Don't move, it's a robbery!

Linde City is a good place. It experienced war 10 years ago, a plague 5 years ago, a beast tide 3 years ago, a rebellion 1 year ago, several cults emerged 6 months ago, and last month it was invaded by orcs.

After so many disasters, there are still survivors in the city!

"Hey, bro, are you still alive?"

"Nonsense, can't you see I'm doing serious business?"

"Just being alive is good enough. Stand still! This is a robbery!"

I went up and hit him with a stick, making this thug scream in pain.

As a robber, I have one principle: no matter who they are, if I encounter them when I want to rob them, they'll have to pay me half. However, under normal circumstances, I'll only rob anyone once, because everyone has their bottom line.

The prerequisite is that the other party has to be honest and can't lie to me.

This thug in front of me was very dishonest. He said he wanted to pay money, but actually he was preparing to draw his knife. I've seen this trick many times before. I hit him with a stick and broke his arm.

"Ahhhhh!"

This soldier seemed to be a tough guy; even after I broke his arm, he only let out a muffled groan.

What? You're asking where the screams come from?

That was the cry from the robbed vendor next door.

Incidentally, it wasn't me who robbed the vendor, but this scoundrel of a soldier.

Yes, I'm doing the dirty work.

After witnessing my methods, the thug became obedient. He cursed me under his breath, then took out his money pouch. I was satisfied, and then gave him another whack with the stick.

Why did you hit me?

"Because you weren't honest. You clearly hid several other pockets, thinking I didn't know, right? I've been watching you for a long time."

As I mentioned before, my rule is to only rob half and only once, provided that the victim is honest with me. So when I'm short of money, I like these dishonest guys because that way I can rob a little more.

After I hit him a few more times, he handed over all his belongings, including his armor and the knife hidden in his sleeve. Considering that I had broken both his hands, I took care of taking off his clothes for him.

"**&!@#%"

Because my jawbone was broken, the soldier's words are now unintelligible to others, but he must be expressing his gratitude to me.

"You're welcome, it's all I should do."

The thug was already rolling his eyes, looking quite angry. I couldn't be bothered to pay him any more attention and turned to look at the vendor who had just been robbed.

"Stop howling, it's your turn. Hand over the stuff."

"Huh? You're trying to rob me?"

"Yes! I'm a robber! I'm a very disciplined person; I rob everyone at least once. Don't worry, I only rob money. As long as you're honest with me, I'll only take half from you."

The vendor was a little confused, then said that all his money had been stolen by the thugs, and now he was completely clean; the thief could only find two holes in his pockets.

I nodded and took out the things I had stolen from the thug.

Which one is yours?

"Oh, this gray bag."

I opened the bag, poured out the money and counted it, then put about half of the money back in and tossed the bag back to him.

"You can get out now."

"what?"

"What, you don't understand what I'm saying? Or do you have some objection to my method of wealth distribution?"

"No, no! Thank you, thank you!"

He bowed to me, then ran away without looking back.

What an idiot! He didn't even open the purse to count the coins. I secretly took two extra silver coins, and he didn't know. He thought I really only took half.

Seeing me grinning like an idiot, 'West Copper' gave me a helpless look.

(。_。): "I'm used to it, I'm used to it."

I had a great start as soon as I entered the city. I felt very lucky and was sure that I could make a name for myself here.

My next plan is to expand and strengthen my banditry business, build my reputation, and instill genuine fear in others, so much so that they will give up resistance and obediently hand over their money the moment they see me.

I used to do very well in Fart. All the locals knew about me, the number one bandit. Every time I went to rob someone, they would obediently prepare cash. Some passing caravans were even willing to pay me protection money.

However, collecting protection money is actually a losing proposition.

I tried to rob them once before. I secretly followed them the whole way, worried that they would be attacked or that something might happen to them. I didn't even get a good night's sleep, let alone go on a robbery. Afterwards, I did the math and realized that I could have used the time I wasted to rob several big businesses.

What? You're asking me why I'm protecting them? Because I got protection money! If I don't protect them properly, won't I have to pay them back? I'm not going to do something as unethical as taking money and not doing the job.

So later I simply stopped collecting protection fees; let whoever wants to do this unprofitable business do it.

But I'm also very curious. I've heard that the gangs in the city live off protection money. How do they make a profit?

Let's not dwell on the past. My most important task now is to find a safe place to rest. I used to choose the mountains and forests, but I'm unfamiliar with this area, and I've heard there are many wild beasts and monsters in the wild, so I plan to find a place to stay in the city first.

