Chapter 324: Fawn of the Black Goat (Part 2)

But Han Su was now realizing that for him, the Zero Sequence was just a conventional power. There were many other things he could play with…

However, he had Stolen very little so far.

For others, Stealing slowly was the safe route, but he didn’t have that kind of time.

Now that he had entered the Stealing phase, he needed to consider how to accumulate Divine Material more quickly.

He let out a breath…

With these thoughts in mind, he let out a soft sigh and asked Lalei, “Where did Akbar get all her Mysterious Power?”

Lalei was clearly in pain. Han Su’s question had activated his human side, and he began to feel defiant and hateful toward Han Su for Akbar’s death. But Han Su merely gave him a gentle look, and Lalei’s own gaze softened.

He looked at Han Su as if he were seeing another Akbar and answered obediently, “That was her biggest secret. She was never willing to tell us about it, but we have our suspicions.”

“She used to be just a very ordinary Mercenary with no background. She wasn’t doing well and couldn’t land any big jobs. But one time, she went into the Romanian Wetland Forest on the Southern Continent. When she came out, she was completely different.”

“It was after that she brought all of us, her team, under her command, one by one.”

…

“The Romanian Wetland Forest?”

Han Su committed the name to memory. It wasn’t hard to guess that Akbar must have been contaminated by a Queen Bee in that forest.

Still, it was a fortunate encounter in its own way. After being contaminated, she didn’t remain with the swarm in the forest. Instead, she escaped and evolved into a Queen Bee herself.

‘Places like that, strange forests or historical ruins, must hold vast amounts of Mysterious Power. If I get the chance to enter one and use the Emperor’s Book to devour it, my strength might skyrocket.’

‘Or… I could find a Mysterious Organization and slaughter them all?’

‘Both options are risky. In theory, though, either would allow my Stealing of the Emperor’s Script to reach an astonishing level very quickly.’

“What’s the status of our contacts?”

Pondering this in silence, he stopped deliberating and got down to business.

When Han Su asked, Lalei’s demeanor immediately turned dejected. “Mr. Wei Ya is furious.”

“How furious?” Han Su asked.

“He’s already cursing us out on the Black Table forums,” Lalei said.

Han Su was taken aback. “Yeah, that’s pretty mad.”

Lalei sighed. “But he still sent a message. He agreed to the original price and is willing to give us additional compensation. However, he wants to meet us in person to discuss the details, and he insists we bring the Black Goat with us.”

“He said that any negotiation is contingent on confirming the Black Goat is in our possession. If she’s dead, he refuses to pay!”

…

Han Su wasn’t surprised by this response. He frowned slightly. “And the other party?”

“Skinning Manor is showing great sincerity!”

Lalei said immediately, “He said that as long as we’re willing to hand over the Black Goat, he’ll pardon us for harming his nephew. Plus, we can name our price—money, Ancient Gold Coins, confidentiality agreements, slots for city entry, and so on. He can meet all our demands.”

“He also said we don’t have to worry about our reputation taking a hit for switching sides to work with him. He has plenty of paid posters he can use to clean up our image on the Black Table.”

…

This final add-on truly took Han Su by surprise. Skinning Manor was indeed showing immense sincerity.

Then he nodded. “In that case, agree to both of them!”

Lalei was visibly stunned.

Han Su just nodded slightly and repeated, “Agree to both.”

“Then arrange for them to meet at the same time and the same place. Tell them I’ll bring the Black Goat!”

Lalei was clearly resistant, but he couldn’t disobey the command. He sullenly went off to carry out his task.

Han Su, however, considered the growing urgency from both sides. He gave the Little Lamb Girl a curious look and asked, “What’s your value to them? Why are they so desperate to get their hands on you?”

The Little Lamb Girl just gave him an innocent look, then lowered her head and began to fiddle with a small pebble at her feet.

Her behavior struck Han Su as even stranger. He frowned slightly. “Is there anything different about you?”

The Little Lamb Girl glanced at him, then slowly pulled up a handful of grass from beside her and stuffed it into her mouth.

‘Well, that’s certainly different!’

‘She eats grass.’

Han Su’s brow furrowed. “Can you talk?”

The Little Lamb Girl tried to open her mouth. After struggling for a moment, all that came out was a soft bleat. “Baa~~”

Han Su raised his hand in resignation and rubbed the bridge of his nose, abandoning any hope of communicating with her.

‘This is so strange. I’ve already learned about the Black Goat’s power through the Emperor’s Book. Could there be something I missed?’

…

The meeting was arranged quickly. The location was set on a hill not far from the deserted village, conveniently situated halfway between Giant Horn City and Skinning Manor. Han Su took the Little Lamb Girl and waited in the shadows behind the hill, watching as headlights appeared on the mountain roads from both directions.

Mr. Wei Ya, the Independent Investigator from Giant Horn City, and Count Alvarrez of Skinning Manor each drove to the rendezvous. Both sides had brought only a dozen or so men in about four or five cars.

But they were both extremely cautious. They stopped when they were still several hundred meters apart, eyeing each other from a distance.

Han Su emerged onto the hilltop with the Little Lamb Girl, making sure both parties could see him.