Chapter 0026: Sister Cai

"Two thousand. Non-negotiable."

The stall owner said flatly.

The blond man furrowed his brow. "Come on, man — this Gall Crystal is half-rotted. It's barely half as effective. Eat this thing and I'll probably get the runs. And you're charging two thousand for this quality?"

"Take it or leave it."

The owner said impatiently.

Ning Fan turned and looked at the blond man.

He was quite good-looking — fair-skinned, with long golden hair tied back with a piece of rope.

But his body...

Was in absolutely terrible shape.

He was covered head to toe in knife wounds.

The gash near his shoulder blade was so deep that bare white bone was showing through.

"Seriously, what's your problem? We're just doing business here. You think you're all that? Won't even let someone bargain?"

The blond man sneered. "If I wasn't hurting all over, I'd have put a bullet through you already."

The stall owner shot to his feet. "You want to get the hell out of here or what?!"

As the owner flared up, several neighboring stall holders stood up as well.

"What's going on, Brother Zhou? Someone causing trouble?"

"Hey, kid — what's your deal? Looking for a fight?"

"If you can afford it, buy it. If you can't, get lost!"

Seeing so many people stand up against him, the blond man didn't look nervous, but he stopped arguing with the owner.

"Alright, alright. You're all tough guys."

To Ning Fan's surprise, despite his clear irritation, the blond man still pulled out two thousand Sola and tossed them onto the stall. "Fine — two thousand it is. What can I do when my whole body's killing me?"

The owner grabbed the Gall Crystal and threw it at him.

The blond man sniffed it first. The pungent smell hit him so hard his head rocked back.

Even so, he pinched his nose and chewed the Gall Crystal down in two or three bites.

The bleeding on his body barely stopped. But just as he'd said — at this quality, the Gall Crystal's effect was severely diminished, nowhere near as good as the fresh ones Ning Fan and the others had eaten before.

"I'll remember you all!"

The blond man threw out a parting threat to the group who'd been pointing and yelling at him, with plenty of swagger.

The group started to rise again, but the blond man had already walked away into the crowd.

That little scene didn't hold Ning Fan's attention for long. It was just a bit of street drama.

"Hey, kid — this stuff yours?"

A smoky, husky female voice came from nearby.

Ning Fan looked over.

A woman stood in front of a stall with a cigarette dangling from her lips and her arms folded across her chest.

She looked a few years older than Qiao Fei — maybe two or three — wearing a black leather skirt with just a white spaghetti-strap top.

A generous stretch of pale skin was on display, drawing the eyes of many men nearby.

Ning Fan was no exception.

He suddenly thought of the time in the cave, when he'd seen Qiao Fei...

Ning Fan shook his head quickly.

Damn puberty.

"Yeah, mine."

Ning Fan steadied himself. "Give me a price."

The woman crouched down and casually flipped through a few of the weapons inside.

"All single-digits."

That was right — every member of the [Hunting Squad] had been Single-Soul Tier.

Ning Fan was a little impressed.

This woman could tell the Spirit Servant tier just by glancing at a few weapons?

"Sister Cai, what do you think is fair?" The buzz-cut man said with a grin. "I'll let you handle this deal."

Sister Cai raised an eyebrow at him, then chuckled. "What, you trying to squeeze a finder's fee out of me?"

"Can't expect me to make introductions for free, can you?"

The buzz-cut man scratched his head.

Sister Cai scoffed. "Five hundred."

"Deal."

After settling that, Sister Cai turned to Ning Fan. "You've got six pieces here. Normally, top price would be two thousand each. So here — I'll take them all for ten thousand flat."

That was a fair enough price.

Before coming here, Qiao Fei and Huizi had already estimated the value of this batch of weapons.

Two thousand per piece.

"Twelve thousand."

Ning Fan said calmly. "Priced per unit."

"Then keep shopping around."

Sister Cai didn't mince words. "On this whole street, I'm the only one who buys weapons in bulk."

A Walker's weapon served one particular purpose.

Spirit gambling.

These weapons all contained Spirit Servants. If taken outside the zone and processed using a special technique, there was a chance of extracting the Spirit Servant within.

However, a Spirit Servant extracted this way could no longer bond to a weapon — it could only serve as nourishment to strengthen another Spirit Servant.

That was what people called Spirit Servant upgrading.

The reason Ning Fan's group hadn't smelted the weapons themselves was simple — they didn't have the expertise.

Professional work required a professional hand.

Ning Fan had no intention of bargaining. He started packing up his bag, ready to try another stall.

In truth, selling these items was just a cover. What he actually needed was basic intel on Zone F27 — a starting point for tracking down information on the [War Bear] team.

"Hey, kid."

Sister Cai suddenly called out to him. "You've got a tail."

Ning Fan paused, then smiled.

"I know."

He'd known someone was following him the whole way here.

The Ninefold Mastery exam included counter-surveillance training.

Without using a Spirit Servant, tailing Ning Fan without being noticed was basically impossible.

Sister Cai's beautiful eyes showed a flicker of surprise. "Sharp nose, huh?"

"Born in the year of the dog."

Ning Fan shrugged, his bag already packed up.

Sister Cai hesitated for a moment. "Tell you what, kid — on top of the price we just talked about, I'll throw in a bonus: I'll take care of that tail for you, keep them from giving you any more trouble. How about it?"

Ning Fan studied her up and down.

This woman seemed to carry a lot of weight in Zone F27.

Both the attitude of the stall owners around her and the confidence in the way she spoke made that clear.

"That tail's a face I recognize — just yesterday he sold me a staff and a set of blade-knuckles."

Sister Cai added, "The things you're carrying are a real temptation for someone like him. You know how it is — people die for money. I don't know what you're capable of, but you have to sleep sometime, don't you? Keeping a tail around is just inconvenient."

Ning Fan had been about to refuse.

But just as he opened his mouth, he stopped.

"What did you say he sold you?"

"A staff and a set of blade-knuckles."

Ning Fan felt his heart lurch.

The hands behind his back slowly curled into fists.

A staff. Blade-knuckles.

Old Duan. Wang Ye.

He couldn't be certain, but the timing lined up perfectly.

Ning Fan desperately wanted to turn around and confront the tail right then.

In the Ghost Mist Forest, after Old Duan and Wang Ye died — whoever could have picked up their weapons...

Was almost certainly someone from the [War Bear] team.

His blood boiled, surging hot beneath his skin — but after a brief moment, he forced himself to hold back.

Not yet.

What he wanted was to wipe out every last member of [War Bear].

Killing just one person wouldn't be enough.

"Whose crew does this tail belong to?"

Ning Fan steadied his emotions and asked quietly. "Running that kind of business inside the zone — Zone F27 is a pretty lawless place, huh?"

"Ha. Isn't everywhere the same? As long as there's money, there's no shortage of desperados."

Sister Cai curled her lip. "Ever heard of [War Bear]? They used to be pretty well-known in Zone F27."

"Can't say I have."

Ning Fan shook his head.

Sister Cai glanced toward the direction behind Ning Fan.

"That tail's one of theirs. From what I hear, their team got wiped out yesterday. Only three of them are left now — they're running with the [Skull Squad]'s guy Old Pig Butt, trying to scrape by."