Most people made a living off information in the Serpent Path and Rat Road.
Though not as sophisticated as behemoths like the Navy or the Revolutionary Army, which could manipulate information with great finesse, these informants in Mad Hatter Town could still provide various conveniences.
To find the murderer of his companions, Lagrin had no choice but to spend money seeking help from these people.
And Rat Wolf, it was said, had a sense of smell sharper than a dog’s.
That is, the sinister man with sharp eyebrows and lips before him.
Sitting on the sofa, Lagrin struggled to calm himself.
The thought of Rat Wolf having sneaked up behind him without him noticing gave him chills.
This guy obviously had strength but chose to nest in this cesspool doing such work.
Lagrin couldn’t understand.
As soon as they sat down, the taciturn bartender promptly brought two glasses of wine and silently returned to the bar.
Rat Wolf extended his long, slender right hand to lift and play with the wine glass casually.
Before Lagrin could state his purpose, Rat Wolf spoke, “You’re Lagrin, an officer of the Horned Bull Pirates, right? I’ve heard about last night’s incident, though it was insignificant. So, you want me to find the killer?”
Recognizing his identity and guessing his purpose didn’t surprise Lagrin.
In the information business, you had to have some skills to survive.
What surprised him was Rat Wolf’s previously displayed strength.
“Yes.”
Lagrin didn’t need to say much, placing a bag of money on the table.
Rat Wolf picked up the bag, weighed it, then untied the strap and peeked inside.
With his years of experience handling money, he could accurately estimate the amount without counting.
“Start now?”
He contentedly put away the money bag, looking at Lagrin.
“That would be best.”
Lagrin nodded heavily.
Rat Wolf smiled, downing the glass of wine in one gulp.
As for Lagrin, he hadn’t touched the drink brought by the bartender from start to finish.
They both stood up, Rat Wolf leading the way out of the bar with Lagrin following.
Soon, they arrived at the bloodstain in the alley.
Rat Wolf squatted, examining the dried blood.
“I heard it was a double kill with one bullet, first through the more penetrable side of the neck, then perfectly hitting the forehead. The one who did this is clearly a sniper expert.”
Lagrin showed no expression.
He was not in the mood to listen to Rat Wolf’s analysis, but because of the man’s strength, he didn’t urge him.
Rat Wolf ignored Lagrin’s feelings, speaking sinisterly, “You know which kind of people are the hardest to deal with? The ones who shoot you unexpectedly, giving you no chance to retaliate. However…”
Rat Wolf’s nose twitched, transforming into a long, black rat nose.
“Thanks to their activity, my business thrives.”
He sniffed the air, processing the various scents into information in his mind.
Selecting from thousands, hundreds, tens, down to one.
Quickly filtering out the desired scent information, Rat Wolf stood up, looking towards a high spot.
“Follow me.”
He leaped lightly to the top of the buildings.
Lagrin followed closely.
So, he’s a Zoan-type Rat Fruit Devil Fruit user, no wonder he specializes in this.
Finding the sniper would be a sure thing.
The two leapt across the buildings, soon arriving at the spot where Maude had shot from the night before.
Rat Wolf glanced at the scene and from the scent information, visualized a non-existent trajectory extending from there to the distance.
Following that scent trail, Rat Wolf headed towards Thor’s weapon shop.
Lagrin stayed close behind him.
Rat Wolf headed straight for Thor’s weapon shop, stopping abruptly when they were within twenty meters.
“Found them?”
Seeing this, Lagrin’s eyes filled with cold intent, thinking Rat Wolf had found the target.
Rat Wolf didn’t answer Lagrin’s question, instead looking down at a spot in the alley.
The scent trail forked; one pointed towards Thor’s weapon shop, the other extended from the shop to this alley.
But that wasn’t why Rat Wolf had suddenly stopped.
Because even if the trail forked, the final destination was still Thor’s weapon shop, so the fork wouldn’t affect the end result.
The root of the problem was…
Rat Wolf gazed solemnly towards Thor’s weapon shop, barely seeing a corner of its façade.
“Though this scent isn’t that old man’s, it’s definitely related.”
He thought silently.
Seeing Rat Wolf silent, Lagrin frowned and pressed, “Did you find it or not?”
“I did.”
Rat Wolf looked back at Lagrin, saying, “But for the money’s sake, I advise you to give up.”
“What do you mean?”
“Nothing much, just a friendly suggestion.”
Lagrin said coldly, “That’s none of your concern. Your job is to lead me to the target.”
Rat Wolf shrugged, saying no more.
Following the scent trail, Rat Wolf led Lagrin to the outside of Thor’s weapon shop.
“The perpetrator is inside that shop. The rest is up to you.”
“Rat Wolf, our deal was to find the target, not just point to a place and call it done.”
Seeing Rat Wolf about to leave, Lagrin’s tone grew unfriendly.
Rat Wolf glanced apprehensively at the weapon shop door, then sneered at Lagrin.
“Fine, the shop’s owner is an old man, the clerk is a scar-faced woman.”
“Which one is the killer?”
“Neither.”
Lagrin barely restrained his urge to draw his sword.
Rat Wolf spread his hands, saying, “The killer isn’t the old man or the woman, but there are three people in that shop. Got it?”
Lagrin snorted.
Though he didn’t understand why Rat Wolf didn’t directly reveal the third person’s identity, at least he had confirmed the target’s location.
He didn’t know that Rat Wolf wasn’t withholding information but knew nothing about the third person.
This weapon shop was one of the few places Rat Wolf didn’t dare to meddle with. He wouldn’t have taken the job if he knew the perpetrator was from the weapon shop.
But now that he had, he could only grit his teeth and complete it.
Thus, Rat Wolf didn’t dare to mention Thor and Sunny’s names, only using scent elimination to indicate the third person’s existence indirectly.
In reality, he didn’t know when this third person had appeared.
But since they were part of the weapon shop…
After completing the transaction, Rat Wolf quickly left, heading back to the bar.
Lagrin watched him go, then glanced at the weapon shop’s slightly open door.
After pondering for a moment, he too, turned and left.
That evening.
A shifty-eyed customer entered Thor’s weapon shop.
As soon as he walked in, he headed towards the shop’s only three shelves.
Pretending to examine the weapons on the shelves, he discreetly observed the three people inside.
A dwarf old man.
A scar-faced girl.
A quite handsome boy.
Perfect.
The customer felt assured, casually pulling out a somewhat damaged second-hand machete from the third shelf, and then heading to the counter.
“How much?”
“Fifty thousand Berries.”
Thor didn’t even look up.
The man had thought this poor-quality machete would be worth at most ten thousand Berries, never expecting it to be a regular price. Cursing the shop as a rip-off, he still decisively paid and left.
After the customer left, Thor finally looked up at the door.
“Tch…”
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