Chapter 43: The Edge of the Blade

"300,000 bits?"

Lin Qi frowned, his expression darkening. To him, 300,000 bits was neither a small fortune nor a trivial amount. He currently had about a ton of Crocodile-Toothed Rhino meat left. Selling it all at once would easily net him 600,000 bits, but moving a full ton of such meat would inevitably attract the attention of the Phosphorus Fire Gang. Even selling half would be just as risky; the quantity was simply too large for any individual to handle alone.

"I told you, you should just pretend she doesn't exist," the three-eyed youth said, his tone filled with pity. "Luo Qi is a good person, but once caught in the disputes of wilderness gangs, there is nothing people like us can do."

While 300,000 bits was a trivial sum for the Azure Crystal Weapon Shop, for the residents living in Light-Chasing City, it was an astronomical figure.

"Gangs, you say?" Lin Qi took a deep breath, his gaze hardening. "If ordinary people can't do anything about it, then I simply won't be an ordinary person."

He had to save her. Luo Qi was the first friend he had made in this high-martial arts world, someone he had shared life-or-death experiences with. If saving her meant exposing the Black Obsidian Martial Hall, then so be it. He refused to believe that with the "Fourth Calamity" at his disposal, he couldn't grind a wilderness gang into the dust!

"I need you to do me a favor."

"What kind of favor?"

"Since you know about this, you must have a way to contact the White Feather Gang. Tell them that in three days, we will exchange the money for the person. If anything happens to her, they can forget about their money!"

"Are you serious? Can you really come up with 300,000 bits?" The three-eyed youth stared at Lin Qi, whose clothes were patched, his face filled with bewilderment. He couldn't fathom how Lin Qi would ever gather that much.

"Just pass on the message. If you aren't willing, give me their contact information, and I'll tell them myself." Lin Qi had no intention of explaining. He turned his gaze toward the "Saisai Gunman" and "One-Shot Overlord," who were standing blankly by the large tricycle. "Well? Get to work!"

"Yes, sir!"

The two men snapped out of their daze, their faces glowing with excitement and ecstasy. Big news! This was truly big news!

"Coming out here was definitely the right choice," the Saisai Gunman muttered as he loaded the ore, his hands trembling with suppressed excitement. "I never expected to hear news like this. Does this mean we're about to go to war with the White Feather Gang?"

"Just as we suspected, the next step must be to trigger a combat dungeon through the Master's storyline!" One-Shot Overlord added, equally thrilled. "I wonder if we'll have a chance to participate."

"I don't know if we'll get the chance, but I remember when Zhen-ge and the others went to the new map, there were strict physical requirements for the mission. I expect the combat dungeon will be the same," the Saisai Gunman said, growing anxious. "When we get back, we have to intensify our breathing exercises and get our physical stats up quickly."

"In that case, I'm not logging off until the dungeon opens. I'm going to grind those breathing exercises until I drop," One-Shot Overlord gritted his teeth.

While the two were frantically hauling ore, the three-eyed youth produced a small slip of paper.

"My name is Kelo. This is my contact information," Kelo said, looking at Lin Qi with a hint of admiration. "I'll contact the White Feather Gang. I believe they won't want to offend the Azure Crystal Weapon Shop. Knowing there's a ransom, they shouldn't do anything to Luo Qi."

"I really didn't expect Luo Qi to have a friend like you. She's truly lucky."

"Thank you," Lin Qi said, taking the paper and giving Kelo a surprised look. At a time like this, most people would have stayed as far away as possible. Kelo's willingness to step up and act as a liaison showed he was a decent person.

In less than an hour, Lin Qi delivered the ore to the Azure Crystal Weapon Shop, earning 600 bits. He then spent 2,000 bits—nearly all the money he had left—on food and water for twenty people, along with twenty alloy shovels. He was left with less than a thousand bits.

"I have less than three days. I must use this time to frantically increase the strength of my martial hall."

The moment Lin Qi returned to the Black Obsidian Martial Hall, he had the system bring in the players. All twenty slots were filled instantly.

The official review section for *High Martial Arts Descent* exploded.

"What is going on? Why are there so many new slots?"

"Twenty slots at once? Is the developer trying to go bankrupt?"

"Nearly a hundred thousand people fighting for twenty spots! Developers, can't you just make more money? Open a VIP lane! Let the top ten donors straight into the game!"

