novelraw Chapter 160: Guild
Chapter 160: Guild
"Who's in charge here?"
Loren walked straight into the newspaper office. The printing press was running, but only a few staff members were actually working. Everyone else was doing their own thing.
While two men with heavy dark circles under their eyes were working, two short-haired women with faces full of piercings were comparing whose fingers were longer. A pair of bearded, overweight men were sniffing each other's socks. One man was standing between a man and a woman acting as a "connector." A bearded man wearing a skirt was admiring his own "beauty" in a mirror. And an old man was groping a young newspaper boy.
"Who the hell is in charge here?"
Just one glance, and Loren wanted to gouge his own eyes out. He had to shout a second time before anyone acknowledged him. It was the man operating the printing press who told him.
"The person in charge here is in that small room. She basically never shows her face."
"Good. You two, leave here immediately. Take the printing press with you."
"But..."
As some of the few normal people here, they still cared about their wages. If not for making a living, who would risk infection staying in this place?
"Here, hurry up."Loren tossed a bag of silver coins to them, instantly shutting them up.
That old-fashioned printing press was quite bulky, but once they lifted it, they moved with swift, vigorous strides.
After they left, Loren directly put on a mask and poured a bottle of gasoline onto the floor.
"Are you insane!"
Recognizing the smell, the woman with the pierced face suddenly stood up and started cursing at Loren. Loren couldn't be bothered with arguing. He pulled out his brass-knuckled leather belt and shattered her teeth with one strike, successfully silencing her.
However, the others didn't react much either. The Rainbow Plague had lowered their intelligence infinitely, causing them to misjudge Loren's courage and status. They genuinely thought Loren wouldn't dare light the fire.
Loren kicked open the door to the small room. Seeing the scene inside, Loren was glad he had drunk the Antidote Amulet before entering.
"Who are you?"
Inside was a fat woman. There were others here too, men and women, but not a single normal person among them.
"It's normal you don't know my rank. Who ordered you to publish those news articles?"
"Ha..."
The woman had just let out one laugh when she saw Loren pour another bottle of gasoline onto the floor. The strong smell of gasoline was very noticeable in this cramped room.
"Who is instructing you from behind the scenes?"
Loren fired a shot, crippling a person who was trying to escape, proving he really dared to light the fire.
"No one instructed me..."
For dealing with people of strong will, Loren had Requiem. Even the most tight-lipped person, when their heart is filled with thoughts of death, wouldn't keep any more secrets. A man facing death speaks kindly;
for those about to die, there's nothing they can't say.
But these trash infected with the Rainbow Plague clearly didn't belong to that category. Anyone who was truly strong-willed wouldn't have been infected by the Rainbow Plague in the first place.
"Who."
Loren's tone was utterly flat, as if he were doing something trivial.
He really didn't want to deal with these freaks and monsters, but the content in the newspaper genuinely angered him. Coming here was just to vent his anger. Otherwise, he could have just let the Bountiful Church people drag them away for "treatment."
With Loren's command, even if her backer was the Pope, it would be useless.
"No..."
The brass-knuckled belt struck her face. As several teeth flew out, her gaze also cleared up considerably.
"Who."
"It was the Regent! He told me these things and told me to write them in the newspaper!"
"The King is also useless."
Having obtained the information he wanted, Loren casually threw the belt aside, turned, and left. Before leaving, he also took the innocent newspaper boy with him. At the same time, the others breathed a sigh of relief.
Just before Loren walked out the door, he still threw a lit match inside.
"Consider it disinfection."
The screams and flames attracted the Enforcement Team. They questioned Loren first, seemingly to inquire about the situation, but in reality, they were listening for Loren's instructions.
"The newspaper office's fire safety awareness was inadequate. There was a fire. If anyone comes out alive, remember to fine and detain them."
"Yes, Master Mentor..."
What Loren said was outrageous, but no one disbelieved him.
"Also, have the King come see me. I can't be bothered going to the Royal Capital."
Gedlan was indeed quite heavily infiltrated. Even the Regent was infected with the Rainbow Plague. To deal with it, you had to handle it from the root. If the new King couldn't manage it, Loren wouldn't mind changing the King.
"Yes..."
Loren's request was somewhat outrageous to the Enforcement Team. Logically, enforcement teams in border regions might never see the King in their lifetime. But this was Loren's order. He just needed to say a word to the Church, and the Church people would naturally bring the King to him.
...
Before going home, Loren first went to the guild. In this world, guilds served a fairly significant role. Adventurers would take on quests here, and workers would also find jobs here.
Previously, Laila's source of income was also the guild. Besides "robbing the rich to help the poor," Laila earned money entirely by taking on quests, mostly hunting or assassination missions.
This was also the source of quests for players. It's just that Loren stood too high this time;
this seemed to be his first time entering a guild.
"Master Mentor, what brings you here?"
The moment Loren stepped through the entrance, the guild staff surrounded him. Upon learning of Loren's arrival, the guild master also stumbled out, having only managed to put on one shoe.
"Oh, I want to find a few maids. Help me spread the word."
"Of course, we will definitely spare no effort in helping you find suitable candidates! Do you have any requirements?"
"No specific requirements. Just be quick with their hands and feet, and have a clean background."
Loren took out a bag of coins and handed it to the guild master. Even if Loren didn't give anything, they would still do their utmost to help him. But giving some benefits was better for maintaining his persona. This amount of money meant nothing to Loren.
In this world, the number of people wanting to be Loren's maid was probably greater than the population of Gedlan's Royal Capital. Loren wasn't worried about finding people.
Various factions would rack their brains to get close to Loren. This was clearly an opportunity. However, Loren still preferred to find some ordinary people.
It wouldn't take long for the guild to spread the news across the entire country. Probably in a few days, Loren would be able to find suitable candidates.
Things weren't very peaceful around here lately. When Luna returned, Loren planned to have her temporarily not come home. Loren's side was always the safest.
With Loren taking the lead, the spread of the Rainbow Plague had been suppressed considerably recently. The streets had become much cleaner.
Previously, rainbow flags often appeared on the streets. Not the God of Plague's Plague Rainbow, but regular rainbow flags.
Although they didn't directly use the Plague Rainbow, the meaning they wanted to convey was quite clear. It's just that this way, no one could directly deal with them.