Chapter 55

Just after three in the afternoon, the sky began to darken. When the last rays of sunlight were blocked by a distant upper continent, Qian Ye woke up on time, ate his fill, and drank his fill, then checked his physical condition. He received another small surprise: the internal organs that had been damaged during his cultivation had mostly healed. It seemed that the recovery ability under the bloodline constitution was indeed extraordinarily powerful.

With this, Qian Ye no longer had the greatest隐患 in his cultivation of the Bingfa Jue, and he could advance boldly. Thirty levels of the Martial King rank were clearly not his limit!

Qian Ye did a final check of Dawnlight, then left his hiding place and ran towards Blackstream City.

Blackstream City was still not closed at this moment. It followed the habits of the upper continents and would only close its gates at midnight, reopening at six in the morning.

Blackstream City was not afraid of a sneak attack by the dark races. It was located in the heart of the human settlement area, surrounded by over a dozen towns and villages, and had thousands of expeditionary troops stationed within. It was only a few hundred kilometers away from a legion fortress of the expeditionary army, so the city lord of Blackstream City followed the empire's customs and did not take the dark races seriously.

Qian Ye now had a thick beard, and his hair had turned a dull yellow, making him look like a young scavenger. After paying fifty copper coins, he smoothly entered the city.

Qian Ye found the cheapest small inn and stayed there, just like a real scavenger, then began to observe Qi Yue's movements.

The Qi family was a prominent clan in Blackstream City. The main figure was Qi Yue's father, who served as a major in the logistics department of an expeditionary army division, a position equivalent to a regiment commander. At the same time, Qi Yue's uncle was the financial officer of Blackstream City.

With these dual backgrounds, the Qi family was one of the top five families in Blackstream City. Moreover, the surname Qi was a common one, and in the upper continents of the empire, the main branch of the Qi family could rank among the second-tier noble families. Of course, the Qi family in Blackstream City was just a distant branch of the main line.

Qian Ye had already gathered comprehensive intelligence on the Qi family.

Qi Yue himself was a second-level warrior, cultivating the family's inherited Hou Tu Jue, which gave him an extra boost in physical strength, but lacked offensive power. Qi Yue's hobby was collecting original energy guns, and he had managed to acquire several high-quality ones. However, with his second-level warrior strength, he could not fully unleash their true power. Mr. Wang, who died at Qian Ye's hands, was indeed Qi Yue's uncle and also the manager of the Qi family's peripheral business.

After Mr. Wang's death, Qi Yue indeed became much more cautious, always bringing at least two guards with him. However, after observing several times, Qian Ye found that he always had only one third-level guard, and the fourth-level guard never appeared, for unknown reasons.

Qian Ye observed for three consecutive days without finding a good opportunity. But Qian Ye was patient; he had once lain in wait for a week to ambush a target. This wait was nothing.

On the fourth night, Qian Ye suddenly saw a truck drive out of the Qi family's residence, heading towards the city gate. It was an ordinary supply truck, usually used to transport wild game. However, as it passed by, Qian Ye smelled a different scent, and the strong smell of fresh blood in the truck.

There was someone in the truck! And the fresh blood scent that Qian Ye had deliberately memorized indicated that Qi Yue was inside.

Qian Ye remained motionless, waiting for the truck to drive far away before emerging from his hiding place. He followed the truck under the cover of night.

The truck arrived at the city gate, which was already closed. However, after some negotiation between the people on the truck and the gate guards, the steam engine that operated the gate started up again, and the heavy steel gate slid open to create a passage. The truck then left the city and disappeared into the night.

Qian Ye watched the truck drive away. He did not go through the city gate but chose an unmanned section of the city wall, climbed up, and then jumped over, chasing after the direction the truck had taken. The view on the wasteland was very far, and Qian Ye was not afraid of losing the truck.

The truck drove about a hundred kilometers and stopped beside an abandoned power station.

Qi Yue and two others jumped out of the truck, waiting for something. One of them looked like a guard, and the other was an old man, but he appeared to be only a first-level warrior, which was barely enough to protect himself in the wasteland.

Qian Ye hid a kilometer away and observed quietly.

Even though it was night, at this distance, he could still see clearly, even better than with a four-power night vision scope. The newly developed dark vision was even stronger than expected, and now within five hundred meters, Qian Ye no longer needed a scope.

After nearly an hour, three figures emerged from the darkness, approaching like ghosts.

Qi Yue made a gesture, and the old man walked to the truck, took down a box, and stood behind Qi Yue. Qi Yue's guard, without hesitation, raised his original energy gun and pointed it at the three approaching figures.

