Chapter 420 Gray-Green and Gold Coins
"Evans, someone is coming."
Suddenly, Vignes, who was standing on Aiwass's shoulder, reminded him, "There is no hostility."
Her voice was as soft as a bedtime story. The crow pecked the hair on Aiwass' temples, causing Aiwass to raise his hand to smooth his itchy hair.
"Are you here to see me?"
Aiwass confirmed casually.
He asked that, but he had already believed Vines' warning.
So Aiwas raised his hand to tighten his collar, turned his scarf to the side, put on his coat more tightly, and slightly covered the fresh bloodstains on his collar.
The bloody smell in the air probably wouldn't go away, but keeping it clean was considered a courtesy when meeting guests.
As for who would come to find him - there are not many people who know that Aiwass came to Lloyd's at this time, have the courage to come to him, have no hostility, and also know that he stopped on the seventeenth floor to treat his wounds.
If we limit the range to the area where Aiwass can't hear the footsteps, there can only be one.
So when there was a gentle knock on the office door, Aiwass said directly, "Please come in, Ms. Gray-Green."
The person who opened the door was a woman who looked ordinary in terms of her clothes and appearance.
She looked like a streetwalker, about forty years old, with a slightly hunched back, coarse, parted brown curly hair, and wolf-like gray-green eyes.
The woman looked quite gentle, even a little reserved. When she walked into the office, she even subconsciously grabbed the hem of her clothes with both hands - like a simple farmer who was suddenly called into the school office by her child's class teacher and was at a loss.
If Aiwass had not been unable to hear her footsteps, he would probably have mistaken her for an ordinary person.
And there was no doubt that this extremely simple flaw was deliberately revealed to Aiwass. If she deliberately concealed her identity, Aiwass would have no way of discovering it.
"Minister Moriarty..."
The woman responded in a low and respectful voice.
Aiwass just nodded gently: "Please sit down."
As a result, Aiwass's attitude surprised Huilv.
Because Aiwas's attitude was too friendly, so friendly that all the preparations she had made to persuade Aiwas were invalid.
"You... know me?"
The "gray-green" lady sat down slowly in surprise.
"certainly."
Aiwass nodded and smiled, "Lloyd's 'Gray-Green', the leader of Avalon's largest assassin organization."
She is also the assassin class instructor in version 1.0 and the only boss in Lloyd's, a third-rate organization, who is qualified to enter the dungeon.
Even though "Avalon's Killer" is actually a rather ridiculous-sounding phrase...but as the saying goes, the tallest among the short ones, this unremarkable middle-aged woman is indeed the strongest killer in Avalon.
In the original world line, it was Gray Green who took on Minister Droste's order and sent out assassins to kill Lily and Lily's mother; in the end, Tommy Lloyd's leader also died at Gray Green's hands, and she then became the new leader of Lloyd's.
At the beginning, the disguise identity "Gray" that Aiwass prepared for Lily in Lily's promotion ceremony was set to be the apprentice of "Gray-Green Lady".
Before being adopted by Lloyd, Tommy was also trained as an assassin apprentice alongside Gray and Green by their "mother." However, due to Tommy's lack of talent, he was eventually eliminated and taken away by the previous generation of Lloyd's president.
The "Gray-Green" profession is Blade Walker, commonly known as "Stinger".
She is an assassin who specializes in various poisoning techniques and is also a very popular professional mentor among players. When she entered the dungeon later, she also very kindly dropped the level 50 graduation outfit for the Stinger profession.
It can be said that her reputation was very high from birth to death. That's why Aiwas subconsciously thought of her when he was preparing an identity for Lily.
Compared to the Shadow Assassin, whose skill system is built around the "burrowing" technique of shadow stealth, and the "Sharpshooter" who launches long-range raids similar to snipers after stealth, the "Stinger" who is proficient in poisoning and fierce sneak attacks is more in line with the operating habits of assassin players coming from other games.
This is undoubtedly the assassin that best suits Avalon's characteristics.
Because those assassins who are proficient in stealth and sneaking can easily be knocked out by a flashbang by the mages and priests everywhere in Avalon; and the gunmen who are proficient in firearms are not much threat to the strong tin cans.
