Lord of Prayer

Chapter 427: Chapter 275: Plague Doctor (2)

After walking for a few more minutes, he finally reached his destination: a bar named "Bar."

As soon as he pushed the door open, the acrid smell of cheap liquor mixed with cheap tobacco assaulted his senses. Zhou Chen, his face devoid of expression, walked to the bar, sat down, and rapped his fingers three times on the counter.

"What’ll you have?" the burly bartender asked.

"A shot of vodka on the rocks, with a splash of coke."

The burly man stared at him for a few seconds, then jerked his head, motioning for him to head deeper into the bar.

Zhou Chen got up and walked toward the back of the bar. He passed through the backstage area and followed a staircase down to the very bottom, stopping in front of a reinforced metal door.

Before he could knock, the metal door opened automatically. Behind it, a hulking brute with crystallized fingers looked him up and down condescendingly, then stepped aside to clear the way.

Stepping into the so-called black market, Zhou Chen scanned his surroundings. It wasn’t much different from some of the bars and nightclubs he had been to before. A stripper was performing a pole dance on the dance floor for entertainment. On the couches, men and women were drinking and chatting, laughing and talking. Some had even begun publicly performing the act of procreation, with no one stepping in to stop them. The surrounding crowd cheered loudly, and some even joined right in.

An Extraordinary black market was a lawless zone to begin with. Concepts like law and humanity didn’t exist here. Not to mention, everyone present was a wanted criminal; morals and ethics were worthless in their eyes.

With a single glance, Zhou Chen recognized seven internationally wanted Ascender fugitives. Their combined bounties totaled a full thirty million US Dollars. One of them was even a member of the Xi Feng smuggling syndicate. He had stolen some priceless cargo a few years ago and had defected from Xi Feng ever since.

"Can I help you with something?" a man in a suit walked up and asked.

"I’m looking to buy some intel," Zhou Chen said in a low voice. "About the Black-robed Man."

"Please, follow me." The man in the suit nodded and led him to the door of a private room. He knocked, waited five or six seconds, then pushed the door open and gestured for Zhou Chen to enter.

Thirteen Ascenders were sitting inside. The most conspicuous among them was a person wearing a medieval bird-beak mask. He was the only one in the room wearing a mask.

"Hm? Never seen you before. Where are you from?" a woman with curly, chestnut-colored hair asked with a smile, a cigarette between her lips.

"Village Tower," Zhou Chen replied. ’Got to commit to the role.’ He had already fabricated the details of this identity in advance.

"To think a dump like Village Tower could actually produce an Ascender..." the chestnut-haired woman clicked her tongue in amazement, then exhaled a puff of smoke. "Interested in sleeping with me?"

"Not interested." Zhou Chen scanned the group. "I want to buy intel on the Black-robed Man."

"Him... oh, that’s gonna be expensive." The chestnut-haired woman wasn’t offended by the rejection. She held up five fingers and wiggled them. "Five thousand US Dollars for his complete intel package."

"Too expensive." Zhou Chen frowned. He was currently playing the part of a poor kid from the backwoods. Five thousand US Dollars was undoubtedly a huge sum for such a person.

"Five hundred US Dollars," he haggled.

"Deal." The chestnut-haired woman flashed a cunning smile. "Money first, then the intel."

Zhou Chen’s expression immediately soured. "You agreed too quickly. I doubt the authenticity of your intel."

"You must not know who I am." The chestnut-haired woman took a drag from her cigarette. "I always do business with integrity. Otherwise, I would’ve been hacked to death in the streets long ago. If you don’t believe me, you can ask anyone else here."

"She may be a piece of work, but you can trust her when it comes to business," a gaunt, sinister-looking man said with a tight-lipped smile, then added, "And only when it comes to business."

Zhou Chen feigned hesitation, then finally grit his teeth. "Fine, deal. We’ll use the dark web for the transaction."

He took out a satellite phone and made a dark web transfer to the chestnut-haired woman. After receiving the payment, she pulled a folder from under the table and tossed it onto the tabletop.

"I’m curious. Why is a Tier One Ascender like you looking for him? Don’t tell me you know him? Or... are you also after the Wish Box?"

Zhou Chen didn’t answer, silently flipping through the file.

In addition to the information Calia had already given him, the file also summarized the Abilities the Black-robed Man had displayed and the areas where he had appeared, marking out a general vicinity.

At the end, there was a sketch of the Wish Box.

