Strange, why wasn't there any sound at all?
That didn't seem possible. Logically speaking, such a huge casino should be bustling with activity. Not to mention, the entrance to the passageway was a storage room, so there should be people on duty. So why wasn't there any sound at all?
Claude pushed upwards with all his might, causing the bed board to be lifted a little.
He had a bad feeling. The room was completely dark and there wasn't much light or movement outside.
Claude lifted the bed board and crawled out of the passageway.
Not only was there no one in the room with the two beds, the room with the storage racks outside was also empty.
Claude used Luminous Pearl and noticed that there was a thin layer of dust on the floor and furniture in the two rooms.
It was as if the casino hadn't been open for a long time and had been abandoned. Claude couldn't make sense of it.
Could it be because of the ruckus he caused on the night of the new year?
Claude pulled the door to the room and found that the door leading to the second floor was locked from the outside.
That's not right. He looked at the three rows of shelves in the room that were neatly arranged with alcohol, gambling equipment, and bowls. He didn't think that the place was abandoned. Instead, it was temporarily sealed up for some reason and hadn't been open for business for some time.
The truth wasn't far from Claude's guess. The boss of Blacksnake, Bidlir Blanche, didn't expect that he would have to undergo two months of training after joining the garrison clan. Everyone was locked up in the barracks and not allowed to go out.
Only after the training was complete would the town hall assign each platoon's garrison tasks and areas. Even though he was a rich man, he was no exception. Who asked him to be the platoon leader of the Fourth Platoon? It felt like he was asking for trouble …
As the boss of Blacksnake, Bidlir Blanche had only wanted to use the garrison clan's name to allow Blacksnake to legally own firearms. He would then come to a private agreement with the mayor, Baron Robert, to give him the slums and the docks as 4th Platoon's territory.
Then, he could comfortably be the underground king of these two regions and raise his social status. This was the main reason why he was willing to donate a large sum of money to form the garrison.
Bidlir Blanche wasn't an idiot. Otherwise, he wouldn't have become the boss of Blacksnake. He knew very well what kind of impression he had in the eyes of the so-called upper class in Whitestag.
He was rich and ambitious. Even in his dreams, he wanted to join the upper class. This was the first step to cleanse his name and the only way to protect himself.
In the kingdom, being the leader of an underground organization might seem impressive, but in reality, in the face of the powerful forces of the kingdom, he was just an ant in the eyes of those influential figures.
Bidlir Blanche had been thinking about the long term, disregarding all costs to curry favor with the mayor, Baron Robert, even if he had to fork out a large sum of money.
Although Mayor Robert was just a puppet on the surface in the eyes of many people, the Baron title was about to end and could not be passed on to the next generation.
Compared to Bidlir Blanche, however, Mayor Robert was a stepping stone for him to enter the upper class of Whitestag. Fortunately, his gamble paid off.
If the three heads of the town hall hadn't conspired to open up a new trade route, perhaps Mayor Robert would have to continue being a puppet for a while longer. His words wouldn't carry much weight in the town hall.
Unfortunately, the treasurer, administrator, and patrol chief of the town hall were all arrested by the garrison from the prefectural capital on charges of endangering the kingdom's security. Even though they were exonerated and released, they were fired from the town hall.
Until now, Mayor Robert was the most powerful person in the town hall. He was high-spirited and insufferably awe-inspiring.
Thanks to Mayor Robert's schemes, even though Bidlir Blanche donated a large sum of money to form the garrison, he also became the platoon jarl of the fourth band because of that.
That title was much more pleasing to the ears than being the boss of the fish processing plant or the boss of Blacksnake. Because of that, he became a member of the upper class of Whitestag. His status was unquestionable and unquestionable.
Bidlir Blanche wasn't greedy and was rather rational.
As the boss of Blacksnake, having too much money would instead make him feel precarious. He was afraid that he would become the target of those in power at some point in time.
Being able to use money to become a platoon jarl was a good deal for him because he could use that position to earn even more money for himself.
However, Bidlir Blanche still had to play the role of a grandson for a while before he could get through the two months of garrison training.
He wasn't young anymore at 47. Being the boss of a fish processing plant at the age of 47 could still be considered young and vigorous. As the boss of Blacksnake, he didn't have to fight at the frontlines.
But as a platoon jarl, he really couldn't compare to the energetic guards and retired veterans. Fortunately, he was still an officer and only needed to know how to command his band.
At the end of the day, Bidlir Blanche's position as a platoon jarl was appointed by the lords of the prefectural capital's council. Nobody in the barracks or the garrison had the right to remove him from his post.
