Chapter 87 - The Fish Bit The Hook

It was proven long ago that you’d never get quality goods for cheap.

Today, Zhang Che finally understood this universal law.

Initially, when he got this beast card for only fifty thousand Alliance dollars, he was still celebrating inwardly, thinking that he picked up something good for cheap.

From the looks of it now, where would you find such a bargain in this world?

It was said that nine out of ten merchants were shrewd. Those who dabbled in trading beast cards would have thoroughly investigated what capabilities the cards held. The prices were set after giving much thought to them, comparing them in multiple aspects. It was basically impossible for something like spending a dollar to get a hidden treasure worth a hundred dollars happening.

“Well, that’s how it is. Although this fellow’s scouting range is really a little too small, it’s still better than nothing. With it, at least I won’t be completely ignorant of the dangers around me, like before.”

After thinking it over carefully, the Large-Beaked Raven was exactly worth its price tag of fifty thousand dollars. With a one kilometer buffer, Zhang Che could basically guarantee his escape from danger once he realized anything strange was going on since he had Hanxue.

If he was really careless and encountered some horrifyingly powerful exotic beasts, he could only blame it on his bad luck.

Of course, after yesterday’s experience of travelling in the mountain range to the southwest, Zhang Che was now much more alert. He wouldn’t be so careless and put himself in such a dangerous place again without any plans. The chances of encountering terrifying beasts out here was naturally many times lower.

If he still encountered exotic beasts which he had no hope of resisting despite all that, it truly would be fate at work, then. It would be futile regardless of how good of a scouting-type flying beast he had.

Although Hanxue wasn’t moving quickly, they were already several kilometers away from the safety zone after slightly less than half an hour. Low-tier exotic beasts were starting to appear in their surroundings frequently.

“The Tian Yin Squad won’t be here anytime soon. I’d better hunt some beasts as we move; even if they are low-tier beast cards, a large amount of them would still sell for a pretty sum, right?”

Riding on Hanxue’s back, Zhang Che summoned the Fiery Scorpion and the Wind Shadow Wolf with a wave of his hand, who then pounced on the surrounding low-tier exotic beasts.

As for the Psychedelic Ghost-Patterned Butterfly, Zhang Che didn’t summon it out.

First, the Fiery Scorpion and Wind Shadow Wolf were more than enough to hunt these exotic beasts, which were two-star bronze-quality, at best.

Second, he was currently riding on Hanxue, and the Large-Beaked Raven was flying in the sky about him. What he had exposed already suggested that he was a Tier Three beastmaster, at the very least (others had no idea Hanxue was in fact his pet, and not his subdued beast). If he brought out a couple more cards, who could he hope to bait? He would directly scare off the fish that was the Tian Yin Squad.

As the saying went, it only made sense to live the life of a thief for life, not to guard against thieves for life. In order to avoid being hounded by the Tian Yin Squad all the time, naturally Zhang Che would want to appear weak to lure them in and get them all in one fell swoop.

Suddenly, the patrolling Large-Beaked Raven sent a message to Zhang Che from the sky, indicating that it had discovered a threat above him.

-Mmm? Above?- Zhang Che was stunned for a moment before looking up, scanning the skies. He vaguely noticed a black dot flying past him at an extremely high altitude, disappearing from his sight.

-That should be the Tian Yin Squad’s scouting-type flying beast, right?- Zhang Che’s lips curled slightly, and he continued westward normally.

There wasn’t any special meaning in moving west. All he wanted was to send the Tian Yin Squad to their Nirvana in the Heavens Westward.

(TL: To their deaths.)

——

A few kilometers behind Zhang Che, an ordinary-looking man was looking up into the sky. His face froze for a moment, before laughing out loud. “What a joke; do you think you can escape from my Cloud Sparrow by buying a trash scouting-type beast?”

At the same time, Xu Ao was lying naked on a massage bed in a certain shop that offered special services in Qian Wei City, his face glowing with pleasure, his eyes half-closed.

An enchanting lady with only her private area covered sat on the back of his waist, her legs spread open, massaging his back non-stop. Her hand movements were well practiced, using just the right amount of strength. One look and you could tell that she was a skilled masseur.

Dok, dok, dok!

Knocks on the door interrupted them. A subordinate’s voice rang out from outside, “There’s news, Chief.”

Xu Ao’s eyes widened suddenly, filling with light.

He slapped on the masseur’s thigh with the back of his hand, indicating she should get off him. Afterwards, he stood up and covered his lower body with a bath towel wrapped around him. He said leisurely, “Come in and talk.”

The subordinate entered the room. He first looked at the masseur, and waited until she left unwillingly, shaking her hips, before closing the door cautiously. He took a few steps forward and said in a low voice, “Chief, we got a little information from Ding Feng Corporation. About ten days ago, a guy named Sun Che sold a bunch of Elephorse cards to their Young Master, Zhang Yujie. It’s very likely that it was the same guy who foiled our matters.”

Xu Ao sat relaxed on a massage chair in the room, his right fingers lightly tapping on the arm rest. He asked with narrowed eyes, “Is this news reliable?”

“It’s highly probable,” the subordinate answered. He continued, “According to the guy from Ding Feng Corporation, Zhang Yujie organized a group of people and followed that Sun Che stealthily to the place where the herd of Elephorses was found, but they discovered that a large herd of them had dispersed. They speculated that it was that kid who did something, motivating the herd to leave their habitat for no reason.”

Xu Ao nodded slightly. He pondered for a short while and suddenly laughed. “What could he do? It’s most likely that the kid killed off the Elephorse King, leading to the herd losing control and dispersing. If my calculations are right, the scarlet Elephorse he was riding is the Elephorse King. Otherwise, it was impossible for him to escape our ambush.”

The subordinate revealed a look of admiration. -The chief is indeed the chief! He could deduce this much information just from that little bit of news I provided!-

“But, Chief, the person from Ding Feng Corporation said that Sun Che’s strength seems a little unfathomable. Otherwise, how could he possibly hunt a herd of Elephorses by himself, or kill the Elephorse King under the protection of its herd?”

“No, I don’t think he is that strong.” A flash of cunningness flashed across Xu Ao’s face. “Did you forget the matter about us being attacked out of nowhere while we were fighting for the Five-Colored Spiritual Flower with that flying beast? My guess is that that kid has a gold-quality subdued beast with a skill in his hands, and it’s an area attack type, to boot.”

After pausing for a moment, Xu Ao continued with a relaxed expression, “His beastmaster tier won’t be too high, or I would have been like you guys, directly rendered immobile. Therefore, if we find that kid, we shouldn’t get too close to him. Instead, we’ll just ambush him with bows and arrows.”

If Zhang Che were here, his mouth would be wide open from shock. Xu Ao’s analytical skills were ridiculous! He was actually able to guess correctly details about himself just from a tiny bit of information! How horrifying!

While the two of them conversed, a notification suddenly rang out from Xu Ao’s personal terminal. He checked it out, and his eyes suddenly lit up.

“Xiaoqi and the others discovered that kid in the beast world! We’ll set out right away!”