Hearing this, a few people nearby nodded. One chimed in, –Yeah, two centuries for one dose. What if it doesn’t work well? We should be able to get a refund.–
Zuo Feixian laughed, saying, –Gentlemen, looking at our setup here, we’re not just staying for a day or two. If we were selling fakes, wouldn’t that ruin our own reputations?–
The deep, lustrous hue of the pill, resting in Zuo Feixian’s broad palm, resembled a rough, unpolished ink jade pearl, compelling viewers to reach out and caress it with care.
This was Xiao Liu’s handiwork, polished one by one after immense effort to achieve such an inviting appearance.
One of the Wildland boys suggested, –How about we pool our money from both crews and buy one portion to try our luck in the mountains?–
Zuo Feixian turned to look at Yang Zicang. Yang Zicang shot a glance at a few people by the table, and Professor Chen caught the hint, setting down his bowl and rising to leave.
–No can do. We haven’t started selling yet. If you want to buy, come back next week.–
–Not selling? Afraid of being exposed, are you?–
Yuan Kun curled his lips and deliberately misstated the origin, saying, –We’re the Cargo Crew from the Sunset Greenhouse, a hundred and fifty miles to the east. Have you folks heard of the Sunset Greenhouse?–
–Sunset or dimset, never heard of it.–
–Fuck, you’re looking for trouble, aren’t you?– A man beside Yuan Kun shouted harshly.
–Hey, don’t get hot.– Yuan Kun raised a hand to stop him, his tone dripping with sarcasm: –But if you’ve never even heard of the Dusk Lynx Greenhouse, you’re trying to do business around here? I’d advise you to pack up and leave while you still can.–
Before his words faded, he suddenly turned his gaze to the sandpit in the distance. A silver-ringed pit viper slithered forward in winding curves. Yuan Kun’s right hand brushed his waist, and a dark red pistol swept from its holster in a flash, twirling deftly between his fingers before leveling and firing.
Bang!
The viper’s head exploded over sixty-seven feet away. Its body writhed painfully for a few moments before shriveling rapidly, as if naturally reaching the end of its life span.
–Whoa, nice one! That’s some serious range.– The boys from Backcrest Crag stared at the gun with envy.
–Heh heh, out in our sheds, firearms with firepower like that are nothing special.–
The group back by the awning all tensed up, their faces turning pale.
The threat hung thick in the air. A crew armed like that descending on an ordinary Zone Penguin settlement spelt a knockout blow.
–Boss, they’ve got guns.– Whispers murmured through the crowd.
Yang Zi’s expression was calm as a lake. Before they’d even sold a single box, someone comes for the shutout kill.
Zuo Feixian put away the incense pellet: –Proof is doable, but it costs one hundred-year of Chronos as a deposit for verification.–
One of the shippers at Mount Lattice let out a dry laugh: –What a joke! Pay a verification fee to buy your goods?–
Yuan Kun squinted, the pistol spinning on his fingertip. –Jiazi Term, we’re here to do business in good faith. Give us one incense pill for testing, or don’t blame us for coming to the shed to ‘call you out on fakes.’–
–That’s right, you should let us try it. Who knows if you’re scamming people?–
But while they were bickering, one of the boys from the backlands began to ponder to himself.
–Jiazi Term… I feel like I’ve heard that name before.–
Seeing Yang Zicang’s smug smile, Zuo Feixian suddenly flashed a wicked grin. –Want a trial run? Pay up a hundred years, and we’ll let you have a taste. Every single one of you can give it a whirl.–
The eyes of the backlands boys lit up.
–Captain Yuan here, this deal is actually a go. For a hundred years, all of us can go in and use it.– He raised an eyebrow, trying to coax him.
Daring to make such a demand, he’d at least expect to get one incense pill for each of his teams.
As long as you could enter the mountain ahead of time, who cared if the pills were for trial or sale?
Yuan Kun’s eyes narrowed slightly.
–Are you serious? A hundred years lets us trial it, with no extra charge?–
–Looks like this Cargo Crew head is a man who knows the score.–
In the distance, Yang Zicang nodded. –Of course, just a hundred years, and all of you can verify the authenticity of this incense pill.–
The Kongshan Cargo Crew and the boys from the backlands exchanged meaningful smirks.
–Alright then, each of us chips in some Chronos.–
Both sides quickly gathered the Chronos. Upon receiving it, Zuo Feixian grinned. –Boss, the payment’s in. Let’s get to work.–
Zuo Feixian waved his hand. Ning Yang and the others, with tacit understanding, bolted far away in a swarm.
Seeing Zuo Feixian about to run too, Yuan Kun suddenly reached out to grab him, but missed, his hand merely brushing past the shoulder of his shirt.
–Damn it.–
Having shown himself up, Yuan Kun said nonchalantly, –Brother, not going to spare us a few incense pills?–
–Why would I give you incense pills? There’s no sale going on now.–
–Go fuck yourself!–
–You trying to welch on the deal?–
–Fucking hell, you’re jerking me around.– Yuan Kun, now furious and humiliated, raised his gun and aimed at Zuo Feixian’s wrist. –Give back the Chronos! Or I’ll wipe this place clean!–
Tensions instantly escalated between them.
