Lin Qing and the other two ran through the forest all the way to a small city a few hundred kilometers away from Qingzhou.
They ran hundreds of kilometers without rest all night.
After arriving in the small city, they lay on the ground, not wanting to move at all.
"Damn it! We suffered a huge loss this time. We almost lost everyone just because of a crystal. If I had known, I wouldn't have made a move!!"
It would be a lie to say that he didn't regret it. Even Lin Qing didn't expect things to turn out this way in the end. More than a dozen military helicopters and over a thousand Motorbots had joined the battle at the same time. They even used rocket launchers and other weapons.
If not for the fact that the sky had turned dark and Jiang Yanjun was desperate for the Flame Devil, they would have died long ago.
"Are you only enlightened now, Big Brother?" Huang Quan grumbled when he thought about the possibility of becoming a wanted criminal.
He was a rich second-generation scion who had changed completely after meeting Lin Qing. He was supposed to live a good life, but now he was facing bullets and rocket launchers and struggling on the brink of death every day.
On the other hand, Ye Daying took out a plastic bag from behind him and said tiredly but excitedly, "Not necessarily. I think this trip was worth it!"
He opened the plastic bag, revealing around 60 shiny crystals lying inside.
He had dug them up while Lin Qing and Huang Quan killed the troops of the Nine Nether Army. At that time, everyone was watching the two of them fight, so no one cared about Ye Daying.
The 60 or so crystals were at least second-evolution crystals. Many of them were third-evolution crystals, and there were even several fourth-evolution ones.
This small bag alone was worth thousands of ordinary steel beast crystals.
Apart from these crystals, Lin Qing and Huang Quan had also replenished their energy during the battle. They had achieved a complete victory this time, and their rewards were equivalent to several days of hunting. It wasn't a loss at all.
"Ahem, ahem. I'm seriously injured. I've suffered a few stabs at my waist, and I need to replenish my energy," Huang Quan said weakly as he supported his waist.
Lin Qing shot a glance at him. Huang Quan's back was full of cuts from various weapons. There were even a few bullet holes.
"Sure, you can take twenty crystals then!"
Ye Daying was eagerly expecting crystals as well. But when he thought about how he didn't contribute much, he smiled bitterly and looked away.
These crystals had all been obtained by Lin Qing and Huang Quan, but he didn't obtain any.
"Little Ying, take twenty crystals too. We'll use the rest as our reserves." Then Lin Qing grabbed ten crystals and tossed them into his mouth. With bulged cheeks, he said, "This was a team operation, and Little Ying put in a lot of effort. If you hadn't supported us a few times with crystals, the vice-captain and I would have fallen long ago."
"Captain, t-then I don't need so many crystals. Why don't I take ten too?"
All the crystals here were evolved ones, so 20 could compare to hundreds of ordinary ones.
"Just take them. Old Huang ate quite a lot during the battle, and he doesn't lack any. I also swallowed the adult crystal earlier. If I didn't need energy, I wouldn't even want these ten."
Lin Qing was very fair to his own people. He would never let others suffer, and he would reward them according to how much work they had done.
Today, both Huang Quan and Ye Daying had fought with their lives on the line. To be honest, 20 crystals was slightly too few. It was still him who had taken advantage by getting the adult crystal.
He could only compensate them along the way.
Seeing that Lin Qing was determined, Ye Daying stopped insisting. After thanking Lin Qing, he put away the 20 crystals, leaned against the wall, and swallowed them one by one.
After a major battle and escaping through the night, the three of them were exhausted. After finding a place to hide, they closed their eyes and rested. They only started moving again the next day.
This city also had a survivor's base. While walking along the desolate streets, Huang Quan encountered several groups of Motorbots collecting supplies.
"Lin Qing, did you notice that they're looking at us strangely?"
"Well, there's a mixture of curiosity and fear, and there also seems to be a little excitement."
"Should I catch someone to ask?"
