Chapter 84: Deposits Surpass One Hundred Million

After a light rain, the air in Wuyou City carried a hint of fresh earth. Around eight o’clock, the sun climbed into the sky, and the entire city roused itself from slumber.

Lin Huang, however, could not muster any joy. The night before, he had failed to book a ticket for today’s magi-crystal airship; he would have to wait until next week for the next departure.

Wearing a despondent expression, he dialed Lin Xin’s comm number. Before the first ring had finished, Lin Xin’s projection popped up.

“Brother, you did it, didn’t you?!” Lin Xin looked at him with eager anticipation.

“Yes, I’ve advanced to the Black Iron level,” Lin Huang nodded.

“After you left, I looked up information on the Six-Armed Enchantress online. She seems really powerful. But in the end, you’re even better, brother!” To Lin Xin, her brother was capable of anything.

“Of course!” Lin Huang grinned with pride.

“When are you coming back?” Lin Xin suddenly asked.

“There was a ship to Dominance City today, but I was busy yesterday and didn’t get a ticket. I’ll have to wait until next week…” Lin Huang explained. “Besides, even when I get back, I’ll have a few things to take care of in Dominance City, which will take at least another day or two. I’ll use the time here in Wuyou City to finish my errands.”

“Oh…” Lin Xin’s disappointment was plain to see.

“Wuyou City is famous for its food. I’ll bring you something delicious. What would you like?” Lin Huang asked with a smile.

“Everything!” Lin Xin puffed out her cheeks.

“Alright, I’ll pack one of each,” Lin Huang quickly agreed.

“No, I want two of each!” Lin Xin protested at once.

“Can you really eat that much, you little glutton?” Lin Huang raised an eyebrow.

“One for you and one for me—I want you to eat with me!” Lin Xin’s cheeks were still puffed in mock indignation.

“Alright, two of each it is…” Lin Huang could only shake his head in resignation.

“Brother, can you stay home a little longer this time when you come back?” Lin Xin hesitated before finally asking.

“There shouldn’t be any problem. Why do you ask?” Lin Huang was puzzled.

“We’re about to start the summer break next week. If I’m home alone, it’ll be boring…” Lin Xin explained.

The Seventh Security Zone also had four seasons: spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Whether students or workers, there were four long holidays each year.

Spring break took place during the plum rain season, usually lasting fifteen to twenty days. In fact, not every region experienced the plum rains; some areas had no such season at all.

Summer break, much like summer vacation on Earth, was the hottest holiday of the year, generally lasting a month and a half, sometimes up to two months if it was an especially hot year.

Autumn break marked the anniversary of the founding of the Alliance Government, granting a ten-day statutory holiday.

Winter break, akin to Earth’s winter vacation, was the coldest part of the year and typically lasted one to two months, sometimes even longer in especially cold regions.

When Lin Huang first learned there were four long holidays in this world, he had been surprised. His first thought was, “All together, that’s almost five months off a year. The ordinary people here are truly blessed!”

Later, he discovered that for most people, summer and winter breaks were not full vacations. They merely worked from home, free to arrange their own schedules.

“Summer break… I almost forgot about that,” Lin Huang scratched his head. “Staying home for a month or two gets pretty boring. Why don’t you pick a place, and when I’m back, we’ll go traveling together?”

“Traveling? That sounds great!” Lin Xin had never left Wulin Town her entire life. The thought of going on a trip with her brother filled her with excitement.

“Pick a place over the next few days. Once I’m back and have rested a couple of days, we’ll set off,” Lin Huang promised, finally feeling relieved after placating his little sister.

“Okay!” Lin Xin nodded vigorously.

After hanging up, Lin Huang finally went downstairs for breakfast.

After breakfast, he extended his hotel stay for another week at the front desk, then set out directly for the Hunter Association.

There was a Hunter Association branch in every medium-sized base. Lin Huang had originally planned to wait until he returned to Dominance City to exchange the beast carcasses he had collected for credit points. But since he couldn’t leave now, exchanging them in Wuyou City would be the same. In fact, the Hunter Association had standardized prices for all beast carcasses; the same beast would fetch the same price at any branch.

The Hunter Association branch was located in the city center, not far from Lin Huang’s hotel—a ten-minute walk at most.

It was only eight-thirty, yet the entrance was already bustling with people.

Lin Huang followed the crowd into the lobby. At the service desk to the left, several people were making inquiries. He waited patiently until they left, then stepped forward. “Hello, I’d like to know where I can exchange beast carcasses.”

“In the beast storage behind the main hall. I’ll have someone take you,” the young woman in a red dress replied, quickly dialing a number. After a brief word, she hung up. “A staff member will be here soon. Please wait a moment.”

