We evil gods must hide.

Chapter 18 Silverleaf Town Black Market Brokers

A mission behind the scenes?

Although Lin Qi was puzzled, he remained calm and composed.

He stood in the corner of the guild for a long time, watching all sorts of adventurers come and go. He had seen many different kinds of people, but the old John in front of him looked ordinary, yet he possessed a unique aura.

If he had to describe it, Lynch thought it was slippery.

They seem like villains trying to deceive this evil god.

"Excuse me, what is meant by 'a mission done behind closed doors'?"

Lin Qi deliberately acted with the awkwardness and caution befitting his age, but his eyes flashed with longing as he asked in a low voice.

Old John glanced around, avoiding the guild members patrolling the hall, and lowered his voice.

"This isn't the place to talk. Come with me."

Having said that, old John prepared to leave the guild hall.

However, after taking a few steps, he realized that Lin Qi had not followed, so he turned back in confusion.

The exceptionally handsome, black-haired young man seemed to be torn between following or not following, his face full of conflict.

Old John chuckled inwardly.

Some newcomers are just timid.

How can someone like that be an adventurer? They'd be scared to death by even a regular wolf.

However, he maintained an extremely amiable demeanor on the surface.

He stepped back and grabbed Lin Qi's arm, pulling him while saying something.

"The rules here are clearly designed to shut out newcomers. Without advanced professional certification or team experience, you won't get a chance to participate in monster hunting or wilderness exploration."

"With so many adventurers from outside Silverleaf Town and rampant monsters, there's always a way to get around them."

"Just follow me, it's not far."

"Brother, I really didn't do human trafficking."

"Alright, then I'll leave it to you."

Seeing that the black-haired youth seemed to believe him, Old John finally let go of his hand and led Lynch to his place.

Following behind this guy, Lin Qi dropped his disguise.

Name: John

Race: Human

[Attributes: Strength 10, Stamina 20, Intelligence 1, Spirit 1, Agility 10]

Occupation: None

[Note: Notorious shady real estate agents in Silverleaf Town]

Shady real estate agents!

OK OK.

Lin Qi couldn't find a way to take on missions for the time being, so he wanted to see what kind of tricks this shady broker in another world used.

Old John walked slowly, taking the back alleys and side streets, deliberately avoiding main roads and crowds.

After passing through a narrow, damp back alley, exchanging glances with the street vendors, and bypassing the noisy pub, a solitary little house appears deep in the alley.

The exterior walls are mottled and old, and the wooden door is crooked.

There was no conspicuous sign; from a distance, it looked like a storage room.

"Come on, come on, it's a bit crowded, be careful not to trip."

Old John gave instructions as he opened the door.

The moment I pushed open the door, a smell of old paper mixed with a faint musty odor wafted out.

Lynch frowned.

The room was cramped, with several old wooden shelves piled with yellowed and damaged files, as well as various broken and miscellaneous items such as bottles and jars.

At first glance, it looks like the laboratory of a down-on-his-luck mage.

Looking around, the walls were densely covered with rough hemp paper, and layers of handwritten task assignments were stacked on top of each other, with curled edges, messy notes, and varying shades of ink. Everything about it exuded one word: low-class.

The working conditions at these shady employment agencies are indeed terrible.

Old John found a small wooden stool in the corner and gestured for Lynch to sit down.

He casually closed the wooden door, shutting out the outside noise, walked to the wall, tore off three crumpled pieces of paper, held them in his hand, and turned to look at Lin Qi.

"As you can see, there are too many rules and regulations for the guild missions on the surface."

"However, our Adventurer's Guild's points are a highly sought-after commodity that is universally used across the continent. Not only adventurers, but also students need them as a bonus for their studies."

"For example, in the center of the continent, the famous academies of the two great empires include Adventurer Guild points in their admission qualification review."

"Practice is the eternal standard for testing combat effectiveness."

Old John picked up the teacup with a chipped corner on the table, blew on it, and continued.

"Don't be fooled by Silverleaf Town's points system, which has all sorts of time limits and double rewards; it's already been monopolized by those few mercenary groups."

"Ordinary adventurers accumulate experience slowly, but advancing to D-rank takes several years."

He leaned down, getting closer to Lin Qi, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes.

"But in the town and the surrounding city-states, many middle-class children and noble collateral branches are young and unwilling to endure hardship. They are eager to accumulate adventure points to enhance their prestige and pave the way for their future."

Lynch understood.

He nodded.

"So they take on missions and then subcontract them to other people?"

"Yes, yes, that's it."

"These rich kids are spoiled and pampered. They wouldn't dare to do such things as hacking and slashing. They can't beat the monsters, and they're unwilling to obediently follow the main group and suffer hardships, so they came to me."

Old John spread out the piece of paper in his hand, on which were written simple task requirements, mostly basic commissions such as goblin extermination, low-level monster expulsion, and exploration of the outer areas.

An E-rank adventurer would be just right.

"They pay people to take on missions in the guild, occupying mission slots, and then subcontract the work of hunting monsters and completing quotas to me, Old John."

"Like this mission, which involves raiding a goblin lair in a certain area," Old John pointed to the top sheet of paper, "the reward is ten points, and each monster head is worth 50 copper coins."

"Then what about me?"

Lin Qi pointed to his chest.

"We only take commissions, we don't keep records in the guild ledger, and we don't record personal resumes."

"I'll take half the commission, and you can split the rest."

"These are all fees for facilitating connections, safeguarding entrusted matters, and managing relationships with guilds; there is no room for negotiation."

"Furthermore, given that you are new here, you are probably not familiar with the map and the monsters, and your strength is also unclear. Since this is your first time joining the team, your bonus will be halved again. Consider it an internship. Once you have done it twice and proved your worth, your treatment will be normal."

They take half the commission, and newcomers have to go down another tier.

so dark!

Lin Qi's gaze fell on the order forms, his eyes deliberately showing a struggle.

To put it bluntly, it's just account boosting.

The jobs that are not allowed within the legal scope are taken over by newcomers and down-on-their-luck adventurers who have nowhere else to go, each getting what they need.

The children of the elite accumulate points, the intermediaries take a cut, and those who do the work get paid for their hard work.

"A newly registered E-level newbie like you is best suited for this kind of dirty and tiring work. Once you've done more missions and I, Old John, think you're reliable, I can help recommend you to a local mercenary group."

"I do have connections, otherwise I wouldn't be able to do this business. Trust me."

"There are people above me," he pointed to the sky.

Old John considered himself to have a good eye for people. He had taken on countless adventurers like Lynch, and some of the more talented ones had even managed to make it big, and he could still strike up a conversation with them.

As for those who are clueless...

Ha ha.

Old John sneered inwardly.

Hopefully, this kid isn't just got a pretty face for nothing, and he'll be a bit smarter.

"I have a few small teams that I regularly work with, specializing in taking on these low-level gray-market jobs. Most of them involve low-level monsters, mainly goblins, on the outskirts of Blackrock Canyon and the edge of Misty Forest. They're not very difficult, and the advantage is stability; there are plenty of jobs available."

"What do you think? Should I join or not?"