Chapter 92: The Points Dealer
Chapter 92: The Points Dealer
Before dawn, Ji Xinghuo rushed back to the gates of Midway Fortress.
Many bounty hunters had already returned and were waiting for the break of day to enter the city.
Ji Xinghuo observed that most of them had come back empty-handed.
Even the most seasoned bounty hunters might not find suitable targets every day. Sometimes, they would lie in wait for several days, secretly observing and surveying their targets, only to come away with nothing in the end, even risking their lives in vain.
There were also bounty hunters who bore injuries, yet their faces shone with joy, clearly indicating that they had succeeded in their hunts.
Suddenly, someone approached him.
The person had their face covered, revealing only a pair of eyes, and asked in a lowered voice, "Brother, do you have any goods?"
Ji Xinghuo hesitated for a moment before replying, "I have two tail spikes."
"Will you sell them?" The other party immediately asked, sounding impatient. "I can offer twice the bounty price!"
Ji Xinghuo immediately understood the other's intention.
This person was after the hero points. He intended to buy the spoils of war from other bounty hunters at a high price, hand them over to the bounty office, and exchange them for points.
Usually, these were wealthy but weak mutants who dared not risk their lives fighting the Beiluosimen tribe but still wanted to save face. So, they bought hero points and returned to Earth to brag about their achievements.
Those who engaged in this kind of business were mostly rich kids. Where there was demand, a market would form, and even a gray industry chain had emerged.
The authorities prohibited the private sale of spoils of war.
Moreover, regulations were put in place: if one sold their spoils and then reported the buyer, they would receive the same amount of bounty and twice the number of points.
As for the buyer who was reported, the bounty would be retrieved, their bounty hunter qualification certificate revoked, and their points reset to zero.
However, this kind of thing kept happening regardless of the rules.
The buyers were truly wealthy and would never show their faces. They would send others to buy for them, carefully hiding their identities and making multiple transfers to remain anonymous.
Bounty hunters despised this practice.
However, faced with the temptation of double or even higher income, some bounty hunters would still privately sell their spoils. After all, for them, hero points were neither too much nor too little, and they wouldn't be able to rank high on the points leaderboard anyway, so selling some wouldn't make much of a difference.
Truly powerful bounty hunters valued their points and naturally wouldn't want to sell them.
So, the points dealers would usually look for lesser-known bounty hunters to buy their spoils, like Ji Xinghuo.
"Not selling."
Ji Xinghuo shook his head immediately.
"I'll give you three times the price." The other party continued to raise the price, clearly indicating that they had money to burn.
Ji Xinghuo realized that he was neither a bounty hunter nor a real buyer; he was probably just a points dealer, so he stopped paying attention to him.
Seeing that Ji Xinghuo was unmoved, the other person had no choice but to leave.
Before the sky lit up, he could be seen making deals with the returning bounty hunters in the darkness. Ji Xinghuo watched coldly from the sidelines. The points dealer approached several bounty hunters but still managed to make a deal.
There were several others like this points dealer.
They had probably mixed with the crowd and left the city when it was dark, but instead of going out to hunt, they hid somewhere until just before dawn and then returned.
The vast majority of bounty hunters refused their offers.
There were also hot-tempered bounty hunters who directly cursed at them: "Get lost!"
"Stay away from me."
"Scram! You good-for-nothing!"
Every time they were cursed at, the masked points dealers didn't dare to fight back and just slunk away.
Ji Xinghuo shook his head and stopped paying attention.
Soon, the sky finally brightened, and with the sound of steam engines, the heavy city gates slowly rose. The bounty hunters went through one by one, undergoing identity checks by the guards to ensure that no enemies had infiltrated their ranks. Only then were they allowed to enter. Midway Fortress had six gates, but only three were opened at regular intervals for the bounty hunters to come and go.
The first thing the bounty hunters did after entering the city was to turn in their spoils of war, claim their bounties, and collect their points.
Those who had no spoils naturally didn't need to go.
Ji Xinghuo noticed that only about a third of the bounty hunters, like himself, were heading to the bounty office in the secondary district.
Along the way, everyone wore happy expressions, their moods quite cheerful.
"Brother Shi, seeing you smile so happily, you must have had a good harvest last night?" one bounty hunter asked.
"Not much," the bounty hunter who was questioned replied modestly. "Just three tentacles. I was lucky to come across them."
"With the addition of the Gelaokake exotic species, your income should be around 100,000, right? Amazing!"
"Hahaha, not bad." He looked proud and asked in return, "By the way, how was your harvest?"
"Average. Just two scalps and four or five tail spikes."
The smile on the bounty hunter's face froze, and after a few seconds, he cursed, "You son of a bitch, so you were showing off to me..."
"Hahaha, that's right!"
Ji Xinghuo, standing beside them, also laughed out loud, attracting the attention of the two men.
The bounty hunter called Brother Shi sized up Ji Xinghuo and asked curiously, "Brother, you look new here. Haven't seen you before."
"I just arrived at Midway Fortress," Ji Xinghuo replied as he walked.
"From your expression, it looks like you had a successful hunt last night?"
"Yeah." Ji Xinghuo nodded. "It went well."
