Who hid My Corpse!

A few days later, in the Boundary Land.

"Knock knock knock."

A rhythmic knocking sounded on a shabby wooden door, and after a moment, a deep voice came from inside: "Who is it?"

The person knocking replied, "It's me, the Copper Merchant Lair."

After a while, the door was opened, and a man with a hooked nose poked his head out. He looked behind Lair, and once he confirmed no one was following, he nodded: "Come in."

Lair followed the man inside, leading to a steep downward staircase, almost devoid of light, making it feel very oppressive as he walked.

Yet, upon reaching the end, it suddenly opened up to reveal a vast underground tavern. Surrounding Lair were other Black Merchants dressed just like him.

Lair paused briefly at the stairs' entrance, his expression unchanged, but he nervously thought to himself: "This is it, Lord Visas."

Hearing the faint "Hmm" in his mind, Lair slightly relaxed.

Inside Lair's body, Bai Wei also surveyed the Black Merchant's underground tavern through his eyes.

The reason he sought out Lair to deliver the finger wasn't just for amusement, but because of Lair's identity as a Black Merchant.

In the game, Black Merchants were just a bit of randomness added to fixed game processes by designers, a quirk of the production team. But in reality, Black Merchants were arguably the most powerful force in this world. Their networks could easily connect to the Eight Great Churches, and their shadows could be seen globally, even in the Contract Land.

The Contract Land, from its inception, had a rigid rule to not meddle in worldly affairs. However, over thousands of years, the persistent probing and corruption by Black Merchants spread like cockroaches across the continent, leading to a small opening in the Contract Land, albeit tiny, but it existed.

So what Bai Wei needed to do was find this opening through Lair.

"I thought you wouldn't make it back." The hook-nosed man suddenly commented.

Lair, slightly stunned, quickly realized: "You knew that Croy was plotting against me?!"

"I didn't know initially, but after he came back, he kept bragging about it." The hook-nosed man glanced at the Black Merchants drinking, "Mm... He just said it while drinking, now everyone knows."

Lair instantly clenched his fists.

Croy was the fellow who sold information to Lair and used him as bait.

And because of that, Lair almost got killed... no, he wasn't just almost killed.

Lair subconsciously lowered his head, looking at the finger on his right hand that didn't belong to him at all.

If it weren't for meeting Lord Visas, he would've died there... But thankfully, he met Lord Visas; from this perspective, he ought to thank Croy.

Thinking of this, Lair involuntarily curled a corner of his mouth into a smile, which surprised the hook-nosed man who thought Lair would explode in anger.

"Are you going to settle the score with him?" The hook-nosed man raised his eyebrows, looking like someone who thrives on chaos.

"Oh no." Lair smiled and said, "I have more important things to do... Is the old master around?"

The hook-nosed man slightly furrowed his eyebrows.

He did sense something different about Lair; Lair now dared to seek out the old master, but he didn't say much, just nodded: "He's in his usual spot, go find him."

"Thank you."

Lair adjusted his somewhat messy collar and elegantly walked forward. His different demeanor naturally caught the attention of other Black Merchants, who turned to look at him in confusion.

After all, Lair was quite well-known here as a fool who craved money and status, without any skills or courage, getting played around by them. He was so cowed that he didn't dare to raise his head when coming here, always looking timid.

Yet now, he dared to walk steadily through everyone, standing right in front of the "old master."

The "old master" was the highest authority in each Black Merchant division, usually an elder and most experienced Black Merchant, possessing extraordinary means. It's possible that with just a look or a word, they could make an ordinary Black Merchant disappear without a trace, just like what Croy did to Lair before.

So the Black Merchants all feared their regional "old master," not daring to provoke or even look them in the eye.

But now, the one they considered the weakest and most foolish was fearlessly standing in front of the old master, looking at him unwaveringly.

"Old master, I have a business proposition to discuss with you."

He even dared to say this.

Is he courting death?! Such audacity!

What makes you think you can?!

These thoughts involuntarily surfaced in the minds of every Black Merchant present.

Even the old master, previously napping, slowly opened his eyes upon hearing Lair's voice.

By appearance, the old master didn't look very threatening, just a frail old man with skin like bones, but his gaze was vicious. Meeting his eyes felt like being stared down by the world's most dangerous viper.

Even though Lair had mentally prepared himself, his calves couldn't help but twitch when those eyes fixed on him, though he quickly regained his composure.

Just a regional old master, what's there to fear?