Capítulo 2: Bounty
Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Encircle Town.
It got its name because it was surrounded by a high wall built around the town.
It was built in Year 10 of the new era and had only been around for a short seven years.
The ones who had started building Encircle Town were seven powerful beastmasters and the survivors who followed them.
The beastmasters chased away the groups of Transcendent creatures in the surroundings, while their followers built the town.
Slowly, more and more survivors began to gather in Encircle Town, making it become a town with a population of close to one hundred thousand people.
After Encircle Town took shape, the seven beastmasters formed a seven-person council to manage the affairs of the town.
And now, the former council of seven had developed into Encircle Town's Management Council.
As for the seven beastmasters, they were still the highest authorities of the Management Council.
Ji An's parents were one of the first residents to settle down in this town.
As for Ji An, he had lived in Encircle Town for a full ten years in his previous life.
Four years later, in Year 21 of the new era, Encircle Town was destroyed by an extremely powerful fierce beast.
Only then did Ji An end up in another town.
However, even if both of his lifetimes were summed up, this was Ji An's first time stepping into the Management Council's building.
As an organization that managed a town with a population of nearly one hundred thousand, there were hundreds of people working in the Management Council's seven-story building.
Ji An was stopped by security at the entrance before he could even enter the door.
"Stop! What are you here for?" A young security guard with a loaded gun spoke to Ji An in a rough voice as he approached the entrance of the Management Council.
This person should only be an ordinary armed guard.
Clearly, the Management Council wasn't rich enough to have a beastmaster guarding the door.
Even the most junior Entry-level beastmasters had a high status in Encircle Town.
That being said, the dark muzzle of the K37 drone assault rifle in the hands of the security personnel was still enough to deter people.
As a "wanderer" who had been to dozens of towns, Ji An immediately recognized the model of the weapon in the other party's hand.
In fact, he had owned this cheap but long-lasting weapon more than once.
After all, if an ordinary person wanted to wander in the wilderness, they would not be able to go far without one or two handy automatic firearms.
"Sir, I'm here to complete the bounty mission," Even though the other party's voice was rough and his tone was almost reproachful, Ji An still replied politely.
In this era where human life was as worthless as weed, those who didn't know how to adapt to the rules of survival had long become skeletons in the wilderness.
One of the laws of survival was to be humble in front of the strong.
"What bounty?" A middle-aged security guard with a full beard asked suspiciously, standing next to the young security guard who had just spoken.
He could tell at a glance that the ragged boy before them was definitely one of Encircle City's poorest people in the lowest class.
What kind of bounty could such a person complete?
Recently, the Management Council had not put up a bounty for any wanted criminals, so they did not need the residents to provide clues.
Other than such bounties, the many other bounties could easily kill the mission-taker.
Even big shots like the beastmasters would find them difficult to accomplish.
He suspected that this kid was trying to sneak into the Management Council to cause trouble.
If the boy were to disturb the important people inside because they let him in without permission, they would be punished.
Ji An looked at the suspicious expression on the man's face and knew that if he didn't state his intentions, the other party definitely wouldn't let him in.
He looked at the entrance of the Management Council, where people were entering and exiting from time to time.
Gritting his teeth and making up his mind, he immediately took out the fist-sized, green-red insect egg from his pocket, "Sir, it's the bounty for the crimson blade mantis egg. This is the egg I found by chance."
With so many people coming and going at the entrance of the Management Council's building, the possibility of these two guards daring to steal his things was very low.
As for whether the other party could recognize that this was the egg of the crimson blade mantis, Ji An wasn't worried.
After all, a picture of the crimson blade mantis egg was attached to the bounty notice on the notice board not far away.
The picture was almost the same as the item in his hand.
As soon as Ji An finished speaking, the expressions of the two men, whether it was the young guard or the bearded man, changed slightly when they saw what he was holding.
As guards that had been guarding the entrance of the Council every day, they naturally knew about the bounty notice for the crimson blade mantis eggs that had already been posted for several months.
If no one could complete it, the bounty might be canceled in two days.
It all started three months ago.
After a crimson blade mantis, which had somehow sneaked into the city from the wilderness, was killed by the beastmasters of the city garrison, they discovered that this powerful advanced Extraordinary-level creature had just given birth.
