Chapter 838: A Price on My Head

So, you actually know the locations of the others too?

With their target confirmed, Lu Xin let out a small sigh of relief.

Seeing that Fourteen had already filled his stomach, he asked Doll to fetch more food, planning to have dinner himself.

Honestly, after such a tense atmosphere, watching Fourteen devour his meal like a maniac was undeniably tempting. It wasn’t just him—Sister and Little Nineteen had also been eyeing that chicken leg for a while.

The Mistress—oh no, Doll—floated off again, beaming.

When she returned, she brought a heaping tray of food and eagerly shoved a plate of stir-fried noodles in front of Lu Xin.

Lu Xin felt a bit awkward, unable to explain himself to Doll.

It was true that he often ate stir-fried noodles and egg-fried rice…

But that didn’t mean he’d always choose noodles over pork knuckle.

Still, watching Doll’s cheerful enthusiasm, Lu Xin only managed to glance longingly at the pork knuckle while quietly digging into his stir-fried noodles.

Meanwhile, both Sister and Little Nineteen’s eyes lit up.

After receiving Lu Xin’s permission, Little Nineteen cradled a pork knuckle and chomped on it until his mouth was slick with grease.

Sister didn’t know the meaning of courtesy.

She adored sweets so much that, ignoring the meaty fare entirely, she snatched the Oreo from Doll’s sight.

She munched on it while shoving more into Little Nineteen’s mouth.

Doll didn’t mind one bit; she just sat there, squinting happily as she watched Sister eat.

In response to Lu Xin’s question, Fourteen chuckled and, without answering directly, suddenly asked, “Jiu Ge, I need to warn you—back then, you know… our reasons for parting had a certain twist…”

“Some of those back then understood the situation and bore no grudges against you…”

“Take me for example—you see, I don’t hate you at all. Especially after witnessing Auntie’s scissors, my resentment just evaporated.”

“But, admittedly, there are those who still harbor deep grievances…”

“If you’re planning to bring them back, someone might not take it too well…”

“…”

He stared intently at Lu Xin, continuously raising his eyebrows without finishing his sentence.

“I’ve got a plan for that.”

Slowing his pace with the noodles, Lu Xin paused before saying, “But I think I can persuade them.”

“Hmm?”

Fourteen suddenly grew wary and fixed a deep look on Lu Xin. “What kind of persuasion?”

“The most effective kind…”

Lu Xin regarded Fourteen oddly, his expression turning serious as he whispered, “You might not know…”

“Over these years, I’ve managed to earn a bit of money…”

“Not much—a few hundred million, maybe…”

As he spoke, his face hardened with determination. Suddenly, he declared, “I’ve made up my mind.”

“If they end up hating me, I’ll compensate them with money.”

“…”

“…”

Fourteen was utterly stunned, staring at Lu Xin before blinking slowly, “Cash?”

“Yeah…”

Trying to downplay his reaction, Fourteen’s expression lit up suddenly. “Jiu Ge, you’ve really changed…”

“Using money to win them over—something I never expected…”

“But look, I just got out of jail with not a penny to my name. Couldn’t you maybe…”

“…”

Lu Xin paused, surprised, “Didn’t you just say that originally you didn’t hate me?”

Fourteen, now visibly agitated, blurted out, “Well, if needed, I can hate too…”

“…”

“…”

Lu Xin deliberately ignored Fourteen’s subsequent words.

At the same time, he felt that money had little sway over Fourteen.

After all, this was someone who could almost wear jail time as a badge of honor.

The best he could do for him was, once everything settled, to help him find a decent craft job in Qinggang City or lend him some money for business—after all, they were classmates, and interest wouldn’t matter.

With the target set, the rest of the plan was straightforward.

Lu Xin had no intention of stalling; he only prepared a bit before setting out to reconnect with his former partners.

The procedure was simple—just filing an application explaining the purpose of his business trip.

But before he could decide how to write this application, a convoy suddenly arrived outside Doll’s villa. Soldiers, fully armed, poured out of the vehicles and immediately surrounded the entire villa.

Soon, figures disembarked—the frontmost being Chen Jing, accompanied by a man with a square face.

It was Minister Shen.

They got off and strode quickly toward the villa.

Seeing the heavy security, Fourteen was momentarily stunned and murmured, “Jiu Ge, are you in trouble too?”

“…”

Lu Xin was taken aback. After a moment of reflection, he realized that apart from a minor miscalculation in reported numbers, he hadn’t really done anything else wrong…

It couldn’t be that serious, could it?

“…”

“…”

“Single Soldier, something’s gone wrong…”

“Hey, who’s this Fat Man?”

“…”

Chen Jing and Minister Shen ascended to the villa’s second floor. Under the lead of the nanny teams, they entered Lu Xin’s room and spoke in a stern tone.

