Chapter 363: Black Street (Part 2)

“You still keep this old relic?”

Samimi hadn’t seen that hammer in a long time.

It seemed like after Niubao returned the Birthday Golden Sword, she was turning back into some weird “Dual Wielding Hero” again.

But to be honest, Niubao wasn’t really a dual-wielding hero.

With her Ruby Ring, she was actually a “Multi-Wielding Hero”—weapons could be switched freely, paired arbitrarily.

She was just in the early stages of mastering that ability.

Her weapon arsenal was too small, and the differences between weapons weren’t pronounced enough to make switching meaningful.

Take before, for example—she basically only used dual-wielding slide slashes.

The Paladin Sword and Golden Sword were easy to use, but fundamentally similar.

She hoped the Demon Dagger series would bring some changes.

Soon—

Mino had already taken down all those thugs.

“Fifteen seconds. A bit slow, Niubao.”

Samimi was still timing her.

Mino kicked each one down with ease, effortlessly knocking them all out.

These ordinary people couldn’t withstand her strength at all.

But she had already shown mercy—mostly just surface injuries; they’d be fine after lying in bed for a few days.

“Take us to the middleman.”

Fabiana grabbed a thug by the hair, her tone cold.

Watching this, Samimi actually felt a bit relieved.

Back in the day, this kind of “dirty work” was all hers.

Those so-called “pure and immaculate” former teammates could never handle it.

Now it seemed—

Fabiana was the one truly fit to lead.

At least she didn’t hesitate in critical moments.

The thugs were also quick to read the situation.

Even with broken arms, they didn’t dare resist and obediently led the way.

Because they knew—

Once they entered the Black Street, all factions would be watching.

Acting recklessly would only get them killed faster.

The three followed them, weaving through a cluster of abandoned buildings.

They passed several dead-end alleys.

Finally, they came to a wall.

Hidden in that wall was a secret door.

Pushing it open—

The real Black Street was just beginning.

A wave of noise surged in.

The three emerged from the alley to find a commercial street stretching as far as the eye could see.

Shops lined both sides, selling all sorts of bizarre assassination tools and intelligence.

But the main business was still issuing assassination contracts.

Before entering—

Samimi specifically lowered the black veil on her nun’s hood and added an eye-patch cloth over it.

A double face-covering.

Even she thought this outfit was ridiculous.

The streets were crowded.

Everyone was dressed strangely, like ghosts.

By comparison, they weren’t that conspicuous.

And these people—

Were almost all assassins.

“Find it yourselves. I’m going to the doctor.”

That thug took off after saying that.

Samimi couldn’t be bothered.

Bottom-feeders like him wouldn’t know a truly capable middleman.

Mino, on the other hand, was full of curiosity.

She was deeply interested in those bizarre-looking weapons.

The three started wandering through Black Street.

They almost forgot their main purpose.

Because the goods here were just too tempting.

Samimi had always had a habit of “browsing weapon shops.”

Back in the Central Continent South Forest’s shops, she visited every single one.

It was a remnant of her “game player” mentality.

She even regretted it a little—

Not having asked the Genius Blacksmith to forge her a Red-Grade Weapon.

But back then, she was watched by those two former teammates and couldn’t bring herself to ask.

Otherwise, she’d have been ridiculed.

By contrast—

The good stuff in Black Street was abundant.

Especially the specialty items—

Poison.

Having witnessed Deputy Director Qi Duo’s power, she knew how terrifying poison could be.

It wasn’t even poison anymore—it was “liquid corrosion.”

But Samimi didn’t know how to make poison herself.

She could only brew antidotes and blood potions.

Besides—

She didn’t need poison.

As a Battle Priest, just cutting straight through was enough.

Poison? Too much trouble.

Still, she bought one skill book—

[Poison Enchantment].

Not exactly a powerful skill.

It couldn’t compare to her existing [Magic Upon Magic], [Holy Flame Enchantment], or [Solar Flame Enchantment].

It was barely stronger than a normal Flame Enchantment.

And its effect was just “paralysis toxin.”

A bit underwhelming.

But—

She was now a “Collector.”

Strength didn’t matter anymore.

Then, they found something even crazier—

A Purple Weapon with a skill.

Its quality rivaled Red-Grade forged equipment.

One of them—

Had an absurdly exaggerated design.

A snake-like curved blade, black steel color scheme, a hollow blood groove in the middle, serrated on one side, fangs on the other.

Purely built for “coolness.”

Its skill was—

Attack attached with [Bleeding] effect.

Not particularly strong, but extremely expensive.

And it had many problems:

No scabbard, hard to carry.

Complex structure, incredibly heavy.

Lacking practicality.

But Samimi never bought things based on practicality.

She only looked at—how cool it was.

“I’ll take it.”

She directly pulled out half a chest of gold coins and bought it at a high price.

This sword was named—[Snake Abyss].

Even the name was edgy.

She was very satisfied.

The surrounding assassins all shook their heads.

They thought she was a gullible newcomer.

“That coin box you have… looks familiar,” Fabiana said.

“Because I took it from your room.”

“You still owe me money, remember?”

“When did I ever owe you money?”

“You just never found the chance to pay me back!”

Fabiana retorted.

Samimi felt a bit gratified instead.

She was finally talking back.

Progress.

[Snake Abyss] was naturally given to Mino to use.

She couldn’t swing it herself.

And Mino—

Effortlessly swung it with one hand.

The weight was no issue at all.

Storage was even simpler.

Just toss it into the void.

The stranger the weapon, the better it suited her.

Just as the three were about to leave—

“Esteemed guests, please hold on.”

A shop assistant hurried over.

“Our owner would like to meet you.”

Samimi nodded.

“Lead the way.”

Anyone who could run such a big shop in Black Street and sell Purple Weapons—

Had to be no simple figure.

Fabiana instantly understood.

“I see… You deliberately bought the sword at a high price to draw them out?”

“You planned even for this?”

She looked at Samimi with admiration.

“You still have a lot to learn.”

Samimi lifted her chin.

In reality—

She hadn’t thought that far ahead.

Pure coincidence.

The three arrived at the third floor.

The corridor was lined with black-clad guards.

At the deepest end was a secret office.

The door was knocked on.

After a response, it opened.

They entered.

Inside the room—

A strong “Japanese-style” decor.

It felt more like a gang hideout.

And the owner—

Was a woman with immense presence.

Hair tied back, a scar across her face.

Biting a thin long pipe.

Wearing a combat kimono.

The quintessential “Big Sister” of a syndicate.

“Three, please have a seat.”

“Such adorable guests are rare.”

“Are you here to take a job, or place an order?”

She asked with a smile.

“Aren’t you going to ask where we’re from?” Samimi countered.

“A hero doesn’t ask about origins.”

“In our line of work, we don’t ask what shouldn’t be asked.”

“We’re here to buy information.”

Fabiana spoke up.

“We have all kinds of intelligence.”

“From street gossip to noble secrets—everything.”

“We were attacked by a black-clad assassin group.”

“When their missions failed, they took poison and killed themselves.”

“I want to know who they are.”

Samimi got straight to the point.

The Big Sister paused briefly.

But quickly resumed her smile.

“Sorry.”

“We have rules—we don’t leak information about our peers.”

“You can ask elsewhere.”

“They might not be your peers.”

“More likely, they’re some noble’s private army.”

Samimi pressed on.

“Still won’t work.”

“As long as they’re assassins, they’re my peers.”

The Big Sister remained firm.

Samimi was silent for a moment.

Then suddenly changed the subject—

“In the middleman world, what level are you?”