In the Swan Continent, the composition of a typical non-royal capital town is like this-

Aristocrats, bishops, great merchants, and high-ranking professionals together made up the top class of a city; Through the system of city guards, churches, chambers of commerce, mercenary groups, and government officials, they spread their influence to the middle and lower layers of the city.

And the real order at the bottom is actually laissez-faire, and it is generally controlled by gangs by default.

In those stories, ordinary people have an accident and find the city guards to administer justice...... In fact, it doesn't exist, and the city guards don't care about these things. Not to mention being wronged, how dare the people at the bottom? The worst people who can do this are the citizens who live in Midtown.

And gangs are often part of this city's management system – where there is light, there is shadow.

Until the economy could sustain a large civil service that could reach out to the grassroots, it was an open secret that the aristocracy controlled the lower classes through gangs.

However, this control had to exclude first the families radiated by the nobility and the city guards, then the small craftsmen who joined the chamber of commerce, then some people who were protected by the church, and then the professions who were in groups...... In the end, the only people who can be truly controlled by the gang are the poorest group of people, half-slave sub-human tribes, and unemployed vagrants.

The port of Chintil is one such port town.

*****

In the evening, in the harbor area, the night is low, and the ships lower their sails and drop anchor.

A fast-paced sound of the piano wafted out of the tavern, tickling the hearts of the sailors who had left work.

Just listening to the sound of the piano, they seemed to be able to imagine the tinkling of dice rolling on the table, the passionate prostitutes with their big white breasts exposed, and the contents of the cups that made people worry about their stomachs. After a tiring day, go to the tavern for a drink, play with two dice, and brag about it by the way!

That's life's fun! It's a life that's hard to refuse.

The man of the Gu family had left the dock gloomily and walked towards the gray street; The man who didn't care walked to the tavern with his toes in high spirits, running to the only light.

Even if your pockets are just as clean tomorrow morning, at least tonight will be different.

"I wonder if Sherlock actually cut off a pound of Antonio's flesh...... "Many people still wonder about the story they heard yesterday in the tavern - this is one of the reasons why the sailors can't let go, and the story told by the bard lately is so wonderful!

The story of "The Merchant of Venice" has no market in most parts of the Penrin Peninsula - because the merchants of this world are very self-contained.

They belong to the same class that has been exploited by the aristocracy, and if they disagree, they will be robbed legally, and it is difficult for real profiteers to be born in this kind of soil.

Only in the docklands is that this story is so popular among sailors! Because for businessmen with meager profits, it is almost their natural instinct to squeeze the cost of sailors, so the people who hate merchants the most are also sailors. The story almost goes to their hearts, and a few copper plates that exploit them are about as painful as cutting off a pound of flesh from Antonio.

When a few sailors walked into the tavern, they couldn't help but feel a wave of discouragement.

Because I was a little hesitant about my wallet before, I came in a little late. Halfway through the story of the bard, the scantily clad prostitutes were already full of people—most of them couldn't sleep, but not too many wanted to fool around.

"Beer, grilled fish, and dice!" They yelled at the hostess, then sat down by the door, and began to roll the dice while listening to the story with their ears pricked up.

Before I knew it, the time was mixed up to eight or nine o'clock, and the tavern became more and more lively, and some people were even standing and drinking. At this point, the bard had finally finished singing the day's story, and he collected a circle of money from his hat, and returned to his exclusive seat at the bar for dinner.

There is a benefit to sitting far away, although the tavern is lively and the story cannot be heard clearly, so there is no need to throw money at the poet...... Just be thick-skinned.

This is the daily life of the docks, and after a stable order has been formed, even the gang management can keep most people alive.

There are gangs behind the prostitutes, there are gangs behind the sailors, even the bards...... I've heard that someone said hello too. Everyone works together to empty the money in their pockets and work hard to earn it the next day. It's a day-to-day cycle, and as long as someone has a little brain, no one will do anything to kill chickens and eggs.

*****

"Jean! Anything new? Tell me about it! "Seeing that the bard had eaten about the same dinner, someone took the opportunity to heckle and said that this is free. Compared to these dock sailors, bards are already an enviable profession.

At least in their opinion, as long as they have a flexible tongue, they can be "free" and go wherever they want.

Just like Jean, this young man is not stationed in this dock tavern, he travels around several nearby cities to make money, and I hear that he is the lover of a noble lady! It's really an enviable life.

"King Xiuvariet is about to go north, who dares to make trouble at this time, hehe." Jean put down the cutlery and said, but after a moment of thought, he said, "But speaking of which, something really happened in Schellschal lately!" ”

"Talk about it, talk about it! What a big deal, who died! "As soon as I heard that it was a big deal, it happened in the nearby town of Shershale, and everyone's eyes lit up! Even the bar owner is like that.

