Chapter 52. That Lord
Entering from a cabinet, Lin Nuo descended the heavy staircase and arrived in the basement, where countless boxes were stored.
Immediately after going down, Lin Nuo put on the ring, and inadvertently revealed the Dark Alliance badge.
“Where is the thing I asked for?”
Lin Nuo deliberately held a thin piece of paper with his ring-wearing hand, which listed the items he wanted.
The black market vendor noticed the ring in his hand, which was a symbol of status among the Dark Alliance, along with the badge and the code phrase from before he entered—nothing could be faked.
Furthermore, they had exchanged small talk earlier, and it felt like this person was quite knowledgeable about both the black market and the current state of underground organizations.
Could this be the legendary Lord?
Moreover, judging by his tone, he seemed to be high-ranking within the Dark Alliance. Generally, these lords wouldn’t explicitly say what they wanted; they relied on the sellers to understand.
Just as expected, this was the time for high-ranking members of the Dark Alliance to come by.
“Wait a moment.”
The black market vendor took the thin piece of paper, but he didn’t open it. When dealing with a lord of the Dark Alliance, clarity in conversation isn’t needed. Simply handing over the goods for the items listed would be too crude and leave a bad impression.
Through observing the person’s behavior and speech, he had concluded that this was indeed that lord, and he could directly hand over the box containing the princess to him.
This was professionalism; dealings with a lord of the Dark Alliance required that level of professionalism.
He instructed someone to push over a small box and said:
“Sir, everything is in here; please inspect it.”
Sir?
Lin Nuo chuckled upon hearing this. Indeed, after putting on the Dark Alliance ring, his treatment was different—he was directly referred to as “Sir” with a friendly smile.
Lin Nuo lightly tapped the box with his fingertips and calmly said, “No need, I trust you.”
He understood the customs and principles involved. Although items purchased on the black market could be very expensive, they emphasized credit and it was rare for them to sell counterfeit goods, especially when dealing with a powerful organization like the Dark Alliance; they wouldn’t take any chances, hence the goods were guaranteed to be authentic.
So, he decided not to inspect the goods, trusting the vendor and showing him respect—after all, there would be plenty of opportunities to interact in the future, and it was best to maintain a good relationship.
Lin Nuo said, “I’ll pay you the remaining amount.”
The black market vendor shook his head. “No need, there’s plenty of time. For long-term cooperation, we can settle everything later.”
The vendor thought the lord was just being polite. He certainly couldn’t accept the money right now, as it would be against the norms—they had to wait until the job was done, and only then could the boss personally collect the payment.
Lin Nuo was very satisfied with this transaction. It seemed this vendor was quite shrewd and knew how to do business. Seeing he was with the Dark Alliance, speaking of long-term cooperation and settling later established a good seller’s image.
Alright, long-term cooperation; we’ll settle later.
Lin Nuo left with the box in his ordinary-looking vehicle. His attire and vehicle were quite plain, and the box looked just like a common person transporting a batch of daily goods like soy sauce and rice.
Once the box was taken away, the vendor finally breathed a sigh of relief. After all, the princess was hidden here, and they had been on edge every day, worried that the lord of You City wouldn’t be able to protect them, leading to the royal military storming in with a group, collapsing their operation chain. They would also lose future cooperation opportunities with the Dark Alliance.
Now that the person was taken away, the responsibility shifted to the Dark Alliance; they wouldn’t have to worry about it anymore, waiting just to collect the payment.
With the task completed, it was time to celebrate.
Not long after, the black market vendor’s boss brought a man down to the basement.
The boss glanced around and noticed the box that held the princess was gone.
“Has the box already been transported away?”
“Yes, it just left a moment ago. I’ve confirmed he has the Dark Alliance badge and identity ring, and he seems quite knowledgeable about the circulation of our black market and underground organizations.”
“Good.”
The boss nodded satisfactorily, then turned to the man beside him and said,
“Lord Yang, that esteemed person just took the princess away. Thank you for coming all this way; you can go join him now.”
“Just left? But when we arrived, we didn’t see Lord Guang at all.”
The man felt it was hard to believe. Originally, he had come to support Guang Shen since his side was progressing smoothly, but now that the princess had been taken away, if it had just happened, they should have encountered him on their way.
“We only saw a scar-faced man with a black face taking a box out; we didn’t see Lord Guang.”
“Yes, that’s him! He has the Dark Alliance badge and ring; wasn’t it him who came to pick her up?”
“Wait, you gave the box to him?!”
“Y-yes…”
Hearing the man’s astonished tone, the vendor felt something was off.
The man suddenly gritted his teeth. “This is bad, bad! Lord Guang might be in trouble! Quickly gather everyone and follow me to retrieve that kid; he isn’t one of us from the Dark Alliance!”
“Ah?!”
Everyone on-site was left dumbfounded.