Chapter 348 – Smuggling (1/2)
Chapter 348 – Smuggling
Nie Yan and Warlance walked past many streets before arriving at a small tavern. The furnishings were old-fashioned, and the lighting was a dim yellow. An old fat man stood behind the counter muttering something under his breath.
Rows of shabby-looking chairs and beaten-up tables filled the tavern. There weren’t many players about, as only those with a specific purpose came here. No one would choose to waste their time sitting around such a dingy place.
A man who looked to be in his late twenties sat quietly at a table in the corner. He wore an ash-grey robe and his hand rested on a bonewood staff. The man raised his glass in greeting as Nie Yan approached.
Nie Yan’s gaze immediately sharpened. The familiar figure before him brought back yet another tide of old memories.
This was the head of Fallen Angel!
During the interfaction conflicts of the previous timeline, Plenty had personally led an army of tens of thousands on a slaughter in Calore. They kicked off their campaign by steamrolling Lincoln Village before seizing control over 6 strongholds near Calore. At first, Victorious Return and Radiant Sacred Flame tried to avoid fighting them, but public outrage forced them into waging a massive war between factions. Fallen Angel managed to hold out for over a month before finally succumbing to Calore’s war of attrition. They retreated to the Underworld, but their conquest would forever be a stain on the Viridian Empire’s history.
Many images of Fallen Angel’s guild leader had been taken and shared, leaving an extremely deep impression on the players of Calore.
At the time, Nie Yan had been a complete nobody. Legendary figures such as Plenty wouldn’t take note of him. He never expected to one day sit down at a table with this man.
Nie Yan activated Transcendent Insight.
Plenty: Level 51
Health: 2,112/2,112
Level 51…! Damn!
Nie Yan was finally certain. It was him! There was a joke in the previous timeline: “Plenty of money, Plenty of people.” Fallen Angel at its peak was an existence even Radiant Sacred Flame and Victorious Return could only look up to. With over 100 master-class players, six major branches with a total of 600,000 members, and over 300 strongholds to their name, they were a true behemoth. Their influence reached across the entire Underworld. This was why Victorious Return and Radiant Sacred Flame were hesitant to go to war against them, and why they ended up resorting to a war of attrition.
“Hello,” Nie Yan greeted, calmly observing Plenty.
“Sit,” Plenty replied, unfazed by Nie Yan’s gaze.
Nie Yan sat across from him, inwardly marveling about how things had changed. Having seen so much in his two lives, he naturally wasn’t fazed by Plenty’s status. He was confident Asskickers United would grow to be no weaker than Fallen Angel at their prime!
“I didn’t expect you to hide in plain sight by pretending to be a member of the Evil Faction! I’m surprised you managed to get past the guards. I assume you used some sort of alignment-concealing accessory?” Plenty asked. His knowledge of the Mad Rogue was limited to only a handful of videos, However, it was enough recognize Nie Yan as an important personage of the Viridian Empire. Only a few members of the Righteous Faction were worthy of his attention: Angyi Tianshi from Angel Corps, Mad Blade from Bloodlust Blades, and Nirvana Flame from Asskickers United.
“A necklace.”
“How long does the disguise last?”
“Three hours.” Nie Yan decided there was no need to conceal this information.
“Three hours! Yours is much better than mine,” Plenty exclaimed as he took out a black ring. It featured a nail-sized black gemstone that gleamed with a dark light. “Here’s mine. It only hides my alignment for half an hour.”
Nie Yan was startled for a moment when Plenty admitted he possessed a similar item. Even when most players were over Level 100, very few had faction-disguising items. However, it made sense. Even if equipment with such effects were rare, it wasn’t too far-fetched for the guild leader of the Undead Empire’s biggest guild to have one already.
Nie Yan knew better than anyone what two pieces of faction-disguising equipment meant!
It was easy for the NPC guards to track illegal trade between factions, but this didn’t account for the ability to change one’s alignment. With two pieces of faction-disguising equipment, a pair of business partners could easily make trades free of oversight. However, they would still have to be careful when making the transaction. People had done this in the previous timeline, to mixed results. Some made a fortune and got off scot-free, while others were imprisoned and had their illegal assets seized.
However, under the allure of immense profit, many still took the risk. It wasn’t easy to go from the surface to the Underworld or vice versa. Players had to traverse the Gates of Hell and Endless Caverns. It was extremely dangerous, living up to the saying that great rewards came with great risk.
“How about we form a partnership?” Plenty asked knowingly. As he waited for Nie Yan’s reply, he sipped his drink with a carefree smile on his face. In the face of such potential riches, he refused to believe Nie Yan could resist his offer.