Chapter 150: The First Employee Is a Bear

The spar between Nora and Xiong Da continued. Although Xiong Da had been injured, he was ultimately a wild child who had grown up in the wilderness. Pain did not frighten him. It only stirred the savagery within him.

After putting some distance between him and Nora, he grabbed a frozen wild boar and hurled it at her with all his strength. This time, Nora reacted in time. She immediately fired five shots at the airborne boar. The frozen carcass exploded on the spot, shattering into countless chunks that rained down.

The sight scared Xiong Da witless, forcing him to scramble behind a massive elephant for cover. "How are her bullets that destructive?"

Although he possessed two innate abilities—Impervious to Blades and Spears and Bronze Skin and Iron Bones—he still had to be cautious when facing explosive rounds like these.

Zhong Wuliang was a perfect example. No matter how strong his defenses were, in the end, Yu Xian had worn him down with explosives. Body-refiner supernatural beings were made of flesh and blood only. They simply possessed much stronger defenses than ordinary people.

Nora aimed at the frozen elephant and fired repeatedly. Explosions rang out one after another, and in the blink of an eye, she had blown the elephant in half. Seizing the opportunity, Xiong Da immediately shoved one half of the carcass forward.

Since the ground was covered in ice, the carcass rapidly slid toward Nora like a curling stone. Nora took out a fresh magazine and began running while reloading. However, Xiong Da was immensely strong, so the carcass was moving extremely fast.

Although Nora did her best to dodge, one of the elephant's legs caught her and knocked her to the ground. Keeping the handgun in one hand, she braced the other against the ice and pushed herself swiftly back to her feet. At that moment, an ivory tusk shot toward her, forcing her to raise both arms in front of herself.

The ivory slammed into her with a deafening crash, exploding into a cloud of pulverized dust that sent shards and white powder flying everywhere. Several hundred meters away, Xiong Da stopped, grabbed a pheasant, and swallowed it whole, watching to see what had happened to Nora in the cloud of dust.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three gunshots rang out from within the dust cloud. The bullets tore through it as they shot toward Xiong Da. At the same time, the gunfire ignited the airborne dust, triggering an explosion. Flames engulfed Nora, and large amounts of steam surged outward, only to condense into icy mist and drift back down.

Xiong Da had barely dodged the bullets when the sight left him stunned again. "She's that fierce?"

The next second, Nora charged out of the flames and opened fire on him repeatedly, forcing him to turn and run. She kept shooting at him, but despite his bulky appearance, he was surprisingly fast and always managed to evade her bullets.

Right then, Wang Xingnuo's advice flashed through Nora's mind. Synergize my equipment with abilities. I need to think outside the box!

She used weapons far too crudely, which was why her practical combat score was always low. If she wanted a higher score, she needed to learn to think, use her abilities, and ideally observe her surroundings, so that she could make full use of her advantages.

The black wind had now died down. Countless frozen animals surrounded them, most of them being wild boars, along with monkeys, stray dogs, cats, deer, cattle, and many others. The ice beneath them was so smooth that it reflected the stars overhead.

With so many obstacles in the way and Xiong Da moving so quickly, Nora found it extremely difficult to aim at him. She fired a shot at the ground in the distance. The explosion instantly blasted out a large crater, but when the cold wind swept over it, the hollow was covered in ice again in the blink of an eye.

No wonder the ice is so smooth. It can repair itself.

Nora took out red-tipped bullets from her spatial ring and repeatedly fired them around Xiong Da. These bullets did not explode, but continued burning after impact. In moments, they formed a massive ring of fire around Xiong Da. She intended to exploit the ice's ability to refreeze almost instantly and create a trap to restrain him.

However, Xiong Da had rich combat experience and immediately saw through her plan. He hurriedly swept one paw through the air, summoning the black wind once more and extinguishing the surrounding flames. "Good idea, but far too easy to see through!"

