Chaos City.
Hanks's home.
When he saw An Kai, he was overcome with mixed feelings.
Over nearly a year, Hanks's hopes had followed the trajectory of a stock price, falling, falling, falling...
Eventually, he too had gradually come to believe that An Kai had died in the mage tower.
He swore he really hadn't withheld any information this time.
According to the information he'd obtained, there really was no danger inside the mage tower!
The only issue was its rather demanding entry requirement!
The Mage Profession wasn't exactly everywhere, especially one he could trust...
And yet...
Something had still gone wrong.
Hanks had waited a week without seeing any sign of An Kai...
That was when he'd started to have a bad feeling.
Then a month had passed, then two months, then half a year...
By the time An Kai finally reappeared, Hanks had almost forgotten about the mage tower.
Only when he occasionally thought of An Kai did he feel a pang of regret.
They said troublemakers lived for a thousand years.
Who would have thought that An Kai, a future menace of that caliber, would die so young?! What a surprise!
"Are you really An Kai, kid?!"
An Kai nodded helplessly. This was the fifth time Hanks had asked him.
"Hanks, what are you doing at home? Why aren't you running your stall outside the city? Afraid someone will sneak in through your window while you're gone?"
"Ha! It really is you!"
"I knew a menace like you wouldn't die so easily!"
Hanks shouted excitedly and moved forward to hug An Kai...
Only for An Kai to shove him away in disgust. "Shoo, shoo! I don't hug men!"
"Where's Widow Wang? Get her out here to hug me, and I might consider it."
At the mention of Widow Wang, Hanks reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
He hurriedly dragged An Kai out of the house.
They headed straight outside Chaos City.
Along the way, Hanks didn't ask what An Kai had experienced or why he'd taken so long to come out.
Hanks knew that prying into his private affairs would accomplish nothing except irritating An Kai.
The two left the city and passed Reed, who was still watching over the stall.
Without stopping, they continued farther away, acting all secretive...
"My god! Is that him?!"
"He actually survived?!"
"I knew a menace like that wouldn't die so easily!"
Reed stared at An Kai's retreating back, his mouth hanging wide open...
In the end, he let out a helpless sigh...
An Kai's strength had already left his own far behind. As for the detector showing tier one, first stage...
Yeah, right!
"Where is it?"
An Kai took out the envelope and handed it to Hanks without a blush or a skipped heartbeat.
"You didn't read it, did you?"
"Tch!" An Kai scoffed, then added, "Ask around. Am I, An Kai, the sort of person who breaks his promises?"
Hanks frowned. Somehow, those words sounded familiar...
He tucked the envelope into his clothes and gave An Kai a suspicious look. Still unwilling to let it go, he warned, "Kid, this letter is important. You'd better not have read it!"
What's so damn important about a blank envelope... An Kai scoffed inwardly, but outwardly he still nodded emphatically.
He assured Hanks that he'd kept his promise and hadn't peeked...
After putting away the envelope, Hanks fell silent and waited for An Kai to speak.
He figured that after so long apart, and with him still being the kid's friend, An Kai would surely say something about what had happened inside the mage tower.
Such as why he'd taken so long to come out...
And yet...
Seeing that Hanks wasn't speaking, An Kai stayed silent too.
As for getting him to talk about the mage tower, that was pure fantasy.
He knew full well that the more he said, the more he would reveal.
So he wouldn't say a single word!
He wouldn't even ask Hanks where he could learn to read the unfamiliar writing in those books.
Given Hanks's personality, asking would inevitably give him enough clues to guess something...
One minute...
Two minutes...
Five minutes.
Hanks was certain now. This kid didn't consider him a friend!
He had absolutely no intention of explaining why he'd come out so late or what was inside the mage tower.
"Shall we head back?"
"Let's go!"
Watching An Kai stride past him in a single step, Hanks was overcome with mixed feelings.
Suddenly, he felt that his earlier regret over An Kai dying too young had been entirely one-sided...
Before long, the two passed Reed's stall again, one behind the other, and entered Chaos City...
An Kai was expressionless, while Hanks stared at his back, gritting his teeth...
Seeing this, Reed knew Hanks had lost out to An Kai yet again.
Honestly, seeing Hanks get the short end of the stick felt pretty good. It even made him like An Kai a little more...
Just after entering the city, An Kai took out a rolled-up bounty notice and handed it to Hanks, as casually as if he were discussing some ordinary roadside sight:
"Any leads on where that Mountainbreaker Gang guy's younger brother is? Once it's done, we'll split it eighty-twenty... no, ninety-ten!"
Hanks couldn't even be bothered to ask who got ninety and who got ten. It took no brains to know he'd be getting ten.
Still...
Looking at the bounty notice An Kai handed him, he chuckled. "Kid, forget this job. That fellow Lei Ming is just putting on a show!"
"In a few days at most, the job will be canceled, and Lei En will come back on his own."
"Everyone in Chaos City knows the Mountainbreaker Gang leader's younger brother likes going out alone to train!"
Hanks was very familiar with the Mountainbreaker Gang's affairs and spoke without the slightest hesitation.
"Then isn't this younger brother afraid of dying out in the Desert?" After hearing him out, An Kai asked about something that concerned him.
"Dying? Hahaha!"
"Kid, never mind that Lei En's older brother is a tier-two powerhouse. Lei En himself is a tier-one, eighth-stage Lancer!"
"How many people in all of Chaos City are stronger than him? And of those who are, who doesn't know about Lei En's connections?"
"Besides, that kid Lei En is dirt poor. He doesn't have a single gold coin on him. What idiot would go after him?"
An Kai glanced at Hanks, feeling displeased because Hanks thought he was an idiot.
No, that wasn't quite right. He hadn't deliberately gone after Lei En. He'd just killed him in passing.
Who knew that the seemingly arrogant Lei En was all show and no substance?
One touch, and he'd shattered!
Still, Lei En really had been poor...
Not a single gold coin!
"This job is impossible to complete. I'd advise you to pick another one. Don't let those hundred gold coins blind you."
"Even if you're lucky enough to bring Lei En back, those hundred gold coins would only be in your hands for safekeeping. You really think the Mountainbreaker Gang is a charity?"
Hanks spoke at length about the bounty with the air of an old hand...
"Then isn't that a fucking scam?!"
An Kai was furious. He hated people who pulled this sort of fraud!
Hearing An Kai's angry shout, Hanks gave him a puzzled look...
It would be stranger if it were real! The words reached his lips, but he didn't say them. This was common knowledge in Chaos City...
"Never trust the words of anyone in the Desert."
Before long, the two arrived at Hanks's home.
Widow Wang came out to greet them warmly.
Seeing her, Hanks hurriedly dragged An Kai into the guest room beside them.
After shutting the door, Hanks said secretively, "That bounty may be no good, but I've got a profitable opportunity here, and it really does involve the Mountainbreaker Gang!"
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