The reason why Feng Chou was interested in the mission "Claire Gentleman's Request" was because Claire Gentleman's territory was closer to Antalya.
In fact, most of the missions in the mercenary hall were business escort missions. Most of them required a party with a relatively high credit rating to complete. Low-level solo mercenaries like Feng Chou were better off developing themselves in remote, small territories. There were plenty of missions that didn't require any credit rating waiting for him.
"Claire's Gentleman's Request" was one of the few missions in the mercenary hall that didn't require any credit rating.
Feng Chou immediately took down the mission notice and brought it in front of Emily to complete the procedures for accepting the mission.
After leaving the guild, Feng Chou wasn't in a hurry to complete the mission. Instead, he went down the street from an intersection not far from the guild.
Feng Chou saw a tavern not far from the intersection.
The name of the tavern was very strange. It was called "Bat's Wing".
Feng Chou didn't enter the tavern. Instead, he walked past the tavern and went into the first alley he came across.
Feng Chou walked around the alley and found it to be a dead end. It should be the entrance to the back courtyard of the merchant guild next door.
After having Qiankun Pagoda monitor the surroundings, Feng Chou quickly took off the mask on his head and put on a new one. After changing the mask, Feng Chou used magic to disguise himself.
With this double insurance, even if someone saw through his magical disguise, they would subconsciously think that the face that was exposed was his real face and would not investigate further.
Of course, this was just a precaution. After all, he had copied the scroll himself, so it didn't cost much.
After changing his appearance, Feng Chou swapped his sword for a + 3 sword and shield. He also changed his cloak.
After changing his appearance, Feng Chou walked back the way he came and entered the Bat's Wing tavern.
The atmosphere in this tavern was also different from ordinary taverns.
Ordinary taverns would either entertain mercenaries, guards, and waiters of the merchant association, and most of them would be extraordinarily bustling and filled with a foul atmosphere. However, this tavern was very quiet, and everyone spoke in low voices.
When Feng Chou walked into the tavern, more than a dozen customers turned to look at him.
He walked to an empty table and sat down.
Soon, a waiter came over to ask what he needed.
Feng Chou said faintly, "Give me a cup of Bat Gold."
The shop assistant looked at him and said, "Follow me."
Bat gin was a slang in the pub.
Feng Chou heard about Bat's Wings from Simon. This pub was an open secret in Antalya City. It was the branch of the Thieves' Association in Antalya.
The Thieves' Association, like the Mercenary Association, was a worldwide organization with the support of the God of Thieves behind it.
However, the Thieves' Association was very different from the Mercenary Association. The Thieves' Association was not vertically managed like the Mercenary Association. The various branches of this organization were relatively independent and did not have a direct subordinate relationship. The leader was usually a priest of the God of Thieves, and the Church of the God of Thieves loosely connected the organization.
Sometimes, there would be several Thieves' Associations in a city at the same time. The competition between them was even more cruel than the strangulation of the outside world.
As an organization in the gray world, the Thieves' Association was illegal in most parts of the world, so most of these organizations were hidden underground.
This Bat's Wing tavern was just a contact point between the Thieves' Association in Antalya City and the outside world. The real association was definitely not here.
The Thieves' Association, like the Mercenary Association, would accept missions from the outside world and would also issue missions to the outside world.
These guys whispering in the pub, Feng Chou could see at a glance that most of them were not low-level Rogues.
Many Rogues from the Mercenary Association would come to the Thieves' Association to take private jobs.
The missions accepted by the Thieves' Association generally included, but were not limited to, intelligence gathering, surveillance, tracking, theft, assassination, and so on. The missions issued to the outside world were no more than this.
"A cup of Bat's Golden Wine" meant that one wanted to buy information from the Thieves' Association. The "Golden Wine" meant that one was willing to pay a high price for this information. This was a big business.
The waiter took Feng Chou to the second floor of the pub and opened a door to invite him in.
Feng Chou walked into the room and the waiter closed the door behind him.
This room was like an official's office. On the opposite side of the desk was a middle-aged man who looked like a clerk in the municipal hall.
The middle-aged man reached out and asked Feng Chou to sit opposite him. He smiled and asked, "Excuse me, what can I do for you?"
Feng Chou looked into the man's eyes and said straightforwardly, "I want to know where the Gray Shadow Chamber of Commerce is based in Antalya."
The middle-aged man looked at him with some surprise and said, "This information is not cheap!"
Feng Chou took out a money bag and put it on the table. The bulging money bag poured out on the table and a pile of dazzling gold coins spilled out.
The middle-aged man smiled and shook his head. "This is not enough."
Feng Chou reached for the one-handed sword at his waist and put it on the table. "+ 3 enchanted black steel one-handed sword, 4,000 crowns."
The middle-aged man still shook his head.
Feng Chou then took off the shield he carried on his back like a backpack and placed it on the table. "+ 3 enchanted black steel shield, 5000 kronor."
The middle-aged man stared at the things on the table and thought for a moment. He leaned forward slightly and whispered, "Bruce Chamber of Commerce, that's all I can say."
Feng Chou nodded and thanked him. He got up and walked out of the door.
Not long after Feng Chou walked out of the Bat's Wings Tavern, Qiankun Pagoda told him that a Rogue was following him.
Feng Chou walked close to the shop to the entrance of an alley and slipped into it.
When the Rogue, who was more than 20 meters behind him, came to the entrance of the alley and looked inside, there was no one in the dozens of meters of dead end.
...
Not long after Feng Chou left the Mercenary Guild, the Temple's martial arts instructor, Duncan, left the Temple.
He walked through the courtyard and went up the stairs on the side of the Mercenary Guild building to the third floor of the building.
Through the long corridor, Duncan came to the door of the innermost room on the third floor and gently knocked on the door.
"Please come in," a slightly old voice said.
Duncan pushed the door open and went in. Inside was a spacious and luxurious office. In front of the wide alchemy glass window, a burly figure sat behind the desk.
The burly old man looked up and said, "What can I do for you, Instructor Duncan?" He then pointed to the chair in front of the desk and said, "Please take a seat."
Duncan walked to the opposite side of the desk but did not take a seat. He bowed slightly and said, "Mr. President, a young man named Gavin came to register as a mercenary today. He asked to be assessed because he did not have a professional rank certificate. I personally assessed him … Mr. President, I'm sure this young man is the genius that the Steel Spirit School is looking for. I hope the Guild can help investigate this young man, but it's best not to disturb him."
Although the Steel Spirit School was powerful, it required a lot of talent. Therefore, the Steel Spirit School used the power of the Mercenary Guild to select talented young warriors from all over the world and recruit them into the Steel Spirit School.
This burly old man was the president of the Antalya branch of the Mercenary Guild, Algernon.
President Algernon nodded slightly and said, "It's my honor to serve the Steel Spirit School. I'll arrange it."
Duncan expressed his thanks again and left.