Global Abyss: My Skills Can Enhance Infinitely

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"Goudan, you should head back first. Be careful on your way, and from now on, we'll stick to ingredients you buy."

Although Tao Yu had received a lifetime discount as compensation from the store, he still felt that the outside world was indeed unreliable.

Even though the store was also a victim, Tao Yu didn't lash out at them.

"Okay, be careful. I've heard the Thieves Guild is pretty chaotic."

Wang Goudan had never been in contact with the Thieves Guild. His approach to missions was always to play it safe, but after all, he was a regular at the mission hall, so he had some understanding of the situation.

It was precisely because he had heard of the chaos that he didn't attempt to make extra money by getting involved.

Even Wang Goudan, as an intermediate partner, dared not to venture there casually, not even because he was cautious, which gave a glimpse into the majority of those frequenting the Thieves Guild being tough characters.

Like Annan, the cat-woman, who although submissive in front of Tao Yu after being subdued, was someone with hands stained with blood.

It was not uncommon for wanted criminals to appear at the Thieves Guild, but the absence of senior partners squatting there for extra earnings indicated that the risks far outweighed the benefits!

"Chaotic? Chaos is good..."

Tao Yu's eyes grew deep...

...

The dark alley was so dim even the street lights were broken, flashing sporadically, casting an eerie ambience.

It was a stark contrast to the well-lit neighboring streets.

Tao Yu, wearing a partner's cloak and mask, came here and also found the sewer entrance that the captain had mentioned.

There was someone in a black robe who had just emerged from a sewer opening in a deserted alley. Seeing Tao Yu made him extremely wary as he hurriedly left.

However, the next moment, he felt a pat on his shoulder.

Before he could react violently, his body went numb, losing complete control over himself.

This terrified him, and his mouth, still able to speak, quickly uttered pleas for mercy.

"Spare my life, Grandfather! I'm not the one you're looking for."

He knew, as an apprehended individual, that there was an unwritten agreement within the Thieves Guild, with temporary entrance changes each month to avoid conflicts.

While not absolute, aside from a few unruly greenhorns and madcaps, most people tended to respect this protocol.

Because even though the core of the Thieves Guild couldn't sort out every rule breaker, they'd randomly select a few as examples.

It was common for troublemakers in the Thieves Guild to seem fine at first, but a few months later, their corpses would be found floating in the sewers that passed by the guild.

This was also why senior partners avoided involving themselves there.

After finally making a name, no one would be foolish enough to risk their lives on a gamble.

Moreover, those who visit such a place are skilled and highly cautious, with no one ensured against a possible upset.

Greeting someone and then having all kinds of fatal moves thrown at you could lead to trouble.

Overcoming the stronger with wit was common practice among these members of the Thieves Guild.

Annan had even assassinated senior partners, yet her overall strength still fell short of the threshold for senior partners.

She wasn't even capable of taking a bullet with her bare body.

But in scenarios where one encounters a powerful outsider, there would be no solution.

The Thieves Guild was not invincible, and there had been instances of it being taken down by strong individuals several times.

However, the guild's structure allowed for easy revival from its ashes, and it had a flexible bottom line, willing to compromise with the stronger powers.

Being caught right at the entrance, and clearly by neither greenhorn nor madman, the sheer disparity in their strengths convinced him to submit thoroughly.

"Don't be afraid. Tell me about the situation inside, and I'll let you go..."

Tao Yu tried to use a kind voice, but because he was disguising his own, it ended up somewhat hoarse, so this 'gentleness' sounded to the other man like a demon's whisper.

"If, Sir, this is your first time coming to the Thieves Guild, having a referral token can save you a lot of trouble. I can be your referrer; here is my token."

To survive in such a place, one needed to be not only strong but also perceptive, which could be said to be a necessary skill.

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Tao Yu merely heard the inquiry and roughly guessed that this big shot probably seldom came here.

It was possible he just wanted to come in and find out some secret information, or perhaps he had been tempted by a bounty to take a look.

