Chapter 87: The Second Meeting

Chapter 87: The Second Meeting

Singo, Mantou, Born Battle Maniac, and Summer Night Autumn Rain gathered again at the square. At this moment, they had shed the nickname of the "Four Black Slaves," even causing some players' resentment and dissatisfaction.

The constable was okay; he just arrested illegal activities, effectively preventing newbies from being thoroughly robbed by high-level thieves, and maintained basic order in Baator City. But Singo's role as a tax collector was different.

During his tenure, Singo worked actively, often offering suggestions and proposals, introducing various taxes such as property tax, income tax, guild tax, many of which were adopted.

These suggestions effectively increased Baator City's financial income, and he himself received a considerable share, earning him the nickname "Singo the Flayer."

Especially the guild tax, which required guilds to pay higher proportional taxes on their collective income. Each guild hated him to the bone, even starting to block him at the door with their members.

Mantou, dressed in a constable's uniform, looked at Singo: "Damn, you're causing so much trouble lately, and you still dare to show up in the square? Aren't you afraid of being assassinated?"

Born Battle Maniac touched his bald head and chuckled, "Didn't the leader of 'Royal Authority' threaten to smear you on the city walls?"

Singo crossed his arms confidently: "It's fine, I've already reached a 'No Tax Proliferation Agreement' with them. I won't submit the new No. 3 tax plan, they won't bother me, they'll pay taxes normally, and everyone will live in peace."

He spoke excitedly, "How about you guys? Have you reached the required faction contributions? I'm now at 31,000."

"How much?"

"31,000?"

Mantou thought he misheard at first.

Singo pretended to be casual: "Increasing Baator City's tax revenue by 600% in one month, isn't it reasonable to have this much contribution?"

Mantou clicked his tongue, "No wonder people are blocking your door; you're stealing food from others' mouths."

Summer Night Autumn Rain said, "I'm at 12,700 now, but I'm more inclined towards Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer. However, I feel the half-dragon template is a bit too ugly, so I've switched to level 3 Sorcerer now."

Singo said disdainfully, "Heh, appearance means nothing in the face of power."

Summer Night Autumn Rain's eyebrows shot up in anger.

Born Battle Maniac said embarrassedly, "I'm a bit afraid of heights, so just buying the Half-Dragon Blessing is enough; flying mounts and such are unnecessary."

Mantou was surprised, "Bro, you're afraid of heights?"

Singo rarely teased, "When you were wielding the ship-cutting blade to blow up others' motherships, how weren't you afraid of heights?"

Born Battle Maniac touched his bald head, chuckled, and said, "Back then in outer space, I couldn't see the ground below, so I wasn't afraid of heights. But when falling to near-earth orbit and seeing the planet's surface, it was quite scary."

Mantou: "..."

He was silent for a moment before saying, "My current contribution is 12,500, which should be enough to buy the Crimson Scaled Token."

Mantou's tone was quite excited; he had waited too long for this moment.

Singo took out the invitation he had prepared long ago, with writing still like blazing flames on it.

"Now is—the harvest time!"

"Let's go!"

The group went to a safe secret room and used the [Mysterious Invitation].

It can only be said that Singo indeed had foresight; the price of this invitation on the black market had been hyped up to nearly a hundred gold coins, and mostly held by financially powerful guilds. For ordinary solo players, getting one was almost impossible.

[Confirming the use of [Mysterious Invitation]!]

Still the familiar flame portal and the long, dark corridor; the four were already familiar with this.

"Have you prepared your lines?"

"Yes, I won't be rash like you and lose favorability for nothing."

"Wasn't it you who tricked me!"

As the lights ignited, the mysterious half-dragon sorcerer appeared at the end.

Cassius, adopting the NPC's tone, slowly said: "I'm glad to see you again, warriors from unknown realms. Have you completed the tasks I assigned?"

Singo stepped forward calmly and replied, "Yes, Lord Cassius, the dusty blood and tears of the Tieflings have been revealed by us. I believe those sanctimonious people will pay the price they deserve."

"You've done well."

Cassius nodded slightly; everyone couldn't see the meaning in his golden eyes and could only agree repeatedly.

Mantou whispered, "Hurry up and buy things; this invitation should have a time limit."

Singo said disdainfully, "Don't you understand what maximizing benefits means? Hug the faction leader's thigh tightly to profit in the next mission."

Although he said so, he still opened the shop interface.

"Lord Cassius, I want to purchase some equipment."

"[Hunting Longbow]: Provides bonuses against beast-type creatures. When aiming, you can mark enemies with a Hunter's Mark, which increases accuracy and causes continuous additional damage. Price: 80 gold coins."

"I'll buy it."

Singo showed a pained expression but continued.

"[Ring of Burning]: Your weapon attacks deal additional stackable fire damage to enemies. Price: 40 gold coins."

"Bought."

Singo gritted his teeth and continued: "[Quivering Scale Armor]: Armor grants an additional +3. When attacked, has a chance to inflict the [Quivering Static] effect on enemies. Price... 100 gold coins."

"I'll buy it!"

Singo used both hands to present the bulging money bag.

The money bag made a 'jingling' sound that made him feel the pain.

Cassius accepted the gold coins, casually rummaged, and took out the three pieces of equipment shimmering with magical light from the dimensional bag.

"They are yours now."

Everyone held their breath watching; this wasn't magical light—it was practically the glow of money.

Mantou was dumbfounded hearing these numbers: "Wow, Singo, did you rob a bank?"

"Where did you get so many gold coins?"

Singo got the equipment, touched his empty wallet, and forced a smile: "This amount of gold coins is not hard to get."

"Every time the tax collector gets extra taxes, there's a commission."

"Here, for you, to compensate for selling you equipment last time; include the favorability account together."

"Ding—"

With a crisp sound, he tossed the [Ring of Burning] like flipping a coin; Mantou hurriedly caught it, afraid that this valuable thing might get damaged.

"Altogether over two hundred gold coins..."

"No wonder those guilds want to hunt you down; you're not being a tax collector—you're practically robbing money."

Mantou clicked his tongue in wonder.

The [Ring of Burning] is considered a divine item for warriors in the early stages, mindlessly adding fire damage, useful for both melee and ranged.

But he carefully held the ring shimmering with fiery light, thinking: "Although Singo has a terrible temper, likes to put on airs and show off, and never gives face to others, he's still barely acceptable as a person."