Embers Ad Infinitum
chapter-850

Upon hearing Gitis say ‘yes,’ Shang Jianyao became excited. “Then, do you know the sniper’s whereabouts?”

Do you think an intelligence peddler is a deity who knows everything… Long Yuehong couldn’t help but criticize inwardly.

Gitis’s eyes momentarily lost focus before returning to normal. She maintained her mysterious smile and said, “If there’s a need, it’s not impossible.”

“What do you mean?” Jiang Baimian’s expression turned serious.

Gitis replied in a slightly ethereal voice, “As long as you pay me enough, I can help you find the sniper. Of course, I can’t guarantee success.”

“How much is the payment before it’s enough?” Jiang Baimian didn’t offer a price herself.

Gitis thought for a few seconds and said, “Ten Grand Knight gold coins. I’ll try my best to give you an answer in three days. Five Grand Knight gold coins will give you feedback in two weeks. One Grand Knight gold coin might take a month or two.

“You don’t have to pay now—just pay a deposit of ten Knight silver coins. When I get the corresponding information, you can pay based on the importance of the information and the time it took.”

In other words, after paying the deposit, the Old Task Force would have to pay her ten Grand Knight gold coins if she could find the sniper’s whereabouts in three days and so on.

“Very reasonable.” Although the Old Task Force had less than three Grand Knight gold coins in total, Jiang Baimian agreed without hesitation. “Deal.”

The earlier they learned of the sniper’s whereabouts, the better. As for money… With the Old Task Force’s strength, why would they be afraid of not being able to earn it?

Jiang Baimian actually wasn’t too confident that Gitis could provide the corresponding information in the end. However, there was definitely more hope in this matter. At most, she would lose the ten Knight silver coin deposit.

If Gitis was indeed well-informed to such a terrifying extent and could really find the sniper’s whereabouts, it would be a pleasant surprise for the Old Task Force. Compared to this information and the value of this joy, the ten Grand Knight gold coins were nothing.

Jiang Baimian then took off her tactical backpack and took out a large handful of Knight silver coins. She counted a total of 30 and handed them to Gitis.

She reminded her, “You can return the collateral from before to us.”

The Old Task Force was originally short of 20 Knight silver coins.

Gitis’s eyes lit up. After seriously counting the silver coins, she opened the drawer and took out Jiang Baimian’s United 202.

As Jiang Baimian checked her gun, Shang Jianyao reminded Gitis, who was busy tidying the Knight silver coins. “There might be a very powerful and terrifying organization backing that sniper. If you want to find his whereabouts, you have to pay attention to your safety. You can’t expose your existence just to obtain information quickly. You have to be careful!”

The stiff-looking Gitis was clearly stunned. As an intelligence peddler, she had never encountered an employer who specially reminded her to be careful of her personal safety.

Of course, words like ‘be careful’ and ‘don’t walk that path at night’ were clearly not included.

Sometimes, Hey is a role model when it comes to ethics… As Jiang Baimian placed the United 202 back on her belt, she sighed inwardly.

After the Old Task Force walked upstairs, Gitis fell into her world again. She sat there with listless eyes, her thoughts unknown.

After returning to his room, Long Yuehong said worriedly, “We’re short of more than half the ten Grand Knight gold coins.”

Most of the Hunter’s Guild missions were paid in Knight silver coins, and very few involved Grand Knight gold coins.

Jiang Baimian replied in amusement, “If she really can get us to pay those ten Grand Knight gold coins, I’ll sell my blood even if it’s needed to pay her!”

That would be great news!

The honest Genava reminded her, “From various sources, the blood business in Gesterbourg isn’t good. Official members of the White Knights regularly donate blood. Their borders aren’t stressed, and there aren’t many bandits. There are very few cases that require blood transfusions.”

This was different from First City, where there were many unlicensed clinics that required a lot of blood.

Ordinary residents, who were injured during work accidents to the point of needing a large number of blood transfusions, often gave up. Despite the White Knights abiding by the Knight’s creed and providing some subsidies, it was still very stressful for their families.

In short, Genava meant that selling blood in Gesterbourg wasn’t a good business that could earn large sums of money.

“I’m just giving an example,” Jiang Baimian replied weakly.

Shang Jianyao said, “If it really doesn’t work out, we’ll sell the nuclear bomb to the Grand Knight in Gesterbourg! This can at least exchange for a lot of Grand Knight gold coins, right?”

Long Yuehong wanted to criticize inwardly, but he was momentarily at a loss for words.

Jiang Baimian laughed. “Should we leave Old Ge in a hidden spot outside when selling the nuclear warhead and tell the Grand Knight that if you don’t buy the nuclear warhead, we’ll get our companions to issue the detonation sequence remotely so that we can perish together?

