Chapter : 79

It had to be said, the Children's Gang was indeed a great help. Before Yan Yunqing had a chance to inquire, he had already obtained the specific location of the Black Snake mercenary group from Nika, although it was not complete.

From the mission panel, it could be seen that the Black Snake mercenary group had a total of twenty-one people, but the Children's Gang only gave him the locations of sixteen people, who were staying in an inn one street away from Yan Yunqing.

There were still five people left, who should be in Mandiper and had not come out.

Entering Mandiper required an entrance fee, so the children of the Children's Gang couldn't get in. In addition, there had been no news from the members of the Children's Gang in Mandiper for the past few days, and they couldn't contact the people inside, so naturally they didn't know the specific whereabouts of those five people.

Yan Yunqing was also a little worried. He had not yet figured out the rules inside Mandiper. If the members of the Children's Gang in Mandiper were still unreachable, he would have to consider going directly into Mandiper.

After spending a day with Yan Yunqing, Rocco had undergone a great change. Not only had he changed into new clothes, but his hair had also been cut into a well-behaved style.

When he stayed quiet, it was completely impossible to tell that he was once a member of the Children's Gang.

Even the other children of the Children's Gang who were with Rocco day and night almost didn't recognize him when they saw him.

"You don't need to worry." Nika seemed to have discovered what Yan Yunqing was worried about.

"I made an appointment with them before. No matter what, they will find an opportunity to come out the day after tomorrow."

Just as Yan Yunqing was about to say something, a notification popped up on the mission panel. He opened it and saw that for the mission [Protect the members of the Children's Gang in Mandiper (11/11)], the numbers behind it started to flash, and the first 11 was marked in red.

[NPC attacked, health decreasing!]

[NPC attacked, health decreasing!]

[Please note, if more than three NPCs die, this mission will be considered a failure!]

Three large lines of prompts kept flashing, indicating that the mission target was about to die.

Yan Yunqing frowned tightly. He stood up and said to Nika, "There's no time left. We can't wait any longer."

If they waited any longer, those children would die!

"Rocco." Yan Yunqing looked at Rocco, who was sitting quietly to the side, "I'm going into Mandiper now. The preparations are indeed insufficient. It's very likely that your life will be in danger if you follow me. I can give you a chance to choose."

"Do you choose to go in with me, or stay behind?"

Yan Yunqing said, "Of course, if you choose to stay, I will still go and save your companions."

Rocco didn't hesitate at all. He jumped directly off the chair and walked to Yan Yunqing's side, "I'll go in with you."

His face was serious, "This was agreed upon from the beginning."

Nika was startled by Yan Yunqing's sudden decision. She was stunned for a moment. Seeing Yan Yunqing's serious expression, she opened her mouth but said nothing, only silently agreeing with Rocco's words.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!" Rocco nodded vigorously and explained, "This was agreed upon from the beginning. Besides, if I don't go in, Nana and the others won't recognize you and won't be able to help you."

What he said was right. From the very beginning, what Yan Yunqing was after was the children who worked in Mandiper. They could provide him with a lot of information, so he agreed readily when Nika proposed cooperation.

Now that the Children's Gang in Mandiper couldn't get out and were even in mortal danger, Yan Yunqing had to go in. This also meant that Nika, who had promised him on behalf of those children, had not had time to inform them.

Yan Yunqing might not be able to gain the trust of the Children's Gang in Mandiper.

With Rocco, it would be different. With one of their own as a bridge, Yan Yunqing would gain their trust more quickly and get the information he needed.

"Alright." Yan Yunqing said without another word, lifting Rocco by the back of his collar, "Let's go."

The notification on the panel that the NPC was being attacked was still flashing non-stop. Yan Yunqing was really worried that if he hesitated for another second, several children would die.

The lifted Rocco: "Huh?"

The location of the Mandiper underground casino was under the cylindrical building in the very center of the Free City. From the outside, this cylindrical building looked very much like the legendary Colosseum.

Only upon entering did one discover that it was not much different from a Colosseum. There were also several arenas set up.

Yan Yunqing saw that several arenas displayed the word "Open," and there were people fighting on all of them. The fists hitting flesh drew continuous cheers from the surrounding people.

Yan Yunqing took a few more glances, and Rocco quietly said to him, "Above Mandiper is the arena. Sometimes there are competitions here.

Mercenaries who are short on money can sign up here. As long as they participate, they can get a large sum of gold coins."

Yan Yunqing paused, opened the chat system, selected Rocco, whose favorability towards him had been rising rapidly these past two days, and sent him a private message.

[Ri'an (Private)]: From now on, we will communicate in this way. Try to think of me in your mind and repeat what you want to say in your heart.

As soon as this sentence was sent, Rocco's eyes widened visibly, like a frightened rabbit, looking at Yan Yunqing.

Rocco's mouth fell open, "You... you just...?"

Yan Yunqing nodded slightly.

[Ri'an (Private)]: It's me, it's just my ability. Don't tell anyone else.

The function of the player's game system, how is that not his ability?

Before, when he sent a message to Lilian, Lilian had learned how to reply to him on her own. It shouldn't be a problem with Rocco.

Rocco closed his mouth, his little face tense. It was clear that his concentration was very focused. He held it in for a while, and then a short line of text appeared in Yan Yunqing's chat system.

[Rocco (Private)]: Big brother?

