The next morning.
Blaine arrived at school with a backpack for classes.
However, even though he was technically attending class, Blaine seemed distracted, fiddling with the Underground Trading Admission Ticket in his hand, looking quite hesitant.
He was carefully considering which trading venue he should go to.
He hadn't been to any of the three marked red spots yet.
The brighter the red light, the bigger the underground trading venue; the dimmer the light, the smaller the venue.
Smaller ones might not have tasks that he would be interested in.
Bigger ones could be dangerous.
Although Blaine called himself a Bounty Hunter, he was, after all, still just a high school student.
The morning passed by.
Biting his nails, Blaine's expression suddenly turned resolute.
Damn it, if I'm going to accept a mission, I'll take a big one, and if I'm going to a venue, I'll go to the biggest one.
With my current strength, how could I not handle it?
Acting as soon as he decided, in the afternoon, Blaine went to the school office to apply for an extended leave. He also took the chance to say goodbye to Little Spider. If he could find a mission he liked, by the time he returned, Little Spider might have already Evolved into New York's Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.
His reason for taking leave was simple.
Blaine was of mixed Asian and American descent. Although he was an orphan, many believed he still had relatives far away in Asia, and the teachers were no exception.
So Blaine simply said he was going back to his hometown to visit his grandparents and would need about a month.
In America, before college, education emphasized happiness and freedom. Although taking a month off sounded a bit much, considering his parents' passing, the administration still approved it for him.
In reality, Blaine wasn't sure how long this trip would take — maybe a week, maybe two, or perhaps even just a few days.
After all, he hadn't even accepted a mission yet.
That afternoon and evening, Blaine stayed at home to rest.
He needed to be in top form.
It wasn't until the early hours of the morning, when there were hardly any people on the streets, that he finally woke up.
Wearing his Hunter outfit, hiding his youthful face under the shadow of a hood, Blaine tightened his collar and darted out of the house.
Damn it, being a Bounty Hunter feels like being a rat in the street.
While avoiding the occasional drunk passerby, Blaine muttered complaints to himself.
"Bounty Hunter" — such a cool title — yet in his case, it felt completely different.
Whatever, in any case, Bounty Hunters weren't meant to live openly under the sun anyway.
Walking along the dark roads, Blaine followed the mental map he had memorized and headed toward the largest red spot.
He got closer and closer.
Eventually, Blaine arrived at a narrow alley.
Around him were piles of garbage bags filled with all sorts of nasty things, just looking at them was enough to make someone nauseous.
Disgusted, Blaine curled his lips. If his Hunter outfit didn't have a feature to purify the air, he might have thrown up on the spot. It was that disgusting.
Seriously, why are underground trading venues always in places like this?
Holding the black card-like [Underground Trading Venue Admission Ticket], Blaine swiped it against a small iron door nearby.
Beep.
The small iron door opened with a sound.
After walking through another narrow alley and pushing open a door, a place resembling a bar appeared before Blaine's eyes.
Unlike the deserted streets outside, this place was lively.
Various kinds of people were gathered together, some drinking loudly, others whispering about shady deals.
Blaine quietly observed everything.
It looked like an ordinary bar, but he knew that every single person here probably had at least five lives on their hands — trained killers, enforcers, and the like.
Although Blaine was wearing his Hunter outfit, he didn't draw much attention. At most, someone would glance at him briefly before minding their own business.
This place was full of shady characters, so dressing unusually was nothing out of the ordinary.
There were no friends to be found here. Blaine headed straight to the mission desk.
There, he spotted a bounty mission.
[Hunt Down Tony Stark – Bounty: $10 million]
Blaine narrowed his eyes.
Ten million US dollars.
It was the top-listed mission in the underground venue.
However, it was obvious that this mission had been up for a long time. Otherwise, everyone would have been shocked instead of acting like it was normal.
After all, who was Tony Stark? An ultra-rich tycoon whose net worth was immeasurable. Hunt him?
What idiot posted this mission?
Not to mention, Tony wasn't just any ordinary rich guy. Aside from being a genius scientist, his father was one of the founders of S.H.I.E.L.D., a massive powerhouse!
He had major backing — who the hell would dare to hunt him?
Were they tired of living?
Even if someone could actually pull it off, ten million wouldn't be enough. People would easily offer a hundred million or even a billion for it.
And seriously, if someone was strong enough to kill Tony Stark, would they even care about ten million dollars?
Just kidnapping Tony for ransom would be worth way more than ten million.
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