"Forget it. Don't meddle in other people's business. Let's find a big city and kill the steel beasts there first. It's more important to increase our strength as soon as possible."
Taking a detour, the three of them headed toward the belt highway, intending to leave this place. But before they reached the highway, they encountered trouble.
The roar of engines came from behind them. Then more than two hundred Motorbots crowded around them. Among them were trucks, three-wheelers, and motorcycles.
A few of the motorcycle Motorbots even had pistols in their hands.
"What do you want?" Huang Quan was the first to ask them.
A cross-country vehicle, which was about ten meters tall after transforming into a mecha, stood up. Then he looked at a bulldozer. "Old Dong, everyone is here. What are you waiting for?"
Crack! The bulldozer stood up and looked at the three of them. "Their height and build are right. It's them for sure."
"Well, although it was your men who discovered them first, I also brought over eighty brothers with me here. I want forty percent of the rewards."
"You'll only get twenty percent. If you want to do it, then do it. If you don't want to, then let's split up. You know that if I wasn't afraid of you ambushing me, I wouldn't need you at all considering my strength."
"Give me thirty-five percent, and I'll do this. After all, it's business. It's more interesting to earn together."
The bulldozer called Old Dong said calmly with his hands behind his back, "I have twice as many people as you do. I'll give you thirty percent. Take it or leave it!"
"Alright, deal!"
"Hey, hey, hey!" Ye Daying couldn't stand it anymore. "You two, are you treating us like we don't exist?"
The cross-country Motorbot said domineeringly, "Lin Qing, Huang Quan, and Ye Daying, right? Hand over what you stole in Yang City, and I can leave your corpses intact."
The three of them narrowed their eyes and looked at one another. Then Huang Quan stepped forward. "We don't understand what you're talking about. Why don't you explain it clearly?"
"Ha, you're still pretending." Old Dong took a newspaper from a Motorbot behind him and threw it at Lin Qing's feet. "Take a look yourself."
"Lin Qing, Huang Quan, and Ye Daying stole a treasure sword from me, Jiang Tianyun, in Yang City. The reward is as follows: killing Lin Qing will yield 5,000 crystals, killing Huang Quan will yield 3,000 crystals, and killing Ye Daying will yield 800 crystals. If you find the treasure sword, you will receive another 5,000 crystals…"
In addition to the reward, there were also portraits of the three and the Flame Devil. Huang Quan was stunned and angrily said, "Why is my reward lower than Lin Qing's? Who assigned these rewards!"
"Vice-Captain, that's not the main point." Ye Daying wiped the non-existent cold sweat off his forehead. "The main point is that they are slandering us."
Instead of an imperial wanted notice, they got a wanted notice with a bounty. How unlucky.
They could still deal with a wanted notice. After all, in this chaotic world, who would have the time to arrest them? In contrast, a bounty was very troublesome. Moreover, who knew how many copies of this kind of newspaper had been issued.
Killing the three of them would add up to 8,800 crystals, and obtaining the Flame Devil would yield a total of 13,800.
What kind of concept was 13,800 crystals? It was enough to produce an adult Motorbot.
This temptation was too great, so great that countless people were willing to take the risk out of desperation. They were willing to kill them at any cost, just like now!
Looking at the three of them, the cross-country Motorbot said in a loud voice, "Are you going to take out your sword, or do you want me to do it myself?"
Then a few guns were aimed at Lin Qing's and Huang Quan's heads.
"Okay, okay. I'll give you the sword. But is there a need for such a lousy sword?" Huang Quan said in a lazy voice. "But if I give you the sword, can you let us live?"
The cross-country Motorbot laughed out loud before his expression turned cold. "Of course… that's impossible. The heads of you three are worth eighty-eight hundred crystals."
"Oh, I understand!"
Huang Quan raised his hand, and his arm turned into a gun barrel. Then he swept his gun toward the 200 or so Motorbots in front of him.