"Let me introduce myself. I'm Aalto, an intelligence merchant. As long as you pay enough, I can get you any piece of information." Aalto adjusted his sunglasses and spoke confidently.
Lucian scoffed. "Tch… You dare spout such nonsense without even knowing my name?"
Aalto curled his lips into a cold smile. "Are you really as impressive as the forums say?"
Before Lucian could reply, Encore tugged at his sleeve.
"Big brother, you still haven't answered me. Do you want to join the Black Shores?"
Lucian sighed regretfully. "I already have an organization."
Aalto was taken aback. "Are you a member of the Fractsidus?"
Lucian shook his head. "Actually, I'm from the West Shores. People in the underworld call me Tupac!"
"W-West Shores?" Encore was stunned. She turned to Aalto. "What's the relationship between the West Shores and our Black Shores?"
"West Shores?" Aalto eyed Lucian skeptically.
Then, he noticed Lucian's lips trembling as he struggled to hold back laughter.
Aalto instantly realized what was happening. "Oh, you! Making up stories again, aren't you?"
As an intelligence merchant, Aalto had encountered all sorts of people.
There were plenty who spouted nonsense, but even they at least mixed truth with lies, making it hard to discern reality.
But this Lucian? Not a single word out of his mouth was true!
"Encore, stop trying to recruit him. Someone who lies through his teeth like this can't possibly join the Black Shores!"
Lucian wore an expression of being the only sober one in a drunk world. "Let me tell you the truth I'm actually an intelligence merchant too."
"…?"
Aalto pushed his sunglasses down slightly with a finger, revealing his amber-yellow pupils. He wanted to see just how shameless this guy could be!
Chixia: "You really have a lot of identities, huh!"
"Do you know who Magistrate Jinhsi is looking for right now?" Lucian asked pointedly.
"Oh? Don't tell me you're going to say it's you?"
"Of course not. Though I am the embodiment of strength and wisdom, Magistrate Jinhsi is looking for someone else."
"Oh? Care to elaborate?"
This piqued Aalto's interest. After all, he already knew that the person Magistrate Jinhsi was searching for was the same one he was looking for he just hadn't found them yet.
After Magistrate Jinhsi's city-wide announcement, there must be some clues by now.
"Tsk tsk tsk." Lucian clicked his tongue and rubbed his thumb and forefinger together.
"You mean… you want money?"
"Of course. This is exclusive intel from the future top editor of the Jinya Forum."
"I don't believe you. How do I know you're not just making things up again?"
"Hey, I actually traveled with that person for a while. If you don't believe me, ask her." Lucian pointed at Chixia.
"Traveled together?" Aalto glanced skeptically between Chixia and Lucian.
He knew Chixia she was a Patrol Officer of Jinzhou with a good reputation among the people. If both of them had traveled with that person, they probably weren't lying.
After a brief hesitation, Aalto relented. "Fine. Name your price."
Lucian smiled in satisfaction and held up two fingers.
He felt a little bad about lying, but fake intel was still intel!
Two hundred thousand wasn't too much, right?
That was more than two days' earnings from the Don't Bully the Young and Poor talent!
Enough for thirty-three bowls of Jinzhou stew!
"Two million? Deal."
Aalto figured that if he could get intel on that person, two million Shell Credits were nothing.
And since they'd traveled together, they must have noticed something unusual about them.
Calling it "exclusive intel" wasn't an exaggeration.
Lucian was taken aback he'd meant two hundred thousand but he quickly recovered.
"Deal!"
After pocketing the two million Shell Credits, Lucian was visibly excited. He decided to throw in a bit of truth, so he cleared his throat.
Ahem.
"Listen closely."
"There is a woman in the mountains, bereft of memory, knowing neither her name nor her origins."
"One day, she encountered two citizens of Jinzhou, named Xia and Yang, who, seeing her disoriented state, they approached with kindness and inquired of her circumstances. The woman, lost and uncertain, could offer no answers. The citizens of Jinzhou then invited her to travel with them, and the woman, moved by their kindness, agreed."
"Their journey led them to a Tacet Field, where they crossed paths with Zhi and Cian. But before they could exchange greetings, within the area, a monster stirred trouble. Though the woman had lost her memory, her sense of justice remained unshaken."
"With a howl of eerie wind, the monster appeared. It was massive in stature, ferocious in visage, baring fangs and brandishing claws as it lunged forward."
"The woman, calm and unhurried, drew the sword at her waist and met it head on. A flash of blade light, and she clashed with the monster. Yang, too, was undaunted and then joined the fray, brandishing her own sword to fight alongside the woman. Though the monster was fierce, it was no match for the bravery of the two…"
Lucian's voice rose and fell with dramatic flair, leaving his audience utterly enthralled no less captivated than if they were listening to one of Jinzhou's storytellers.
Encore tugged at Lucian's sleeve. "And then? And then?!"
"To know what happens next, tune in next time!"
Encore: "…?"
Aalto: "…?"
Chixia: "…"
"That's it? Two million for that? Two hundred words? So one word is worth ten thousand Shell Credits?!"
"Knowledge is priceless, my child. You should feel honored to have obtained so much intel for just two million Shell Credits."
"Honored my ass! Give me back my two million!" Aalto made a show of reaching for his weapon.
"Hey, hey, wait—"
Lucian shook off Encore's grip and ducked behind Chixia, pointing at her.
"Do you know who she is?"
Aalto paused mid-draw. "Yeah? Patroller Chixia?"
"And you still dare attack? Besides, this is Jinzhou, not your so-called West Shores!"
"Black Shores!" Encore corrected.
Aalto snorted coldly. "You're nothing but a swindler. Even if I take action, I'm sure Jinzhou will see justice done."
Oh ho! This guy's got some nerve!
Daring to disregard my dear Chixia like that?!
[Ding! Option triggered!]
[Option 1: Leave with Chixia. Reward: Talent 'Old but Tough']
[Option 2: Leave Chixia behind and escape alone. Reward: The Best Cremation Service]
[Option 3: Fight Aalto. Reward: 50,000 Shell Credits]
Lucian scoffed. "What goes around comes around. Just you wait!"
As much as he wanted to see whether Aalto's gun was faster or his Comrade's Hammer was stronger, he still had to humor the system. Compared to 50,000 Shell Credits, this Old but Tough talent was far more intriguing.
After throwing down his threat, Lucian scooped Chixia into a princess carry and activated Running in Style, vanishing from Aalto's sight in an instant.
Aalto withdrew his hand. Truthfully, he hadn't actually planned to do anything just scare Lucian a bit.
"Why does it sound like he's the victim here? I'm the one who got scammed out of two million!"
Encore sighed regretfully. "Ah… Big brother's gone."
"Good riddance. Even if those two million were a bit of a waste, it wasn't completely useless…"