Chapter 4 Contract Mission
Bai Cangzhu descended the mountain along the stone steps path from the summit, noticing it was a high mountain by the sea. The air was heavy with moisture, and the stone steps were slippery.
Combined with the biting mountain wind and steep slope, those willing to climb this mountain to become disciples were indeed mostly lunatics.
Accompanying Bai Cangzhu was the owner of the mountaintop inn, who called himself Tang Baduan. His actual business was in the small town at the foot of the mountain, but Mercenary Tao's fame had grown.
What started as casually acting as a middleman for Mercenary Tao's business had now generated income surpassing his main occupation.
Incidentally, he also built the inn on the summit to do some side business.
Mercenary Tao earned money at an astonishing rate and spent it just as casually. He might kill the owner if he was in a bad mood or give a large sum of money if he was in a good mood. Tang Baduan's ability to make money off Mercenary Tao showed his excellent judgment.
Arriving at the foot of the mountain, a car was already waiting at the town entrance. It was a small taxi characteristic of the Dragon Ball world, not large, with rounded lines.
Tang Baduan pointed at the car and said,
"You young man are quite calm and composed. If you were truly trying to become a disciple under a martial arts grandmaster like Master Mutaito, you'd likely be promising."
"But Master Mercenary Tao doesn't go for that. You'd better actually be able to complete the mission, otherwise… hmph hmph."
He puffed out his belly and grunted twice, the meaning obvious.
"This car will take you to South City to find the client. The others have already departed."
Bai Cangzhu wasn't annoyed, still wearing that faint, indifferent smile. He opened the car door and got in. The car quickly started, disappearing into the mountain forest path amidst dust.
As Tang Baduan walked, he thought, every year a batch of fearless people wanted to become Mercenary Tao's disciples, but they either lost their nerve or were never heard from again.
However, this young man indeed gave him a strange feeling.
Although always smiling, there was an indescribable oddness. He was handsome, and his smile seemed sunny at first glance, but looking longer, it felt somewhat fake and creepy.
Bai Cangzhu sat in this peculiar taxi. The driver was a bearded man whose physique seemed about to burst the seat.
"Can this car turn into a capsule, sir?"
Bai Cangzhu asked the driver with a harmless smile.
The driver glanced in the rearview mirror, clearly uninterested in chatting with this guy who looked popular with women, and just said impatiently,
"If I had that kind of high-end stuff, would I still be driving a taxi?"
Bai Cangzhu felt a bit regretful. Indeed, things like DynoCaps weren't commonplace.
The journey passed without conversation. It took about three hours to reach South City.
South City was a city located where the southern desert met the sea. It had many wealthy merchants and, consequently, many troubles.
After telling Bai Cangzhu where he would wait, the driver dropped him off and left. Bai Cangzhu wandered into the city on his own.
Bai Cangzhu saw many demi-humans with animal appearances also roaming the city. This was a race unique to the Dragon Ball world—animal-type Earthlings.
Many of these special demi-humans could even learn unique transformation abilities.
However, the ones Bai Cangzhu saw didn't display any other extraordinary features. Observing their footwork and power generation, they seemed close to ordinary people.
Just as the world's challenge difficulty indicated, ranging from low to unknown, the martial prowess of ordinary people in the Dragon Ball world was actually close to that of Earth.
However, with the prevalence of martial arts practice, general physical constitution tended to be better, and the upper limit of technological standards was also higher.
But basic physical attributes still didn't exceed those of Bai Cangzhu's original world.
The upper limits of this world were propped up by monster-level martial artists, aliens, androids, and Majins.
The gap between the world's upper and lower limits was enormous.
Bai Cangzhu saw a gun shop. The city's laws were similar to those in the United States of the real world; gun ownership was quite liberal.
However, Bai Cangzhu currently had no currency of this world, so he couldn't make a purchase.
An ordinary trialist might choose to first find some side quests to earn money, or wait until nightfall to commit some illegal acts and steal weapons.
But Bai Cangzhu was not an ordinary person.
Friends who often kill should know that humans are actually very fragile. When luck runs out, a bump or fall can end a life.
Therefore, often, killing doesn't require powerful weapons; killing requires a cruel heart.
After arriving at the building marked with the [Abola Trading Company] sign, Bai Cangzhu was led to the top-floor reception room after just a moment.
The pot-bellied wealthy merchant, Abola, was a middle-aged man with distinct Middle Eastern features, bloated and affluent, flanked by two bodyguards in black suits.
He continuously wiped the clammy sweat from his pale, greasy face with an expensive silk handkerchief, which made the smile on Bai Cangzhu's lips widen.
"Hey you, are you the assassin sent by Mercenary Tao?"
"Why didn't he come himself!"
Abola was already fed up with the people striking for wages. Even when Mercenary Tao demanded a fee of one hundred million, he didn't hesitate.
However, seeing that the person who arrived was a young man with no facial hair, he felt dissatisfied, neither asking Bai Cangzhu's name nor looking him directly in the eye.
Bai Cangzhu sat on the opposite sofa, less than two meters away, separated by a table made from a single, natural stone slab.
"I am Master Mercenary Tao's newly accepted disciple. For some insignificant small fry, Master can't be bothered to act himself, so we handle it for him."
Bai Cangzhu spoke casually, seemingly paying no attention to the strikers or the target McGee, instead constantly surveying the luxurious reception room.
Panoramic floor-to-ceiling glass windows, wall panels made directly from luxury stone, expensive stone flooring, not to mention the tables and chairs; even the sofa beneath him was incredibly comfortable.
Moreover, the room's soundproofing was excellent, surprisingly so.
Abola's opinion of Bai Cangzhu changed somewhat due to this "confident" attitude. He lit a cigar, beckoned to a nearby bodyguard, who immediately placed a photograph on the table.
"This is McGee. He supposedly trained for several years at a local martial arts dojo. His skills are extraordinary; ordinary people can't get close."
"Since Master Mercenary Tao sent you, I won't waste words. Eighty million!"
"You kill him, and I'll give you eighty million!"
Abola was quite generous. To him, although the price wasn't cheap, it wasn't worth offending a deadly star like Mercenary Tao over a bit of money, so he didn't haggle much.
He figured this price was quite fair for a disciple's work.
Bai Cangzhu nodded, not haggling, not even looking at McGee's photo.
"The price is fine. The remaining problem is, I lack a weapon."
"I came in a hurry and didn't prepare."
Abola exhaled a puff of smoke, frowning. An assassin forgot his weapon? But he didn't want to dwell on it too much and waggled two fingers again.
A bodyguard immediately placed a black gun on the table.
The gun was short, less than thirty centimeters long, a submachine gun unique to the Dragon Ball world.
Bai Cangzhu picked up the gun.
[Short-handled Submachine Gun]
[Quality: White (Common)]
[Description: A mass-produced gunpowder-based automatic firearm from a certain world, uses bullet-type ammunition]
[Effect: High rate of fire, low power]
[Note: Cannot be taken out of this world (Item information substance too low)]
Here, Bai Cangzhu could see the space's annotation. Items that could be placed in the backpack and taken out of derivative worlds were those possessing extra information substance.
This common weapon, almost universally available in this world, lacked the [Information] required by the space and thus couldn't be recognized by it.
But it didn't matter. Bai Cangzhu raised the gun, suddenly aimed directly at Abola and his two bodyguards, and pulled the trigger.
(End of this chapter)