Chapter 4: Employment Mission

Bai Cangshu walked down the mountain from the summit along the stone-stepped path, noting that this was a high mountain by the sea; the humidity was heavy, and the stone steps were wet and slippery.

Coupled with the biting mountain wind and the steep incline, one would imagine that those willing to climb this mountain to seek apprenticeship were indeed mostly madmen.

Accompanying Bai Cangshu was the owner of the mountain-top inn, who called himself Tang Baduan; his primary business was in the town at the foot of the mountain, but because Tao Baibai's fame was growing ever larger—

—what was originally just a casual side job acting as a middleman to pass on business for Tao Baibai had now grown to exceed his main source of income.

Incidentally, he had also built an inn at the summit to handle some odd jobs.

Tao Baibai earned money at an astonishing speed and spent it just as capriciously; he might kill an owner if he was in a bad mood, or give a large sum if he was in a good one. That Tang Baduan could earn Tao Baibai's money showed he had an excellent eye for the situation.

Arriving at the foot of the mountain, a car was already waiting at the entrance of the small town; it was a taxi with a distinct Dragon Ball World style—small in size with rounded lines.

Tang Baduan pointed at the car and said:

"You young man are quite calm and unhurried. If you were truly seeking to enter the school of a Martial Arts Grandmaster like Master Mutaito, you might be a promising seed."

"But Master Tao Baibai doesn't buy that act. You had best be able to complete the mission, otherwise... heh heh."

He puffed out his belly and chuckled twice, the meaning clear without words.

"This car will take you to Nandu to find the employer; everyone else has already set off."

Bai Cangshu was not annoyed; he still wore that same indifferent smile, opened the car door, and sat in. The car started quickly and disappeared into the mountain path amidst a cloud of dust.

Tang Baduan walked along, thinking that every year there was a batch of people unafraid of death who wanted to apprentice under Tao Baibai, but they were either scared out of their wits or never heard from again.

However, this young man did give him a strange feeling.

Although he always wore a smiling face, there was an indescribable oddity to it. He was handsome, and at first glance, his smile seemed sunny, but after looking for a long time, it always felt somewhat fake and chilling.

Bai Cangshu sat in this peculiar taxi; the driver was a bearded man whose build looked like it was about to burst the seat.

"Can this car turn into a capsule, sir?"

Bai Cangshu asked the driver with an innocent smile.

The driver glanced at the rearview mirror, having no desire to engage with this guy who looked like he was popular with women, and just said impatiently, "If I had that kind of high-end gear, would I still be driving a taxi?"

Bai Cangshu felt a bit regretful; as expected, things like Universal Capsules were not everywhere.

The journey was silent, and it took about three hours of driving to reach Nandu.

Nandu was a city at the intersection of the southern desert and the sea; there were many wealthy merchants, and just as many incidents.

The driver dropped Bai Cangshu off after informing him of the meeting point and left; Bai Cangshu then went into the city on his own.

Bai Cangshu saw many Demi-humans with animal appearances wandering the city; this was a unique race of the Dragon Ball World—Animal-type Earthlings.

Many of these special Demi-humans could even learn special transformation abilities.

However, the ones Bai Cangshu saw did not display any other Chao-fan Te-zheng; watching their Footwork and movements, they were no different from ordinary people.

Just as the challenge difficulty of this world indicated from low to unknown, the combat power of ordinary people in the Dragon Ball World was actually close to that of Earth.

It was just that with the prevailing custom of martial arts, their general Constitution was better, and the upper limit of their technology was higher.

But their basic physical quality still did not exceed that of the world Bai Cangshu came from.

The upper limit of this world was held up by those Monster-level Martial Artists, aliens, Androids, and Majins.

The gap between the world's floor and ceiling was immense.

Bai Cangshu saw a firearms shop; the laws of this city were close to the real-world United States, and gun ownership was quite free.

It was just that Bai Cangshu had no currency from this world on him at the moment, so he could not purchase anything.

If it were an ordinary trial-taker, they would probably choose to uncover some side quests to earn currency first, or wait until the dead of night to commit some illegal acts to snatch a weapon.

But Bai Cangshu was no ordinary person.

Friends who often kill should know that people are actually very fragile; when luck is bad, a bump or a scrape can end a life. Therefore, in many cases, killing does not require a very powerful weapon; killing requires a cruel heart.

After he arrived at the building with the 【Abola Trading Company】 sign, only a moment later, someone brought him to the reception hall on the top floor.

The pot-bellied wealthy merchant Abola was a middle-aged man with a clearly Middle Eastern appearance, bloated and opulent, followed by two bodyguards in black.

He kept wiping the cold sweat from his pale, greasy face with an expensive silk handkerchief, which made the smile on Bai Cangshu's lips widen.

"Hey you, are you the killer sent by Tao Baibai?"

"Why didn't he come himself!"

Abola had been annoyed to no end by those people striking and demanding back pay; even though Tao Baibai had asked for a reward of one hundred million, he had not hesitated.

But seeing that the person who arrived was a young man with a clean-shaven face, he felt dissatisfied; he neither asked for Bai Cangshu's name nor looked him in the eye.

Bai Cangshu sat on the sofa opposite him, less than two meters apart, with a table made of natural solid stone between them.

"I am a newly accepted disciple of Master Tao Baibai. For some small-time characters not worth mentioning, Master is too lazy to do it himself, so we handle it on his behalf."

As Bai Cangshu spoke, his tone was casual, as if he didn't put those strikers or the target, Maiji, in his eyes at all, merely glancing around at the luxurious reception room.

Panoramic floor-to-ceiling glass, wall panels made directly of luxury stone, the floor also using precious stone materials, not to mention the tables and chairs; even the sofa he sat on was incomparably comfortable.

Moreover, the soundproofing of this room was excellent—surprisingly so.

Abola's impression of him changed slightly due to Bai Cangshu's "confident" attitude; he lit a cigar and beckoned to the bodyguard beside him, who immediately placed a photo on the table.

"This is Maiji. It is said he practiced in a local martial arts gym for several years and has extraordinary skills; ordinary people cannot get close to him."

"Since Master Tao Baibai 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 this price was not cheap, he couldn't afford to offend a fierce star like Tao Baibai for a little money, so he did not haggle much.

He figured this price was already very fair for a disciple to take action.

Bai Cangshu nodded, did not haggle, and did not even look at Maiji's photo.

"The price is no problem. The remaining issue is that I lack a weapon."

"I came in a hurry and didn't prepare."

Abola exhaled a puff of smoke and frowned; a killer who would forget to bring a weapon? But he didn't want to quibble too much and shook two fingers again.

A bodyguard immediately placed a black gun on the table.

The gun is very short, less than thirty centimeters, and is a submachine gun unique to the Dragon Ball World.

Bai Cangshu picks up the gun.

【Short-barreled Submachine Gun】

【Quality: White (Common)】

【Description: A mass-produced gunpowder-propelled rapid-fire firearm from a certain world, using projectile-style ammunition】

【Effect: High rate of fire, low power】

【Note: Cannot be brought out of this world (item pheromone level too low)】

Here, Bai Cangshu can see the Space's annotations; only items possessing extra pheromones can be placed into the Backpack and brought out of a Derivative World.

This type of common weapon, which almost everyone in this world can have one of, does not possess the 【Information】 required by the Space, and thus cannot be recognized by the Space.

But it does not matter; Bai Cangshu picks up the gun, suddenly aims it directly at Abola and his two bodyguards, and pulls the trigger.

(End of this chapter)