Bounty

The World Channel was in turmoil. Messages were flooding the channel at an unprecedented speed. After applying some filters to the chat, Ye Ci could finally have a clear picture of what was going on.

World: The Northern Continent guild Rain of Blood has placed a huge bounty on Gongzi You and Spotless Autumn. Any kills scored on either of the players would be rewarded with 20,000 gold coins or its equivalent in real world currency. Bounty duration: 3 months.

World: The Northern Continent guild Heavenly Body has placed a huge bounty on Gongzi You and Spotless Autumn. Any kills scored on either of the players would be rewarded with 30,000 gold coins or its equivalent in real world currency. Bounty duration: 3 months.

World: The Northern Continent guild Sangharama Shrine has placed a huge bounty on Gongzi You and Spotless Autumn. Any kills scored on either of the players would be rewarded with 40,000 gold coins or its equivalent in real world currency. Bounty duration: 3 months.

And she received three system notifications at the same time.

"A bounty has been placed on you by the Northern Continent guild, Rain of Blood. Duration: 3 months. Please do your best to keep yourself safe."

"A bounty has been placed on you by the Northern Continent guild, Heavenly Body. Duration: 3 months. Please do your best to keep yourself safe."

"A bounty has been placed on you by the Northern Continent guild, Sangharama Shrine. Duration: 3 months. Please do your best to keep yourself safe."

Players and guilds in Fate were allowed to place a bounty on a player after paying a specific amount of fees. The bounty would then be added into a game as a quest. Players who accepted the bounty could then hunt down the target of their bounty even if it was an allying player without committing a crime. The longest possible duration for a bounty placed by an individual was at a month, while a guild could place out a bounty for three months.

It was very obvious that Ye Ci's involvement in the avalanche had incurred the wrath of the three major Northern Continent guilds. The bounty was placed on them right after the leaders of the three guild returned to the capital of their continent.

Of course, bounties were a common sight in Fate, as the cost of placing bounties on a person was relatively cheap. But the bounties placed out on this day had caused a turmoil in the entire game. It was placed out by the three major guilds of the Northern Continent, and these guilds with their millions of players made up at least half the continent's population. It was simply unbelievable that guilds at such a scale would place out bounties against individual players.

And the subject of the bounties were equally mind blowing to the masses, as they were none Gongzi You and Spotless Autumn.

Who is Gongzi You?

And who is Spotless Autumn?

These were names not known to only players who were new to the game. They were the top players of their respective continent, and the former was the role model for all Hunters, while the latter a benchmark of how a Sorcerer should be. These mechanically skillful players were like living legends in the game. It was simply unbelievable that the two would have a bounty placed upon them by the three major guilds of the Northern Continent.

Why is there a bounty out for them? Did they run into each other by coincidence? But how could two players cause such a large inconvenience to three powerful guilds to the point where bounties were placed on them?

It was simply unimaginable.

Rumors were beginning to surface regarding the incident that happened between the duo and the three major guilds. The silence from both sides involved left a lot of room for imagination.

The World Channel was full of gossip and nothing else.

Ye Ci once again muted her World Channel, and sent a message to Spotless Autumn, "How are things on your end?"

"I'm in hot soup right now. Take care of yourself." came the short reply.

Ye Ci could already imagine the situation that Spotless Autumn had found himself in. He might be able to handle any player that came his way, but even he would eventually tire out under the unending numbers of players that were after his bounty.

She would soon be forced into the same situation.

Ye Ci could not help the sigh that escaped her mouth. She was not one to be afraid of trouble, and since trouble was already at her doorsteps, the only thing she could do was to be careful.

Despite the turmoil in the World Channel, Ye Ci was not peppered by the members of her guild the moment she arrived in the headquarters. She had thought that her guild members were not into gossipping, but it was revealed that Bai Mo and Timely Rain had managed to suppress their curiosity. But this incident was still brought onto the table by Ye Ci herself in a meeting between officers.

