Necromancer, summoning 055? What the heck?

Chapter 23 Smoke of War in the Wilderness
If the members of the Mountain Vine Squad possessed some kind of magical life-saving magic, their protruding intestines would probably be filled with regret right now.

This job, let alone twenty silver coins, probably wouldn't be done even for twenty gold coins.

But it was too late for regrets at this point. Chen Mo, already on edge, had no intention of communicating or negotiating and instead launched a powerful punch.

The smoke and dust from the explosion had not yet dissipated, and thick blood and unidentifiable fragments of biological tissue had been splattered on the wasteland, painting an impressionistic picture. A few intermittent wails seemed to be heard in the wind, but it was unclear who had made them.

"Da-da-da!"

Xiao Bai held the Type 95 automatic rifle level and fired a round of shots to finish off the enemy.

When shooting at a stationary target, Xiaobai's stability was reliable. With ample aiming time, the bullet accurately pierced the skull. One person, one shot; one of them even fired an extra shot. It only took a mere five bullets to completely silence their annoying chatter.

Next comes Xiao Bai's usual routine after each battle: he takes his gleaming white bone spear and goes forward for another round of "finishing shots" in the form of cold weapons.

Two shots to the chest and one to the head—even a god would shake his head in disbelief.

Incidentally, it also relieved the struggling warhorse of its pain.

After the commotion subsided, there was a deathly silence.

The wind, carrying acrid gunpowder smoke, swept across the wasteland. Four human corpses and two horse carcasses lay scattered on the sand in extremely contorted positions. The [Mountain Vine] adventurer team, who had arrived in high spirits, along with their mounts, were completely turned into fresh fertilizer for this wasteland in just a few dozen seconds.

Well, I probably can't be happy right now.

Four more lives were lost. The heavy crimson of blood seemed to seep into Chen Mo's eyes, stirring an uncontrollable rage within him. He stood there, panting heavily, like a caged beast that had just fought a battle, trying to mentally prepare himself, repeatedly chanting in his mind: "They're all NPCs! They're all fucking NPCs..."

But the pungent smell of blood was inescapable, seeping into his nostrils. The winding trail of blood on the ground, bathed in the afterglow of the setting sun, seemed to come alive, twisting and slowly crawling towards him, causing him to instinctively take a half-step back.

No, I have to keep going.

My motherland has sent me so many things, and I haven't seen how I've reciprocated yet.

Carrying Xiaobai and his tools, Chen Mo carefully followed the direction to find the driver who had slipped into the jungle.

That guy had the foresight to tie his horse's reins firmly to a crooked tree before the explosion. Although the explosion and gunfire startled the horse, causing it to neigh and jump wildly, it ultimately couldn't break free.

Chen Mo couldn't drive a carriage, let alone ride a horse, so for now, he could only find that damned coachman.

As he reached the edge of the woods, he immediately spotted the coachman at the bottom of the slope.

The coachman pulled out a tattered hood from somewhere, covered his head with it, and squatted down with his back to the wasteland, burying his head in his hands like a typical ostrich. His outer garment was lifted up, revealing a line of words under the lining: "White Stone City Silver Forged Carriages and Horses Company".

Chen Mo instantly understood—this guy was definitely a seasoned veteran! This line of text was his talisman.

He simply tied up his carriage, moved away from the scene, blindfolded himself, and plugged his ears to show that he hadn't seen or heard anything. Once he finished the dirty work outside, he would drive his carriage back as usual.

Is this how you protect your customers by charging such high fares?
Filled with surging anger, Chen Mo strode forward and kicked the driver, sending him sprawling.

"Are you dead? If you're not, get out here and get to work!"

A few minutes later, Chen, the Bloodthirsty Maniac, sat with his legs spread wide on the carriage frame, coldly watching the driver sifting through the carnage and blood on the ground, his voice barely audible, yet it sent shivers down the driver's spine. He would occasionally utter a question, his voice low, yet it sent shivers down the driver's spine.

