CHAPTER 252: CHAPTER 145: SETTLING DOWN

The sound soon disappeared. Xia You thought for a moment and then deleted the message.

During the day, Ren Minghang’s expression and the distance he deliberately maintained when standing with Zhang Fangxiao suggested that he had not developed feelings for someone new.

All the changes were likely coming from that Old Marshal from the Ren Family. He must have put pressure on Ren Minghang, deterring him from continuing the relationship.

Waiting for Ren Minghang, Xia You smiled bitterly. She wasn’t even sure if she liked Ren Minghang, so how could she wait for him?

("You really are cold-hearted. That confused young man is a good person, compared to those men you’ve met.") Little Eight is usually silent, but she couldn’t help analyzing every man who appeared beside Xia You when she was bored.

"Forget it, I should head to Military Road first and get a grip. I’ll try to find Ziyu first, then meet up with Agent 500 to think of ways to get information on Klaao," Xia You found that every time she entered a new city, she would create trouble for herself.

When Ziyu, who was in the Roman Temple, heard from the temple priest that someone was looking for her, she ran out excitedly.

The visitor was not Agent 0 but a young man whom she had never seen before.

Relying on her years of experience in reading people at the temple, Ziyu could tell at a glance that the man before her was formidable.

"Bai Tuo, the Captain of the Roman Imperial Guard," Bai Tuo didn’t understand why Apoli had asked him to find a disfigured woman to treat her wounds.

Klaao had been captured by Bai Tuo, and after the Deputy Captain of the Guard had searched unsuccessfully, Bai Tuo personally led a search from Rome City toward Babylon City.

At two-fifths of the distance from Rome City, he noticed Klaao. Klaao’s demeanor was still as it was when Agent 0 left, with a perfect disguise, so that even her personal maid could not recognize their noble queen from the woman eating coarse food.

But Bai Tuo noticed. He watched the way Klaao dined; a woman who appeared lonely and claimed to be heading to Rome City to seek relatives, but ate with remarkable grace. Bai Tuo, who had the fortune to dine with Octavian, could confirm that only someone from the Royal Family could eat so composedly under the scrutiny of many eyes.

They had captured her, but shortly after bringing Klaao into Rome City, she committed suicide.

No one noticed that the queen still had a deadly snake wrapped around her hand, and following Octavian’s wishes, he didn’t intend to execute Klaao immediately. He wanted to execute their queen in front of all the people of Egypt, to completely subjugate the ancient Egypt Dynasty.

Apoli could only keep Klaao in an unconscious state; she could not remove the deadly poison from the queen’s blood. She quickly thought of someone—her sister, Ziyu. Apoli and Ziyu practiced different Medical Skills; Ziyu specialized in healing magic, while Apoli was better at mental Magic.

After Bai Tuo explained his purpose, Ziyu first bowed her head in thought. Bai Tuo had not revealed the identity of Cleopatra to her, nor could he expect someone from the Babylon era to recognize a figure from the Roman Egypt era centuries later.

"I can help treat the patient, but I need to leave a note for my master first." Ziyu had been waiting for Agent 0 for over two months, yet there was still no sign of her.

Having met Apoli, Bai Tuo thought that compared to the incomparably beautiful Apoli, the disfigured Ziyu may not have been striking in appearance, but her conversation and demeanor still revealed an extraordinary quality.

After writing a simple note, Ziyu handed it to the temple priest and then followed Bai Tuo to the Roman Acropolis.

Agent 0 arrived at the temple later, and the ink on the letter that reached the temple priest’s hands was not yet dry.

"A step late," Agent 0 regretted, if she could have come earlier, perhaps she could have used Ziyu’s medical opportunity to infiltrate the Roman Acropolis.

However, things were not too bad. Ziyu said she would return before sunset. Agent 0 had to leave the temple first and go find Agent 500.

The place arranged by Agent 500 was completely in line with his style. Agent 0 stood awkwardly outside Rome’s largest bathhouse, looking at the two big words "Mixed Bathing" posted outside.

According to the verbal message sent by Agent 500, he would be in the Roman Bath from twelve to two o’clock every afternoon, during what he said was the most sleepy and hottest time of the day. He believed one shouldn’t be running around outside but rather find a place with shade and beautiful women to stay; the Roman Bath matched his needs perfectly.

After waiting for about two hours and identifying countless passersby’s attributes, No. 0 finally saw No. 500, who was surrounded by several blonde-haired, blue-eyed Roman beauties with ample bosoms and long legs.

