"Alright, et at Dragon City’s north gate at four in the morning tomorrow," Lei said.
"By the way, Lei, what’s the mission about?" The protagonist suddenly rembered he had accepted a mission but didn’t know what it entailed.
"A Hunter squad discovered a mine pit near Nanhua Town; two people went down and never ca back up," Lei explained. "One of them is Mr. Song’s childhood friend. Mr. Song has offered an 8 million bounty, dead or alive. Got it now?"
"Got it! Got it!" The protagonist replied quickly. "Uh... Lei, which Song Family is this Mr. Song from?"
"Don’t poke your nose into the affairs of the upper circles!" Lei’s tone turned cold. "What, are you trying to directly connect with those young masters and misses to skip my interdiary fee?"
"As if I’d dare! I’m just curious... I’ve never heard of an influential Song family in Dragon City. This young master really has guts, willing to spend a fortune for a friend."
"There’s a lot you haven’t heard about. Make sure to bring your gear tomorrow and don’t be late," Lei instructed. "If you are late, you know the consequences."
"I understand! Um, Lei..."
The protagonist seed to want to ask more, but the man called Lei just ended the call abruptly.
"Damn it!" The protagonist cursed out loud after putting down the phone. "Taking half the interdiary fee... what a fucking bastard..."
But as he cursed, he quickly cald down.
The creditors were willing to lend him money not because of his good credit or any backing, but purely because of his identity as a Mysterious Creature Hunter. Unlike in other places, where it’s difficult to monetize a Mysterious Creature Hunter’s abilities, in Dragon City, as long as you’re capable, bold, and a bit lucky, no profession outside of financial trades can match the earning speed of a Mysterious Creature Hunter.
However, after racking up massive gambling debts, the protagonist realized sothing—missions with generous rewards from the usual interdiary agencies had beco scarce, and even when he inquired, they found excuses to reject him or told him the missions were full.
Only Lei appeared like a savior whenever the protagonist was cornered by debt collectors, offering him missions with both high rewards and high risk.
Not only that, but Lei’s commission was also extrely high—the average interdiary in Dragon City would charge a one to three percent commission, and even for the most lucrative jobs, it would never exceed ten percent. Yet, the first ti Lei approached the protagonist, he demanded a whopping twenty-five percent.
At that point, the protagonist was already at his wits’ end. Despite his reluctance, he had no choice but to agree.
Then, the commission percentage began increasing steadily, from twenty-five percent to thirty, then forty percent... This ti, Lei outright took half of the reward.
But he had no choice... If he refused, he’d be on the streets by tomorrow, facing only ever-growing interest rates and relentless debt collectors.
He had heard of another Hunter who once owed a ridiculous amount in gambling debts and couldn’t repay them—thinking his status as a Mysterious Creature Hunter protected him, only to be stunned and carried out of Dragon City the next day. When he woke up, he found himself in Yun.
Subsequently, that Hunter "naturally" perished during an exploratory mission, leaving behind a "will" donating his body to so private research institute.
The protagonist didn’t want to be butchered and stuffed into so black-market clinic’s freezer, so he could only bow his head.
Strangely enough, every ti he accepted a mission from Lei, the debt collection calls and ssages stopped for a while, and the professional debt collectors watching him seed to vanish into thin air.
He knew there was sothing fishy going on, but what did it matter... Whether it was Mr. Chen or Lei, they were people he couldn’t afford to offend.
Hunter... a Hunter is nothing. Lei was right; there is no shortage of Hunters in Dragon City.
As long as there’s money, many problems here simply aren’t problems.
With money, even the most famous Hunters from the leaderboard will risk their lives for you... and the ones at the bottom, the least famous Hunters, could squash the protagonist like a bug, so how could he complain?
How dare he complain?
Power is useful in this world, but only if it’s strong enough.
The protagonist is a bit stronger than an average person, but only just a bit.
"Need money." The protagonist murmured, sitting on the edge of the bed. "With money, even the almighty would have to kneel and lick my shoes."
"Once I get this hundred thousand, I can win a million, then use that million to win ten million... I will win, I can win... Last ti, it was just a bit of bad luck... I’ve been down for so long; it’s ti for a change... If I can keep winning, I’ll have beautiful won, powerful underlings, luxury houses, and cars... Then, soone like Lei would have to bow and scrape before ... What’s Mr. Song... I’ll beco Mr. Qi..."
As he spoke, he lay back down, already dreaming of a life drenched in luxury and excess. In the haze, he could almost see Lei’s ingratiating smile, so he pulled out a wad of cash and slapped it heavily on his imaginary face.
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