The officers who finally learned of the truth let out a collective sigh of release, "Even if that's the case, don't you think they're just being mean?" said Let Go Of That Girl, "You should be careful with this bounty on your head. Why don't you head into the dungeon with us? If you're with us, it'll be harder for anyone who has accepted their bounties to go after you."

Players from the opposing continents would be the least of their worries, but it would not be as simple to deal with players from the same continent as only players who had accepted the bounties and the target of the bounties could fight without committing a crime. The bounties's target could not expect help from even his or her own party members.

This was why many of the officers agreed with Let Go Of That Girl.

Timely Rain could tell what was in Ye Ci's mind when she remained silent. He knew that she would not agree to such an idea. "What do you think? Do you want to follow us into the dungeons? You'll have safety in numbers." asked Bai Mo.

Ye Ci shook her head and smiled, "It's nothing, you don't have to be worried about me. I'll be fine as long as I'm careful. The dungeon clearing roster is full anyways. I don't want a member to lose their spot just because of me. I'll be careful."

With Ye Ci's mind already made, the issue was immediately cast aside. After all, it was a waste of resources and time to focus solely on the same issue, and they knew for a fact that Ye Ci was not one to hold back if she needed the help.

Bai Mo chuckled as he left the conference room with Ye Ci after the meeting, "I've never thought that you'll raise so much trouble in the Northern Continent. I bet they hate you to death now."

"It's none of my concern, really. It's all a matter of coincidence that Spotless Autumn and I were involved in that incident. They were the ones who brought it upon themselves, while we simply did not want to miss out on a chance to earn so many Honor Points. They won���t dare to pull anything big especially when Golden Era is coming." Ye Ci sighed, "I'm more worried about the arrival of Golden Era itself."

Bai Mo shook his head at Ye Ci, "This is not something that you should worry about. Just do what you've always been doing. I'm here. I'll take care of it."

Ye Ci could feel warmth washing away the worries in her heart as she stared at Bai Mo. She let out a sigh when she heard his words. It's good to have someone to rely on.

"So how did your quest go?"

"I've completed three of my more important quests. But there was still a courier quest that I did not manage to complete because of the avalanche. There's also the Northern Continent's Mithril ore vein. I was planning to kill the NPC involved in the quest if I could not figure out which guild was the one who activated the quest, but there was nothing I could do after the avalanche. You can say that my trip to the Northern Continent did not go as well as planned."

"Having the control of two Mithril ore veins is already enough. Blossom and your two servants still need time to grow. I don't know what will happen in the game until then, but not everything will go according to plan. You must learn to let go. We can barely defend the ore vein that we have, so there's nothing we can do with two of them. I know that you're not satisfied with how things ended, but letting go is not a bad thing." Bai Mo, who could sense Ye Ci's worries, patted her on the shoulder.

"O." came the reply. She knew that she had to let go, but she was still not satisfied with the results.

"Don't you still have quests to complete?" Bai Mo chuckled, "Why don't you focus on that instead of things that you can't control?"

Ye Ci took in a deep breath and nodded. Alright then, what is done is done. With the guild's focus placed on its Life Players, it was only natural for its growth to be affected. She stared once again at Bai Mo. With him around, there's really nothing that I have to worry about.

A smile appeared on her face, "Alright, I'll be on my way then."

"Go. I'll be the first one there if you need help." Bai Mo patted Ye Ci on her head. His smile was as warm as a spring breeze under the shining sun.

Ye Ci pursed her lips, and continued walking. She turned around and waved her hand at Bai Mo.

And she ran into Tan Polang who was sitting by the guild headquarter's teleportation NPC and fiddling with his daggers. The faint glow of the daggers was a sign that they were rare equipment. "Heh, long time no see." he raised his head when he noticed Ye Ci's presence.

"That's because you're always at school."

"Yup, you're right." Tan Polang nodded, "The school had instructed us to fill in our university of choice. I've of course listed down your school as my first choice."

