Chapter 304: Chapter 304: Toll

The closer they got to Mengxia City, the more powerful Beastmen they encountered on the road.

Qing Luo was in a constant state of excitement, looking like he wanted to fight everyone he saw.

He showed immense interest in the head of the Black Dragon. “Hey, little kid, why don’t we go get a piece of the pie?

If we manage to get the Black Dragon’s head, we can split the bounty seventy-thirty!”

Jiang Qin was speechless. “…Who gets the seventy? Who gets the thirty?”

“Of course I get the seventy and you get the thirty! You’re so weak, giving you thirty percent is already generous just because you can play the piano.”

Qing Luo felt he was being incredibly magnanimous.

Not only was he accompanying them to Mengxia City as a free bodyguard, but he was also willing to share the bounty with the little kid.

If the little kid wasn’t a Piano Master he admired, he would’ve offered a ninety-ten split at best.

Throughout the journey, he hadn’t seen Jiang Qin or Long Hao use their beast forms.

So, Qing Luo guessed the little kid’s beast form must be small and weak. Otherwise, why wouldn’t he use his beast form to travel?

’After all, what kind of male would like riding on another male’s beast form?’

Yet Jiang Qin’s group of three had been riding a White Tiger the entire way.

…

For the White Tiger used for travel, Jiang Qin didn’t imbue it with any special abilities from her Manifestation Ability; she simply made its body larger and its running speed faster. This saved a lot of her Superpower’s energy.

Although it was an ordinary tiger, spiritual power flowed through its body, which was why it was mistaken for a Beastman.

Whenever Qing Luo needed to return to his human form to rest, Jiang Qin would also retract the tiger to recover her Superpower.

Probably out of pure envy and jealousy, Qing Luo had suggested many times that she should use her own beast form to travel.

’A male riding on another male all day long, what’s that supposed to look like? In any case, he was determined not to ride it!!’

He refused to ride, and Jiang Qin didn’t try to persuade him. It wasn’t her Riot Value that was increasing, anyway.

And so, she, Long Hao, and Bai Ruo sat comfortably on the giant White Tiger, while Qing Luo ran the entire way by himself.

…

Seeing that Jiang Qin hadn’t agreed, Qing Luo grew indignant. “Hey, hey, hey, you don’t actually want a fifty-fifty split, do you?

Let’s be reasonable. You won’t find any partners acting like this. Payment according to work is the only way to have a long-lasting partnership.”

Long Hao, whose head was being coveted, shot a cold glance at the honey badger who didn’t know what was good for him.

He said sarcastically, “You’re certainly confident in yourself.”

“Hah! I might not have been able to beat the Black Dragon in his prime, but he’s been crippled now and is being hunted by so many people. I probably won’t even need to use fifty percent of my strength to take him down.”

“Oh? And what makes you so sure the Black Dragon is really in Mengxia City?”

Qing Luo rolled his eyes at Long Hao. “Isn’t that obvious? With so many people rushing over, the news must be true.

They can’t all have been fooled, can they?”

Long Hao snorted coldly.

’Of course they’ve been fooled!’

’If we weren’t looking for that damn Mechanic, we wouldn’t be heading this way at all.’

’Just thinking about them showing up to an empty city feels satisfying.’

That’s right. He never intended to go to Mengxia City from the start; that was a rumor he had intentionally spread.

His targets were all the research institutes on this planet and the major cities surrounding them.

A city this far away was a low priority in his plans.

Based on his speculation, he felt that even if Jiang Qin had successfully escaped, she couldn’t have gotten very far in such a short time.

It was more likely she was still hiding nearby.

So the smokescreen he’d released was just to shake off these annoying tails.

He just never expected he would actually have to come here in the end.

***

As they drew closer to Mengxia City, Jiang Qin asked Long Hao, “Do you need a disguise? They most likely have a picture of you.”

Actually, she was sure they did.

After all, photos of Long Hao’s human and beast forms could be found with a simple search on the Star Network.

As a member of the Imperial Family, he had always been active in the public eye, even participating in variety shows.

So if he went around with his real face, he would be recognized easily.

Only someone like Qing Luo, who had been without internet access for a long time and didn’t follow the Star Network, would fail to recognize Long Hao.

This also showed that he wasn’t actually interested in the bounty on the Black Dragon.

“How do I disguise myself? Like you? Then I want the same one as you, so we’ll look like we’re wearing matching outfits.”

Jiang Qin was speechless. ’Are you sure we wouldn’t look like brothers?’

But she didn’t say anything and just started working on his face.

She darkened his fair skin, softened his sharp eyebrows, and for his deep-set eyes, she created a pair of under-eye bags to conceal them.

There wasn’t much to do about his black hair, so she just put a wig on him.

His original hairstyle was too good-looking; Jiang Qin couldn’t bear to mess with it, feeling like it would break her heart to do so.

So she just put a red wig on him.

Luckily, this item was also considered a cosmetic, and could be created in the system’s cosmetic crafting panel using reputation value.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have known where to find one.

Then she had him change into a black Combat Suit with silver Chest Armor and put on an earring.

A handsome, dark-skinned man with wild red hair appeared before them.

With tight pants and combat boots, he looked both handsome and sharp.

Bai Ruo watched this all happen, dumbfounded. If she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, who would believe this was the same person?

“Bai Ruo, you should put on some makeup too. Your skin is too eye-catching.”

The males on Chaotic Star mostly had no intention of settling down, and thus had no sense of moral fidelity.

They were the type of people who lived purely according to their whims.

When they saw a female they liked, they would try courtesy first, then force. If she didn’t agree, they would just take her.

Someone like Bai Ruo was in real danger here.

…

After arriving near Mengxia City, Jiang Qin had the White Tiger pretend to leave, and they dismounted to proceed on foot.

Meanwhile, Qing Luo stared at the three of them, who now looked like three siblings, and fell silent.

“Are you… all from the same mother? Or did you suddenly mutate on the road?”

“Ahem, it’s just a little makeup.”

“Holy crap, you call this makeup? This is a whole head transplant!”

Suddenly, a thought occurred to Qing Luo. He eyed Jiang Qin suspiciously. “Little kid, your face… don’t tell me it’s makeup too?”

“Nope, I just look like this.”

Jiang Qin changed the subject. “Alright, let’s get going.”

“Don’t be in such a hurry to leave. Why don’t you stay and get to know us?”

From behind the surrounding rock piles, six Beastmen suddenly emerged.

Their hair was all different colors, but they all had the same tattoo on their necks.

“The Sea Sand Gang?” Qing Luo frowned.

“Aha. Since our friend here recognizes us, that makes things easier.

The rule of our Sea Sand Gang is a toll: hand over forty percent of your possessions, and we’ll let you pass safely.”

“A toll?”

Qing Luo leaned closer to Jiang Qin and began to explain in a low voice, “The Sea Sand Gang is a notorious Star Thief Gang. Most of its members are wanted criminals from various interstellar races.”

They were a gang of villains who murdered, committed arson, and did every evil deed imaginable.

No one they targeted had ever survived.

So even if they paid the toll, the gang would probably still attack them.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep