Rebirth of the thief who roamed around the world (BOOK 2)

Chapter 251 - Plasma Core Golem

Nie Yan asked Tang Yao to buy 200 gold's worth of Basic Magic Bombs over at Tasoyi Village as a safety precaution. Although this was a bit wasteful, it couldn't be helped. Not long after Tang Yao departed, a crowd of players in plain clothing walked into the Asskickers United guild headquarters. Leading them was Aqua Smoke Stub with several familiar figures closely in tow-Cold Peak Absolute Sword, Wood Grace, and Samsara Lord. There were over 200 people in the group, consisting of almost all the core elites of Withered Leaf.

In stark contrast to the swaggering manner these players displayed when they first showed up at the Asskickers United guild headquarters, they looked rather sullen.

Smoke Stub immediately walked up to Nie Yan.

"What happened?" Nie Yan asked, concerned by the bedraggled figures before him. Smoke Stub was noticeably different from his normal self. His powerful equipment was gone, but so were many of the crease lines on his forehead. He seemed to give off an air of carefreeness and self-confidence.

"The Tuoba Family head ordered Withered Leaf to merge into Victorious Return. That didn't sit well with me, so I quit and my brothers decided to leave with me. We had to return our equipment to the organization," Smoke Stub replied, the forced smile on his face failing to hide the bitterness underneath.

Tuoba Time walked up, flabbergasted by Smoke Stub's disheveled state.

"What happened to you?" Tuoba Time asked as well. He had just missed the story behind their departure, so he was rather puzzled.

Smoke Stub recounted the entire sequence of events in detail.

When Tuoba Time heard about Tuoba Hongye forcing Smoke Stub to pay the full early termination fee-despite the latter only quitting due to the unwelcome merger of Withered Leaf into Victorious Return-he grew infuriated. "He's really gone too far this time! Smoke Stub, I'll see what I can do for you!" Even though Smoke Stub had worked day and night over the past six years to earn the Tuoba Family a great profit, Tuoba Hongye was perfectly fine booting him out the door with nothing to his name? This was too cold-hearted!

"Forget it. No point crying over spilled milk. I've already cut all ties with Withered Leaf anyway," Smoke Stub dissuaded. In the entire Tuoba Family, the only person he got along with was Tuoba Time. He turned to Nie Yan and asked, "We had to give up our equipment. You won't turn us all away, right?"

"How could I possibly? There's plenty of equipment in the guild treasury. You guys can take your pick. The silver lining to this is that you've regained your freedom. Money lost can still be earned back. And you all still have your skill, right? So what's there to be afraid of? Asskickers United will always have your backs. We never mistreat our own," Nie Yan replied in a sincere tone. Smoke Stub and the others withdrawing from Withered Leaf was proof that their hearts stood with Asskickers United. How could he not accept them?

"You have my gratitude, brother!" Smoke Stub exclaimed, sounding a little emotional. Any more words would be superfluous.

"Tuoba, what's your family's situation like?" Nie Yan asked. He noticed Tuoba Time wasn't particularly fond of the Tuoba Family head.

Tuoba Time pondered for a moment. "The Tuoba Family is divided into many factions. Each one owns shares of the family business. Tuoba Hongye controls 26% of the shares, and Tuoba Fengyuan controls 22%. The two factions are like oil and water. The remaining shares are scattered among the various members of the family. For example, I control 15% while most don't control more than 10%. Tuoba Hongye's faction holds a majority of the shares and sits firmly on the seat of family head. I belong to a neutral faction." He gave a brief summary. The internal affairs of a large influential family like his couldn't be fully explained in just a few lines.