But then they saw Fourteen sitting on the sofa and froze for a moment.

Due to Fourteen’s imposing build, even the diminutive Little Nineteen was completely overlooked.

Lu Xin hurriedly explained, “He was one of my classmates from the orphanage,” and noticing they had urgent business, led them out of the room.

“What’s the matter?”

In a study filled not with books but with a heap of Pre-Civilization Era magazines and discs, Lu Xin inquired curiously.

He found the two of them rather odd.

Chen Jing rarely acted in tandem with Minister Shen; Shen seldom contacted her directly.

They weren’t even from the same department.

“The First Researcher—or rather, the Black Spade Office—has made a move…”

Before Chen Jing could sit down, she placed the file on the table and said gravely, “We’re here to notify you that for the time being, you’d best not leave Qinggang. Even the base should be avoided.”

“…”

“?”

Lu Xin was stunned; he had just been about to leave…

“What move?”

After a brief pause, he asked carefully, “An assassination bounty has been placed on you…”

Chen Jing’s expression turned solemn as she opened the file and slid it in front of Lu Xin. It contained only a few scant lines—a secret message that read: “Black Spade Office bounties Single Soldier for one billion, in exchange for seven abilities.”

Lu Xin furrowed his brows.

Minister Shen then took over, his voice deep, “The City Defense Department’s intelligence agents have just received this message. The Black Spade Office, long active among the Western Factions, has just issued the highest bounty ever since the Red Moon incident.”

“The target is you, and the bounty explicitly states that only dead bodies are accepted, no prisoners—effective immediately…”

“Now, your photo and basic information have already spread like wildfire across all settlements and underground markets…”

“Alliance Coins worth one billion can be exchanged for information or other weapons of equivalent value.”

“They can even be traded for abilities under the seven Abyss Groups.”

“This is sure to lure countless assassins, hitmen, and even mysterious organizations from around the world…”

“That’s why we came immediately to notify you.”

“By my estimate, even if you stay in Satellite City, you’re not safe. You’d better remain in this villa.”

“…”

“One billion?”

Lu Xin looked startled.

After all these years, he had only earned a few hundred million.

That was barely enough to buy half a life.

“?”

Chen Jing noticed his odd expression and said, “The key point isn’t the bounty amount—it’s that someone is out to kill you…”

“Oh, I see…”

Lu Xin nodded hurriedly.

Although the situation sounded bizarre, upon reflection, it seemed perfectly normal.

After the recent direct confrontation, the First Researcher had been stripped of his trump card.

And most crucially, the Unique Consciousness he prized had fallen into my hands.

After that incident, it was inevitable that the First Researcher would make a move.

But Lu Xin hadn’t expected their response to be issuing an assassination bounty on him.

As strange as it sounded, it made sense.

If he died, the Unique Consciousness would become ownerless.

And in this world, only the First Researcher could capture such a Unique Consciousness…

So, for them, it was a no-win situation.

“…”

“…”

“Single Soldier, don’t let your guard down.”

Seeing that Lu Xin showed no sign of worry, Chen Jing couldn’t help but warn, “We all know your abilities are formidable, but the Black Spade Office has issued the highest assassination bounty ever. Big rewards attract bold men—especially in a world under the Red Moon, a world teeming with lunatics.”

“Rest assured, from the moment this bounty is out, countless assassins will swarm you.”

“Who knows what methods they’ll use or if they might actually manage to threaten you?”

“Our advice is that you remain in Qinggang Main City, and stay here with Doll until we resolve this issue.”

“…”

Lu Xin detected the worry in Chen Jing’s voice and smiled gratefully at her.

After a moment’s thought, he simply shook his head.

He said, “Actually, just a moment ago I was planning to request permission to leave Qinggang to pursue other opportunities.”

“You…”

Chen Jing was momentarily taken aback, and Minister Shen immediately furrowed his brow.

“It’s true.”

Lu Xin quickly smiled and said, “I have an important matter to attend to.”

“Besides, if things are as serious as you claim, then leaving Qinggang now might indeed be the wisest choice. After all, if someone is bent on killing me by any means, my staying would only put those around me at risk.”

“…”

Listening to him, the expressions of both Chen Jing and Minister Shen softened slightly.

They hadn’t expected Lu Xin to consider these consequences.

“One billion…”

Lu Xin sighed, a hint of pride in his voice. The more he thought about it, the prouder he felt about his own worth…

Maybe one day, when introducing himself, he could say he once participated in a billion-dollar project?

“As for killing me…”

Pausing briefly, and meeting the astonished gazes of Chen Jing and Minister Shen, he grinned and said, “Then let them try.”

“I’m rather curious…”

“Because I really don’t know what method they’d use to kill me…”