[Ri'an (Private)]: Very good, it seems you have mastered it. If you have anything to say to me in Mandiper later, use this method. If you encounter danger when I'm not around, also use this method to contact me, understand?

Since Rocco had come in with him, Yan Yunqing naturally had to ensure Rocco's safety.

Rocco nodded seriously. After a while, another sentence appeared on Yan Yunqing's chat panel.

[Rocco (Private)]: As long as you find the guide here and pay the corresponding entrance fee, you can go to Mandiper.

Yan Yunqing understood. He scanned the area and accurately found the highest-level but very inconspicuous guide.

He led Rocco and strode towards the guide. Behind them, a burst of enthusiastic cheers erupted. Yan Yunqing's steps paused, and he glanced back.

The arena stood tall, and the audience surrounding it shouted emotionally.

On the arena, a warrior in light armor was riding on a black-haired warrior, punching him in the mouth and nose one after another. Each of his punches carried a strong wind, and a spray of blood would splash out after each punch.

The black-haired warrior pinned under him had clearly lost the ability to resist and had passed out. However, the light-armored warrior still did not let him go.

Each punch was thrown with more force. This bloody scene not only did not scare away the audience but made the surrounding audience even more enthusiastic.

"Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!!"

"Harder! Smash his head in!"

And some other audience members showed annoyance and shouted, "Shit, don't fall asleep in the arena, get up and fight back! Fight back!"

It created a picture of madness.

Rocco, who had been holding onto the corner of Yan Yunqing's clothes, not only used a little more force but also lowered his head, not daring to look in that direction.

Yan Yunqing understood at a glance. The condition for winning this arena match was to "kill the opponent." No wonder one could get a considerable registration fee just by signing up. This was money to buy one's life.

And each arena match was also a gamble. The player who bet on the winning contestant could share the accumulated prize pool.

Even if it was just a building placed above Mandiper for concealment, the owner here had to make it a small casino.

Truly greedy.

Yan Yunqing did not linger and led Yan Yunqing to the guide.

The guide looked ordinary on the outside, wearing a long cloak, as if he were just a normal spectator. He sat quietly in the audience, watching the life-and-death duels on the several arenas.

Yan Yunqing walked in front of the other party and tossed a gold coin into their arms. The guide looked up and calmly glanced at Yan Yunqing, as if assessing his financial resources.

To enter Mandiper, one first had to have a good enough eye to find the guide among the audience. Secondly, one needed to prove their financial strength to the guide, who would then determine if they were qualified to enter Mandiper.

This condition of proving financial strength stumped Yan Yunqing. Nika and the others were not very clear about it either.

Yan Yunqing could only explore on his own. After inquiring about many things, none of them could give specific details, so Yan Yunqing simply tossed a gold coin.

He'd try one first. If that didn't work, he would just smash people with gold coins.

Thinking of this, Yan Yunqing slightly lifted his chin, imitating the appearance of the Bartovita nobles he had seen, and looked at the guide with the eyes of someone looking at an ant, "Take me in."

Yan Yunqing had specially practiced this gaze. The effect was excellent, except that when he looked at himself in the mirror, he really wanted to punch himself.

The guide was not provoked by Yan Yunqing at all. He looked Yan Yunqing up and down, then looked at Rocco who was behind him. His eyes flashed, and then he showed a respectful smile, "Guest, please follow me."

Yan Yunqing: So this proof of financial strength is this simple?

And he did not express any doubt about Rocco's existence, which also made Yan Yunqing a little strange.

The guide led Yan Yunqing through the arena and into a passage. Yan Yunqing opened the minimap to observe the route and found that the guide was leading him in circles.

Yan Yunqing was puzzled. They didn't even blindfold him, so what was the point of going in circles? Did they think all the guests here were bad with directions?

He silently stared at the minimap for a while and surprisingly found that the buildings on the minimap had undergone subtle changes. He raised an eyebrow and listened carefully. Sure enough, he could hear the faint sound of gears turning.

Comparing the direction the sound came from, Yan Yunqing was surprised to find that this entire building was movable.

Every time he passed a place, the wall behind him would change. Even if he memorized the entire way in, he wouldn't be able to return the way he came.

If it were someone else, they would probably get lost in this labyrinthine passage.

But Yan Yunqing had the minimap cheat. His minimap had already displayed the full view of this entire corridor maze.

Yan Yunqing: .

Didn't expect that, did you? I have a cheat.

Completely unaware that Yan Yunqing had a cheat and still confidently leading the way, the guide led Yan Yunqing into a pitch-black small room.

There was not a trace of light inside. One couldn't see their own hand in front of them. It looked very scary.

Rocco had completely hidden behind Yan Yunqing, both hands tightly gripping his clothes, afraid of being separated from Yan Yunqing in this dark space.

Yan Yunqing's eyes had night vision function. Even in this pitch-black environment, he could still see the surroundings clearly.

He could see an inconspicuous magic circle under his feet, and the surroundings were empty, with no extra decorations.

"What is this crappy place?" Yan Yunqing complained in the tone of a noble, "I'm here at Mandiper to participate in the competition and get the legendary Chi Bone Sword. I don't have time to play scary games with you here."

The guide was still very calm, "Guest, please be patient. We will be entering Mandiper soon."

As his voice fell, a slight mana fluctuation came from the magic circle under his feet. With a few clicks, Yan Yunqing felt the entire room begin to descend.