"Developer, I beg you! I'm a miner with thirty years of experience in digging holes. Let me in, and I'll dig you an entire underground world. I don't even need points!"

"Developer-dada! I'm a martial arts genius. Let me in, and you can test me however you want, I guarantee you'll be satisfied!"

"Hey, guy above, can you do the splits?"

"I'm ready. I've pre-ordered *High Martial Arts Descent* on the accounts of my parents and siblings, and I even sold a house I rarely stay in. Just let me in, Developer-dada, look at my sincerity!"

...

Even though it was late, the activity in the review section was higher than ever.

"What kind of game is this?" Li Ranxing clicked on the review section, feeling baffled. This wasn't a review section; it was a chaotic forum. Players were using the review box as a message board. He had never seen anything like this since he started gaming.

The players were talking about selling houses or begging for paid channels, making Li Ranxing suspect they were shills hired by the developer to create artificial hype.

"4,999 for the game, and 198 for every resurrection during the test?" Li Ranxing looked at the game description, wondering if Fang Zhen was a shill trying to scam him.

Still, he decided to give it a try. He was stuck in a bottleneck, and Fang Zhen had been making rapid progress. Trying it couldn't hurt, and he didn't lack the money.

While the pre-ordering players went insane, Lin Qi, far away in the high-martial world, led six players whose physical stats had reached "quasi-apprentice" level—including Luo Wushang—and drove the large tricycle to the Phosphorus Fire Trading Market.

Xia Ling looked at the six players in matching uniforms carrying a large metal crate, then glanced at Lin Qi, her face lighting up with unprecedented warmth and enthusiasm.

"Mr. Lin, I didn't expect to see you again so soon."

"Our last business deal was very pleasant, Miss Xia. I had another good opportunity, so you were the first person I thought of."

Lin Qi responded with equal warmth, neither arrogant nor servile. To deal with the White Feather Gang, he had to take a risk and sell all the Crocodile-Toothed Rhino meat at once, which was why he brought every capable player he had. Though none were martial arts apprentices, their presence proved he wasn't alone and that he had a force behind him.

He would let Xia Ling guess the size of that force. If she overestimated, he benefited; if she underestimated, she'd just assume he was a typical wilderness gang. Most wilderness gangs had over two hundred members and were led by apprentices. The Phosphorus Fire Gang wouldn't cross a wilderness gang over a batch of rhino meat.

Xia Ling never imagined he was just a tiny hall without a single apprentice, with a total of only eleven people—and that his strongest fighters were all standing right there.

"Is this the same deal as before?" Xia Ling asked, unable to hide her excitement.

"Of course," Lin Qi nodded.

"Good! Please, follow me." Xia Ling clapped her hands and led Lin Qi into the trading room.

Following the clap, one of the two scale-kin guards in battle armor signaled the others to stay back, while the other followed them into the trading room, standing guard at the door to ensure no one else entered.

"How much are you selling this time, Mr. Lin?" Xia Ling glanced at the large metal crate, not bothering to weigh it. "If the quantity is large, I can offer a better price."

"1,282.6 kilograms," Lin Qi stated the total weight without hesitation. The rhino had been heavy; even with most of it eaten by other monsters, the remainder exceeded his expectations.

"That much?" A look of astonishment crossed Xia Ling's pretty face.

"Can you handle it, Miss Xia?" Lin Qi teased. "If not, I can talk to others."

"The quantity is large, but that's no problem for me," Xia Ling said, flicking her tail with a faint smile. "Since you're selling so much at once, I'll make sure you're satisfied. 670 bits per kilogram, totaling 859,342 bits. As I said, I'll raise the price for large quantities—how about 860,000 bits?"

"Excellent! You are very straightforward, Miss Xia!" Lin Qi nodded, then added, "Beyond selling this meat, I would also like to purchase a signal jamming device—a second-hand one will do."

Last time, he was lucky that the six men from the White Feather Gang had turned off their smart watches. To deal with them now, he needed a jammer; otherwise, if they called for backup, his small group would be wiped out in an instant.

"That's easy. What range do you need?" Xia Ling wasn't surprised; every gang in Light-Chasing City needed jammers to conduct their business. "A one-kilometer range is 200,000 bits, three kilometers is 500,000, and ten kilometers is 4 million. The prices are fixed."