Chapter 288:

Words : 2011 Updated : Oct 11th, 2025

Onboard Joy Stick walked out of the Blood Vulture Halls with a pained expression on his face, accompanied by Feel You Poor who looked equally distressed. The two men had been “drained” by the new vampire NPC, quite literally. Not only had they given up all the gold coins accumulated by the “Crimson Hammer and Sickle team” over the past period, but they were even forced to write an IOU to the flat-chested vampire mechanic in exchange for the legendary “Seicob City Grand Treasure”! Damn! When have I, your brother, ever been so humiliated playing a game? To be forced to write an IOU by an NPC, this is too frustrating! “Look on the bright side, Brother Stick,” said Feel You Poor, carrying a large weapon case. Seeing Brother Stick’s gloomy and unstable expression, he was very worried that Brother Stick might do something irreversible, so he quietly advised: “You did get the structural map of Seicob City’s underground vault, that little girl didn’t lie to us. Whether there’s anything there or not, we’ll know once we go, right? That used to be the capital of the Portia Federation! Its bank controlled the financial flow of the entire country. Even if we can only dig out the secret vault in the treasury, it’ll definitely be worth it.” “But she charged 150,000 just for the ‘intelligence fee’! Damn, we still owe her 110,000 now,” Brother Stick rubbed his face vigorously and complained: “This means that the profit from the grand treasure we find in the ruins of Seicob City must be over 150,000 gold coins for us to make any money! And little Countess Sharon said that there’s still residual spirit plague in Seicob City now. The whole city ruins are full of dead people. Although the Pioneer Army cleared the city when they looted it, there might still be things like ghouls and undead creatures lurking there. I’ll need to recruit more people to go there. Won’t I have to promise to share some with the other brothers? I’ve known Meow King for many years, that guy is quite cunning, and the student party busy farming reputation might not be willing to get involved.” “I think you’re overthinking it,” Feel You Poor was quite nonchalant. He patted the worried Brother Stick on the shoulder and said: “You’ve already spent the money, are you just going to leave the map in your bag and ignore it? Look, let’s be carefree when playing games. If we lose, we lose. No one’s blaming you.” “Of course I can be carefree on my own, but the main thing is I have a bunch of brothers to support now, and you, the big boss waiting for dividends,” Brother Stick sighed and said: “The pressure is huge.” “That really makes me laugh. Do you think I’m short of that little bit from you? I lost nearly 5 million in 3 months when I started my company before, and I wasn’t as heartbroken as you,” Little Rich Brother laughed heartily, then whistled to summon his manticore which descended in spirals. ṝaNỖBÊṩ He had even had a saddle made for the manticore by the camp’s leatherworker, specially designed for his own riding while providing some protection for Stinky Treasure’s body. Feel You Poor climbed onto his manticore and pulled out a large-caliber dwarf trench gun made by little Countess Sharon from the weapon case on his back, tossing it to Brother Stick. He waved and said: “I really didn’t expect to see returns on this investment so quickly. Don’t feel any pressure at all. If your company is tight on cash flow, just tell me and I’ll figure out a way to get you some money. To say something boastful, I’m investing in your future, not the present. Even cutting leeks isn’t done like this. Remember to call me when you decide to go treasure hunting in Seicob City.” With that, Feel You Poor patted the mane on the manticore’s neck. The majestic beast roared and spread its bat-like wings, soaring into the sky, carrying Little Rich Brother with his new weapon towards the camp outside the city. He had gotten his hands on some real good stuff and wanted to share it with his best friend. Life Is Pretty Good was still interning in the camp, so he might as well go see how that guy was doing. Watching his boss ride away on the manticore, Brother Stick on the ground was deeply moved. Holding the cool, exquisite, and powerful trench gun in his hands, he muttered: “Do ‘angel investors’ really exist in this world? I finally understand why you can lose 5 million with just a small company. Brother, you can’t spend money like this even if you’re rich. What kind of family are you from?” “Hey, Brother Stick, what are you doing here?” Just as Brother Stick was retracting his gaze and starting to admire the trench gun marked as 【Collectible】 in his hands, a boisterous voice sounded from the side. Brother Stick turned his head and saw What Color is Loyalty striding over vigorously. This guy had clearly just come out of Tris’s alchemy cottage, with some “curious” compound “fragrances” on him. As he approached, Brother Stick inconspicuously stepped back to avoid getting contaminated by some dangerous substances. It was this guy who created Molotov cocktails in the game. Rumor has it that he’s been locking himself up in the camp’s warehouse for the past few days, who knows what he’s been tinkering with. Anyway, he’s quite a mysterious fellow. However, Brother Stick and What Color is Loyalty knew each other. Back when What Color is Loyalty was still a “curiosity seeker”, they used to discuss some very “criminal” things on the forum. It was precisely because Brother Stick used to be a “professional” that he could be pretty certain that What Color is Loyalty must have had military service experience like him. Otherwise, it would be hard to accept his