Chapter 509 - Part Robbery
The first thing Zero and Truen did after leaving the slave camp was to look for a guild or inn or tavern. Generally somewhere that they could ask people questions. However, U.N.U. didn’t have any of those things even if they were in a town. The undead summons ambled after the masters or worked mindlessly. The magicians spent their time indoors working on private projects. Nobody really cared about entertaining tourists. In fact, Zero and Truen were mostly ignored everywhere they went.
"Excuse me, could you tell me-" Zero tried to ask a passing magician who ignored him and walked away.
The same thing repeated itself many times and Zero was puzzled. Were people here deaf or just plain rude? Why was everybody ignoring him when all he wanted to do was strike up a conversation? The storekeepers did the same thing and it was vexing.
While Zero tried to find a way to get tongues wagging, Truen looked around. People seemed awfully cautious and uneasy when moving around. There were plenty of body parts on the ground but nobody was doing anything to pick them up or clean them. It was as if they were just fallen leaves in the street left to take care of themselves when the rain came.
"Come on," Truen pulled Zero away from pestering a zombie shopkeeper. "Let’s shake a few people down for answers. Their lips are tightly sealed but there should be a way to get answers."
The doctor sighed and agreed, letting Truen pull him away to a quieter part of the town for them to come up with a plan. They squatted behind an abandoned house and waited till someone intelligent-looking passed by and promptly pulled the unsuspecting victim into the unattended building.
A young magician apprentice who was walking back to his master’s house became Zero’s first victim. Truen worked quickly and shot the lad with the Seraph’s Command spell. With the perfect teamwork, Zero and Truen exercised a good cop and bad cop strategy to dig answers out of the terrified teen.
"Thank you!" Zero waved cheerily to the teen who scampered away the moment he was freed.
Now that they had answers, Zero and Truen put their heads together to think of a plan. Parts were literally what they thought it would be. That body bank they came across yesterday might be a very nice place to visit. However, Zero wasn’t too keen on the idea of desecrating the places of resting souls. Truen didn’t like the idea either but for other reasons.
"Grade D parts are considered defective and apart from feeding them to ghouls, they don’t sell for much. Grade C parts are used for regular replacements and the zombies would appreciate them. Grade B parts are the ones that most people look for because of the enhancement or cosmetic value. Grade A parts are only found in auction houses because of their rare status or abilities as well as a possible part rejection side effect. Only suitable body types are allowed to equip specific Grade A parts."
Zero nodded. Vampires would really be their best bet for now because blood is easily replaceable and is worth quite a bit. They could easily get Grade C parts in return for regular vials from regular and uninfected people. However, Zero and Truen looked at each other. Their bodies were rather special and neither of them thought that blood from such bodies were useful. They would probably taste more like grass juice and less like blood.
"That’s it," Truen declared after going through their peaceful options. "We’re left with no choice but to conduct a heist. There are no laws in this country against such things."
Zero blinked. "You mean we’re going to... rob people?"
Truen nodded and the doctor was confused.
"How would you know if they were carrying spare parts?"
Truen shook his head. "Think a little more flexibly. We’re not looking to steal parts they own. We’re going to be robbing parts that they have."
"No? A scissors or dagger would suffice. The assistant magician said it, the better looking or rarer something was, the higher the price. Currently, there is a demand for light coloured hair. If they’re healthy we might just need to borrow some of your syringes and a few bottles to store the vials of blood."
"So we’re not removing any kidneys or fingers?" Zero asked.
Truen froze. "Do you want to remove kidneys and fingers? I thought you wouldn’t want to hurt anyone so I was thinking of simply shaving those with light coloured hair. The elderly make good targets if they’re not bald yet. Additionally, a blood donation would be better than removing a kidney, don’t you think?"
Zero sighed in relief. "Yes, it sounds like a much better plan than what I had. I seriously thought we were going to go on an operation marathon! I don’t know if I can pull off fifteen operations in a day to secure the fifteen Grade C parts we need. Five operations in a day would be tiring enough."
The archer was speechless. He didn’t know what to think when his friend shared with him his plans. Usually, Zero was the more peace-loving person between them. Why was it so simple for the doctor to talk about removing kidneys when there was a better option to shave heads? Did he think that kidneys will grow back the same way hair would?
Zero searched for a good tool to shave heads with and Truen was tasked to look for their first victim. for the rest of the day, they made quick progress of forcing poor haircuts on unsuspecting victims. Word spread quickly about a haunted house that very day with two vengeful spirits who ambushed others to give them bad hairdos and everyone avoided the area like plague after hearing it.
Nevertheless, it was a fruitful haul for Truen and Zero who secured three bags of hair and five vials of blood. They made their way to the slave trader the next day to redeem Misana and their dragon companion who had terrorised everyone. The slave trader was more than happy to release Misana as long as they took Bob with them and never returned.
Zero looked over to Misana. She was still too weak to be travelling and they had enough parts left over.
"Let’s find a place to stay until she’s awake," Zero told Truen and Bob who agreed.
They didn’t have to look for long because someone approached them while they were inn hunting. Truen was on guard at once and Bob readied a spell.
"Greetings, my mistress has extended her invitation to the guests for a chat. Could you please follow me?"
Bob narrowed his eyes. "Who is your mistress?"
The apprentice necromancer looked at Misana who was on Zero’s back. "She’s the leader of Grey Legion as well as the person who was responsible for the slave on your back - Jynx the Engraver."
Zero grinned. Perfect timing! "Sure, let’s hear what your mistress has to say, lead the way."
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