Chapter 40: Put on a Bounty!

Near the entrance of the Clear Water Lake dungeon, the night was already deep, but there were still quite a few Professionals gathered in twos and threes, whispering to each other.

"Tsk tsk, it really is lively tonight." An assassin wearing leather armor took a swig of cheap liquor.

"Ain't that the truth? Did they discover some new Secret Realm in the Old City District? People from the Radiant Alliance keep drilling in wave after wave." The elemental mage next to him chimed in.

"What's so weird is that we only see people going in, but hardly anyone coming out. What's going on?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the surroundings suddenly grew a bit quieter, and a trace of eeriness permeated the air.

Until long after the third wave of people went in, three figures finally stumbled out from the end of the distant abandoned street.

At the lead was precisely that Rank 40 Shield Warrior. At this moment, his whole body was bathed in blood, his armor was in tatters, and his face was full of terror and lingering fear.

The other two were also in tattered clothes with listless expressions, as if they had just escaped back from Hell.

"Look quickly! Someone has come out!"

"Oh my god! When they went in, there were twenty-something grand people, and only these three are left?"

The crowd broke into an uproar, finally realizing that the Radiant Alliance was locking horns head-on with fierce beasts or someone in the Old City District.

But what for? That ghost place called the Old City District didn't have much fat to skim, yet the danger was immense.

A well-informed merchant lowered his voice: "I heard that someone offended the young master of the Zhou Family quite severely and hid in the Old City District. The Radiant Alliance is here to capture people by orders."

"The Zhou Family? Lu Qi?"

"Hiss—so that's how it is!"

The crowd suddenly understood, and their gazes toward the direction of the Old City District gained a bit of awe and curiosity.

"My goodness, how fierce must a person be to make the Radiant Alliance suffer such heavy casualties?"

"Those first two waves are probably in grave danger as well."

"This is simply slapping the Zhou Family in the face."

Inside the Zhou Family's mansion, the lights were bright, but the atmosphere was suffocatingly oppressive.

Liu Yuru's well-maintained face was covered in frost.

"Trash! A bunch of trash!"

"Is this the Radiant Alliance that your Zhou Family worked so hard to build? Huh?!"

"You can't even catch a little bastard who hides his head and shows his tail! And you even lost so many men!"

"Are the people your Zhou Family raises just a bunch of good-for-nothing wine sacks and rice buckets?!"

Zhou Feng's face was livid. His fists tightly clenched and unclenched by his sides, veins bulging on his forehead, yet he remained utterly silent throughout, silently enduring Liu Yuru's roar.

In the corner of the bedroom, Lu Qi lay in bed. Although his body had been mostly treated by healers, he still put on an extremely weak appearance.

"Mom! You must seek justice for me! That bastard named Yasuo, he… he harmed me so miserably! Look at my injuries… Wuwuwu…"

Hearing her son's tearful complaints, Liu Yuru instantly transformed into heartache and pity.

She hurried to Lu Qi's side, gently stroked his forehead, and said softly: "My dear Qier, don't worry! Mom will definitely not let that little beast go!"

"Not only will I catch him, but I will also chop him into a thousand pieces, making him unable to live and unable to die! I'll vent this bad breath for you!"

After comforting Lu Qi, she turned her head sharply, once again aiming her spearhead at Zhou Feng, her gaze like poisoned knives.

"Zhou Feng! I am telling you! If anything happens to Qier, or if he is left with any sequelae, I, Liu Yuru, will never let the Zhou Family off!"

"Right now! Immediately! At once! Mobilize all available manpower for me! Even if you have to turn the entire Old City District upside down, you must drag that Yasuo out for me!"

Zhou Feng took a deep breath, his chest heaving violently a few times as he forcibly suppressed the anger and humiliation in his heart.

He squeezed a few words through his teeth: "I will… send more manpower."

Having finished speaking, he could no longer endure this oppressive atmosphere, turned sharply, and strode out of the bedroom.