Enraged, Yuan Kun took a step forward, the Moxel on his chest flashing, the pistol that was spinning on his fingertip suddenly drawn and aimed at Zuo Feixian’s moving wrist.
–You think I’m some damn philanthropist? Screw you!–
Bang!
Aya covered her ears and let out a scream.
The bullet blasted from the barrel cut through the air with a gust of wind, tracing a golden arc. Yuan Kun’s eyes slowly widened. This bullet seemed to possess a will of its own, spinning and twisting.
Suddenly, it pivoted and shot straight toward him!
–Ah!–
Before a cry could escape, at that moment of dire crisis, a golden radiance glimmered on Yuan Kun’s surface, colliding with the bullet he had fired.
Snap!
[I neutralized my own 1500N.]
Staggering, he involuntarily stepped back twice.
–You…–
A chill raced up Yuan Kun’s spine as he glared at his own gun, then lifted his head to gaze at the unfazed crowd in the distance, seething with shame and fury.
His own bullet had been turned!
Before the rest of his words could leave his lips, a sudden turmoil churned in his heart.
The ground, the overcast clouds—all of heaven and earth seemed to stir with a will of their own. They were forsaking him, rejecting him. Even standing on the vast land, he felt as though he teetered on the edge of the world.
He was so insignificant… like plummeting into an even deeper abyss.
The few by his side reeled; some involuntarily gasped, mouths wide as if craving a deep breath. One clutched their own throat, scrabbling to peel back their skin, desperate for more airflow through their windpipe.
–Lao Zuo, give me the fragrant pill in five seconds, five…–
–What five seconds?–
These few strained to prop themselves up. On one, a Moxel flickered across their chest; another struggled to raise the weapon slung over their back, panicked eyes fixed on the group ahead.
–Four.–
–It’s a mental, an attack…–
–Black shop… kill them…–
–W-We have to run.– Several scrambled desperately, as if drowning.
–Three.–
Bang! Bang, bang!
In the chaos, Yuan Kun went berserk, firing wildly, but the bullets seemed to have a mind of their own—once freed from the chamber, they turned into liberated sprites, elegantly waltzing through the air.
The two wilderness boys rolled their eyes, their breaths growing tighter, as though sinking into the depths of the abyssal sea.
–Ahhh!–
–Two.–
Thud. Two or three collapsed to the ground; even those still standing barely kept their footing.
At such a close range, and with Chime Night’s coverage so compact, they were instantly hit with an overwhelming surge of psychic pressure. And Yu Zicang had quietly summoned the Paleshade Wyrm behind him, making the stifling, smothering intensity even heavier.
–One.–
Zuo Feixian, somewhat afraid, tossed the incense pellet out towards the raving, frenzied group.
The jet-black pellet plopped softly onto the ground by their feet, and its fragrance instantly burst forth, flooding their nostrils.
–Ughhh!–
–Cough… cough, cough…–
The gasping few suddenly took long, deep breaths, some of them hacking violently.
Yuan Kun slumped onto the back of his own teammate.
The person behind him directly fell to the ground. –Boss, you… you’re crushing me.–
At this moment, Yuan Kun was in no mood to respond to his words. The burly, sweat-drenched man felt as if waking from a dream. He turned over, half-kneeling on the ground while coughing roughly, his neck bulging and tongue sticking out. The hand gripping the gun had already bulged with veins from the immense force.
–You… you all!–
The captain of the Rear Desert Boys, having recovered from the shock, stood up and glared angrily at Yang Zicang. But even now, he still felt flustered and unnerved, though his spirit was no longer particularly pained.
–How was the effect of the incense pill?– Yang Zicang said with a smile.
The moment these words were spoken, the people up ahead were all stunned together.
–This was a trial?– someone said, their expression turning extremely grim.
Yuan Kun, who was still on the ground, turned his head in disbelief to look at the young man, the skin on his forehead trembling a few times.
–This… this is what you meant by verification?!–
–What the hell!– Everyone was stunned for a moment, then their faces darkened ashenly. They instantly understood the meaning of this so-called –verification.–
Yuan Kun suddenly lunged over and snatched up the dirt-covered incense pill.
Zuo Feixian let out a loud, hearty laugh and said, –So? Wasn’t that hundred years well spent!–
Behind Yuan Kun, the crowd looked at Yang Zicang with mixed emotions, bursting with anger but too afraid to speak out.
Yang Zicang raised his hand, pointing at the soil-caked incense pellet clutched in Yuan Kun’s grip, and said,
–This little pellet is yours to keep, sirs. We’re here on legitimate business, and where there’s Chronos, there’s profit for all. A few hundred years of life—just a stroll through these hills, and you’ll have it back. There’s no need to spoil the goodwill between us.–
–Boss.– The men around him fixed their eyes on Yuan Kun, awaiting his word.
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