Once one's strength reached a certain level, obtaining information through official channels was far simpler and more convenient than via the Thieves Guild...

...

"It's alright."

Tao Yu leaped down into the sewer entrance, and from the other party's words, deduced that the location of the Thieves Guild often changed. The token was somewhat akin to a pager, capable of receiving simple, encrypted group broadcasts, usually about changes of location and the like.

Moreover, the Thieves Guild was actually far less prestigious than some mysterious assassin organizations. Compromising with the powerful was par for the course, and the information they provided sometimes seemed rather timid.

A typical verifier of strength. Generally speaking, those whom the Thieves Guild put out for bounty were usually not the strongest, and the consequences of their elimination were normally trivial.

Tao Yu initially felt something was wrong, as he had the Suns siblings openly backing him, but then he realized that in the eyes of others, he was just an errand boy—decidedly influential while alive, but the influence would dwindle if he were successfully assassinated.

It was somewhat troublesome, but it fell within the Thieves Guild's acceptable range.

After all, he and the descendants of the Inner City noble families were markedly different.

The advantage was that conflicts would be centered on him, sparing his family from being implicated before his own issues were resolved. The downside was his lack of a reliable family with blood ties that could support him in times of crisis.

If there was a chance to dispose of him without leaving a trace, there would be many willing to attempt it.

For instance, the boar-men from the past or the lizard gastrous willing to avenge a "Life-and-Death Brotherhood" after conflicts intensified—all hinged on personal ability and the privileges it brought.

The somewhat amusing thing to Tao Yu was that the Thieves Guild had only recently resumed operations.

The last time, they were openly challenged by the president of the Chaoyang Society, resulting in their business being overturned, and only recently had they reopened—since then, all the assassination operations related to the Chaoyang Society had disappeared.

When Tao Yu heard about this, he felt it was somewhat unexpected yet entirely reasonable.

Without being shrewd, if the Thieves Guild couldn't become the strongest, they were destined to be destroyed sooner or later.

In contrast, their current reputation seemed normal.

However, the Thieves Guild was doing one thing particularly well at the moment—their anonymous task system, plus, they also possessed the ability to store Yuan Force remotely within the same city.

"It's interesting that their trust is actually based on a 'Divine Spirit'. No wonder they've managed to thrive, not fearing that the Thieves Guild would consume the bounty rewards themselves."

Tao Yu's expression was somewhat strange.

The main deity that the Thieves Guild relied on was the 'God of Wealth', one of the positive gods spawned by the World's Will, accessible through the Meditation Technique.

Without its own will, but with corresponding constraints.

Most importantly, the 'God of Wealth' could store Yuan Force. As long as a carving master could sculpt a statue of the God of Wealth, remote storage could be accomplished. However, the 'God of Wealth' would take a ten percent commission, and this would happen every time.

Generally, companies would prefer to set up their own Yuan Force payment system rather than choosing the God of Wealth, but the Thieves Guild did otherwise.

The task mode was simple: pre-deposit Yuan Force in a dual-key system—one for the Thieves Guild and one for the task issuer, deposited in advance in the statue of the 'God of Wealth'.

If the task was completed, the issuer would send the key for confirmation.

It was also possible to withdraw a task, but that would result in a ten percent loss of Yuan Force and a commission for the Thieves Guild.

However, withdrawal came with a few days of a 'cooling-off period', primarily to prevent the issuer from exploiting time differences to withdraw the task and freeload after its completion.

There were also chaotic situations where tasks went awry, such as when the key holder of the Thieves Guild got killed and so on.

But since there were restraints on all parties involved and due to the Thieves Guild's certain ability for retribution, such incidents were relatively rare events.

The Thieves Guild was a slick organization skilled at making concessions, with a highly flexible bottom line.

There had even been cases where a powerful victim turned the tables and started trouble for the task issuer!
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So, usually, the tasks that the Thieves Guild could undertake had an implied cap.

Whether out of the Thieves Guild's own caution or the issuer's prudence, this factor was considered.

Risks... were borne individually.

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