Brother Shi saw that he didn't want to talk much, so he didn't ask further.
Firstly, it would be impolite to ask too many questions of someone he wasn't familiar with.
Secondly, since Ji Xinghuo had said he was new, it was already impressive that he had made a successful hunt. However, he probably wouldn't have gotten much, given his newcomer status.
When Ji Xinghuo had come to obtain his qualification certificate yesterday, the hall had been nearly empty, but today it was bustling with activity. Hundreds of bounty hunters lined up with their spoils of war, waiting to claim their rewards. Many of the hunters knew each other and greeted each other warmly, discussing the events of the previous night.
Ji Xinghuo stood in line by himself.
Suddenly, a snippet of conversation caught his attention.
"Last night, there was quite a ruckus near Watchtower 135. I saw a legendary Great Kunman leading a large group in the search, and several patrol teams were dispatched," recounted a bounty hunter, still looking a bit shaken. "I'm glad I reacted quickly and got out of there."
"I noticed that too, but I'm not sure what happened," someone else chimed in, corroborating the story.
"The same thing happened at Camp 13 in the east," added another.
"I was about to make a move on a hidden sentry when they suddenly got redeployed. I followed them discreetly and overheard their orders. It seemed like an entire patrol team had been wiped out..." a bounty hunter in the queue shared.
"No wonder the patrols have become more frequent," someone murmured.
"I was lying in wait at Hill 40 last night and saw several patrols pass by, more often than usual. But as soon as night fell, they all disappeared," another hunter added.
"This is clearly different from the usual situation. Something must have happened," someone remarked.
The bounty hunters discussed the events animatedly, piecing together the information and inching closer to the truth.
"Do you think someone really took out a patrol team?"
"It seems so."
"And it must have been more than one team. At least three or more," analyzed a veteran bounty hunter. "The North Shi Tribe wouldn't change their defense plans lightly. The fact that the legendary Great Kunmen were deployed suggests unexpected casualties."
The bounty hunters exchanged glances, some shaking their heads in disbelief. "Whoever did this must have guts of steel to dare to take on the patrol teams," someone commented.
"A true master fears no challenge," another replied with a smile.
"To take out an entire patrol team and escape before reinforcements arrive, the perpetrator must be a Super-Being and a powerful one at that, ranking high on the Tower," added someone else.
"How do you know it was just one person? It could have been a team!"
"True..."
One of the bounty hunters summed it up: "Last night was the first strike, and the North Shi Tribe was caught off guard, resulting in significant losses. But from now on, it won't be easy to launch another attack on the patrol teams. The enemy will definitely set up ambushes. If that bounty hunter dares to make another move, it will be dangerous."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
The Northern Shi Tribe wasn't comprised of mindless monsters, and with their numerous strong members, they would undoubtedly devise countermeasures to retaliate against the bounty hunters.
This wasn't the first time something like this had happened; the options were usually to back down or be eliminated.
Ji Xinghuo listened quietly, absorbing the information.
These bounty hunters were experienced, and their conversations provided valuable insights that could be of use to him.
The line moved swiftly, and one by one, the bounty hunters presented their spoils of war and claimed their rewards.
Most of the bounties were only a few tens of thousands, and not many exceeded 100,000.
However, the bounty was just one part of the earnings; the hunt for the North Shi Tribe also yielded exotic species and enemy weapons and equipment, all of which added significantly to the haul.
The biggest earner among them was a Super Shadowblade, currently ranked seventh on the monthly leaderboard. He presented over twenty spoils of war and received nearly one million in bounty.
Finally, it was Ji Xinghuo's turn.
He took out a heavy bag from his backpack, from which fresh blood dripped. The staff member who took the bag couldn't help but look startled.
The bounty hunters behind Ji Xinghuo were also drawn to the sight, their eyes narrowing in suspicion.
"So many?"
The staff member emptied the contents of the bag onto the counter, and hundreds of bloody body parts spread out, covering most of the counter space.
"Holy sht!"
"He really has that many!"
"Wow..."
All the bounty hunters in the room stared wide-eyed, some even sucking in their breath. They were all astonished by the sheer number of spoils.
Not only were there a lot of spoils, but they were also of high quality.
Among them were nearly twenty Great Kunmen scalpels, as well as several plant cores from the Rattan Essence, making up a significant proportion of the haul.
The bounty hunters, unfamiliar with Ji Xinghuo, initially assumed that he had purchased the spoils.
However, upon further reflection, they realized it was unlikely.
Not many bounty hunters were willing to sell their spoils, and such a large quantity would have taken several days to accumulate and purchase at a high price. Moreover, the organs on the counter looked fresh, indicating they had been recently harvested.
Additionally, buying spoils and then turning them in so publicly would surely invite an investigation.
The rich second-generation hunters, who bought their way to points, typically turned in only a few spoils at a time and did so when the bounty office was less busy to avoid attention.
Ji Xinghuo's behavior didn't align with theirs at all.
"I know!"
Suddenly, one of the bounty hunters exclaimed, his eyes shining with excitement as he looked at Ji Xinghuo. "Brother, were you the one who took out several patrol teams last night?"
(End of Chapter)
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