"How did he drink like this again? Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ”

In the abandoned house of the second district of the lower city, Quaid's deputy, Nar Rick, looked in disgust at Quaid, who was clutching a bottle of wine and drunk into a puddle of mud, and waved his hand to the two young Brotherhood members to help him down.

"Lock him up for a day, and then release him when he is sober. ”

Drinking like this—it seemed like he didn't treat the kid well—Rick (who preferred to be called by his first name rather than his first name) smiled mysteriously.

Nar Rick, unlike Quaid, who has regressed in power and has fallen from a thug leader to a beggar business, and has since collapsed, he is an ambitious and capable member of the Brotherhood.

He had studied at the Accounting Academy in the city of Shuca in the south of the kingdom, and if it weren't for his father, who was a scribe, Rick might have been an accountant in a city department or even a family by now, and it was not impossible for him to become a businessman in a certain industry. When the time comes, if he spends money to buy a lord, he will be able to enter the first order of the upper class of the Star Kingdom - three hundred years ago, wasn't the Shukader family marked by the sunrise flower born in this way, and now it is also a famous family that is important in the kingdom?

But even after becoming a gangster and cutting off the path of nobility forever, Rick believes that he is more qualified to be a voice in the fraternity than his peers who have muscles and women in their heads.

When the Brotherhood's business expanded to the southern coast of the kingdom, Rick, a southern thug, was recruited and used his expertise to orchestrate several human trafficking chains from the south to the capital, and with great success, the Brotherhood's higher-ups noticed him and promoted him to Eternal Star City, the capital of the kingdom, the heart of the stars, and the shining pearl city of the western continent, and put him in charge of the Brotherhood's beggar accounts in the capital.

Yes, Rick knew that although the higher-ups had made themselves Quaid's deputies and bookkeepers, they were tantamount to entrusting them with all the Brotherhood's beggar business in Eternal Star City. Look at his "boss" Quaid, a terrible thug who made a name for himself with a knife and axe in the old Lower City Third District, and now a waste who only finds dignity in beggars, and if it weren't for Quaid being the son of some brotherhood executive, he would have been trampled under the sludge of the slums of Eternal Star City and drowned.

What's more, most of the loss of beggars is caused by him.

Of course, it is also fortunate that Quaid's father will give him a lot of points every month, and Rick can profit from it.

There is such a son, if Quaid's father had not been the magnate in charge of the arms deal, he would have lost ground in the guild long ago.

What happens when a gangster loses power?

Rick shook his head and watched Quaid leave.

And the beggar business, compared with the smuggling of drugs and arms, compared with the transaction of eternal oil and leaching mines, even compared to the collection of black accounts and the management of the street, it is inconspicuous and lowly.

But Rick thinks this is his chance.

Brotherhoods rose quickly, but human trafficking has been a major source of profit. The Brotherhood's human trafficking chain is complete, from babies to the elderly, humans to elves, and even intelligent beings from the distant realm of the Magical Empress. But the most important thing is actually the source of the brotherhood's own members, among them, the babies and toddlers are collected and raised by the "black-hearted widow" Beth, and some of them are sold at the same time, and the older ones will be sent to Rick here, "beaten" into beggars, and the older ones, teenage beggars, will be sent to the hands of "Ironskin" Locke, who is responsible for training thugs, "Flower Heart" Belicia, who trains prostitutes, and some other special leaders, and then sharpen them to become members of the brotherhood.

Therefore, Rick, who manages the beggars, believes that he is in the fundamental chain of the Brotherhood's population business, and at the same time, it is also the delivery node of the Brotherhood's future blood, and it is also attached to the gossip intelligence network on the streets of the capital. Think about it, he is a new member of all the future fraternities, the leader of the fraternity that he saw when he first remembered, he can see which people are promising seedlings in his childhood, and then give grace at the right time, and ...... in the future

See, so, I'm Nar Rick, I'm an ambitious man.

And, moreover, Rick is always very excited when he thinks about this: and this is Eternal Star City! Star Kingdom, the capital of the second largest kingdom in the Western Continent, the origin of the Black Street Brotherhood, to be able to do things here, it means that the bigwigs in the Brotherhood can always see it, and if you can see it, it means that you always have a chance to be promoted.

Of course, the chances of causing trouble are not small.

Fortunately, Rick raised his eyebrows with his hands behind his back, looked at the drunken Quaid in the distance, and fortunately this guy was in trouble.

Under the moonlight, Rick turned his head and continued walking, looking at the more than two dozen abandoned houses in front of him, he knew that there were a lot of beggars in each abandoned house, and these were the most important seedlings and chips for him to climb up in the future.

For example, the dark-haired Tails in the sixth room showed a different attitude towards the child when Beth in charge of the baby brought him in two years ago.

Sure enough, to this day, the kid is only eight years old (eight or seven?), but he is clever and cunning, and a week ago he actually wanted to play the trick of begging - a cute child is beaten up by the other big kids, and robs him of money and food, so that when he hides in the corner and weeps alone, the passing ladies always can't help but compensate him more - Rick thinks to himself, compared to the beggars who cry hoarsely and make people tired, there is a shortage of such brains in the gang.

