Generous Spoils

But how could Lu Hao let him have his way? Although he couldn't execute a third strike, his mastery of leg techniques wasn't just for show.

Lu Hao's leg lashed out, kicking Bai Yifan, who was about to consume the pill, a distance of four or five meters.

As Bai Yifan spat out a large mouthful of blood, Lu Hao stopped. Based on his assessment, although the previous killing blow had been blocked by the inner armor, the force of his blood vitality should have damaged the internal organs; with this kick, they were likely ruptured.

Lu Hao didn't move in for another strike, instead watching Bai Yifan vigilantly. As he watched the blood flow from Bai Yifan and listened to his painful expressions and wails, Lu Hao did not soften his heart. After all, a life must be paid for with a life; when he chose to kill others, he should have anticipated this day.

After waiting for a long while, Lu Hao saw that Bai Yifan had stopped moving, and then a message appeared on his panel.

[Enemy killed, Slaughter Point +237]

Hmm, 237 Slaughter Points. Judging by the blood vitality, it seems this Bai Yifan had indeed reached the peak of the First Grade by relying on a large number of pills.

Lu Hao then picked up the metal rod that had fallen to the side.

This rod hadn't broken under Lu Hao's attacks, and even after he struck it hard with his Big Ring Blade, it remained undamaged. The metal rod was likely made of the same D-Grade Alloy as his Big Ring Blade.

He weighed it in his hand; it was probably about 4 kilograms. With D-Grade Alloy priced at around 600,000 per kilogram, this rod was worth 2.4 million.

He removed the inner armor from Bai Yifan's body, which now had a crack in it. Although it hadn't blocked Lu Hao's attack, that was because it was his strongest strike yet.

The damage caused by an eruption of over 50 units of blood vitality couldn't be blocked by an average Second Grade martial artist; only a Third Grade who had tempered their sternum could withstand such an assault.

Even so, the value of this inner armor was likely higher than that of the metal rod. After all, inner armor could be worn at all times—it was a life-saving item.

If not for this inner armor, Lu Hao's second strike would have killed Bai Yifan instantly, leaving him no time to pull out his pills.

He took the pill Bai Yifan hadn't managed to consume from his hand. Hmm, a Life Recovery Pill, worth six million.

This was a true rich kid; the items on his person alone added up to over ten million.

Just how much wool had this Bai Yifan sheared from the Pill Company to arm himself to this extent?

If it hadn't been for Lu Hao, an average low-stage Second Grade might not have been able to handle him, and might even have been killed in a counterattack.

He was a real hidden threat.

Lu Hao opened the cellar door. As he jumped down, he was immediately startled, because right where he landed, an arrow was aimed directly at his head.

Lu Hao circled around the hole to look; it was a pre-prepared crossbow. If someone had suddenly attacked, Bai Yifan could have given them a big surprise from inside.

Lu Hao couldn't help but feel a lingering fear. It was fortunate he had been extra cautious; if he had just jumped down, he would likely be a corpse by now. Lu Hao had only tempered his lower limbs so far, and his head was no different from an ordinary person's, so he naturally couldn't have blocked the bolt's piercing strike.

Bai Yifan's heart was truly black, truly devious.

After searching, Lu Hao found a few bottles of Blood Vitality Pills and one bottle of Bone Tempering Pills, but nothing else. It seemed Bai Yifan had used most of his pills to purchase this equipment, and likely used quite a few to break through his cultivation as well.

Lu Hao pulled the arrowhead from the trap and squeezed it with his hand, then curled his lip.

He couldn't budge it at all; it was at least D-Grade Alloy, perhaps even C-Grade. This Bai Yifan was truly afraid of death.

After packing up his spoils, Lu Hao left. On the way back, he warned himself to be careful, careful, and more careful when performing missions in the future, or he might flip his car if he encountered another hidden threat like Bai Yifan.

Back at the Detective Bureau, after reporting Bai Yifan's strength to the staff, they informed him that he would have to wait for the Cleanup Department to confirm the details before he could receive his corresponding reward.

Lu Hao didn't mind; he wasn't after the reward anyway. His primary goal had always been Slaughter Points.

Killing Bai Yifan had taken nearly half a day, so Lu Hao didn't take any more missions. It was getting late, and he was better off going home to temper his bones.

After setting a time with Viper for tomorrow, Lu Hao went straight home to begin his bone tempering.

Once home, Lu Hao checked his gains for the day.

[Slaughter Point: 480]

He kept 80 points for emergencies, leaving 400 points, which was enough for Lu Hao to temper 8 bones.

This was just his gain for a single day. If every day were like this, how wonderful it would be! But Lu Hao was just dreaming; that was impossible.

First, there weren't that many criminal martial artists. Most martial artists had brains, after all; they weren't stupid enough to oppose the national law enforcement agencies.

Second was the issue of efficiency. The two missions Lu Hao had taken today were ones he had specifically selected. Both had essentially locked down the target's location, requiring only someone to be sent to handle them.

However, other missions weren't so clear-cut, providing only a general area. For example, news that someone had appeared in a certain place five days ago made finding them a significant challenge.

He expected the upcoming missions wouldn't be this easy; finding people would likely take a lot of time, but for Lu Hao, it was still worth it.

After all, a low-stage First Grade could provide 170 to 180 Slaughter Points, enough to temper about four bones, whereas tempering them himself would take nearly ten days.

Finding someone certainly wouldn't take that long. Spending two or three days to find someone was very cost-effective for Lu Hao.

If he really couldn't find them, Lu Hao could always abandon the mission; he only had to pay a penalty of one-tenth of the reward, which wasn't a problem for him.

Without further thought, Lu Hao began tempering his bones. After he finished one, his mother returned.

At the dinner table, Lu Hao recounted the situation he encountered during his mission today. Although Bai Qiuyao could learn the results of his missions through the bureau later, she didn't know the actual process.

So Lu Hao told her, demonstrating his strength, which also put Bai Qiuyao's mind at ease.

However, when Bai Qiuyao heard about Bai Yifan's equipment, she couldn't help but ponder, her brows furrowed.

"What's wrong, Mom? Is there something wrong with this Bai Yifan?"

"There is indeed a problem. The C-Grade arrowhead and the inner armor you mentioned are not things a mere shop assistant could come into contact with. D-Grade metal is the limit for civilians, let alone inner armor. No matter the type, inner armor is not allowed to circulate among the public."

"How did this Bai Yifan get these things? It seems we need to have someone investigate his fencing channels tomorrow."

"Is that so? No wonder I've never seen inner armor outside. So it's a controlled item."

Lu Hao nodded. Bai Yifan's equipment was indeed too extravagant. How could a mere peak First Grade come into contact with such things? It could only mean there was a problem with his source of illicit goods.