Versatile Mage: Undying Fire

Chapter 159 Sold

In Donghai City, near the high embankment, there is a towering cylindrical building that looks particularly eye-catching. Even if it is several blocks away, it feels as if it is shrouded by the majestic stone wall.

As soon as the Kuomintang team arrived here, they followed the instructions and found the people who were going to receive them.

The person who greeted them was an administrator of the Magic Association, who took them to a 400-square-meter suite with more than a dozen rooms for them to choose from.

The injured went to rest first, and then everyone else gathered in the hall in the center of the suite.

A man with pointed cheeks who looked to be in his early thirties had very shifty eyes. His gaze always swept over several girls in the team intentionally or unintentionally. He stayed on long legs a little longer. He seemed to have a special liking for long legs, and his eyes would always look down, which made him look like a lecher.

Although this man is not good-looking, judging from the badge on his chest, his position in the Magic Association should not be too low.

"This room charges admission. If you don't have money, you can pay with monster gall. The wizards who come to East Sea City are all risking their lives to make a fortune. But you are unlucky. You encountered a sea monster right after arriving here... Oh, oh, not too unlucky. I heard that two commander-level creatures appeared in the 19th or 13th block at once. You are lucky you are not there. Oh, I almost forgot to introduce myself. My name is Lai Hengbao, and I am responsible for the reception and review of Chinese hunters in East Sea City." The man glanced at Nan Jue.

Nan Jue had the longest legs here, so his eyes never left her legs.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute, we are..." Jiang Yu found that this person's attitude was a little abnormal, so he hurriedly wanted to explain.

"Your name is Jiang Yu, right?" Lai Hengbao asked while holding a document.

Jiang Yu nodded.

“Your name is Nanjue?” Lai Hengbao looked at Nanjue confidently this time.

"Yes."

"Isn't that right? Well, don't tell me that you are such a top hunter team in the country, such an excellent magician combination, such honors you have won, and such powerful sea monsters you have killed. The Chinese magicians who come to this East China Sea City are basically received by me. If you want to become a block team in the East China Sea Fortress City, then you should do what I say honestly. Otherwise, the review of the Magic Association on the island country will be several times stricter. Don't end up being considered too weak by others and then sent back." Lai Hengbao said impatiently.

“Block District Team?” Everyone looked at each other, not knowing what to say for a moment.

What the hell are these mentors doing? Didn’t they say they came to Donghai City to gain experience? Why did they send a pervert who doesn’t even know their specific identities to meet them?

"Oh my god, are you guys here for tourism? Don't joke with me, I'm very pressed for time. I won't repeat myself... The fortress city of Donghai City is divided into 32 blocks. Each block has 30 narrow roads, 6 wide roads and one main street. Each of the 32 blocks has its own governor. The governor can receive protection funds issued by the island government and the World Magic Association every month. These funds are all managed by the district lord. The district lord can keep the funds for himself, use them to cultivate his own mage force, or hire hunters and hired mages. As long as he can kill the sirens in time when the tide rises, it will be fine." Lai Hengbao said.

"As for me, I am responsible for providing good magician teams to district owners who need to hire people, mainly targeting Chinese people... Didn't the agent tell you this when you were in China?"

After listening to Lai Hengbao's words, several people felt like they were sold here as slaves.

"Can these instructors be any less reliable?" Jiang Shaoxu couldn't help but say.

"And the agent...it's like we're really here to work." Jiang Yu looked depressed.

"Alas, this was probably arranged by the instructors on purpose, probably hoping that our experience would be more realistic."

Everyone was smart enough and soon figured out what was going on.

They were indeed received here, but they did not come here to train as members of the national government. They signed a contract to sell themselves to a certain team and then came here to do hard labor for them!

Jiang Yu knew that this matter was already a done deal, and there was no point in talking about it now, so he smiled bitterly and said to Lai Hengbao: "What about the wages?"

"Fuck, what do you mean? Hasn't the money been paid to your team leader before? Do you know how difficult it is for me to get a third-rate domestic team like you with no resumes, no medals, and no qualifications to come to this Donghai City? You don't think the pay is too little?" Lai Hengbao glared at this time. When it comes to money, he didn't even look at the woman's thighs. He stared at Jiang Yu.

