Damn it! Let’s smash the darkness together!
Chapter 197 - 20 Xu Shu: This world is just a damned loop

Chapter 197: Chapter 20 Xu Shu: This world is just a damned loop

In the prolonged silence of death, Li Tao finally moistened his dry lips and took the initiative to break the silence, "You’ve made it onto the Qingyun List, hasn’t the Supervision Bureau arranged for the Patrol Team to accompany you out of the city for frontier expansion, to accumulate initial Contribution Points?"

"Nope..." Xu Shu’s eyes were lifeless as he thought to himself, how do I explain to you that the Supervision Bureau only just recognized me today? Should I show you my school admission proof?

He pondered whether the Supervision Bureau typically arranged for new Transcendents to earn their first Contribution Points by directly assigning protection from the Patrol Team’s staff. The treatment sounded pretty good; could he apply for it?

Xu Shu had quite a few thoughts in mind.

Li Tao, however, after more than a decade of service in the Astronomy Association, had never encountered such a situation before.

After musing for a while, he said, "Since that’s the case, we can only use these two solutions. The first is to convert the Contribution Points into cash of equivalent value. Normally, one Contribution Point is about ten thousand, but it’s generally accepted that there will be a surge in value. We can give you six hundred thousand in cash at a twenty percent increase."

Xu Shu furrowed his brow.

One Contribution Point equaled ten thousand in cash?

It seemed like a good deal to get a twenty percent surge, but while money was easy to earn, Contribution Points were hard to accumulate.

And if you wanted to exchange Contribution Points for Gold, you could do so at any time; however, if Gold needed to be exchanged back into Contribution Points, you had to wait for someone willing to trade, and by then the exchange rate might even be higher.

So, after careful consideration, this deal was definitely not worth it.

He directly asked, "What about the second option?"

"The second option," Li Tao explained, "is that we in the Astronomy Association will owe you the Contribution Points for now, and will pay you whenever you can access the trade zone."

Although he was talking about owing money, he showed no embarrassment because the Astronomy Association, as the de facto largest authority in the Post-Apocalypse Era of the Human Alliance, had the final say.

If this kid dared to utter any disrespectful words like "The Astronomy Association wouldn’t default on its promise, would it?" Li Tao felt he would have to school him properly.

Thinking this, Li Tao even looked forward to Xu Shu saying such things, eager to satisfy his urge to play the role of a mentor and educator.

"To teach and resolve doubts" had always been the creed of the Astronomy Association.

"Could your Astronomy Association possibly..." Xu Shu began to say.

"Possibly what?" Li Tao encouraged him, his excitement growing.

Good, good, good! Stinking kid, I recognized you as the Iron Armor Barbarian Bull the moment I saw your name! A youngster who has reached the Qingyun List, yet you lack the basic knowledge, surely because you didn’t study seriously and didn’t pay attention in school!

And you even dare to harbor doubts about our Astronomy Association! I’ll see how I can give you a lesson on behalf of your parents!

At that moment, the fierce fire burning in his heart had washed away his previous joy and sorrow.

Now he only desired to give this kid a severe lesson!

Come on, child, say it! Say it, say it!

Say it already!

Watching Li Tao, who for some reason had a strange gleam in his eyes, Xu Shu hesitated and asked, "Will there be any interest?"

Li Tao’s expression petrified in an instant.

"Huh? Director Li, is this acceptable?"

"Of course not!" Li Tao almost ground his teeth to dust.

You think of the Astronomy Association as what? Interest? How outrageous!

"Firstly, there will be no interest, and secondly, it seems you’ve made your choice, so we’ll owe you for now. I’ve added you as a friend, accept it. When you’re able to trade and can collect Contribution Points, let me know. I’ll close this bounty for you."

Li Tao, acting as an official, showed Xu Shu the operation process in front of him:

[Bounty: Lu Bingwei, Second-level Sentinel]...

Looking at the familiar name, his finger trembled slightly as he clicked—[Bounty Fulfilled!]

[Confirmation Information: New Calendar Eighteenth Year, November 23, D8B3 Zone, Astronomy Association;]

[Notary: Li Tao, Second Order Chess Master]

[sword catcher: Gu Pan, First-tier Warrior] (Note: Bounty pending payment)

Whew!

Li Tao exhaled a long breath, added Xu Shu as a friend, and said, "Please confirm it."

Xu Shu nodded and asked curiously, "sword catcher? As in Bounty Hunter, right? Anything I should watch out for?"

Li Tao nodded, "Pretty much. Once you’ve taken the Astronomy Association’s bounty, it’s assumed you’re working for the Astronomy Association. The Association won’t restrict you or mainly assign you tasks, but having the record of a sword catcher means that next time, you can actively accept some bounties. It’s a kind of symbol of your contribution to the Astronomy Association. Other than that, there’s nothing to be aware of... oh, one thing."

As Xu Shu mused about whether he could earn money through this, he asked casually, "What should I be aware of?"

Li Tao smiled, "Don’t let yourself end up on a bounty."

Saying that, he walked to the door, and before leaving, gestured, "Xiao Yu, take him out."

"Okay."

The young waitress who had previously worn a gray suit and had an efficient air about her returned, "Mr. Xu Shu, I will take you out. Oh, and here is the sword catcher medal, please take good care of it."

As she spoke, she brought over a shining small medal, wrapped in a transparent gel, soft and bouncy. On one side was the emblem of the Astronomy Association’s ring-shaped building, and on the back were eight small characters: Arrayed before me, in harmony with heaven and earth!

Xu Shu nodded, following the rather cute, short-haired girl as he retraced the path they had come by.

Just around the corner,

Li Tao walked to the window, looking out at the waning sun, suddenly clutching his chest with a pained expression, his eyes red-rimmed.

The memory of that young beggar kid, often taken by his poor father to eat at his house, who would call him "brother," was vivid in his mind...