Wizard: Start consuming attributes from the equipment slot.

Chapter 54 Entering the Underground

But the viper's reaction was:

"Magic Crystal?"

The air pressure suddenly dropped, and Victor had to admit that he had genuinely felt murderous intent for a moment. Fortunately, Viper wasn't too stupid; he immediately realized what was happening and quickly said:

"Oh...sir, you mean those green stones?"

"They are inside the underground pipes, there are so many of them, they are densely packed on the walls of the underground pipes."

"I don't believe I'm lying; I saw it with my own eyes!"

Victor calmed down and continued to ask:

"Besides you, how many other people know this?"

This question made the viper scratch its head in frustration:

"This... sir."

"Because I've been thinking about getting into the underground pipe business lately, the Snake Venom Gang knows that I'm looking for people to explore underground pipes... However, there are actually other gangs in this business, but most of them only operate within their own territory. If there's an entrance to an underground pipe, they'll get involved, but they generally don't leave their own territory."

"But thanks to you, the Snake Venom Gang has expanded quite a bit recently, so their territory has grown considerably. If they were to get involved in the underground pipe business, it would threaten the interests of many surrounding gangs. That's why I went to ask you for help... Even just a simple demonstration of your relationship with the Snake Venom Gang could calm down those who are envious."

"But I have no way of knowing exactly how many people know about this thing in the underground pipes... about this magic crystal."

"However, I have never heard of any rumors about this thing appearing in underground pipes since the Snake Venom Gang was founded."

"So, at least for now, this news hasn't spread, right?" Viktor's eyes flickered, and he made a slight assessment of the current situation. He looked at the viper in front of him, who clearly didn't know the extent of the trouble he had caused: "Then you'd better find a way to restrict the movements of your men."

Victor controlled his magic field, enveloping the viper, his tone cold and direct:

"These magical crystals are also very valuable among wizards."

"I'll first make sure you're not lying. If everything you've said is true, then I'll immediately contact my mentor—a certified wizard—who will personally make arrangements for these magical crystals."

"I think you should know what will happen to you if you lie to me and expose this information."

"I..." Viper's back was already covered in cold sweat. "My lord... I... I understand!"

"I'm getting everyone over here right now, and nobody the hell is allowed to wander off!!"

Victor shook his head:

"Don't make a big fuss. Gather people under some other pretext, so people don't overthink it."

"There's never a shortage of smart people in this world, you know what I mean?"

"clear!!"

"Then let's get started... but remember, don't make a scene!"

The viper gritted its teeth, nodded vigorously, turned around, and quickly walked out of the house.

Only Victor and Gal remained in the room. The two quietly found a place, one sitting and the other standing behind him, waiting for time to pass.

......

Finally, the sky began to lighten.

Viktor, who hadn't slept all night, was already full of energy. His mental strength, far exceeding that of ordinary people, meant that staying up all night didn't diminish his condition much. Although Gar, who was beside him, was in a different situation, it was actually quite similar.

Viper has gathered all the members of the Snake Venom Gang, using the excuse of paying their wages in advance... That's right, ever since they received a sum of money from Victor, the Snake Venom Gang is now paying wages, otherwise they wouldn't have expanded so much in such a short time.

The viper is currently under immense pressure.

There was pressure regarding the future development of the situation, pressure on Viktor, pressure from that 'official wizard,' and even pressure about whether Viktor would discard him after using him... After all, if it really was such a large sum of money, then the life of a mere mortal like him would probably be worth less than an ant, and to prevent him from spreading rumors, it would be normal for him to be crushed at will.

But with Victor himself right in front of him, he didn't dare to have any thoughts at all, because he knew that many wizards could roughly sense the thoughts of mortals... Although he didn't know if the rumor was true, he didn't dare to gamble.

He waited in agonizing anticipation until dawn, when he heard Viktor ask him:

"Can we go into the underground pipes now?"

The viper turned its head to look at the sky outside the window, hesitated for a moment, and then nodded vigorously:

"That's about enough, sir!"

"Although those stinking rats haven't completely disappeared yet, it's much quieter than at night. I've brought extra men; nothing serious should happen!"

After saying that, he got up and rushed out to gather his trusted subordinates.

A few minutes later, he came back into the house and reported to Victor:

"Everything is ready, sir. We may depart!"

Victor nodded without saying anything and walked out of the house with Gal.

The streets outside were still quiet. The Xicheng District was fine in the first half of the night, but in the second half of the night, it was not a place for ordinary residents to come out, so it was indeed not lively.

On the not-so-wide road, there were a dozen or so burly men dressed in white shirts, their hair mostly messy, their faces full of scars and tattoos, and the weapons hanging from their waists of all shapes and sizes. It was obvious at a glance that they were low-level members of a gang.

But when these fierce-looking guys saw Viktor come out, their eyes were filled with fear and apprehension, and they seemed a little lost, unsure of what they were going to do. They all became much more cautious in their movements.

There's really no way around it. In many mortal kingdoms, a wizard's reputation can even stop a child from crying... Most scary horror stories feature wizards as the main characters, and the key point is that most of these horror stories are indeed done by wizards.

The fear that mortals have of wizards is ingrained in their genes, just as prey fears its natural enemy, even though both are actually human.

Viper didn't say anything to these people. He just told his men that they were going to check out the underground pipes for business. He was walking in front of Viktor, protecting him and leading the way.

The group quietly left the street and began walking through the haphazard alleyways.

After walking for about seven or eight minutes, the group gradually left the residential area and came to a relatively open space. At the same time, a putrid and foul smell became more and more obvious.

The viper walked to a house that was half collapsed and glanced inside.

Several black rats, about the size of an adult's palm, were in the shadows of the house, but they seemed listless and drowsy. Next to them was a sunken patch of ground, its dark color indicating that it was very deep.

Upon seeing this, the viper breathed a sigh of relief and quickly returned to Victor's side.

"Sir, this place is the same as when I came here yesterday. It seems that no one has ever discovered it."

"It's getting late, and those rats seem exhausted. Shall we go down now?"