Don't look at the bar owner, who also sells information, but he also heard it from customers - in these days, no one is as well-informed as a bard!

"Ahem~" Jean lowered his head and coughed twice.

"Give Jean a beer, please!" There are local tyrants who are generous, which attracts applause.

After taking a refreshing sip of beer, the young man Jean continued with a smile on his face. "Do you know the Black Tigers of Schershale? That's the big gang in town! Than us, we ...... I'm sorry, I won't give an example, in short, it's very big! ”

His words caused a burst of laughter, everyone knew that he didn't dare to offend the gangs in the city, but it would be too cowardly not to even mention his name! Look, I dare to scold #¥%@#¥%@帮...... I'm not slurring, I'm just drinking too much.

"Tell me quickly, what about the Black Tiger Gang?"

"It's gone!" Jean slapped the table and waved his hands exaggeratedly like a storyteller, "Overnight, the Black Tiger Gang disappeared!" The whole gang heard that there were more than 30 professionals who disappeared overnight! There is no one in life, and there is no corpse in death! ”

"No, it won't! So scary? "The tavern was much quieter, and many people looked at each other! More than 30 professionals...... I'm afraid that in the port of Gentir, it can also be ranked in the top five, no wonder Jean didn't dare to give an example just now.

"What the hell is that...... What happened? After a while, someone asked expectantly.

Jean took a big sip of wine to suppress his startle before he had a heart to say the answer. "I heard that they provoked a bunch of werewolves! It turns out that the Black Tiger Gang has been partnering with werewolves and quietly doing smuggling business. Those werewolves are fierce, but they are honest in business. But this Black Tiger Gang doesn't know if they have committed any evil, and they want to take the opportunity to swallow the werewolf's share!

As a result, during the siege, they killed several werewolves, but let the young master of the werewolves escape. Then he was brought back by the werewolf young master and killed the Black Tiger Gang! I heard that even the corpses were eaten...... That's a werewolf! Cannibalism! Alas~ miserable, really miserable! ”

Jean shook his head as he spoke, and in a moment he was so drunk that he was carried behind by the tavern's proprietress .

When the sailors in the tavern heard the news, they also made a statement.

"You say it's not good to make money quietly? I had to be greedy for money, and I ended up getting myself into it. "One by one, they all feel worthless for the short-sightedness of the Black Tiger Gang. Speaking of smuggling business, I can't help but YY, how good it would be for werewolves to cooperate with me.

It's hard for subhumans to do business in human cities - I'm going to keep the purchase price down at most, and I'm sure I can't offend them to death......

The sailors were frowning and foaming at the mouth, as if they were already the masters of a gang.

There was only a middle-aged man sitting in the corner with a scar, who had been listening silently. When he found that there was no new information, he dropped the copper plate and left unobtrusively.

*****

"Boss! About this business......" The middle-aged man with a scarface bowed to the man in the seat and said with some hesitation.

"What's wrong with business?" The leader of the Water Shark Gang in the seat raised his head and looked at his subordinates with a pair of white and black eyes.

"I heard a not-so-good news...... Scarface thought for a moment, retelling what he had heard in the tavern, not daring to add any embellishments.

"Black Tiger Gang?" The gang leader thought about it, but he didn't have any impression - although he had been to Schelshale a few times, he must have been a man with his tail between his legs when he arrived on someone else's territory, and he didn't dare to inquire about the news, so he really didn't know the depth of the Black Tiger Gang.

However, there are actually more than 30 good players, and the strength must be above the Water Shark Gang, and it must not be underestimated!

"Is the news confirmed?"

"That bard is a familiar face, he's been running back and forth in several nearby towns, everyone knows him, he's still a ...... we help" The middle-aged man with Scarface thought for a moment, but couldn't remember when Jean appeared...... It's been a few years, maybe it grew up nearby.

So it's a fellow, it's trustworthy. So he added, "No problem!" ”

"Well, I got it...... The arrangement on the other side of the dock, let's withdraw it first. "The helper felt a headache." Werewolf, what a nuisance! He remembered the wolf eyes of the young man opposite him every time he traded with him, and he believed it in his heart!

In fact, the so-called gangsters are all handwritten papers of aristocratic lords.

Some time ago, for the sake of family security, Lord Baron wanted to form a team of private soldiers, and let the Water Shark Gang find a channel to help buy military weapons from smuggling channels. And the Water Shark Gang was introduced to the wolf-eyed boy.