Zhou Chen studied it for a few moments and confirmed that it was indeed the Wish Box.

"Kid, I’m in a good mood today, so let me give you a piece of advice: get rid of any ideas you shouldn’t have. This thing is out of your league," the chestnut-haired woman said.

Zhou Chen nodded and turned to leave. Now that he had confirmed it was the Wish Box, he was going to make a wish and see if he could find the man’s whereabouts.

"Wait a moment."

Suddenly, the man in the medieval bird-beak mask stopped him. He was dressed exactly like a medieval plague doctor, with a black robe and a bird-beak mask, giving off a sinister aura.

"What is it?"

"I want to hire you," the plague doctor-like man said in an even tone. "I am the ’Plague Doctor,’ master of the ’Poisonous Sore Gang.’ I can make you an offer you can’t refuse."

’He wants to hire me? And make me an offer I can’t refuse?’ Zhou Chen paused. Staying in character, he didn’t refuse immediately. "What do you want me to do? Stay with the Poisonous Sore Gang as your enforcer?"

"Not as a long-term enforcer. I just want to hire you to wipe out a few organizations."

The Plague Doctor said, "Word has already spread about you killing a member of the Fierce Tiger Gang. The Fierce Tiger Gang won’t let you go. As long as you remain in Rusted Iron City, they’ll keep causing trouble for you. Accept my offer, and I will provide you with equipment to solve this problem once and for all. You’ll also be rewarded."

"The Fierce Tiger Gang has Ascenders, don’t they?" Zhou Chen asked.

"Their leader is a Tier One Strength Type Ascender. I don’t believe he can defeat you. The moment I saw you, I knew you were stronger than him. With the equipment I’ll provide, killing him won’t be a problem."

The Plague Doctor continued, "You can think about it. I’ll be here for a while longer. By the way, if you want to get in touch with the Black-robed Man, you’d be wise to accept my offer."

’The Plague Doctor has a connection to the Black-robed Man?’ Zhou Chen narrowed his eyes slightly. He nodded, then pushed the door open, left the private room, and found a sofa to sit on outside.

’I wish to know the Black-robed Man’s location.’

Zhou Chen made the wish in his mind. In his Spiritual World, a map appeared with a bright positioning cursor over a certain city. But the next second, the map became distorted as if it were being jammed, and then the cursor vanished.

’Automatic anti-divination ability? No... it’s more like he sensed he was being divined and actively interfered.’

Zhou Chen wasn’t too surprised. The Wish Box was a B-Level Activated Forbidden Object with its own consciousness. It was impossible for it to have remained at large for so long while being hunted by the Star Association without having a few tricks up its sleeve.

’Then the best way is to cooperate with the Plague Doctor...’ Zhou Chen mused for a moment. ’I want to know the relationship between the Plague Doctor and the Black-robed Man.’

—[Comrades-in-arms]

’The two of them are comrades-in-arms?’ Zhou Chen was stunned. ’The Plague Doctor is a Tier Two Ascender. Could it be that the Black-robed Man is actually weak and relies entirely on the Wish Box?’

After weighing the pros and cons for a few minutes, Zhou Chen made a decision.

He returned to the private room, closed the door, and nodded at the Plague Doctor. "I accept your offer. But I have a few questions."

"Go ahead."

"How many Ascenders does the Poisonous Sore Gang have?" Zhou Chen asked.

"That’s confidential. It involves the secrets of the Poisonous Sore Gang." The Plague Doctor shook his head.

"You’re a Tier Two Ascender. Why don’t you take care of the Fierce Tiger Gang yourself?" Zhou Chen asked again.

"For certain reasons, I cannot show my face in public... In fact, the Poisonous Sore Gang is currently wanted, which is why I need to hire you," the Plague Doctor said.

Zhou Chen was skeptical. "You trust me just like that? Aren’t you afraid I’ll take your stuff and run?"

"The Poisonous Sore Gang is quite well-off. Even if you were to run off with the equipment, we can absorb the loss," the Plague Doctor explained calmly.

The Plague Doctor’s thinking was simple. He would give Zhou Chen equipment to solve the problem of the Fierce Tiger Gang, which would also help the Poisonous Sore Gang eliminate an enemy—killing two birds with one stone. If he failed, it didn’t matter. He would just be a disposable piece on the board.

From this perspective, it seemed that Zhou Chen, the "Tier One Ascender," had run into a benefactor.