By the time the fully equipped support team arrived at the warehouse, the battle was already over.
Chainsaw in hand, Zhou Chen had cut through the Fire Slaves like they were nothing, wiping them out completely. He pocketed every last one of their Crystal Cores.
Although the Fire Slavesâ Crystal Cores looked like Black Crystals, they were actually incredibly light.
All the Crystal Core fragments combined weighed only about fifteen grams.
At thirty thousand per gram, fifteen grams of Fire Slave Crystals could sell for around four hundred fifty thousand, though the exact price would fluctuate with market demand.
Four hundred fifty thousand. That was a fortune. At least, Zhou Chen had never seen so much money in his life!
"Calm down. Youâll soon find out just how expensive being an Ascender is."
Yang took a drag from his cigarette and sighed. "Back in the day, I was a naive kid just like you, thinking Iâd finally make the big bucks after becoming an Ascender. Turns out, I was two hundred thousand in debt after my first month. A year later, Iâd become a âsuccessful manâ three million in debt."
"Seriously...?" Zhou Chen was skeptical. "It canât be that bad, can it?"
"Heh. Youâre still in your Extraordinary Development Stage, right? By my count, youâve got about a month left. During that time, youâll need to drink at least one vial of nutrient solution a day. At the Star Associationâs internal employee price, one vial is eight thousand. Thatâs two hundred forty thousand a month right there."
Yang continued, "And thatâs just the cost for your development. Youâre an Ascender now, so youâve got to find ways to get stronger, donât you? And getting stronger means spending money, right?
"Right now, any piece of Alchemy Equipment on the market starts at half a million. A High-Frequency Vibration Blade alone will set you back six hundred thousand. Whatâs your little bit of cash good for? At most, you could go to Night Rose and get yourself a few young models or college girls..."
"Enough with the models and college girls. If you two are alright, get out of here. We need to clear the warehouse," the support teamâs captain came over and hurried them along.
"Old Liu, we just fought eight Fire Slaves and an Eternal Fire Fanatic. You tell me if weâre âalrightâ?" Yang gave a weak-sounding cough. "Besides, at the last team-building event, you were the one who..."
Old Liuâs expression hardened, and he bellowed, "Medics! Where are the medics? Get these two wounded men out of here on stretchers, now!"
Zhou Chen wanted to ask Yang for more details about the models and college girls, but before he could say a word, the medical team had him on a stretcher and was carrying him out of the warehouse.
At one in the morning, a light rain began to fall. Thick smoke billowed from the transit warehouse, the glow of the fire clearly visible for kilometers.
A commotion this big had surely been noticed by various parties. No doubt, quite a few people would be losing sleep tonight.
Before he was loaded into the ambulance, Zhou Chen saw his other teammates. No one had been killed, but all of them were injured. And the way they looked at him... it was a potent mix of envy, jealousy, and hate. They were practically dying of sour grapes.
Zhou Chen could guess what they were thinking: âWhy him? How does he get all the bullshit luck? He just stumbles into a Forbidden Object for free? Is there no justice in this world!â
He also saw Jiang Che.
She was standing under a black umbrella, watching the burning warehouse with a blank expression as one of her Operators reported the details of the situation.
Perhaps because of the cold rain, she had exchanged her suit jacket for a long, black overcoat. Everything else was the same: a crisp white shirt and tie beneath the coat, black trousers, and leather shoes.
She looked cold and stern.
"Pretty intimidating, huh?" Yang said suddenly, once they were on the ambulance.
They had taken off their comms headsets, so they didnât have to worry about Jiang Che overhearing them.
"What is?" Zhou Chen didnât follow.
"Jiang Che. Donât tell me you donât know. She has some kind of emotional deficiency syndrome. Her feelings are so muted theyâre practically nonexistent. Sheâs as cold as a robot made of steel. Isnât it terrifying working for a boss like that?"
"To be honest, Iâve got a little over ten months to live. Can she really be scarier than death?" Zhou Chen sighed.
Yang thought for a moment. "I wouldnât be so sure... She can make you wish you were dead.
"Take tonightâs incident, for example. None of the parties involved are getting away clean. If those guys think sheâs just some little girl they can push around, theyâre in for a rude awakening. Theyâll either lose a huge chunk of flesh or sheâll make an example out of them."
"Bottom line is, donât get on her bad side. Sheâs not even an Ascender, yet at her age, sheâs about to join the decision-making council at HQ. Sheâs no pushover. Iâd bet her methods are more decisive and ruthless than anyoneâs."
"I get it. Just do what a good little grunt is supposed to do."
Zhou Chen yawned. Now that he was safe, the exhaustion from the battle washed over him like a tidal wave. He was soon fast asleep, clutching the chainsaw.
...
...
When Zhou Chen woke from his deep sleep, his head was splitting and he felt mentally drained.
It was the aftereffect of overdrawing his Essence. During the battle, the chainsaw had squeezed every last drop of his meager Essence reserves. He didnât know how much time had passed, but he had only slowly recovered about a third of it.
On the bright side, he felt like both his Spiritual Power and his Essence Capacity had increased slightly.
Zhou Chen sat up in bed. He was in a familiar Star Association hospital room. The Bloodthirsty Chainsaw was propped up beside the bed. The thing was soul-bound to him now; no one else could use it. In fact, it would even lash out at anyone who tried.
He had just rolled over to grab a glass of water when he saw a young woman in a suit sitting in the chair by his bed, her expression impassive.
"Youâre awake." Jiang Che looked up from the tablet she was tapping on. "Youâve been asleep for eighteen hours."
"I still feel awful..." Zhou Chen rubbed his temples before asking the question that was weighing on his mind.
"What happened? Did you find the Star Mango?"
Jiang Che sighed softly. "Thatâs the bad news."
âSo they didnât find it...â Zhou Chen fell silent, his disappointment palpable.
Jiang Che tapped her tablet a few times and handed it to him. "Warehouse data shows that two days ago, several of Xi Fengâs top executives at Jinzhu had people secretly move a large shipment of important goods, the Star Mango among them.
"But this wasnât ordered by Xi Fengâs actual leadership. Another power intercepted the shipment. Thanks to a mole, they were able to openly transport the goods away."
Zhou Chen stared at the information on the screen, lost in thought for a moment. Recalling something Yang had said earlier, he blurted out a name:
"Eternal Fire?"
Jiang Che nodded. "Most likely. Those executives are probably undercover agents for the Eternal Fire.
"I canât imagine what else was in that shipment to attract the attention of the Eternal Fire."
"Could it be the Star Mango?" Zhou Chen couldnât help but frown.
"Itâs possible. But rest assured, even without the Star Mango, I guarantee Iâll find another way to mend your Soul."
Zhou Chen understood. The black-and-white contract was one reason, but he had also proven his worth. That was why Jiang Che was willing to continue putting in the effort to help him.
After all, it was a transaction.
Each of them was getting what they wanted.