If you want to forcibly assassinate the knights in Avalon, a place full of nannies, who are thick-skinned and often accompanied by servants and butlers... you must be good at fighting.
It must be able to deal a lot of damage in a short period of time and have continuous control capabilities. It is best if this damage can ignore armor.
——Except for Blade Walkers, assassins from other inheritance systems simply cannot survive in Avalon.
Even if it was an elite assassin like Miss Assassin Chloe who could assassinate a transcendent of the same level in Iris, it would be almost impossible for her to succeed in assassinating an arbitrator of the same level in Avalon.
Because Knights above the fourth level have such strong vitality, she could easily fail to kill them with a full set of skills, forcing them to be dragged down until reinforcements arrived. Commissioner Gordon, who had previously fought Chloe, was hit by the Deformed Limb's full-scale attack of Oola Oola Oola, but he didn't even suffer a fracture. This was proof of this.
If an assassin cannot even kill an opponent of the same level, he is basically half useless.
Gray-green is just the opposite.
The professions in her system do not emphasize stealth ability, but rather strong burst damage.
Rather than being an assassin, he is more of an agile warrior with strong mobility, temporary invisibility, and the ability to convert physical damage into poison damage.
The "Gray-Green Lady" had many roles. She primarily handled the murky side of Lloyd's, such as shoring up loan repayments and mediating conflicts between affiliated gangs. She also ran casinos and nightclubs. She also worked as a street vendor selling mutton offal soup.
When players are not in a "full" state after eating food, they can get a bowl of mutton soup from "Gray-Green" for free every day after talking to her.
Although the attributes are very ordinary, there is a slight "supernatural skill experience bonus" as long as you eat food.
For players who are reluctant to spend money on food and buffs in the early stages, this kind and nameless old lady can be of great help.
Aiwass hadn't personally experienced that era, but he'd seen similar accounts on forums—back then, after players followed the storyline to open casinos and nightclubs, they saw that the owners behind each establishment all looked like the woman who made the mutton offal soup...
Players all thought that the Faceless God Studio was too lazy to model the game.
Although some players joked that this was all Auntie's industry, or "this is Auntie Yangzai's clone army", no one took it seriously.
——Later I found out that it was really her.
Although she was also related to Lily's mother's death in a sense, Aiwass had already told Lily who was responsible, and Lily had always been clear about her grudges in this regard.
"The assassin was merely a weapon of his employer. What truly killed Mom was my father's murderous intent. Even if there hadn't been a person called 'Gray-Green', a rusty gray-green knife would have taken her life."
This is Lily's attitude towards the Gray-Green Lady.
As a fellow assassin, on the same path of adaptation, she could understand Gray-Green. Perhaps it was because she also saw herself as Aiwass's tool.
It was also for this reason that when Lloyd's was liquidated later, Aiwass did not cause trouble for the gray-green.
If Lily, the person involved, clearly stated that she did not want to retaliate against Gray Green, then Aiwass would not want to make any unnecessary moves.
After all, Gray-Green also sincerely wants to manage the gangs of all sizes in Lloyd's District.
If the Gray-Green was also imprisoned, the leaderless Lloyd's District would fall directly into chaos. Rather than supporting a new agent at that time, it would be better to use the Gray-Green directly.
And Lily just lacks the professional training to be a qualified assassin...and the gray-green lady happens to be the professional mentor of the assassin profession in version 1.0.
Although Lily will probably change her job to a shadow assassin, it is always a good idea to learn some melee skills.
Gray-green's initiative to come to him at this time was exactly what Aiwass wanted.
Even without her saying anything, Aiwass knew what her purpose was.
"You want me to help you unify Lloyd's?" asked Aiwass.
This is the obsession of the "gray-green" lady in the game.
Now Tommy is dead, Boca is in jail, and the factions they both belong to have been investigated.
The only surviving faction in Lloyd's is the Grey-Green Lady.
"No," Gray Green shook his head in denial, "I hope... you can take over Lloyd's."
She said sincerely.
This surprised Aiwass a little: "I thought you had been waiting for this day for a long time."
Unlike Tommy Lloyd, who plotted against Isabel and intended to usurp the country, he is also not like the vice-president of Boca who has an affair with Noble Red.
The "Gray-Green" are very pure, pure gangsters who only work for the gangsters of Lloyd's.