Moreover, he was the biggest financial backer of the Garrison Brigade. In addition, he provided good food and drinks for the instructors sent by the Garrison Battalion and the retired veterans of the Garrison Brigade. For a while, no one went to make things difficult for him. Instead, due to the fact that they had received favors from him, their bad impression of him also changed.
Since he had to focus all his attention on the training in the barracks, Bidlir decided not to reopen the casino for the time being.
After that mysterious magus caused a ruckus on the night of the new year, not only did Blacksnake lose a bunch of elite members, the gamblers also felt that the casino wasn't safe.
After the casino reopened, there were actually more guards than gamblers. Nobody was willing to gamble under the watchful eyes of so many guards. As a result, fewer and fewer people came to play. By the end of the day, the boss in charge of the casino was on the verge of tears. The money he earned wasn't even as much as the manpower he spent.
So, Bidlir Blanche decided to temporarily close the casino for two months before the training period ended.
After the Fourth Garrison Squadron had completed their training and obtained the two basic territories of the slums and the public docks, they would reopen the casino.
He believed that with 4th Band's protection, the scene from the night of the new year wouldn't happen again.
Claude didn't know that the casino would be closed due to the garrison's training period. He had made a wasted trip.
His grand plan to rob the gang had failed. He had no choice. Blacksnake wouldn't cooperate, and he couldn't do much by himself.
He came out of the secret passage and locked the door again, returning everything to its original state.
Looking at the small hole in the thick wooden door, Claude thought for a moment and stuffed some mud or something into it. No one would notice, right? That way, it would be more convenient the next time he came. He wouldn't have to blast a hole in the door with a Magic Missile.
Otherwise, it would be troublesome if the door was replaced with a metal one. He came at the wrong time and didn't reopen, but he couldn't say for sure the next time.
After exiting the shack, Claude put the lock back on the broken door.
Claude stood in the alleyway with a heart full of melancholy. Damn it. Everything he did recently wasn't going his way. He went hunting but couldn't find any prey. He went to rob a casino, but it didn't open. What a waste of effort and effort.
Claude walked back along the alleyway. When he passed by Hurian's store, he looked at the closed shop that didn't have a single trace of light.
That fat old man must be sleeping soundly in his bed, unlike Claude, who had to run around town late at night to get some funds for his alchemical experiments. The problem was that he hadn't gotten any yet.
Claude really wanted to throw a rock at the old man to scare him out of bed, but he gave up on the idea. He wasn't a child and there was no need for him to get angry at an unscrupulous merchant.
If he robbed Hurian's store, he would definitely be able to get a lot of money and magic materials. It would be enough for him to use for a long time.
However, that thought only flashed through his mind for a brief moment. He didn't plan on carrying it out.
Robbing Blacksnake's casino was his bottom line. He didn't feel any moral burdens. At most, he would just be doing the same thing.
Blacksnake's money didn't come from a legitimate source anyway. Claude wouldn't feel guilty about it if he took it for himself.
But robbing Hurian's store was a completely different matter. Claude didn't feel good about it at all.
Hurian wasn't a good person. He was also a member of the underground magic market and was in charge of collecting magic materials from the town's underground market.
But he couldn't get over the fact that he was going to rob his store. He wasn't a ruthless bandit, nor was he a saint who was obsessed with cleanliness. Robbing Blacksnake's casino was partly because he lacked money and partly because he wanted to fulfill his dream of being a hero. It was just like the novel Water Margin. When did the heroes of Liangshan start robbing the commoners?
Most of what they did was to do the same thing.
Even though Hurian had dealt with Claude before and cheated him out of a lot of money, Claude didn't hate him for it.
That was a business tactic. Hurian didn't force Claude to buy it. Instead, it was Claude who jumped into the pit himself.
He had to admit that he suffered a loss and remember the lesson so that he wouldn't make the same mistake in the future.
At most, he would blacklist Hurian as an unscrupulous merchant and avoid doing business with him in the future.
Robbing someone when he suffered a loss in business was too unprofessional. It also made him seem immoral. Claude didn't stoop so low as to do such a thing.
Besides, Hurian wasn't someone who could be appointed as the person in charge of the underground market. Did he really think that he only had unscrupulous methods?
For safety's sake, Claude wouldn't touch the old man even if he was beaten to death. He didn't want to invite trouble to himself.
After passing the intersection where the store was, Claude chose the path that led to the lake as usual.
However, that path seemed to be rather lively that night. He didn't walk far before he heard the cries of a woman and the curses of a man.
Two figures stood in front of him and blocked his path when they saw Claude approach.