Chapter 25: Misjudgment (1)

Lin Ting didn’t have much to say against Lu Yu’s words.

“Anyway, how you get there is up to you. We just want to get the information,” Lin Ting said with a faint smile. She gently brushed aside the long strands of hair that had been blown across her face by the breeze.

There are many beautiful women in Fanggang, and Lu Yu has seen quite a few. However, among them Lin Ting’s charm is truly unique. She is naturally very beautiful, exuding a delicate grace mixed with a touch of allure, drawing people’s attention involuntarily. Her current action of gently brushing her hair back with her fingers adds even more to her enchanting and seductive charm, creating an irresistible appeal that makes one want to steal more than a few glances.

Lu Yu’s lips twitched slightly. He coughed softly and gently looked away.

In Fanggang, there was indeed someone who gave him a headache.

Lin Ting was one of them.

A woman with a fourth-degree black belt in judo, who could actually place in the top three in a city-level full-contact fighting competition alongside men, might indeed be considered very beautiful.

All men have the desire to pursue.

However, beautiful women often have a sharp sting.

In Fanggang City, no criminal caught by Lin Ting has ever entered the police station unscathed.

The worst case was also a dislocation of both arms.

A thorny rose! That’s how someone referred to this delicate beauty!

So, don’t be deceived by Lin Ting’s appearance.

Maybe the moment you reach out to tease, your hand will be sent on a one-day trip to the hospital.

Lin Ting looked at Lu Yu and continued, “As for the payment, how do you plan to charge?”

Lu Yu frowned slightly and thought for a moment before saying, “If there were no danger involved, you definitely wouldn’t have come looking for me. Since this task involves risks, I’ll have to give it my all. Therefore, I can’t afford to lose money either. From what you’ve said, this monster must be somewhat stronger than a Black Demon Wolf. Then the price should naturally be higher as well—you wouldn’t have any objection to that, would you?”

Lin Ting nodded gently and said, “This is only appropriate.”

“This is the first time I’m selling information to you. Twenty Star Spirit Pearls, which is equivalent to the price of one Star Spirit Stone, I think that’s not expensive at all. So for the information about this monster, I’ll collect twenty Star Spirit Pearls in advance. Regardless of whether you can obtain the information or not, I won’t return the Star Spirit Pearls. Any questions?”

“What happens after that is done?” Lin Ting asked, blinking her big eyes.

“Pay the rest according to the attributes,” Lu Yu said with a faint smile, thinking to himself: This woman would be far better suited for business than being a police officer.

“The conditions are acceptable to me. However, I don’t make the final decision at the camp. I’ll go back and discuss it with the others first,” Lin Ting stood up and said, “If he agrees, I’ll show you the coordinates.”

“Hoping it can be soon.” Lu Yu glanced at the time on his watch, calculating the time until sunset.

He still prefers not to go out at night unless there’s something particularly special going on.

After Lin Ting walked away, people around Lu Yu gradually began to approach.

Several people walked up to Lu Yu, looking at his Soul Gathering Hand, and said, “Friend, are you selling your star soldier?”

Another person also said, “If your friend is willing to sell, we can discuss a good price.”

Lu Yu glanced at the group of people.

These people were about the same age as him, roughly in their early twenties, and their attitude was quite polite.

“I’m sorry, but I’m not planning to sell this one,” Lu Yu said with a slight smile, shaking his head to decline.

One of them smiled and said, “Friend, we know you have a way to obtain Star Spirit Stones. We’re offering to buy two of them at the price of fifty Star Spirit Beads—what do you think?”

“Fifty coins?” Lu Yu looked up at the group.

Their expressions were serious, each of them nervously clenching their fists, not looking like they were joking at all.

The person making the offer continued, “I know that right now someone is offering twenty spirit pearls for a piece of spirit stone, but that’s just a nominal price with no actual market—it’s merely for show. However, considering that we noticed you sold a Silver Blade the other day and today you’ve brought along another star-forged weapon, it’s clear you have ways of acquiring spirit stones. If that’s the case, then how about this—we offer twenty-five spirit pearls for one piece. Do you think that works?”

