Chapter 16: You're Free

"Congratulations, Wang Xiaohua, you're free!" The moment they entered the settlement, Zhang Lie whispered into Wang Xiaohua's ear. Subsequently, she felt the presence by her side vanish: Zhang Lie had disappeared.

Wang Xiaohua was shocked. She couldn't believe that Zhang Lie would let her go so easily.?Why? He hadn't hesitated to kill Qin Xiaotian and the others. Why would he let me go? Could he be interested in rekindling our relationship? Yes, yes, that had to be the case! Otherwise, why would he leave me alive without even extorting me for my points?

Zhang Lie's sudden departure left Wang Xiaohua, still stealthed, in deep thought. However, she was being so naive that Zhang Lie would have been in fits of laughter upon hearing her thoughts. Of course, while he didn't care about her thoughts, he had overheard what the crowds were saying outside the settlement.

At the betting stand set up by the three major corporations, a mysterious black-clad man came to the counter and said, "I’m betting thirty thousand points on Zhang Lie’s safe return!"

His remarkable declaration sent ripples through the crowds.

"Thirty thousand points for Zhang Lie?! Is this guy crazy?"

"Some people clearly have too many points on their hands!"

"Isn't that so? It's already the third day of the hunt, and there's almost no chance for Zhang Lie by now. What a fool!"

The onlookers' taunts didn't affect the mysterious man at all. He slammed a card down on the counter and called out to the bookkeepers, "What's the matter? Aren't you going to accept my bet?"

The bookkeeper sitting in front of the counter immediately smiled. "Of course we'll take the bet! ?Why wouldn't we? The betting only closes at 5 PM, and it's only 3 PM right now!"

The paperwork was handled rapidly, and the mysterious man quickly left after receiving his receipt. Only after he had vanished did the onlookers begin to murmur among themselves again.

"What an idiot! The three corporations got thirty thousand points, just like that!"

"Isn't that so? Not only that, he's even trying to act like a mysterious fellow with that get-up!"

The crowd soon declared that black-clad man as the stupidest fool in the settlement.

Just as the commotion had settled down, a rather handsome hunter stepped forward, gaze still hovering in the direction in which the mysterious man had left. He sauntered up to the counter. "Ten thousand points to that Zhang Lie fellow." These words sparked another discussion among the crowd. Someone even shouted out the hunter's name.

"Isn't that... isn't that Chu Feng?"

"Chu Feng? Who's Chu Feng?"

"The second-ranked hunter on the gene leaderboard, who else?!"

"What's going on? Why would someone like Chu Feng place a bet on Zhang Lie? Could he have received some news?"

Chu Feng's action immediately caused a few hunters to palm their point cards, thinking about whether or not to make the same bet he did.

"Friends, I haven't heard anything of the sort! I'm simply placing this bet on a whim. I don't care if you mimic me, but don't hold me responsible if you lose!" Chu Feng's explanation caused much of the crowd, eager to continue betting, to shrink back.

Chu Feng had the money and points to spare, after all, but they didn't. If other hunters were to mimic his bet, that was a decision they had to make for themselves.

The moment Chu Feng left, however, the bookkeepers from the three corporations, who had been smiling after the mysterious black-clad man's departure, suddenly grew stern and began packing up.

The gamblers lounging around the stand immediately noticed what was going on.

"What's the matter? Didn't you claim you were going to allow bets until 5 PM? Why are you all packing up now?"

"That's right, what's going on? This bet's recognized by the artificial intelligence presiding over the Blacksteel settlement, so you won't be able to run away so easily!"

The head bookkeeper strode out from behind the stand and explained politely, "Don't worry, we're from the three corporations. We certainly won't be running away. As for why we're halting bets so early on, it's simply what our superiors told us. We're just low-level workers, and we don't know what's going on either. I suspect it's simply a matter of risk. There are already tens of millions of points in the betting pool, after all."

His words and polite attitude barely persuaded the gamblers to let them pass.

But before they could leave, a particularly domineering voice came from within the crowd.

"Oh? Who's going to leave before I, Qin Xiao, have made my bet?" Qin Xiao strode forth in an imposing suit of jet-black armor.