This child, when he grows up, will definitely climb higher.

He should give him a reward to earn Tails' gratitude, of course, a reward without contrast will not make people grateful.

That's why, when the boy in Tails' room tonight tells him that Tails may have hidden the money, Rick will ask Quaid to settle accounts with him. When Quaid beats Tails to the deathbed, and then intervenes to stop it, and even goes against Quaid for this (that waste is only of this use), then Tails will consciously or unconsciously use himself as a backer.

Rick doesn't care whether every beggar's money is paid in full, this is something that short-sighted people will care about, compared to a few copper money, Rick knows that human favor is the more important property.

But the boy - Tails was still too smart, and Rick knew that Tails would torture him to death whether or not he had paid Quaid (and if Tails did come up with the money, it would have been worse), but apparently the boy had escaped this fate - and it was normal to understand that the high-spirited Quaid would "elaborately" concoct these disobedient children to help the fun, whether they were really disobedient or not.

It doesn't matter, what needs to be done is still to be done, even if the effect is not good, it's a big deal, just find another reason and let Quaid beat him.

Rick walked to the sixth room and stepped over the broken door.

He saw that in the overgrown yard, Tails was panting and lying on the ground, and a few children next to him were smearing him with something--oh my God, how could a few seven, eight, or nine-year-old children actually grow Ouldron leaves in the yard? Usually only experienced gangsters and poor people who have lived for many years know that this wild plant can be used as a convenient, quick, and inexpensive herb for the treatment of trauma.

"Ahh

Quaid had been gone for less than an hour, and the fear in the courtyard had not yet dissipated, and Ned, the boy who had been informing, had tears on his face, Kellett covered his black face, and the older child, Sinti, took a step back with a cower.

The youngest girl, in particular, even screamed in fright.

At the beginning, Beth instructed that this is a hereditary noble descendant, and it is very likely that she is a beautiful embryo, but don't spoil her, and Belicia will be able to make a lot of profits if she is trained in the future. It's a pity that my beggar will be handed over to the guild when she is ten years old, or at most twelve years old, if she can be kept until she is fifteen years old...... It's good to send it away after that, or it's okay to be thirteen years old.

"Mr. Rick!" Tails interrupted Rick's subtle thoughts, only to see him turn his head with difficulty, implicated in the injury to his back, and grinning in pain.

"Well, I'm sorry, Tails," Rick sighed, his expression of pity, "I can't stop him—Quaid—I'm only his lieutenant after all, and I can't afford to offend his backstage." ”

"I'll just be here quietly after the fact," Rick crouched down under the cautious gaze of several children, and examined Tails' injuries worriedly, "It's good he didn't hit hard today, otherwise—"

"Mr. Rick, I'm fine," Tails struggled, "I'm just sorry, but my money last week was really—"

"Forget about the money!" Rick took the broken bowl from Sinti's hand, poured out the water inside, plucked a few Ouldron leaves, picked up a stone and began grinding, "You were brought to me when you were just sensible, and in a few years, I watched you go from shivering little ones to rough hairy children, and to me, you are far more important than a few coppers," Rick's face showed a hint of pain, "At your age, you shouldn't be begging on the streets, but this is the rule of the Brotherhood-"

"Mr. Rick," Tails seemed a little moved, and he clenched his fists, "I-"

"Here, grinding the herbs with a stone is better than chewing with your mouth," Rick wiped the herbs from the bowl and applied it to Tails with his own hands, and Kellett next to him bit his lip and whimpered.

"Thank you, Mr. Rick," Colia said in a soft voice, "if only you had taken care of us instead of Quaid. ”

"Don't let Quaid hear that," Rick smiled helplessly, "to be honest, I'm scared of him." ”

A few of the kids smiled heartily – Rick knew that showing common ground and humor at the right time was a great way to get people to accept themselves.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Rick. Tails said solemnly that he knew that in the eyes of many people, he seemed more mature, so there was no need to act too childish.

Rick nodded: "Protect yourself, you are a smart child, I believe you can do well." ”

"By the way," Rick seemed to remember something, he handed the bowl to Ned, took a money bag from his waist, and handed it to Sinti with a blank face: "I have to pay every month, and I don't have much money, here are thirty coppers, go to the Grove Pharmacy - the one on the border between Twilight and Downtown - to buy some medicine for the wound, it should be enough, if the price of medicine does not go up." ”

Of course it's not enough money - Rick thought to himself, he had been to the Grove Pharmacy a week ago, and it happened to be the price increase, so that when the kids found out that they didn't have enough money, they would think it was a temporary price increase.

What can they do if they don't have enough money? Of course, they take it from the money they get begging, so that they won't have enough money for the next week, then-

"Be careful when buying medicine, don't let anyone else, especially Quaid, know. Rick said with a smile and stood up.

Of course, Rick thought to himself, Quaid would know.

If they don't go to buy the medicine, that's even better, and Quaid will know that they really have hidden the money.

The corners of Rick's mouth curled slightly.

At that time, he will be able to reap their last loyalty.

"Mr. Rick," Corlia was about to burst into tears as she looked at the purse in Sinti's hand, "you, you're such a good man. ”

Ned on the side bit his lip and nodded violently.