I won't go to a hotel. What kind of robber stays in a hotel? Anyway, Linde City is so chaotic, there must be plenty of empty houses. I can find a place to stay anywhere.

My idea was good, but I wasn't the only one eyeing such a free and stable property.

I had just found a decent place to stay when I discovered I had several more discreet neighbors.

Since I'm new here, I definitely need to figure out who these people are and if they have anything special about them. Otherwise, not to mention whether I can manage the neighborhood relations, I might even get kidnapped in the middle of the night.

I am not exaggerating, especially when it comes to kidnapping in the middle of the night. It is definitely not an exaggeration.

Because I do it all the time myself!

There are many ways to find out about your neighbors. For example, you can bring some local specialties when you visit them and subtly inquire about their lives; or you can collect their garbage and determine the number of people living there and their lifestyle by observing the quantity and type of garbage.

However, I did not use any of those methods. Instead, I took advantage of the night to climb into their house and look directly inside.

As mentioned earlier, I often sneak into people's homes and kidnap them in the middle of the night while they are sleeping. As long as I hit them on the head, even insomniacs will enjoy a baby-like sleep.

The first neighbor seemed normal enough; they appeared to be just a few ordinary fugitives. Judging from the bloodstains still on their weapons, I knew they weren't exactly innocent.

Then I tied them all up; after all, it's always good to strike first.

"Waaah~"

After I tied him up, one of the big guys wasn't very well-behaved and tried to send a message to his companions. He didn't know that I had tied up everyone else first before tying him up.

"Thump!"

Being young is great; you can fall asleep as soon as your head hits the pillow.

I should have started the interrogation by now, but considering that I haven't visited a few neighbors yet, I can only postpone it a little. Anyway, they are sleeping soundly, and there's no need to disturb their peaceful dreams.

The second household had a slightly larger population, a total of eight people. It took me quite a bit of effort to knock them all unconscious. Only after I finished the basic work did I have time to check their belongings. I discovered that they all carried some strange little statues, seemingly adhering to some strange religion.

Judging from the props and ritual implements they prepared, it seems they are planning to hold some kind of ceremony.

It's not a big problem; at most, it'll involve human sacrifices or something.

To prevent these people from using any strange tricks, I deliberately tightened my grip when tying them up. Luckily, they all fainted, otherwise they would have been woken up by the pain.

The third household had only one resident, but the man seemed to have a peculiar hobby: raising many pigeons. I also saw several mailboxes near the pigeon coop, but since I couldn't read, I couldn't understand the contents on them at all.

"So, what exactly does it say up there?"

"Waaaaah~"

"Oh, sorry, I forgot your mouth was gagged."

I helped him fall asleep quickly, and then we went to the last neighbor's house.

Similar to the third neighbor, this neighbor also lived alone, and was a woman. It was the middle of the night, and she wasn't sleeping; she was dressed in a flamboyant manner, looking like she was about to go out.

I thought she worked in the service industry and was getting ready to go to work. The thought that I hadn't been with a woman in my 18 years suddenly gave me the urge to go downstairs and spend some money.

I just don't know how much she charges, or if I can afford her services.

However, I quickly realized I was wrong; this woman was actually heading towards the cemetery. Whatever she did for a living, she certainly wasn't there for prostitution. After all, even the most hardened person wouldn't choose to seek out prostitutes in a cemetery—there are no customers there!

Because of my previous misjudgment, I failed to keep up in time and missed the opportunity to track her. I can only deal with it after she returns.

Anyway, I still have three households to deal with, so one more won't make a difference.

Looking at the dozen or so people I had searched from three households, I couldn't help but shake my head and sigh.

Sure enough, this kind of uninhabited place is too dangerous. Look at all these monsters! Luckily I struck first, otherwise I don't know what they would have done to me.

But since I'm already here, I have to do what a bandit does and plunder their valuables.

Hehehehehe~

(。_。): "I think you're much scarier than them, and don't you feel that the guy we just let go was the most dangerous one among them?"

I didn't take Xi Tong's words to heart. Of course I knew the woman who ran away was suspicious, but what did that have to do with me? If she was really dangerous, wouldn't I get hurt if I went to her?

Even if I really have to take action, can't I wait until daytime?

These nocturnal creatures, whether human or ghost, definitely need to rest during the day. So I'll visit them during the day to exchange neighborhood feelings. Isn't that great?