Chapter 597 Offering a Reward to Suppress Bandits

　　【You cast a suspicious look at the Crowman vendor and ask him if he is colluding with the hemp bandits and deliberately harming outsiders like you. 】

"Absolutely not!" The vendor waved his hands hastily and denied it. 】

["The bandits are also a huge scourge for us Crow people, because usually the Crow people often encounter thefts by the Bandits accidentally. If you don't believe it, you can go to the village square and look at the notice board to tell the truth about the Bandits. The reward order has been hanging there for a long time, and there are also a large number of cases of stolen property from Ya people villagers!" The Ya people vendor explained righteously. The implication is that the Ya people don't have any good feelings towards the Ma bandits, but they are just hindered by them. It was hidden too deep to be found out. 】

What the profiteer said sounded nice, but Mu You didn't believe it at all, because this tribe of people had existed for countless years. No matter how lifelike the bandits were in their costumes, if they really wanted to investigate ruthlessly, how could they search for any clues? Not yet?

Mu You remembered the notice board he saw when he entered the village before. It clearly stated that theft was strictly prohibited in the tribe, and the village had 'guards' who acted as policemen. Anyone who had been stolen could go to the guard to report the crime. .

  2,000 divinity was stolen for no apparent reason. Mu You definitely couldn’t let it go and planned to explore the background of this tribe first.

　　【Seeing you about to leave, the Yaren vendor hurriedly said: "Hey, guest, do you want to pay back the mortgage for this dagger? Now I can give you 1,500 divinity!"]

 Two options [Mortgage] and [Reject].

Of course Mu You chose to refuse. He had already spent a lot of 5-star materials on this short sword, and its actual value was far more than 1,500. How could it be sold so easily for such a low price?

  【You declined the vendor's request and turned to leave. 】

　　【The Crow Man vendor didn't pay attention, with a confident smile on his lips, as if he expected you to come back sooner or later. 】

　　…You come to the middle of the village. On the square in front of you, there are indeed many notices and signs erected. 】

　　【You stepped forward to check one by one and found that most of them were transaction information left by various vendors. Only a few notice boards in the corners were densely marked with notices of a large number of thefts. 】

 【Arak villager Mary, in July of the third year of the mirage season, lost 3500 divinity. She reported it to the guard that day, and a week later, with the help of the guard, she successfully recovered her property...】

　　【Ailin, a villager of the Crow people, lost 2,000 divinities in January of the fourth year of the mirage season. He reported it to the guards the next day. Three days later, with the help of the guards, he successfully recovered his property...】

 【Abdo, a villager from Rock Rabbit, lost 1,500 divinity in March of the fourth year of the mirage season. He reported to the guards that day...The arakkoa guards are searching, but there are no results yet...】

 …

Mu You was slightly surprised. Reporting to the guards seemed to be useful?

 At least from this batch of announcements, there are indeed many examples of recovered stolen property.

However, Mu You took a quick glance and quickly discovered a problem: the incidents of property recovery were basically large-amount cases involving losses of more than 2,000 yuan, and most of the small-amount cases were still ‘under search’.

 Further down, there is a "wanted order" for the bandits.

　　【The Ma Bandit Bounty Mission: Everyone can find the Ma Bandit and kill him! Capture a sparrow man alive in the tribe and deliver it to the guard. If it is confirmed that the sparrow man has committed theft in the tribe, the captor will receive a 1,000-point divine bounty! 】

This bounty order is well-written, and the reward is not low. 1,000 divinity is equivalent to the profit of hunting a 7-star creature!

At first glance, it seems that the arakkoa tribe is really trying its best to catch the bandits and try to ensure the safety of everyone's transactions.

Of course, Mu You is not that simple to believe it. This may also be a smoke bomb, specifically listing some examples of recovered property to praise virtue and reassure those outside traders. Otherwise, if everyone knew that this place was a gangster den, who would dare to trade?

Whether it was true or not, Mu You decided to go to the guard first, report his situation, and see if he could get it back.

　　　【Bypassing the notice area, you soon saw a group of patrolling arakkoa guards at the edge of the square. 】

　　【These armed arakkoa are armed with weapons and are significantly larger than ordinary arakkoa. The leader of the guard captain is 7 stars, and the remaining guards are all 6 stars. 】

 7 stars…

Mu You pondered for a moment. This guard chief is probably the most powerful person in the Crow tribe.

He can't defeat the 7-star ones at the moment, not to mention there are a bunch of 6-star guards to help. If there is a conflict, he will have no choice but to run away.

　　【You stepped forward and stopped this group of guards. 】

　　【Under the questioning gaze of the other party, you explain to the guard chief the whole process of your being stolen just now, and ask the other party to find the lost divinity for you. 】

"I know..." In response to your request, the guard chief just took out a pen and paper, briefly wrote down the time and the number of divinities you lost, then ignored you and led the team to continue patrolling...]

“?” Mu You looked confused. He didn’t even ask his name when reporting the crime. He just took down the number and left?