"Darling, we’ll meet again in a few days. After I’ve won the title of Duel King, I’ll come to find you." No. 500 wore a smile on his face and, as he walked out the door, he didn’t forget to turn back

and bid farewell to the beauties behind him.

A leg blocked his path, and the distracted No. 500 almost fell flat on his face.

"Who’s the blind one," No. 500 steadied himself against the wall, scowling at the person who had blocked his way. Upon seeing it was No. 0, he chuckled twice, reached out his arm, and draped it over No. 0, "Oh, it’s you. Perfect timing, I’ll take you on a tour of my house."

"Your house?" No. 0 couldn’t believe it. When had No. 500 settled down in the city?

This time, No. 500 wasn’t lying; he really had set up a home in Rome City. A mansion, two carriages, dozens of slaves, eight maids, and three beautiful and delicate wives.

"Shocked, aren’t you? It’s an absolute mansion in reality, too. The slaves are imported from Africa, and my concubines are all purebred blonde-haired, blue-eyed Italian beauties," No. 500 boasted proudly as he showed No. 0 around his house.

"How many missions did you have to complete to accumulate such wealth?" No. 0 couldn’t believe that No. 500, who had seemed so pitiable a few months ago, could have earned such a fortune in just a few months.

"Heh heh, I just took up a side job. I have nothing to hide from you; I’ve teamed up with others to form a group that specifically robs the NPCs on Military Road. Especially those historically renowned tycoons," No. 500 had also met several players in the tavern. Though he didn’t know them in reality, they hit it off instantly in the game, claiming that accumulating military merit and military coins through traditional methods was too slow. They decided to make a quick fortune instead. Player strength on Military Road was notably higher than that of ordinary NPCs.

"You guys are insane," No. 0 too realized that Military Road itself had significant loopholes. For example, the neighboring cities were like independent nations with no dedicated law enforcement. Players were clearly superior to NPCs due to continuous training.

"Unfortunately, the system itself quickly caught on to this loophole. Recently, united armies have started to appear between the city-states. Led by the Roman Imperial Guard, they began to eliminate nearby bandits. All military stations also require their soldiers to report their whereabouts regularly. My road to wealth was cut short midway," No. 500’s pride didn’t last long before he became dejected again.

A classic case of countermeasures from above and tactics from below; as some players exploited the system’s loopholes, others took on the role of guardians on the side of justice.

"You didn’t call me here just to listen to the history of how you made your fortune, did you?" No. 0 said, rather annoyed.

"Of course not. I want to invite you to join me in a Gladiator Arena contest." No. 500 was now a man with a "family"—such a large mansion and a plethora of women, each of which was very costly.

"Gladiator Arena?" No. 0 realized she was out of the loop once again.

The Roman Colosseum was world-famous. In the year 2064, all that could be seen was the ruins of an ancient arena composed of broken remnants. Even as ruins, one could imagine the intense gladiatorial combat and beast fights witnessed by crowds of thousands back in the day.

"Look at you, you’re definitely out of the loop again. I’ve had a Reconnaissance Soldier send you messages for quite a while now, and you only arrived today. No matter, it’s fine. I’ve already found some partners, and just so happen to need a Reconnaissance Soldier. Including you, it’s the perfect fit," No. 500, who could think of making NPC fortunes, was certainly a shrewd person.

There were several types of duels in the Roman Colosseum: ’Beast Fight’, the duel between ferocious beasts; ’human fight’, the duel between humans and untamed wild beasts; and finally, ’Gladiator’, which mean the true sense of gladiatorial combat.

The military merit and military coins awarded for each duel varied depending on the difficulty and number of times participated.

"Team competitions are a recent addition. Heard it was suggested by members of the Personal Guard, with the final match being a battle between Gladiators and the Personal Guard." Having dealt with the Roman Acropolis’s Personal Guard, No. 500 had cursed those who had cut off his route to fortune more than once.

In team battles, military merit accumulated based on the number of participants, which was initially quite unattractive to players. However, its biggest advantage over individual contests is that military merit and coins can be settled after each match. Individual contests required maintaining a streak of at least three matches before entering the final settlement.

"The question is? Are you sure you want to rope me in," No. 0 was thankful that No. 500 remembered her, even though her strength seemed somewhat inferior compared to average players.

"No worries, I’m not much better than you. I’ve already found a meat shield, and our roles have been clearly defined—you’ll be in charge of gathering information," No. 500 assured, tapping his chest.

"What about you?" No. 0 asked again.

"Heh heh, well, you’ll find out when the time comes. Let me take you to the Gladiator Arena first," No. 500 winked. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets at Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation.)