While the black wind obstructed Nora's vision, Xiong Da rapidly hurled the surrounding frozen animals at her. All kinds of animal carcasses struck Nora. An elephant came crashing down on top of her, pinning her in place. Although Eternal Purity's equipment protected her from harm, she was still unable to move. In the end, only her head remained visible, making her look like the Sun Wukong trapped beneath Five-Finger Mountain.

Xiong Da walked over and laughed triumphantly as he watched her struggle without being able to free herself. "Hahaha! I win!"

However, Nora suddenly pulled the trigger. Explosions rang out one after another. Her defensive equipment made her immune to the blasts, but the frozen animals shattered into countless fragments and scattered in every direction.

Xiong Da realized that things had taken a turn for the worse. Just as he was about to run, eight bullets struck him in rapid succession right in the back, making him howl in pain.

Yu Xian saw that both of them had more or less exhausted their tricks and called a halt with a smile. "All right, that's enough!"

To Xiong Da, Yu Xian's voice sounded like music from the heavens. He let out a deep sigh of relief, then flopped onto the ground and played dead. Nora got up from the ice, brushed the ice shards off her clothes, and silently reviewed everything she had learned from the spar.

Yu Xian walked over to Xiong Da, who was lying there with his backside in the air. "Are you interested in working for me? Food and lodging included, and you'll be granted legal human status."

Xiong Da's eyes widened. "Can I really get an identity card?"

"Absolutely. But if you ever break the law—"

Without letting him finish, Xiong Da scrambled to his feet and said, "I, Xiong Da, swear I'll obey the law! If I ever commit a crime, you can twist my head right off!"

Yu Xian smiled. "Good. Then it's settled!"

Xiong Da plopped down on the ice again, his expression instantly turning into that of a calculating businessman. "Uh... should I call you Boss, Leader, or Master? Also, regarding my compensation... does it come with healthcare and a pension?"

Yu Xian scoffed. "Healthcare and a pension? What stone-age nonsense is that? Nowadays, the standard is full premium coverage, equity options, and free catered lunches."

After thinking for a moment, he continued, "From now on, call me Boss. As for your compensation, your monthly salary will be five million. Whenever there's a battle, you'll also receive a bonus of around ten to fifty million afterward, depending on your performance. That's the market rate for a Tiger-rank expert. Any objections?"

Back when he used to hang out at his father's factory, the employees had always called him "Young Boss." Because of that, he held an indescribable attachment to the title. Perhaps that was his way of holding onto a youth that had already slipped away.

Xiong Da nodded happily. "No objections, Boss! I'll follow all of your arrangements!"

Yu Xian nodded. "Come on, let's take a photo first. Stand properly, smile a little, and don't show your teeth."

He took out his phone and took a photo of Xiong Da. Then he sent Xiong Da's information to Qilin. With Yu Xian acting as his guarantor, Xiong Da could indeed obtain legal human status.

The reason Yu Xian was willing to vouch for him was that he knew Xiong Da was kind by nature. Aside from occasionally frightening supernatural beings, Xiong Da usually cultivated alone deep in the mountains. It was only recently, after a Dragon-rank beast moved into the mountain where he lived, that he had been forced to come near Ice City to scrape together a living.

He had never harmed anyone. On the contrary, he had secretly rescued several humans who had nearly wandered into dangerous areas.

Yu Xian felt that if he left Xiong Da alone in the wilderness, it would inevitably lead to tragedy. One day, Xiong Da could even be pushed into becoming an enemy of humanity, only to be crushed by Qilin.

Since Yu Xian had encountered him, he decided to help where he could, which was why he had approached Xiong Da in the first place.

After getting his photo taken, Xiong Da furtively lowered his head and spoke to Yu Xian in a quiet voice. "Boss, I've discovered a secret. I don't know whether you'd be interested."

Yu Xian glanced at Nora, then smiled at him. "Let's hear it."