According to Xie An’an, four parties on the Star Network were currently offering a bounty for her rescue.
The bar owner, You Wei; the head of Tianwen Entertainnt’s composition departnt, Lan Yuyan; the Bai family; and Jiang Ruming of the Jiang Family.
The bounties from the first three were not small.
The terms were standardized: 50,000 Star Coins for useful information, 500,000 Star Coins for leading them to her location, and 3,000,000 Star Coins for bringing her back unhard.
As for Jiang Ruming, she had posted her own bounty on the Star Network.
Bringing her back safely was worth five million Star Coins and a personal promise from her.
That’s right—it was her promise, and her money.
As for the Jiang Family, they had yet to make an appearance, so no one knew what their intentions were.
This earned them considerable scorn. In contrast, the netizens who had previously criticized Jiang Ruming were starting to see her in a new light.
Even so of Jiang Qin’s fans had started to warm up to her.
They figured that within the Jiang Family, this cousin was probably the only one who genuinely cared about Jiang Qin. The rest of her family wasn’t even worth ntioning.
Jiang Ruming seized the opportunity to start a live broadcast. With reddened eyes, she told her audience that she had already sent people to find her younger cousin and repeatedly pleaded with the kidnappers not to harm her.
Whatever they wanted, they could negotiate the terms with her.
She put on a flawless performance of an older cousin willing to give up everything for her younger one.
’If this had happened in my past life,’ Jiang Qin thought, ’I probably would have been moved by this display too.’
After all, on one side was her own mother who couldn’t care less, and on the other was her cousin who was willing to step up and save her.
’When you’re left out in the cold, it’s easy to be deceived by the illusion of a little warmth.’
’It’s not like Jiang Ruming and I were in so lodrama about a long-lost heiress, so I never thought we were supposed to be enemies.’
’One is the biological daughter, the other is the orphaned child of a beloved brother. Do you really need to choose one to abandon?’
’It’s not like the Jiang Family couldn’t afford to raise both of us.’
That was why Jiang Qin could never understand Jiang Ruming. ’Just how insecure must she be to constantly create all this drama?’
’In my past life, I was blinded by an attachnt born from my mories as a fetus.’
’Even Jiang Ruming, who grew up by Jiang Yulian’s side, was this insecure. That just goes to show what her life in the Jiang Family was really like.’
’Trying to make everyone like you must be exhausting.’
And Jiang Yulian was a world away from the loving mother she rembered.
’Maybe those fetal mories were just a dream. Perhaps my brain wasn’t fully developed then, and I mistook a dream for reality.’
***
"Here are two tubes of nutrient liquid for you. I have to go back now. You absolutely must not leave this cave, okay? I’ll find a way to contact your boss."
After giving her instructions, Xie An’an left.
She couldn’t stay. If she didn’t return today, she would easily arouse suspicion.
According to Xie An’an, she had actually left ho this morning, so when the search party ca through, they hadn’t seen her.
On her way back, before she even got close, she spotted the secret signal Xie Lili had left for her, telling her not to go ho.
Xie Lili had seen Jiang Qin sneaking away in the morning and guessed what was happening, so she had actually followed her for a while.
Only after confirming that Jiang Qin was hiding on Garbage Mountain did she leave, but not before leaving a signal for her cousin.
Once the search party had swept through the shanty town, she used the excuse of needing to relieve herself to slip out and coordinate a plan with Xie An’an.
They exchanged information, and only when they learned there was just one Beastman on Garbage Mountain did they decide to act.
One of them would lead a group to distract the guard, while Xie An’an, who hadn’t been seen by the search party, would go to the other side to lead Jiang Qin away.
Xie Lili was convinced that as long as they created an opportunity for Jiang Qin to leave, she would definitely erge from Garbage Mountain.
That’s why she had Xie An’an continuously circling the areas on the far side.
’I have to admit,’ Jiang Qin mused, ’this female nad Xie Lili is incredibly smart. And Xie An’an is very capable of executing a plan.’
’After all, besides waiting for , she also had to avoid those male Beastn who were searching. One can only imagine how difficult that was.’
As for this female, Xie Lili, her main goal was the Star Coin bounty.
She wanted to leave the shanty town. She wanted to take her family and friends and, at the very least, live in the city’s slums.
There, they could receive subsidies and have a legal status to work.
With 3,000,000 Star Coins split among the five of them, each family would get several hundred thousand.
Jiang Qin wasn’t afraid of them having a motive; she was afraid of them having none.
’After all, the most expensive things in this world are the ones that are free.’
’As long as I can get picked up safely by You Wei, even if I stop singing in the future, I can find other ways to earn money and pay off my debts. Survival is what matters most.’
’When you’re deep in debt, a little more doesn’t hurt...’
...
When Xie An’an returned to the shanty town carrying a bag, she was also ordered to wash her face for inspection.
"Where have you been?"
"I went out foraging this morning."
The Beastman questioning her checked her bag, and only after confirming it contained basic materials for making nutrient liquid did he let her pass.
As soon as she got ho, she saw Xie Lili was there. The two exchanged a look but said nothing.
Their mothers were sisters, so the two had been close since childhood. A single glance was all they needed to understand each other.
By noon, the Beastn surrounding the shanty town still hadn’t withdrawn.
The Half-beastn weren’t allowed to leave either, which caused a great deal of resentnt to brew among them.
They weren’t wealthy to begin with. A single day without work ant a significant loss of inco.
But looking at the well-equipped Beastn, they didn’t dare cause trouble and could only curse silently in their hearts.
anwhile, Xie An’an still hadn’t been able to send the ssage. The signal in their entire area was being jamd.
But she didn’t panic. Instead, she went about her household chores as usual.
As for Xie Lili, she had also returned ho to wait.
Neither of them went to Garbage Mountain to watch the commotion. After all, they didn’t dare hang around in front of the male Beastn for too long, lest they be harassed.
For the rest of the day, the entire shanty town was shrouded in a cacophony of clanging and crashing noises.
When Fox Ear saw the cleared pile on Garbage Mountain, his face was devoid of any hint of a smile.
When the other two piles were also cleared and there was still no sign of the little female, the rage in his heart grew even stronger.
He summoned the male guard and, suppressing his anger, asked, "Are you certain you never left your post and didn’t see a female?"
"I’m certain!"
"Then what is this?"
Tossed on the ground was the tattered piece of clothing Jiang Qin had changed out of.
The man seed surprised, but he stated with certainty, "I really didn’t see her. Maybe the little female had already left by the ti I arrived."
Fox Ear wasn’t sure when Jiang Qin had co to Garbage Mountain either, so even though he wanted to explode, he held himself back.
After all, this particular Beastman wasn’t soone he could just kill for sport. Without proof, he couldn’t take his anger out on him.
"Keep searching. You, search from the air."
The man acknowledged the order, imdiately shifted into his beast form, and soared into the sky.
"Fox Ear, we didn’t find her. What do we do?"
What could Fox Ear do? He could only sneer, "You’re asking ? Who am I supposed to ask?"
’Useless. They’re all useless.’
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