"Let's settle the accounts!"
"The ransom for tying you up, you two, is 200,000 gold coins. That makes 400,000 for the two of you."
"This fellow of the Gold rank destroyed one of my Tough ropes. This rope is a bit cheaper, so let's say 50,000 gold coins."
"When I slapped you two, my hands got red."
"Medical expenses, 50,000!"
"Roughly calculated, you need 500,000 gold coins for ransom."
Chen Yu listed out the compensations and ransom amounts one by one. Even those who overheard the numbers felt a jolt of fear.
Five hundred thousand!
He really dared to ask for that much.
Tony and Giles, kneeling on the ground, knew very well that Chen Yu was asking for the moon, but they didn't dare to utter a single word of refusal.
Actually, the ransom amounts from before were all manageable.
The rope, 50,000.
Hitting them, making his hands red, and then asking for 50,000 for medical expenses.
This?!
Wasn't this a bit too much bullying?
Victim blaming?
Although they both had reservations, they dared not retort.
Giles, the only one with any combat capability, had his neck held by the Five-Colored Sword. As for the lethargic Tony, anyone casually picked from Chen Yu's camp could beat him ten times over.
What else could they do?
Endure it!
"Do you have any issues with these compensations and ransom amounts?" Chen Yu smiled and lowered his gaze, murmuring, "If you have no problems, just nod."
Tony and Giles quickly nodded, not daring to delay.
"Good!"
Chen Yu smiled with satisfaction and took out several sheepskin blueprints from his storage.
"My system, Seven Out, Thirteen Return, you both accept it," Chen Yu twisted his neck and whispered, "I'm not very good at calculations, so to make it easier, I'll lend you 800,000 gold coins. With Seven Out, Thirteen Return, you'll receive 560,000 gold coins. That's 500,000 for ransom, and 60,000 as a service fee. The repayment will be 1,040,000. Any problems?"
"No... no..." Tony clenched his fists, not daring to look up.
1,040,000.
In fact, he didn't even know if his family truly possessed assets worth 1,040,000 gold coins.
After all—
Millions of gold coins were astronomical figures.
Many commoners might not earn even 1 gold coin in a year. Possessing hundreds of thousands of gold coins could be considered a mid-tier family.
While the Ska family was indeed strong,
They might not have that much money.
Even if they did, parting with 1,040,000 would mean shedding a layer of skin.
Tony no longer cared if his family could afford the money. He just wanted to leave this damned place quickly and return to his family.
As for how Chen Yu would collect the money later, that was none of his concern.
"Good, so decisive!" Chen Yu grinned, "I like people who are this decisive..."
Bang!
Chen Yu threw an adventurer's sword in front of Er Gou.
"Er Gou, write a blood letter!" Along with Chen Yu's whisper, Er Gou picked up the sword from the ground, met Tony's terrified gaze, grabbed his wrist, and slashed at his hand.
Blood flowed profusely.
The intense pain made Tony cry out instantly.
"Don't shout, Young Master Tony. Compared to your life, this bit of pain should be bearable, right?!" Chen Yu threw the sheepskin parchment, "Write your own name on it, and our account will be settled."
Sweat trickled down Tony's face.
He gritted his teeth tightly, dipped his finger in the blood from his palm, and left the name 'Tony~Ska' on the sheepskin.
Unexpectedly—
As soon as his name was written, a faint white light emanated from the sheepskin.
"Huh?"
Chen Yu was taken aback.
What was this situation?
〖The contract has taken effect〗
"Oh?"
Chen Yu raised his eyebrows in surprise and picked up the sheepskin from the ground. He could feel a hazy aura on it, as if some mystical characters were flowing on it.
〖This loan agreement is now protected by magic, and the loan is legitimate〗
"Whoa, there's this kind of thing in the underground?"
Chen Yu was astonished.
He thought he would have to brazenly demand payment when the time came, but he didn't expect the loan agreement to be protected?
Doesn't that mean?
The Ska family truly owed him 1,040,000 gold coins?
Tsk!
He should have asked for more if he had known.
"C-can I leave now?" Tony whispered, his face pale and trembling. Chen Yu glanced at the sheepskin again and put it into his bracelet.
Keep it safe!
This sheepskin parchment was worth a full 1,040,000 gold coins.
Money!
It was almost equivalent to his entire net worth.
After securing the IOU, Chen Yu finally looked down at Tony.
"Go, you can go, but before you go, you two must..." Chen Yu narrowed his eyes and smiled slightly.
A few minutes later—
Tony and Giles were left with only two pieces of clothing to cover themselves. This was Chen Yu's act of mercy, considering they were both humans.
"You can go now."
Chen Yu made a gesture to them, but Tony and Giles did not move for a long time.
"What are you dawdling for?"
"Uh... Can you give us two town portal scrolls?" Tony asked cautiously. Chen Yu walked up with a smile, "You want scrolls."
"Yes!"
"What dream are you having, huh!?" Almost instantly, Chen Yu's eyes widened as he reprimanded, "You still want town portal scrolls? Aren't town portal scrolls money? I haven't even seen any money from you two yet, and you want to take money from me? You must be crazy!"
"Didn't we give you the ransom—"
"Did I see the ransom?" Chen Yu glared, "To put it bluntly, that's just an IOU. Whether it can be cashed in depends on my ability. You're using that to talk? Letting you two go is already me being lenient. Don't talk nonsense with me, are you leaving or not... if not then..."
"Go, go, we'll go!"
Giles cupped his hands in a gesture of respect, grabbed Tony by the arm, and bowed repeatedly.
"We're leaving now."
If it came to cherishing life, Giles cherished his life far more than Tony.
It was not easy for him to reach the Gold rank. He didn't want to die for no reason.
After all, he was a Gold rank, and he wouldn't encounter much danger in this outer area. Returning would be fine, just relatively more troublesome than using scrolls.
Of course—
That wasn't important!
What was important was that his life was saved.
Quickly escape.
Giles grabbed Tony and ran barefoot.
It didn't matter if his feet were hurting from stepping on stones; all that mattered now was leaving this 'hellhole.'
In the blink of an eye, the two ran to the light ring and disappeared in a flash of light.
Watching them leave, Chen Yu stretched lazily, then glanced at Bee Woman and Kuka and whispered.
"How is the progress on your end?"
--
Author's Note:
Good afternoon, have you eaten?