Chapter 84: Reward

The outcome of the match: Black Hawk Company is the victor. After the ring is repaired, the third bout will begin shortly.

With Peilo’s death, the contest officially came to an end. The referee once again stepped onto the arena and loudly announced the result.

Soon after, Zhang Ran, under guidance, descended from the ring and returned to Link’s side. At the same time, Peilo’s body was carried away by several burly men, and then a few craftsmen in gray robes, gifted with psychic-domain abilities, climbed up onto the platform.

Arriving at the place where Zhang Ran and Peilo had fought, the craftsmen crouched down and pressed both hands against the arena’s metal floor.

Clumps of white light welled up from their bodies, gathered along their arms, and then poured out in a steady stream, flooding into the arena.

As the light entered the platform, the sunken metal floor seemed to come alive. It slowly writhed, rose little by little, and at last returned to its original state. The cracks and scorch marks upon it faded away as well, leaving no trace of damage at all.

These white lights were the manifestations of the psychic abilities known as Shaping and Metal Restoration. The former could alter the form of metal and was an indispensable skill for forging precise weapons, while the latter could repair most metal objects. Both were highly practical craftsman-type abilities.

For evolvers with these skills, their combat strength was certainly far inferior to that of evolvers of the same rank, but for any faction they were treasured talents, paid handsomely, spared the danger of hunting mutant beasts, and afforded protection as well.

“What a crisp and decisive battle! Zhang Ran, you did very well!”

Seeing Zhang Ran return, Link’s face also broke into a smile. He lightly patted Zhang Ran on the shoulder and offered a word of praise.

“Thank you for your praise, Executive Officer!”

Facing Link’s commendation, Zhang Ran’s mind naturally did not stir in the slightest, but he still feigned excitement and replied with spirited enthusiasm.

Soon, the arena was restored. The craftsmen stepped down, the third pair of contestants mounted the stage, and then the remaining challengers went up in turn to take part in the wagered battle.

After a fierce series of duels, Black Hawk Company successfully won two of the last three matches, and ultimately claimed victory in the wagered contest with a three-to-two record.

“Hmph, Executive Officer Link, you’ve won. This time you were lucky. The mining rights to that high-energy crystal vein will be handed over to you. And now that the wagered battle is over, I ask all of you to leave Pano City at once!”

With a cold snort, a sinister look appearing on Fergy’s face, he said viciously. His eyes swept over the Black Hawk Company group with killing intent before issuing his order to leave.

“Of course. There’s no need for you to see us off. Let’s go!”

At Fergy’s words, Link only smiled brightly. Then, leading the driver Dart, Zhang Ran, and the other surviving evolver, he boarded the off-road vehicle and returned to Black Hawk Company.

Several hours later.

After a bumpy journey, the off-road vehicle returned smoothly to Black Hawk Headquarters, encountering no mutant-beast interception along the way. Upon arrival, Zhang Ran and the other two evolvers were also brought to Link’s office.

Compared with the outside, Link’s office was noticeably cooler. The moment the door opened, a gust of chill air swept out. A quick glance around the room revealed, in the corner, a standing air conditioner.

Given Black Hawk Company’s strength, it could only produce the simplest appliances such as lamps and fans. More technically demanding products like air conditioners and elevators were beyond its capability to manufacture.

Within Black Hawk Company, all air conditioners had to be imported from Desert Ancient City, and they required precious high-energy crystals to obtain. Aside from the five executive officers who controlled the company’s finances, almost no evolver was willing to spend money on an air conditioner.

“You three performed very well in the wagered battle. You deserve praise and reward!”

Standing by the leather sofa, Link looked over the three evolvers before him with satisfaction and said with a smile.

For Black Hawk Company, that high-energy crystal vein was a very valuable resource, and one of the few commodities Desert Ancient City purchased from Black Hawk Company. It could be exchanged for high-grade genetic medicine, advanced alloys, and other technologically sophisticated goods.

Under Black Hawk Company’s control, there were only seven high-energy crystal veins, and two of them were already nearing exhaustion. To gain mining rights to a newly discovered vein like this was naturally a cause for celebration.

“Zhang Ran.”

With a smile on his face, Link called out again.

“Yes, Executive Officer.”

Hearing Link’s summons, Zhang Ran stepped forward and bowed.

“Zhang Ran, I remember you’re one of my followers, aren’t you? In barely a month, you’ve advanced from a first-rank evolver to a second-rank evolver, and you were even able to defeat a powerful enemy. Very good!”

“In recognition of your contribution to the company, the training fee you owed will be fully waived. In addition, the company will reward you with one hundred thousand contribution points and upgrade your company rank to a two-star employee!”

Looking at Zhang Ran, Link smiled and offered his encouragement, then bestowed the reward upon him.

“Many thanks, Lord Link!”

Feigning delight on his face, Zhang Ran bowed again, then stepped back with small, measured steps.

After Zhang Ran, the other two contestants stepped forward in turn and received their respective rewards.

At last, Link offered the three competitors a few more words of encouragement. Then one of Link’s personal attendants came forward and escorted them out of Black Hawk Headquarters.

After leaving headquarters, Zhang Ran went to the nearby guild hall to complete the procedures for increasing his employee star rating, successfully advancing to a two-star employee.

As a two-star employee, Zhang Ran gained a small privilege: when purchasing supplies from the trading center, he could enjoy a five percent discount. If his contribution points accumulated to three hundred thousand, he could advance further to a three-star employee, and the discount would rise to ten percent.

This seemed like a decent benefit, but in truth, for Black Hawk Company, the selling price of all goods was more than twice the purchase price.

Because of this, unless an employee obtained a discount of at least fifty percent, Black Hawk Company was always in an absolutely profitable position in any transaction with its staff, relentlessly stripping wealth from evolvers.

After this wagered battle, Zhang Ran’s life returned to normal. Every morning he would leave Black Hawk City and journey deep into the wilderness, sixty to seventy kilometers out, hunting lone second-rank mutant creatures, accumulating evolution energy, strengthening himself, and condensing the first evolution point of his life as a second-rank evolver.