Chapter 69: A Few Small Goals
As expected, windfalls were the fastest way to get rich.
Continuing his inspection of Scott's spatial ring, Yu Xian discovered a large quantity of gold. There had to be at least fifty kilograms of it. Gold had been steadily rising in price recently, rivaling silver as one of the most valuable ores in the world. The difference was that the Blood Race had artificially inflated the price of silver, while gold was genuinely scarce.
Gold was the most important ingredient in alchemy. Many alchemical creations, such as Philosopher's Stones and similar artifacts, required enormous quantities of gold.
After a rough calculation, Yu Xian realized that if he sold all of it, he would immediately become a billionaire. Granted, he would be a billionaire in only the most literal sense, having just ticked off his very first "small goal." [1]
Yu Xian had already begun thinking about buying a new home. The residential complex where he currently lived was a neighborhood filled with ordinary humans. He often found himself holding back, constantly worried about accidentally disturbing the other residents.
If circumstances allowed, he wanted to buy a larger property, preferably a detached villa with a spacious garden and excellent privacy. That way, he could bask in the sun to his heart's content and practice his abilities in the garden without worrying about affecting anyone else.
Recalling Silver City's housing prices, Yu Xian began calculating in his head. "A hundred million should be enough."
Not long ago, due to the Aberrant Parasites incident, property values in Silver City had plummeted. Houses that once sold for four or five hundred million now cost only one or two hundred million. Some properties in less desirable locations had fallen to seventy or eighty million. If someone needed to buy a house in Silver City, there had probably never been a better time.
Yu Xian continued to inventory Scott’s assets. Scott evidently had a habit of collecting trophies. His spatial ring was packed with a massive quantity of used equipment.
Since there were all kinds of weapons inside the ring, with several pieces still engraved with the names of their original owners, Yu Xian knew exactly what he was looking at. Theoretically, these were all stolen goods. The owners were either dead or had been ruthlessly plundered by Scott.
Yu Xian sorted the weapons into categories and carefully inspected each one. The quality of a weapon was not necessarily tied to the strength of its owner. A weakling could possess a divine weapon, just as a novice adventurer fresh out of the beginner village could happen to carry an exceptional sword.
There were genuinely valuable treasures among the collection. One weapon, for example, had belonged to the son of a powerful family who had only recently completed his training. Despite his inexperience, he had carried a Dragon-rank sword. Scott had killed him, kept the weapon as a trophy, and apparently never used it.
After finishing his appraisal of the equipment, Yu Xian estimated that selling everything could easily net him five or six hundred million. The sheer amount of wealth he possessed was beginning to numb him. And he had gained this by killing Scott alone. Eliminating a few more high-profile targets down the line would easily make him the wealthiest man in Silver City.
Crime really does pay.
Yu Xian decided to keep the gold rather than sell it. As for the equipment he had no use for, he planned to sell it all to Qilin. Qilin had a standing program to acquire supernatural equipment, largely because its various squads were desperately short on supernatural weapons and gear.
According to standard procedure, any equipment confiscated from criminals would first be made public to the supernatural community. Qilin would then attempt to contact the original owners or their surviving family members, informing them that the culprit had been brought to justice and asking whether they wished to buy back the equipment. If they declined, the equipment would be transferred to the official channel, where members of Qilin's various squads could purchase it.
In the world of the supernaturals, law and order ended at the city gates. The moment one stepped outside the metropolitan borders, the law of the jungle took over, where the strong preyed upon the weak. That was also why supernatural beings had to pay if they wanted to reclaim confiscated equipment.
Once Qilin killed the perpetrator, the organization was considered to have avenged the victim. The spoils, therefore, belonged to Qilin by right. It was a rule accepted throughout the supernatural world.
When Yu Xian first learned of these regulations, he had been curious why Qilin had to publicly announce recovered equipment and even go out of its way to contact the original owners. Later, he found the answer in an old case file.
Several centuries ago, before this policy existed, a Qilin operative had carried a weapon confiscated from a criminal. Unfortunately, the victim's father saw the weapon, mistook the operative for the murderer, and ultimately killed him in revenge. Following that incident, Qilin's headquarters introduced the regulation and had enforced it ever since.
In fact, many parents of missing supernatural beings constantly monitored the Combat Police website. They desperately hoped for news of their children, but at the same time, they feared seeing their children's weapons appear on the website. As Yu Xian looked through Scott's collection of trophies, he realized that hundreds of parents would likely have their hearts broken in the near future.