Even if you regain your divinity in the future, how will you return it to him?

　　【You looked at the leaving guards, standing blankly, when suddenly you heard a burst of dark laughter coming from behind. 】

[You look back, and it turns out that it’s an arakkoa villager who happens to be passing by. He has been watching your actions throughout the process. Seeing your confused look, he kindly reminds you: “To report the case to the guards, you must first find the clan leader and join the arakkoa people. You must become a formal resident of the tribe, otherwise they will not handle your report at all."]

　　　…”

Mu You was speechless. No wonder the previous notices all started with "villager xx". It turned out that migrant households were not even qualified to apply for a crime report.

　　【You asked the Crow villagers where the clan leader lives. Do you want to go there immediately? 】

"yes."

　　…You have arrived at the highest point of this mountain peak. A luxurious wooden building stands on the top of the mountain. This is the residence of the Crow leader. 】

　　【The leader of the Crow People is a white-haired old Crow People, wearing a pair of mini glasses on the bridge of his nose, leaning on a cane, and walking tremblingly. 】

[For your arrival, the clan leader didn’t seem to have any surprise. He led you into the house, walked slowly to the desk, and rummaged in the drawer: "If you want to join the tribe, you must first buy a property of the Crow Tribe. I have a look…"】

 Hearing that he needed to ‘buy real estate’, Mu You already had an ominous premonition.

 Sure enough, the patriarch quoted an outrageous price.

　　【The patriarch pulled out one of the items from a stack of lists: "Currently the cheapest property in this tribe is located on the northern edge of Hill No. 4. It is a thatched house with a listing price of 20,000 divinity and a 50-year property right..."]

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　…

  There is a faint sound of molars after bathing. The cheapest house is sold for 20,000 yuan. It is not permanent...

He has vaguely understood the routine of this tribe. There is definitely a connection between these Ya people and the Ma bandits. The reason why the Ma bandits are allowed to exist is to force outsiders to buy houses and settle down here through constant property losses...

To put it bluntly, what you pay is not the rent at all, but the protection fee. As long as you pay the money, the bandits will not rob you again.

And the gangsters also know the rules. Even if they accidentally rob and steal the villagers' money, they will return the money quickly. The collusion between the officials and the gangsters makes it clear that the people who are cheated are outsiders. Basically every new trader will You have to be tricked like this.

“Okay, okay, let’s play like this, right?” Mu You narrowed his eyes.

If the money was simply stolen by a thief, and the Crow Man was not responsible for helping him get it back, he would not say anything and would quietly catch the murderer himself. If he could not catch the murderer, it was because he was incompetent, and he would not blame the Crow Man tribe.

 But who made it so obvious that the two parties had colluded and made it clear that they were working together to deceive people, then Mu You would not let it go.

“Do they all still have divinity?” Mu You raised his head and asked in the pet shop.

 The three clones looked away from the game and looked at him.

 “Unfortunately, I just finished it an hour ago…” The person who called the clock was helpless.

 “I’m over two thousand years old and haven’t used it yet,” said the herb collector.

"I have more than five hundred...what's wrong?" Linglong asked curiously.

The main body suddenly asked them for money, and his face was serious. It was obvious that something had happened.

“Give it all to me and I will pay it back to you later.”

Mu You collected the crystals of the two clones, and finally collected about 2,600 divinities.

 “What’s going on?” The three people gathered around curiously.

 Mu You briefly told them about his theft. “Oh shit, it turns out there is a special race of thieves!” The caller was a little surprised.

"Obviously it's a double act performed by the underworld and the white road." The herb collector concluded with his arms crossed.

"This is intolerable! Our Mu family army has always been the only one who prostituted others for free. How can there be any reason for others to prostitute themselves for free? They must be killed!" Linglong was filled with indignation, even more anxious than Mu You.

"Don't worry, let's explore the situation of this 'bandit' first..."

 Mu You returned to the game, and pulled the character back near the Crow Man stall at the entrance of the village, pretending to sift through the goods, and at the same time quietly sent the divine crystal into the game.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　]] Yaren boss has a real expression on his face when he sees you leaving and coming back, and continues to enthusiastically sell you his 'mortgage' service. 】

　　【But you quietly hung the bag filled with divinity on your waist and activated the blood law 'Existence' at the same time. 】

Your presence instantly became extremely strong, and the pedestrians around you instinctively looked towards you, just in time to notice your hand touching the bag on your waist. 】

　　　【The bulging pockets on your waist seem to be infinitely magnified in the gazes of the people around you, and you have already heard many swallowing sounds around you. 】

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　erator\\\\\'s. 】

　　　【The arachnid boss's surprise soon turned into a more enthusiastic smile, and he looked at you as if he were seeing a peerless fat sheep. 】

Mu You didn't pay attention to the reactions of others, but kept his eyes on the panel. The reason why he deliberately leaked money was to attract the gangster to take action again.

