I Contracted Myself

Zhang Ping had just looked at three knives, each more expensive than the last.

The price of the Nine-Ring Ghost Axe Blade was 500,000 Mingzhu Currency!

The Ghost Scythe was priced at 600,000.

And the final one, "Cold Lady," was a staggering 2 million.

The wealth gap in Mingzhu City was immense, and Zhang Ping had no idea what an Awakener's income was.

But based on his investigations over the past few days, the annual salary of an average farmer in Mingzhu City was about 3,000 Mingzhu Currency. In other words, to buy the "Cold Lady," one would have to save for 666 years.

So expensive.

Zhang Ping sighed inwardly. Although he knew Super Gear wouldn't be cheap, he hadn't expected it to be this pricey.

"Grandpa, are there any cheaper weapons here?" Zhang Ping asked softly after making another round and finding that even the cheapest weapon cost over 10,000 Mingzhu Currency.

The old man took a puff of his cigarette. After about a minute and a half, he finally looked at Zhang Ping and slowly said, "What did you say?"

"Grandpa, I was asking if there are any cheaper weapons here," Zhang Ping had to repeat.

The old man looked at Zhang Ping, his reaction seemingly delayed, and after a while, he said something completely unrelated, "My son is waiting for me to have dinner."

"......"

Zhang Ping was speechless.

No wonder the previous customers had all left empty-handed.

At this moment, a burly middle-aged man hurriedly walked into the shop from outside.

He looked to be over thirty, dressed in tattered camouflage clothes, with a V-shaped body and arms thicker than Zhang Ping's thighs. He carried a rugged, dark greatsword on his back, clearly an experienced veteran adventurer.

"Sorry, this shop isn't selling anything right now," he said, placing his weapon in a corner and walking up to Zhang Ping.

The old man saw the middle-aged man and grumbled, "Stinky Qiang, where have you been fooling around with Dashan again? Where is he?"

"Uncle Liu, why did you open the shop again? Didn't I tell you to stay at home? I'll find Dashan soon," the man, nicknamed "Stinky Qiang," replied with a bitter smile.

The old man knocked Stinky Qiang on the head with his long-stemmed pipe, scolding, "All you do is fool around. Get Dashan home for dinner."

"Okay, Uncle Liu, I'll get Dashan home for dinner later. Let's close the shop and go upstairs now," Stinky Qiang agreed repeatedly.

The old man knocked Stinky Qiang on the head again with his pipe, dissatisfied, "I'll stay here. What if an old customer comes and can't find me?"

"Alright, alright, we'll stay here and go nowhere," Stinky Qiang said with a bitter smile.

***

Stinky Qiang was a seasoned adventurer with a four-man team. Over the past decade, he had saved enough money that he could go months without taking on a mission without affecting his livelihood.

But his teammates were all living paycheck to paycheck. Without missions, they had no income and struggled to make ends meet.

However, Uncle Liu was his closest relative, like a father to him!

Since his good brother Dashan went missing, Uncle Liu's mental state had deteriorated day by day, often in a daze. Stinky Qiang couldn't leave Uncle Liu to live alone.

***

At this moment, he noticed Zhang Ping preparing to leave and suddenly had an idea.

Students and working adults had very different auras.

Anyone who could get into one of the Big Three organizations wouldn't come here to buy weapons, and those who decided to become farmers wouldn't come either. So, this student wanted to become an adventurer?

"Hey, little brother, wait," he called out to Zhang Ping after some thought.

Zhang Ping turned back to see Stinky Qiang approaching and asked, "What's up?"

"Let's have a chat," Stinky Qiang said with a friendly smile.

Zhang Ping hesitated for a moment, seeing that Stinky Qiang didn't seem to have any ill intentions, and nodded in agreement.

The two walked outside the shop. Stinky Qiang instinctively took out a cigarette and offered one to Zhang Ping, who waved it off, indicating he didn't smoke.

"Little brother, you must be graduating soon, right?" Stinky Qiang asked, realizing his mistake and putting the cigarette behind his ear.

Zhang Ping nodded, "Almost."

"What do you think of being a blacksmith?" Stinky Qiang asked cautiously.

Zhang Ping thought of the slightly dazed old man and immediately understood Stinky Qiang's intention. He replied, "Better than being a farmer."

"Exactly, better than being a farmer," Stinky Qiang nodded immediately.

It wasn't that they looked down on farmers.

But farmers in Mingzhu City were completely different from those in Zhang Ping's previous life.

Although Zhang Ping often joked about farming with Su Jingyao, farmers didn't just farm. During the off-season, they had many other tasks to complete.

For instance, Mingzhu City had no sewers and didn't dare to have any. So, daily waste and garbage had to be handled by specialized farmers.

They also helped with road repairs, city wall maintenance, livestock breeding, and other tasks, assisting Awakeners.

To Zhang Ping, farmers in Mingzhu City were more like those in real-time strategy games, doing everything except fighting.

"Big brother, you mean..." Zhang Ping looked at Iron Soul and then at Stinky Qiang with a probing gaze.

Seeing that Zhang Ping understood his intention, Stinky Qiang said frankly, "I won't hide it from you. That old man is my uncle, closer than a father. His son, my brother Dashan, went missing recently, and now Uncle Liu is a bit confused. I want to find someone to take care of him and help with the shop.

Of course, I'll come by when I have time to teach you some blacksmithing skills. I can't promise much, but at least you'll become proficient. How about it? Think it over."

"Room and board included?" Zhang Ping asked, considering it.

"Not only room and board, but also a monthly salary of 100 Mingzhu Currency!" Stinky Qiang replied.

"I'll think about it and give you an answer tomorrow, okay?" Zhang Ping was tempted but also had concerns.

