The newsstand old man paused for a moment, then shook his head:
"Ah... I do know some of it. It's about the Black Rabbit Gang. Lately, they have a significant operation in the works!"
"A significant operation?"
"Yes, although there's no concrete evidence, according to our guesswork, it's very likely that the Black Rabbit Gang will abandon their gang identity and become pirates!
Moreover, they would be pirates under the Black Whale Group, one of the four great sea emperors!"
The tone of the newsstand old man grew serious:
"The people of the Black Whale Group, for their rule over the distant seas, are madly gathering forces in various coastal cities, just like recruitment.
And now, our navy in Shell Country is still undergoing so-called restructuring, establishing the so-called 'Three Great Admirals and Seven Great Legions', and they don't have the time to deal with them."
Join pirates?
Chen Qi was startled.
After the Crack Tide, the number and quality of cracks on the sea are far superior to those on land.
The pirates' income will increase considerably.
But a gang is tightly connected to its region, and becoming pirates means giving up their long-established connections and resources.
In a sense, it indeed constitutes an extremely bold decision!
Following that, the newsstand old man picked up his rum and took a swallow:
"If they are joining the pirates, it also means they no longer have to worry about their reputation in their own city, before leaving, do some even more ruthless acts.
Apart from you, there are quite a few First Order and even Second-order Transcendents in the civilian district that the gangs have their eyes on.
Those bastards, most likely because of what you acquired in the hunting grounds, are about to frame you criminally, forcibly take your possessions, and force you to join them!"
The tone of the newsstand old man became vehement.
This is typical bullying by exploiting power!
He himself is a resident within the jurisdiction of the Black Rabbit Gang, and having suffered quite a bit by them, he had long harbored resentment towards the Black Rabbit Gang.
"Is that so..."
Chen Qi shook his head.
His current personal strength wasn't yet capable of contending against the entire gang.
Even though he might manage to fight a Second-tier Hunter, facing a gang of over a hundred members, he definitely was not an opponent.
But as long as he is careful, keeping himself safe under the gang's hostile view is still feasible.
The newsstand old man reassured:
"However, don't worry too much. Perlu is currently tracking the Flower Witch. Once she deals with the Flower Witch, she will investigate the relationship between the Black Whale Group and the Black Rabbit Gang."
"Perlu?"
"Yes, the collusion between the Black Whale Group and the gangs would also make news. She wouldn't miss it."
"Then let's pray Miss Perlu quickly locates the Flower Witch."
Chen Qi took a sip of his drink.
The newsstand old man made a joke:
"By the way! You are also quite young! Perlu has a significant background. When you meet her, calling Perlu 'big sister' might get her to cover you."
"To acknowledge Perlu as an elder sister? That sounds like a gang, doesn't it?"
Chen Qi swallowed his fish meat.
"All the big companies in Moonstone City are maintaining a bunch of mercenaries, indeed no different from the gangs."
The newsstand old man gave a bitter smile:
"Boss, our White Dove Newspaper is also a big company, and we have employed a great number of Transcendents. In terms of strength, far surpassing the ordinary gangs in Moonstone City.
However, I'm different from Perlu; I'm just an old man who sells newspapers, an extern staff member, barely scraping by."
"The newspaper..."
Chen Qi swallowed his fish meat.
He remembered from the forums, the White Dove Newspaper seemed open but was actually a quite secretive and closed Lamp Phase organization.
The newspaper never recruited outsiders, hence the guides about the newspaper were extremely rare.
The newsstand old man continued eating, reiterating:
"Before Perlu takes action, be extremely careful."
"I will."
Chen Qi remembered the Black Rabbit Gang as he looked out the ship window, gazing at the distant sea.
...
...
In the afternoon, in the third civilian district of Moonstone City.
A room inside a three-story small villa.
It used to be a room brimming with a classic elegance, but now, most of the furniture had been moved out, and the entire room looked starkly bare, with only a sofa and a table left.
The Black Rabbit Gang was already preparing to leave Moonstone City to become pirates, and now, they were selling off a large number of properties in the city.
On the sofa in the room sat a middle-aged man with a worried face.
A man wearing gold-rimmed glasses opened the door and said to the middle-aged man on the sofa:
"Black Rabbit, the brothers of the gang have been here for so many years, and there are still many who don't want to leave."
Black Rabbit, that was the code name for the leader of the Black Rabbit Gang.
But he didn't resemble a rabbit at all; from outward appearance, he was just a blonde middle-aged man, more like an overworked office worker than a gang leader.
And the glasses-wearing man was the gang's vice leader.
Black Rabbit took the documents handed to him by the glasses-wearing man and stated calmly:
"After indulging for so many days, haven't the brothers' grievances subsided yet? By the way, how's the progress on kidnapping the wives and daughters of the three dissenters and then saving them?"
The glasses-wearing man shook his head:
"It was done quite well, no traces left behind. Those troublemakers, owing us favors, no longer have objections."
As he spoke, the glasses-wearing man heaved a sigh and asked:
"Black Rabbit, why must we leave Moonstone City, by using such tactics, to become pirates?"
As a typical regional organization.
The connections they had made in the civilian district, the properties they had purchased, and the shops they protected were all critical sources of income for them!
Selling off their assets and buying large steamships to leave the civilian district was undoubtedly cutting off their own means of profit!