Chapter 148: Dark Boundless Realm 03
Both car thieves had fainted. Kui Xin unlocked the bike lock, meticulously put on the helmet, and mounted the motorbike.
“Do you have any transportation?” Kui Xin asked He Kangshi.
He Kangshi replied, “No…”
“Then sit in the back,” Kui Xin said, “but I don’t have an extra helmet.”
“Alright.” He Kangshi carefully sat on the motorbike and whispered, “Although the safety manual requires wearing a helmet, no one wears one around here. The security officers won’t care. If you’re caught, you just pay a little money.”
It seemed that the Investigation Bureau in White Whale City was quite lax… which was beneficial for Kui Xin to operate.
“Sis, I’ll guide you. Go straight for three blocks and then turn right,” He Kangshi said. “Wait, should we eat first or get to business?”
“Don’t call me ‘sis,'” Kui Xin said, exasperated. “Let’s eat first.”
“Oh, there’s a place to eat next to the business area; it’s cheap and affordable…” Before He Kangshi could finish, Kui Xin twisted the throttle, and the motorbike roared off, nearly causing him to fall as he scrambled to maintain his balance, wiping the virtual sweat off his forehead.
This “Maotoufu” seemed to have a brisk and decisive personality, not fond of jokes.
The eating place arrived quickly; it was a folk street filled with shabby-looking restaurants, shops, and colorful signs, with people of various skin tones passing through the alleys.
Kui Xin parked at a stop. He Kangshi adjusted his hair, which had been tousled by the wind, and said, “Anywhere is fine; the prices around here aren’t bad.”
Kui Xin glanced around and entered a relatively clean fast-food restaurant. It had only outdoor tables and chairs. She and He Kangshi made their orders, paid with an anonymous account, and then waited for the waiter to bring their food.
While waiting, Kui Xin instinctively activated her “electromagnetic detection” to scan the surroundings.
Over the last few days of travel, she had taken caution to the extreme. Whether it was Mechanized Dawn or the Resistance Army, their strength was too formidable. Kui Xin feared that if she wasn’t careful, she’d fall into a trap, so she was extra cautious.
“The motorbike is pretty cool; did you ride it here to White Whale City?” He Kangshi made small talk.
“If I rode for days and nights, I still might not reach here,” Kui Xin shrugged. “I just bought this bike a few minutes ago.”
“Where did you get it? Be careful not to get scammed,” He Kangshi said with concern.
“The Freemen’s Motor Shop, the owner is Valeri; I paid with a forty-gram gold bar,” Kui Xin said casually.
“Hmm… the price is decent. Valeri’s Freemen’s Motor Shop has a good reputation in the Midnight District. I had an old motorbike before; I sold it to Valeri, and he gave me a fair price,” He Kangshi said. “Valeri could be considered one of the few ‘decent people’ in the Midnight District, well, relatively decent… everyone prefers to go to him for business.”
“Does he have any background?” Kui Xin asked.
“An ordinary person can’t run a shop that big,” He Kangshi lowered his voice. “I heard he has a blood brother who smuggles mechanical prosthetics and controls the Midnight District. He hesitated and added, “I suspect many powerful gangs in the Midnight District have unclear connections with people from the Poleward District, possibly obtaining support from those big shots, or… sigh, it’s all just speculation… just avoid provoking them.”
Having been around White Whale City for a long time, He Kangshi could often read between the lines. Surviving in such a hellish place meant he wasn’t just lucky.
“Tell me about the bounty hunter trading points,” Kui Xin said.
“The process is pretty simple; you need an acquaintance to introduce you in, then you just register. Whether you get jobs depends on luck. If you’ve been in this line of work for a while and know more people, you’ll have more ways to take on tasks. Most tasks involve smuggling, escorting, or assassination…” He Kangshi said. “The ability and authority to take on tasks also matter. If your ability and authority aren’t enough, you won’t even know the existence of a task.”
“Being a bounty hunter requires connections…” Kui Xin said. “Are there tasks that don’t require connections?”
“There are. The Wanted Posters officially issued by the Investigation Bureau are posted on their official website. Some criminals are oblivious; if you capture them, you can exchange them for rewards, but to claim the bounty from the Investigation Bureau, you must have legal identification. If you’re undocumented, not only can you not claim anything, but you might also get arrested,” He Kangshi said. “There are also tasks that don’t require identification… just the black list. If someone has enemies, they can post public information on the black list, specifying if they want live or dead targets, and the reward amount. For these types of tasks, completing one can earn at least a hundred thousand; if it’s a group task, the prize is divided.”
“It feels like forming a game team,” Kui Xin tapped the table. “The ways to take tasks are either through acquaintances or the black list’s public bounties.”
“Exactly.” He Kangshi nodded. “I’m too inexperienced and can’t risk dangerous jobs… as a bounty hunter, all the money earned is in the grey area. I’ve only completed a few product transfer tasks so far.”
The waiter brought their ordered food.
Kui Xin pressed the switch on the metal mask on her face, and with a click, an opening for eating appeared. She scooped a spoonful of curry rice with a blank expression and stuffed it into the opening.