That missing Dashan, could he have been eaten by the Tianchang Fox?

At school, because "Luo Shiyu" only ate girls and the other Tianchang Fox disguised as a teacher was rarely seen, boys were actually safer on campus than outside.

The main reason he was tempted was because of Luo Shiyu's room inspection this morning.

It made him feel unsafe in the dormitory.

"Alright, think it over. By the way, you came to the shop to get a handy weapon, right? Consider this a friendly gesture. The city's atmosphere has been off lately, so be careful," Stinky Qiang said, handing Zhang Ping a dagger before turning to leave.

After parting with Stinky Qiang, Zhang Ping left Iron Soul.

***

As Zhang Ping walked, he pondered whether to accept the offer, his gaze naturally falling on the dagger.

The dagger's blade was sheathed in fish skin. He couldn't resist unsheathing it and found that the material was the same as the "Cold Lady," with a snow-white, translucent blade that emitted a faint chill.

Goodness.

This was a significant gift.

Should he... accept it?

Although the school was relatively safe, it was hard to say now.

Zhang Ping didn't want to entrust his life to the chaotic mind of a beast. What if "Luo Shiyu" had a sudden urge to change her diet?

At that moment, Zhang Ping decided to accept Stinky Qiang's offer tomorrow.

On his way, Zhang Ping couldn't put down the dagger. Since it was made of the same material as the Cold Lady's Light Blade, it seemed like a part of it. So, Zhang Ping named the dagger "Beauty's Tears."

Unfortunately, Mingzhu Academy of Powers didn't teach students how to use daggers. The weapons course only covered knives, swords, and bows; other weapons weren't included.

Fortunately, some knife techniques could be used with a dagger.

As he walked back, simulating fights with Beauty's Tears in his mind, he suddenly noticed a one-meter-tall Tianchang Fox cub sitting on a swing in a park.

[Identification Successful]

[Mutated Beast: Tianchang Fox]

[Race: Mutated Fox]

[Potential: ☆☆☆​​​​​​​☆​​​​​​​]

[Lifespan: 53]

[Rank: Primary Mutated Beast]

[Level: 3]

[Talent]

[Cognitive Distortion: You have the ability to distort the cognition of living beings, allowing you to alter their perception.]

[Defiance of Common Sense: When performing actions that defy common sense, you can forcefully make the target unable to perceive the abnormality.]

This was a relatively weak cub.

Zhang Ping walked forward slowly, feeling a bit agitated.

Evidence!

This Tianchang Fox was the best evidence.

If he killed this Tianchang Fox and delivered the corpse to the Investigation Team, things might take a turn for the better.

The Investigation Team was different from the Patrol Guard. The Patrol Guard had thirteen squads, all directly reporting to the Chief of the Patrol Guard.

But the Investigation Team operated around its captain, with many teams often outside Mingzhu City, so some teams were likely not infiltrated by the Tianchang Fox.

Once the Investigation Team got hold of the Tianchang Fox's corpse, they would surely deduce the current situation in Mingzhu City, potentially saving the city.

"Do it!"

The more Zhang Ping thought about it, the more tempted he became.

He couldn't stand girls being killed in the cafeteria every few days or seeing the Tianchang Fox eating people on the streets.

Especially since he had to pretend not to see it.

He turned back, one hand on the dagger's hilt.

Actually, another reason he decided to act was that he had just received Beauty's Tears. Without it, he might not have had the courage to act.

This was what they called "having a sharp weapon breeds the desire to kill."

But just as he reached the corner of the park, a hand pressed on his shoulder. Before he could react, a woman's voice whispered in his ear, "Don't move."

He felt a chill on his back.

Ice!

The other person was an Awakener who controlled ice elements.

Zhang Ping's agitated mind quickly calmed down. First, the other person wasn't a Tianchang Fox. Second, he didn't sense any killing intent. If the other person was the cub's bodyguard, their emotions didn't match.

"Don't turn around, don't speak. Take this and leave," the woman said calmly, slipping a note into Zhang Ping's hand.

Suddenly, the chill on his back disappeared.

He didn't turn around but pretended to have lost something, searched for a while, and then left decisively.

"That woman must be much higher level than me; otherwise, she couldn't have spotted me," he speculated on the way.

It was nighttime, and with the Night Walker talent and the Assassination Ring's ability, few could detect him. The woman pinpointed him accurately, so she must be much stronger.

Of course, it was also possible that she had a teammate with a "detection" ability guiding her.

Either way, she was likely aware of the Tianchang Fox infiltration.

"Could she or her team be hiring assassins to kill the beasts?"

Zhang Ping wondered, not immediately looking at the note. He returned to his dormitory and went to bed.

***

The next day.

At four in the morning.

Zhang Ping opened his eyes, quietly got out of bed, and went to the bathroom, sitting on the toilet seat.

He took out the note from his pocket and slowly opened it.

The note read: "23, TM, Lion Sir."

Zhang Ping frowned, thinking for a moment before getting a clue. It was the 19th now, so the 23rd was in four days.

So, the note meant to meet at a place called "TM" in five days?

But the question was, what was "TM"?

Zhang Ping racked his brain, gradually feeling a headache.

He understood that the code was likely to guard against the Tianchang Fox.

If he fell into their hands, the information on the note wouldn't implicate the woman.

From this perspective, "Martial Training" must be something the Tianchang Fox couldn't comprehend.

The Tianchang Fox was intelligent, capable of thinking and pretending, but a Mutated Beast was still a Mutated Beast, with a different way of thinking.

The problem was, Zhang Ping hadn't been here long enough to guess what "TM" and "Lion Sir" meant, even with the original owner's memories.