Bounty and Ghouls

Chapter 41: Bounty and Ghouls

"Fifty-fifty!"

The original temporary recruitment agreement had been a seventy-thirty split.

During the mission, Han Dong had made the correct deduction and guessed that there was an escape tunnel in the basement, so Cas raised his share to forty percent.

Later, with Han Dong's assistance, they had released only one ghoul and killed it using Han Dong's unique ability.

After submitting the Bounty Mission, Cas Martini directly handed Han Dong half a heavy sack of Copper Coins outside the church.

"So many?" Han Dong was somewhat surprised. There had to be at least a hundred Copper Coins in the sack.

"If it hadn't been for your help this time, Andeva, not only would I have failed to complete the mission, I might even have lost my life. This is what you deserve... Also, as you requested, I only gave my own name when submitting the mission."

Cas did not ask too much about why Han Dong deliberately wanted to stay hidden. After all, everyone had their privacy... Cas guessed that Han Dong had sneaked out. If the academy found out, this bounty would have been for nothing.

"Mm."

For the time being, Han Dong had no idea how much this half-sack of Copper Coins was worth.

"Friend Andeva, was your summon contract-based or mentally controlled? It was incredible!"

"The former, I suppose."

"No wonder it wasn't a coincidence that you obtained a Destiny Weapon!

Can we exchange contact information? If there are any Bounty Missions in the future that require a team, or when an important 'Moment of Destiny' arrives, we can carry them out together.

Don't let my injury from fighting the ghoul earlier fool you. I'm actually quite formidable when I get serious."

It was not that Han Dong did not want to form a team.

Getting to know a Crusader who had already been assigned three Destiny Points would be highly beneficial to his future development.

It was simply that Han Dong did not know how to answer this question.

Contact information naturally referred to modern means of communication.

However, according to normal history, communication during the steam age had still been limited to paper letters... Even the telegraph had not appeared until the early stages of the Second Industrial Revolution.

Han Dong had asked Nina about this.

The answer was that the Holy City of Nointena did not yet possess electricity. Naturally, there were no telegraphs, much less the radio communication methods that came afterward.

Still, methods of communication existed.

Against this unique historical backdrop, supernatural forces and steam technology had collided head-on, and humanity in the apocalypse had developed an alternative means of communication.

Copper components and gears worked together to transmit corresponding signals.

The signals could be identified and relayed through precise magic arrays, allowing for both immediate transmission and directed transmission.

It was essentially a communication device born from the fusion of magic and metal.

Han Dong did not know what it actually looked like.

Just as Han Dong was unsure how to answer the question about contact information, Cas pinched the Clockwork Device on his wrist between his thumb and forefinger.

The watch-like Clockwork Device made a series of clicking sounds.

It folded and unfolded.

Delicate copper keys emerged from within, transforming the Clockwork Device into something resembling the keypad of an old-fashioned mobile phone. The numbered copper keys from one to nine had the tactile feel of a typewriter.

Han Dong immediately followed suit. Sure enough, his Clockwork Device also extended an operation panel.

At the same time, a string of numbers appeared on the bottom of the Clockwork Device... his device number.

That was how the two exchanged numbers, and Han Dong officially became acquainted with a Knight-Errant.

At the very least, the ghoul incident had shown that Cas Martini was a decent person worth befriending.

"That's it, then. I need to get this armor repaired as soon as possible. If anything comes up later, we can contact each other anytime."

"Mm, goodbye."

To be honest, Han Dong had only just left Destiny Space and had not yet had the chance to study this Clockwork Device.

He now stared at it for quite some time. It felt like a masterwork, perhaps with other auxiliary functions... ones that had been activated when he became a Knight-Errant.

"Time to go home."

Using his status as a Knight-Errant, Han Dong departed from the church, crossed the guarded Moslaby River, and returned to the familiar Samael Slums.

Nina had already registered their household as a Knight-Errant family at the Police Bureau. Their family would no longer be bound by the compulsory regulations of this district and could move out of the slums at any time.

The moment Han Dong got home,

Nina flung herself at him and hugged him tightly, so excited that she could barely speak clearly.

After all, Han Dong had brought far too many changes to this family.

"Brother... do you know!? After you were taken away, Officer Days personally came to apologize and even gave us five Copper Coins! We won't have to worry about what to eat anymore."

"Are five Copper Coins a lot?"

"A lot! Mom can only earn ten Copper Coins a year working outside... When I follow my master, if he's in a good mood, he might give me one Copper Coin at the end of the month."

"Oh?"

Han Dong directly placed the sack in his hand on the table.

At the sound of metal clinking inside the sack... Nina's body swayed along with it.

Han Dong spoke as if it were nothing. "You and Mom can use this money. If we move across the Moslaby River later, we'll probably need to buy brand-new furniture, right?"

Nina said nothing.

Instead, she slowly approached the sack and opened it.

Piles of Copper Coins. Nina had never seen so many in her life. She could not even have dreamed of so many Copper Coins.

She stood there stupidly, unable to say a single word. Even her eyes became slightly unfocused.

After standing there for half the night, Nina finally stammered softly,

"Brother, did you... did you use the power you gained to rob someone...?"

"Don't worry. I got this money through legitimate means."

"H-how much is this!?"

"I don't know. I haven't counted it either. Just keep it safe. If I need money later, I'll ask you for some. You can decide how to use the rest."

"Brother... I, I..." Nina was so anxious she was nearly crying.

"Count how much there is first. Just keep it safe... We can use it once we move across the Moslaby River."

"O-okay!!"

Holding the money sack, Nina looked around repeatedly, terrified that a stranger might discover this immense fortune. Then she hurried into the bedroom she shared with her mother.

First, she counted the fortune coin by coin, then stored the sack at the very bottom of the wardrobe.

As for Han Dong, he did as usual and returned alone to his room, closed and locked the door... When it was time to eat, Nina would naturally come call him.

Han Dong was not particularly concerned about the Copper Coins. Since he could earn them through Bounty Missions, there would be plenty of opportunities in the future.

What Han Dong cared about was the unexpected gain from this trip.

This ghoul incident had not merely earned him a bounty.

Han Dong had also obtained Cellular Essence, a complete mature Ghoul Arm, and several books about ghouls that Chen Li had found in the residence.

(Chen Li did not understand English, but her visual images could be actively conveyed to Han Dong. Under Han Dong's guidance, she found the relevant books.)

Like reading research papers, Han Dong quickly read through them in detail.

Within a short time, he finished the relevant books, simplified the information, and organized it in his notebook.

Ghoul

Cause of formation: cemetery work and moral corruption.

They were commonly found among cemetery workers or residents living near cemeteries. After becoming infected by Graveyard Fungus or invaded by Yin Energy, their bodies would enter a "cemetery state."

Common symptoms included loss of appetite, aversion to sunlight, and fear of strangers.

Once such symptoms were discovered, one needed to promptly visit a chapel and receive the appropriate Holy Baptism... Until the symptoms subsided, one must not approach a cemetery.

Without timely treatment, there was a seventy percent chance that the individual would die and a twenty percent chance that they would go mad.

For the remaining ten percent, during dreams at night, they might establish a hidden mental connection with "higher beings" beyond the city walls, fall under the influence of corruption, and transform into ghouls.

Newborn ghouls needed to feed on eerie things such as cemetery moss and miscellaneous fungi.

They had strong appetites and were active only at night. Their green skin and the rotting stench they emitted made them easy to identify.

Once they had eaten enough and fully matured, ghouls would possess sound thinking abilities and attempt to reproduce, establishing ghoul nests.