Chapter 123: Assets

The sound of boots echoed through the silent hallways of the auction house.

“Any recorders?”

“We have neutralised them, but I don’t think they are the only ones.”

“What if we destroy the control room?”

“You know there’s a thing called backup. The copy of every single thing is stored in other places. Disabling the active monitors is the only possible and efficient thing to do.”

“I know that.”

“…”

“Tsk. When will they arrive?”

The man glanced at his watch, as he pushed the cart in his hand.

Both the men had the standard staff uniform of the auction house. They were currently carrying refreshments for their guests.

“The plan is too risky.”

The man on the right with a bald head commented.

“Since when were you such a coward? Did the great—”

“Shut up, bastard! If only you hadn’t joined them, I would have killed you a hundred times.”

Number 800 spoke with heated eyes.

“Hehe. You sure talk a lot. If I remember correctly, you had your ass whooped by the authorities before you joined us. Don’t act all cocky!”

Number 762 had the same playful smile on his face as he taunted his comrade.

Yes.

These were the individuals serving the same criminal organisation that they had joined some months ago.

Before joining D.X., both of them were always at each other’s throats as their black market businesses collided with each other.

Now that they were part of the same group, they had to forgo their past rivalries and work together for the goals of D.X.

Today, once again, they were sent on a joint mission to raid an auction house under one of the biggest Alchemy guilds in the empire.

Still, the guild was not too highly ranked and they didn’t think there would be any real value in raiding it, comparing the risks involved in such a plan.

But both of them knew that their higher-ups never planned things with no real gains.

This raid was surely the foundation for some big setup that was being plotted in the shadows.

“Take care not to die.”

No. 762 gave his usual smile and headed towards the VIP section, leaving No. 800 alone in the deserted hallway.

“Damn, I never believed in God, but just for today… Don’t let anyone mess things up today. I want to live… Haa!”

Massaging his neck repeatedly, No. 800 tried to calm his nerves.

Though in his previous line of work he had to deal with dangerous situations from time to time—

It had to be known that those dangers came in intervals.

Since joining D.X., every mission had ended up being his last mission, but somehow he had managed to survive and rise in the rankings.

Only by reaching a high enough rank could he have a little say in the missions he was assigned to.

D.X. had saved him when he was on death’s door, so he didn’t mind fighting for them.

And even if he wanted to quit— As a former criminal he knew how things worked at such places.

Once you join something shady, you can never quit.

You just have to dive deeper in the shit, so as to save your life from being used on the whims of the ones in power.

“Yeah… Fuck me.”

No. 800 headed towards the general area to serve the refreshments to the guests.

Well, he didn’t mind letting them enjoy the last bit of pleasure that they could in the time that was left for them before things turned spicy.

Screech.

The wheels of the cart scratched against the floor, making shrilling noises.

“So much for a wealthy guild. Can’t even afford a proper cart.”

Clicking his tongue in disappointment, No. 800 opened the door to the general section.

“I hear today they are selling some rare high-grade potions.”

“Don’t you know the usual strategy? They will show them and offer the low-grade ones as complimentary items, scamming us like fools.”

“But you did buy such things the last time you visited the other auction house.”

“I know. That’s why I said fools. We are fools.”

Both the men looked at each other before bursting into hearty laughter.

The entire auction hall was filled with people seated on the comfy sofas provided to them.

Though it was an area meant for the general participants… it was in no way inferior, as every person sitting here was a man of immense wealth.

After all, the poor never attend auctions.

No. 800, without interrupting any of the guests, began unloading the refreshments for each guest.

Not a single man looked at him, every one of them busy in their own world.

That was why no one noticed the small smirk that had formed on No. 800’s lips.

Another reason why No. 800 never thought about leaving D.X. was exactly the things before him.

Robbing these walking money banks was one of his favourite hobbies.

Still, if he had been the one to arrange today’s raid, No. 800 knew that not even in his lifetime could he cause something on such a massive scale.

Though the guild that this auction house belonged to was a relatively smaller guild compared to the titans in the market… that in no way reduced the threat that the security forces here posed to any individuals having bad thoughts about the auction house.

Not only were the guild’s private security present on the premises, but also the authorities from the empire monitored such auctions.

As every auction generated huge revenue for the empire, the authorities paid a good amount of attention to such auction houses to prevent any loss of potential revenue.

And building good relations with the business world also served the empire in many ways.

The alchemist guilds were among the major businesses in the economy.

And having more guilds in the empire showcased the prosperity and strength of their territories, as in cases of wars it was these guilds that served as the shield against the possible deaths of many soldiers.

So protecting these assets was of utmost importance for the empires.

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