Back-Alley Channels

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The back-alley channels belonged mostly to people who made their living on information.

The informants active in Mad Hatter Town were nowhere near massive organizations like the Marines or the Revolutionary Army, who could turn intelligence work into an art. Even so, they could be useful in countless ways.

To find the person who had ambushed his crewmates, the pirate could only spend money and seek help from those people.

Wolf Rat was said to have a sense of smell sharper than a dog's.

That was the cold, narrow-faced man in front of him.

After sitting on the sofa, Ragren struggled to calm himself.

Remembering how Wolf Rat had gotten behind him without his noticing sent a chill through him.

This man clearly had real ability, yet he hid in the gutter doing work like this.

Ragren could not understand it.

The two had barely sat down when the silent bartender brought over two cups of liquor, then wordlessly returned to the bar.

Wolf Rat stretched out a long, thin hand and lightly lifted one cup, playing with it.

Before Ragren could state his purpose, Wolf Rat spoke first.

"Ragren, cadre of the Sharp-Horn Pirates. Last night's little incident was hardly important, but I still heard about it. So you want to hire me to find the killer?"

Wolf Rat had recognized him and guessed why he came.

The pirate was not surprised.

Someone in the information business needed at least that much ability to survive.

What truly surprised him was the strength Wolf Rat had shown earlier.

"Yes."

Ragren said nothing more. He took out a money pouch and set it on the table.

Wolf Rat picked it up, weighed it in his hand, then loosened the tie and glanced inside.

With his years of dealing with money, he did not need to count to estimate the amount accurately.

"Start now?"

Satisfied, he put away the pouch and looked at his client.

"The sooner, the better."

Ragren gave a firm nod.

Wolf Rat smiled and drank his cup dry.

Ragren did not touch the liquor the bartender had brought the entire time.

They rose and left the tavern one after the other.

Before long, the two arrived at the dried bloodstain in the alley.

Wolf Rat crouched and examined it.

"I heard one shot passed through two men. First the side of the neck, where the musket ball could pass through more easily, then a perfect hit to the brow. Whoever did this is clearly a hard case who specializes in sniping."

The swordsman's face stayed blank.

He had no interest in listening to the informant's analysis, but given the man's strength, he could not rush him either.

The informant did not care about his mood. He said in a gloomy voice, "The worst kind of person to provoke is someone who can put a bullet into you from the dark before you even get a chance to fight back. Still..."

Wolf Rat's nose twitched. In an instant, it became a long, narrow black rat nose.

"People like that are exactly why my business is so easy."

He lifted his nose and sniffed. Different scents turned into information inside his head.

From thousands to hundreds. From hundreds to dozens. From dozens to one.

After quickly filtering out the scent he wanted, Wolf Rat slowly stood and looked upward.

"Keep up."

He pushed off with his feet and lightly leapt to the top of a nearby building.

The pirate followed.

So Wolf Rat had eaten a Rat-Rat Fruit, a Zoan. No wonder he specialized in this kind of work.

With that, finding the sniper should be certain.

The two moved across rooftops and soon arrived at the place where Corvin had sniped from the night before.

The informant looked over the scene. The information converted from scent took shape in his mind as a trail that did not exist in reality, stretching from this place into the distance.

Following that scent trail, he headed toward Sol's weapons shop.

Ragren kept close behind.

The informant moved with clear purpose toward the shop, but when they came within twenty meters, he suddenly stopped.

"Found him?"

Seeing this, Ragren's expression turned cold. He assumed Wolf Rat had located the target.

The informant did not answer. Instead, he lowered his head and looked at a spot in the alley.

The scent trail had split.

One branch pointed toward Sol's weapons shop. The other extended from the shop to this spot in the alley.

But the split was not why Wolf Rat had stopped.

Even with the trail branching, the final destination remained Sol's weapons shop. The branch would not affect the search.

The real problem was...

Wolf Rat looked toward the shop with a solemn expression. From where he stood, he could faintly see the corner of its doorway.

'This scent isn't the old man's, but it definitely has something to do with him.'

He thought silently.

Watching the informant fall quiet, Ragren frowned and pressed him.

"Did you find him or not?"

"I found him."

Wolf Rat looked back at the pirate. "But since you paid me, I'll give you a piece of advice. Drop it."

"What does that mean?"

"Nothing much. Just a free extra."

The pirate said coldly, "I don't need your concern. Your job is to take me to the target."

Wolf Rat shrugged and said nothing more.

He followed the scent trail and led Ragren outside Sol's weapons shop.

"The killer is in that shop. What happens next has nothing to do with me."

"Wolf Rat, our deal was for you to identify the target, not point at a random place and call it done."

Seeing the informant try to walk away after pointing at the shop, Ragren's tone turned unfriendly.

Wolf Rat looked at the shop door with obvious caution, then turned a cold smile on him.

"Fine. The shop owner is an old man, and the clerk is a scarred woman."

"Which one is the killer?"

"Neither."

The swordsman resisted the urge to draw his blade.

The informant spread his hands. "The killer isn't the old man, and it isn't the woman. But there are three people in that shop. Understand?"

Ragren snorted.

He did not know why the informant refused to state the third person's identity directly, but the target's location had at least been confirmed.

What the pirate did not know was that Wolf Rat was not refusing to say more.

He knew nothing about the third person.

This weapons shop was one of the few places in Mad Hatter Town the informant did not dare touch. If he had known the killer came from there, he would never have accepted the job.

But he had already taken the money. He could only grit his teeth and complete the deal.

That was why he did not even dare say Sol and Sunny's names. He could only use scent to exclude them and indirectly point out the existence of a third person.

In truth, he did not know when that third person had appeared.

But if that person was also part of the weapons shop...

After completing the transaction, the informant did not linger. He returned to the tavern as quickly as he could.

Ragren watched him leave, then looked at the mostly closed door of the weapons shop.

After thinking for a moment, Ragren also turned and left.

That evening, a shifty-eyed customer came to Sol's weapons shop.

As soon as he entered, he walked toward the shop's only three shelves.

While pretending to examine the weapons on display, he took a subtle look at the three people inside.

A short old man.

A scarred young woman.

A good-looking teenage boy.

That settled it.

With the answer in mind, the customer casually pulled a used machete with a nick in the blade from the third shelf and went to the counter.

"How much?"

"Fifty thousand Berries."

Sol did not even raise his head.

The man had thought the shabby blade was worth ten thousand at most. He cursed the shady shop in his mind, but still paid and left quickly.

Only after the customer left did Sol raise his head and look toward the door.

"Tch..."

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