A little after nine o'clock that evening, the Perfect Lifeform finally died. Without sunlight, it could no longer sustain Photosynthesis. Eventually, the energy within its body was no longer sufficient to heal its injuries. In the end, it withered to death, its corpse resembling a stalk of dried grain left under the scorching sun.
After confirming its death, Jin Dajun and Ou Huchen departed. Both men had taken time out of their busy schedules to provide support. Now that the matter had been resolved, they naturally had to return to their own responsibilities.
The Wickedness Purging Squad transported the Perfect Lifeform's corpse back to the branch office through one of Yu Xian's bubbles. The body would later be transferred to Qilin's headquarters for research.
After a brief discussion, Yu Xian, Zhang Shou, Gong Qian, and Bluebird decided to call it a day and rest for the night. Whatever remained could wait until tomorrow.
All the clues related to the mysterious drug were already stored in Yu Xian's mind. As for Peng Zu, he had undoubtedly gone into hiding. In fact, the "Peng Zu" that Hu Weijie had been meeting all this time was likely nothing more than a disguise. There was no point in rushing the investigation.
Yu Xian returned home. Today, he had first fought the Perfect Lifeform and then spent hours outwitting Scott and Nightblade. Even though he wasn't physically tired, the mental strain had begun to catch up with him. After taking a shower, he climbed into bed and quickly fell into a deep sleep.
The next day, Yu Xian and Zhang Shou attended school as usual, and nothing noteworthy happened. After classes ended in the afternoon, the two headed to the branch office.
With the assistance of the administrative staff, Yu Xian perfectly reconstructed Peng Zu's appearance from memory. As long as Peng Zu had ever appeared in public using that face, his identity would be uncovered. Afterward, Yu Xian took out a large quantity of equipment and handed it over for appraisal before selling everything to Qilin.
Qilin would undoubtedly profit from the transaction, while Yu Xian enjoyed the convenience of a direct sale. In a single stroke, he became a wealthy man with several "small goals" to his name.
Once he had finished handling his business, he leisurely returned to Jin Sheng's office. Zhang Shou was sprawled across a sofa playing games on his phone, while Gong Qian and Bluebird sat nearby discussing clothes and fashion in hushed voices.
Settling into an armchair, Yu Xian asked, "Who's free this weekend?"
Bluebird immediately replied, "Not me. I found a promising mission and plan to make a trip to Hibiscus City."
Under normal circumstances, squad members rarely stayed together for long. Everyone usually searched for missions that suited their abilities, earning merit points and growing stronger at their own pace.
The only reason they had spent so much time together recently was the chain of incidents involving the Aberrant Parasites, Zhou Tai, Deimos, the Perfect Lifeform, and everything connected to them. Now that those matters had largely been resolved, and since Peng Zu was unlikely to be found anytime soon, Bluebird planned to leave after Saturday's memorial service.
Zhang Shou raised his hand. "I'll be going with Sister Bluebird."
Yu Xian looked at him in surprise. "You're going to Hibiscus City?"
Zhang Shou nodded. "I need to work on getting stronger too. I can't keep being a spectator."
This mission had been a heavy blow to both Bluebird and Zhang Shou. Neither of them had managed to contribute much. If not for Yu Xian, Bluebird would likely have died. As for Zhang Shou, he had spent the entire operation watching from the sidelines, as though everything unfolding around him had nothing to do with him.
While Yu Xian had been intercepting Scott and Nightblade, Bluebird and Zhang Shou had already reached an understanding. They needed to catch up. At the very least, they couldn't be the ones holding the squad back.
Since both of them already had plans, Yu Xian turned his gaze toward Gong Qian. Unfortunately, she also shook her head and said that she had personal matters to attend to.
Yu Xian sighed helplessly. Suddenly, the image of a golden, slightly goofy-looking goose popped into his mind. Since everyone else was busy, he could try asking Nora instead.
1. 小目标 (xiǎo mùbiāo) or a small goal is a popular Chinese internet meme originating from a 2016 interview with real estate tycoon Wang Jianlin. When advising young people on how to become wealthy, he deadpanned that they should start with a "small goal," like earning 100 million RMB. It is used sarcastically to describe hitting a massive financial milestone. ☜