A minute or two later, a burly young man arrived. Spotting Lin Huang, he came straight over.

“You’re the one here to exchange beast carcasses?”

“That’s me,” Lin Huang nodded.

“How many do you have?”

“Three or four hundred, I haven’t counted.” Lin Huang really wasn’t sure how many—he’d picked up quite a few while following Li Yanxing and the others, and later, Bai and Black Charcoal had hunted even more. His storage ring had long since filled up, and he couldn’t fit any more.

“Alright, come with me.” The young man led Lin Huang toward the back of the hall.

Beyond the hunter hall was a large courtyard. The young man guided Lin Huang through it to a row of warehouse-like buildings at the far end.

They stopped at one of the warehouse doors, and the young man turned to Lin Huang. “Just pile your beast carcasses here at the entrance. I’ll fetch my master to do the count.”

With that, he disappeared inside.

Lin Huang took out all the beast carcasses from his storage ring and stacked them in a small mountain near the door.

Before long, a short, stout old man shuffled out, the young man trailing silently behind.

The old man glanced at Lin Huang, said nothing, and simply circled the mound of beast carcasses. Then he turned to Lin Huang. “There are four hundred twenty-one in total: one hundred eighty-seven at Bronze Level Three, and two hundred thirty-four at Bronze Level Two. Does that sound right?”

“I never counted, so I can’t say for sure,” Lin Huang replied, a little stunned. It seemed strange—the old man had only walked around the heap, and surely couldn’t see the ones buried within. How had he arrived at such a precise number? But one thing Lin Huang was confident of: he’d cleared out all his Bronze Level One carcasses to make space for the more valuable ones. Only Level Two and Level Three remained.

“Dali, go ahead and count them,” the old man waved a hand carelessly at the young man, then turned and went back inside.

“My master never miscounts, but I’ll count them again for you,” the burly youth said, grabbing a monster by the leg and swinging it aside as if it weighed nothing.

Lin Huang watched in awe. The beast was a Triceratops—though not a giant, it weighed at least five tons—yet the young man had swung it one-handed.

One thing puzzled Lin Huang: there was no trace of life energy emanating from the youth.

“Born with colossal strength, or is there some other reason?” Lin Huang wondered as he watched him finish the count.

Amazingly, the total matched the old man’s tally exactly.

“Done?” The stout old man had returned without Lin Huang noticing. He stood at the warehouse door and smiled at Lin Huang. “Bronze Level Two carcasses usually fetch three to five hundred thousand credits each; Bronze Level Three, five to eight hundred thousand. I’ve calculated the total—two hundred and fifteen million, one hundred fifty thousand credits. I’ll round it up for you: two hundred and fifteen million, two hundred thousand.”

“Thank you, sir.” Lin Huang had expected just over a hundred million at best. The actual sum of more than two hundred million exceeded all his expectations.

“Dali, take him to the finance office to complete the transfer,” the old man said, handing over a slip of paper with the figure 215200000 written on it.

Lin Huang paused for a second, then accepted it.

“Let’s go. The transfer is done at the finance counter in the main hall,” Dali said, leading him away.

On the way, Lin Huang finally couldn’t resist asking, “What does the Hunter Association do with so many beast carcasses?”

“Most end up on the market as food. Some rare ones are used for research,” Dali explained. “The Hunter Association works closely with the House of Gastronomy and other organizations—huge orders for beast carcasses are filled every year.”

“So there’s a partnership with the House of Gastronomy…” Lin Huang finally understood why the Hunter Association needed such a vast supply.

The House of Gastronomy was an organization most gourmet hunters joined. It recruited only gourmet hunters, so for many things, it relied on cooperation with other organizations. For food safety, it didn’t purchase ingredients externally. By working with the Hunter Association and Adventurers’ Paradise, the initial screening of ingredients was handled by those organizations, saving the House of Gastronomy a great deal of effort.

Dali brought Lin Huang to the finance office, took the slip of paper from him, and handed it to a middle-aged woman behind the counter.

She glanced at the slip, then at Dali and Lin Huang. “Two hundred fifteen million, two hundred thousand. Is that correct?”

“That’s right,” Lin Huang nodded.

As soon as he spoke, a white interface popped up before his eyes.

“Just scan and sign in the bottom right. The transfer will be complete within three minutes,” the woman explained.

Lin Huang placed his Imperial Heart Ring near the barcode. Before he’d even withdrawn his hand, the transfer notice arrived.

He glanced at the message—it was from the Credit Management Bureau.

“Dear Mr. Lin Huang, you have received a transfer of 215,200,000.”

Seeing that string of numbers, Lin Huang couldn’t help but feel delighted. “Whatever the currency, this is the first time I’ve broken a hundred million in savings in my life…”