Chapter : 78

Having temporarily formed an alliance with the Children's Gang, Yan Yunqing only then learned that the Children's Gang was actually called the Children's Gang.

What a simple and unadorned name.

Yan Yunqing glanced at Jeff, who was still continuously losing health. He took out a money pouch from his backpack.

This was the one he had lifted from Majina, the palace maid he had finished off in the Bartovita Royal Palace.

It had to be said, as expected of someone by the Queen's side, she had quite a bit of money. However, Yan Yunqing himself was not poor.

He would occasionally lift people's money pouches, but it was just a habit of looting after killing. No player would be able to resist looting a monster after killing it.

Yan Yunqing tossed the money pouch into Nika's arms, "Take your brother for treatment. No matter what, survive first, then think about more possibilities."

After saying this, Yan Yunqing stood up coolly, wanting to act cool.

But he forgot that this room was short. As soon as he stood up, he hit his head on the waterproof tarp on the ceiling with a thud.

Yan Yunqing: "...Isn't your roof made of waterproof tarp and sod?"

Why did his head make a thudding sound when he hit it?

Nika, who was still in a daze, at a loss for what to do with the money pouch that was suddenly thrown into her arms, answered directly without thinking, "Because the wind here is strong and often blows the roof off, Fudi and the others reinforced the house before. I think they found a few wooden planks and installed them on top."

Yan Yunqing: ...

Yan Yunqing silently lowered his head and bent over as he walked out of this small home built by the children's own hands.

Watching Yan Yunqing leave, Nika looked at the money pouch in her hands. After coming to her senses, she immediately opened it and saw a bag full of gold.

Jeff also saw the gold coins in the money pouch. Thinking of what Yan Yunqing had said, he couldn't help but sigh to Nika, "It seems we've really met a very good person."

Nika's fingers tightened as she grabbed Jeff's wrist, "Jeff, let's go find Mr. Paul now!"

Jeff was helpless, "Alright."

Belo, who had finally found a cup and filled it with a full cup of hot water, looked at the empty room and tilted her head in confusion: Huh, where did Sister Nika and big brother go?

***

It's unknown if Nika had said something to the other children, but the few children who often ran outside were extremely friendly to Yan Yunqing.

Even Rocco, who was initially very wary and hostile towards Yan Yunqing, softened his attitude.

Only then did Yan Yunqing learn that the reason Rocco could steal things from others without anyone knowing was all thanks to his talent skill [Theft].

"...You would actually tell me something so important?" Yan Yunqing was surprised, "This skill should be very important to you, right? Aren't you afraid I'll tell others?"

The reason why the Children's Gang could succeed in stealing every time was, one, because of their appearance as children.

Ordinary people would not be too wary of children, allowing them to get close easily. And they only stole from outsiders, who were even less likely to be on guard against them.

The second reason was Rocco's talent skill. This skill was truly undetectable. Yan Yunqing was even a little envious.

[Theft]

Description: After making physical contact with the target, you can specify one item on the target's body to steal, ignoring level differences. After a successful theft, your own presence is reduced, and the probability of being noticed by others is greatly reduced. Duration: 20min. Skill cooldown: 120min.

If it weren't for the fact that this talent skill could not be taught, Yan Yunqing would definitely have gotten this skill from Rocco. It was too fitting for his Joker identity!

With this skill, he would be the real Phantom Thief Joker. After stealing, he even had a built-in concealment effect. Which phantom thief wouldn't drool at the sight of that?

Rocco turned his head slightly, "...Hmph, I'm not afraid you'll tell."

If it weren't for Jeff's situation being too dire and their urgent need for money to treat Jeff, and the companions in Mandiper being unreachable for a while, they wouldn't have tried to steal from this person.

They were always very cautious when choosing their targets. Even if his talent skill was really revealed, it wouldn't matter.

Yan Yunqing could roughly guess what Rocco was thinking. He could only say that this child was still a bit too naive. If this talent skill was known by outsiders, he would only become a little rat that everyone in this Free City would want to beat down.

Even if they said they wouldn't steal from their own people, what use was that?

"Besides," Rocco looked at Yan Yunqing awkwardly, "You saved Nika and Jeff, so you should be trustworthy, right?"

Yan Yunqing: "Well... why not?"

Child, you're so easy to deceive.

"Anyway—" Rocco lifted his chin, "Nika said my talent skill should be of some use to you. I'll go into Mandiper with you then. Just tell me what to do."

He thought for a moment and added, "I don't have money to pay the entrance fee, you'll have to figure something out."

Yan Yunqing thought for a moment and felt that there was some truth to his words. Rocco's skill was indeed very useful, and if used well, it would be a great help to him.

