Chapter 49 - 45: Disguised Items

The Nightingale Bar was in complete chaos.

The Border District was already a disorderly place, with all kinds of misdeeds occurring daily; the blackout only added to the unease in people’s hearts.

The pickpockets in the bar started to act, swiping wallet after wallet.

Perverts also began reaching out their greasy hands, and from time to time, you could hear the screams of girls being groped.

Even though there were mobile phones for lighting, it was really too dim, and the bouncers in the bar were scurrying around like headless chickens, unable to maintain order.

The thug who had been by Reuben’s side earlier was squeezed into the dance floor, unable to move, very embarrassed.

Suddenly, he felt a hand reaching into his pocket.

At the same moment, people from the Eagle Claw Association restored the power in the back alley.

"Buzz." The electricity was restored, and the surroundings lit up again.

The thug abruptly grabbed the hand reaching into his pocket.

A short, middle-aged man stood there, frozen, clutching some bills, nervously trying to withdraw his hand.

"Big brother! Big brother misunderstood! I accidentally..."

"Civilized Border!" The thug grabbed the middle-aged man’s hair and delivered a knee blow directly to his face.

"Thud!" The middle-aged man was hit, his nose bone fractured, teeth scattered.

Amid the screams of onlookers, the thug kicked the bloodied middle-aged man to the ground, snatched the bills back and stuffed them into his pocket.

At this moment, the thug seemed to notice something unusual, and began rummaging in his pocket.

As he fumbled, his expression froze, and his movements became hurried.

"Where’s my access card?!"

The missing access card made the thug break out in a cold sweat.

If this goes missing and the boss blames him, he’s in deep trouble.

"Get lost! Get the hell out of here! Or Civilized Border will kill you all!" The thug shoved everyone nearby aside, kicking them if they were even a bit slow.

A patron who got kicked was annoyed.

But considering the thug was wearing an Eagle Claw Association uniform and had just busted a man’s nose, everyone was angry but kept silent.

The thug quickly scanned the surroundings, soon breathing a sigh of relief: "There it is."

The access card had fallen to the ground, probably accidentally taken out when the middle-aged man tried to steal money.

The thug bent over and picked up the access card.

"Hey." At this moment, Reuben’s shout came from the balcony on the second floor.

The thug looked up.

Reuben, with a stern face, pointed at the warehouse door.

Understanding, the thug took the access card to the second floor and unlocked the warehouse door.

He placed one hand on the gun at his waist and pushed the door open to look inside.

The silver-white box on the shelf was still in its original position, the angle unchanged.

He thought for a moment and went over to make further checks.

The warehouse hadn’t been cleaned for a long time, and the shelves were covered in dust.

He leaned closer to the shelf, carefully examining the edges of the silver-white box...

The dust patterns were identical to before.

Finally putting his mind at ease, he exited the door and nodded to Reuben.

...

[11:29 PM, 2 hours and 31 minutes past the commission deadline]

Dark alley outside Nightingale Bar.

KK jogged over to Su Mo, panting and wiping sweat with his sleeve: "Big brother, what the hell happened, why steal it and put it back?"

Su Mo squinted his eyes and said: "Because the intel I received said the box weighs exactly 5.32 kilograms."

"The weight of the box earlier came out as 5.26 kilograms, 60 grams off the real deal."

"So that box should be fake, a counterfact created by the Eagle Claw Association to protect the real box."

KK hesitated, asking: "Could it be that your intel isn’t that accurate? A difference of 60 grams is only the weight of an egg, the error isn’t that big."

Su Mo shook his head.

The intel definitely wouldn’t be wrong.

Other intermediaries might mess things up.

Lady Countess is always meticulous, never deceitful.

She said it’s 5.32 kilograms, so it must weigh exactly that, perfectly.

Even if there’s an error, it would be at most half a gram, it couldn’t be as much as 60 grams.

There were only two possibilities for just now.

Either the box was real, but some important content was taken out.

Or the box was just a fake, made to mislead.

Regardless of which scenario, if the box from earlier was given to Audiana, I’d likely end up on a blacklist.

Now that KK secretly returned the box without alerting the other party, it did consume quite a bit of time going back and forth.

Su Mo couldn’t help but wonder.

What is inside this box?

The Eagle Claw Association actually went through the trouble of creating a fake.

This thing doesn’t come from an ordinary background.

Su Mo placed his hand on KK’s shoulder, saying: "I apologize for making you busy for nothing. Consider the wallet issue settled."

"I still need your help next; I’ll pay you a reward, so set your price."

KK patted Su Mo’s arm, comforting him: "Big brother, even though I’m a thief, I understand the rules."

"I stole so much money from you, others would have broken my hand already. You didn’t hold it against me, so I owe you one."

"I stole the fake box earlier, and haven’t repaid the debt. If I then ask you for money, what would that make me?"

"You obviously have plenty of money, yet you’re fixated on that box, so it must be important to you? Rest assured, I promised to get this done, and I definitely will."

After hearing KK’s words, and thinking of his sacrifice in the game for the player, Su Mo inevitably felt a bit emotional.

This silly kid sometimes is just too good to others.

Su Mo shook off his distracting thoughts, tousling KK’s hair: "The reward should still be given. I assure you, once this job is done, you will definitely be well rewarded."

KK hadn’t realized the weight of those words, just laughing awkwardly: "If big brother is really willing to give, that would be great."

Su Mo pondered for a moment, asking: "How should we proceed next?"

KK paced back and forth: "It’s a bit troublesome... the blackout must have raised the Eagle Claw Association’s vigilance. We must first locate the true box, then strike with precision, no room for trial and error."

Su Mo contemplated: "If anyone knows the location of the real box, it’s certainly the Eagle Claw Association’s boss, Reuben. But how to get him to talk..."

Just then, several flamboyantly dressed figures walked out of the Nightingale Bar.

They wore thick makeup, dressed in girls’ clothes, but their voices were undeniably male: "Tell Boss Reuben to think of us~"

The thug at the door squeezed out an awkward yet polite smile: "Bye-bye, beauties."

Su Mo quickly recognized them, those were the ones who had accompanied Reuben earlier, drinking with him.

He looked at those gender-ambiguous creatures, casually remarking: "Reuben has quite unique tastes."

As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly froze, staring directly at KK’s delicate face.

KK and Su Mo locked eyes.

Unsure how long passed, KK suddenly snapped out of it, his face turning white in shock: "Big brother... please no..."