In a bunker underground:
Someone said, "Boss Esten, there is a psycho out there who has killed more than 800 people in just the past 2 days. There is word on the street that the psycho is screaming, torturing every gang that there is in the city. Apparently, he is looking for a kidnapped girl or something. He ain't stopping. We should run away from the city."
Esten said, "Don't worry. This bunker is 150m into the ground, and we have Joker on our side. Not to mention the bunker is made of mana-resistant metal."
The man said, "Joker, boss?"
Esten said, "He is an underground materials broker. He is an underground dealer who mostly deals with Abyssal Zone monster parts. He sold us some rare monster parts deep into the Abyssal Zone, like Frost Claw nails and ice shards."
The man said, "He promised to help?"
Esten said, "Recently, 2 days ago, it appears he is in the city. He put a call for help in the market. Apparently, he is willing to pay a million—or a billion—gold to whoever can find a group of 4 or 5 girls that are kidnapped. He even promised to spare the kidnappers if they came clean. And letting someone go in our business is rare. Now the question is, was he bluffing? Looks like these girls might have stolen something from Joker. We have never seen Joker like this. Every thug, criminal, murderer is after them. And Joker said he wanted all of them alive and unharmed. And I promised him info if he kept this bunker safe. We would have this place without the quartz ice shards Joker provided."
As Joker entered the room, he was wearing some kind of clown mask.
He said, "This is the first time meeting."
Esten said, "Oh, Joker, you are here. We didn't even know you arrived. Could I get you a drink?"
Joker said, "Speak now."
Esten said, "Slow down. You just arrived."
Joker said, "Speak now or perish." As the bunker itself began to shake.
Esten said, "Here is the info. Apparently, about 47 hours ago, there was a need for assassins to take a kidnapping job. It wasn't our thing, so we didn't join. But the offer was paying top money—more than ten thousand per person. Whoever was involved, only a team of experienced but limited individuals were taken. And apparently, one of the big names from the Baladian military is behind this."
Joker said, "What name?"
Esten said, "I don't know. I really don't."
Joker thought, I'm not detecting lies. As he asked, "How many guys does your gang have?"
Esten said, "Like 750 in the capital."
Joker said, "Here is my offer. I will save your guys from whatever psychopath is chasing you, but you have to send your guys on the street for more info. If they are paying ten thousand per person, I'm willing to pay more than a million per person if you can find them."
Meanwhile, in a different bunker:
Boss Esno was in a bunker. Esno said, "This bunker is safe. No one in the world can penetrate it. That psycho Licht—what was it again? He killed 800 of us gangsters? What a joke."
As the bunker began to shake, a voice screamed, "Tell me the name! Esno!"
Esno said, "And you are—"
Licht screamed, "Get out of the bunker and tell me which one of your buddies is responsible for the attack on the mall! Tell me now!"
Esno said, "I'm not a fool. I won't tell you anything."
Licht said, "I suppose I will have to rip the words out of your throat."
This response is AI-generated, for reference only.