Quadruple split.

Chapter 2559 The First Fang

Year 9571 of the Holy Calendar, Moon of Light, 2st Day of Chanting

This is a very ordinary day.

At least in the eyes of Ms. Barbara Stoll, it was indeed a very ordinary day.

As the right-hand man of [Woodlouse] in Ankh Market at this stage, and the deputy leader of [Unicorn Mercenary Group] after being replaced by someone else, this second-class deacon who should have countless things to do is unusually leisurely. Not only did he not stay in the base with his direct leader, the first-class deacon [Woodlouse] Vito Theresa to handle various affairs, he even ran to the 'amusement park' to hide away.

On the one hand, it was because Vito was already good enough and was fully capable of managing the various "businesses" that were still in the start-up phase in an orderly manner. Even without Barbara as his deputy to assist him, he was still able to handle the current workload.

On the other hand, as one of the "sharp teeth" under [Ms. Moth] and a close confidant of [Glittering Shadow] who possesses a huge influence, although in name she is only a second-class deacon sent to assist [Woodlouse] in his work, this does not mean that Vito can arbitrarily drive this woman with a powerful background.

Although if one only believed the rumors, Barbara probably didn't even have time to eat or drink except for sleeping with various people every day, Vito, who was only focused on his career and making a contribution to the "Ms. Moth" camp, was very sure that even if the rumors were not as outrageous, he probably couldn't afford to offend this woman's group of lovers headed by "Shadow", so except for issues of principle, he almost never restricted or constrained her.

After confirming half a year ago that Vito did not want to develop a further relationship with her, Barbara began to do what she considered to be her job as a "deputy". To put it simply, she spent about half an hour every day organizing the intelligence collected by her subordinates, then changed into more conservative clothes to find Vito and read to him what she had sorted out.

After that, if Vito had something to do on his own, he would do it, if not, he would rest, and then continue the next day.

Yes, even though it sounds outrageous, for Barbara, this is indeed her job as Woodlouse's deputy. Doing anything more would be disrespectful to the leader.

Vito himself didn't care about her slacking off attitude. In addition to the reasons just mentioned, Barbara's half-hour summary, conclusion and suggestions every day were really useful and could save him almost an entire morning.

Obviously, the value of this woman who was able to have affairs with many people while being the confidant and mistress of a "Sharp Teeth" and not be punished, and even thrived as an aide under [Lieying], was never based on her seductive appearance.

All in all, her job as Woodlouse's deputy was indeed very easy, especially in the past few days. After she had just hurt the remaining members of the Destroyer Mercenaries, she immediately decided to hide here and have some fun before Vito completed his plan to wipe out the Destroyer and the Woof Woof Adventurers.

Of course, Barbara was not really idle. After all, her real job was never to help Vito deal with those trivial matters, but to monitor the movements of the heads of the other three bases of Ankh Market for [Surveyor]——

In fact, for [Lieying], the "sharp tooth" who can be regarded as [Ms. Moth's] confidant, it is not important what achievements Vito Theresa, a first-class deacon with nothing, can make in Ankh. What is important is how other forces view [Ms. Moth], the new snake leader who has just become a formal member of the twenty-member committee, extending her claws to the Ankh market.

You know, although everyone has the title of "First-Class Deacon", the other three people who have been operating in places like Anka Market for many years, namely [Black Wolf], [Puppet] and [Wildfire], can crush [Woodlouse] to death at any time if they want to. After all, the background of both sides is not at the same level.

Even [Lieying], who theoretically has the potential to join the Committee of Twenty in the future and become the 'Sharp Teeth' of the 'Head of the Snake', cannot guarantee that he can deal with any of these three people.

[Black Wolf] and [Wildfire] might be better off, but [Puppet], the unaffiliated first-class deacon who has been stationed in Ankh Market for more than three hundred years and whose true identity is unknown even to [Ms. Moth], has rejected the nomination of 'Sharp Teeth' several times in the past century. His true identity has never been discovered by anyone, making him an extremely feared figure.

