adventurers in the sewers

Louis's idea was wonderful, but unfortunately, suitable commissions were hard to find.

He could only continue doing his old job, earning only eighteen copper coins a day.

As he became more familiar with the sewer environment, his efficiency in finding corpses also improved, but he only found ordinary corpses.

Serendipitous encounters don't happen every day.

Today's gains, aside from increasing proficiency in several life skills, only include +1 to Basic Swordsmanship and +1 to Sensing.

He also unlocked a new life profession called "Styling".

Simply put, the beauty and hairdressing profession is in a bad state; even barber shop apprentices are leaving to become adventurers.

Louis felt that if he continued to unlock his career path, he could open a vocational school all by himself.

As evening approached, after storing his equipment, Louis remembered that today was the third day that Denna had gone out of town to carry out her commission.

He specifically asked the receptionist if she had seen any of Daina's team return, and received a negative answer.

Louis wasn't in a hurry. Tomorrow was the expected return date for Dina, and it was normal for her to be delayed by one or two days on the road.

For the next two days, Louis continued to loot the corpses.

In the past two days, he has not been able to gain any more attribute points to improve his abilities. He has only gained life profession proficiency and occasionally skill proficiency.

He earned a total of thirty-three copper coins over two days, bringing his savings to 204 copper coins.

"Mr. Louis, there is something I feel I need to tell you."

As the receptionist pushed the reward money towards Louis, she said:

"Based on the relics, the guild has confirmed the identity of that veteran adventurer."

"His name was Ethan, and he had not accepted any commissions from the guild in the two weeks before his death."

"But during this time, he appears to have worked for a private employer and was investigating something before his death, which may be why he died in the sewer."

Louis paused for a moment, then frowned slightly.

Hired to investigate something, but the investigation ended up in the sewers?

Could there be some incredible secret hidden in the sewers of Blackrock City?

Louis shook his head, suppressing his wandering thoughts. Some people's secrets were none of his concern; he just wanted to find a place with lots of corpses and quietly search them.

However, there was something more noteworthy for Louis.

It's been almost two days past their scheduled return date, but there's still no sign of Daina's team.

Could something really have gone wrong?

Louis didn't have any special feelings for the down-on-her-luck heiress from the merchant guild; he just didn't want to see a good person get into trouble.

Moreover, if Dina returns safely, she will not only give him money, but may also introduce him to the Warriors Association, so he can't help but take it seriously.

But if something really happens to someone, there's not much he can do.

Leaving the Adventurers' Guild, Louis headed towards home. Halfway there, he realized he was not far from the original site of the Hughes Merchant Guild.

"Perhaps Dina has already returned, but just hasn't reported to the guild."

Louis thought about it and decided to go and see the original site of the Chamber of Commerce.

Although Daina's home is no longer there, that down-on-her-luck young lady might return to her old home to reminisce.

Louis took a detour and soon arrived at his destination.

It has been more than a month since the Hughes Chamber of Commerce went bankrupt. A new chamber of commerce called "Tequila" has opened on its original site and is doing quite well, with people coming and going at the entrance.

Louis stood by the roadside for a while, but couldn't find Dina.

Was it really not such a coincidence?

Even if she had been there, the chances of the two of them bumping into each other were extremely small.

Louis decided to give up looking for the person and turned around to take a shortcut home.

But as he passed through a small alley, he suddenly heard the sleazy laughter of thugs and the feeble curses of a young girl coming from the end of the alley.

The girl's voice sounded very familiar.

Louis's eyes flickered, and he headed toward the dark, narrow alley.

Deep in the alley, four thugs cornered Dai Na.

The surrounded girl sat against the corner of the wall, her leather armor tattered, with two shocking bloody holes on her right hand and left calf, which were not covered by armor.

The two injuries had clearly been there for several days, and were already showing signs of suppuration and ulceration.

Dai Na clenched her intact left hand into a fist, glaring fiercely at the four thugs in front of her like a little tiger.

The girl felt a chill run down her spine from the other person's evil gaze.

"Miss Dai Na, it's been over a month since I last saw you. How have you gotten into such a state? It's so pitiful."

"Perfect timing! Our Black Scorpion Gang's newly opened shop is short of a top performer. Your former status as a chamber of commerce heiress is sure to attract a lot of customers. Are you interested in working here? We can heal your injuries for free."

The leader of the thugs advised him in a tone that seemed to be saying, "It's for your own good."

Dai Na gritted her teeth and shouted, "Get out!"

The gang leader sneered:

"He's got quite a temper; looks like he needs a few more days of discipline. Come on, take him back!"

"Yes, boss!"

The three thugs chuckled and rubbed their hands together as they approached the girl.

Dai Na lowered her eyes and quietly reached for her waist, where a palm-sized dagger was hidden.

She was already half-crippled and lacked the confidence to take down all four adults at once. All she could do was take down one or two of them by surprise before ending her own life.

That way, at least she won't have to endure the terrible torture that awaits her later.

"I'm sorry, Louis... I broke my promise..."

In the final moments of her life, the girl felt no fear, only deep self-reproach.

Just as Daina was preparing to fight to the death, a calm voice rang out from the alleyway:

"Excuse me, could you please let my friend go?"

Instantly, everyone turned their gaze toward the direction from which the sound came.

Upon seeing who it was, Dai Na's eyes widened in shock, and she gasped in surprise:

"Louis?"

Louis nodded to the blue-haired girl, then looked at the four thugs again. Each of them was very tall and looked like a seasoned street fighter.

"If you're working for the Black Scorpion Gang, get lost!"

The gang leader said coldly.

Black Scorpion Gang...never heard of them, but they seem to be some kind of gang in the city.

Is it a gang? If we don't deal with it thoroughly, won't the older members come after the younger ones?

Louis lowered his head and fell into deep thought.

"Are you deaf when our boss talks to you?"

A thug pulled a short knife from his sleeve, strode arrogantly up to Louis, and raised his hand to stab the tip of the knife into Louis's forehead.

The former's movements were quite nonchalant, clearly showing that he didn't take the slender Louis seriously.

It seemed that in his eyes, as long as he could scare the kid in front of him, he would run away like a frightened rabbit.

However, in the next instant, Louis's hand shot out like lightning, grabbed the thug's wrist, twisted it, and pushed it away.

The sharp tip of the knife pierced the other person's neck to the hilt.

Without uttering a sound, the thug collapsed to the ground, blood gushing out like a fountain.

When Louis picked up the knife that had fallen to the ground, the other three thugs belatedly realized what was happening and were instantly filled with shock and anger.

"You know we're from the Black Scorpion Gang and you still dare to attack? You're asking for death!"

Louis remained silent, then touched the lifeless thug.

[You have picked up the corpse of a 'Black Scorpion Gang member'. Attributes: Concentration +1, Extraordinary +0.3]

Wow, the Black Scorpion gang members are pretty good. Even the lowest-ranking henchmen have one or two basic stats that are stronger than ordinary people, and they also have a small amount of magic power stored up.

Today will be another bountiful harvest.