With one hand, he pressed down on the table the bookkeepers were trying to pack up, retrieved his point card, and said, loud enough for all to hear, "I know exactly how capable my cousin is. I'll bet three hundred thousand points that the other dumb bastard who roused his ire won't make it back alive!"

"Young Master Qin, you—this isn't something I have the authority to handle, so..."

"Shut your damn mouth! I know exactly how much profit the three corporations have made in this settlement over the past few years. Give me a receipt for this bet, or I won't let you out of the settlement!" What bookkeeper would refuse the bet now? Their lives were more important, after all, and they were only low-level workers.

"Qin Xiao, you're even bullying these white-collar workers now?" As Qin Xiao grabbed the receipt he was handed, a clear, flute-like voice rang out from the crowd.

"Yun Bing, the corporations themselves claimed that they'd halt the betting at 5 PM. It's not my fault that they're going back on their word! Why don't you come over and make a bet too? It's all thanks to our Xiaotian that we're getting such an easy way to make more points!" magic

Faced with Yun Bing, first on the gene leaderboard, Qin Xiao dropped his dominating attitude, but not his boastful tone.

His prideful posturing made Yun Bing want to laugh. As she stepped up to the counter, Yun Bing said, "If I can still make a bet, I'll bet ten thousand points that the fellow facing off against Qin Xiaotian will make it back alive!"

Her words caused the crowd to erupt in commotion. The top player on the gene leaderboard herself had made a bet, and it was even for the underdog! Of course, everyone could tell that she had only done so to go against Qin Xiao, not because she had any hidden information of her own.

And given her status as the top hunter of the Blacksteel settlement, despite her polite attitude, the head bookkeeper certainly didn't dare to offend her and quickly handed her a receipt back.

"Haha! Yun Bing, I love stubborn women like you!" Qin Xiao's boisterous behavior clearly revealed his interest in Yun Bing, but she didn't get upset. Instead, throughout the entire process, she spared him not a single glance.

After claiming her receipt, she turned around and vanished like fog on a sunny day.

Keep pretending to be all distant, wench. I'll make you regret it sooner or later!?Yun Bing's insouciance infuriated Qin Xiao, but what could he do about it? Her own strength, her clan's power, and even her team's capabilities all eclipsed his. He might shoot his mouth off from time to time, but he wouldn't offend her needlessly.

Similarly, while Yun Bing might ignore him, she wouldn't make a big fuss about the matter.

After Yun Bing left, Qin Xiao also quickly disappeared. But their departure didn't mark the end of the betting—many hunters near the top of the leaderboard trickled toward the betting stand, ready to make their bets after the top two hunters had done so.

Of course, most of them favored Qin Xiaotian, given what Qin Xiao himself had said. Nevertheless, there were a few gamblers who were willing to take the risk for the minuscule chance of a jackpot.

It took another dozen minutes before the bookkeepers were finally able to head out. The curtains to the entire fiasco were about to draw to a close. At that point, there should have been a lull before the final results of the bet were established.

However, the gamblers in the crowd were set abuzz not ten minutes later by a piece of momentous news: the female hunter who had spawned this entire conflict, Wang Xiaohua, had returned!

Of course, that wasn't the most salient point—more importantly, she had returned alone! Not Qin Xiaotian, not his team, not even Zhang Lie—just Wang Xiaohua!

The gamblers immediately swarmed her, wanting to discover the outcome of the bet.

However, before most people could reach her, guards sent by the Blacksteel settlement's artificial intelligence appeared to wall her off. By that point, the settlement gates were swarming with people.

Only with the appearance of the guards did the gathered hunters calm down. They could fight all they wanted outside the settlement grounds, but within the settlement, the guards could not be overcome.

As for Wang Xiaohua, under the protection of the settlement guards, she was given a room at the highest-class inn in the settlement, the Blacksteel inn, whose proprietor was the artificial intelligence itself.

Subsequently, the artificial intelligence transmitted a message to the gathered hunters on her behalf: she was beleaguered by the attention and her recent experiences, and she needed some time to herself to process what had happened. At 8 PM, the artificial intelligence would announce the outcome of the bet.

It was only then that Wang Xiaohua finally understood what Zhang Lie had in mind for her.