Chapter 325: Cultivating Your 【orc Bandit Squad】 For Free—how About It?
After learning that the current Knight Order had already upgraded to the level of a Thermal Weapon Legion, recalling the Shadow Armor refined through Universe Within The Belly suddenly felt extremely rudimentary and outdated.
“So, you chose the Knight System because thermal weapons can be empowered and grinded with the power of the Knight System, making them more powerful?”
A Miao shook her head, crossing her arms in front of her body: “Wrong! Totally wrong! I chose the Knight System, of course, for that one-of-a-kind ‘super-large legion storage warehouse’! I like thermal weapons simply because they’re simple, convenient, and efficient to use. For a girl, fighting and killing is too unsightly; it’s much easier and safer to stand in place and shoot prey.”
“You know, every independent Legion will unlock an ever-expanding shared Legion Warehouse as the number of members increases. It’s used to store legion supplies, including weapons, food, medicine, armaments… and so on. That’s exactly why I chose to become a Knight Commander—because of this space warehouse that can stockpile a massive amount of arms + smuggling!”
Yuan Zhu looked A Miao up and down at this moment; she had a hot figure, wearing a built-in sling tank top with a camouflage jacket over it, revealing a white abdomen with distinct muscle lines. Her lower body was clad in military green hot pants, a pair of long legs with clear muscle definition, and mountain boots on her feet.
Her outfit was cool and refreshing, but not revealing; instead, it was full of vitality, reminding him of the ‘underground arms idol’ from their first meeting.
But no matter how he looked at her, she had nothing to do with the word Knight.
A Miao stared into Yuan Zhu’s eyes: “Hey! You’re provoking me with that impolite gaze again?”
Candle shook his head: “No. No matter how I look at it, you don’t seem like a real knight. And where are your squad members? Where’s your armor?”
A Miao countered: “Have you ever heard of One-Man Army? My legion has only me.”
“Then how do you get stronger? As far as I know, the Knight Order grows stronger by increasing the number of members. With only you, how does your Legion grow stronger?”
A Miao looked puzzled: “That’s so strange—why do I need to get stronger? I chose the Knight System for the ‘legion warehouse,’ and I’ve already achieved that goal. On the contrary, the more members a legion has, the more individual dominance and personality get eroded bit by bit, swept up by the collective, ultimately losing oneself. So why should I absorb subordinates? Teammates?”
“On the contrary, I’m living very comfortably right now, happy and free. If I keep getting stronger, I’ll have to face the risk of being rejected into unknown time-spaces. Forced to confront more dangerous environments and fiercer competition. Then I’d have to recruit squad members, gradually get bound by the group—what’s that compared to my current rich and colorful life?”
Yuan Zhu asked doubtfully: “Those cat-ear employees at the Cat House aren’t your squad members?”
A Miao shook her head, pulled open the door, gestured for Yuan Zhu to follow, and answered: “Of course not. I just took pity on them, gave them some protection—it’s just an ordinary employment relationship.”
Seeing this, Yuan Zhu followed. At the same time, he recalled the scenes from what happened at the Star Realm Bank back then.
A Miao often drew dual pistols from her lower back out of thin air, with an endless supply of bullets. And when she stopped shooting, the dual pistols would vanish into thin air again.
Additionally, when she looted property inside the bank and took the Pumpkin Head security’s ‘Gun of Emerald (Flying Sword)’, she also stored the items out of thin air. Now it seemed she was using the Legion Warehouse, with capacity far exceeding Soul Space and Space Pumpkin.
…
After going downstairs and passing the bar counter, Yuan Zhu spotted at a glance Younger Brother, who was in dire straits, with an embarrassed expression and panicked eyes, holding a cup of children’s mint alcohol that was more than half drunk, cheeks slightly flushed, extremely helpless as he was being harassed on his chest muscles by a cat-ear miss. He looked just like Tang Seng who had mistakenly entered the Disc Silk Cave.
Upon seeing Yuan Zhu come downstairs, A Tiao’s eyes immediately lit up, staring at him desperately with pleading eyes, hoping Big Brother could save him from the fire and water. The cat-ear big sisters here were really too terrifying—no aggressive moves, yet he had no power to resist.
Yuan Zhu had no choice but to look at A Miao and whisper: “Let your employees let go of my cousin. He’s only 8 years old this year, still a child!”
“Huh?”
Hearing this, A Miao’s eyes widened in shock, looking incredulously at the handsome and righteous-looking Younger Brother.
This maturely developed figure and build, combined with his youthful appearance, perfectly exemplified the handsome, broad-shouldered, muscular young talent. He was the prime fresh meat most favored by mature misses.
After a moment of marveling, A Miao casually rescued the grateful Yuan Tiao.