“Twenty-five for one piece?” Lu Yu hesitated slightly while secretly observing the group.

These people were relatively young, though they did not possess the kind of upright and righteous demeanor that others often spoke of.

But he’s not the kind of person who is deceitful or cunning.

Selling Star Soul Stones to someone like him shouldn’t cause any trouble for me during this period.

Lu Yu hesitated for a moment, looking somewhat troubled, and said, “I’ll try. After all, the Star Spirit Stones aren’t mine; just because I say I can get them doesn’t mean I definitely will. If you can wait, I’ll attempt to bring back two pieces within the next couple of days.”

When several people heard this, they were immediately overjoyed.

The soul of the warrior exists, but there is no Star Spirit Stone.

Not only them, but the entire camp was anxious.

Now that they can get the Star Spirit Stones ahead of others, it’s worth paying even ten more Star Spirit Beads.

“Okay, okay.” The person who made the offer kept nodding and said, “My name is Zhou Hao, and all of these are my friends. If you can bring back the Star Spirit Stone, just come find us at this place.”

Zhou Hao introduced himself by name, then pointed toward a tent in the camp, indicating that it was their residence.

“This is not a problem,” Lu Yu said with a nod and a smile.

“Then we won’t bother you any further; we’ll just wait for your good news.”

Several people said goodbye to Lu Yu and left happily.

Many people nearby overheard the conversation and began to approach Lu Yu, hoping to purchase a few Star Spirit Stones.

“I’m sorry, but the Star Soul Stones aren’t mine to begin with—I don’t have an unlimited supply. Selling two just now was already my limit,” Lu Yu replied directly, refusing the request.

Many of those who approached with sighs had their eyes on Lu Yu’s Star Soldiers, but hesitated and ultimately gave up.

It is said that this person can withstand a single strike from a Black Magic Wolf and instantly kill a Wolf Demon. Someone with such attacking power should not be trifled with for now.

Lu Yu watched as many people left in disappointment, but he secretly smiled to himself.

He understood the proverb “A common man has no crime, but possessing a jade makes him guilty.”

The Star Soul Ore is like a priceless piece of jade. When people do not recognize its value, they pay no attention to it.

But when people come to recognize his worth, they will go to great lengths to obtain the precious jade.

Nowadays, a mine is like a piece of precious jade; whoever holds it is in danger!

Lu Yu didn’t want to sell too much Star Spirit Stone at once because he didn’t want others to associate him too closely with the mysterious person from the mine.

He guessed that someone must have gone to the mine early that morning. When they saw the bodies, they probably didn’t have the courage to venture deeper.

This does not mean that those people will give up on the mine.

Once these people return, the news will surely spread for real.

It was only a matter of time. After all, paper can never wrap fire.

At that time, someone will certainly link the Star Soul Stone, the person who killed the Black Demon Wolf, and him together.

If he sells too much Starling Stone at once, it might lead the locals to associate him more closely with the masked figure, which would not be a good outcome.

He only needed others to suspect that he had connections with the mine workers. Selling one or two Star Sprites’ stones would be just a small portion of a day’s production for someone who owned a mine.

People would only assume that the Star Spirit Stone he obtained from the mysterious figure was merely the result of some cooperative arrangement.

Adding to the earlier attributes like those of the Black Magic Wolf, dying in the mine would make many people even more wary of the mysterious figure’s strength.

Therefore, they would first try to find out who the mysterious person was and figure out a way to take control of the mine, and would not come after him.

The more mysterious the masked identity is, the harder it becomes for people to figure out, and the safer the mine will be.

As long as the mine remains safe, no one will bother him.

If someone were to recklessly enter the mine at this moment.

With his strength, he should be able to keep things under control for now.

