Black-on-Black Crime (2)

At first, Chen Zixuan thought he had misheard, but only when Grey repeated himself did he finally realize that the item involved in this quest was actually related to [Natural Snow Silkworm Silk].

And Natural Snow Silkworm Silk was the most crucial main material required for crafting the [Rose Maid] set.

Just a second ago, Chen Zixuan had been worrying about where he could find such an unheard-of material.

Unexpectedly, in the very next moment, information about Natural Snow Silkworm Silk appeared in the random quest he’d picked up on the roadside.

Could this be the legendary “After countless twists and turns, a village suddenly appears among the willows and flowers”?

Wasn’t this all just a bit too coincidental?

After snapping out of his thoughts, Chen Zixuan did not feel happy. Instead, a trace of wariness suddenly arose in his heart.

Vaguely, he seemed to smell the scent of a conspiracy.

Getting free benefits from the sky once was enough—after being so badly burned by the VR headset last time, he was not about to get fooled a second time.

After a brief silence, the black hood swayed slightly, and a cold, emotionless female voice sounded flatly: “Fighting and killing is much too crude. I don’t want any part of it.”

Grey’s expression changed immediately; he never expected that the girl before him would refuse him so decisively.

Could it be the reward he offered was too little?

No, wait! He realized he hadn’t even mentioned the reward yet.

So, grey hurriedly forced a sycophantic smile onto his face, the scar on his cheek twisting into the shape of a centipede, and tried to persuade her:

“Great adventurer, please reconsider. As long as you help us get that batch of goods back and give that bastard Austin a harsh lesson—preferably kill him—then we’ll split half of the recovered goods with you! Well, how about it?”

“Half?”

It had to be said, even though Chen Zixuan had already suspected the quest could be a trap, when he heard that number, he was still a little tempted.

A whole batch of goods—though he did not know the exact amount, from the importance Grey and his group placed on it, there had to be quite a lot of [Natural Snow Silkworm Silk] in it.

Getting half was already quite a lot.

Besides, he was urgently in need of quests to level up, and since he couldn’t find monsters of an appropriate level, killing a few people shouldn’t be over the top, right?

Even if this quest involved killing, it would just be NPCs in the game—wicked, lawless types who bullied the innocent. Having just killed the Fallen Sorcerer Sindigo, Chen Zixuan felt no psychological burden about it at all.

By reasoning and emotion, he should absolutely accept this quest.

Just as Chen Zixuan was about to nod, a sudden flash of inspiration struck in his mind. He vaguely sensed that something was off.

The quest was called “Black-on-Black Crime”—Austin had taken Grey’s goods, grey was unhappy and wanted to rope him in to get them back from Austin.

Black devours black, cycling back and forth, endlessly.

After taking someone else’s loot, you immediately risk being eaten in return.

So, after joining Grey’s gang, wouldn’t he become the next black? As soon as he grabbed the goods and killed Austin, once he’d outlived his usefulness, wouldn’t Grey and his men turn on him to take back the spoils?

At that moment, Chen Zixuan felt he had grasped the true nature of the quest.

Gangs were inherently ruthless and cunning—they saw no eternal friends, only eternal interests. To maximize their own gains, they’d stoop to any dirty trick, even stabbing their own sworn brothers in the back.

For a moment, Chen Zixuan felt a sense of relief.

Fortunately, he’d considered things carefully and anticipated this possibility.

Otherwise, the moment he let his guard down after finishing the quest, he could easily be backstabbed by Grey and his men. If they were even slightly higher level, things could go very badly.

To test his theory, Chen Zixuan purposely put on a greedy expression and said with disdain, “Half is too little. I want eighty percent. Anything less and the deal’s off.”

When the girl said this, surprise flickered first across Grey’s face, but then he quickly hid it.

After exchanging glances with his companions, he hesitated for a moment before reluctantly nodding his head:

“All right, eighty percent it is. As long as you help us take care of Austin and let us take over his turf and casino business, not to mention eighty percent—even all of it wouldn’t be a problem!”

So it was indeed a scam!

A dangerous smirk curled beneath the hood.

In her deep sapphire eyes, it seemed as if night crows were flying by and all was pitch-black.

Trying to out-act me, you brainless NPCs are still far too green.

Fine, since none of you are any good, let me show you what real black-on-black crime is all about…

Apparently moved by Grey’s earnest words, Chen Zixuan smiled softly and agreed: “All right, I accept your commission. Tell me where that bastard Austin is, and I’ll take him out for you right away.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the voice of the system young lady sounded again in Chen Zixuan’s mind.

“System Notification: You have accepted the town quest———[Black-on-Black Crime]!”

“In the prosperous imperial capital that has flourished for a thousand years, beneath the glitzy surface, all is riddled with holes and rot. It has become the thriving ground for the rats of the sewers. From this moment on, you too will act as one of the rats, swaggering through the dark nights of this city!”

Immediately, a transparent panel popped up in front of him.

[Optional Quest One, “Assassinate the Leader”: In the name of Scythe Gang member Grey, assassinate the Hammer Gang’s leader [Austin] (0/1)]

(Quest reward: 15 silver coins, 250 EXP)

[Optional Quest Two, “Dangerous Wealth”: Go to the Hammer Gang’s treasury and retrieve the [stolen goods] (0/1)]

(Quest reward: 200 [Natural Snow Silkworm Silk], 20 silver coins, 120 EXP)

……

Chen Zixuan had still been slightly hesitant, but after seeing the final quest reward, his enthusiasm spiked to full throttle.

A whole two hundred Natural Snow Silkworm Silks—enough to easily craft a full [Rose Maid] set.

Meanwhile, seeing the girl accept the quest, grey gave a sinister smile, pointed out of the alleyway, and said, “Go out this alley and turn left for 200 meters, then turn right at the second intersection and keep going straight—you’ll see a casino. That’s Austin’s lair.”

“Of course, according to intel from our Scythe Gang informants, the stolen goods are also hidden in the casino’s u-lin~M2er(3)(4)`8ba-like basement vault.”

After a brief pause, grey continued.

Origin, English, pronoun

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep