Synthesis-type adventurers

Chapter 45 I got ripped off.

Deep underground in the slums, a brand new safe house.

The cramped basement I rented is a thing of the past.

Although the place was cheap, the landlord's name was printed in black and white on the city hall's register.

Ever since the security team and that deadbeat Viktor von Hohenheim came knocking, that area has no longer been considered "safe".

To be on the safe side, Rod cut off this trail that could be followed, and only after paying a hefty black market commission with Avira was he able to find the cellar left behind by the former smuggler.

After half a month of renovation, the originally abandoned stone chamber has been completely transformed.

Bundles of dried herbs hung on the walls, and glassware salvaged from the garbage dump reflected a cold light in the corners.

The nasal cavity was filled with the acrid dust of mold spores, dried herbs, and rotting paper.

In the center of the wooden table, the dim yellow light of an oil lamp cast a flickering shadow on the book "Basic Rune Analysis (Third Edition)".

Rod pressed his elbows on the rough tabletop, his fingers tracing the intricate ink lines on the parchment, his brow furrowing slightly.

"The fire element's configuration is not just a triangle; it also requires nodes for magic flow at the three vertices..." Rhodes repeated the parameters in a low voice, gesturing a geometric trajectory in the air with his left hand.

As [Analysis Vision] was activated, the ink on the pages decomposed in his eyes. After peeling away the moldy entries, the lines that had been blurred by dampness were filled in, and dense annotation entries appeared on the side of his vision.

"I see. Add the guide line and adjust the return angle..."

Rod grabbed the quill pen, its tip piercing the fibers of the discarded scrap paper, leaving a trail of black lines.

Just then, a piercing metallic scraping sound shattered the silence underground.

The hinges of the hidden door were turning—the entrance had been specially aged, and on the outside it looked like just a rotten, abandoned cabinet.

Rod's fingers paused, and the pen tip spread a dark ink stain on the paper.

He casually swept the book of runes into a hidden compartment under the table, and with his other hand, he grasped the hilt of the finely crafted longsword hidden under the table.

"Who?"

The door was violently smashed open, and a blast of cold air, carrying the stench of rainwater and sewers, rushed into the room.

A figure stumbled in, his muddy boots leaving a trail of filthy black marks on the floor.

A woman—or rather, a fox-woman soaking wet.

Her hair was tangled into a muddy clump, and she gripped a rusty dagger tightly in her hand, the trembling tip aimed at Rhodes.

"You...liar!" Chiba squeezed out broken syllables from his throat.

That iconic silver tail was now a heavy, sluggish clump of sewage, dragging helplessly behind him, leaving a puddle of black water on the floor.

Rhodes's gaze swept over the cheap dagger, the blade of which was bent, and finally landed on Chiba's face, which was covered with mud and scratches.

"If it were me, I wouldn't point this piece of junk that's so bad it'd be hard to even peel an apple at a professional swordsman." He loosened his grip on the hilt, leaned back in his chair, and clasped the hilt across his chest with both hands. "Especially when your legs are trembling... By the way, how did you find this place?"

"Stop talking nonsense!"

Chiba staggered to the table with heavy steps, but his knees buckled and he almost fell to his knees. He could only reach out and hold onto the table tightly.

Those amber eyes were filled with spiderweb-like red blood vessels as they glared fiercely at Rhodes.

"You've killed me! Do you know that? You've killed me!"

"How did I kill you?" Rhodes raised an eyebrow. "As far as I know, you personally auctioned off that Crimson Star, and you pocketed the 36 Orim's commission yourself. What, are those gold coins too hot to handle?"

"Money? Where's the money?!" Chiba slammed the dagger on the table with a clang, pointed it at his own nose, his voice sharp with uncontrollable emotion. "Those mad dogs from the Hohenheim family! That Victor died in the middle of nowhere, his bones gnawed clean by wild dogs. They can't find the killer, so they take it out on me!"

She took a deep breath, her chest heaving: "My shop... my Chiba-ya! A week ago, it was reduced to a floor covered in scrap wood! All the inventory, all the ledgers, even the secret stash of money I hid under the floorboards—it was all gone!"

Chiba picked up the cheap dagger on the table again and waved it wildly in the air a few times.

"A city-wide manhunt. Wanted posters are plastered all over the streets. All because of your broken sword! You have to pay me back! You absolutely have to pay me back!"

