Chapter 509: Part Robbery (1/2)
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.”