At this moment, in Younger Brother’s heart, the status of Miss A Miao, whom he met for the first time, had ranked after his own sister and Senior Nie Yin, steadily in third place.
…
The three left the Cat House and walked another ten meters along the roadside before finally stopping in front of Yuan Zhu’s rundown little van.
Under the illumination of the neon sign, Yuan Zhu inserted the key and turned it lightly, then pulled open the car door, revealing the inside packed full of Goblins and Orcs. Pairs of eyes reflected the light, looking toward the three.
“Wow!”
Seeing the van stuffed full of ‘Goblins + Orcs’, A Miao couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration: “Should I praise your courage? Or mock your ignorance? Are you really that stupid, stuffing so many ‘pollutants’ into one vehicle! You’re just lucky you drove into Cat Street. Otherwise, you’d be spending tonight in the Security Bureau’s detention center.”
Yuan Zhu: “What do you mean?”
A Miao turned to Yuan Zhu: “Wasn’t I clear enough? What do you think the Security Bureau’s daily work is? You’ve gathered so many infectees carrying ‘Frog System Pollution’ together. One or two is fine, but once the number exceeds 7-9, their extraordinary energy will stack up to form a high-energy reaction, detected by Running City’s ‘Law System. Security Monitoring Network’, thus attracting the Security Bureau’s attention.”
“You also know that Running’s nights aren’t very clean or safe. The Security Bureau assigns varying numbers of investigators to patrol at night based on the importance of different districts, handling various incidents. That includes behavior like your illegal gathering and transport of ‘pollutants’, which is within their investigation scope.”
After her explanation, Yuan Zhu immediately understood. But he still couldn’t accept it: “Just these weaklings—together, they violate regulations?”
A Miao rolled her eyes at him: “They’re garbage to you, sure, but to ordinary residents? Any single Polluted Goblin in your van could cause significant casualties if it loses control. Not to mention the violent-tempered half-blood Orcs! These black-skinned Orcs of yours look familiar. Did you buy them from that ‘fruit garden’ in the suburbs?”
“These unregistered black household Orcs, once discovered, already involve illegal detention and human trafficking. As for Goblins, have you ever gotten a Dangerous Invasive Species Rearing Permit? Even if you did, a legal resident isn’t allowed to keep more than 6 Goblins, they must be castrated, and no ‘dangerous modifications’ are permitted. Which regulation do you think you comply with?”
Yuan Zhu was shocked: “Holy shit!”
He never imagined Running City had so many hidden rules.
“Then… how do others handle it? I know plenty of underground fighting events have ability users participating, and the Security Bureau hasn’t busted those dens.”
A Miao sneered, pointing at her feet: “Heh, have you ever seen the Security Bureau come to Cat Street to investigate?”
“Yeah! You said it’s good I entered Cat Street, otherwise there’d be trouble. What’s the reason—you have connections in the Security Bureau?”
A Miao shook her head: “What connections do I have? I’m under key Security Bureau surveillance myself. Just apply for a special business license, pay up top, and you get special permission to shelter ability users in your operating area. For example, since you cultivate the Holy Light System, you should’ve registered and filed, getting the corresponding identification. With that ID, your ‘extraordinary power and mental waves’ are entered into Running’s Law Monitoring Network and marked as legal.”
“Additionally, those fighting clubs are also training ‘extraordinary fighters’; as long as you spend some money to register, pay taxes and fees by the rules, you can move freely. Even illegal underground matches can be evaded by setting up special rituals in advance, or bribing the Security Bureau to turn a blind eye.”
“In short, there are plenty of ways to cope, but you absolutely can’t just do nothing like you did and stupidly drive on the road. Your actions are no different from polluted wild beasts running out of the Misty Mountains—bound to be targeted first and made an example of like the chicken killed to warn the monkeys.”
Yuan Zhu looked enlightened and verbally thanked her: “Uh… I was wrong, thanks for the lesson, Sister Miao!”
A Miao was very satisfied with his attitude: “You sure know how to talk. Remember to say it more in the future! I love hearing it.”
…
At this point, Yuan Zhu also began reflecting on his past actions. He’d privately hoarded a large number of Polluted Goblins without attracting Security Bureau attention, and without flipping the car.
The reason for all this was naturally the Haunted House itself!
This Haunted House originally came with its own barrier to isolate the Disease Garden from the outside world (Security Bureau).
It was only because it had been unmanaged for a long time, causing the ‘Polluted Monster (multi-armed doll)’ responsible for maintaining the Haunted House itself to leak mental pollution, affecting residential area residents, that it was treated as a small mission (exorcism) and handed to the Cleaning Company.
After Yuan Zhu occupied the Haunted House, he added his own mark (Shadow Pollution Shadow Eggplant), reinstalled the system, hiding both the Garden and the Polluted Goblins he was raising.
