Chapter 46

At night, all is quiet, especially since the curfew was implemented in Black Flame City. After midnight, Black Flame City, like a giant that has been busy all day, falls into a deep sleep. Just as birds sing during the day and snakes and rats come out at night, for some people, the night in Black Flame City is much more appealing than the day, especially in the mixed area near the train station. After midnight, there are still many people out and about. Of course, if they are unlucky enough to be caught by the patrolling city guards and law enforcement officers, they can only blame their bad luck. The consequences of being caught after curfew include a beating, a period of hard labor in Gransburg Prison outside Black Flame City, and becoming a laughingstock among the local toughs. For some seasoned toughs, these consequences are nothing.

Many people have this mindset, which is why after midnight, the small alley near the train station, where the bar called "Treasure of the Viper" is located, becomes particularly lively. This bar, with its strong pioneer style, is especially bustling. Zhang Tie, a straightforward and hardworking young man, naturally doesn't understand how rich the nightlife in Black Flame City is.

Hake and Sneider, who were new to the city, wandered around the train station area for most of the night before finally finding the "Treasure of the Viper" bar. They pushed open the two doors of the bar and walked in after the curfew.

The "Treasure of the Viper" bar is not very large, but after midnight, it is at its busiest. There are more than thirty people in the bar, most dressed as pioneers. Some are loudly talking and laughing, while others are touching the chests of the old and worn-out prostitutes beside them. Others are whispering in the shadows, occasionally using their wide sleeves to cover their hands as they gesture to each other. Some nod in satisfaction, while others shake their heads in dissatisfaction. If a deal cannot be reached, they pull their hands back. This is the trading method used by pioneers, where they use their hands, hidden by their sleeves, to negotiate. This method is highly secretive, and only the two parties involved know what is being traded and at what price. Even if someone is discussing how to kill you and the price of doing so right in front of you, you would never know. Pioneers have their own set of hand signals and communication methods.

When Hake and Sneider entered the bar, many people just glanced at them and continued with their own business. Some, with more acute instincts, seemed to sense the danger from Hake and Sneider and subtly moved their weapons closer to themselves, placing them in more convenient positions.

Hake and Sneider found a table and sat down. A slightly attractive barmaid sauntered over, bent down, and deliberately let her low-cut dress reveal her cleavage to the two men. "Gentlemen, what would you like?"

"Two glasses of black pine wine, and what do you have to eat?" Sneider asked.

"Toast, peas, beef broth, and crispy sausages!"

"Give us one of each!"

"Sure thing!"

The barmaid walked away, and many of the gazes that had been on the two newcomers shifted away. Those who come to the bar to cause trouble rarely have the mood to eat before they start.

The food and drinks that Sneider and Hake ordered were quickly brought to their table. Sneider did not eat immediately but took out a dried branch wrapped in silver wire from his pocket and poked it into each dish and drink. He then checked the color of the branch and the silver wire before eating. After a long night, the two were truly hungry.

This method of using a branch wrapped in silver wire to test for poison is a skill known by all pioneers. The combination of silver wire and the branch of the soul-devouring thorn can detect a significant portion of toxic substances, including the highly lethal "super rat poison." This is a habit that almost every pioneer has, and seeing the two test their food, no one found it strange. The bar owner and the barmaid were also used to it. In bars frequented by pioneers, many new customers do this, not out of malice but as a habit.

The guests in the bar were discussing how the Black Flame City Hall had once again raised the price for exploring and mapping the northern and western black zones around Black Flame City. The price for a rough map of each square kilometer of the black zones has now increased to 46 gold coins, and for every kilometer extended, the price increases by 5%. In recent days, several groups of pioneers, confident in their superior abilities, have formed teams to seek their fortune, but whether any of them will return alive is unknown.

After finishing their meal, Hake and Sneider pretended to listen to the news in the bar for a while, then made a show of leaving and called the barmaid over to pay. When Hake was paying, he accidentally dropped his money bag, and two gold coins rolled out. Hake quickly picked up the money bag, paid the bill, and left the bar with Sneider.

As soon as the two left the bar, a man who had been sitting in a corner of the bar also stood up. He finished his drink in one gulp, deliberately spilling some on himself, and then followed them out of the bar. No one in the bar found this unusual.

"Gray Rat Pound has finally found his prey for tonight, hehe..." someone in the bar laughed maliciously, and everyone soon forgot about the three people who had just left. In this world, everyone has their own way of surviving. As long as others don't affect them, many choose to ignore what's happening around them, a survival rule of this era.

As soon as Gray Rat Pound left the bar, he looked around and saw Hake and Sneider walking down a small alley to the left. His eyes narrowed, and he staggered like a drunkard, following them. When Pound got closer, the two men turned to look, but seeing him in a drunken state, they didn't seem to care. As Pound approached Hake, he stumbled and reached into Hake's coat. Just as his fingers touched Hake's coat, Pound heard a cold laugh.

"Too slow!"

Before Pound could react, his hand was grabbed like it was in a vise. He tried to play the old trick of pretending to be drunk and shouting, but a cold dagger was already pressed against his neck. The blade had just cut into his skin, creating a thin wound, and Pound broke out in a cold sweat. Hake then grabbed him like a chicken, covering his mouth, and dragged him to a dark corner of the alley.

