Tang Qian, male, forty-one years old, was part of the crowd.

Mercenary from Central Earth, top-performing assault service salesman at Desert Market with only 41% positive reviews, runner-up in the fourteenth Big Stomach King contest in Northern Thousand Island, silver card member of the Red Phoenix Night Club… and even, the chosen sovereign of the crowd.

Favourite aliases: Tom, Jerry, Smith, Zhong Zhitiao, Wang Yuehan, Chen Laoshi, Yu Qiang, and so on.

Changing names after every job was quite normal.

His combat power was unknown; he would blend in when facing the weak, and play dead when facing the powerful; embodying his ancestors, he was truly someone who fed his entire family alone.

Unlike the terrifying presence of the peak three-headed and six-armed Asura, old Tang was still in a two-armed state, completely confused, with a dumbfounded expression, still unclear about the situation.

What happened? Where's the enemy? Who the heck am I?

How could it be that, in the time it took to take a dump, the target he was supposed to protect was already lying in a pool of blood, apparently dead?

What was even more unexpected was encountering an old acquaintance in this godforsaken place, Spring City…

—What on earth are you doing!

In shock, he looked at the body on the ground, then at Ji Jue, then back at the body.

Ji Xue alertly bowed slightly, her hands on the twin short swords at her back, her expression turning cold.

But Ji Jue's hand pressed on her shoulder.

He patted it, signaling her to rest easy, and that he would handle the situation.

He stood up from his chair.

It seemed like old Tang finally caught on.

He sighed in relief.

"Hey, Ji Jue?!"

He grinned excitedly, his face joyous, "Is it really you? It's been awhile—"

Bang!

Blood surged, wrapping around the long spear that appeared out of nowhere.

The storm screamed, the bloody wind bellowed, and charged!

Like rain after a drought, he was meeting an old friend in a foreign land.

Joyous indeed!

—Why not start with a shot from behind to show respect!

Instantly, the spear's tip broke through the air, plunging into the already prepared Mercury Iron Wall emerging from the ground, almost to its hilt. The surprise strike shattered three layers of the Mercury Iron Wall, penetrating dozens of tough interwoven layers with incredible force!

Behind the shattered Iron Wall, Ji Jue tilted his head, the spear's tip barely missing his ear.

That was close...

This rascal was definitely the genuine large crowd, fighting like a mad dog, not holding back at all!

"Truly heartbreaking."

Ji Jue sighed, "I thought our friendship could at least last until after the greetings were exchanged."

"Aren't the greetings already over?"

Without thinking, Tang Qian dodged, avoiding Ji Xue's accelerated slash. He drew his hand axe with his right hand, shattering bullets fired from outside the bank by Lou Feng with his left hand, he wielded the long sword at his waist, sweeping it horizontally and cutting the bothersome Iron Wall in two.

The momentum unabated, he swept towards his rear, forcing the charging Ji Xue back.

Ji Xue, unable even to stop in her accelerated state, leapt backwards like a pole-vaulter to avoid being cut in half, her back drenched in cold sweat.

So fast, so strong.

It was as if he had eyes on the back of his head.

With that blow, strike and erase… If Ji Liu were here, the combination of siblings in a two-on-one might have stood a chance!

Then, she saw Tang Qian's back muscles swell, and two arms stretched out from nowhere, grasping a flail and a spear, thrusting forward, destroying layer after layer of Iron Wall that could only obstruct, and shattering countless resilient tendrils swarming towards him… Asura!!!

"This definitely looks like a no-win situation!"

At this moment, Tong Shan found himself unable to escape, Ji Liu and Jiang Xuan were too far away, and even the little calf-horse wasn't by his side.

One might ask, how could Ji Jue, a mere Ember, compete?

The answer was, fuck fighting, just surrender!

Tang Qian, this guy, up until now had only used normal attacks and skills; he hadn't even used a blessing!

Boom!

Crushing the suddenly sprouting spikes beneath his feet, Tang Qian charged again, throwing his spear, piercing through the defenses, skimming Ji Jue's head and burying itself into the wall, vanishing after four penetrations.

Forceful and aggressive attack!

If possible, he really didn't want to fight an old friend. If Ji Jue had just turned around and left, he might have played along, pretending to chase but failing.