"Are you confident that you can make it?" Ye Ci sat down beside the boy. Tan Polang had spent lesser and lesser time on the game due to his studies. He was lvl50 when he first joined the guild, and due to his many exams, he was not even lvl60 yet.

"I'm sure that I can get a recommendation from my school. This will give me more time to spend on the game. It'll be very tiring if I can't catch up with the rest of the members."

"Are you doing well enough to get a recommendation?"

"I'm just a few marks away from getting one in my last test. If I can score well in this test and the one at the end of the year, I will be able to get one." Tan Polang smiled at Ye Ci. The gray jacket that he wore was also a high-tiered item.

Ye Ci patted the boy and the head and offered him a smile, "You can do it! I'm sure of it."

"I heard from mom that you still have problems with your leg." Tan Polang was worried, "And what about your finals? Will you be failing your subjects?"

"It's a fractured bone. Do you think it'll heal that fast?" Ye Ci paid little heed to the question, "And well.. With Bai Mo around, I think I'll be able to pass my exams. He's always good at predicting the questions."

Tan Polang stared at Ye Ci and bit his lips.

Will I die if I mention it to her?

"Is there something that you want to say to me?" asked Ye Ci when she noticed Tan Polang's expression.

"No, it's nothing." he shook his head, "I'm just worrying about the bounty placed on you by the three major guilds of the Northern Continent."

"Oh, that. There's nothing to worry about. I won't die that easily."

Ye Ci offered him a smile.

"But what if Fleeting Time had accepted the bounty as well?" Tan Polang spoke up after a long silence.

"Fleeting Time?" Ye Ci furrowed her eyebrows. It was a name that she had not heard for a long while. So long, in fact, that she had forgotten about the man. She was worried. Fleeting Time was a difficult opponent to deal with, and he was just slightly better than her as a Hunter. With how shameless that guy is, I'll never be able to guess what he's thinking in a conventional way.

"How did you know that Fleeting Time has accepted the bounty?" asked Ye Ci.

Tan Polang rolled his eyes. Well, I can't just tell her that I have an account and am a long-time lurker in Genesis's forum, can I?

He had immediately logged into his forum account when he saw the bounty on Gongzi You. And as expected, Fleeting Time was one of the first among the members of Genesis to accept the guild, "I took a look at the namelist from an NPC, he did not remain anonymous when he accepted the bounty."

Bounties could be accepted from specific NPCs that allowed players the option to remain anonymous. Most of the players in Fate would of course select the option to hide their name so that they could keep their identities hidden and avoid retaliation. But Fleeting Time was not afraid of retaliation, nor did he wish for his identity to be hidden from Ye Ci. In fact, he was probably hoping that Ye Ci would see his name.

Love is a very powerful force. Thought Tan Polang. Even someone like Fleeting Time is acting dumb when he is struck by love. Does he not realise that he's being childish? The boy then stared at Ye Ci's face, hoping to capture any and all emotion displayed on her face.

As expected, Ye Ci's expression was wonderful.

She pursed her lips and her eyes were narrowed, "Come get me if you can, b-b-b-baka…" she snorted coldly.

Tan Polang lowered his head and spoke up after a long while, "Sister Ye Ci, do you think that Fleeting Time can kill you?"

Ye Ci pondered the question for a brief moment before offering an impartial answer, "It depends on the environment. I should be able to kill him if I have the high ground. If I don't, it's hard to say."

Red Lake City pet shop.

Ye Ci handed the Magic Crystals from the Doluo Tribe to the Undead NPC, "Are these enough?"

The NPC stared at Ye Ci, then at the Magic Crystals on the table. She lifted one of the crystals and studied it under the sun, "Ahh, this crystal is very pure. This is some fine stuff you have here." and the NPC continued to pick out a few more pieces of crystals from the pile that Ye Ci had placed on the table, "Good, good. They're all very good."

And the NPC began to sweep the crystals into her drawer.