"Who are they? Why are they chasing me?" "Replying to...replying to your question, sir," the coachman's voice trembled, "judging from their appearance and mannerisms, they seem to be a bunch of shady characters who pick up odd jobs that mercenary groups don't want, and sometimes...sometimes they do shameless dirty work too."

"Either they accepted a black market bounty, or they took on some side job, and they came for...for you, sir."

Chen Mo snorted coldly, recalling the incomprehensible slang he'd heard earlier: "What kind of gibberish were you spouting on the way here? Explain it to me, word by word!"

The driver racked his brains to recall: "It's...it's like this! I saw they were up to no good, so I warned them first! 'Don't walk on the fiery path through the ice cracks, and don't look towards the sun, you black crows, who knows where these forest birds came from?'"

"Earth Fire and Sun both refer to official channels. What I mean is that our Silver Forging and Carriage Company is a legitimate business under official channels. The underworld and the legitimate world are on different paths. Telling them not to mess around is also a way of asking them about their methods and purposes!"

"Their reply was that Han Donglin needed new firewood, and they only wanted seedlings, not trees. The firewood referred to money. They came for money, indicating that their intention was not towards our trading company, but towards the passengers in the carriage. They told me not to meddle."

"I stopped them again! 'White stone, white leaves, silver linden tree, which bird dares to steal its seedlings?'—I brought up our chariot and horse company's backing in White Stone City, the background of the Silver Forging Chariot and Horse Company in White Stone City, and warned them to stay away and not to have any designs on you!"

“But they say ‘the tiger on the next mountain’—meaning a very important person from another country wants to take you! If they take the job, they’ll come back and ‘offer a toast to apologize’ to our boss.”

"They're so persistent, I... I'm just a cart driver, I really didn't dare to stop them! Sir, you see, I did stop them twice! I really did!"

Chen Mo pressed on, "Are there other people who took on the same mission along the way?"

"No! No!" The coachman shook his head vigorously. "Even on the black market, you can't take on the same job repeatedly. The black market has its own rules! If we let everyone take on jobs, the mercenary groups and adventure teams will start fighting each other before the work is even done! Wouldn't that create chaos?"

"Does the black market also have laws?" Chen Mo scoffed.

“Most of the time, we still have to talk about it!” The driver spoke quickly: “Without rules, no one can earn money honestly, and then no one will work properly.”

Even if you're making money illegally, you still have to follow the rules.

"Also, whether it's the black market or the legitimate market, you have to pay a deposit to take on any job! It's to guarantee the time you'll be able to complete the task! I don't know how long they guarantee it, but anyone who dares to take on this kind of job has to guarantee it for at least five or six days!"

"What if we don't finish by the deadline, or what if things turn out like this," Chen Mo glanced at the "fertilizer" on the ground, "and everyone's gone? What will happen to this mission then?"

"The mission will only be restarted when the previous guarantee period expires, but with your incredible prowess, I doubt anyone will dare to take on your missions again!"

"Can the black market mission be cancelled?"

The coachman stiffened, his voice a little flustered: "Well, apart from the person who issued the task withdrawing it, I haven't heard of any other way. I'm just a coachman, I really don't know, sir!"

The two men talked and talked for more than half an hour before the driver rolled up the spoils into a large bundle, put the valuables into a small bag, and dragged them back.

Chen Mo first broke out in a sweat, then his mouth became dry from talking. He then drank most of a bag of water, glanced at the driver, and, unable to control his emotions, revealed a fierce glint in his eyes.

The driver knelt down with a thud, his forehead banging against the ground, repeatedly crying out, "Spare me, sir! Spare me!"

"Alright! Get up and catch the carriage!" Chen Mo waved his hand impatiently. "Hurry up and get me to White Stone City! The sooner the better!"

For the rest of the journey, the driver cracked his whip with incredible force, practically whipping the horse's rump until it bled. The carriage suddenly sped up, not slowing down even on steep inclines, making Chen Mo feel dizzy and almost vomit.

After a hurried journey, we finally arrived at the majestic city walls of White Stone City before sunset.

(End of this chapter)