My First Pot of Gold, I'm Rich, I'm Rich

After school that afternoon, Su Bai and Lin Que sneaked into a small alley near the school.

It was a secret payout point for the underground betting pool at Linhai No. 3 Middle School.

Su Bai's upset victory over Gu Chengfeng had blown the whole betting pool sky-high. The senior-year thug who ran the book had reportedly come close to losing even his underpants, and had only scraped together enough money for the payouts by selling off a batch of low-grade spirit herbs from his divine kingdom.

"Brother Bai, the money's in! A whole hundred and one thousand!"

Lin Que stared at the bank balance on his phone, so excited that the fat all over his body trembled.

"I've never seen this much money in my life! Brother Bai, how about we go eat something good? I heard a new 'spirit beast hot pot' place opened downtown. Eating the meat there can increase your divine power!"

Su Bai smacked Lin Que on the back of the head.

"Forget hot pot. We've got important business to take care of."

"Take ten thousand of this, and transfer the remaining ninety thousand to me. I need it urgently."

Lin Que froze, then waved his hands frantically. "No, no, no, Brother Bai! You risked your life to win this money. I just ran an errand for you. How could I take ten thousand?"

"Cut the crap and take it. I'll need your help plenty more in the future." Su Bai's tone left no room for refusal.

Though the fatty Lin Que was timid, he had never dropped the ball at a critical moment. Su Bai wasn't a stingy person, and naturally had to give his own brother a hand.

Lin Que was so moved that his eyes filled with tears, and he promptly transferred ninety thousand to Su Bai.

After receiving the money, Su Bai didn't linger. He took a taxi straight to the Night Owl Market, the biggest underground black market in Linhai City.

It was a place where dragons and snakes mingled. As long as you had money, you could buy any kind of contraband, intelligence, or illicit medicine.

Su Bai made his way through several dim alleys with practiced ease and arrived at a shabby pharmacy with no sign.

He pushed open the door, and a heavy scent of herbs washed over him.

Behind the counter, a wizened old man with a monocle was working an abacus.

"Well, if it isn't the Su boy. I hear you made quite a splash at school today, even crippled the young master of the Gu Family?" The old man raised his eyelids and looked at Su Bai with the hint of a smile.

Nicknamed Ghost Hand, the old man was a well-known underground doctor in the black market. Su Bai's mother had been kept alive all this time by the cheap medicine he sold.

"Uncle Ghost, word travels fast to you." Su Bai smiled and slapped his phone down on the counter.

"Let's skip the nonsense. I want Heart-Clearing Life-Prolonging Powder, the highest purity you have. Give me a three-month supply."

A flash of surprise appeared in Ghost Hand Old Man's eyes.

"Heart-Clearing Life-Prolonging Powder? That's a top-grade, second-tier medicine. Ten thousand a vial, so three months' worth comes to ninety thousand. Did you strike it rich, kid?"

"Don't worry about whether I can afford it. Just tell me if you have it."

"I do, of course I do." Ghost Hand Old Man chuckled and took nine glass vials glowing faintly green from the safe under the counter.

Su Bai paid without hesitation and carefully tucked the medicine away against his body.

With this medicine, his mother's condition could at least be kept stable for three years without worsening. A weight had finally lifted from his heart.

"Oh, right, Uncle Ghost, there's something I wanted to ask you." Su Bai leaned a little closer and lowered his voice. "Has anyone been selling animal carcasses in bulk on the black market lately? Preferably ones that died pretty gruesome deaths."

Ghost Hand Old Man froze, and the look he gave Su Bai grew a little strange.

"What do you want that unlucky stuff for, kid? Didn't you awaken a wasteland divine kingdom? Don't tell me you want to raise livestock in there?"

"I'm doing biological experiments. Please don't ask."

Ghost Hand Old Man rubbed his chin and pondered for a moment. "There aren't any animal carcasses in bulk. But... recently, the City Appearance Bureau sealed off an unfinished residential complex in the eastern suburbs. I hear there was a serious outbreak of 'rat plague' inside, and quite a few vagrants and stray dogs died."

"If you're not afraid of death, you could try your luck there. But I'm warning you, there's something very sinister about that place. Even several of the City Appearance Bureau's agents who went in never came back out."

Su Bai's eyes lit up.

An unfinished residential complex? Vagrants? Stray dogs? And City Appearance Bureau agents lost in there too?

