The Great Thief

Water Fairy was surprised to see that Lu Li got along with the NPC so well so quickly. Her impression of Lu Li was that he was cool and somewhat arrogant; she didn’t realize that he had a humorous side to him.

Lu Li had been raising his little sister since he was young, so of course there would be a sweeter and warmer side to him.

The truth was, he was actually quite introverted. When Lu Li was around people that he wasn’t close to, he would often act cold or unfriendly. However, the NPCs that he met today got along quite well with him.

They had common interests, such as mocking Magistrate Solomon together and despising the Blackrock Orcs.

”According to my calculations, we need at least 46 Seaforium Bombs to achieve an explosive power capable of destroyying Stonewatch Fortress,” Keeshan said as he pointed at different locations on his map, confirming where to plant the explosives.

”You guys can go ask Magistrate Solomon for the bombs,” Messner said to Lu Li.

”What about you guys?” Lu Li asked.

”It’s been a while since we last saw each other and we’re going to go for a drink. Are you buying?” Messner asked while laughing.

”Never mind then. I’ll go ask him.”

There was no way he was getting out of this one. Lu Li had no other choice but to go find Solomon.

”Why are you here? Have you finished the task? Do you not know that Lakeshire is in danger?” Magistrate Solomon was displeased when he saw them return so quickly. He had placed the safety of Lakeshire solely in the hands of the two players.

”Sir, the quest is too difficult,” Lu Li pleaded. ”Colonel Todman said that only Keeshan can save Lakeshire, but he doesn’t care about the town at all. I’m afraid we might have to give up on the quest if there is no other way.”

”You can’t do this – there are penalties to abandoning a quest!” Solomon’s exclaimed, his eyes wide open in disbelief at what Lu Li had said.

Usually, adventures would bow and bend their knees in the presence of Solomon. How dare they try to abandon a quest given out by him?!

”What’s the punishment? We’ll take it.” Lu Li knew that he was calling a bluff. The punishment would clearly be stated in the quest log if they were to abandon it, but there wasn’t one listed for this quest.

Magistrate Solomon regretted not setting a punishment from the very beginning.

”What do I have to do to get that bastard Keeshan to attack? He’s a citizen of Lakeshire, yet he refuses to fight in order to protect his people. What kind of a hero is he?” he spat furiously.

”Old man, you finally admit that he’s a hero. If he was truly a hero in your eyes, why did you mistreat him all this time? Do you only see him as a hero when your own life is at stake?” Lu Li mocked, not holding back.

”He’s a soldier; it’s a part of his duty,” Solomon replied angrily.

”Yes, but now he’s no longer one and we aren’t either. We have no reason to stop the Blackrock Orcs from taking over Lakeshire,” Lu Liu said with a serious face, then added, ”If Lakeshire was overtaken and we were able to claim it back, Stormwind City would reward us with more than anything you could offer.”

”...” Solomon was speechless.

For the adventures, it was a matter of how much they were rewarded with. However, to Solomon, it was a matter of life and death, as well as the future of Lakeshire.

”We’ll find a way to reclaim Lakeshire from the Blackrock Orcs,” Lu Li said in a calm, yet sarcastic tone.

”No. Look at this city; look at the beautiful scenery. What about all the innocent people here? Are you going to watch as the damn Orcs slaughter them into shreds?” Magistrate Solomon asked anxiously.

”No, I can’t bear to watch,” Lu Li answered, then stared at the old man and said slowly, ”That’s why I’m asking you to increase the rewards and give us 100 Seaforium Bombs.”

”I can increase the rewards, but 100 Seaforium Bombs is impossible,” Solomon said.

”If the Blackrock Orcs enter, then everything will be obliterated. You might try and call for backup from Stormwind, but based on how slowly they do things, by the time they get here, there won’t be anything left to save,” Lu Li said, seeing right through Solomon’s bluff once again.

”But there aren’t 100 Seaforium Bombs in the town,” Solomon cried out, almost in tears.

”My dearest Magistrate, lying will be the end of you and your beloved little town,” Lu Li threatened.

”I really don’t have 100 – if I did, I would give all of them to you. There are only 50 in the storage. If you don’t believe me, then you can come see for yourself.”

Solomon was sweating. From this day onwards, he would always hold adventurers in contempt.

”Ok, take me then.” Lu Li was pleased, this was another great opportunity for him to raid an NPC’s storage.

However, when he entered the storage room, he was disappointed. Besides some rotten dried fish, there were only 50 Seaforium Bombs left – no herbs, clothes, rare materials, or any treasure that he had hoped for.

”This can’t be all that you have. You must be hiding them somewhere else.”

”Being such a small town, we’re only allowed 50 Seaforium Bombs. These things are very unstable and can only be used by experienced veterans. These are all that I have. If you don’t believe me then there’s nothing more I can do,” Solomon said sincerely.

Lu Li didn’t want to push Solomon’s buttons anymore and decided to take all 50 bombs.

”What is this?” There was a strange object in the corner of the room which was covered by a layer of dried fish.

”Oh, that’s a Goblin Tank/ I think it’s broken. If you want it, you can take it, but I don’t think there are many people who know how to repair it.”

”Yes, of course I want it!” Lu Li thought excitedly to himself.

A Goblin Tank was unlike the tanks in real life, but it had the same defensive capabilities and offered an extreme advantage in a fight.

Lu Li cleaned up his inventory and stored away some valuables.

The tank has a built- in anti-gravity technology which allowed him to store it in his backpack, but it was still quite heavy.

”After we complete the quest, what sort of rewards are you planning to award us with?” Lu Li asked. He was still not satisfied.

Although this was Water Fairy’s quest, she did not stop Lu Li from scamming the NPC. She simply smiled in the background without even realizing.

”Damn it, I’ll double everything,” Solomon cursed at him as he threw a glass bottle onto the ground, shattering it. ”I’ll give you 20 gold coins and a lot of EXP.”

Only 20 gold coins, old man? Are you asking to be beaten up?