Now, though he’d taken out all the Eggplant Goblins, he hadn’t lingered in Running City but directly transported them to the Domain deep in the Misty Mountains.
Not to mention the Domain’s protective hiding effect far surpassing the Haunted House, the ‘mists’ in the misty veins alone formed a super-strong shielding layer, unlikely to attract Security Bureau attention.
So, transporting this van full of ‘Goblins + Orcs’ tonight was the boldest and most high-profile thing he’d done since crossing. He was crazily provoking under the Security Bureau’s nose, openly moving a large amount of ‘pollutants’ in the urban area.
Fortunately, he’d parked the van within Cat Street’s range, getting cover. Otherwise, within an hour, a swarm of investigators would come to grab him for performance points.
Seeing Yuan Zhu fall silent, A Miao thought he had an enlightenment, nodding slightly with an auntie smile.
Partners who knew self-reflection and self-evolution were qualified good partners.
Yuan Zhu looked up then, pointing at the ugly, innocent-looking Goblin in the carriage: “Miao Miao, my senior student and I plan to invest in building a Frog Factory under the eastern suburbs hillside, secretly mass-producing Body Tempering Fluid and developing large numbers of this Goblin Strongman. But after your reminder, I’m worried that mass-raising ‘extraordinary Goblins’ (actually enslaving a bunch of 007 Eggplant Goblins to work overtime) might attract Security Bureau attention and get my factory razed.”
A Miao replied: “I know a bit about the Frog Factory business; you need to apply for a business license at the Rain Courtyard. If you open a Frog Factory legally and compliantly, you’ll have legal qualification to raise ‘Frog System Modified’ ones—no need to worry. Though there are quantity limits. You can ask your partner to apply officially and max out the pollutant numbers.”
“Additionally, since it’s near the hillside, not in the urban area, the Security Bureau’s detection strength will be affected and greatly weakened. The Security Bureau’s main duty is maintaining urban area safety; control over the outskirts drops sharply. Plus, you can set up special rituals, barriers, anti-interference devices yourself. Finally, there’s a method targeting the Law System Monitoring Network that I can provide, but it costs money.”
Yuan Zhu: “You?”
“Forgot my main business?”
Yuan Zhu instantly remembered that the stunningly beautiful ‘amateur underground idol’ in front of him was the real big shot. The Bar was just her public front; privately, she was a professional queen of fencing stolen goods, smuggling, human smuggling, arms deals. Her business scope covered everything, all about seeking stimulation and fun.
A Miao pointed at the strongmen in the carriage: “Goblins and Orcs like yours under you are actually still very low in reinforcement level. It’s just the large numbers that attract attention. I can provide talismans; as long as they wear them and aren’t cornered by investigators demanding ID, they can move freely anywhere in Running urban area without drawing notice.”
Yuan Zhu nodded repeatedly: “I’ll take them, I’ll take them! But with our relationship, you really gonna charge me? That hurts feelings too much.”
A Miao agreed: “Exactly, that’s what I think too. But giving you talismans for free—over time, won’t that consume our friendship? Are you the type to freebie good friends and never get enough small advantages?”
Yuan Zhu shook his head: “Of course not!”
“Right? Real friendship is mutual help. I can’t tell these Goblins’ level, but your black-skinned Orcs are trained to look the part—pity they’re all show, empty shells with physique but no combat experience. Want to further cultivate and tap their potential? Not just vases with build but no fighting experience?”
Yuan: “What do you want to do?”
“They look good—how about lending them to me for a couple days to play with? I have a business deal coming up; they can fill out the scene as bodyguards and porters. You lend me your Orcs to play, I’ll train them for you, teach them thermal weapon use, real combat in the Misty Mountains, grind tactics and fighting skills, cultivate them into talents. Then you’ll have a ‘Power System. Orc Bandit Super Group’ that can fight and carry, even smuggle to other cities for bank robberies! I’ll handle fencing and fleeing for you.”
Hearing this, Yuan Zhu felt it wasn’t a loss. Just lending out minions to work for the other side, but the knowledge and tech learned would be his. Plus real combat development, even potential sparks.
Seeing him silent, A Miao pressed: “What do you think?”
“Sounds pretty good.”
“Right, right! Death rate at 40% okay?”
“?!”
Yuan Zhu’s eyes widened: I only have 5 Orcs total, and you’re planning to play 2 to death? Not yours, so you don’t care?
A Miao PUA’d: “This rate is actually very low. Hand them to me, and I guarantee to train them to half-step One Turn Great Perfection!”
The so-called One Turn was one of the markers of completing the first round of muscle synthesis after developing Demonic Muscle to the limit (100%) in the Power System, thoroughly breaking through to Seed.
