Chapter 108

Chapter 109: Chen Tong: Do words come true?

Chen Tong hesitated. Three Lightning Horns cost nine million, which was about his limit. But he needed them for the new formula, so he couldn’t skip.

His eyes went cold as he made a plan: “This Li Hai Sheng has to go.” He had put up with Li Hai Sheng only because Li was an Awakener. But if Li kept pushing, Chen Tong might as well hire another Awakener to kill him and take back his money and the horns.

He forced himself to play nice so he wouldn’t scare the target off. Using “I need to verify the horns are real” as a reason, he paid one third up front as a deposit for three horns, planning to decide about the rest after the goods arrived. In truth, he never intended to pay the rest.

On the other side, Qian Qi felt a little regret that she only squeezed out a one third deposit: “Sigh, the kid’s grown up and harder to fool.” Still, something was better than nothing. She took the three million and agreed to his terms.

Pocketing the deposit, Qian Qi left the orphanage. System asked: [Where are you going? The Lightning Horns are in the orphanage. Why go out?] Qian Qi glanced at System, her pink lips curling into a smile that was both mysterious and a little sleazy. System shivered: […] [How do you manage to look mysterious and sleazy at the same time? Terrifying.]

“I’m heading to the market to teach our good son a life lesson,” Qian Qi said as her eyes bent like crescent moons, a wicked sparkle leaking out: “That is, cheap goods are never good.”

System sputtered: [???] Then it watched her take the subway to the next market, pick out three horn-shaped decorations, slide them into a shipping box, and mail them to Chen Tong.

System worried: [If you scam him like this, aren’t you afraid he’ll snap and bite back?] Qian Qi flashed a toothy, innocent smile: “He’d be biting Li Hai Sheng, not me. What does that have to do with Qian Qi? If he really wants to bite, he’ll have to go to the underworld to find Li Hai Sheng.”

Chen Tong tore open the delivery as soon as it arrived and handed the “horns” to the Magiplant researcher he’d hired. The researcher studied them and said, “These aren’t Magibeast horns. They look like tree resin.” Chen Tong stiffened: [???] “Huh? What?”

He tried to argue: “Maybe that Magibeast’s horn is supposed to feel resin-like?” “No way,” the researcher said as he tapped a special little hammer on the horn. It cracked right open. “An E grade Magibeast’s horn isn’t this brittle.”

Chen Tong exploded: [!!!] So Li Hai Sheng had sent him fakes? Furious, he called Li Hai Sheng, but the Light-Brain said the device was off. He pounded out message after message, cursing Li Hai Sheng, wishing him dead, wishing Dungeon Magibeasts would chew him up piece by piece, jeering that a guy that shameless had no use for a brain. The other side never answered. It was like he was already dead.

Two days later, his secretary rushed into the office and pointed at the news on his Light-Brain. On the screen, the Dungeon Forum posted the names of Awakeners who had died in First Cloud Mountain Dungeon over the past two days, praising their courage and listing their honorable remains. Chen Tong saw Li Hai Sheng’s name high on the list. The body was either smashed by a fall or torn apart by a Magibeast, and the head was missing.

Chen Tong froze: [???] [I only cursed him, and he really died?] Then another thought hit him like a hammer: his money and horns would be confiscated. Thinking of his eighty million, his rage spiked and he passed out.

Qian Qi knew nothing about Chen Tong fainting. She was standing near the entrance to First Cloud Mountain Dungeon. The houses she had listed on the property app weren’t getting ideal bids. The problem was the high entry bar for this Dungeon. Without a Flight skill, or without a hovercar or helicopter, even a cleared run left Awakeners stuck. That made property near this Dungeon dozens of times cheaper than near other cleared Dungeons.

Qian Qi refused to let those houses rot in her hands. She had to revive First Cloud Mountain Dungeon, remove the barrier that scared people off, pump the area’s prices, and make herself a pile of gold foil. Only then could she…

Her resolve hardened. She had to be there for the boss’s next refresh. But she was “dead” at the moment, so she disguised herself. She wore a beachy sun hat and big black sunglasses that hid her bright eyes. A blade of grass dangled from the corner of her smile. A loud pink floral shirt hung open at the collar, matched with short Hawaiian leaf shorts and brown woven flip flops. Anyone who didn’t know better would think she was heading on vacation, not into a Dungeon.

The flashiest sight of all was the shiny new red helicopter parked behind her.

She looked toward First Cloud Mountain Dungeon. At the entrance, Awakeners milled around but didn’t go in. They had parachutes, but they worried they couldn’t get back up from the ground and so could only stare at the Dungeon.

Someone muttered, “Even if this place is cleared, you still need a Flight skill to get in.” Another agreed: “If not that, you need a helicopter or a hovercar. Otherwise how do you get back?” A third sighed: “I thought we had a fresh E grade Dungeon to clear, but there’s a barrier. Only rich people can go.”

They noticed Qian Qi and nudged each other: “Look, someone rich enough to buy a helicopter.” Qian Qi waved at them kindly.

Their curiosity won. They walked over, and Qian Qi lifted a small wooden board from the helicopter. The words made them widen their eyes: “First Cloud Mountain Dungeon Return Ticket, only 30,000!”

“That’s right,” Qian Qi said with a sunny tilt of the grass in her teeth: “Worried about how to get out? Buy a First Cloud Mountain return ticket now and, once the boss falls, I’ll pick you up right under the entrance and fly you out in a helicopter~ No need to envy Flight Awakeners. No need to envy people who own helicopters. Just 30,000 for a luxury flight service. First ten get twenty percent off.”

Tempted by the limited offer, they still kept one sensible question. One asked, “How can you promise you’ll pick us up? What if you take our money and run?”

“When the boss dies, I’ll enter the Dungeon and wait directly below the entrance,” Qian Qi said, pointing at the red helicopter: “This is from IKD Aviation Group. I signed a contract with them. I won’t scam you.”

They looked closely and saw three bold letters on the fuselage: IKD. “Isn’t IKD that new aircraft company that just went public?” someone whispered. Another added, “I heard other flight companies suppressed them so hard they’re down to renting and selling helicopters.”

Qian Qi clicked her tongue, patted the sign, and scolded them lightly: “Watch it. The person sitting in that cockpit is IKD’s heir. He’s personally your captain today. His skills are rock solid. You should be thrilled.”

They craned their necks to peek into the cockpit. A handsome young man lifted a hand and waved. The face was the same one they’d seen in the news: IKD’s young master, Sheng Qing Hong.