it himself.

The data is received through the Raccoon Dog Dream Theater's wireless base station and forwarded to the rear via satellite link, with staff on duty 24 hours a day.

Su Ming felt a surge of curiosity.

"What methods does Hubiang plan to use to make money?"

Our side used "Ash Combustion Agent" to arouse the greed of this Black Claw leader, in order to make him entangled.

Refuse to give up!

Dodder replied:

"Hubiang purchased a large quantity of homemade sweet potato wine, intending to transport it into Cloud Fang City for sale."

Su Ming was quite disappointed upon hearing this. "After all that trouble from a gang, this is all?"

Dodder chuckled softly.

What's wrong with selling illegally brewed sweet potato wine?

"Don't look down on the profit margins of these products."

"Forget about drinks, we even have armed drug dealers smuggling eggs around here."

Su Ming was immediately speechless.

After all, the events that occurred at the US-Mexico border are still fresh in our minds.

****

As usual, Su Ming took Jinxiu with him and left his residence with the air of someone "going out to seek pleasure".

On the way, Dodder briefly explained to him the details of what she had overheard.

The liquor in Cloud Fang City is naturally monopolized by important figures, and its price is naturally much higher than elsewhere.

But since there's an "official" operation, there must also be "private" channels. Black Claw and many low-level gangs have been smuggling alcohol in from outside the city and then secretly selling it at 30% of the official price.

"This time, Hubiang purchased fifteen times more wine than usual."

"I'm planning to make a killing."

Su Ming noticed the problem.

"Won't this break the tacit understanding among lower-level gangs regarding the 'loot' distribution?"

Such a large quantity of goods will definitely severely impact the sales of our "competitors".

In the eyes of gangsters, "overstepping boundaries" is the most serious provocation, enough to get you beaten to a pulp.

"Not just that," the Dodder shrugged.

"The quantity of this illicit liquor is too large, and it will seriously affect the sales of 'official liquor'."

"This has drawn the ire of those 'big shots'."

Su Ming was puzzled.

He found a corner along the way, disguised himself, and became a completely different half-dog. "It's just the price of one ' Ash Combustion Agent,' is Hubiang really going to make such a big fuss?" Su Ming muttered.

Dodder explained:

"Because Hubiang not only wanted to buy medicine, he also wanted to buy scrolls and spellbooks related to sorcery."

"Thus achieving a leap in extraordinary power."

Su Ming was very disdainful.

"This half-fox is just insatiable; he's like a snake trying to swallow an elephant."

Dodder sighed deeply.

You're a well-fed man who doesn't know the hunger of a starving man.

"How could I not know?" Su Ming said, dissatisfied.

"Your magical talent is exceptional," Dodder said irritably.

"Upon transmigrating, you're immediately mentored by top scholars, and your starting equipment is a Saint Rank weapon."

"Would an ordinary person in the Taya World have your kind of configuration and starting point?" Su Ming was even more dissatisfied.

"Well, we'll have to see what kind of monsters are in my 'newbie village,' shall we?"

He argued.

In this newbie village, the tutorial battle is against the Temple of Light Legion, and right at the start of the game, you're facing five naval fleets!

***

Before long, Su Ming followed the guidance and trailed behind Hubiang.

The other person lowered their hood, hiding their fox ears in the shadow of the brim, and their body was emanating magical fluctuations that interfered with vision.

However, under Su Ming's pupil technique, there was naturally nowhere to hide.

Soon, Hubiang arrived at a small roadside tavern and went inside.

He skillfully navigated the corner and found a captain guarding the gate of Cloud Fang City.

Hubiang bowed and scraped, immediately handing over a money pouch.

The company commander weighed it in his hand, put it away, and gave a reply.

The movements were extremely skillful.

Afterwards, Hubiang hurriedly headed out of the city, clearly intending to begin transporting goods into the city.

Su Ming didn't follow.

The company commander also walked out of the tavern and casually took out a money pouch from his pocket and tossed it to Su Ming.

It was a pile of broken gold Tuanzi, about the amount of five gold coins.

The company commander himself seemed unaware of anything unusual about his actions and continued forward.

The Saint Rank domain "Thread Puppet Prison" offers no resistance whatsoever to Low Rank combat classes.

If Abigai knew that her prized skill would be used by Su Ming to steal money from lower-class people, she would probably be quite displeased.

[The memory has been processed!] Jinxiu reports.

To prevent the squad leader from feeling distressed about losing money, Star Fairy not only erased his memory of handing the money to Su Ming, but also "casually" erased his memory of receiving money from Hubiang.

[Doing good deeds should be done anonymously.] Su Ming chuckled. He then walked into the tavern, bought two bottles of wine from the owner, and spent all his gold coins.

Afterwards, Su Ming headed towards the city gate to watch the show.

Before long, Hubiang led several trucks covered with coarse cloth into the city in a queue.

The wheels creaked heavily as they rolled over the stone slabs. The pack animals pulling the cart puffed out white steam and impatiently pawed at each other with their hooves.

It clearly has a considerable load-bearing capacity.

