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"Excuse me, Sir, can I exchange a few words with you?"

Liu Ye was already one foot outside the bank when someone stopped him. He turned around and was surprised to see the Bank Manager smile at him. 

"Yes? Can I help with anything?" Liu Ye replied politely as his thoughts leaned in the direction of a quest. Why else would the Manager of the Bank bother him?

"Well, not really help me with anything. I came because we can help you instead," the Manager announced as he gestured to the side. „We discovered a lot of activity around you and found out about the bounty on your head. A lot of well-known bounty hunters already accepted the quest and they are on their way to hunt you. I'm here to help you in that matter." 

Liu Ye raised his eyebrows at the news. For a second Liu Ye thought the manager was talking about other players but the keyword was well-known. The game has only launched yesterday and Liu Ye was probably the first bounty in the game. No players had the time to become well-known inside the Emerald City. 

"How well-known are we talking about?" Liu Ye questioned surprised. 

"We care about our customers and wish for a long-term partnership which is why I came to you with the news. We took the risk and bought the information from the Mercenary Guild. The results are quite terrible, just as we expected," the Manager explained. "The strongest Bender you will have to face is called Lava Maker. He has mastered both Firebending and Earthbending only to be one of the few who explored Lavabending. Definitely a tough opponent to face." 

The situation took a turn Liu Ye didn't really expect. Could it be that the bounties made by the NPC were available not only to players but also to other NPCs? If that was really true, he couldn't be more fucked.

Liu Ye didn't show any unnecessary panic and asked curiously, "And you said you came to help me, right? What can you do?" 

"Yes, we can help. You might not know but the bounties can be bought out by the targets which will make them invalid. Of course, miss Black Panther can set a new bounty but at this point, it's just a race of who has the most money." 

Liu Ye couldn't help but frown. "I don't have a 1000 gold right now so I can't do that." 

"This is why I said we can help," the Manager said with a smile as he pointed at the nearby chairs to sit down. "Would you like to discuss it?"

Liu Ye couldn't just leave so he followed after him. 

"We noticed you decided to auction a big number of weapons and we as the Bank would like to offer you to buy one of them at the market value. Let's say the Flaming Scimitar which you set to 5000 gold. Its market value is actually 1000 gold and we are willing to buy it for that price. This way you will have money to buy out the bounty. What do you think?" the Manager offered generously, making Liu Ye suspicious.

"But what if they set the higher bounty right after? Will you buy all my items so I can pay for it as well?" Liu Ye questioned with logic. "The bounty will only increase and even more experts will go after me."

If Liu Ye wasn't careful, he could enter a trap that would attract even more experts that were not attracted by the first bounty. He wouldn't be surprised if Grandmasters earned a similar fee just for performing lectures.

"I'm sure that Black Panther will stop issuing bounties after learning you have our support," the Manager assured. "If they do though, we will just cover all of them for you. The last thing we lack is money." 

Liu Ye was taken aback once again. "And what does the Bank have to gain from helping me? I don't really see many benefits for you in such a deal."

The whole approach was too suspicious even for the game or a quest. The Bank needed to have some kind of interest in helping him and he wasn't wrong. 

"It is nothing much. We just want to form a long-term partnership with you and support each other. A man with such potential as yours deserves to have a sponsor that will help you grow," the Manager finally revealed. "We are the backbone of Emerald City and we wish you to join us in making our city shine in the future. If you are in trouble, we will help you but also expect the same from you."

So that's what it was about. He was being recruited!

His Elemental Score immediately attracted the Emerald City's authorities and they decided to scoop him up before he even had the chance to grow. What was a few thousand gold if they could sign him for an exclusive contract? 

"If you agree to enter into cooperation with us, not only we will help you settle the matter with your bounty but we will also give you a weekly bonus of 1000 gold to support your career," the Manager added right after. "We already prepared the offer so please consider it." 

Before Liu Ye could even reply, a virtual window opened in front of him.

[Partnership with Emerald City] [Offer]

[The Bank of Emerald City is offering to become your sponsor in exchange for mutual support.]

[Benefits: 1000 gold every week and help in the canceling of Mercenary Guild Bounty.]

[Responsibilities: Mutual support in case of danger. If Emerald City ever joins war or has an enemy they can't deal with, you will be forced to stay on their side and fight off the enemy.] 

[Would you like to accept the offer?]

"This…" 

Just as much as he would enjoy a 1000 gold every week, who knows what will happen in the future? This offer would also bind Xu Yue to join the Emerald City as well since he didn't plan to fight against her. He could also see a scenario where all 4 empires attack Emerald City. Wouldn't he be at a disadvantage then?

"It's a generous offer," the Manager pointed out as he observed him but Liu Ye didn't have a choice but to reject it. 

"I'm sorry but I can't make such a big decision yet. Can you give me some time to think about it?" Liu Ye suggested neutrally but the Manager didn't like it at all. 

"Won't you be in danger if we don't settle it right away? The Bounty Hunters don't care if you are in public. They are bold enough to strike right outside of this Bank." 

Even if he can be in danger, the responsibility was too huge at this stage of the game. Liu Ye was about to reject the offer officially when he suddenly got an idea.

"I am not saying I don't want to settle it though. How about this, I will sell the item to you and buy out the bounty. If Black Panther raises the bounty again, I will come over and sign the offer," Liu Ye proposed, causing the Manager to brighten. 

"Alright, that is fair," he nodded eagerly as the window disappeared on its own. "I will proceed with the sell and send the money over to the Mercena—"

"No, you can transfer the money over to me," Liu Ye cut him off. "I will pay for the bounty myself."

"Huh?" The manager was taken aback this time. "But won't that be dangerous? We can settle the whole matter without you leaving this chair."

Liu Ye couldn't sell any of his items to the players until pay-to-win was turned on. Selling one item to the bank was the best he could do right now so bluffing was his only choice. 

"Well, I wanted to visit the Mercenary Guild anyway, so I will settle it myself. I hope you will accept my selfish request in respect to our future cooperation."

The Manager paused in thinking and eventually nodded while standing up. "Alright then. I will handle it right now." 

Liu Ye patiently waited with his profile open and fair enough, he soon received two notifications into his inbox. 

[Ding! Your item Fire Scimitar has been delisted from the auction.]

[Ding! You have received 1000 gold from the Emerald City Bank.]

Even though he could sell it for more later, Liu Ye urgently needed the money now. He could grind his two levels back up if he was killed so it wasn't necessary to buy out the bounty. 

"I have settled everything as we discussed," the Manager informed after coming back. "Please be careful outside. We can't protect you outside our property." 

"I don't need guards, but I have a different request," Liu Ye replied with a slight smile. "Would you mind ordering a car in front of the bank? There is some place I need to visit first."