However, for Ms. Moth, who has a shallow foundation but is extremely ambitious, if she wants to gain a firm foothold in the twenty-member committee, she must expand her influence by all means. However, compared to those major projects that really need her or her "sharp teeth" to manage, sending a first-class deacon to Anka to try to develop is just an idle step.

It's not that the returns are too low, but that the risks are too high, so high that in the blink of an eye you will be devoured by 'their own people' without even a bone left.

In other words, Vito, who was sent here, was simply a cannon fodder. Even if he died, the people above him would not feel sorry for him. He was a bait that could be sacrificed at any time.

Vito himself was well aware of this. After all, his strength and strategy were not top-notch, and the resources he had were all provided by Ms. Moth. He was the least valuable deacon in the camp, and he was very satisfied to be temporarily given the title of first-class deacon and sent to Anka as bait.

On the one hand, he was a warrior who was willing to pay any price for Ms. Moth, including his own life.

On the other hand, as the saying goes, fortune and wealth are sought in danger, even if there is a high probability that he will be strangled to death by his own people on this trip, if he survives by chance, then he [Sootle Bug] will really become the fourth person in charge of the Viper Chamber of Commerce in Anka Market.

As for picking peaches, it is absolutely impossible in the above situation. Even if [Ms. Moth] herself intends to make her subordinates more capable to replace [Woodlouse], the other three first-class deacons who allowed Vito to survive successfully in Anka Market will definitely not sit idly by and watch such a thing happen.

Because that would make them look stupid.

All in all, Woodlice, who was determined to die, settled down in Anka Market. Although the process was not smooth, it was beyond his expectation that most of the resistance came from Anka Market itself. After all, it was not easy to integrate into this place without exposing his connection with the Viper Chamber of Commerce. As for the more dangerous "own people", they did not cause too much trouble in the process.

In this way, although Vito only owned a shop called [Sea Blue Pawn], he really succeeded in gaining a foothold in Anka. After learning the news, [Ms. Moth] immediately increased her support and directly ordered her "Sharp Teeth" [Shadow] to deliver a large amount of support through various channels, and Barbara Stoll was among them.

As the eye of [Glimpse], Barbara's core mission has always been to keep an eye on the movements of the other three families, keeping a close eye on whether they want to make friends or enemies with [Ms. Moth], while helping Vito survive in the cracks while keeping a close eye on him.

This is a rather arduous task, but it tests Barbara's professional ability more and does not require her to run around every day and be busy all the time.

It was also because of this that she was able to spend such a leisurely life under Vito, running to this "entertainment venue" every few days.

Different from the [Hai Lan Pawnshop] that was used to conceal his identity before, this [Entertainment Center·Warm Cocoon] is one of Vito's only two legitimate industries around the Anka Market. Note that the "serious" here is "serious" for Viper. As for the nature of the industry, it is naturally an underground industry that cannot be any darker.

Through various means including but not limited to abduction, deception, coercion and even kidnapping, all kinds of women (and a small number of men) with simple backgrounds and decent looks are lured into this living purgatory. Through drugs, abuse and many occult methods, the victims are "tamed" and turned into tools for making huge profits.

This kind of entertainment venue, which is disguised as an inn but is full of dirty activities, not only makes huge profits for the operators, but is also a huge underground social network. Those "guests" who are birds of the same feather will naturally communicate with other "like-minded" people who are equally disgusting while having fun. Over time, a large number of businesses and cooperation will be born that are as shady as this stage.

Over time, this place will become a huge gathering place, like a magnet that attracts all kinds of shady people and things. Given its absolutely dark background, those seemingly glamorous "high-quality consumers" will soon reveal their true colors without scruples, wantonly showing the ugly and unbearable human nature. In this process, [Lechang·Wenjian] will not only earn huge service fees, but will also be regarded by these people as a very trustworthy "nest". Not only will they gradually regard this place as a good place to negotiate business, but they can also continue to introduce high-quality customers, becoming an intangible asset that is more important than real money.