"Take me to your boss, we have business with him!" the man holding Pound said impatiently, throwing him to the ground.

"I don't know what you're talking about, I'm just... ah..." Gray Rat Pound, unable to speak with his mouth covered, looked down at his right hand in disbelief. Just then, he felt a chill in his right hand and saw that his radial artery had been cut by the dagger, blood gushing out. The wound looked like a monster's mouth spitting blood, and Pound almost fainted from shock.

"You have less than ten minutes before you bleed to death!" Sneider, playing with the dagger, smiled at Pound.

"Our boss is Bres, a level 6 Black Spider. We have over a dozen brothers. You'll regret crossing the Black Hand Gang..." Pound growled, but he didn't notice the disdain on Hake's face as he listened.

"Maybe, but now you have two choices: wait to die here or take us to your boss and let him save you..." Sneider said nonchalantly.

...

Half an hour later, in the hideout of the train station's pickpocket boss, Bres, Hake and Sneider were surrounded by over a dozen unfriendly Black Hand Gang members, all armed. Bres, the leader of the Black Hand Gang, was surrounded by surging battle aura, which slowly formed a two-meter-tall, shadowy black spider behind him. The Black Hand Gang members and Gray Rat Pound, whose right wrist was being held by Hake, looked at Bres with envy and excitement. Bres, a level 6 warrior who had already condensed his battle aura, was enough to make the Black Hand Gang thrive in the area around the train station and crush any who dared to challenge them.

"What do we do?" Hake asked Sneider.

"You two have asked all your questions. The Black Hand Gang doesn't have the black-haired boy you're looking for. No pickpocket in the area matches your description. Now, you've hurt one of ours. It's time to give the Black Hand Gang an explanation. Too late to back out!" Bres sneered, waving his hand. The Black Hand Gang members, with their weapons, slowly approached Hake and Sneider, their faces twisted in anger.

"Kill them all. They've seen us, and letting any of them escape would be a problem!" Sneider said.

Hearing this, Bres's face changed, and he roared, punching at Hake's head. As Bres moved, all the Black Hand Gang members attacked Hake and Sneider with their weapons.

Hake stepped forward, stomping Gray Rat Pound's head like a watermelon, and then punched Bres's fist. Just as their fists were about to meet, Bres's face changed. Behind Hake, a massive figure appeared, a giant centipede with many legs, unlike Bres's black spider.

"Thousand-legged centipede, level 7 warrior, impossible..." Bres screamed in terror. The two fists collided, and Hake's punch shattered Bres's entire arm, then pierced through his chest, emerging from his back.

In one move, the pillar of the Black Hand Gang was destroyed. The members in front didn't have time to react, and those in the back, seeing this, immediately dropped their weapons and started to run.

Sneider's figure twisted like a snake, dodging the weapons and appearing behind two Black Hand Gang members who were trying to escape. His dagger gently sliced their necks, and before they could fall, Sneider was already by the side of several other members, his dagger slicing their necks almost simultaneously. After a few more quick movements, the farthest one hadn't even taken seven steps before everyone, including those who had attacked Sneider first, stood still. Blood spurted from their necks and windpipes, and they all fell almost simultaneously.

From the start of the fight to its end, it took less than five breaths. In the house of the Black Hand Gang, only two people were standing, and the air was thick with the smell of blood.

"What do we do now?" Hake, who had just killed a bunch of people, asked Sneider as if it were a trivial matter.

Sneider, who had just licked the blood off his dagger, said, "Let's dispose of these bodies. We need to make sure no one finds them for at least two days."

"Can't we just burn them?"

"The people at the bar saw us tonight. Unless we can kill everyone there, if something happens here tonight, it will be linked to us. If we wait two days and then set this place on fire, no one will suspect us." Sneider said cautiously and shrewdly. "These guys have been operating around the train station, and this is their hideout. They must have hidden a lot of loot here. We should search and see if we can find anything valuable. The black-haired boy you're looking for must be very familiar with this area and often comes here. We'll stay around the train station for a few days and grab him when we see him."

"What if we can't find him?"

"If we can't find him in a week, we'll run. We'll leave the Andaman Alliance, leave the Blackson Human Corridor, and run as far as we can. We can't let the leaders find us, or we'll die a terrible death." Sneider said somberly.

"Alright!"

...

An hour later, Hake and Sneider left the Black Hand Gang's hideout, locking the door to make it look abandoned. They believed that under the Black Hand Gang's reputation, no one would dare to enter and check for a while. A fire in two days would completely erase any evidence, and no one would suspect that the Black Hand Gang had already been destroyed two days before the fire.

The Black Hand Gang, what are they? As they left, Hake spat at the hideout.

...

At the same time the Black Hand Gang was destroyed, Zhang Tie was lighting the divine lamp in the Shenggong. Zhang Tie himself didn't realize that because of an unremarkable small wooden plaque, he had already been drawn into a massive crisis.

At this moment, Zhang Tie felt his life was full of hope, and his youth no longer seemed so bleak...

---

Black Iron has reached the top of the three rivers, thank you all for your strong support!

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