But Ji Jue, this stubborn mule, wasn't even considering retreating!

So there was no choice…

To catch the thief, first catch the king; when fighting as a group, take out the controller first!

Moreover, the threat level of Ji Jue, not clear to others, was damn well known by one who had been teammates with him; as long as he could still breathe, he was a major concern!

"Sorry, although I'm quite familiar with you, in the crowd we only recognize money, not relationships."

The flail shattered the barrier of Golden Iron Quality, the longsword cut through the connections of Supreme Resilience, and the spear thrust forward targeting Ji Jue's face, without reservation.

"So that's how it is, then..."

Ji Jue sighed with regret, so disappointed:

"——That's too good!"

Silence fell abruptly.

The whistling spear came to a sudden halt, barely braking in time, hanging in mid-air.

Precisely speaking, it stopped right in front of Ji Jue's raised right hand.

Between his index and middle finger, as if by magic, appeared an ancient gold coin.

A treasure left by the Eternal Empire, weathered by time, still shiny, skillfully carved with the profile of the Emperor, majestic and lifelike.

The wind from the spear blew across the coin.

Hum~

Such a crisp sound was quite pleasing.

Tang Qian's eyes widened in shock—99% new, a rare item!!!

"Since you're being so straightforward, I won't play the gentleman anymore."

The warm smile was gone from Ji Jue's face, replaced by a head held high with pride, as if looking down.

Feelings?

What was there to talk about feelings?

"Tell me."

He tossed the gold coin in his hand, causing Tang Qian's pupils to constantly shift up and down, "How much for one go?"

"Fuck off!"

Makiong him furious, "What do you think I am? I am part of the great crowd, wealth cannot corrupt me, power cannot bend me! You think you can tempt me with a lousy gold coin from nowhere? That's a joke!"

"No worries, I can talk to 'great-great-great-uncle' just the same."

Ji Jue was indifferent, not caring about his pretentiousness: "My fence partner told me the other day that there's a fool in the market buying up gold coins from the Eternal Empire period, paying several times the price and still buying.

Then, you know, it got me thinking, so I turned back, reviewed our previous footage..."

What a pretense!

"I know exactly what you need, bro!"

Tang Qian's expression twitched slightly, wanting to keep up the act, but the voice that reached his ears was like the last straw breaking the camel's back, "With these gold coins, I have at least two boxes at home."

As he spoke, he pulled out a gun right before Tang's eyes, cocked it, and ejected a bullet that he tossed over.

It was utterly baffling.

But the moment Tang caught the bullet, it felt abnormally heavy.

This weight, it's like... crap, is it gold?

Ji Jue added, "I have extra to make Armor-Piercing Bullet, if you don't want it, I can melt this one too, and send you a couple to play with, how about it?"

Tang Qian stood frozen.

After a long while,

He swallowed his saliva dryly.

Reason and conscience fought against each other, his conscience said, "Why the hell are you even talking, kill him and everything is yours!" Reason said, "Evil Cult, what a joke, less money more troubles, are you crazy following such a bad deal and guarding it like a widow? Jump ship, or do you want to die?"

As for the hesitation and struggle of betraying an employer?

Sorry, none whatsoever.

Can't help it, even if wealth couldn't corrupt, Ji Jue was just too wealthy!

Being corrupted by him seemed inevitable.

Facing a sudden home visit by the company boss, and the hand that was nearly rubbing holes on the stockings, for his great-uncle's wish, Tang Qian could only...

Enjoy it first!

"You think I'm what kind of person!"

He berated, "The Evil Cult, they are my dearest friends!"

"Twenty medals, no more," Ji Jue said unmoved, his voice cold, "If that doesn't work, we fight, and see if you can handle one against six!"

Tang Qian shook his head resolutely: "At least thirty-five!"

"Deal."

Without any hesitation, Ji Jue nodded, which only caused Tang Qian's heart to ache faintly... crap, asked too low!

Straight after, Ji Jue flicked his hand.

The gold coins were thrown over.

Heavy to catch, the familiar weight and texture, along with the unfamiliar perfect preservation almost moved him to tears.

But just as his heart was pounding and he was about to ask for more, Ji Jue stood still.

