Chapter 820: Chapter 779: King of Beggars!
It’s a misunderstanding.
Thomas just looked too much like an NPC.
He even brazenly hung a string of money on his waist, right next to his purse. For players looking for targets to steal from, it’s as tempting as having [Steal from me] written on his face.
Thomas looked at the remaining string of money, and couldn’t help but tear up.
— The reason the remaining string of money wasn’t taken wasn’t out of kindness. It’s just that the string of money was too heavy and removing it would definitely be noticed.
He couldn’t swallow his pride, wanted to call the police, but didn’t know who to report to: the county yamen? Soldiers? Or someone else?
Where is the Drum of Injustice?
After hesitating for a few seconds, Thomas chose the modern equivalent of the Drum of Injustice—
He opened up his panel, jumped to the Cloud Dream Forum, and entered the “Chang’an” subforum to post:
[Stealing money from your own kind? Be a decent human being!]
…
Thomas was extremely wronged.
But in reality, the person who stole his purse didn’t have the last laugh either: before they could leave the street, their neck was caught by an iron ruler.
An NPC with a scar near the corner of his eye and an unscrupulous appearance appeared, saying sinisterly, “Caught red-handed stealing in public, choose between a fine or jail time.”
“?” [Fracture of the right toe bone] was dumbfounded for a moment and looked at the NPC who suddenly appeared, “What’s it to you?”
The NPC narrowed his eyes and without a word, he kicked the right leg of [Fracture of the right toe bone], who lost his balance and fell face-first onto the bluestone floor, his nose bleeding profusely.
“You motherf…” [Fracture of the right toe bone] – who usually went by the nickname [What’s Your Problem] but had changed it temporarily due to the embarrassing nature of theft – propped himself up on his arm to counterattack.
But the iron ruler came crashing down on his face in the next moment!
“What the fuck!” [Fracture of the right toe bone] hurriedly crossed his hands to cover his face.
The iron ruler smashed hard onto his arms and occasionally landed on his face at tricky angles.
After beating him up and venting his anger, the NPC stopped and stuffed Thomas’s stolen purse into his own pocket before standing up straight to leave.
— As loot, the purse naturally had to be confiscated.
Before leaving, he gave a final swipe with the iron ruler to [Fracture of the right toe bone]’s butt and said, “Keep your act clean! I’m Daniel, a Notorious Person of the Tang Dynasty, dealing with the likes of you dirty little thieves. If I catch you again, things won’t be so simple.”
With that, he disappeared into the crowd nonchalantly.
[Fracture of the right toe bone] sat up with a bruised face, looking in the direction Daniel had disappeared, gritting his teeth and saying, “I’ll remember your face! Just you wait!”
Despite the threat, he didn’t forget his main task – he opened up the panel and sent a warning to the group:
“Be careful, everyone. There’s a type of NPC called [Unscrupulous People] hiding in the crowd. If they see you stealing, they’ll show up later to rob you!”
“???” Someone immediately responded, “A fellow thief?”
Obviously, not everyone knew that the Tang Dynasty had such special grassroots law enforcers. So they initially thought Unscrupulous People were part of a criminal gang.
“No, they’re local hoodlums co-opted by the government.” Someone knowledgeable stepped up to explain.
“Did anyone get any money? What’s the success rate?” Winter Melon was more concerned about practical results.
But his question was met with a chorus of complaints:
“I got the money, but an NPC robbed it.”
“Not only was I robbed, but I also got beat up. Is anyone up for revenge?”
“I haven’t practiced this skill, and I got caught while stealing. I’m now in Prisoner’s Square Jail. If you have a conscience, come save me.”
“What a coincidence? I’m in Prisoner’s Square Jail too. Robbery failed. I thought I’d gotten away, but out of nowhere a swordsman appeared and slashed me in the leg, leaving me crippled. I’ve memorized his face!”
“…”
After asking around, only three people succeeded, netting just 2 taels of silver and 14 copper coins combined.
Obviously, that wasn’t enough.
