Chapter 1 The Dongliu Mountain Gathering

Dongliu Mountain, the summit.

Under the cloak of night, Dongliu Mountain bustled with more activity than usual.

Because they were holding a banquet.

A grand banquet.

A long table was laden with various dishes and fine wines.

A motley crew of men, their faces fierce, were guzzling wine and devouring meat, showing no regard for etiquette whatsoever.

Yet, not a single person present was easy to deal with.

If someone from Chunu City were here, they would be greatly astonished.

For every person present was a renowned expert on the Thief榜 (Thief Rankings), a formidable figure among the top hundred night thieves!

Presiding at the head of the table was a man wearing a rat mask.

He surveyed the crowd below and cleared his throat.

These normally ferocious and lawless night thief leaders immediately ceased their movements, awaiting the Rat Seat's words.

This included even the top-ranked thief chieftains.

Their strength far surpassed that of the Rat Seat.

After all, the Rat Seat was most famous for his escape techniques, not for his exceptional personal strength.

The reason everyone was willing to give the Rat Seat face was naturally because the Rat Seat was a member of the Phoenix Organization.

They could defeat the Rat Seat, but they couldn't afford to provoke the behemoth that was the Phoenix Organization.

The night thieves were able to run rampant in Chunu City precisely because of the Phoenix Organization's behind-the-scenes support.

It could be said that without the Phoenix Organization, there would be no Thief 榜 (Thief Rankings) of today, and even less so this Dongliu Mountain night thief stronghold.

Of course, on normal days, each night thief wandered independently, each with their own territory.

However, Dongliu Mountain was special; it was the assembly point where the Rat Seat gathered his personnel each time, without exception.

So, naturally, there were more night thieves from the Eastern Six Doors active and present more frequently here.

Fortunately, they had bribed the higher-ups of Chunu City long ago, so they mostly turned a blind eye to the situation on Dongliu Mountain, never actually dispatching troops to suppress it.

The night thieves grew stronger and stronger as they banded together for warmth, and even formulated plans to harvest leeks (victims).

For example, which merchant groups could be harvested in one wave, which merchant groups needed to wait a while before being harvested, how much to harvest without crossing the line, or which merchant groups needed to be eradicated completely – all sorts of regulations, in great detail, quite formal, as if treating the night thief industry as a regular business to promote sustainable development.

It was precisely because of this that the night thieves on the Thief 榜 (Thief Rankings) were living better and better lives.

Of course, there were some minor problems at the beginning, but they were all ironed out and resolved.

Everyone was a powerhouse on the Thief 榜 (Thief Rankings), and cooperation was easily achieved with mutual respect.

As for those small night thieves who didn't understand cooperation, they were either brought under their command or directly besieged and killed.

Superficially, night thieves killing night thieves seemed like dogs fighting each other, contributing to Chunu City, but in reality, it was for the sake of monopoly.

Monopolizing the night thief resources around Chunu City for unified management and integration would only lead to greater benefits and harm.

Before the Rat Seat even spoke, they were all discussing how much money they had earned this year, how many leeks they had harvested, which leeks were growing particularly well, and which leeks were about to die and could be eliminated through bottom fishing.

Those who didn't know better would have thought these were some business tycoons discussing some profitable projects.

What's more, the leading thief chieftains were genuinely considering washing their hands of the business, investing money in other cities, opening business firms, and laundering their identities.

Unfortunately, the criminal records from the Qing Si (Azure Department) or Lan Shan (Blue Shirt) couldn't be erased unless they changed their appearance completely; otherwise, it wouldn't be easy to clean up and go ashore.

However, if the Phoenix Organization was willing to help, most of them would have the chance to transform into successful merchants, no longer night thieves, and no longer roaming in the gray areas.

Therefore, they were very polite to the people of the Phoenix Organization.

They had earned enough money and were now thinking about how to live a happy life in the second half of their lives. After passing through the bloody initial accumulation, whether they could live peacefully in the second half of their lives depended entirely on whether this Rat Seat was willing to mention it to the Phoenix Organization behind him and help them out.

"I've already mentioned the matter you brought up earlier to Lord Ox Seat once. But you must understand that so many of you want to go ashore; it won't be easy, and it's also very risky to operate.

I don't know if Lord Ox Seat is willing to help you sort it out.

However, he has already issued a new order. If you can complete the mission beautifully, I will nag Lord Ox Seat about this again and strive for five places first. As for who gets these places, it will depend on who contributes the most to this mission."

As soon as the Rat Seat's voice fell, the people below all widened their eyes and breathed rapidly.

These top 100 night thieves on the rankings had earned enough money after so many years of cultivation and only wanted to clean up and go ashore to live peacefully and enjoy themselves.

What was the point of making money? Wasn't it to enjoy life better?

Most became night thieves because they had made mistakes and were wanted by the government; they had no choice but to walk this path to the end.

Now that someone was helping them clean up and go ashore, which of them wasn't eager?

The scene immediately erupted.

Everyone spoke up, vying with each other.

"What?! Five places! That's five times more than the one place we expected!"

"That's great! I thought there was no hope for this matter, but unexpectedly, a glimmer of hope has appeared! Lord Rat Seat, whatever the task, just issue it, and we will do our best, even unto death!"

"Finally… finally waited for this day! As soon as my identity is laundered, I'll immediately eat spicy food and drink fine wine, and buy the entire street of brothels to run myself!"

"Hahahaha! The days are finally getting better. Although there are only five places, but according to Lord Rat Seat's meaning, if things are done properly in the future, the number of places can still increase!"

"Now that this door has been opened, the adults of the Phoenix Organization must be preparing a retreat for us to retire to! A few older brothers will go to experience retirement life first, and we younger brothers will accumulate for a few more years and then go to join the older brothers."

Not everyone was qualified to win the top spot.

Five places were indeed far more than the one place, or even no places, that they had expected. Happiness had come too suddenly, and many were somewhat ecstatic.

But in the end, it was only five places.

Compared to the hundred-plus people on their Thief 榜 (Thief Rankings), it was really not enough to go around.

However, as said before, those with strong strength were naturally more qualified to get a place and retire early.

Those with insufficient strength would feel that they had not earned enough money even if they retired now and would want to work for a few more years.

After a few years, their ranking would also rise to the top, and naturally, the day of retirement would come.

Thinking of the virtuous cycle in the future, every night thief was very excited, but no one noticed the hint of contempt and indifference hidden under the Rat Seat's mask.