“Oh, oh, that’s not what he meant. He was asking who should own the monster gallbladders we obtained while defending Donghai City?” Nan Jue got into the role quickly and spoke.

"This belongs to the district master. They will sell them to the island government, and then the district master will take part of the money. The rest of the money will be distributed according to the contribution of the team or individual. Just a reminder, I advise you not to keep it privately. All the sea monster corpses lying in this East China Sea City belong to the public. Keeping them privately will be severely punished!" Lai Hengbao explained.

“I feel like we were really sold here. I don’t know how much money the instructors received. Why didn’t they give us a single dollar?” Zhao Manyan couldn’t help but curse.

After hearing what Lai Hengbao said, several people felt overwhelmed.

It was supposed to be an experience, but suddenly it turned into hard labor.

"Oh, your team leader also asked me to bring you some words. He wants you to become a four-star team as soon as possible during your time in Donghai City. If you fail to do so, the things promised to you will be snatched away by other countries or something... When I first heard your team leader say this, I thought he would send a team of experienced mages, but I didn't expect it to be just a bunch of young and energetic guys like you. A four-star team, it's already great that you can survive a high tide!" Lai Hengbao laughed at this time, his eyes full of disdain for several people.

Lai Hengbao didn't know the meaning of these words, but others understood it very well.

If they want to obtain resources, it means they must reach four stars in this experience.

"So how is this four-star rating judged?" Ai Jiangtu asked.

"Defense, killing monsters, rescue, charge or some special operations, if you perform well, someone will naturally record your achievements, which is similar to the rating of hunters by the Hunter Alliance. The number of monsters killed and the bounties completed are counted as accumulated points. When a certain number is reached, you can be promoted. It will take you four to five years to reach the four-star team..." Lai Hengbao said.

Most mages are aware of the rules of the Alliance, and no mage dares to say that he is really rich.

When they are short of money, there is no wizard who has not accepted a bounty, whether it is going out to hunt monsters, escort, collect, survey, rescue, or patrol, they will do whatever makes money quickly.

The rules in the East China Sea City where they live are very simple and rough, but this is also the rules they like.

……

After figuring out the situation, Lai Hengbao left. Before leaving, he specifically reminded everyone that there would be a high tide the day after tomorrow, and they should put on their combat uniforms and be ready for battle.

"These islanders are really good at playing. They built this Great East China Sea battlefield themselves, and then became the owner of the battlefield. Later, they contracted out each area to more trustworthy individuals and let them operate independently. The island government then collected rent and was able to collect all the abundant 'seafood' at a low price. Their army and magic association retreated to the second line. Those who died were probably those who wanted to make a fortune from the war and those who sold themselves to kill monsters. Money and resources flowed into the pockets of the island countries continuously." Zhao Manyan was very sensitive to these things that played power and business, so he immediately sneered.

After hearing what Zhao Manyan said, several people nodded heavily. Killing monsters and guarding the enemy had basically become the responsibility of these mages, and in order to get more money, they would probably work harder than other mages. The island government was only responsible for maintaining and making some rules, and then they could hide behind the high embankment and count the money.

“These are not what we should be concerned about. We have been assigned to the 20th block, which is very close to the 19th block where we encountered the Blue Valley Fierce Beast. As for the block owner, guess who he is?” Nan Jue said.

"Who is it?" Ai Jiangtu asked.

“Come and take a look.” At this time, Nan Jue turned the computer screen around.

There is a picture on the computer. The district owner looks like a middle-aged uncle with severely curly hair. He is broad and fat, with small eyes and a fat nose. He looks like a wizard who was very powerful when he was young, and then started to abuse his power in middle age.

People like this usually have high cultivation levels, but they just no longer have the desire to continue practicing. Relying on their prestige and the connections they've accumulated over the years, they also have a lot of resources. They either control other mages or provide things for other mages.

Many mages are like this. When they were young, they were hunters and dared to go anywhere. However, after the age of thirty-five, they basically started to work as business people. Now their magic is almost rusting, and obesity is the best evidence of this.

"We probably don't know this person, right?" Jiang Yu asked with a puzzled look on his face.

“Of course we don’t know him, but doesn’t the orange-haired guy next to him look familiar to you?” Nanyu said.