He Kangshi: “…?”
You don’t take off the mask even while eating?
“Maotoufu” really did cover her entire face securely; the forehead and lower half of her face were sealed with a special mask, leaving only a two-finger-wide gap for her eyes, through which a pair of cold blue eyes could be seen, with a chilling quality indicative of prosthetic eyes.
“Sis, you really are unique,” he said without any malice.
“Don’t call me ‘sis,'” Kui Xin reiterated.
This time, her voice was different from before, and He Kangshi realized that Maotoufu had been using a voice modulator all along. Once the mask opened, she reverted to her original voice.
“You remind me of Batman,” He Kangshi said. “It’s like Batman’s mask, wearing it is equivalent to not wearing it.”
There was no one nearby, so he felt safe mentioning this comic character that only existed in the First World.
“This is necessary camouflage,” Kui Xin pondered. “I suggest you do the same once you have money; be careful.”
“Hey, I’ve lost my face; there’s no need for camouflage. Once I have money, I’ll get a plastic surgery recovery procedure, maybe even change my face,” He Kangshi said in a low voice. “I’ve seen many fellow countrymen planning to do that on forums.”
“That works too.” Kui Xin finished her meal quickly and put her mask back on.
He Kangshi finished his last bite and said, “What mission did the boss assign? Can I help?”
“Establish a secret organization,” Kui Xin succinctly stated.
“That’s quite difficult,” He Kangshi frowned. “We need to find support, right? We’re both without foundation; we can’t manage.”
“Don’t worry; I have an idea,” Kui Xin thought for a moment and said, “The boss told me before that there’s another player who crossed over to the same location as you. He was killed by accident.”
“Uh-huh.” He Kangshi’s expression instantly darkened.
“Who did it? Are they still alive?” Kui Xin asked.
“They’re still alive. Two of them were captured by the Investigation Bureau. They belong to a small gang in the Midnight District, and their leader has some dirty money that allows them to get out. They were detained for a week before being released,” He Kangshi whispered. “They paid no price, and they were released.”
“Where’s their gang?” Kui Xin continued asking.
He Kangshi realized something, “You… you want to…”
“Don’t you want to?” Kui Xin rested her chin on her hand.
He Kangshi was stunned, “I want to, but I…”
Kui Xin interrupted him, “Forget it. Let’s focus on the matter at hand.”
He Kangshi sat there dazed for two seconds before sluggishly saying, “Okay.”
Kui Xin stood up and left her seat. Realizing, He Kangshi hurriedly got up to lead the way for her.
The bounty hunter trading point was at the end of the folk street, in an inconspicuous teahouse.
The teahouse had no windows, and dim yellow light filtered through the ornate wooden window. Dust danced in the air; there were very few people inside, and many of the chairs and benches were worn and show signs of old age, lacking much of what would reflect a high-tech society. Instead, there were many shadows of the old era… it was worrying in terms of hygiene.
The old man running the teahouse was of Asian descent. He drooped his eyelids and didn’t greet anyone who entered.
This seemingly unremarkable old man was actually a B Awakened with the ability of the Blade of Breath.
He Kangshi walked over, coughed twice and said, “That’s me, Hunter Falcon… registering a friend.”
“Code name,” the old man said.
“Maotoufu,” Kui Xin replied.
The old man smacked his lips and pressed the table, a floating screen popped up. He entered Kui Xin’s code name into the screen and clicked confirm, a line of complex code appeared.
“Alright, remember the code. Have your friend teach you how to access the dark web,” the old man said. “Registration fee is two thousand, accepting gold transactions.”
Seeing He Kangshi giving her a reassuring look, Kui Xin took a small gold bar, about the size of a fingernail, from her pocket and placed it on the table. The old man weighed it for a while and said, “Exactly a little over six grams.”
After storing the gold, the old man pulled out a card that looked like a chip from the table and tossed it to Kui Xin. “Don’t lose it. Replacement fee is two thousand.”
The registration process was surprisingly simple.
But thinking about it, it makes sense. Those who want to be bounty hunters likely don’t want to expose their true identity; thus, a simpler registration process is better.
He Kangshi said, “Insert the card into the communicator, and it will automatically display the dark web’s website. After completing personal verification, you can access the page.”
“Then I’ll do it when I get back,” Kui Xin said. “Can I see your dark web page?”
He Kangshi took off his communicator and handed it to Kui Xin.
Kui Xin opened the communicator page, and a predominantly gray page quickly popped up.
The page was simple and straightforward; the homepage displayed a whole row of bounty posters, with the red-highlighted rewards followed by a series of zeros, giving it strong visual impact.
Kui Xin’s expression changed as she looked at the top ten bounties.
The seventh bounty offered a reward of thirty million.
The bounty content read: “Core member of Mechanized Dawn, each kill earns thirty million, stackable with no upper limit.”
If she could exchange the Mechanized Dawn members she took out for bounties, her worth would quickly exceed a hundred million with ease.
Kui Xin stroked her chin: “I seem to have grasped the key to wealth.”