As they were worrying, a user with the ID [Vernon] popped up, saying, “I’ve made 5 taels here. If everything goes smoothly, I’ll be able to buy a sword in half an hour.”
This surprised the group:
“Amazing, brother!”
“How did you do it?”
“A modern-day master thief?”
“Hold on!” Winter Melon noticed the loophole, “‘Made’? You earned the money through work? What job pays so well?”
Wang Zhongba replied, “Of course it’s being a beggar! Start with a bowl, find a good spot to lie down and sleep, and when you wake up, you’ll have everything you need.”
“???” Even the unorthodox thinking Winter Melon was baffled by this idea.
Becoming a beggar in the virtual world?
This was a martial arts game, not a beggar simulator!
But while she found it outrageous, the group members thought it was genius:
“What a great idea!”
“A role model for reaping without sowing!”
“Not only is it effortless, but it also doesn’t add any evil points. Smart!”
“Amazing! Boss, can you tell us the location of your workspace?”
“Sorry, that’s a trade secret,” Wang Zhongba replied nonchalantly.
—This was not a joke, as the location of begging mattered in terms of earning potential, making it a genuine “trade secret.”
Winter Melon struggled to accept the idea and then brought up the key question, “Is there a Beggar Gang in Chang’an City?”
“No, right?” the group members replied. “There are indeed beggars, but they all hide in places where they cannot be seen, and they don’t seem to be organized.”
“None?” Winter Melon declared, “Then there will be one today!”
“Announcing the latest mission plan, everyone, beg!”
“Code-name: [King of Beggars]!”
The plan sounded absurd at first glance, but on further consideration… It was even more absurd.
Nevertheless, the group members enthusiastically responded:
“Interesting, let’s have a contest! In half an hour, the person who collects the most money will be the first Beggar Gang leader.”
“Beggar Gang leader sounds too ordinary. Listen to me, call it [Beggar Emperor]! Female players can be called [Beggar Empress].”
“I’m going to beg in front of the blacksmith. If he is pleased, he might just give me a sword.”
“I’m going to beg at the palace gate. If the emperor is pleased, he’ll give me a general.”
“I’m going to beg in front of the cleansing room. If the eunuch likes it, he might give me a treasure.”
“I’m going to beg in front of the brothel! If the courtesan is pleased…”
…
The ridiculousness of the group’s words escalated.
It took a while for someone to come up with a legitimate question: “Why go through all that trouble? Can’t we just kidnap the blacksmith?”
Immediately, opposing players chimed in: “With the blacksmith’s strong build and weapons at hand, it’s impossible to subdue him.”
“And even if we had the numbers to overpower him, we can’t force him to forge if he’s unwilling.”
The more reasonable person started lecturing: “Use your brains! If we can’t deal with the blacksmith, we can kidnap his wife and children!”
“Wow, you must be the devil incarnate,” the opposing player exclaimed in amazement.
“Wait a moment, I’ve wanted to try saying this for a long time!” Winter Melon suddenly chimed in, interrupting the conversation.
Everyone courteously quieted down, waiting for her to speak.
“Ahem!” Winter Melon sent a voice message, clearing her throat formally and began:
“Mr. Blacksmith, you don’t want anything to happen to your wife and children, do you?”
…
The group was silent for a few seconds before everyone collectively shouted, “What a terrible joke! Go away!”
“Hahaha!” Winter Melon laughed happily.
*
Five minutes later, Chang’an City was suddenly flooded with hundreds of thousands of beggars occupying every street!
Not only were there group friends, but also numerous netizens who joined in after learning about the [King of Beggars] competition.
Mainly, many people had been trying to make money but encountered setbacks, so they decided to get some cash to buy a sword as startup capital.
—As long as they got a weapon of their own and put it in the Weapon Storage Box, they would have unlimited possibilities!
By the way, the title of [Beggar Emperor] was also quite interesting…
Meanwhile, all blacksmith shops in Chang’an City received some unwelcome guests!