Chapter 17 – A Strange Web?

It must be said that Xu Qianqian met all of Su Ming’s requirements perfectly.

To avoid drawing attention, Su Ming couldn’t openly possess the numerous extraordinary items from his backpack, lest they attract prying eyes. However, if these items appeared in the hands of the Young Miss of the Xu Family of Longyao City, it would undoubtedly seem much more reasonable.

As long as Su Ming was careful not to bring out anything too precious, given Xu Qianqian’s family background, no one would find it strange for her to possess a large number of extraordinary items.

Moreover, with Xu Qianqian’s status, she could easily use the Xu Family’s channels to handle these extraordinary items, or even find better channels to sell them at higher prices.

If it were Su Ming, even if he didn’t mind attracting prying eyes, dealing with a large quantity of extraordinary items would still pose safety and logistical challenges, making the process undoubtedly troublesome.

Now, things were much simpler.

With Xu Qianqian, the Young Miss of the Xu Family, he could fully leverage her background to handle these items and act as a merchant buying and selling goods.

Under these circumstances, Su Ming didn’t mind helping Xu Qianqian.

After all, it was just an investigation—not a direct confrontation with a suspicious group, nor would it involve him in the power struggles of the Base City’s higher-ups. Why not go along with it?

If Su Ming had to take action and expose his strength, he definitely wouldn’t have agreed so easily.

But for an investigation… Su Ming actually had some small tools that could allow him to complete the task without any risk!

Considering this, Su Ming agreed.

Of course, it still depended on whether this Young Miss of the Xu Family would agree.

Xu Qianqian would likely agree.

After all, the conditions Su Ming proposed would not cause her any loss.

As expected…

“I agree.”

In the end, Xu Qianqian accepted Su Ming’s three conditions.

However, a verbal promise was still somewhat unreliable.

So, Su Ming took out a scroll resembling a parchment.

“This is a contract,” Su Ming said, looking at Xu Qianqian. “Let’s sign it.”

This parchment-like scroll was made from the skin of a Phantom Demon known as the Black Heart Demon.

The Black Heart Demon was a cursed creature. Any living being that touched it would be cursed, causing various abnormalities in both body and spirit.

Some Alchemists, who specialized in using Phantom Demons from the Spirit Demon Abyss and special materials to create various extraordinary items, had developed a unique method to tan the skin of the Black Heart Demon. By combining it with other materials, they could craft it into a document.

As long as the corresponding content was written on this document and signed, if the signatory failed to fulfill the terms mentioned in the document, the curse of the Black Heart Demon would take effect.

At that point, the violator would taste the curse and suffer unbearable agony.

This was the contract—an extraordinary item that had already spread widely and was commonly used in this world.

This tool was far more effective than a literal contract, especially in a world where humanity’s dominant position was being challenged. Sometimes, human hearts were more terrifying than Phantom Demons, and mere written agreements or treaties were insufficient to restrain many people.Whether they were Hunters or Sorcerers, or even ordinary people, they undoubtedly trusted the effectiveness of a contract more than a mere verbal agreement.

Especially certain specially crafted contracts, whose attached curse effects were so potent they could even curse to death the highest-level Hunters and Sorcerers, or even annihilate all life within an entire Base City—truly astonishing.

It was said that when different Base Cities sat at the negotiation table to draft agreements, they would use such specially crafted contracts to ensure the agreement was enforced and guaranteed to the greatest extent possible.

The contract in Su Ming’s hand wasn’t that powerful, but judging by the magical energy emanating from it, Xu Qianqian had reason to believe that, given her current strength, violating it would leave her severely injured, if not dead.

“I didn’t expect you to carry something like this with you.”

Xu Qianqian took the contract while giving Su Ming a strange look.

“Don’t look at me like that, I’ll get shy.”

Su Ming scratched his head with an embarrassed expression, leaving Xu Qianqian somewhat speechless.

But Xu Qianqian didn’t object to signing the contract.

After all, the two of them were merely passing acquaintances—not even nodding friends. Unlike Xu Qianqian, who had her mystical way of discerning loyalty and deceit, it was only natural for Su Ming to feel uneasy about her.

Xu Qianqian was quite reasonable. After discussing with Su Ming, they quickly decided on the contract’s contents.

Roughly, the contract stipulated that Su Ming was obligated to investigate the objectives and detailed actions of the unknown Suspicious Group before they succeeded, and report them to Xu Qianqian, the task’s client.

Once the commission was completed, Xu Qianqian must fulfill the three conditions proposed by Su Ming. Violators would suffer the curse triggered by the contract’s annulment.

With the contract finalized, Su Ming and Xu Qianqian each signed their names.

The next moment, the contract automatically split into two copies—one falling into Su Ming’s hands, the other into Xu Qianqian’s.

From that moment on, the contract took effect.

If either party violated the contract, the other could burn their copy, and the contract would automatically detect the violator. Upon confirmation, the curse would immediately activate.