The egg that the crimson blade mantis laid undoubtedly aroused the interest of many beastmasters.
Many beastmasters even deduced that the reason the crimson blade mantis snuck into Encircle Town was very likely to avoid its natural enemies and find a safe place to lay its egg.
In other words, the egg that the crimson blade mantis had just laid was likely to be in Encircle Town.
As such, a big shot had entrusted the Management Council to issue a high bounty.
However, three months had passed, and no one had completed the bounty. There was still no trace of the crimson blade mantis egg.
The big shots in the bounty department of the Management Council even overthrew their initial speculations and suspected that the egg of the crimson blade mantis was not in the city at all.
Instead, they speculated that it was just a coincidence that the crimson blade mantis had appeared in Encircle Town.
But now...
The middle-aged security guard with a full beard blinked and he glanced at the insect egg in Ji An's hand. An obscure look of greed flashed across his face as he said to his companion, "I'll take him to Lady Peiling in the bounty department. You look after this place first. "
The young security guard nodded and he shot Ji An a complicated look.
The bounty reward for the crimson blade mantis egg was tempting even for a guard like him who worked in the Management Council.
The items that were offered when putting up a bounty on the crimson blade mantis egg were simply difficult to buy even with money.
But now, it was going to be given to a poor kid in Encircle Town.
"Follow me."
Ji An followed the middle-aged security guard into the Management Council's building.
Soon, he arrived at the bounty department on the first floor of the building and met Peiling whom the guard had mentioned.
This was an unremarkable office located in the innermost part of the building.
If it wasn't for the sign of the bounty department at the door, it would be hard to imagine that there was an independent department of the Management Council here.
Peiling, as the middle-aged security guard had mentioned, was a young woman who looked to only be a few years older than Ji An.
"Lady Peiling," The middle-aged security guard was surprisingly respectful in front of the woman.
"Liu Tong, what's the matter?" Peiling obviously knew him. She looked at the two people before her and said lazily.
"Lady Peiling, someone has completed the crimson blade mantis's bounty, so I brought him here, " Liu Tong quickly explained his intention.
"Oh? Is it him?" Peiling sized up Ji An with great interest.
Liu Tong nodded and tugged at Ji An, gesturing for him to step forward.
"Where is the egg?"
"Lady Peiling, it's here," Ji An obediently took out the green-red insect egg.
The middle-aged security guard snatched the insect egg from Ji An's hands and respectfully handed it over to Peiling.
Peiling opened her drowsy eyes, and anyone with eyes could tell that she had just woken up.
However, the moment she saw and took the egg, Peiling's eyes shone with a different kind of light.
"So this is the egg of the crimson blade mantis? This is the first time I'm seeing it!" Peiling held the egg against the window on the side. Through the sunlight, the egg appeared crystal clear, emitting a green and red halo on its surface.
"It's really beautiful," Peiling admired it for a while before realizing that there were two other people waiting at the side.
After clearing her throat in embarrassment, Peiling snapped her fingers.
All of a sudden, a light breeze blew through the entire room.
The invisible wind seemed to have become substance at this moment.
In the middle of where the three each stood, a gate formed by a mysterious light green pattern appeared.
A figure as light as a breeze appeared in the door, like a fairy from myths, slowly walking through the dark space-time tunnel to the real world.
It was a strange creature with an upper body that looked like a woman and a lower body that was a small white tornado.
"Wind chime princess, go to the logistics department and get Old Deng's vitality detector," Peiling ordered her familiar.
"Ring, ring!" The wind chime princess's melodious voice rang out.
Then, the office door was blown open by a strong wind. The wind chime princess floated as it flew outside.
Soon, the wind chime princess came back with a device the size of a chair.
The iron lump that looked extremely heavy seemed to be as light as a feather in the wind chime princess's hands.
Bang!
The wind chime princess put down the instrument heavily onto the ground.
"Wind chime princess, can you be gentler? If you break it, those old men will nag me again!" Peiling said unhappily as she turned on the device, opened the lid, and put the egg in.
Following this, she pressed a switch on the device and the machine started up. soon, a row of numbers appeared on the screen.
At the same time, a smile appeared on the corner of Peiling's mouth, "Very good, it's full of vitality. You, you've completed the bounty. "
Hearing this, Ji An's anxious heart finally settled down a little.
-- Regalo
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