Chapter 82

Chapter 25: Three Days

In the outskirts of the mechanical town, in the mountains.

Ye Qi, who had rested for a night, got up and left the cave filled with moss and the smell of decaying wood, breathing in the fresh air. This was his temporary refuge, or rather, one of Dikaisi's secret hideouts.

Ye Qi was not entirely satisfied with this hideout; it was damp, cold, and exceptionally narrow. However, he did not complain, as he had lived in even worse conditions before. It was hard to imagine that someone who had a dry and clean secret passage would have such a shabby hideout.

"The secret passage is often used by the Witch!" Dikaisi, who was preparing breakfast nearby, explained to Ye Qi. Over a simple campfire, the soup in the pot was boiling, bubbling vigorously. The aroma of beef and rice made Ye Qi inhale deeply. Dikaisi directly handed him a bowl: "Help yourself!"

"Thank you!"

The autumn sunlight was bright enough. Ye Qi sat on a green stone and began his breakfast under the warm morning sun. Last night, when they left the cemetery, the Witch had bid him farewell in her unique way. He had to stay with Dikaisi for about three more days due to the M500's modification.

Thinking of the Witch's flying kiss under the moonlight, Ye Qi couldn't help but shake his head. Although they were technically enemies, he had to admit that she had a captivating charm. Of course, there was one thing that left a particularly deep impression on him...

"What do you mean, unless I pay one million gold pence as her maintenance fee? It's just information about the contents of a box!" Recalling the exaggerated condition she had set, Ye Qi couldn't help but feel a twitch at the corner of his mouth. One million gold pence was two hundred million. Unless he robbed the highest government's bank vault, he probably had no hope in this life. He casually picked up a wet towel, wiped his face, and threw away the unrealistic thoughts. Refreshed, Ye Qi looked at Dikaisi: "Master, do you need any help?"

"Help? Modifying firearms isn't that simple!" Dikaisi glanced at Ye Qi in surprise and rejected his offer without hesitation. However, he then turned and pointed to the campfire and pot on the ground: "But you can clean these up and fetch some more water, I'm sure you can manage that!"

Watching Dikaisi walk back into the cave, Ye Qi shrugged indifferently. Although he wanted to witness the firearm modification firsthand, Dikaisi's immediate rejection had taken away that desire. After all, Ye Qi was merely curious.

Holding the pot, Ye Qi walked towards the nearby water source and opened his character attribute panel:

"C-Class mission completed; gained 3,000 experience..."

"Grasper of the Bound (Starlit): Made from leather filled with vengeful spirits, resistant to blades and swords; Effect: Void Hand 2 times/day."

Void Hand: Summons a giant hand made of vengeful spirits to capture enemies, with a paralyzing effect; lasts 2 minutes.

The completion notification appeared after the black-robed priest was knocked out by the young vampire. The Starlit-grade holy artifact, Grasper of the Bound, was activated by the strange wolf after Ye Qi agreed to find and kill two demons of the same level as Freyka within a certain period. Naturally, Ye Qi was very dissatisfied with the strange wolf's price, but he had to agree to use the new holy artifact freely.

However, when Ye Qi summoned the Void Hand and crushed a millstone-sized rock, his dissatisfaction gradually dissipated along with the rock's powder in the wind...

...

In the Sacred Forest District, the cathedral.

In the dark, cold underground chamber, a figure shrouded in a black cloak silently listened to the report of his subordinate.

"The black-robed priest Fongkanis and his deacons have lost contact near the mechanical town, and are presumed to be completely wiped out!" The reporter paused, glanced at the figure in the cloak, and continued: "The Witch has contacted the Ventrue family; during this time, the Demon Hunter's apostle fought alongside the Witch to kill the black-robed deacon..."

"Hmm!" A faint nasal sound came, cold and sharp like a longsword in an ice cave. Even when speaking, the figure in the cloak remained motionless like a statue: "Increase the bounty on the Witch, and keep a close eye on the Ventrue family. As for the Demon Hunter's apostle, who is he?"

"He is the newly appointed apostle Ye Qi of the Demon Hunter's Guild!" The reporter cautiously provided information about Ye Qi: "He is the chief apostle of this session, and has... "

"Oh, an apostle who can use two abilities?" The voice of the figure in the cloak became slightly sharper: "Send someone to contact him. If he is willing to join the Church... if not, spread the news of his cooperation with the Witch..."

"Yes, my lord!"

...

"Teacher, the apostle Ye Qi cooperated with the Witch to kill the Church's black-robed deacon..." The stern-faced man frowned as he reported to his teacher, but was interrupted by Pednang's wave: "Seal the news... or, spread several versions of the news!"

"Yes, teacher!" The stern-faced man bowed in agreement, but his duty as a Demon Hunter made him speak up again, hesitating before his teacher: "But teacher, Ye Qi..."

"Ye Qi is absolutely fine!" Pednang smiled to dispel his disciple's doubts: "Perhaps some Demon Hunters may betray the guild, but Ye Qi can be trusted! After all..."

...

"Crack!"

Watching the gun barrel bend again on the workbench, Ye Qi couldn't help but sigh. Although Dikaisi had refused his offer to help without hesitation, he had then handed him a notebook detailing how to simply modify firearms. Perhaps there was such a thing as talent; after studying the notebook, Ye Qi started with the simplest modifications but failed ten times in a row.

"A person must know their limits! After all, even if a chicken has wings, it doesn't necessarily fly!" The strange wolf mercilessly mocked Ye Qi's talent for firearm modification: "Especially a featherless chicken!"

"Chickens that can't fly are often kept in pens! Even an eagle, if kept in a pen, will become a chicken!" Ye Qi placed the tenth completely ruined gun barrel aside, picked up the eleventh, and spoke slowly. He also didn't forget to counter the strange wolf: "So, even a wolf with a snake's tail, if kept for too long, will become a obedient lapdog!"

"Who are you calling a dog?!" The insulted strange wolf roared in Ye Qi's mind: "Bastard! I'll kill you!"

"Whoever agrees, that's who!" Placing the eleventh gun barrel on the workbench, Ye Qi replied indifferently: "We have a companion contract, so we can't harm each other!"

"..."

...

"Skill acquired: Mechanical Modification."

When Ye Qi successfully carved a groove on the fifth gun barrel, the system notification finally sounded. By then, the number of gun barrels wasted due to his failures had reached fifty...

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