“This should do, right?”

Xu Qianqian stored her copy of the contract.

“Of course.”

Su Ming also tucked the contract into his backpack, looking thoroughly satisfied.

This trip hadn’t been in vain. Not only had he resolved the worry of his strength being exposed, but he’d also solved a problem that had been troubling him.

Once he investigated the Suspicious Group’s objectives, Su Ming could report back to Xu Qianqian and have her fulfill the contract’s terms, helping him handle the items obtained from opening packages.

This was a long-term transaction.

From now on, Su Ming could continuously use Xu Qianqian’s channels to resell items acquired from opening packages, earning substantial wealth in the process.

This wealth would be used by Su Ming to purchase various Phantom Demon materials and Extraordinary Items, ultimately exchanged for chips to open more packages.

Useful items from the packages could be kept to enhance his own strength, while useless ones would continue to be disposed of through Xu Qianqian.

Through this cycle of recycling, buying, and selling, Su Ming essentially had an endless supply of chips, an inexhaustible stream of packages to open, and the opportunity for his strength to skyrocket.Thinking this, Su Ming’s gaze towards Xu Qianqian softened with warmth and eagerness.

Well, this Young Miss wasn’t entirely without redeeming qualities. Perhaps it was time to let go of past grievances and conflicts.

That was just the kind of straightforward person Su Ming was.

“Let’s head back,” Su Ming stood up, showing rare concern for Xu Qianqian as he asked, “By the way, running out like this—aren’t you worried about being targeted again by those hidden attackers?”

“…Probably not,” Xu Qianqian shook her head lightly and said calmly, “They’re likely still shocked that I’m alive. In just a few days, they probably won’t take any action yet.”

In other words, once they recovered and devised a new plan, Xu Qianqian might face their attacks again.

“No wonder you feel restricted and had to delegate the investigation to someone else.”

Su Ming shrugged.

“Don’t worry, I won’t let them roam free for long,” Xu Qianqian’s tone turned icy, as if she didn’t want to discuss the matter further. She turned to Su Ming and said, “After we return, I’ll send you some of my recent findings on that Suspicious Group to your phone. I hope it helps.”

“Just sending it directly to my phone?” Su Ming’s cautious nature kicked in, and he couldn’t help but ask, “Is that safe?”

“Those are encrypted files; it’s unlikely anything will go wrong,” Xu Qianqian replied. “Unless you’re connected to some strange network, the chances of a problem are very small.”

Hearing this, Su Ming instinctively wanted to nod but suddenly caught himself.

“Strange network?”

Why did it feel like this Young Miss was hinting at something?

Was it just his imagination?

Whether it was or not, he should clarify.

“I never visit those messy websites!” Su Ming declared righteously to Xu Qianqian. “That’s something my roommate Lei Hao would do!”

“???” Xu Qianqian was utterly confused.

“Ahem, never mind,” Su Ming coughed dryly and fell silent.

…

After that, the two exchanged few more words before parting ways, returning to the Academy one after the other and heading back to their Dormitory.

At this time, Lei Hao and Ye Bai were still asleep, unaware that Su Ming had left the Dormitory, sleeping soundly in their own beds.

However, these two didn’t seem to sleep very peacefully.

“Su Ming… letter…”

Ye Bai seemed still fixated on the matter of delivering letters, his scheming heart unwilling to let Su Ming off easily.

“Don’t flirt with my goddess… ahh… my goddess…”

Lei Hao was also mumbling in his sleep, his face twisted in agony, tears streaming down, making it hard to watch.

Su Ming changed into his pajamas and lay down but found himself unable to sleep.

Especially when he thought about the day’s events and these two troublemaking friends, a wave of irritation washed over him.

After a minute, Su Ming could bear it no longer. He got up, lit two mosquito coils, and tossed them into Lei Hao and Ye Bai’s blankets before lying back down.

“Ah! My butt!”

“It’s so hot!”

Before long, the agonized cries of his two friends rang out one after another.

Su Ming suddenly felt a sense of clarity and satisfaction. He closed his eyes and finally drifted off to sleep comfortably.

He believed tomorrow would surely be a good day.

…

The next day.When morning arrived, Su Ming wasn’t awakened by Lei Hao’s booming voice, but rather shaken awake by Ye Bai.

“Su Ming! You bastard!”

Hearing such heartbroken cries, Su Ming groggily woke up to see Ye Bai’s tear-streaked face and the way he was clutching his clothes.

Su Ming jolted fully awake.

“What are you doing?”

Su Ming quickly brushed off Ye Bai’s hand, grabbed the blanket, and looked at him warily.

But Ye Bai paid no attention, his face still filled with grief.

“Xu Qianqian was one thing, but how could you lay hands on my goddess too?”

Ye Bai’s sorrowful voice left Su Ming utterly confused.

What on earth was all this about?

(End of Chapter)