Even the eldest child, Xinti, was a little touched, he touched the money bag in his hand and weighed it.

Rick sighed, shook his head and waved his hand, "No, it's me who should apologize, that's all I can do for you." ”

"Mr. Rick," Tails looked at Rick hesitantly, lying on the ground, "I don't know—"

"Huh?" Rick raised an eyebrow, "What's wrong?"

"I've heard that when we grow up, we're going to be sent to train elsewhere," Tails asked cautiously, as if for fear of offending Rick, "then—will we be able to work under you after we've been trained?"

Hearing this, Kellett, Ned, and Coria on the side also looked at Rick expectantly.

Smack, Rick snapped his fingers inwardly.

Score.

Faster than expected.

"Hehe, well," Rick smiled, "don't look at me like I am, I'm an idealistic man in the Brotherhood." ”

Rick smiled and bent down and stroked Tails' hair, making him more amiable: "My boys will be the best and strongest in the entire Brotherhood!"

That's my truth, Rick thought.

"So, if you want to be my subordinate, you have to work hard!"

"Hmm!" the children nodded hopefully, and Tails was no exception.

"I'm gone, Tails, and the kids," Rick turned, tilting his head to show a sideways face, "the next time something like this happens, come and tell me secretly, and while I can't stop him directly, it's always okay to make some trouble and keep him from getting close to you." ”

With that, Rick showed his white teeth, flashed in the moonlight, and left the courtyard of the sixth house without looking back.

"Mr. Rick is such a nice person. The tears on Ned's face dried, "It's not like that bad Quaid." ”

"Hmm. Coria nodded, her eyes full of joy, as if she had eaten candy.

"But," said the crippled Ryan, who had been in a state of fright, hesitated, "I always felt that Mr. Rick scared me more than Quaid." ”

"So you're a coward!"

"Coward Ryan, how do you get money for this picture!"

Only Tails, whose eyes gradually became calm after Rick left.

When he saw Sinti, counting the thirty coppers in the money bag one by one, Tails exhaled slightly.

His back was still hurting, and he knew that regular trauma medicine would be better for his injuries. But Tails had only been to the Grove Pharmacy the previous morning, and had taken the typhoid medicine from Yanni's hand at the back door, and had heard her complain that his stingy boss had raised the price of the medicine, and even the trauma medicine had risen to thirty-five coppers—exactly five coppers more than Rick had paid.

However, he also learned a crucial point from Yala, the daughter of the owner of the Sunset Bar.

Rick is responsible for Quaid's spending at the bar.

But—

"I have to pay every month, and I don't have much money......

Rick's words just now echoed in the ears of the traverser, and he couldn't help but look at the bag of copper in his hand.

The beggars have forgotten their fears and are playing with each other.

Only Tails frowned, turned his head with difficulty, glanced at his scarred back, sighed, and hung down heavily.

This damn world.

――――――――――――――――――

Rick walked to the tenth room, thinking that there was an eight-year-old boy named Karak, a ruthless character at a young age, and that he suddenly felt a chill on the back of his neck when he should bang and pull him under his command.

It was something he was born with.

In times of absolute calm (absolute calm, even the slightest distraction will fail), as soon as a creature approaches within a distance of about five meters around him, he will feel a chill on the back of his neck.

That's it.

But don't say he's not a warrior, even if he's a warrior, compared to the kingdom's powerful and diverse abilities, as well as the powerful finishing swordsman, knights, and even the mysterious magicians, his abilities are nothing to mention, and even the interns in the major temples can press him to the ground and beat him.

But Rick felt that one day, this ability would save his life.

Like now.

Rick quickly turned his head, searching his surroundings in the moonlight, while his left hand reached into his pocket, pinching the small but deadly mini-telescopic crossbow.

Bright moonlight.

Empty streets.

Undisguised

But there was no one.

Rick took a deep breath and kept himself absolutely calm.

He felt it, and the chill in the back of his neck continued.

Could it be that a rat crawled in the sewer under your feet?

Rick turned in three different directions and ran briskly for a while, but the cold in his neck still lingered for him to dispel the suspicion.

Which mouse would be directly below him, following him in three directions for twenty meters?

Rick's heart grew more and more frightened.

He shouldn't have come out alone, even though it was an abandoned house, the Brotherhood's territory.

He should have brought twenty thugs, each with a magic gun, no matter how damn it weighed.

Like Lazanci Fisseau, the Brotherhood's drug dealer, thirty people follow him when he goes in and out.

Even, if he had enough money, he should have hired two Terminators, or a Warrior of Abilities, or even a Magician - Forget it, Magicians are terrifying.

Nar Rick, you have to be calm, he told himself that you are going to be the man who will be in charge of the entire Eternal Star City and even the underground world of the Star Kingdom in the future, calm down, you must be calm.

He forced his composure to turn around and walked back the way he came, as if he had just been jogging for fitness.

Did you offend anyone? Does anyone want their own life? Is there anything noteworthy about this neighborhood?

He walked hundreds of meters, and in the moonlight, there was no one around.

But the back of his neck is still cold.