Qian Ye suddenly sensed a faint bloodline aura from the three figures. They were bloodlines!

Qian Ye was startled. He did not expect that Qi Yue would secretly leave the city at night to meet with bloodlines! Qi Yue was the young master of the Qi family and, according to Mr. Wang, had another hidden identity. His personal appearance here suggested that his intentions were not small.

Qian Ye did not hesitate, immediately began to stealthily approach the transaction site, and wanted to listen to their conversation.

This stealth approach was unexpectedly smooth. Qian Ye, using the cover of night and the terrain, stealthily approached to within fifty meters before stopping.

He was an expert in stealth and ambush. After converting to the bloodline constitution, he also gained the cold-blooded characteristic of bloodlines, allowing his body temperature to drop to extremely low levels, making him invisible to the infrared night vision of bloodlines. Additionally, he could control and conceal his bloodline aura, using original energy to mask it, making him undetectable by human bloodline vision.

The three bloodlines, despite being pointed at by the original energy gun, were not afraid.

The leading bloodline spoke in a hoarse voice, "You don't think that with this broken gun, you can threaten us, do you? Don't forget, in terms of original energy weapon technology, we, the Scions of Holy Blood, are even more advanced."

Qi Yue smiled and said, "It's just an added layer of security. This gun may not be much, but it's loaded with a mithril bullet. I spent a great deal to get it, and I won't use it unless absolutely necessary."

The three bloodlines all trembled, and one even took a step back.

The leading bloodline angrily said, "You actually prepared a mithril bullet! Are you insulting me?"

Facing three powerful bloodlines, Qi Yue was not at all panicked and calmly said, "No! On the contrary, my sincerity in this transaction is unparalleled. This mithril bullet is a testament to my sincerity. I hope this transaction goes smoothly and that future transactions will also go smoothly. If my actions have offended you, the benefits of the transaction should be sufficient compensation."

The three bloodlines' attitudes softened.

The leading bloodline made a gesture, and one of his companions took out a briefcase from under his cloak and walked to his side. This briefcase was typical of bloodline style, black with a matte finish, bronze corners, and extremely exquisite and luxurious craftsmanship. The materials and workmanship alone were rare. The value of what could be in this case was unimaginable.

Qi Yue made a gesture, and the old man also walked up, carrying a plain and unadorned box. He held the box with both hands, walking carefully, afraid of any tilt.

"This box has a special mechanism. Once activated, it must remain perfectly level for three hours, after which the mechanism will automatically deactivate. If it tilts more than five degrees during this time, it will... boom!" Qi Yue made an explosion gesture.

The leading bloodline glanced at Qi Yue and said coldly, "You are indeed very cautious."

Qi Yue smiled and said, "I can't help it. When facing a powerful fourth-level bloodline, being overly cautious is necessary. I've already said that my goal is to complete the transaction successfully."

The bloodline elder grunted but was helpless. As long as they picked up this specially calibrated box, they could not avoid the mithril bullet. Moreover, to prevent any accidents within three hours, they needed to leave quickly, as anything could happen in the wasteland.

Qi Yue's arrangement completely eliminated the bloodlines' thoughts of robbing the goods.

Although this was the first transaction in a series, in the eyes of most bloodlines, humans were still slaves and food from a thousand years ago. Whether they kept their word often depended on their mood.

The bloodline elder had indeed prepared to kill and rob if things did not go as planned. As for the transaction, he could find someone else. Humans were numerous, and Blackstream City had more than one Qi family, and the Qi family had more than one young master like Qi Yue.

The bloodline elder took the briefcase, carefully inspected it, and handed it to one of his companions. He then grunted and turned to leave.

Only after the three bloodlines disappeared did Qi Yue let out a long breath, his whole body seeming to collapse, breaking out in a cold sweat.

Facing a fourth-level bloodline, the pressure was immense. Past experience had shown that dealing with the dark races required being prepared to risk one's life. Every gold coin obtained through a transaction came with a risk proportional to its value.

However, when he took the briefcase in his hands, Qi Yue's eyes shone with excitement. He carefully opened the box, took a look, and then closed the lid with satisfaction, saying, "Let's go. We need to get back before dawn."

The three of them got into the truck and returned along the same route.

In the darkness, as the three bloodlines moved like ghosts, the leading elder suddenly stopped! The bloodline behind him, holding the briefcase, could not stop in time and almost collided with him. The shock was significant, and both were frightened.

"Be careful! There's an enemy, protect the box!" the bloodline elder urgently instructed.

At that moment, a round object was suddenly thrown from the darkness.