Su Ze noticed the older woman was seated half a step behind the intellectual-looking beauty. Her eyes were vigilant, her peripheral vision constantly scanning their surroundings. The moment he and the bartender approached, the older woman sized them up.
Clearly, this dark-skinned woman was a bodyguard, and the intellectual beauty was the client.
Without a powerful bodyguard by her side, the client probably wouldn't have dared to post this kind of escort mission either, for fear of attracting a pack of hungry wolves.
'This bodyguard is most likely at the Butterfly Stage...' The thought didn't bring Su Ze any joy at having a powerhouse on the team. Instead, he felt the urge to turn around and walk away.
She had a Butterfly Stage expert protecting her, yet she still needed to hire a large escort for a life-threatening mission. 'What kind of trouble has this client gotten herself into?'
But since he was already here, Su Ze decided to talk to the client before making a decision. As he walked over to the table, he overheard their conversation. The older woman was scrutinizing the man across from her, questioning him, "Eighty thousand a day? You're only at the Pupa Stage. What makes you think you're worth that price?"
"Because I've already absorbed three vials of Tier Two extract. I could complete my second evolution at any moment and become a Cocoon Stage evolver!" the man said, his tone incredibly arrogant. "Hiring a soon-to-be Cocoon Stage evolver for eighty thousand a day—you're not getting a bad deal, are you? Don't worry, even if I successfully evolve on the road, I won't raise my price."
Only then did Su Ze take a good look at the man. He was a young man in his twenties, not very tall, with a lean build and a mohawk. His face was full of defiance; you could tell he was a troublemaker at a glance. A scar running across half his face added to his ferocious air.
He was slouched carelessly in his chair, his legs propped up on the empty one next to him.
Before the older woman could speak, the intellectual beauty nodded. Her voice was gentle yet decisive. "Alright."
The troublemaker was visibly stunned, not expecting the client to be so agreeable.
The bartender took the opportunity to step forward and introduce Su Ze to the client. "This is a Pupa Stage evolver who'd like to join your team. His commission requirements aren't high—only ten thousand a day. He's more interested in adventure than money."
The client and her bodyguard both looked at Su Ze with slight surprise. Seeing his incredibly young face, they started to understand—this was an inexperienced boy eager for adventure. He had already completed his first evolution at such a young age, yet he wasn't greedy for money. He clearly came from a well-off family, and had probably even run away from home without them knowing.
"You'd better think this through. This isn't one of your adventure games. Once you accept this mission, you could actually die!" the older woman warned, her voice cold and sharp.
Su Ze nodded and asked, "I only have one question. Among the enemies we might encounter, will there be any Saint-level experts?"
"No, there won't be." The older woman shook her head. "Saint-level experts are far too revered. Why would one appear here?"
"Then I've thought it through. I want to join your team, unless you won't have me," Su Ze said firmly.
In any case, he had to leave the country. Staying in Heiyan City was a death sentence. Now, two paths to get out of the country lay before him.
The first path: take the cross-border highway, where he would certainly run into people from the Zhao Family and the mysterious organization. A path with no hope of survival.
The second path: follow the intellectual beauty's team across the Black Rock Mountain Range. At worst, they might encounter Butterfly Stage enemies, and even that was just a possibility. Plus, the team would have other evolvers and a bodyguard who was likely a Butterfly Stage herself. Even if they ran into enemies, it wouldn't be a hopeless fight.
The former meant certain death, the latter meant possible death. Even an idiot knew which one to choose.
"If you insist on joining, then sit down and we'll talk," the intellectual beauty said to Su Ze.
Su Ze nodded and took a step forward. The table had four chairs in total. Three people were seated, leaving only one empty. But the troublemaker had his legs propped up on it.
Seeing Su Ze walk up to the chair, the troublemaker showed no intention of moving his legs. Instead, he gave Su Ze a dismissive glance before looking down to fiddle with the lighter in his hand.
'Is this the protagonist treatment? Always running into random people looking for trouble?'
Su Ze didn't suddenly explode and break the villain's legs, nor did he flash a crooked smile. He just tried to pull out the chair, but discovered the troublemaker was secretly using his strength to hold it firmly in place.
Su Ze remained expressionless, seemingly giving up on pulling the chair. But he secretly activated his "Ant Power" skill. With a sudden surge of strength, he abruptly grabbed the back of the chair and yanked it backward.
This time, the troublemaker couldn't hold the chair down. Su Ze pulled the empty chair free, holding it in his hand. The troublemaker, who had been exerting force with his legs, suddenly lost his leverage. He lost his balance, his center of gravity shifted, and he fell flat on his butt on the floor.
The troublemaker, having been embarrassed, pushed himself up with one hand. His eyes were fierce and his expression savage. Just as he was about to erupt, he suddenly found the bartender blocking his path.
"Gao Long, do I need to remind you of the bar's rules?" The usual smile on the bartender's face vanished, replaced by a cold, indifferent expression.
The troublemaker, Gao Long, instantly calmed down. He sat back down without a word, only shooting Su Ze a cold glare.
Gao Long was a minorly famous genius in Heiyan City's evolver circles. He had risen from the slums, relying on his own daring and grit to achieve what he had today. He had always despised "flowers in a greenhouse" like Su Ze, who had everything others fought and died for without ever weathering a storm.
Gao Long had started trouble purely out of his resentment for the rich, not because he had any prior grudge against Su Ze... though he certainly had one now.
Su Ze didn't seem to care. He sat down magnanimously as if nothing had happened, choosing to ignore Gao Long's threatening glare.
'We're not even on the same level. There's no point in competing with him. The enemies I've provoked are the likes of the Zhao Family and the mysterious organization. Gao Long doesn't even qualify to be my enemy.'
'If it really came to a life-or-death fight, I'm not afraid of him, not with my set of top-tier skills. I also have the Tier Two Wondrous Object: Head of the Wailer. No matter how you look at it, my chances of winning are much higher.'
Seeing Su Ze take his seat, the bartender turned and went back to the bar.
After that little conflict, the way the beautiful client and her matronly bodyguard looked at Su Ze had changed somewhat.
The bodyguard asked, "Do you two have any other questions?"
Su Ze said, "I'd like to know approximately how many people will be on the team tomorrow, and what their strength levels are."
"Right now, over a dozen people have accepted the mission. Five are at the Cocoon Stage, and the rest are at the Pupa Stage."
Su Ze nodded. That was just the current number. After a full night, the team would be even larger by the time they set out tomorrow.
Gao Long, on the other hand, asked about tomorrow's route. Different routes meant different potential dangers and required different preparations. Gao Long was an experienced Hunter.
The bodyguard said, "The route is classified for now. Just come gather at the bar tomorrow morning. I'll pay you one day's commission in advance, and the remainder will be paid upon arrival in Luofan Country."
The beautiful client looked at Su Ze again and tried to persuade him, "This mission is very dangerous. You can back out at any time if you change your mind. Or I can raise your commission. It's not worth risking your life for ten thousand."
'It's not like I have a choice...' Su Ze grinned, showing his teeth. "The money doesn't matter. I just want to follow you and see the world, big sister."