Gradually, as he accumulated more Star Spirit Stones, obtained more powerful skills, and commanded stronger star soldiers, occupying mines and even expanding his territory became much easier.

After refusing offers from several teams who were willing to pay thirty Star Spirit Pearls for a single Star Spirit Stone, Lu Yu knew that he would be safe.

People would surely think that if they had a special relationship with the mysterious figure from the mine, how could they possibly sell only two Star Sprites’ Stones?

Just as Lu Yu was rejecting the seventh team’s request, Lin Ting returned with six or seven people.

One of them was someone Lu Yu recognized.

That was the person who bought two of his Star Soldiers two days ago but didn’t pay.

At this moment, the man had a two-meter-long stone rod strapped to his back, and combined with his towering, muscular frame of nearly two meters in height, he exuded an imposing and formidable presence.

When this person saw Lu Yu, he immediately smiled and walked over, saying, “Mr. Lu, you arrived quite quickly.”

Saying this, he took out a small bag and handed it to Lu Yu, saying, “There are a total of forty-four Star Spirit Beads here. I can now repay the debt I owed you today.”

Lu Yu took the Star Spirit Pearl without counting and put it away, exclaiming in surprise, “Your speed is really fast. I can’t even produce a few in an entire day.”

Hearing Lu Yu’s compliment, the other party laughed heartily and said, “With two star weapons in hand and more people on our side, hunting down the魔猿 will be far more efficient than you doing it alone.”

Lu Yu smiled and turned his head, looking at a middle-aged man beside Lin Ting and said, “Captain Wang, long time no see.”

“Yeah, long time no see,” the middle-aged man stared at Lu Yu, his testicles aching. However, with someone nearby, he couldn’t lash out.

Lu Yu noticed that behind Lin Ting and Captain Wang, there was another man.

This man was about six feet tall, around forty years old, with a broad square face, thick eyebrows, large eyes, and his dark bronze skin resembled iron casting, exuding a metallic luster.

When Lu Yu saw this person, the other person was also looking at him.

From a distance, Lu Yu could feel an overwhelming aura approaching. The man exuded an imposing presence without even showing anger, his eyes sharp and piercing like lightning, continuously scrutinizing Lu Yu.

Lu Yu stood opposite this person and faintly felt a sense of pressure.

When he noticed the hesitant and somewhat fearful glances that Lin Ting and Captain Wang cast toward this person, he realized immediately that this individual was no ordinary person.

However, in Fanggang, he couldn’t recall anyone like that.

“You’re Lu Yu, right, young man?” The middle-aged man scrutinized Lu Yu for a while before finally smiling and saying, “Your face looks familiar; I think I’ve seen you somewhere before.”

“It might be that I’m too ordinary; you must have mistaken me for someone else.” Lu Yu, instead of showing any nervousness, smiled and said, “I heard from Lin Ting that she can’t make decisions about money matters alone. So, I wonder if the several of you coming together can make the decision?”

“I’ll make the decision then,” the middle-aged man said, looking at Lu Yu with a smile. “The conditions you mentioned are acceptable, but I wonder if you actually have the ability!”

The middle-aged man spoke in a calm tone. Yet, beneath his words lay an aura of authority that was difficult to challenge. As he spoke, his commanding presence grew even stronger.

The middle-aged man indicated that he had the authority to make decisions, which made Lu Yu believe even more that this person was no ordinary individual.

Facing the middle-aged man’s doubt, Lu Yu wasn’t upset at all. He said, “Ability isn’t something you can see. It seems to be proven through action. If you believed your people could retrieve the data, you wouldn’t have come looking for me.”

The middle-aged man looked at Lu Yu, slightly surprised.

It’s not easy for someone to maintain such confidence in front of him.

“Well, I have to make sure I get what I paid for, don’t you agree?” the middle-aged man smiled. “One of my bodyguards is quite skilled too. How about you have a little match with him? If you can beat him, I’ll let you go.”

Lu Yu’s lips curved slightly, knowing the main topic was coming up.