When Bella said she knew a place where they could find something on the level of a Juggernaut, Oliver never expected her to take them all the way to the Pit.

In a way, it made sense for her to think that they might find something there, but it still felt wrong to wander into such a place when the sun had already set. Not that it was any safer during the day.

They got there around 08:00 PM, and after paying the entry fee to the Abyss Wolves, they made their way inside and descended to the second level.

"So… you wanna tell me where we're going?"

"I don't," Bella replied. The tone of her voice made it clear that she didn't want to talk about it.

Oliver decided to just keep his mouth shut and turned his attention to the surroundings. Neo-Vatra was the kind of city that never sleeps, but it was still a bit odd to see a marketplace such as the Pit to remain so active even during the night.

They passed a number of gun shops on their way, but didn't stop to check any of them, which bothered Oliver quite a bit. There were quite a few things that caught his attention, but his raven-haired companion kept going without giving him the chance to get a better look.

Bella moved around like she knew the place, but Oliver never got used to the massive hole, and that showed. He attracted quite a few looks, which made it difficult to discern whether people were checking them because of the Red Marking bounties or just because they looked easy to mug. Thankfully, by the time he was starting to worry, they finally seemed to reach their destination.

The building's exterior didn't stand out from those in its surroundings. Its walls were made from concrete and reinforced with large, rusty metal sheets. Two men stood by the side, a short distance from the door. They were undoubtedly guards, though the way they continued to play their game of chess even with strangers approaching hinted at a lack of security.

Stopping at the door, Bella turned to face Oliver and held up a finger to his face.

"Keep your mouth shut and let me do the talking, got it?"

"It wouldn't hurt to ask nicely, you know?"

"Got it!?"

"Okay, okay! Sheesh."

Bella seemed on edge, even more than before. That told Oliver that he should raise his guard more than he was already doing. Heaving a sigh, Bella walked up to the old metal door and raised her hand to knock, pausing at the last minute. She then tapped the door six times in a particular rhythm, barely making any sound.

Just as he began to wonder whether the people inside even heard her, the door slid open, and a grumpy-looking old man came out, glaring up at them. That's right. He was glaring up. The man was short; it boggled the mind, so much so that the beard he never bothered to cut covered the front side of his body, giving him the appearance of a ball of hair with arms and legs sticking out of it.

As a tense air settled between them, the bushy beard split, and two rows of yellow teeth peeked out.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Bella." He spoke in a shrill voice, sending shivers rolling over Oliver's skin.

"Hey, Krys. Been a while."

"It sure has been. I thought I would never see you again." The hairy man moved aside, making a path for them. "Come on in. Let's talk inside."

Oliver would be lying if he said the man didn't make him uncomfortable, even though he grew up in the heart of White Hill. One thing he noticed about him was that the hairy man had quite an advanced MLP on the back of his head with a few cords still attached to it. That hinted at him being a Diver, and considering his eccentric appearance and demeanor, Oliver guessed that he was a pretty good one.

After crawling their way through a narrow corridor, they arrived at a room as messy as the appearance of its owner, or so it seemed at first. Everything from machine parts to bionics and countless types of weapons. The place felt like a badly organized pawn shop, and to make things worse, it didn't seem like the place had undergone any cleaning in a long time. Taking his place behind a messy counter, Kyrs looked up at the raven-haired girl.

"So, what did you bring for me today?" He shifted his gaze to Oliver. "I don't take organs, you know?"

"I'm not here to sell." Bella sighed.

"Oh? That's unexpected. Just what could it be you're looking for?"

"5th Gen Juggernaut, or something similar."

"Buhah!"

The sudden outburst was short-lived, and as he noticed that they weren't laughing with him, the hairy man raised an eyebrow.

"You serious?"

"Since when was I the kind to joke?"

Bella wasn't the kind to joke. In fact, Oliver didn't think he had ever seen her smile.

"Since when do you collect iron?" The hairy man glanced at Oliver once more. "Or are you doing someone a favor?"

"Let me worry about that. Do you have the gun or not?" Bella's mood seemed to take another dive as she clicked her tongue.

"Of course, I have the gun. I just…" Kyrs heaved an exaggerated sigh. "I just don't know where I put it."

"You don't know where you put it?"

Looking at the mess around them, the owner's being unable to remember where he put something sounded plausible.

"It's been a few years since I got it. It's probably buried somewhere in the back."

Silence fell after the shop owner said as much, and after a while, it became clear that he had no intention of following up on it.

"So?" Bella's eyes narrowed. "Aren't you going to look for it?"

"Nah, too much pain in the ass." Kyrs yawned.

"Hey, stop acting as if you're doing us a favor. We'll be paying for the gun."

"You should already know that money isn't a big deal to me," Kyrs said. "If you want my help, you gotta make it worth my while."

As he had said, the hairy rat didn't care much for money. The only way to get him to help is by presenting a proper prize to him, but since they didn't prepare one beforehand, the two were now stuck.

"Tell you what, I'll sell it to you for 2000 Gold," Kyrs said. "But you have to go down there and look for it yourselves. Deal?" 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"2000?" Bella's eyebrows twitched as she repeated the number. "Isn't that a bit too much for an old guy?"

It wasn't even up on display, meaning he didn't care that much about it. Not only that, but he also wanted them to look for it.

"I'm already doing you a big favor here. You can take it or leave it."

".... Fine. Deal."

Though she made it sound as if the whole ordeal was a pain in the neck, Oliver had a feeling that his raven-haired friend was much happier on the inside. They followed the hairy man deeper into the mess, going past a door he unlocked, then down a flight of stairs. Before long, they ended up in a basement that made the previous room look clean.

"Well, here you go," Kyrs said. "Everything here has been unloaded and disarmed, but it's for the best if you exercise some caution."

Hearing that things might blow up in their faces was far from encouraging, but the two had no choice but to ignore it. Left alone, they made their way through the overflowing crates and looked around before starting to search in earnest.

"So… you gonna tell me what this place is?"

By now, Oliver already had the answer to his question. Still, he wanted to hear it from his raven-haired companion herself.

"I used to come here to sell stuff from time to time." She said, "Kyrs knows how to make it so things don't lead back to you, and he doesn't ask questions."

"Isn't every pawn shop in the city like that?"

"That's what they want you to believe. Most of the time, if they know you won't be making it out of whatever trouble you got yourself into, they would have no trouble throwing you to the dogs."

Oliver could only wonder what she was used to stealing that required this level of secrecy. His raven-haired companion might have been a very accomplished burger before she decided to join Inferno, but that begs the question: why would she do that?

Thieves, especially those who survive for long, usually like to work solo. For one of them to suddenly decide to join a gang, something significant must have happened along the way.

'Or maybe she just has a crush on Boss…' pausing for a moment, Oliver reconsidered that thought. 'I probably should keep that to myself.'