After Triss left, Lynn returned to his quiet life.

Although Dudu hadn't been managing Lynn's funds for long, he clearly had a knack for business. The assets entrusted to him had grown by nearly forty percent in this short time. Lynn knew he could be trusted. With Dudu as his professional manager, he didn't need to worry much about the business side of things.

The blacksmith shop in Toussaint was, as expected, lukewarm in terms of business. After all, the equipment crafted by Toussaint was all top-tier, and top-tier equipment naturally commanded top-tier prices. Therefore, while many people visited daily, most were just looking. Those who could actually afford to buy were few and far between.

This was a good thing, though. It gave Toussaint ample time to craft a set of Grandmaster-level gear for every witcher.

In contrast to the blacksmith shop's business, the Syndicate was developing very well in Novigrad. Not only had many beggars in the city joined the Syndicate, but the large amounts of information these beggars collected daily even included a piece of major news:

A gang called the Jagger Gang had captured a young man named Vernon Roche.

"What is the Jagger Gang? I thought there were only the Big Three gangs in the city."

When Lynn previously tasked the Syndicate with an investigation, their findings indicated that there were three main gangs in Novigrad: the Cleaver's gang, the Willy's gang (Whale), and the Redanian Razors. What was this obscure, newly emerged group, a bunch of demons and evil spirits?

Francis Drake, who was standing before Lynn reporting his work, paused and said, "The Jagger Gang belongs to Jagger, a councilor of the City Hall. They mainly engage in illegal activities such as Fisstech smuggling and human trafficking."

"Since the Jagger Gang does not conflict with the Big Three gangs' interests, and Jagger has good personal relationships with the other City Hall councilors, the Jagger Gang's activities in Novigrad are essentially unimpeded."

Lynn gave a cold laugh. "Good personal relationships? I suspect it's their mutual interests that are involved."

In the face of naked self-interest, personal relationships are useless. Look at the countless examples of fathers and sons, siblings, or best friends starting businesses together only to end up with bitterness and disputes, proving the compelling truth of "even close family must settle accounts clearly." The illegal income generated by the Jagger Gang's activities probably went directly into the pockets of the other City Hall councilors in exchange for their turning a blind eye.

But then again, that's just the way it is in this era. Crows are black the world over. It's not that such things don't exist; it's just that people don't know about them.

"Then what's the deal with this young man named Vernon Roche?" If Lynn remembered correctly, this person should be in Vizima. Why would he be in Novigrad?

"Vernon Roche is a Temerian. Father unknown, mother is a prostitute in the Temple Quarter of Vizima. He grew up on the streets, but unlike many young men with a similar background, he didn't get hooked on Fisstech. Instead, relying on his formidable fists and loyalty, he gathered a group of like-minded friends."

"He and his friends bravely protected their neighborhood, but unfortunately, their good fortune didn't last. A childhood friend of one of his companions suddenly disappeared. After some investigation, they discovered she had been kidnapped. These hot-headed young men didn't overthink things and decided to break into the bandits' camp under the cover of night to rescue the hostage."

"None of them expected that street-fighting experience could not be applied outside the streets. And so, they failed. Most of them were brutally killed. A few, like Roche, were packaged and brought back to Novigrad, awaiting further disposal."

After reporting the collected information, Francis Drake looked at Lynn curiously and asked, "Sir, you seem very interested in this name. Is this young man named Vernon Roche an acquaintance of yours?"

Lynn did not answer Drake's question. Instead, he asked, "Where are they being held now?"

"In the Jagger Gang's hideout. They bought a deserted farm outside the city and are using it as their base. It is precisely because the Jagger Gang's main area of operation is outside the city that the Big Three gangs turn a blind eye to them."

After getting the exact location of the Jagger Gang's hideout from Drake, Lynn did not linger. He immediately left the villa. Mounting Nidhoggr, he left Novigrad through the Hierarch Gate and galloped toward the Jagger Gang's hideout.

About forty minutes later, Lynn finally found the abandoned farm where the Jagger Gang was hiding. Lynn did not approach immediately. He first found a place to tether his horse to prevent it from bolting if startled. Only then did he find a suitable observation point to scout the abandoned farm.

The deserted farm was built on a remote, barren field. The location was clearly chosen after careful consideration; no caravans or travelers would pass through here. This minimized the possibility of exposure.

There was no cover nearby; anyone attempting to approach would immediately be spotted by the Jagger Gang members inside the farm. The farm was enclosed by a low, waist-high fence. Inside, there were three buildings: two barns and one farmhouse. The farmhouse was faintly audible, with noises and shouting carried by the wind. The barns, however, were silent. This suggested that Roche and his companions were likely held in one or both of the barns.

But it didn't matter. Once he killed everyone in the abandoned farm, he could take his time searching later.

Inside the abandoned farm, a few gang members were standing guard, bored out of their minds. They weren't really guarding; they were just passing the time. Because these gang members knew very well that no normal person would ever come to this godforsaken place. Even if someone got lost, anyone with half a brain, upon seeing them, would immediately turn tail and run as far as possible.

How could anyone possibly...

"Damn it, am I seeing things? Is there really someone not afraid of death?"

Sam, who was chewing on a blade of grass, heard the complaint from the gang member next to him. Instinctively, he looked into the distance. He saw a figure about two or three hundred meters away brazenly approaching. And the direction he was heading was straight toward their location.

....

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