Chapter 5: Use All Available Means

  Mediterranean City is an international political, economic and cultural metropolis. Its vast urban scale has captured at least three satellite cities: Cao Shi, Hei Shi Town and Hai Lan Pu.

  So-called "satellite cities" are not in the usual sense of cities surrounding a central city, but rather three vassal regions around Zhonghai City. Each region is home to a group of people who work hard for Zhonghai City and struggle to make a living with low expenses.

  "Caoshichang, can be understood as the area of Caomin. However, in reality, it is a mixed residence of people from all walks of life, and is the most complex, chaotic and backward region around Zhonghai Market, also providing the most comprehensive service function for Zhonghai."

  Shen Qingyang tidied up his dirty flying jacket, looking a bit tired on the face, but still patiently listened to the disheveled old man in front of him explaining the "local conditions and customs" of the Mediterranean.

  The old fellow was met by chance this morning at a street-side breakfast shop, where the information fee was a bowl of thin porridge and a plate of peanuts.

  Shen Qingyang smiled slightly and nodded, with a layer of wrinkles accumulating between his eyebrows, looking nothing like someone in their thirties. He fiddled with the silver lighter in his hand, occasionally producing a crisp "click" sound.

  "Where can I find a cripple?" Shen Qingyang asked casually, gazing out at the sparse crowd on the small street.

  "There are quite a few cripples here!" The old man stared at the exquisite vodka bottle by Shen Qingyang's side, his eyes greedy and his lips trembling.

  Breakfast was a glass of vodka with a few peanuts, this kind of life Shen Qingyang had been living for several years, even in the city where supplies were abundant, he couldn't change it. The old man's every move was under Shen Qingyang's eyelids, from a psychological point of view, the old guy wanted a drink.

  A cup of wine might get you important information, Shen Qingyang knew that. But today he had an extra thought: wine shouldn't be drunk recklessly, and even more so, it shouldn't be lavished randomly!

  Yesterday, Shen Qingyang walked out of the airport and onto this nameless small street, found a cheap little inn, settled in and went out to find food, and then ran into that cripple. The cripple was drinking alone at the corner of the street, very comfortable and very free.

  There are really a lot of cripples here! This is Shen Qingyang's most direct impression of this dirty city, from which it can be seen that the society here is not peaceful. Judging from his own experience, all the cripples were not born with it, but were caused by being beaten and having their legs broken. The lighter ones could walk with crutches, while the more serious ones couldn't even crawl, no less than those injured rebel soldiers in the Primeval Forest.

  The lame man drank alone and was already slightly drunk.

  As Shen Qingyang walked past him, his leg was suddenly held, and a strange "Woo" sound came into his ear, a pungent smell mixed with alcohol drilled into Shen Qingyang's nose.

  "Waaahhh..." The cripple can't speak!

  Chen Qingyang stood firmly on the ground, no matter how much the cripple shook, he didn't move a single thread, his cold gaze staring at that filthy hand.

  The cripple seemed to have felt that Shen Qingyang's leg was very hard, and after swaying for a while, he let go and emitted a terrifying strange laugh: "Drink with me!"

  Shen Qingyang didn't have time to drink with a cripple he had never met before, but still nodded. The survival rules of mercenaries were different from those of ordinary people, and cold-blooded mercenaries were even more exceptional. Shen Qingyang was that exceptional mercenary, although he didn't want to expose his identity.

  There's not much vodka left in the bottle. Shen Qingyang raised an eyebrow: "How about we make a deal?"

  The old man continued to lick his lips, staring at the silver lighter in Shen Qingyang's hand.

  "Hey young fellow, maybe old chap can lend you a helping hand!"

  He just mentioned "Cao Shi", and there is a lot of information that has not been said. Anyone who lives on the edge of the city will be very familiar with the region where they live, whether they are lame or blind.

  Shen Qingyang nodded: "I just want to find that cripple who cheated me yesterday!"

  Shen Qingyang didn't have the slightest feeling about the Mediterranean, this trip's purpose was just to find a person and one thing. Any city is made up of countless complex people. There is a kind of person who has the most qualifications to represent this city, that is "marginal man"! Yesterday's swindler cripple and this old guy now are both marginal men of the city.

  They are not marginalized by the city, but rather they walk on the edge of the city. They once poked their heads into the city and got hurt, then retreated back to the edge of the city.

  So, they are filled with resentment towards this city, but no one is willing to leave the city. There are many reasons for this, and one of the most unusual ones is that they want to see how this city declines and falls to a degree where it can accommodate them.

  "What can you do for me?" Shen Qingyang immediately raised his guard.

  Last night, the cripple who hugged Shen Qingyang's thigh asked Shen Qingyang to help him with a small favor, to get a dish from the Chinese restaurant across the street. It was "getting" a dish, not "ordering" or "buying". The cripple's request was very particular, and Shen Qingyang "got" him a plate of garlic mashed pork head, plus a pot of burning wine.