Suddenly, his heart was hanging mid-air, unable to rise or fall.

Growing more irritated.

"What about the rest?!"

"Pay the deposit first."

Ji Jue had a 'I'm just drawing you a pie' look, "The rest will be accounted for by Tong Shan on an IOU; the goods are with his sister. Who would carry so much useless Eternal Empire stuff around for fun?"

Tang Qian frowned, "That would be forty!"

"Thirty."

Ji Jue cut down firmly, "Trust me or trust the Evil Cult, pick one."

He continued, "Trust me and stop, we can talk about everything. If not, let's keep fighting, consider that stuff a gift from a friend. Regardless whether the Evil Cult wins or loses, you'll never show your face in the Federation ever again.

Not the Tong family, nor the Security Bureau will let you go, oh, and there's also the Lou Family outside, your backup is the Ji Family."

"How come there's still haggling!" Tang became anxious, "Why are there five missing then?"

"Isn't whitewashing you free of charge?"

Ji Jue rolled his eyes, "I haven't even charged you for equipment depreciation and wear and tear yet!"

Saying this, he raised his hand and split the mercury in front of him into two: "See? A good piece of equipment, you chopped it into two semi-finished products, did I say anything!"

"You make it sound so trivial, ow!"

Through repeated tugging and probing, a stern expression finally emerged behind Tang Qian's smile, "Just giving me a nickel and expecting me to be a double-crosser, what about my reputation if this gets out?

If the Evil Cult offers more money, should I stab you guys in the back too?!"

To this, Ji Jue did not respond.

Instead, he tilted his head and spoke to the continuously open communication channel: "Plant, did you hear?"

No one responded.

Only the buzzing of telekinesis reverberated, screaming from the direction of the underground vault, suddenly a black dot like a meteor hurled toward them.

Still probing at this moment?

Tang Qian scoffed disdainfully, merely tilted his head slightly and dodged the trajectory of the black dot. However, as it barely brushed past him, his flickering pupils caught sight of the black dot, and it was as if they were glued dead in place.

They couldn't let go.

It landed in Ji Jue's hands.

Between those fingers was a pitch-black card, featuring only a dark LOGO, and, in the bottom right corner, a series of numbers representing a code.

In an instant, Tang Qian's eyes turned as sweet as honey, soft like water, the subtle light softened, truly suggestive.

If he were in a dress, he might just tremble with excitement and cuddle into Ji Jue's arms.

Yongxu Bank VIP card!

A status symbol only available to customers whose total assets exceeded ten billion or had bought financial products worth over five billion from the bank!

He knew this all too well!

If you asked him who was the most powerful or badass mercenary he worked with over the years, he might shake his head saying he didn't know, but mention who had money, now you're asking the right guy!

"I can definitely strive for this, absolutely!"

Tang Qian tightly grabbed Ji Jue's hand, his eyes brimming with tears, "Ever since I came to this fucked-up place, I've been a bodyguard, never encountered any messed-up deals, ow!

Give me a chance, Brother Ji, I want to turn over a new leaf!"

As he spoke, he trembled vigorously again and again, shaking off all the dust, even the pollution from Evil Foolishness, revealing an incredibly flawless Superior Aura, specially chosen by the crowd.

"Smith has drifted half a lifetime, only regretting not meeting a wise lord sooner. If you do not despise me, Smith wishes to acknowledge you as a righteous father!"

Ji Jue was helpless, "Aren't you surnamed Tang?"

"Give enough money, and I could even take the surname Tong!"

There was nothing more to say.

So filial, incredibly so!

This move was genuinely a grand show of filial piety by a household member, folks.

But it seemed the family members were already accustomed to this, even too lazy to take notice. Perhaps even if they were awake, they would nod in agreement.

What's the big deal!

Just changing a surname, it's not like he hadn't changed before, moreover, he was getting paid; it wasn't embarrassing.

But since the conversation had come this far, any further delay would be impolite.

Ji Jue, without a second thought, turned his head back, his finger flicked out pointing toward the direction of the underground vault where the Priest was, "Ten million, kill him."

"Understood, righteous father!"

A sudden whirl of blood.

Old Tang, without a second thought, dashed away!

Only Ji Jue was left standing there, not yet reacted.

That fast?

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