"Information on 'Mad Dog'?"
The Black Market Dealer who thought his trade with Ye Qi was over suddenly raised his head with interest.
"I've received some juicy bits on 'Mad Dog' yesterday night!" A mysterious smile appeared on Ye Qi's face.
There were two purposes for Ye Qi to be at the abandoned factory. One was to complete the weapon's trade, another was to get some information on 'Mad Dog' Noctis from the Black Market Dealer. Needless to say, both of these was for preparation for his C+ Quest, the Curious Expansion!
Initially Ye Qi wanted to ask Marley outright about 'Mad Dog' but his idea changed when he saw the two bodyguards standing behind the Black Market Dealer.
Ye Qi had no idea how difficult the quest would be since this was his first time dealing with a C+ Quest. Therefore, he could only make estimated guess using his past experience with D level quests. Or else, Ye Qi would not have gone to the Black Market Dealer to trade for so many powerful weapons. However, Ye Qi had to admit he was pretty lucky. A simple trade had garnered him so many unexpected rewards, he got the weapons he intended, and on top of that, a unique magical statuette and from the looks of things, even some help—he was referring to the two bodyguards and innumerable gunners behind Marley.
The two who stood there as straight as statues radiated a powerful presence that suggested they had seen plenty in their days. Ye Qi could attempt a guess that they were once mercenaries or Special Forces, and they had to be very good or else they would not appear behind the Black Market Dealer who had almost lost his life. Therefore, if he could get these two to aid in his quest, the danger level would be drastically lowered—At least when he came up against 'Mad Dog' and his underlings, there would be other people there to divert some of the aggression.
Of course, it would not be easy to get Marley's bodyguards to help him. Even if he and Marley shared the same target, it would still be quite difficult. Therefore, Ye Qi planned to set up a ruse to get the Black Market Dealer to voluntarily offer his two bodyguards to Ye Qi's aid.
"What kind of information?"
The mention of 'Mad Dog' made the wounds on the Black Market Dealer's body pulse with pain. His fair smile suddenly turned dark and his eyes dripped with unbridled hatred. Obviously, the transgression yesterday had truly angered the Black Market Dealer.
Ye Qi did not answer in a hurry but pause for effect. He leaned back and allowed his gaze to scan the crowd. The Black Market Dealer immediately waved for everyone other than his two bodyguards to desert the room. Then, Marley's eyes fell back on Ye Qi.
The Demon Hunter extended one finger and announced, "One thousand Gold Doubloons and guaranteed it will put a smile on your face!"
"One thousand? Ye, you better go rob the bank," The Black Market Dealer inhaled audibly and looked at Ye Qi with disbelief. However, Ye Qi who maintained the mysterious smile on his face knew he had the upper hand.
Gold Doubloon, it was a type of gold coins more valuable than the paper money used by normal people. It was the common currency in the underworld, the normal rate of exchange was one Gold Doubloon for two hundred paper notes. In other words, the one thousand Gold Doubloons demanded by Ye Qi was equal to 200,000 in paper notes. A money that size was enough for a normal person to buy himself a comfortable sized real estate in the city and spent the rest of his life in relative ease. Therefore, one thousand Gold Doubloons was definitely not a small number, even though a Black Market Dealer would not be able to produce such an amount of money overnight.
However, the Black Market Dealer obliged in the end.
The value of a crucial information could very well dictate the flow of a battle. Marley was definitely a Black Market Dealer of a different caliber because as he put the one thousand Gold Doubloons before Ye Qi, he lowered his voice and said, "Ye, I really hope your information is worth this value or I'm afraid there might be cracks in our friendly relationship and trust me, you wouldn't want that."
"Of course!" Internally, Ye Qi was shocked by the Black Market Dealer's wealth but he nonchalantly accepted the bag that held one thousand Gold Doubloons and counted it carefully before putting it beside the weapon case. Then, he turned towards the Black Market Dealer who was looking at him expectantly, "Marley, have you heard of the word, Erebus?"
Erebus, was a blanket term used by Demon Hunter and the Vatican to describe the world of dark creatures and demons unknown to normal human beings.
"Erebus?!"
The Black Market Dealer frowned, showing obvious signs that he had indeed heard of this shadowy circle before.
After all, other than the Vatican or traditional families of Demon Hunters who did not need to worry about living, normal Demon Hunter from the guild still needed to work for a living. For the sake of living, Demon Hunters had to interact with the society's fringe dwellers like Black Market Dealers. Extended interactions meant that certain information would be seen through by these fringe dwellers' careful observation. Even though the Vatican had complained to the Demon Hunter Guild many times about this, it was rebutted every time with the same statement "Give us money to feed ourselves or this is not going to stop!"
"Ye, you're a hunter?"
Hunter, was what normal humans used to refer to Demon Hunters. Obviously, the Black Market Dealer had long since guessed Ye Qi's identity. Then, as he made the connection between 'Mad Dog's recent wildfire expansion and the dark Erebus and he started to sweat.
Ye Qi nodded with a smile. Looking at the sweat pouring out of Marley's pores, the young Demon Hunter knew he had almost reached his goal, he just needed that one last push.
"Due to the two gunners from yesterday night, I've looked into 'Mad Dog's recent activity and realized he had aligned himself to some creature called the 'Unknown'. Therefore, Marley, if you wish to take revenge against 'Mad Dog'? Heed my advice and forget about it!"
C+ Quest required combat and would normally involve one or two demons, therefore, Ye Qi was not lying. However, Ye Qi's kind advice was definitely not out of kindness of his heart. In contrary, he was pushing the Black Market Dealer.
Fringe dwellers like Marley and 'Mad Dog' treated human life like a commodity but it did not mean that they undervalue their own life, if anything, they treated their own life as the most important thing above all. The fact that 'Mad Dog' had his men snuck into the hospital to end Marley's life meant that an official war had been declared between the two forces. For people like them, a war could only be ended when one of the party was dead.
Normally, Marley's forces were stronger than 'Mad Dog's or else he wouldn't be so confident yesterday night saying he would teach 'Mad Dog' a lesson. However, after knowing 'Mad Dog' had interaction with Erebus, the power hegemony shifted. Now, the Black Market Dealer was definitely in the weak. In this situation, Marley could either choose to surrender or escape from the city.
The fact that Marley would not abandon his empire aside, even if he would, whether 'Mad Dog' would not pursue him to the end of the world was a completely different question.
The situation was clear as day. The Black Market Dealer's forces were still too small and weak to deal 'Mad Dog' and most importantly, forces from Erebus. The Black Market Dealer knew that of course, but he did not wish to surrender his empire from years of hard work without a fight and right before him was the break that he needed!
Watching Ye Qi who sat across from him, the Black Market Dealer stood up to grab at his hand and practically begged, "Ye, you have to help me!"
The young Demon Hunter smiled noticing the Black Market Dealer who had fallen hook, line and sinker, "Of course, we're friends right? However, all your men have to listen to my order! And we still need to discuss the issue of rewards…"
"No problem! As long as Ye, you are willing to help, there will be no problem!" The Black Market Dealer personally came to pull open the car door for Ye Qi and signaled for him to get in. The demon hunter fetched his bags and shrugged, "If you say so!"