Goblin Dependency
Chapter 328 - 173 "Colander" Ben

Chapter 328: Chapter 173 "Colander" Ben

The next day, early morning.

Perhaps because of Xia Nan’s behavior at dinner these past few days, they noticed his preferences.

Lady Daisy went out of her way to get up a little earlier today, cooking a small pot of cream mushroom soup especially for him.

She even thoughtfully added more ginger powder to the soup and squeezed in a few drops of lemon juice.

This added a refreshing touch to the naturally sweet and thick taste of the mushroom soup, making it much more invigorating.

Living at Jeff’s house, eating and drinking freely, and having the mistress of the house go out of her way like this, Xia Nan felt a bit embarrassed.

However, Jeff and Daisy didn’t seem to mind, as if it was only right.

As ordinary folks who live off the savings from a life with the convoy and the income from the tailor shop, they were grateful to their benefactor who stepped in to save the cornerstone of their family in a moment of crisis.

They even wondered if they were treating him poorly with just this in return.

It’s no wonder that Jeff, at the age of only forty or fifty, could save up enough in an environment like Neum City to own a three-story building and a well-located tailor shop.

If Xia Nan had no attribute panel or battle skills, and was just another ordinary person in this world, he would have been quite willing to travel with him, running little businesses.

As long as it made money, the brothers under him would certainly get their share.

Having enjoyed the breakfast prepared for him by Daisy, Xia Nan greeted the others in the house and left.

He had already made an appointment in the sewers yesterday with Eight Finger, the leader of the Gray Badger Gang, that this morning someone would guide him to Colander Ben’s place.

Ben, being a friend and adventurer companion of Buck, his mission target, was the most likely person to know Buck’s whereabouts, considering Buck’s family had all perished.

It didn’t take long on the road.

After walking only two or three streets, at the entrance of Fool’s Gold Street, a shiny-headed, burly figure caught his eye.

"Mr. Xia Nan, you’re here so early! I thought I’d have to wait a bit longer."

In the biting autumn wind, Iron Head rubbed his hands nervously, standing alone by the roadside. Upon seeing Xia Nan, his eyes lit up and he immediately went to greet him.

Slightly nodding in acknowledgment, Xia Nan’s gaze swept over the man, his expression revealing a bit of strangeness.

Unlike the rough cloth short clothes and exposed chest tattoos of the thug style from their first meeting a few days ago,

Iron Head was now dressed in a linen waist-cinched long shirt, with loose trousers and a pair of leather short boots.

Although it looked somewhat ill-fitting and gave an impromptu appearance, it was undoubtedly more respectable compared to the previous unruly thug attire.

"Let’s go." Noticing the change in him, Xia Nan didn’t ask much and directly told him to lead the way.

Just like the scene when he led Xia Nan and Wood to the Gray Badger Gang’s lair in the sewers yesterday, this big bald man with a fierce face was exceptionally familiar with the streets of the city, at least from the West City District to the slums.

The main roads were okay, nothing unusual.

But as the streets on both sides became narrower and the alleys and pathways increased, his unerring steps became more noticeable.

"You seem familiar with this area, do you often come here?"

Following behind him, Xia Nan asked casually with some curiosity.

"Ha, you’re kidding." Iron Head half-turned his head, grinning to reveal his yellow-brown rotten teeth, "Most brothers in the gang grew up in the slums."

"We’ve been weaving in and out of these alleys since we were kids. If someone still gets lost here, they’d be laughed at for half a year."

Xia Nan didn’t reply, his eyes shifting slightly, as he glanced at the surrounding environment.

The two had already truly entered the underbelly of Neum City’s slum.

The narrow, muddy streets were filled with puddles of various sizes, and some sections required tiptoeing over the protruding stones or wooden planks; otherwise, a careless step would leave a deep footprint in the sludge beneath, composed of blood, excrement, and rotten vegetable leaves.

Both sides were cramped with dilapidated shacks made of straw, moldy planks, and rammed earth, with slanted walls that seemed like they could topple a whole street of houses like dominoes with just a push.

Snores, curses, animal cries intermingled with the stench of rot and decay, making the air around Xia Nan seem colder in the slum.

A short distance ahead, a frail woman in ragged clothes carelessly dumped a pail of feces by the roadside, glancing indifferently at the two with a flicker of apprehension and fear on her numb face before retreating indoors, slamming the door shut. Through the crack of the door, a baby’s wailing could faintly be heard.

Walking along the path, Xia Nan could feel the malicious gazes peering from the shadows of the alleys on both sides.

The eyes were drawn to his young face, lingering momentarily on the finely maintained chain armor, and then stopping at the two longswords on his back.

Occasionally looking in the direction of these gazes, no one dared meet his cold, black eyes.

Fully equipped, presenting a daunting figure to the ordinary residents as a senior adventurer, exuding a confident aura from exceptional physical fitness and combat ability following professional level advancement, with black hair and dark eyes, his cold, fierce features...

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