Jiang Shaoxu leaned over to take a look, her mouth opened immediately, and she asked hastily, "The man who tried so hard to save Mu Ningxue before, could he be the son of the 20th Block Master?"

"Aha, how about we let Mu Ningxue go talk to him, and then ask his father to give us a four-star rating, then we will have completed the mission..." Jiang Yu said excitedly.

Immediately, several cold gazes shot over, from Jiang Shaoxu and Zhao Manyan.

Jiang Yu's excitement waned in an instant. He smiled dryly and said, "I was just joking...Is Mu Ningxue okay now? The arrow I shot before seemed to have drained all of her energy. I wonder if she can catch up with Lin Ran, Mo Fan and the others in the battle when the tide rises the day after tomorrow."

"What's the point of them catching up? They are just substitutes and are not eligible for resources." Mu Tingying said immediately.

……

Between the high and low embankments were grayish-white stone buildings. When the morning sun appeared in the sky, its brilliance instantly fell on the entire East Sea City. Not even orange appeared, but grayish-white...

When the islanders built this battlefield city, they had no hope of making it look beautiful. Even though it is a semi-reclaimed city, even though there is a beautiful blue sea outside, the war that can break out at any time is cruel, so the city's tone should also be heavy gray, this is the white of suspense!
……

A ray of slanting orange light passed through the glassless window, then fell on the gap in the black curtain, illuminating the dark room, and sprinkled on a pale but beautiful profile. The silver hair scattered on both sides of the cheeks immediately became colorful.

"Hmm~"

Mu Ningxue felt the temperature and opened her eyes. The light hit her pupils and she subconsciously blocked it with her hands.

When she covered her hands, she found that her palms were covered with frost, and the coldness even spread to her cheeks.

She hid her hands under the quilt in panic. I don't know if she didn't want to be seen or wanted to warm her hands with the temperature of the quilt, but the bed was cold.

"Will there be a day when I won't be able to wake up?" Mu Ningxue curled up, and her slender figure suddenly became petite and exquisite.

Since when did it start? Whenever I fall asleep, I feel like I have fallen into an endless black ice field. No matter how many beds and quilts I put on or how many fires I light, I can't feel any warmth. My skin is cold, my bones are icy, and even my blood is cold. It seems that I can only feel warmth when I touch him...

People who don’t know think that this is a perfect talent given to her by God, but only she knows what it is.

After washing up, it was morning and no one was awake yet. Mu Ningxue walked out of the house and headed towards the ocean.

……

Outside the low dike, the sea water hits the long beach in a regular manner, and the waves are about thirty meters away from the low dike which is more than ten meters high.

There were mages patrolling on the low embankment, all of them were mages from the island nation's army. They were wearing green and yellow coats, the kind so thick that even the breeze couldn't blow them away.

Mu Ningxue found a quiet place by herself. She just wanted to stay there quietly for a while.

But it was hard to be alone with her, because it wouldn't be long before someone would muster up the courage to talk to her.

Mu Ningxue could also tell that the man in front of her was a rather shy person. He even stuttered due to nervousness when he spoke his first sentence, but he pretended to be a cheerful and talkative person.

This was probably a big boy who had never approached anyone before, and perhaps it was the first time he mustered up such courage, but there was nothing to respect about it.

Because not everyone likes to be alone, but it also means that some people just want to be alone.

……

"Ah~! Haven't we arrived yet?" Mo Fan couldn't help but say. The reason why he was walking with Lin Ran and Mochizuki Qianxun was because he wanted to know more about the Red Devil. Now they have been traveling for a long time, but still haven't arrived, so he was a little depressed. He should have not come earlier.

"No one asked you to come along." Mochizuki Qianxun said bluntly. She had originally planned to come with Lin Ran and chat about something, but now Mo Fan was there, making it impossible for her to talk about anything.

"What do you care about me? An island girl?"

Lin Ran was too lazy to listen to the bickering between Wangyue Qianxun and Mo Fan. The conversation between the two had been going on for a long time and he was getting a little impatient. He put on his headphones and walked forward silently.

“Hahaha, even Lin Ran finds you annoying.” Mo Fan pointed at Mochizuki Qianxun and laughed.

(End of this chapter)