Ye Ci who was observing the NPC from the side immediately grabbed hold of its hand with a sneer on her face, "Did I say that they're for you?"

It was as if the Undead NPC had only just realised her presence. She cast a sideway glance at Ye Ci and chuckled, "You seem familiar."

"Ah, so you recognise me." Ye Ci responded with a chuckle of her own.

"Oh, I remember now. Are you the owner of this egg?" she pulled her hand free from Ye Ci with a flick of her waist and pulled out a transparent container filled with thick green liquid and an egg before Ye Ci could react.

The egg was about the same size as when Ye Ci had left it with the NPC. She opened its status panel, and was able to confirm herself as its owner, "Yes, it is mine."

"Good. Give me the crystals." and the Undead began placing the crystals one at a time into the container. Each crystal landed in the container with a loud "Bang!". This feels more like some sort of magical experiment than the process of hatching an egg. Thought Ye Ci.

When there was only one final piece of crystal left, the Undead NPC chuckled at Ye Ci, "Hatching the egg would usually cost you a lot of gold, but if you can give this crystal to me, I think I'll be very motivated to complete my job."

Ye Ci stared at the Undead NPC, "What do you need it for?" her curiosity was aroused.

The Undead NPC placed a finger on her lips and smiled, "It's a secret."

Ye Ci decided to not intrude upon the secret of an NPC, and instead shifted her attention to the egg, "Are the Magical Crystals that you've thrown into the container enough?" she still had a sizable stockpile in her inventory, but the crystals were essential for the construction of fortifications according to Alaunar. They were a resource that she wished to preserve.

"They are enough." the Undead fiddled the Magical Crystal between its fingers and replied absentmindedly. But it was quick to sense Ye Ci's dissatisfaction, "They're definitely enough. In fact, they're more than enough. It's just an egg, why do you need so many crystals for?" she said with a smile.

"When will it hatch?" Ye Ci asked the question that she needed an answer the most.

"Ten days. You can come back for your egg in ten days." replied the NPC as it dipped its finger into the greenish solution, to Ye Ci's disgust, and she immediately left the shop.

With the release of the new expansion creeping closer, Ye Ci's life as a gamer had slowly calmed down. She had cleared all of her quests before the update, and the quests that followed could only be unlocked after the Middle Continent was finally released to players. With her level dropped during her exploits in the Northern Continent, the only thing left she could do was to farm for EXP points and regain her losses before the update.

But things were not entirely smooth for her due to the bounty on her head. She was hounded by bounty hunters wherever she went. She had never encountered a player from opposing continents, but it did not mean the seduction of the bounty was simply too great to players from the Eastern and Southern Continents. They have never succeeded in killing Ye Ci, but the sheer number of players that attempted to hunt her down was still a source of great annoyance.

It was not easy to evade so many players despite the disparity of their strength and levels.

After 3 hours and 24 dead bounty hunters, Ye Ci was finally at her limit. With dinner time arriving, Ye Ci entered stealth, searched for a safe spot, and logged out of the game.

"The update is coming tomorrow, how's your progress in leveling up?" asked Bai Mo. With the rare presence of Tan Polang in the house, the dishes on the dining table had multiplied.

"Forget about it. Things have been annoying thus far." Ye Ci had spent half her time online evading or fighting against players who were after her bounty.

"What is there to be annoyed at? This is life. If you treat life with contempt, then life will treat you with contempt as well. Having patience will bring you a long way in life."

Ye Nantian and Zuo Xiaolan were worried when they learned that bounties have been placed on their daughter by the three major guilds of the Northern Continent. But as time passed, so did their worries. They even began to see the bounties as a challenge that Ye Ci had to overcome in life.

"Alright. I understand." Ye Ci nodded as an affirmation to her parents words. She did not want to worry her parents.

Tan Polang cast a sideway glance at Ye Ci before speaking up, "Are those people from our continent or have players from hostile continents showed up?"

