Chapter 556: Wanted

Originally, in the eyes of these high-dimensional beings, souls, laws, and even the universe itself were merely goods placed on a shelf.

"Dad, look at this."

Qin Si suddenly marked a red pinned message.

That message was not in the trading column, but in the most conspicuous announcement area.

【Chaos Enforcement Bureau's highest wanted: codename "Alterer".】

【Features: possesses anti-logic strike capability, extremely dangerous.】

【Reward: those who provide valid clues receive ten thousand Rule Coins; those who assist in the killing are exempted from one Great Purge.】

Qin Hao's mind tightened.

Exempt from the Great Purge.

This move is big enough.

"Alterer? The name fits quite well; it seems killing those three scavengers really poked a hole in the sky."

"What's there to fear!"

Qin Wu's thoughts rang out.

"With this skin we wear, who knows what's hidden under this ID? As long as we don't use Truth Strike, I'm just an ordinary brick‑mover."

"Don't be careless; here we are rats in a sewer, we must hide our tails." Qin Hao reminded.

He adjusted his sitting posture, and his view switched to the trading channel.

"Lao Si, take the undigested scraps we have in Lan Pangzi's belly, pick out those that look high in energy response and put them up for sale."

"Remember, we are corpse collectors; don't eat too greedily."

"Received."

Qin Si operated extremely fast.

A few seconds later, a batch of inconspicuous goods appeared in the black‑market trading list.

【High‑energy biological soft‑tissue residue (leftover from a 9th‑rank predator), sold by the ton.】

【Damaged fragments of the Cosmic Crystal Wall System (containing trace Devouring Rule), the more the better.】

These are indigestible waste for the Yanhuang Universe, but in this resource‑poor black market they are hot commodities.

The price was set twenty percent below market value.

There was no doubt whatsoever.

Only the time of three heartbeats passed, and the goods were swept clean.

Account balance fluctuated: +3000 Rule Coins.

This money came easily, and it also means that even residue of this grade is hard currency outside.

"Beep—"

A private communication cut in.

There was no image, only a distorted wave signal that directly plunged into the Yanhuang Universe's comms port.

"Are you… newly arrived?"

Qin Hao gave Qin Si a signal to connect.

"Boss is generous; next time you have goods, come find me." Qin Hao deliberately made his mental fluctuations appear crude and greedy.

"The goods are not bad."

The other party didn't follow the thread, instead lowering their voice further: "But this taste… is quite special."

Qin Hao's motion paused.

"These residues retain a disgusting death aura."

The other party seemed to be savoring it: "That's a predator that died not long ago, and it died horribly, erased by some unreasonable power."

Qin Hao's mind stirred, secretly readying an attack pre‑heat mode.

Indeed, there are experts in this black market.

Can one taste the cause of death from a few chunks of rotten meat?

"I don't understand what you're saying."

Qin Hao replied impatiently: "I picked up the corpse in the fourth quadrant; if you're not satisfied, return it—I'll sell it to the next buyer."

"Don't rush, don't rush."

That voice laughed even more eerily.

"I'm quite satisfied; I want to say that if you still have this kind of potent goods, or information about the main culprit who killed this predator…"

Hearing this, Qin Hao immediately understood.

This guy is looking for the Alterer.

His nose is sharper than the Enforcement Bureau's.

"Even if it's just a tiny clue, my offer will definitely beat the Enforcement Bureau's. After all, some big shots are extremely curious about this power that can counter‑kill scavengers."

The other party raised the stakes.

Qin Hao fell silent.

This is a probe.

If we directly refuse, it shows guilt.

If we agree, it's easy to expose ourselves.

This is like walking a tightrope on a cliff edge.

"We're just junk collectors; we don't sell information, and we don't have the fate to earn this money."

Qin Hao directly cut off the road: "From now on we only talk about trade, nothing else—hanging up."

Hey, don't hang up.

The other side obviously doesn't want to let this big fish go.

"Since you guys are so skilled, daring to go to the Fourth Quadrant to pick up corpses, you must have some real ability. Want to play something exciting?"

"No interest."

