Chapter 199

With its Pointy-Ears and squinting eyes, it seemed to want to take in everything in front of it, scrutinizing Zuo Jian with meticulous detail.

"I've seen plenty of people kicking others out, and I've even seen people 'ask' others to leave like you, but... you're the first one willing to offer any compensation."

"Is that so... It seems I'm just not cut out for mercenaries no matter what I do."

Zuo Jian shrugged, unsure whether to be pleased or disappointed by the 'praise' from the Pointy-Ears.

"Tsk tsk, since that's the case, then I wish you can survive a little longer in this godforsaken place." Pointy-Ears wiped the nameplate in his hand, preparing to leave.

Before leaving, he muttered to himself, trying to identify the nameplate.

Zuo Jian stood there, watching the other man leave, listening to his fragmented whispers.

"Tsk tsk, the name's been worn away, it's hard to calculate its value like that, hmm..."

"It all smells of blood, that's not surprising... and there's also the smell of alcohol... hmm?"

Suddenly, as if it had discovered something, the Pointy-Ears stopped in its tracks and stared intently at the nameplate in its hand.

Immediately afterwards, he raised his hand, removed the bird-beak mask, and held the nameplate to his nose, sniffing it carefully, trying to discern the strange smell...

The smell of smoke...

Or rather... the taste of tobacco, or rather, the taste of those cheap, hand-rolled cigarettes.

He vaguely remembered smelling this strange scent somewhere before.

Pointy-Ears had always had a good memory; he could remember almost every mercenary he'd ever met by certain features. Coincidentally, there was one mercenary he remembered by the distinctive smell of tobacco on his clothes...

After all, in Kazdel, making a smokeable cigarette is a rare skill.

Thinking of this, Pointy-Ears suddenly widened its pupils, as if it had remembered something!

In an instant, a strange smile crept onto his face.

"We've made a fortune!"

Then, he turned around and threw the nameplate back into the air.

"?"

Zuo Jian stared at the Pointy-Ears that had turned back halfway with a somewhat puzzled expression, becoming wary again.

What is this person up to now?

"Hey friend, I suddenly remembered I have a principle: I can't just take your payment for nothing."

The Pointy-Ears replied with a serious expression.

Zuo Jian's disbelief and skepticism were practically written all over his face.

"A principle that has never been followed is not a principle."

In response, the two small eyes with Pointy-Ears immediately curved into a smile and said...

"How could that be? This is a principle I just set for myself, how could I not have followed it? Besides, aren't I proving it right now?"

The other party demonstrated extremely flexible standards and bottom lines regarding principles, which can only be described as fully in line with Zuo Jian of Kazdel + the businessman.

An imagination of a combination of keywords.

"So, what are you planning to do? Are you dissatisfied with the compensation?" Zuo Jian stared at the Pointy-Ears and asked calmly.

"No, no, no, Pointy-Ears is never dissatisfied with freebies... No, I should say Pointy-Ears is a principled businessman who knows that freebies aren't always a good thing. So, Pointy-Ears wants to make a deal with you."

He rubbed his hands together while constantly staring at the Zuo Jian, his lewd gaze somewhere between that of a homeless man seeing a overflowing garbage can on the roadside and the look a dung beetle gives when it first enters a toilet.

... This made Zuo Jian very uncomfortable.

"You want Pointy-Ears to leave? Fine, Pointy-Ears doesn't want any compensation. Consider it a bonus from the deal! After all... there's always a discount for the first time, isn't there?"

"Don't worry, Pointy-Ears is a businessman; he'll only make reasonable deals. I'm sure you won't be disappointed."

After saying that, Pointy-Ears began rubbing his thin, dry hands together.

Looking at the other person's appearance, Zuo Jian decided to retract his description of him as a dung beetle... or rather, the other person looked more like an impatient fly...

The problem is that the Zuo Jian is neither a trash can nor...

In short, he didn't understand why he had suddenly become so precious in Cang's eyes... in the eyes of Pointy-Ears.

However, seeing the other person's appearance, he didn't intend to refuse outright, but instead asked.

"You want to trade, but I have nothing but these nameplates, and I can't offer anything you need—"

"No, no, no, no," the Pointy-Ears man quickly interrupted, then continued.

"Pointy-Ears can certainly tell, but as Pointy-Ears said, we only do reasonable transactions, so naturally we won't ask for anything you can't provide."

"If you've ever been to the Scar Market, you've probably heard this saying: 'The Pointy-Ears in the shadows know everything...'"

"But you should know that this is just a promotional slogan I used to exaggerate. Businessmen, it's normal for them to boast about their products."

At this point, Zuo Jian seemed to understand what the other person wanted to say.

Does your product contain intelligence?

"Of course, of course, Pointy-Ears sells everything he can get his hands on."

"I'll ask you a few simple questions. You can answer them, or you can choose not to answer some of them, even if your answers are unclear!"

Pointy-Ears paused here, then his shrewd little eyes darted around, staring at Zuo Jian he spoke.

"In return, for each question you answer, you can choose one item from me, whether it's a physical object or information."

"Oh?" Upon hearing this, Zuo Jian suddenly became somewhat interested. In fact, he did need such an opportunity to obtain some necessary intelligence.

But... even with this in mind, he still didn't let his guard down.

Seeing this, the Pointy-Ears creature casually added something.

"You still seem a little skeptical of Pointy-Ears. Well then, sir, let's go all out today and give you another invaluable piece of information."

After he finished speaking, he glanced around warily, then pretended to whisper something to Zuo Jian.

"Let me tell you, a monster appeared in the south. Almost all the mercenaries who were stationed there were wiped out, and even the mercenary groups that went to try to avenge their men didn't return!"

"Now everyone calls that place the Mercenary Forbidden Zone. Some people even look from afar and see a dense mass of mounds of earth! When they go up and dig them up, they find that they're filled with dead mercenaries! And their weapons are stuck in the mounds as tombstones!"

"Everyone gave that monster a nickname... 'The Grave-Bringer'."

The Pointy-Ears spoke with exaggerated surprise, while also taking the time to observe Zuo Jian's expression.

His expression was somewhat strange at that moment, as if he was thinking about something.

"... I was wondering why some of the mounds of earth had been dug up when I passed by earlier... turns out it was those mercenary bastards who did it."

Zuo Jian once again sighed inwardly at the mercenaries' moral standards, or rather, he shouldn't have expected mercenaries to have any moral standards in the first place.

(Oh dear, I just realized the college entrance exam is approaching! I hope all the seniors in high school will do well on their exams! More blessings will be posted in the book review section!)