33: Chapter 33 More Money

"Fuck!" Tuaner instantly bounced off Mia, a dagger made of blood clenched in her hand. "Looking for death, are you? Picking a time like this?!"

Mia quickly wiped her lips with the back of her hand. Two buttons on her shirt collar were messily undone, and the red silk scarf around her neck had long since been tossed somewhere by Tuaner. With a flick of her wrist, three cross darts nailed into the floor in front of the werewolf's feet.

Ryan's wolfish pupils constricted into slits in the darkness. He raised a hand to cast a Restoration spell on his own wound first. "He Xuan said you guys took my token! I traded three years of merit for that!"

[Detected signed team member: Ryan Lv6 (Paladin)]

[Race: Werewolf/Human]

[Please confirm the contract as soon as possible!]

[Confirmed!]

"A werewolf Paladin? That's truly not something you see every day." Mia narrowed her eyes, recalling the system prompt from just now, and suddenly laughed. "Sigh, outmaneuvered by He Xuan again. Tuaner, you were just saying we hit the jackpot."

She slowly buttoned her shirt, her black rose tattoo faintly appearing and disappearing with her breaths, looking mysterious and alluring. "So, what do you want? Fight us and take it back?"

Ryan's nostrils flared violently, then he suddenly froze—he smelled a dangerous aura. It wasn't coming from the two girls, but from outside the window.

"Get down!"

Three crossbow bolts whistled through the air. Ryan's sharp claws swiped one down with a harsh grating sound as he used his body to knock the two girls aside. Sharp arrows pierced into his shoulder, and the silver arrowheads immediately emitted corroding green smoke.

"How dare the Inquisition cross the border to perform exorcisms on our turf? Are they crazy?" Mia slid along the wall to the window, Succubus Eye activated. "Tuaner, southeast rooftop."

The blood dagger in Tuaner's hand transformed into an exquisite short crossbow made of blood, the tips of its bolts igniting with purple flames. "I see them~" She licked her lips. "Three old fogies in white robes."

Ryan roughly snapped off the arrow shafts in his shoulder. "They're after me." His silver earring vibrated frantically. "They've been tracking the Silver Moon Ring for three months..."

"Shut up, big doggy!" Mia suddenly threw a cross dart infused with the pink Qi of the Bone Scraping Knife. Her high Agility of 15 meant her throw had almost zero deviation. A muffled groan came from outside. "We're teammates now—the kind bound by a token."

Unfamiliar perceptions suddenly flooded into the mental link. Ryan's vision shared with theirs; under the triple-stacked night vision, the ambusher on the roof who had been hit by the Bone Scraping Knife and was howling madly had nowhere to hide—the golden balance crest on his white robe was seeping blood.

"The Holy Law Court?" Tuaner whistled. "I saw them in the news on the Coordination Office app yesterday. No wonder He Xuan was in such a hurry to shove someone onto you... they've been purging all non-humans lately!"

As the second wave of arrows arrived, the phantom of Mia's Nightmare Cathedral expanded. Black mist swallowed the living room, and inverted crosses descended from the ceiling. Ryan watched in shock as his wounds stopped corroding—those silver arrows were rapidly rusting and decomposing within the cathedral's domain.

"Since you've come..." Mia's pupils turned completely deep purple, her hair fluttering without wind. "Then stay forever."

Three figures were instantly pulled into that eerie and evil alternate-space cathedral. Ryan's ears twitched; he seemed to hear several aged wails.

[Nightmare Cathedral feeds back to the host]

[Obtained skills: Holy Light Barrier Lv1, Smite Lv1, Endurance Blessing Lv1]

That's it? Three Inquisitors above Lv10 were solved just like that? Ryan suddenly felt that being called 'big doggy' wasn't unacceptable, especially by a succubus lady as inhumanly beautiful as Mia. Er, right, the one named Tuaner wasn't ugly either, even if neither of them liked men.

Mia and Tuaner stared for a while at Ryan, who was busy imagining the scene of the Inquisitors being finished off, and found him still dazed. Mia began to tidy her clothes that Tuaner had messed up, while Tuaner called He Xuan to pour out every insult and piece of trash talk she knew, telling him: "Our team is taking in this big doggy, so you—must—pay—extra!!"

He Xuan agreed readily, then whispered to Tuaner, "He's a rich man himself, Miss Tuaner. How could I scam you? The one thing Ryan doesn't lack is money."

"So, we have to collect money from our own teammate to make up for your deception, Mr. Supervisor?" Tuaner pressed the phone against Mia's pretty face. Mia's lazy, sexy voice was like a fatal poison that instantly struck He Xuan dumb.

"How about this, since you've already taken out the Inquisitors sent by the Clerics, come over together tomorrow morning. I'll treat you to breakfast and we can discuss compensation. Er, the place is the Coordination Office cafeteria..." A dial tone came from the phone, making Tuaner's little tiger teeth grind audibly.

The next morning, Mia and Tuaner arrived outside the building. Two beauties in Coordination Office uniforms and professional skirts stepped through the automatic doors in high heels. Oh, right, they were followed by a handsome Caucasian man with a bruised purple eye.

He Xuan's office didn't have a new desk yet. His current office equipment was—a phone.

Seeing the three of them enter his office in single file, he first rubbed his temples, then stood up from his chair. He reached out to pat Ryan's shoulder and pulled him outside, whispering, "I intentionally let the Inquisitors find you. In a bit, pretend you just found out and hit me! That way you can integrate into the new group faster."

"Heh, you two, we just met yesterday and here we are again today. Fated, right?" He Xuan returned to the room with a dry laugh. He did not have He Xi accompany him.

"Are we eating air for breakfast? What have you prepared for us?" Tuaner's anger had not yet subsided.

"It's already arranged," He Xuan kept winking at Ryan. Ryan was a bit conflicted; after all, he had barely survived all these years under this guy's protection. It felt a bit like burning bridges.

"I heard everything. It seems you're not so bad that you must die." Mia took a steamer of shrimp dumplings from the staff member who brought the breakfast and the table. She stuffed two into Tuaner's puffed-up mouth and threw the remaining one to He Xuan. "Dare to eat it? If you do, this matter will be settled with just compensation, and I won't take your life."

"Hey, I'm just a minor supervisor with a worthless life, what's there to fear?" He Xuan swallowed the shrimp dumpling in one go, speaking indistinctly.

"Actually, Ryan already took a beating for you yesterday. Teammates can't severely injure or kill each other. You really planned this well." Tuaner swallowed the 'loving breakfast' Mia had fed her, still feeling somewhat indignant.

"Actually, he... only he is the most suitable for your team. I admit I have selfish motives, but look for yourselves: a Succubus Priest, a Bloody Nun, and a Werewolf Paladin. What a perfect match—!!" Before He Xuan could finish, Tuaner kicked him in the cheek, completing the full sequence of falling face-first onto the ground.

He wobbled as he climbed up, dusting off non-existent dirt. "The final resolution for this matter has been sent to your team app. Two compensations and one mission. Yes, I'm not crazy, there's also a mission, but I reckon you'll be willing to handle it."

"Go take a look. Come back if there's an issue." He Xuan sat back in his chair, looking a bit tired. He rubbed the footprint on his face and shook his head with a bitter smile...