Chapter 287: Golden Tooth Bandits
After changing his clothes, Daniel headed toward the guild, naturally not on foot but in the car he had recently bought.
Along with the villa he had purchased, he had also bought two high-end cars—one for himself and one for his mother.
The capital was enormous, and normally, flying within the city limits wasn't allowed without a permit. After recent incidents, flying had been completely banned for everyone except military and government forces and was heavily restricted.
Because of that, they needed a car. Daniel simply bought one since, with his current assets, he had no financial concerns at all.
Especially because, over the past week, he had plenty of free time to go through the spatial rings of his new Fallen, like that Noble Demon and Abraham.
He could only say his inventory was overflowing at this point. He even needed to find a place to sell all the equipment and weapons he had acquired.
After all, none of them were of any use to him.
"Maybe I should mention it to Lana," he muttered to himself, continuing to drive.
Their villa was located in one of the most secure districts of the city, about a twenty-minute drive from Everlight Moon's central headquarters.
Since he wasn't in a rush and, more importantly, because traffic was extremely heavy, he was forced to drive slower than usual, turning the twenty-minute route into a thirty-minute one.
Upon arrival, he parked in the underground lot and glanced at the guild buildings before heading in.
Just like on their first day, the place had been completely rebuilt, with a few changes and expansions made to the layout.
He looked around. Every single building within a 700-kilometer radius had been destroyed, yet in just one week, they had all been rebuilt.
One had to admire that level of reconstruction speed.
He walked in and headed for the front desk. The receptionist, upon seeing him, gave him a sweet smile and told him he could head to the seventh floor—Lady Lana was waiting for him.
"Has Simon come back yet?" Before leaving, Daniel asked the receptionist.
"Mr. Simon still hasn't returned. And before you ask—no, he hasn't told us when he'll be back, but Lady Lana said it's fine."
Daniel nodded with a small smile and headed for the elevator. As the elevator ascended, his thoughts drifted to Simon.
That bastard had left the country the day after everything happened. Back then, Daniel hadn't cared much, figuring Simon just went back to his family to let them know he was fine and maybe take a break.
But now, a full week had passed, and he still hadn't come back, not even notifying the staff, which directly violated guild rules.
As for why Daniel cared so much about that bastard? He actually didn't—it was just that he wanted to take the top spot in the rankings and wanted to do it right in front of that idiot.
After all, they had a bet, didn't they?
When he arrived at the correct floor, he pushed those thoughts aside, stepped through the doorway, and walked straight toward the chairman's office.
The secretary greeted him as he passed, and Daniel nodded in return. Stopping at the office door, he knocked.
"Come in."
Without hesitation, he opened the door and stepped inside. The first thing he saw was Lana sitting in her chair, going through some papers.
"So, you finally showed up? Sit down," she said casually without even looking at him.
"Feels like we're getting a bit too familiar," Daniel chuckled, taking a seat on the couch.
"Don't like it?" Lana smirked, raising her head to glance at him.
He just shrugged. Naturally, he had no reason to dislike it—in fact, it made him feel even more comfortable.
"So, I heard you're planning to head back to the Celestial Domain?"
"That's right. I have a few things to handle there, and I also have a meeting with a friend at the Ten Thousand Treasures House auction." Daniel replied.
"The Ten Thousand Treasures House auction, huh? Actually, that'll be held in about two weeks, but you'll need an invitation to even get in." Lana raised an eyebrow at him.
Getting an invitation for one of the Ten Thousand Treasures House's special auctions wasn't easy—not even for them.
So how had this kid gotten one? Daniel didn't answer, simply staring at her.
"Forget it. The auction will take place in Lapis Phoenix City, one of the border cities of the continent. Actually, that works even better, because the task I want to assign you can be handled on the way there."
"A task, huh? Well, I figured as much. I just hope it won't take too long." Daniel's demeanor grew serious as he listened carefully.
"Don't worry. Your task is related to a black market auction. Have you heard of the Golden Tooth Bandits?" Lana asked, looking at him seriously.
"One of the biggest theft and smuggling groups on the continent, right? They've got branches in most kingdoms and empires, dealing in all kinds of things. Don't tell me you want me to wipe them out? I appreciate the confidence, but I don't have that kind of capability." Daniel raised his eyebrows.
"Of course not. To take them out completely, we'd need at least a National-level Awakened. What I want is for you to destroy one of their branches and retrieve something they stole from us. I was supposed to handle it myself, but as you can see, I'm extremely busy." Lana explained.
Her explanation didn't make Daniel feel any more at ease.
"A branch is still a branch. What if there are S-Rank Awakened there?"
"Relax. The place you're going is the site of one of their black market auctions. To avoid drawing the attention of major powers, they don't station highly powerful individuals there. Plus, you won't be going alone."
"Oh? Good to hear. So, who's coming with me?" Daniel asked curiously.
"You'll see soon enough. I've already contacted them, and they'll arrive at our territory in the Celestial Domain within a few hours. You'll wait for them there." Lana replied.
He nodded in understanding, then asked the question that had been bothering him.
"But what exactly did they steal that's so important you want it back? I doubt you'd bother chasing after ordinary items, so it must be something really valuable."