"Alright, then you'll follow me these few days. Let me see your abilities." Yan Yunqing unceremoniously detained Rocco and took the child back to the inn where he was staying.

Entering this kind of inn, which was extremely expensive for them, for the first time, Rocco nervously pinched the corner of his clothes, not even knowing how to take a step, "Do I have to start following you from today?"

Yan Yunqing: "Of course, Nika has already sold you to me. You definitely have to start following me from today to build up some rapport. Otherwise, what if you don't understand my intentions when we're in Mandiper?"

Rocco was stunned, "Nika didn't sell me to you!"

Yan Yunqing said perfunctorily, "Yes, yes, it's just a metaphor."

Rocco: "...Alright."

Rocco followed closely behind Yan Yunqing, hiding in his shadow. If one wasn't careful, one really wouldn't see him.

Just as he opened the door, Yan Yunqing poured himself a glass of water to drink, moistening his somewhat dry throat.

When he turned his head, he found that Rocco had already found a corner and was squatting there, quietly watching him.

Yan Yunqing: ...?

He almost choked on a mouthful of water, "Cough... what are you doing squatting there?"

Rocco hesitated, "Then where should I go? Should I wait in the corridor?"

Yan Yunqing: "...I mean, you can sit on a chair. Isn't it uncomfortable to huddle in a corner?"

Rocco looked at his not-so-clean clothes, then at this extremely tidy inn. Rocco, who had never felt dirty before, found that he was out of place in this place.

He slowly stood up, dragged a chair, and sat in the corner again.

Alright, it seems this child really likes corners.

Yan Yunqing rummaged through his backpack, took out a set of ordinary clothes he had bought from Sunset Village, and tossed one to Rocco.

"Go take a bath and change into these clothes first. I'll buy you a new set later. You can't still be dressed like a little beggar when you enter Mandiper."

Rocco puffed out his cheeks but did not refute Yan Yunqing's words. He held the clothes and went into the washroom.

Yan Yunqing wanted to explain how to use the bathroom, but Rocco didn't give him a chance. After a while, the sound of trickling water came from inside.

It seemed this child was quite smart.

Yan Yunqing ignored him and sorted out his thoughts. According to Nika, someone from the Children's Gang would come to teach him the basic rules of Mandiper.

This was indeed what he lacked now. After all, he was a law-abiding citizen before and had never been to a casino. At most, he had watched the old men and women in his community gather to play mahjong.

Excluding the travel time, he had a little over a month left for his assessment.

This time was a bit tight for his original plan, but after getting a group of little helpers, this time became very ample. At least he could save the time of exploring the Free City.

These children who grew up in the Free City knew a lot about this place.

However, he still had to gather information. At least he had to first find out who his opponents were, and at the same time, learn about the Black Snake mercenary group and Nana.

Looking at the description on his task list, Nana's situation was not very good. It even said she was about to wither. Yan Yunqing was worried that if he accidentally went late, Nana would be gone directly.

Not to mention the direct failure of a task and the loss of rewards, even the Children's Gang's trust in him would decrease, which would be detrimental to his future actions.

Yan Yunqing marked [Save Nana] on the task list as a priority, preparing to find out Nana's location tonight and see if he could rescue her in advance to complete this task.

If that didn't work, he had to ensure Nana's safety.

As Yan Yunqing finished making his plans for the next step, the sound of trickling water in the washroom also stopped. Yan Yunqing waited for a while, and the door opened. Rocco walked out.

The clothes Yan Yunqing gave him were adult-sized, which looked particularly comical on the small Rocco. The overly long pant legs and sleeves were folded up, but they still looked very loose.

Rocco's hair hung down wetly. Paired with the ill-fitting clothes and the occasional look of bewilderment, he looked very much like a little dog that had accidentally fallen into the water.

He shook his head, and the water droplets on his hair flew out with his movement.

He looked even more like a little dog that had fallen into the water.

Rocco complained, "There's not even hot water, and this inn is still so expensive. Next time I'll take you to the bathhouse over there. It's much warmer than here."

Yan Yunqing slowly typed out a question mark.

He had just realized that when the washroom door opened, no hot steam came out. Even though the temperature here was relatively hot, it was impossible for a bath not to produce hot steam, right?

Yan Yunqing took a few steps forward, grabbed Rocco's arm, and directly touched his exposed hand. Sure enough, it was ice-cold, as if it had just been frozen.

Rocco was startled by him, shrunk back his hand, and jumped to the side, almost tripping over his overly long pant legs. He glared at Yan Yunqing in embarrassment and anger, "What are you doing?!"

Yan Yunqing couldn't help but facepalm, "There is hot water in there. Since you don't know how to use it, why didn't you wait for me to help you turn on the hot water? Aren't you cold taking a cold shower like this?"

