NOVEL NEXT Chapter 17
Chapter 17: Lure Fishing, Counting the Harvest
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Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“Who is this guy? He’s savage!”
“Luo Nan, one of last year’s rejected candidates!”
“Last year? No wonder he’s this good!”
The battle between Lion Man Luo Nan and the four Arcanists had attracted the attention of other contenders. While the two sides were fighting, others were watching from a distance, trying to play the role of the third dog that runs away with the bone in the form of the Direbeast hearts. When they saw how puissant Luo Nan was, however, they were disheartened.
That strategy would not work if one side was a tiger, and the other was a sheep. The third dog would most likely end up with a bad day.
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“Thirty-nine hearts! Not half bad!
“This guy has twenty-eight!
“I’ve hit the jackpot!”
Luo Nan was ecstatic. He obtained 120 Direbeast hearts from the four Arcanists, which was more than he had expected.
“We’ll make sure that you get your comeuppance, bastard!”
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It reduced them to tears when the lion man took away their Direbeast hearts, which had taken them a great deal of effort to harvest.
They would surely fail the assessment this time.
“Oh, yeah? Say that to the recruits next year! All of you have no chance this year!”
Luo Nan sneered, brushing off the threat that those four Arcanists made. He had made the same threat last year, and it did not end well for him.
Others had passed the test while he was disqualified.
So, barking and whining were useless.
“You a**hole!”
…
Luo Nan disappeared from the dilapidated streets. After his first success, he wanted to find another location to carry out another lure fishing.
He came to an abandoned shop and started to take a nap, making himself look as if he was hiding and sleeping there. He snored loudly to attract attention.
The snore was his fishing lure.
Luo Nan believed that he would surely lure some fish to him.
This guy looks like he’s all brawn and no brain, but in reality, he’s a sneaky bugger. Can’t judge a book by its cover!
Ling Jiu had no words for it as he peeked at Luo Nan, who was feigning his sleep, from behind the shop’s glass window.
Wolves were not frightening. A wolf in sheep’s clothing was more terrifying. The assessment was almost coming to an end, and everyone was thinking about getting as many Direbeast hearts as possible by robbing others so that they could achieve excellent results.
Setting up a simple trap could lure a bunch of unsuspecting people at this time. Luo Nan’s ingenious idea was far more effective than looking for victims by roaming around aimlessly.
Ling Jiu kicked the shop’s door open and stormed in.
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“Eh?”
Luo Nan opened his eyes abruptly, feeling groggy. It had only been less than two minutes into his nap, and a prey had already walked into his trap. What a lucky day, he thought.
He bounced up and looked at Ling Jiu with a faint smile. “You want my Direbeast hearts?”
“Of course!”
Saying nothing else, Ling Jiu utilized his Gravity Arcana on Luo Nan, forcing him to stagger on his feet.
Next, a large piece of stone slate flew straight at his face.
“Sh*t!”
Luo Nan’s expression collapsed. He quickly ducked, trying to avoid the stone slate, but he suddenly felt the pressure on him disappear. Even the force of gravity was gone, and his body floated up involuntarily.
Bang!
The stone slate hit him so hard that he started to see stars. Next, stone slates in the surrounding rose in the air and rushed toward him.
In just the blink of an eye, the stone slates piled on him. He struggled to get away with all his strength, but it was useless. The weight of the stone slates and gravitational force set him in place, nearly pressing the air out of his lungs.
“You… bastard!”
Luo Nan was as desperate as he was furious.
“How could the fish that nibbles at every bait not get caught, eh?”
Ling Jiu shook his head slightly. “Besides, you were overconfident. Luring your victims would have landed you in trouble soon or later!”
“How did you know that?”
Luo Nan was startled.
“I was watching you from a distance while you were robbing the four Arcanists!”
Ling Jiu reached out to take Luo Nan’s dimensional pocket, then he tipped the Direbeast hearts out.
“Tsk, tsk! How many poor chaps have you robbed to get so many Direbeast hearts, eh?” Ling Jiu was in awe.
“Kid, if you dare to take my Direbeast hearts, I won’t let you go unpunished!”
Luo Nan was desperate. These Direbeast hearts were necessary for him to pass the assessment. He would surely fail if Ling Jiu took them all.
“You won’t let me go unpunished? You should tell this to the rookies next year. You don’t have a chance this year!”
Ling Jiu repeated what Luo Nan said to the four Arcanists earlier. Luo Nan felt shame and anger, almost on the brink of getting a heart attack.
“That’s it, goodbye!”
Ling Jiu kept all of the Direbeast hearts inside his dimensional pocket and left the shop under Luo Nan’s watchful, murderous eyes.
Ling Jiu started to do what Luo Nan did, hiding in an abandoned shop and pretending to take a nap with a loud snore to lure his victims.
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The trick worked surprisingly well, as three groups of people eventually walked into the trap, and Ling Jiu obtained vast quantities of plunder. A loud siren blared through the sky above the county city at noon. It was a signal that told him the assessment had ended.
“Phew! It’s finally over!”
“Damn! It ended so quickly!”
The rookies breathed a sigh of relief. Some were indignant, while others were nonchalant when they heard the siren and came out of hiding.
…
Lantian Base City.
Unit A-35, Great Tang Residences.
Ling Tianci and Ling Xiaotong were sitting on the sofa, staring at the LED TV Screen that had a live telecast of the situation outside Caijiapo County City.
“Liu Bowen, 14 points!”
“Wang Jun, 21 points!”
“Dong Tiantian, 41 points!
“Wang Jiabao, 41 points!”
Recruits came out of the county city as the personnel from The Arcanist Directorate counted the harvest quantities.
A Class 1 Direbeast’s heart was worth one point.
A Class 2 Direbeast’s heart was worth 10 points.
There was a huge difference between the heart of a Class 1 and Class 2 Direbeast, which was easy to tell.
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The media responsible for filming the event was telecasting the event to thousands of homes in Lantian Base City.
“Do you think Brother will pass the assessment, Dad?” Ling Xiaotong looked tense.
“He surely will! He’s my son!”
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Ling Tianci was anxious too. The test concerned his son’s future, so he could not say that he was not nervous.
The bosses and leaders of various Arcana organizations were watching the live telecast too. They were concerned about the results of the assessment.
Luo Jia from Pangu Arcana Combine was one of them. The recruits might still be greenhorns, but they were the future of the company, which needed to train new blood to replenish and grow the organization.
“Bai Yang says Ling Jiu has done very well and has high hopes of getting the number one position.”
There was a hint of anticipation in Luo Jia’s eyes.
“Gao Yong, seven points!”
“Wang Jixiang, zero points!
“Zero?”
“Yet another poor guy!”
As the time ticked by, the recruits gradually exited the county city and received their results. Some were overjoyed with their outstanding achievements, while some were in dismay due to their poor performances.
Ling Jiu had also come out.
“Look, Dad! It’s Brother!”
“That rascal’s finally out!”