"It's a real shame the shop was destroyed," Rhodes shrugged, a helpless expression on his face. "But what does that have to do with me?"

"What do you mean it's okay! You're the one who told me to sell that sword!"

"I'm the supplier, you're the distributor." Rod held up two fingers. "The contract stipulates a 30/70 split. You take 30%, which isn't just about site and labor costs, but also a risk premium."

He looked Chiba straight in the eye and said matter-of-factly, "If we sell it for a high price, you won't give me a bigger share. Similarly, if this deal causes trouble, that's a cost you'll have to bear. That's called business etiquette."

"To hell with business rules!" Chiba was so angry that his fox ears perked up and his fur stood on end. "I don't even have a place to live right now, I can't even afford a black loaf of bread! I don't care, if you don't pay me back, I'll... I'll just stay here with you! Or I'll go out and shout right now and give you away!"

"Give it up?"

Rod smiled.

He stood up and walked over to Chiba.

Chiba was overshadowed by his height, and she was forced to look up. The physical pressure made her subconsciously take a half step back.

"Do you think the Hohenheim family would believe the confession of a wanted criminal? Once you show your face, all that awaits you is the torture chamber, not leniency."

Rhodes looked down at Chiba, watching fear and anger intertwine in her pupils.

"You're a smart woman, Ms. Chiba. You know that's a dead end."

Chiba's lips trembled.

Faced with Rhodes's cold logic, the blustering anger quickly cooled, leaving only a desolate despair.

"What can I do..." She slid down the edge of the table and sat on the floor, her voice trembling with tears. "My savings of five years, all gone..."

"Gurgle—"

A loud rumbling sound echoed in the narrow basement.

Chiba's body stiffened, his cheeks flushed red from the mud, but the protest from his empty stomach could not be concealed.

Rod glanced at the half-eaten black bread on the table, his ration for the night—a dehydrated, hard black brick.

But in Chiba's eyes at that moment, it was more tempting than any gemstone.

"I don't do charity, and I don't accept extortion." Rod bent down to pick up the dagger that Chiba had thrown on the ground, flicked the blade with his fingernails, making a crisp sound, "But I happen to have an opening here."

Chiba looked up, her eyes still damp with tears: "What?"

"My team lacks a middleman who can sell scrap metal at the price of gold. We also lack a pair of ears that can sift through information in this city of lies."

Rod inserted the dagger into the black bread and handed it to Chiba.

"There's an empty room in this basement. It's not as comfortable as your Chiba-ya, but at least it doesn't leak, and the Hohenheim family can't find this place—if you were able to get here because of that untrustworthy middleman, then we'll have to get rid of him."

"I found this place on my own merits!" Chiba sniffed. "It has nothing to do with anyone else."

"Alright... let's get back to the topic—you'll work for me, I'll provide room and board, but there's no base salary." Rod looked at Chiba's eyes, which were practically glued to his bread. "You'll get a percentage of the profits from the goods you handle, just like always. Besides, I'll provide you with shelter. This will not only help you evade capture but also give you a chance to earn back your retirement savings. Are you in or not?"

Chiba stared at the bread, his throat bobbing.

She glared at Rod through gritted teeth, her eyes filled with a hatred that seemed to want to tear a piece of flesh from him.

Half a minute of silence passed.

Ultimately, the instinct for survival triumphed over that pitiful sense of self-respect.

Chiba snatched the black bread, took a big bite out of it with his sharp canine teeth, and then grabbed the dagger back, stuffing it into his muddy boot.

"Deal!" She wolfed down her food, bread crumbs flying everywhere. "But I'm warning you, if there are any more of these 'deadly' orders that could lead to the shop being vandalized... you'd better let me know in advance! I'll raise the price! Add a risk allowance!"

"A reasonable request."

Rhodes' lips curled up slightly as he sat back down at the table, pulled out the book "Basic Rune Analysis" from the hidden compartment, and turned back to the page with the folded corner.

"Welcome, my sales manager. But for now, I expect you to keep quiet and not disturb my studies," he said without looking up. "There's water behind the side door; wash yourself clean. I don't want my safe house to reek of sewer stench."

"Stingy...profiteer...vampire..."

Chiba cursed under his breath, snorted at Rod, clutched the half-bread tightly to his chest, and limped toward the inner room.