Zhao Jun and his group all wore looks of embarrassment when they heard the final tally of the battle.
“Sister Su, this battle lasted half an hour at most, and we were surrounded by a Gray Mist Tide. They really aren’t that easy to kill,” Shi Lei, being honest and reliable, explained while scratching his head sheepishly.
Zhao Jun, on the other hand, was staring at the pile of Mist Wraith corpses on the ground, his thoughts unreadable.
“You don’t need to explain anything to me. You earn as much as you kill,” Su Aoxue said, her eyes flicking toward Zhao Jun out of the corner of her vision.
She always felt that Zhao Jun had thoughts he shouldn’t have.
Earlier, during the rest period after killing the two Elite-grade Gray Mist Creatures, she had decided to keep an eye on Zhao Jun’s group since they were traveling together and she wanted to prevent any casualties.
As a result, she discovered that this experienced middle-aged man had been hiding behind Shi Lei the entire time to deal damage.
Shi Lei, that big oaf, had tanked all the damage by himself.
He was completely slacking off!
Combined with Zhao Jun’s obvious little schemes along the way…
However, considering it hadn’t harmed her interests yet, Su Aoxue ultimately chose to say nothing. Still, she kept a wary eye on him.
After all, this was her first time joining a private team alone; it was better to be cautious.
Shen Yan, hearing the battle results, became even more convinced that Zhao Jun was the type to desert when things got tough.
‘I can’t imagine how the Frost Calamity Witch survived this period in my past life.’
Involuntarily, Shen Yan thought back to the “thank you” he had heard when he handed her the potion earlier.
‘Could it be that the Frost Calamity Witch wasn’t so cold and heartless from the beginning?’
In his past life, when Shen Yan first met the Frost Calamity Witch, her entire aura was oppressive and icy. But looking at her now, she seemed quite polite.
The change between then and now must have been caused by something specific.
‘Was she betrayed so many times that she gradually became cold?’
Slowly, Shen Yan began to construct a tragic backstory for the Frost Calamity Witch in his mind.
……
After finalizing the distribution of profits, Qin Wei clapped his hands. His voice was raspy due to his severe injuries.
“Alright, time waits for no one. This place is strange. Take everything of high value that you can carry, and then we return to the Base City!”
With over twenty Gray Mist Creature corpses in total, plus the few they already had in their vehicles, they couldn’t fit all the remains intact.
Before long, several heavily loaded jeeps drove out of the canyon one after another, rushing toward the Base City at full speed.
“After the goods are sold, I want an 80% share.”
Inside the car, Su Aoxue’s cold voice suddenly rang out. The others had various reactions upon hearing the number, but they were mostly minor. Zhao Jun was the exception.
He asked in a testing tone, “Then the Silver Gray Grass…”
To this, Su Aoxue raised an eyebrow, thinking to herself that he indeed had designs on it. She replied icily, “Sorry, that’s not for sharing.”
Hearing her unquestionable tone, Zhao Jun seemed to want to say more, but after noticing her emotionless, azure eyes, he swallowed his words.
He had no choice. The strength Su Aoxue had displayed earlier was too overwhelming.
Furthermore, she acted as if nothing had happened, her voice full of vigor. Since they were in the same car, Zhao Jun truly didn’t dare to try anything.
……
It was very convenient for a Hunting Team to sell the corpses of Gray Mist Creatures because an organization had specifically arranged for people to make purchases at the Base City gates.
Because the number of Gray Mist Creatures appearing recently had been extremely low, and Su Aoxue’s group had returned early—it was only 3:00 PM—there were hardly any people at the purchasing station.
The sound of several jeep engines woke the sleeping purchasing staff. When he saw people returning at this hour, his expression turned strange.
“You caught something this early?”
However, when he saw the Mist Wraith corpses being dragged out of the cars, his eyes widened in shock.
“Holy crap, did you guys run into a Gray Mist Tide? That’s a lot of corpses!”
“The pile of Mist Wraiths you have here is more than what we’ve collected in the past two weeks combined!”
……
The purchasing station didn’t pay in cash but issued vouchers. And because this mysterious organization was the only one buying Gray Mist corpses…
The price was whatever the buyer said it was. They had no right to refuse, so the process was very smooth and fast.
Su Aoxue looked at the voucher worth nearly 200,000 Fire Crystal Vouchers, and a faint smile finally appeared on her face beneath her cloak.
When the time came, she only needed to go to the trading house to exchange it. With nearly 200,000 Fire Crystal Vouchers, her sister’s second phase of medical fees would be fully covered!
Seeing that it was getting late, Su Aoxue chose to go home without saying goodbye. Given her strength, no one dared to come forward and question her.
Before that, however, she went to the abandoned district where she had previously tested the Power of Extreme Cold.
After setting down the two containers holding the hearts, Su Aoxue took off her cloak.
A white light flashed, and he reverted to his original male form.
“They’re still here, as expected.”
Su Aoxue looked at the obvious Ice Scars on his arm, his brow furrowing slightly.
Although they didn’t hurt yet, they were far too noticeable. He had a bad premonition about them.
At the same time, his white hair had not changed back; it remained the same as before.
If Su Aoxue were to look in a mirror right now, he would discover that not only had his hair not turned back to black, but even his eyes were beginning to turn azure.
‘If I go home like this, my dummy sister will definitely start prying.’
After sighing, Su Aoxue looked at the two iron jars at his feet, feeling a bit troubled.
‘That woman didn’t even leave a contact method. Now that I have the items, how do I contact her?’
Just as Su Aoxue was worrying, a sudden gust of wind blew so hard he could barely keep his eyes open.
When the strange gale stopped, the Mysterious Witch he had been thinking about appeared directly in front of him.
“I told you, I would be watching you at all times.”
A moment later, he heard the Mysterious Witch speak again. “Your level of compatibility with that power has far exceeded my expectations.”
Su Aoxue didn’t care about what she was saying. Instead, he pointed at the two iron jars at his feet and asked quickly, “Do these two hearts count toward the progress?”
“They do. Congratulations, you have completed 40% of the progress. Now, you’re only missing three Elite-level Abyssal Creature hearts.”
The Mysterious Witch spoke with a hint of a smile in her voice.
Su Aoxue’s mouth twitched at the words. After thinking for a moment, he decided to bargain or perhaps change the conditions.
“Abyssal Creatures aren’t common! And they have to be Elite-level… Besides, the Abyss isn’t that easy to enter. There’s no way I can do it in one month!”
“How about we swap the three Abyssal Creature hearts for Gray Mist ones?”
The energy source for the Canopy Shield that covered the entire Base City was located underground. To be precise, it was a mineral energy called Fire Crystal that kept the shield running.
To ensure the stable output of the energy mines and prevent attacks from suddenly appearing Abyssal Creatures, the security and maintenance teams entering the mine shafts were all strictly vetted and powerful.
A person like him, who lacked official identification, couldn’t get in at all!
However, the Mysterious Witch rejected him flatly. “That won’t do. The assessment requirements are the assessment requirements. Figure it out yourself.”
[‘Tsk, little guy. I’m only short these few Abyssal Creature hearts for my experiment, so how could I possibly change the rules!’]
“Besides, your current state isn’t looking very optimistic either~”