"No, not yet." Ye Ci paid the matter no heed, "Players from hostile continents will have to go through a lot of our own players to get to me. I doubt that they will be much of a problem for now." Despite her words, Ye Ci found her thoughts wandering towards a certain person.

Fleeting Time.

He was someone who could not be judged like a normal player. His appearance in the Eastern Continent is almost guaranteed the moment he accepted the bounty.

Having an unknown factor like him was a thorn in Ye Ci's side.

Bai Mo, of course, knew that Fleeting Time had accepted the bounty on Ye Ci. But judging from Ye Ci's response, he was certain that she was not troubled by it, which was why he changed the topic, "We'll need to update our games tomorrow because of the new patch. And with Golden Era's arrival, I think the game server will be clogged with traffic when it reopens. Why don't you take the time to go to the hospital for a reexamination? Oh you can also take the opportunity to go to campus as well."

Ye Ci agreed after a moment of consideration. The server will be under maintenance during the day, and Golden Era's members would begin swarming into the server when maintenance was over. It was naturally a wise choice to avoid the chaotic hour.

Ye Ci left with Bai Mo and Tan Polang early the next day. Ye Nantian lent his car to the trio due to Ye Ci's injuries so that Bai Mo could send Tan Polang to school and Ye Ci to the hospital. Ye Ci was worried when Bai Mo was doing the driving because of her experience in her past life, but Tan Polang remained relatively calm.

Luckily for the trio, Bai Mo was able to handle the car steadily, and he dropped Tan Polang off at school before heading to the hospital.

A place like the hospital would always be packed full of patients. And it was already 1pm in the afternoon by the time Ye Ci was done with her checkup, "Damn, the hospital is packed." mused the duo as they sat panting in the car.

"The service is faster in the emergency room. We did not have to wait. We were sent right in." Bai Mo who was passed out during that night did not experience what went on when they were sent to the hospital, but he could still understand what Ye Ci was hinting at, "Don't jinx yourself. Why would you want to get sent into the emergency room anyways?" he rolled his eyes at her.

Ye Ci let out a chuckle and studied her medical report, "Look, look at this. This shattered bone right here is quite serious. I wonder how long will it take for my leg to truly heal."

Bai Mo could feel needles pricking into his heart as he glanced at the x-ray film of Ye Ci's leg. In the end, he had failed to protect his little sister, "If something like this happens again, I want you to leave me behind and run."

Ye Ci stared at Bai Mo, and remained silent.

"Did you hear what I said?" asked Bai Mo when he noticed the smile on her face.

"I did. But do you seriously think that I'll listen?"

Bai Mo raised an eyebrow. She's right. She might've heard me, but she might not listen.

He knew that Ye Ci was a very stubborn person. She would still make the same decision if the same thing was to happen. Bai Mo let out a long sigh, and tossed the report card to the backseat, "Thank God you're not a ballerina, or your career is finished."

This elicited a fit of laughter from Ye Ci. This was the first time she was thankful that she was not a dancer. It's good to be a normal student. Thought Ye Ci as she rubbed her nose, "Alright, drive. Let's head to the campus. I'm sure that my head of department is missing me a lot."

The duo stopped by a roadside stall for some food, and arrived on campus by 2pm.

Ye Ci's Head of Department was a man who knew little laughter. He let out a sigh when Ye Ci limped into his office, "What caused you to fall down like that, Ye Ci?"

Ye Nantian did not tell the truth when he requested a leave of absence in Ye Ci's stead. He simply made up a story that Ye Ci had suffered an injury in an ice skating accident, "To tell you the truth, sir, I want to know the answer to that question as well."

Ye Ci handed her homework to the Head of Department as well as her medical report after some small talk, and she was sent home with an advice to rest at home until her finals arrived.

Classes were in session when the duo was ready to leave the campus. Ye Ci limped her way into the car with help from Bai Mo, and the duo immediately sped home.

Today was a different day for Ye Ci, Bai Mo, and every other player in Fate.

It was the day where the storm that would change their fates would finally arrive.