After saying that, Qin Hao directly cut off the communication.

"Lao Si, did you find it?"

"Cannot be tracked."

Qin Si's thoughts were a bit lagging; obviously, he had burned a lot of computing power just now to reverse-locate the other party.

"The source of the other side's signal keeps jumping; with my current means, I can't possibly capture it."

That's not surprising.

Those who dare to collect contraband under the nose of the Chaotic Enforcement Bureau, if they don't have two brushes, would have been ground to nothing by that bunch of White Light Purifiers.

"Since we can't find it, let's pretend it never happened. Business still needs to be done, the show still needs to go on."

"Lao Er, Lao San, come out and stroll with me."

Qin Hao's mind moved, three consciousness bodies solidified, taking the form of three figures clad in gray cloaks, landing on this market constituted by rules.

Calling it a market is more like calling it a slaughterhouse.

Here there are no vendor cries, only various thought waves colliding.

As soon as Qin Hao landed, his gaze was drawn to a stall on his left.

The stall owner was a shapeless mass of black smoke, with dozens of clear crystal glass balls placed before it.

Strictly speaking, those aren't glass balls.

Qin Hao narrowed his eyes, zooming in his view.

Inside each sphere, a complete star system is sealed.

"Take a look, have a look."

The mass of smoke sent out a message.

"The newly captured Third-level Civilization is on the brink of war. Buy it and put it in your living room; you can personally adjust the time flow, and after just a meal's time, you can enjoy the splendid nuclear explosion fireworks—perfect for relieving stress!"

Saying that, the mass of smoke extended a tentacle and lightly flicked a glass ball.

The time flow inside the sphere sped up ten thousandfold.

Qin Hao clearly saw that on that azure planet, the originally lit-up cities rose countless mushroom clouds.

The civilization on the planet's surface was wiped away like mold, leaving only dead, scorched earth.

"Boring."

The smoke-stall owner was not too satisfied with this result, casually tossing the already dead planet's sphere into the nearby trash can.

"This batch of goods is no good; a little stimulation and they self-destruct."

In the trash can, piles of countless dead silent planets are stacked.

"Damn it..."

Qin Wu's fist, hidden under the cloak, clenched tightly; dark-red rule power surged at his fingertips, "What do these bastards treat life as?"

Not long ago, the Yanhuang Civilization also faced this fate of being casually erased.

Such high-handed teasing makes people angrier than outright slaughter.

"Don't move."

Qin Hao placed one hand on Qin Wu's shoulder; that hand was as steady as a mountain.

"This is the ecology of the Cosmic Sea; in their eyes, low-dimensional civilizations are no different from ant hills by the road. Want to save? Here there are hundreds of millions of stalls—how many could you save?"

Hearing that, Qin Wu finally relaxed his fist, but the killing intent in his eyes sank even deeper.

"Come on, let's go see what's ahead."

Qin Hao led the two through the crowded passageway.

Here you can find everything for sale.

Some stalls sell rule fragments, which are the physical laws of a universe forcibly dismantled, sold by weight like scrap iron.

Some sell soul ore, which is the product of compressing and refining the souls of billions of beings,

It is also said to be a kind of high-energy fuel.

What shocked Qin Hao even more was that in a huge cage he saw a giant beast chained with iron.

That is a miniature universe will with self-awareness.

It is now tethered like a dog, its crystal wall system riddled with holes, constantly leaking primordial energy.

Several buyers gathered around it, commenting and judging, discussing whether its meat is delicious.

"This world is worse than I thought."

Qin Zheng said in a low voice, his tone carrying a chill.

Back home, I thought the Lord of End wanting to restart the universe was already ruthless enough.

Only after arriving here did I realize that the Lord of End's methods are practically those of a philanthropist.

Here it's outright cannibalism.

The big universe eats the small universe; strong rules eat weak rules.

"That's why we need to wear this disguise."

Qin Hao pointed to that disguise on his own body.

"If they knew the Yanhuang Universe was a newborn, still possessing infinite growth potential—like fatty meat—this whole market's mad dogs would swarm over."

Just as he was speaking, a commotion suddenly came from ahead.