It is no exaggeration to say that in the eyes of many customers, [Lechang Wenjian] is even more comfortable than their own home, because the more similar the background of the guests is to this place, the more they have to act around close people to ensure that their relatives, friends, partners and collaborators will not see their true side. Only by finding a place can they be themselves without restraint, because they are surrounded by "the same kind" who are despised by most normal people.

This is Vito's most important industry and also Barbara's favorite place. After all, this woman with a somewhat twisted personality likes this kind of place where human nature can be displayed nakedly and where sin and filth are bred everywhere.

The only drawback is that this place is not high-end enough. Even though the guests are generally "powerful" in an objective sense, the specifications of this entertainment venue are limited after all, and most of them are relatively ordinary, low-class, and rather vulgar.

Compared to the several places that [Glimpses] had taken her to before, the style of this amusement park was indeed a bit lower, but it was enough for Barbara to kill time.

Because of this, when she reluctantly pulled herself away from an overly crazy swimming pool and met a stumbling orc security guard in the corridor, and belatedly learned from him that there seemed to be trouble on the doorstep, she had already missed the best time to escape.

But when Barbara chose to go to the amusement park center on the third underground floor after a moment of hesitation, instead of going straight to the nearest safe house to take a gamble by indiscriminate random teleportation, her death was already doomed.

With the help of the mass-produced epic item [Snake Eyes] in the central room, Barbara immediately recognized Haroni and other Highland teenagers who belonged to the [Wrecker Mercenary Group] and almost all of them were killed by her. Just when she was relieved and thought it was just a small episode of those stupid kids coming to die, a half-dragon man with a stern face appeared in her "field of vision".

Although he was not particularly handsome, he made Barbara fall in love with him at first sight and her blood boiled. However, when this man literally "shattered" several powerful second-class operators who were good at working together in just a moment, the blood that had just reached the boiling point cooled down in an instant, and was replaced by a panic-stricken palpitation a few seconds later.

"Damn it!"

Barbara, who had never felt death so close to her, just turned around and prepared to flee, but Snake Eyes, who had not yet been cut off from her, was suddenly covered with a layer of black and white filter——

The next moment, deep in Barbara's consciousness, a pair of beautiful and cold eyes slowly opened.

"!!!"

In the silent scream, Barbara, with her own death image in her mind, did not even bother to put on her clothes, and with bloodshot eyes she broke open the door of the central room and fled. However, no matter how fast she ran, the two yin-yang eyes that had established a connection with her lingered like maggots on the tarsus, staring coldly at the corpse in the future tense.

In addition to her own death, Barbara also saw more cruel realities from those eyes...

She saw that the entrances and exits leading to the ground were blocked and suppressed one after another.

She saw people who had come much closer to escaping death than she had, falling and dying.

She saw the figure that she had wanted so much at a certain moment slowly take steps and efficiently carry out the desperate and unstoppable slaughter.

She saw a tangible rage sweeping out, melting, devouring, and burning her, but in the next moment she suddenly realized that it was just a reflection of the eyes deep in her mind.

What she felt was not the instant understanding she had of the half-dragon man, but the glimpse of the owner of those eyes.

But the emotion carried by this mere glimpse was of a weight that Barbara Stoll could never understand or properly recognize.

She could only vaguely feel that it was some kind of warm and beautiful existence that she had abandoned long ago.

As for why the owner of those eyes did not hide this beauty in front of Barbara, and carefully hide that soft privacy——

Of course, a corpse is of little importance no matter how much you know.

"Ugh."

The next moment, Barbara, who had just run around a corner, trembled slightly and met the eyes of a pair of deep purple vertical pupils.

Like a breeze blowing, dozens of streaks of blood burst out from the surface of Barbara's body, all of which were fatal blows.

[Why... should I use my eyes to peek at him? ]

This was the last thought that flashed through Barbara's mind as the darkness called death gradually engulfed everything and was about to plunge her into eternal sleep.

Then, she died.

……

[Year 9571 of the Holy Calendar, Moon of Light, 2nd Day of Chant, at sunset
Hero, pulled out the giant snake's first fang.

——"Speculative Epic·Heroic Volume: Beginning" Chapter 3/Section 5]

Chapter 2550: The End