Wasn't that a fucking perfect repository of urban legend material?

"Thanks, Uncle Ghost!"

Su Bai thanked him, then turned and left.

Back home, Su Bai mixed the medicine into warm water and helped his mother drink it.

Watching a hint of color finally return to his mother's pale face as she fell into a deep sleep, Su Bai let out a long breath.

"Mom, don't worry. I'll definitely earn more money and cure your illness completely."

Su Bai glanced at the battered wall clock. It was already almost eight in the evening.

He changed into a black tracksuit that was easy to move in, put on a baseball cap, and left home.

The City Appearance Bureau, Abnormalities Handling Section.

It was a black building on the edge of the city center. There wasn't a single window in the entire building, and its outer walls were covered in a special anti-contamination coating. It looked like an enormous steel fortress.

Su Bai had just reached the entrance when two fully armed guards stopped him.

"What's your business? This is a restricted military area. Unauthorized personnel are not allowed in!"

Su Bai took out his phone and showed them the text message Bai Lan had sent him.

One of the guards glanced at it, and his expression changed slightly. He immediately saluted. "Mr. Su, Captain Bai is waiting for you on the third basement level. Please go in."

Following the directions, Su Bai took a dedicated explosion-proof elevator to the third basement level.

As soon as the elevator doors opened, a bone-chilling cold washed over him.

This floor was a vast circular hall. A huge holographic map stood in the center, displaying the flashing contamination indexes of the various districts of Linhai City.

Bai Lan stood before the map, frowning deeply as she studied a red area in the eastern suburbs.

Hearing footsteps, Bai Lan turned and looked at Su Bai, who was dressed in black.

"You're punctual," Bai Lan said calmly.

"When a superior summons me, I wouldn't dare disobey." Su Bai smiled, walked over to the map, and glanced at the red area.

"The eastern suburbs, the unfinished Sunshine Waterfront residential complex?" Su Bai asked, though he already knew the answer.

Bai Lan gave him a somewhat surprised look. "Word travels fast to you. That's right, it's there."

Bai Lan tapped the map, and the holographic projection immediately zoomed in, displaying the detailed layout of the unfinished buildings.

"Three days ago, we received a report of abnormal contamination fluctuations at the Sunshine Waterfront residential complex. I sent a three-person team in to investigate."

"Less than ten minutes after they went in, we lost all contact with them. Their vital-sign monitors show they're still alive, but their mental states are extremely unstable, and they've been walking in circles in the same spot."

Bai Lan took a deep breath, her expression turning exceptionally grave.

"I suspect a second-tier Anomaly with a 'spatial labyrinth' rule has come into being there."

Su Bai's heart stirred. A spatial labyrinth? Wasn't that exactly the Domain-type urban legend material he needed most right now?

During the divine battle, if he hadn't forcibly blocked the way with the abandoned school building, Hongdou could easily have been overwhelmed by the army. He urgently needed an urban legend scene that could trap enemies.

"So, you called me here to use me as cannon fodder and have me scout the way, ma'am?" Su Bai deliberately put on a frightened expression.

Bai Lan snorted. "You can kill ten thousand berserkers in an instant, but you're afraid of a second-tier Anomaly?"

"I called you here because your divine kingdom's contamination index is extremely high, giving you a natural resistance to the contamination from low-level Anomalies like this one. If you go in, you're less likely to get lost than our people."

Bai Lan took out a silver bracelet and handed it to Su Bai.

"This is a City Appearance Bureau temporary agent bracelet. As long as you can go in and bring those three agents out safely, I'll not only give you a hundred-thousand-yuan bonus, but I can also officially give you the status of an 'external consultant.'"

"With that status, the City Appearance Bureau can make things easier for you when you're operating in Linhai City, as long as you don't violate any major principles. Even the Gu Family will have to think twice before making a move against you."

A hundred-thousand-yuan bonus! An external consultant's status as a protective talisman!

Su Bai's heart began pounding uncontrollably.

These terms were like someone handing him a pillow just as he was getting sleepy!

Not only could he get urban legend material for free, he'd get money and status too. Where else could he find a deal this good?

Without hesitation, Su Bai took the bracelet and put it on his wrist.

"Deal."

Su Bai looked at the unfinished buildings on the holographic map, his lips curling into an exceptionally dangerous smile.

"Ma'am, get the stretchers ready."

"Tonight, everything in that building is mine."