understanding of firearms that far exceeded the level of ordinary enthusiasts. “Oh, nice stuff! Let me see!” Before Brother Stick could answer, the trench gun in his hand caught What Color is Loyalty’s eye. This guy’s eyes lit up and he snatched it over, examining it repeatedly in his hands, even making a few aiming gestures, then sticking his finger into the gun barrel to feel it. Finally, he nodded and said: “A masterpiece! Purely handmade, of course, the barrel is turned, but that doesn’t change the exquisite craftsmanship of this thing. Where did you get it from? This is far superior to all the firearms I’ve seen recently, only Little Ashina’s Iron Warden can compare to it.” “Bought it,” Brother Stick mentioned this with a look of annoyance on his face. He cursed: “That black-hearted NPC inside, damn, my buddy and I spent tens of thousands to buy a set of collectibles. Luckily we triggered a... ahem, never mind. Aren’t you ‘clocking in for work’ at the alchemy cottage? What are you doing here?” Sharon reached out and felt inside What Color is Loyalty’s gun barrel, then narrowed her eyes as she rubbed open the chamber and stuffed the pointed bullet in, then clicked it into place. “Can I try it?” she asked, and What Color is Loyalty nodded and made a “please” gesture. She pushed open the door and aimed at a brick on the wall beside the corridor, raised this “otherworld style” weapon and aimed slightly, then pulled the trigger. “Bang” A slight vibration hit her shoulder, but her body blessed by the midnight didn’t shake. However, there was now a hole in the opposite wall. Amidst the dust flying, Sharon pulled open the bolt, and a hot shell casing ejected which she caught in her left hand wearing the mechanic’s glove. The smell of incompletely burned gunpowder made her twitch her nose. Just as she was about to comment, Tris’s ethereal voice suddenly sounded in her ear: “You know that Murphy’s office is right across the hallway, don’t you? You know you just shattered my favorite Frozen Moonlight, don’t you? That was a filial gift from little Murphy and I just opened that bottle of wine... Do you know how expensive it is? Do you know how angry I am right now?” “Uh, I’ll compensate! I swear!” Sharon was a good girl. She immediately responded using her voice mimicry technique, making Tris emit a meaningful nasal sound. But little Countess Sharon’s first thought, apart from embarrassment, was: “Hey! Why would you, the Blood Vulture Grand Duchess, still be in Murphy’s room at this time? What exactly is your relationship? Is the life of vampires this exciting?” “Ahem, Master, is my work up to standard?” What Color is Loyalty asked proudly from the side. He knew that his hand-crafted rifle had already won the approval of this mechanical engineer, and sure enough, the next second, little Countess Sharon turned to him and said very seriously: “Your craftsmanship is already on par with that of a formal gunsmith, sir. Such a precise weapon uses a firing method completely different from dwarf firearms, not to mention these ingenious pointed bullets which are an amazing advancement in the field of ammunition. Of course I would recognize your attainments in this area, and I’m also very willing to discuss the mysteries of engineering with a true professional.” “Ding” A light sound made What Color is Loyalty look down to see that he had received the transfer note for Mechanic Apprentice in engineering, which made him very satisfied. However, the next second, What Color is Loyalty pointed at the mechanical arm on the wall that he was very envious of, and asked somewhat embarrassedly: “Um... can you sell that to me? Please understand, but I’m really eager to study this exquisite object that I’ve never seen before.” “Uh, but that’s a prosthetic limb for disabled people. As for mechanical skeletons adapted for use by normal individuals, I’m still researching and don’t have any physical models on hand. I understand your curiosity in this area, I can share the blueprints I know with you-” “Huh? Only for disabled people? Simple!” What Color is Loyalty laughed. Under little Countess Sharon’s dumbfounded gaze, he drew the sword at his waist for self-protection, and without hesitation, with a swing of his hand, his right hand flew off in a splash of blood. This decisive and horrifying scene stunned little Countess Sharon. It was several seconds later before she let out a scream, but the shock in her voice was clearly greater than fear. However, for What Color is Loyalty who was eager to personally try out otherworld engineering, this was nothing. With pain suppression turned up to the maximum, this cut was no more painful than getting a finger caught in a door. As a man... Uh, okay, it still hurt a bit, but for the mysteries of engineering, all of this could be endured! “Shall we do the surgery now?” His face was still smeared with blood. But the light in his eyes was so eerie that it made little Countess Sharon involuntarily take a step back, glancing at the still twitching right hand on the ground. “Uh, I think we should calm down first and discuss this matter properly, warrior. There’s a small problem...” “But I don’t think there’s any problem! I’m fully prepared! Look, I’m already disabled, right? This prosthetic should be used by someone like me. This is very reasonable! Can’t I buy it with money?” “Uh, that’s not the issue!” “Then what is it? Master Sharon, don’t keep me in suspense! I can’t wait any longer!” “Calm down, you madman! That prosthetic of mine is for the left hand! But you cut off your right hand... Oh Night Mother above, are you all a bunch of lunatics?” “...F**k!”

Chapter 288:

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