  The lame man was very generous and wanted Shen Qingyang to drink with him. The wine entered, and the melancholy and sorrowful intestines were full of guilt and hard to calm down. The guilt came from deep within his heart, and the twenty-seven brothers' corpses in the Bamboos Forest had not yet cooled down. The sorrow had been twisted into a whip by the autumn wind, constantly lashing Shen Qingyang.

  However, Shen Qingyang did not show any displeasure and drank with the beggar to relieve his depression. So he drank a bit more, but didn't get drunk. He never got drunk when drinking wine, even when competing with Chen Chen.

  Many but not drunk, it's very rare. Chen Chen is Shen Qingyang's sworn brother, the deputy captain of the mercenary group "Brave Warriors", who died in Shen Qingyang's arms during the battle in Bambusa Forest, with his fresh blood staining Shen Qingyang's hands, a brother's blood, very cold.

  "Are you a soldier?" The old man chuckled and still stared at the wine jug in Shen Qingyang's hand: "This thing is very precious!"

  "Not!" Shen Qingyang coldly glanced at the old man with a smile all over his face, and casually tossed the wine jug: "After drinking, help me find that cripple from yesterday!"

  The old man didn't say a word, immediately unscrewed the vodka bottle and took a swig. Vodka, a strong Russian liquor that not everyone can enjoy. The potent liquor instantly "stunned" the old man, who couldn't catch his breath for half a day, and after a while let out a violent cough, as if he was going to cough up his heart and lungs.

  Shen Qingyang furrowed his brow and downed nearly half of the wine in one gulp. If he didn't choke to death, it would be a miracle!

  "It's easy to find a cripple!" Shen Qingyang let out a mouthful of turbid air, perhaps this question was not a difficult problem for the old man in front of him, but for Shen Qingyang who had just arrived, it was like looking for a needle in the ocean. The key is that he had looked for half a night yesterday and still hadn't found that cripple.

  "Why look for him?" The old man threw the wine jug at Shen Qingyang: "One mouth is enough!"

  "He took my stuff!" Shen Qingyang's face was expressionless. He hadn't noticed being stolen from while drinking with the cripple last night, but only discovered that his Hunter School graduation certificate was missing when he returned to the small inn.

  The certificate is useless now. To a mercenary filled with hatred, life itself is unimportant, let alone a graduation certificate?

  The certificate was not placed in the tactical bag, but was stuck close to the skin in the inner pocket of the plaid shirt. Despite this, the certificate was still lost, and Shen Qingyang encountered a real opponent.

  Perhaps in some sense, the cripple was not his opponent, such as hand-to-hand combat, such as shooting, such as killing! However, having one's own things stolen made Shen Qingyang feel humiliated. This kind of jungle warfare was different, in the jungle he was "Blood Shadow", wherever he went, there must be blood!

  But in front of the thief, he was teased at will, and the key is that the thief was not an ordinary person!

  "When do you think Lamei made his move?" The old man lit a poor-quality cigar and asked Shen Qingyang with cloudy eyes.

  Every detail had been rehearsed by Shen Qingyang countless times, and no link could be grasped by the opponent to implement theft. The tactical bag contained so many qualification certificates and passports, why didn't he steal them? Why did he specifically steal that green paper?

  Shen Qingyang didn't bother to recall the details of last night, but instead turned his attention to why his opponent had chosen to target him, and specifically stolen the thing that was protected by the leather skin. Was he showing off his exceptional skills? Or was that thing originally his goal?

  Detestable cripple! Shen Qingyang shook his head expressionlessly, but in his heart he was thinking of how to get rid of that despicable guy.

  "How many drinks have you had?"

  "Two shots... or was it three?!" He couldn't remember anymore, who knows how many drinks he had at the dimly lit street corner? The cripple didn't drink less either, no one knew how much he drank.

  "Don't even remember drinking a few sips?"

  "I'll drink my own liquor!" Shen Qingyang put the vodka bottle into his bosom and stopped talking.

  "Haha! I've seen a decanter like this before, it's also a silver vodka!"

  Shen Qingyang's eyes narrowed into a slit, and a cold light burst out. The old man understood what he meant - the cripple who drank with him last night should have had a bottle of vodka, just like his own! But his own bottle had never left his body, and his opponent was drinking from a beverage bottle. How did he manage to switch them?

  "You've had a few sips and you're completely clueless, do you still think your wine jug hasn't been switched?" The old man shook his head while chewing on peanuts: "I bet that cripple didn't drink any wine at all, it was all drunk by you!"

  "Impossible! I saw it with my own eyes, and I wasn't even drunk!"

  "There are many opportunities to make money in the Mediterranean, but it's better for young people to have a certain profession. There are also many pitfalls here, and the best choice is still to leave!"

  It's a contradictory statement, yet it makes sense. Shen Qingyang nodded, finding a job that doesn't require much effort for himself, but first, he needs to find the old thief who stole his things.

  "You said you could help me?"

  "There are many cripples in the grass market, but those with silver-plated vodka flasks are rare!" The old man's face turned red as he stood up, swayed a bit, and let out a belch: "Your vodka has a special flavor, with a hint of Bamberg forest!"

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