——The purity is very high.
She didn't care about the Noble Red, Prince Lloyd, spies, or the invasion of the Star Antimony people... This gangster lady who had never been to school and could hardly read simply wanted to unify the underground gangs of Glass Island and bring about a new underground order.
"You... can actually see this?"
Gray Green looked at Aiwass with some awe. "I've long heard that Minister Moriarty possesses a devilishly evil wisdom... Oh, sorry. That's a rumor circulating in the Avalon underground... It's a compliment."
This is true.
As an "adapter", she is quite good at the art of silence.
The power of adapting to the path is related to secrets, and she has never told others these secrets in her heart.
"I know what you're thinking," Aiwass said slowly. "You want Lloyd's to be less chaotic, less bloody and less evil. You want to clean up Lloyd's.
"But at the same time, you don't want to kill or lose the jobs of gang members who have essentially committed crimes and don't have any skills.
"Because you grew up here. Those 'good citizens' on the streets of Lloyd's, who were more or less tainted with crimes, were all your uncles. They were also the neighbors you grew up with.
"You just want to protect Lloyd's. Or more narrowly speaking, protect Lloyd's Quarter, right?"
Aiwass spoke softly.
Gray-green looked at Aiwass with almost horror.
Her eyes flashed with admiration that was almost submissive: "Yes...you are right."
Huilv is indeed not a good person. But at least she is not that crazy and can sit down and discuss cooperation.
She is a very typical gang member - uneducated and vulgar, never takes human life seriously, easily hurts others, can't save money and can't concentrate on making money, despises the law but is loyal.
But she is different from other gang members... She knows clearly that these jobs cannot last long and will bring disaster sooner or later. Therefore, she has been working hard to clean up these gang members.
It's just a pity that Lloyd's is practically in the hands of Noble Red. Her words alone don't count.
Because of the Noble Red, because of the Rosicrucian, because the Star Antimony people did not want these gangs controlled by Lloyd's to have a chance to clean up their act. And she did not have the brains to fight them...so she could only choose to remain silent.
Lying dormant, camouflaged, looking for an opportunity. Springing out like a venomous snake, striking with one fatal blow.
——Evans actually didn't know why she suddenly killed Tommy Lloyd.
But it's easy to guess... As a half-giant, Tommy was too close to Noble Red. Gray-Green didn't want Lloyd's to become a tool in the hands of foreigners, nor did they want it to be just a consumable and stepping stone for Lloyd's Chairman to seize materials.
Or to be more precise, not Lloyd's - but the gangs that Lloyd's controls.
So when the capital of Avalon was completely controlled by the Star People, those gangs still resisted the Star People, persisting much longer than the regular army, just like Haina, who had become the leader of the "Hyena Gang".
She doesn't trust other people.
Because those people would only treat the low-level gang members she cared about as consumables.
"…yet you want me to control Lloyd's."
Aiwass said softly, reaching out and touching the crow on his shoulder, without looking back at Gray Green: "Can I take it this way, Ms. Gray Green - you think I will give the lower-level gangs a chance. A chance that you can't give them."
"Yes, Minister..."
"You guessed it, I can."
Aiwass turned around and looked at Gray-Green.
Aiwass leaned against the office window, his face against the light, but his pupils flickered with a deep and strange purple light.
"Then what can you...give to Avalon?"
Aiwass asked slowly, word by word.
Gray Green seemed to have been prepared for this. She answered without hesitation, "Of course, it's a chance to completely change Avalon's outdated society!"
"oh?"
Under Aiwass's curious gaze, Gray Green said loudly, "Please let me introduce you to... Mr. 'Gold Coin'!"
As soon as she finished speaking, someone knocked on the door.
Aiwass also didn't hear his footsteps - but since the Night Demon didn't give any warning, it meant he wasn't an enemy. So after getting Aiwass's consent, the "Gold Coin Man" walked in.
——That was a guest that Aiwas had completely unexpected.
The distinguished guest who shouldn't have appeared in Avalon at this time made Aiwas open his eyes slightly wide.
The gentleman had dark green skin and was only half the height of an average person.
His expression was ferocious, his fangs bared, and he looked quite ugly. He also had a dangerous arrogance, like a high-spirited gambler.