Rocco: "...There's hot water?"

He was stunned for a moment and found that the look Yan Yunqing was giving him was very strange. He immediately concealed the confusion on his face, "Hmph, of course, I know there's hot water here. I just felt too hot and wanted to take a cold shower, can't I?"

Yan Yunqing coughed, holding back his laughter, "Yes, of course, you can."

He reached out and pulled Rocco back, took out his magic staff, and used a Cleaning Spell on him, directly clearing away all the water droplets on his hair.

He had asked Rocco to take a bath in the first place to give him a separate space and let Rocco relax with hot water, so that he wouldn't be so tense all the time. Otherwise, it would be more convenient for him to just use a Cleaning Spell.

He didn't expect it to backfire. This child didn't even know how to turn on the hot water and took a cold shower.

Fortunately, the weather in the Free City was relatively hot, so taking a cold shower was not a big deal. Otherwise, Yan Yunqing was really worried that Rocco, who had just been sent over as a tool, would get sick from the cold shower and be unable to function.

When Rocco saw that Yan Yunqing had actually taken out a magic staff and even used magic on him, his muscles immediately tensed, and he was very wary. But this magic only took away the water droplets on his hair and seemed to do nothing else. Rocco blinked hesitantly.

It seems okay?

Yan Yunqing let go of Rocco's arm, "Let's go, let's go outside and sunbathe so you don't get sick. I'll buy you a few sets of clothes by the way. From now on, you are my..."

Yan Yunqing struggled for a moment. If he said son, Rocco was too old. It really didn't look like he could have given birth to him. Although it could be explained by a long-lived species, Yan Yunqing didn't want to cause any extra trouble.

He said, "From now on, you are my half-brother. I heard that Mandiper has the Chi Bone Sword, so I planned to come and take a look.

And you pestered me and insisted on coming with me, so I brought you along. If anyone asks, just say your name is Rocco Aldrich, the youngest son of Baron Aldrich. Do you understand?"

Rocco nodded half-understandingly, "Oh."

He came to his senses and looked at Yan Yunqing in surprise, "You are actually a noble?"

He had a surname, and the fake identity he gave him was the youngest son of a baron. Didn't that clearly show that the person in front of him was a noble?

"Hmm, don't I look like one?" Yan Yunqing asked in return.

Rocco shook his head, then nodded, and finally said honestly, "You don't look much like the nobles we've seen before, but you are indeed very rich, so it's not surprising that you are a noble."

Yan Yunqing waved his hand, "Anyway, just remember your current identity. Try not to talk too much with others. If anyone is curious about your identity, just send them to me, understand?"

Rocco understood, "I know."

Yan Yunqing looked at Rocco carefully. After washing up, Rocco was fair and clean. Other than being a little too thin, he had no flaws. Especially his face, which was surprisingly delicate. It was just that most of it was covered by messy hair, and with his usual dirty appearance, he looked like a little beggar.

"Let me cut your hair for you." Yan Yunqing took out a pair of scissors, "This dog-chewed hair of yours is not noble at all. I'm afraid your identity will be discovered as soon as you enter Mandiper."

Rocco didn't want Yan Yunqing to touch his hair, but after hearing what he said, he struggled for a moment and still obediently let Yan Yunqing do as he pleased.

Nika had said that they were already cooperating with this man. To save Nana and the others, they had to listen to this man.

Yan Yunqing quickly cut off the hair covering Rocco's eyes, trimmed the overly messy hair, and gave Rocco a well-behaved mushroom cut, revealing his complete eyebrows, eyes, and half of his forehead. He looked much more refreshed.

With the hairstyle's help, Rocco looked surprisingly well-behaved. Without the hair covering his eyes, the gloomy temperament disappeared, and he became a completely different person. It was a miraculous transformation.

Yan Yunqing snapped his fingers, "Not bad, it seems my skills haven't regressed. I'm still very good."

He used to get along very well with his uncle's younger siblings. The two little cubs were very clingy to him. Children's hair grows fast and is fluffy. His uncle and aunt were both busy with work and didn't have time to take the two little cubs to get their hair cut, so Yan Yunqing did it himself.

At first, the cuts were also choppy and dog-chewed, but the two little cubs weren't angry. When their hair grew long, they still let Yan Yunqing cut it, and so his skills were honed.

Rocco touched his hair, which had been trimmed of stray strands and was very smooth. He felt much more at ease.

"Let's go, I'll take you to buy some clothes." Yan Yunqing beckoned, "You really look like you're wearing adult clothes and have run away from home."

Rocco looked at Yan Yunqing's outstretched hand, hesitated for a moment, and still grabbed it, holding on.

Yan Yunqing led him out of the inn and towards the most prosperous commercial street in the Free City.

Is this... a big brother?