He doesn't know yet how the thieves steal, but no matter how powerful the thief is, if he wants to steal his things, he has to get close to him first, right?

 【The divine crystal you carry: 2601 points...】

Mu You held the pocket watch and stared at the line of data on the panel, waiting patiently.

 After waiting for about two minutes, he finally saw the panel data quietly change.

 【The divine crystal you carry: 66 points...】

 The number of divine crystal instants dropped from 2600 to 66, and there was still no prompt in the game that it was stolen.

 Mu You hurriedly retraced his steps according to the table, and at the same time asked the character to observe the surroundings secretly.

　　　【Time goes by, this time you finally realize the whole process of your divinity being stolen, and you glance behind you from the corner of your eye. 】

[Soon, among the many pedestrians behind you, you found an arakkoa who acted slightly abnormally: Due to the effect of 'existence', other arakkoa would instinctively glance at you when they passed by you, but this one was the only one. People always look straight ahead, seeming not to care about you, and pass by three meters behind you calmly...]

 【And just as the other party passed by your position, you noticed that the package around your waist shriveled up instantly...】

 “It is indeed it!”

Mu You's eyes lit up, and he finally identified the criminal. He hurriedly looked back and observed the state of the crow man.

 【Unknown Crow Man (5 stars): Divine Power 37, Divine Defense 37, Real Life: 7450, Abilities: Unknown...】

 5 stars, the star rating is not too high.

However, as natural thieves, these sparrow men seem to have the ability to hide and have strong escape abilities. If he wants to capture each other alive alone, it may not be that easy...

 Confirming the target, Mu You did not rush to alert the enemy, but first operated it in the game.

　　【Before the bandits take action, take off the bag and open it to reveal the crystals inside. 】

[Under the public gaze this time, the passing Crow Man behind did not dare to make a move. He frowned and walked straight past you, but did not go far. He stopped in front of another vendor not far away. Pretend to buy something. 】

  【Your property has been preserved. 】

 “How’s it going?” Linglong asked.

 All three of them noticed the change in Mu You's expression just now, and guessed that he might have discovered a clue.

 Mu You told the information about the arakkoa discovered in the game just now.

“It’s five stars, and it has the ability to hide and escape, so I’m afraid you won’t be able to keep it alone...” the herb collector analyzed after listening.

 “Do you need us to come back and help?” Linglong looked eager to give it a try.

"Forget it, you are too far away. It will take several days to get back. I'm afraid I won't be able to wait that long... I'll ask someone else." Mu Youyou.

 The four of them explored separately in four directions, and now they are all far apart from each other.

 After saying that, Mu You opened the forum and found a group chat called "Dawn City Vaccine Discussion Group". He called everyone: "Who is online?"

Suddenly a group of people lined up below, shouting "I'm here", "Worship the Great God", "Good afternoon City Lord" and so on.

This group was established when the vaccine was distributed before. It contains officials from various positions in Dawn City and leaders of major forces.

 After the vaccine distribution, this group was also retained by Muyou to provide a communication platform for various forces in Dawn City.

Mu You made a visual inspection and found that there were more than 200 people in the group, among which there were only 40 or 50 people who bubbled up just now. It can be seen that a lot of people are online now.

“Is there anyone near Spider Forest Area 7?” Mu You asked again.

 ‘Spider Forest’ is a name chosen by the players themselves, because the players do not know the real names of nearby places at all. For the sake of convenience, the surrounding areas were specially named on the map made by Blue Eyes White Dragon.

And Spider Forest Area 7 is the same low mountain where he encountered the big bird before.

 “I’m here.” Blue Eyes White Dragon left a message.

"And I…"

 …

Several members of the dragon team left messages one after another. Their team happened to be doing missions nearby.

 In addition, there are a small number of people from other forces who left messages saying that they are also nearby, including Lu Yao.

“Um, I’m here too…” The fire messenger’s message seemed a bit unconfident, with a sweaty hand-raised emoji.

The person who spreads the fire is Lu Yao. Due to her identity, she could not join this group. She was pulled in by Mu You purely as a related person. She, an ordinary player with no influence, was placed among the leaders of this group of forces. The room seemed out of place.

Of course, the popularity of the 'Fire Spreader' is not low. As a well-known businessman and troll on the forum, his mouth spraying air into the air has left a deep impression on everyone. It is said that he is also a loli girl. , many people like this tune, and it is said that some people send private messages to her every day to beg for scolding... In short, in the few months since the server was launched, her store has accumulated a considerable number of loyal fans.

Mu You had forgotten Lu Yao's existence, but it was a good thing that she was nearby at this time. Her relics could help others hide their whereabouts perfectly.

 “What’s wrong, City Lord?” someone asked.

“If you have time, you might as well wait for me near the hilltop in District 7 and help me block someone.” Mu Youyou said.

"oh?"

Everyone was a little surprised when they heard this, thinking who could be so short-sighted and offend the city lord, and let the city lord mobilize troops and sway people like this.

 (End of this chapter)