("Fine, I'll buy it." Kuchiba Hiro nodded. Rather than wasting time with these robotic lumps, it was better to quickly acquire the necessary information and tools.
A Staff Member took the corresponding amount of Gold Coins from the briefcase, while the other handed him the black "Jieyu" mobile phone, reciting the standard script in a monotone voice: "Transaction complete. Thank you for your patronage. Friendly reminder: This product is provided by an enterprise under the 'WASHU Clan.' The WASHU Clan is committed to maintaining the basic order and peace of the Inner World. Main services include, but are not limited to: Transcendent remains recovery, biological material processing, custom weapon forging and sales. If you have any related needs, please log in to the official website for details. We support customization services and private business contracting. Please check the specific projects yourself. Do you have any other needs?"
Kuchiba Hiro ignored them for the moment, lowering his head to fiddle with the new phone. After booting up, the interface was similar to a regular smartphone, but there were very few pre-installed applications. The most conspicuous icon was a swirling vortex pattern outlined by simple lines, labeled "Abyssal Echo."
He tapped on the APP.
The screen first went black, then played a slightly crude, low-age-styled cartoon animation. A spherical virtual character with a Q-version smiley face jumped out and spoke in a lively electronic voice:
"Greetings, esteemed Transcendent user! Welcome to the true Inner World~ I am your navigator, Little Q! I will now briefly introduce you to the basic operating rules of the current Transcendent world!"
"The so-called 'Transcendents,' as the name suggests, are humans possessing incredible abilities! Everyone's abilities are strange and varied~ Their impact is not limited to physical destruction but can also cause immeasurable harm to social ethics and public safety!"
The animation screen showed some blurry, chaotic silhouettes to match the narration. "According to authoritative statistics, up to 99% of Transcendents used their abilities for personal gain before their identities were exposed! Vicious criminal incidents also occur frequently~ Due to the diversity of abilities, traditional methods struggle to effectively prevent and stop such behavior."
Little Q made a helpless shrug. "Therefore, the esteemed 'Big Shots' jointly launched the great 'gold coin system' and the 'Kill Order System'! The core purpose of this system is to effectively restrain the actions of Transcendents, guide those who bravely take responsibility toward goodness, and ensure that the utterly wicked receive their due punishment! At the same time, it perfectly solves the 'employment' and living needs of our vast Transcendent brethren. Isn't that thoughtful?"
The animation concluded in a seemingly harmonious glow, entering the APP's main interface. The interface was extremely simple, with only four main options: (Power Ranking), (mission hall), (Integrated Mall), and (Personal Center).
Kuchiba Hiro directly tapped on the (mission hall).
An interface resembling a wanted list popped up, displaying names, avatars, and bounty amounts. His gaze quickly swept across it, and he soon saw his own photo and name at the fifth position on the list!
Kuchiba Hiro
Bounty: 50,000 Gold Coins
Status: Active
Last Updated: 2 Minutes Ago
The bounty was actually as high as fifty thousand! And the update time was just two minutes ago!
He suddenly raised his head, his sharp gaze shooting toward the two Staff Members standing silently nearby: "Why did my bounty suddenly increase so much?"
Staff Member: "Consultation fee: One Gold Coin."
Kuchiba Hiro's eyes turned cold, and he forcefully suppressed his anger: "Answer me!"
The Staff Member silently took a Gold Coin from the open briefcase and then replied in a flat voice: "The system detected that you successfully killed the Level Six Ability User 'Shirai Kuroko' and completed the remains recovery transaction. This action has been recorded in the assessment system. To filter competitors and prevent low-risk preference or insufficiently skilled Transcendents from making futile attempts that lead to resource waste, the system dynamically adjusts the bounty based on your actual threat level. Your danger rating has been upgraded, and the corresponding bounty has increased accordingly."
Kuchiba Hiro frowned, looked at the phone screen again, and tapped on the details of his wanted poster. The page actually displayed a constantly flashing small red dot, clearly marking his current real-time geographical location next to it!
His pupils suddenly contracted, and his voice carried an icy disbelief: "What is going on now?! Why is my location being exposed in real time?"
The Staff Member seemed to have anticipated this question, replying calmly: "Because you are currently under a kill order, meaning you are a publicly wanted target. Your real-time location will be made available to all users connected to 'Abyssal Echo,' in order to promote... efficient bounty hunting behavior."
He paused, then added: "Of course, if you do not wish for your personal location information to be made public, you can purchase the 'Information Shielding' service provided by this platform. The Basic Package is 5,000 Gold Coins per month and can hide your precise location, only displaying the approximate area (error radius of 5 kilometers). The Advanced Package is 20,000 Gold Coins per month and can completely hide all your real-time dynamic information."
Kuchiba Hiro listened to the explanation, looked at the glaring location marker on his phone, and then recalled the seemingly righteous cartoon introduction and the entire system built around slaughter, bounties, and the buying and selling of corpses... He finally understood.
This seemingly regulated "gold coin system" and "kill order"—this so-called "maintenance of order" and "guidance toward goodness"—was fundamentally a naked Gu-raising Ground! A brutal system that encouraged, even forced, Transcendents to hunt each other, exchanging blood and life for resources and survival space!
All the high-sounding rhetoric could not conceal its most core and darkest essence—
All of this was supporting, encouraging, and even systematically promoting mutual slaughter among Transcendents!)
Upto 15 chapters ahead on patreon :-
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