Torosty City-state.
In this small city-state where a Silver rank could proudly stand out, the people in the city-state knew almost everyone, and they were all familiar with the famous figures within.
In the city-state's streets, a ratman clad only in a kuka walked.
With a ashen face, he walked through the streets.
"Lord Watte."
The residents of the city-state couldn't help but murmur.
Looking at the miserable ratman before him, he choked on his words for a long time.
Watte!
He was the ratman envoy enslaved by Chen Yu.
In the past, he enjoyed walking through the city-state the most, with residents respectfully calling him 'Lord'. Now, he wished no one would recognize him.
Unfortunately—
His past ostentatiousness made him known to everyone in the city-state.
Any resident who saw him in this state widened their eyes, fearing to speak.
Watte, Director of the Ratmen Association.
The matter of his disheveled clothes gradually spread through the city-state.
"Damn outsider!"
Watte clenched his fists, filled with shame.
Unable to bear the residents' strange gazes, he hurried back to the Ratmen Association. As he pushed open the door, his colleagues working within looked at him with bewilderment.
"Watte?!"
"What happened to you?"
His colleagues rushed forward, looking at Watte with surprise.
Watte said nothing. After going to the dressing room and putting on a mage's robe, he emerged and sat in his seat with a gloomy expression. The others, sensing the atmosphere around him, dared not make a sound.
"I want to issue a bounty."
After a long silence, Watte suddenly blurted out.
"A bounty?"
The ratman responsible for bounties in the association looked back.
"What do you want to bounty?"
"A bounty of one hundred gold coins!" Watte clenched his fists tightly.
Instantly, all the ratmen in the association were stunned.
One hundred gold coins?!
They knew that their annual salary in the association was only one gold coin. Most of their income came from adventuring after work.
Occasionally, they might receive some other income.
Even so,
Earning 5 gold coins a year was considered being wealthy.
Watte's bounty.
This was twenty years of income.
"This is the bounty deposit."
Watte took out a bracelet from his robe.
Like a cunning rabbit with three burrows,
Watte had not placed all his wealth in one bracelet.
In fact, this bracelet was where his true savings were kept, the dowry he had saved by living frugally year after year.
He had originally intended to use these savings to buy a larger house in the city-state.
Now his thoughts had changed.
Ten gold coins were placed on the table.
Seeing the gleaming gold coins, his colleagues in the association were even more astonished.
Gulp.
All the ratmen couldn't help but swallow.
Indeed, Watte must have encountered a fortuitous encounter while adventuring outside, otherwise, how could he offer a bounty of 100 gold coins and immediately take out 10 gold coins as a deposit without thinking?
"What is your bounty for, and what is the content?"
"The specific content requires further discussion with those who wish to know. Please mark it especially; this task is not for everyone to take by chance," Watte's eyes were filled with chilling intent. "I require a challenge fee of 1 silver coin. This bounty is very important to me, and I need people with true determination to accept it."
1 silver coin.
A bounty that required a challenge fee was truly unprecedented in the city-state.
But—
Exchanging a challenge fee of 1 silver coin for an income of 100 gold coins.
It didn't seem like a loss.
"Watte, you can at least tell us what you're offering a bounty for, right?" His colleagues in the association were curious. Watte merely glanced at them faintly.
Seeing his gaze, the people in the association immediately took out 1 silver coin.
"Consider this task accepted."
The silver coin was thrown towards Watte. Catching the coin, Watte couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
It actually worked!
It seemed the outsider's suggestion was indeed feasible. A bounty of 100 gold coins only required a challenge fee of 1 silver coin, and there would always be people willing to try.
If managed properly, his 10 gold coin deposit might be recovered within a day.
If he promoted it well.
Recovering 100 gold coins would also be very simple.
At that time, he would take the outsider's life and also make a substantial profit.
"Hmph, still want me to go back again, foolish outsider." A sinister smile flickered in Watte's eyes as he looked at his colleagues. "I want to bounty the dog life of an outsider!"
"Achoo!"
Er Gou, who was covered in muscles, suddenly sneezed violently. Chen Yu, who was lecturing him, immediately raised his hand and slapped him on the back of the head.
"Who are you sneezing at?"
"Boss, I... I didn't mean to." Er Gou looked wronged. "I don't know why just now, I suddenly couldn't hold it in, and then..."
Er Gou's voice grew softer and softer.
At this moment, Er Gou was no longer the arrogant person he once was.
He had been beaten into submission.
No matter how tough he was, he couldn't endure being beaten all night.
He no longer resisted.
He had surrendered.
Er Gou's name appeared on Chen Yu's list of enslaved individuals.
4, Er Gou, Loyalty: 107.
"From now on, you will work hard for the enterprise, understand?" Chen Yu glanced at him sideways. "I won't bully you. The dogmen in the dogmen camp will still be managed by you. From today onwards, you are the Doghead Captain of our camp. In the future, if we recruit more dogmen, they will also be handed over to you for management."
Hiss!
Is there such a good thing?
Er Gou truly did not expect to receive such treatment. Instead of being treated as a slave, he was even given an official position.
He would command more dogmen in the future.
[Underground Reminder: Er Gou's loyalty increased by 50.]
"Boss, don't worry!" Er Gou solemnly saluted. "I will not fail your cultivation, boss. In the future, I will work hard for you."
"Work hard, and our group will not treat anyone unfairly."
Chen Yu patted his shoulder. "However, you won't get any salary for now. The Fire Fruit you ate is worth 500 gold coins. Work hard to pay it back."
Er Gou's mouth twitched.
500 gold coins?
Could he earn 500 gold coins in his lifetime?
"Don't be discouraged." Sensing Er Gou's emotional shift, Chen Yu gently comforted him. "Even if our group doesn't give a salary, the employee benefits are very good. As long as you follow me and work hard, let alone 500 gold coins, 50,000 gold coins in the future will be nothing."
50,000 gold coins.
Er Gou couldn't help but swallow.
"You may not feel it now, but you will know in the future how fortunate it is to join my enterprise," Chen Yu patted Er Gou's shoulder.
He glanced again at the loyalty of the enslaved individuals in the camp.
5, Ratman Envoy Watte, Loyalty: 37.
When he first enslaved him, his loyalty was over 80, but now it had dropped to 37 in such a short time.
It didn't matter.
After all, Chen Yu had never expected his loyalty from the beginning.
He was just a pawn.
Smiling slightly, Chen Yu took out a scroll from Illya's bracelet.
The smile on his face grew even wider.