Chapter Eighty-Five: The Counterattack

In the time that followed, Fan Bei frequently monitored Da Bai and Lin Zhongqing, occasionally checking on Lang Sheng's activities.

Lang Sheng opted for a comprehensive approach; he sold the entire Copper Fortress to the Star Chamber of Commerce and, in addition, requested the title of lifelong honorary member.

The Chamber also paid in installments, giving him an initial sum of 5,000 Spirit Cores, to be paid off in eighty monthly installments.

Though he knew he was selling it off cheaply, he agreed for the sake of the Chamber's implicit protection.

Once he received the payment, he immediately began purchasing the newly disguised "Heavenly King Jade Control Manual" in installments, adopting a posture of enduring hardship and biding his time, caring for nothing but cultivation.

This host line would now sink into dormancy for a while; in effect, the Star Chamber of Commerce was supporting a future expert who would remain in long-term seclusion.

……

To the south of Silver City, a river cut through the mountains, and in a certain bend shaped like the character "Ji," a dense, gray-white fog hung over the land. Yet within this mist, a winding road appeared.

The road was built on a sloping hillside. Though autumn had just arrived and it was still hot outside, here the air was cool, and many people moved back and forth along the path.

Most of these people carried sprayers on their backs, spraying the gray-white mist as they walked.

Where they sprayed, the mist vanished, revealing a road passable by travelers. Some people maintained the road, ensuring the mist did not creep back in from the sides.

A portion of the workers wore uniforms emblazoned with "Silver Chamber of Commerce," directing others and instructing newcomers on how to use the sprayers to maintain and clear the path.

Among them was Xie Bo, who also commanded a team of about fifty, responsible for a long central section of the road.

Yet within his team, some did no work at all, simply wandering as if on a leisurely outing, causing some resentment.

Da Bai and Xiao Bai were part of his group, since the route through Phoenix Cry Valley belonged to Xie Bo's caravan.

"Hey, you—dog and ball—don’t do any work. Why should you get the same treatment and pay as the rest of us?" a burly man in a blue shirt couldn't help but question.

Though the valley was cool, he had been working for over two hours and was drenched in sweat; idle people were a particular eyesore to him.

If some slacked off, the rest had to work harder and still received the same pay—who would accept that?

"Woof, woof, woof..." Da Bai stopped and barked at the man in protest.

"What kind of dog nonsense is that? You can't even speak human language and you dare come here to pretend to work?" the blue-shirted man mocked, glancing around at the others.

Many nodded in agreement; most were dissatisfied, but hadn't spoken up for fear of making enemies, especially since the dog and the ball seemed mysterious and strange.

Now that someone had voiced their complaint, others were quick to chime in.

The iron ball following Da Bai spoke up.

"We’re protecting you. There are terrifying things in this gray mist, and we are suppressing them to prevent them from ambushing you."

The blue-shirted man paused, then burst into laughter. "Our safety is guaranteed by the Silver Chamber of Commerce. What does that have to do with you? There's a safety contract, you know."

"True, but the contract only guarantees your lives—not your cultivation or property," Xiao Bai retorted sarcastically. "Our job is to prevent anyone from stealing your cultivation or possessions."

Hmph, such tricks—do they think they can fool me, Heavenly Bai? Honestly, with over 100 intelligence points, even the system can barely keep up—what a waste to use it on this.

The crowd fell silent, and even the blue-shirted man had nothing more to say. All eyes turned to their leader, Xie Bo.

"Everyone, quiet please. What Mr. Iron Ball said is correct, but you must understand: all guarantees have their limits. We can’t provide unlimited protection—if we did, the costs would be too high, and it wouldn’t be feasible. For example, if tonight, while you’re resting and trying to break through in meditation, you suddenly go berserk—would you blame us for that too?" Xie Bo explained calmly.

"That’s why we arranged for these two to provide supplementary protection. It shows how much we care for your safety. We simply forgot to notify everyone due to our busy schedule. Please forgive any misunderstandings that resulted from this oversight."

He wore an expression of sincere concern, and the others were quick to flatter him.

"It’s nothing, Manager Xie. With so much on your plate, it’s understandable to forget a detail like this."

"Absolutely—besides, the dog can’t speak our language. It’s not the manager’s fault for not explaining."

Da Bai listened, disgruntled and unable to defend himself, feeling utterly stifled.

At that moment, he suddenly paused, then began communicating with Xiao Bai telepathically.

"Xiao Bai, just now the System Boss gave me a task—to take out this Xie guy. He’s targeted us several times in secret and finally annoyed the System Boss. The blue-shirted guy who just provoked us is one of his men; the whole thing was set up by Xie. And when they assigned tasks before, he deliberately didn’t clarify our responsibilities, which is why this conflict happened."

"Killing him isn’t hard, but what’s the reward?" Xiao Bai asked.

"The reward is that the system can evolve and unlock more functions," Da Bai replied honestly.

"Let’s do it, then," Xiao Bai decided on the spot.

"Uh, but that means killing someone—I can’t bring myself to do it..." Da Bai hesitated.

"You’re useless," Xiao Bai said with disdain. "You want to achieve great things, yet you shrink back to protect yourself; you forget what’s right for the sake of small advantages. Since System Boss has warned us that this man is dangerous, it’s only right to eliminate the threat early. There’s no such thing as a thousand days of guarding against a thief, only a thousand days of being a thief."

"So what should we do?" Da Bai was at a loss.

"That’s easy. With my brilliant planning, there’ll be no danger at all—and we’ll kill two birds with one stone," Xiao Bai said confidently.

"I’ll leave it to you, then."

After a while, Da Bai heard a familiar, mysterious voice.

"Ah, senior, it’s been a long time. How did you end up at my doorstep?"

"I’ve come to ask a favor, and of course, there will be benefits for you," Xiao Bai lured.

"Senior, there’s no need to be so formal with me. But what kind of benefits are we talking about?" the voice inquired.

"You really are a professional swindler—asking about payment before you even know what the job is," Xiao Bai grumbled, exasperated.

"Sorry, just a business habit. What would you have me do?"

"I want you and your kind to help me kill someone."

"That’s quite a price. You know there’s an agreement—they don’t allow us sentient ones to kill at will."

"Enough nonsense—1,000 points of mental power."

"It depends on who needs to be killed."

"10,000 points of mental power."

"Deal. Who is the target and where are they?"