But unlike his appearance, he was wearing a rather high-end suit and a black bowler hat. He looked polite, calm and composed, the complete opposite of his dangerous and crazy temperament.
A goblin.
He was holding a pocket watch in his hand - an extraordinary item that could conceal his aura.
"quack!"
The crow on Aiwass's shoulder suddenly cried out.
The Night Demon's voice echoed in Aiwas' heart: "Be careful, Master. That is a powerful person of the fifth energy level."
"…It's okay, I know him."
Aiwass responded in his heart.
He stared at the goblin merchant and asked, "Are you... Mr. Grandet?"
"This is truly surprising, Your Excellency Minister Moriarty."
The ugly and crazy goblin had a polite and calm voice that was completely different from his appearance. It was the most standard Avalonian language, even with a Glass Island accent.
If I had to describe it, it would be like the elegant and calm voice of an older man that only appears in anime: "You, who have never left Avalon, actually know my name.
"--Even Ms. 'Gray Green' doesn't know my real name."
"I still have some friends overseas."
Aiwass replied ambiguously: "I think the reputation of 'Dragon Trader' Grandet is quite great."
Just like his title.
This "Grandet" is the mount and pet merchant in the game.
He is usually active in the southern continent and is a very powerful person of the wisdom path. He is rational, selfish, and treacherous. It can even be said that he is... wealthy enough to rival a country.
To put it nicely, what he is engaged in is "ocean biological trade."
To put it bluntly, they are human traffickers.
The trolls of the southern continent have extremely strong fertility, strong vitality, and outstanding strength, but low intelligence.
Therefore, the goblins established plantations in the southern continent and used the trolls to work. They then sold the domesticated trolls to other countries as slaves.
The trolls only eat the food of ten people but can do the heavy work of twenty people, and they don't ask for any salary.
Many pioneering areas were developed with the help of trolls.
Aiwass suspected that this had something to do with the triangular trade.
It can even be said that the reason why Avalon did not seize the initiative in the wave of pioneering and colonization was because of the influence of the giants, which made the people of Avalon extremely xenophobic.
Whether it was trolls or goblins... as long as they weren't elves, the people of Avalon were very repulsive. This directly led to their inability to compete with other countries that had tools like trolls.
Both the Iris and the Star Antimony people would deal with goblin merchants. Iris had recently been campaigning to abolish the monarchy, so they couldn't openly sell trolls... but the Star Antimony people needed a lot of heavy labor, ritual materials, experimental subjects, and corpses.
It can even be said that the rapid development of Star Antimony's technology is inseparable from the "Troll" race.
In addition to trolls, this Grandet also sells some rare items.
For example, rare wild animals, rare extraordinary materials... for example, living extraordinary creatures.
He had sold fairies from the Path of Love, and of course, moon children. He had sold fairies from the Path of Beauty, and griffins from the Path of Authority. The reason he was able to sell these things without being hunted down was because he didn't capture them... but rather obtained ownership through legitimate "contracts."
Perhaps it's helping them solve a problem, like saving someone; or perhaps it's making them sacrifice their freedom through a bet—while "risking one's freedom" isn't legal in every country, it's permitted in the realm of the transcendent. Just as transcendents who have transcended the Dao can also sacrifice themselves.
Unlike other human traffickers, Grandet prioritized a legal and formal process. With sufficient capital, he simply moved resources back and forth, increasing their value. And that was all he had.
His trading behavior is more like entertainment in order to complete his "path mission" and upgrade.
Among the many extraordinary creatures that Grandet sold, there was one that made him famous.
That's the dragon.
——Yes, he had sold a genuine pure-blooded dragon that voluntarily sold itself.
"You know me...that's really nice of you."
The goblin merchant spoke slowly, his voice low and magnetic: "Let me get straight to the point. I want to discuss business with you."
"With me?"
Aiwass raised his eyebrows and asked, "Or... with Avalon?"
“Both.”
Grandet smiled slightly. His calm demeanor gave his extremely ugly face and dwarf-like body an unusually magical charm. "Let's talk about what you are most concerned about first.
"Queen Isabelle ascends the throne... Is it time for Avalon's policy of xenophobia and isolation to end?"
6,000-word two-in-one chapter meow~
(End of this chapter)
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