“Of course, if he buys it, we will still keep the nuclear warhead for the Ashlands’ peace and serenity. He can only extract it when he’s forced into a corner to intimidate others.”

“…” The corners of Long Yuehong’s mouth twitched.

The keyword that surfaced in his and Bai Chen’s minds immediately was: Extortion!

“No,” Shang Jianyao replied seriously. “What if that Grand Knight is a Mind Corridor-level Awakened and is good at Electromagnetic Interference? If that happens, the remote issuance of the detonation sequence will be distorted and can’t produce the corresponding effects.”

“You were actually considering the feasibility?” Jiang Baimian was peeved and amused. She then quickly concluded, “The money problem is relatively easy to resolve. Things will naturally work out when the situation calls for it. On the other hand, the sniper’s whereabouts are difficult to find. Yes, let’s wait patiently for news.”

When it was almost dark, the Old Task Force had just finished dinner and returned to the Fire & Iron Hotel when they ushered in a visitor. He was none other than the Gesterbourg sheriff, Yergai, that Jiang Baimian and the others had previously met.

Having changed into a thick black coat, Yergai knocked on the Old Task Force’s door with a pair of thin black gloves.

In this season, the temperature in Gesterbourg was fine during the day, but it was still rather chilly at night.

After opening the door, Shang Jianyao smiled enthusiastically. “Mr. Sheriff, are you hiring us?”

Yergai coughed awkwardly and walked into the room. “We didn’t find any clues at the United Mining Association, and there are still many things we need to deal with in Gesterbourg. Therefore, we plan on entrusting the complicated mission of tracking the sniper’s whereabouts to the Hunter’s Guild. I’m here because I hope you can participate as well. In this matter, no Ruin Hunter knows the exact details better than you.”

“What’s the payment?” Jiang Baimian asked with a smile.

Yergai cleared his throat and said, “Every valuable clue found will be rewarded with a Grand Knight gold coin. Five Grand Knight gold coins to lock onto the sniper’s whereabouts.”

He didn’t mention the payment for capturing the target because it was tacitly agreed that the sheriff would cooperate with the local Knight Order to prevent Ruin Hunters from taking the opportunity to have ‘legal’ gunfights in the settlement.

Five Grand Knight gold coins… If Gitis can really find the sniper’s whereabouts in three days, we would only be two and a half Grand Knight gold coins short… Long Yuehong quickly calculated and felt that it was fine. The difficulty of earning money wasn’t too great.

Although they should’ve taken on the mission from Yergai under normal circumstances and then bought information from Gitis at a lower price to earn a little bit of money, the Old Task Force’s goal wasn’t to obtain the bounty but to capture the sniper. They were also willing to pay the price.

Jiang Baimian thought for a moment and said, “No problem. Mr. Sheriff, please inform us of the United Mining Association’s exact situation today. This can effectively save everyone’s time, right?”

This was what they deserved, so Yergai didn’t find it excessive. He took out a stack of information that he had long prepared from the inside of his coat and handed it to Jiang Baimian. “These are the results of the investigation and the surveillance footage.”

As the Old Task Force had expected, nobody in the surveillance footage had taken the elevator while carrying a relatively long box. Nobody in the building had traces of gunpowder, nor was the relatively eye-catching anti-materiel sniper rifle found.

Furthermore, the public security officers in Gesterbourg also asked about the three people who had left before they arrived. They visited them for questioning and searching, but they didn’t discover any problems.

After quickly scanning through the report, Jiang Baimian pondered for a moment and said, “We need the complete surveillance footage.”

Yergai glanced at Genava and nodded slightly. “It has also been prepared.”

He then took out a small memory chip.

After Genava finished reading and copying the data, Yergai took back the information and chip and headed to the Hunter’s Guild to issue a mission.

After sending Yergai downstairs, returning to her room, and closing the wooden door, Jiang Baimian asked Genava, “How’s it? Any traces of the surveillance footage being deleted?”

The speed at which carbon-based humans could analyze couldn’t compare to Genava’s. He had already produced the results and told Long Yuehong, Bai Chen, and Shang Jianyao. At this moment, he repeated his answer: “No, there are no signs of interference either.”

“It seems like he did go through the stairs.” Jiang Baimian thought for a few seconds and said, “Let’s go to the United Mining Association now and take a look before asking around.”

In order to prevent the loss of clues, she had to race against time.

“Alright!” Shang Jianyao couldn’t wait.

The five Old Task Force members went downstairs and saw Gitis packing her items, waiting for her colleague to switch shifts.

Upon seeing this, Jiang Baimian casually asked, “Any results?”

Any results in finding the sniper?

Gitis looked up and suddenly revealed a mysterious smile. “Yes.”