Originally, it was all just a formality, but the city guard captain who had lost his memory has now transformed back into a "fair and impartial" anti-smuggling captain.

Without hesitation, he ordered his soldiers to check Hubiang's convoy.

Hubiang was dumbfounded.

"Captain, I--"

Boom!

Without saying a word, the squadron leader slapped Hubiang across the face, sending him flying and crashing into the car.

The truck shook violently, and a muffled slurring sound came from inside. The aroma of sweet potato wine leaked from the gaps in the barrel stoppers. "How dare you smuggle unauthorized liquor!"

The squadron leader sneered and waved his hand dismissively.

"Take it down!"

Several guards stepped forward and pinned him down.

Su Ming mingled among the orcs, happily joining the onlookers in their jeering.

Hubiang was taken away, and the crowd of onlookers dispersed.

The squad leader began to arrange for his men to hide some of the illegally brewed liquor before the anti-smuggling officers arrived to collect the stolen goods.

In a sense, the profit from such a trip is actually much higher than the "market price" for a single trip.

Under normal circumstances, the squadron leader would certainly not deplete the resources of the pond.

Subsequent business operations will be affected.

"That Hubiang guy, he's really gotten bold today!" the company commander muttered in bewilderment.

Smuggling wasn't a "serious crime," Hubiang paid his ransom the next day.

The entire Black Claw stronghold was shrouded in gloom and despair.

The gang members who were dreaming of getting rich quick last night are now like Wild Dog soaked by the rain.

Everyone was cursing the fickle company commander.

But all they dared to do was curse.

Su Ming went to visit him, making a show of it, offering a few perfunctory words of comfort, and casually replaced the bugging device he had planted with a fully charged one.

"This time, Hubiang lost 20% of his goods," Dodder told him.

Su Ming did the math: if the remaining 80% of Black Claw's goods were sold "normally," they could cover the losses and generate a considerable income.

"Keep a close eye on him, don't let Hubiang turn things around," Su Ming said.

"No problem!" Dodder said.

Using the pretext of preparing for a performance at the Raccoon Dog Dream Theater, Su Ming then purchased a batch of supplies to replenish the material inventory.

The courtyard is now bustling with activity. Half of it is piled with timber and stage props, and the smell of paint is very strong. Several orc carpenters are squatting down repairing the stage floor, their hammers clanging.

The number of people involved in rehearsals and the scale of the rehearsals are also getting larger and larger.

The band huddled under the tent, the performers stood in two rows rehearsing, Hebana would occasionally pick out those who made mistakes and correct them.

The various sounds mingled together, creating a lively and bustling atmosphere.

A string of half-orc children, each with ears and tails of different shapes and colors, were perched on the wall, flapping and swaying.

Su Ming took a picture and sent it to Stacy, making her so envious she cried.

I want to come to Water Chestnut Island too!

"Aren't you going to keep your Charybdis anymore?" Su Ming asked.

"How did you know I was raising them?"

Stacy stood on the ice, rubbing her hands together, and replied.

"Isn't academic research allowed?"

Beside her stood a colossal Deep Sea Abyssal Devourer, now covered in a layer of ice. A dozen massive industrial pipes had been connected to Charybdis's mouth, continuously feeding it various types of ground ore.

Clearly, Stacy has made quite good progress during this period.

"I think that requiring brain cells to think about this kind of thing is disrespectful to brain cells," Su Ming sighed.

"I've heard that you people on Earth also have this hobby of keeping exotic pets," Stacy said.

"Sure," Su Ming said. "When are you going to bring your pet to play with me?"

****

Ximina is now able to get out of bed independently.

She watched the orcs' performance below through the gap in the curtains, occasionally picking up a pen to jot down things that needed to be revised.

Then, through Yise, he proposed it to Hebana.

At first Hebana didn't take it seriously, but when the wealthy heiress wanted to change the script, he had no choice but to comply.

At worst, I can just quietly fix the seriously flawed parts myself.

But unexpectedly, Yise's adjustments made the plot pacing smoother and significantly improved the storytelling. And the flow was continuous.

The Hebana's gaze toward Yise grew increasingly intense.

This is absolutely a theatrical genius whose talents have been wasted on worldly affairs!

Although Su Ming's ballpoint pen was easy to use, Ximina still remembered something.

"My magic pen."

"It should be with the Hebana dog!"

"Okay, I'll go get it," Yise said.

Soon, Yise found the Hebana and asked if Ximina had any items with him.

"I want everything she has," Yise said bluntly, "Especially that magic pen."

After a moment of silence, the Hebana asked:

Have you found any news about Miss Ximina?

"Yes," Yise replied. "It can be confirmed that she is dead."

Her expression was feigned regret.

"What a pity, such a talented author."

"If Ximina were a half-orc, she wouldn't have suffered this."

Upon hearing Hebana's eyes immediately dimmed.

After a long silence, he finally spoke:

"You can have everything Miss Ximina has, but—"

Hebana made the following request:

"Could you leave me Ms. Ximina's original manuscript of ' The Cangxiao Dynasty: The Flame of Succession Arc ' after the performance?"

"No problem," Yise immediately agreed.