Arriving at the courtyard, the night breeze was slightly cool, blowing away some of the restlessness in his heart.

Zhou Feng took out his communicator and dialed a number, his voice so icy it lacked a trace of temperature.

"Issue a bounty for me."

"Put a bounty on that person named Yasuo."

"Bounty amount… five hundred thousand Daxia Coin!"

He paused for a moment, seeming to feel it wasn't enough to vent his anger, as a trace of ruthlessness flashed in his eyes.

"No! One million! I want to see a living person, or a corpse if dead!"

…

Overnight, the news of a one-million bounty sprouted wings and quickly spread through the circle of Professionals in the entire Donghai City.

[Radiant Alliance Bounty: Yasuo, male, suspected Thunder-type Professional. For assisting in the capture, a reward of five hundred thousand! For those who can kill or capture this person alive, a reward of one million Daxia Coin!]

Attached was also a blurry portrait drawn based on the descriptions of Lu Qi and a few survivors, as well as a surveillance screenshot of Yasuo outside the Trial Tower.

"Holy shit! One million! The Radiant Alliance really went all out this time!"

"What on earth is this Yasuo's background? He's actually worth this much?"

"You guys didn't see the miserable state of those people from the Radiant Alliance. I heard that nearly forty-odd people in the Old City District were all thanks to this Yasuo!"

"Hiss! One person, in a ghost place like the Old City District, slaughtered dozens of people? This… is simply a Divine Being!"

"How did he manage that? Could it be that he can control the fierce beasts of the Old City District?"

"This guy has too much guts. I really want to witness this fierce person with my own eyes!"

In the taverns and on the forums, discussions about Yasuo were everywhere.

Some marveled at his strength and courage, while others gloated over his misfortune.

"What's the use of being brave? Once the one-million bounty is out, who knows how many bigshots and solo experts will come flocking."

"That's right, he is now a walking piece of fatty meat. Hiding in the Old City District is useless; sooner or later, he will be dragged out!"

"What a pity, such a ruthless character is probably going to die young."

Various guesses and discussions grew rampant. In a short period of time, the name Yasuo became the hottest topic center in Donghai City.

In the Old City District, inside a dilapidated two-story small building.

Jasmine curled up in the corner, finally unable to resist the heavy drowsiness, and fell fast asleep.

She was simply too tired. Tonight's experiences were more thrilling than all the dangers she had encountered over the past year combined.

Meanwhile, Yasuo's figure shuttled through the ruins like a ghost.

The fierce beasts in the Old City District were generally at Rank 20 and above. For Yasuo, who was currently only Rank 10, the pressure was not small.

But relying on the formidable attributes of his S-grade profession and the precise combat control of the smart core ai, he acted cautiously, specially targeting lone or groups of two or three low-Rank fierce beasts.

[Thunderous Strike]!

A flash of sword light passed, and a Rank 22 corpse hound wailed as its head was sent flying.

[Killed Corpse Hound Rank 22, gained 1,800 experience points!]

Yasuo quickly cleared the battlefield, picked up the dropped Materials, and immediately shifted his position, not giving other fierce beasts a chance to surround him.

Just like that, like a patient and deadly hunter, he accumulated experience bit by bit in the perilous Old City District.

Time slowly passed.

When the first ray of dawn pierced the darkness and illuminated this dead ruined capital, Yasuo's Rank had already silently risen to Rank 14!

"The experience from killing monsters of a higher Rank is indeed bountiful." Zhou Huai felt the stronger power surging within his Clone, and he was quite satisfied in his heart.

Right at this moment, the System suddenly sent a prompt.

[Ding! Congratulations to the host, the Clone 'Ou Yezi' has successfully forged epic-grade equipment, completing the challenge quest—Divine Craftsman's First Cry!]

[Quest reward: Profession Orb extraction chance X1, has been distributed!]

Zhou Huai's spirits lifted.

It finally succeeded!