Chapter 25: The Contract

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“You’re back!” The moment she saw Xingyu return, Qixue sprang to her feet.

Her gaze swept over Xingyu again and again, afraid of missing any sign that something was wrong. “Why did you… come back so late again? I smell blood. Are you hurt?”

Their conversation last night had not gone well.

Today, however, Qixue’s attitude had returned to what it had been before, as though that exchange had never happened. She was deliberately maintaining a semblance of stability.

“Someone else’s blood,” Xingyu replied briefly. Then she patted the scabbards beside her legs. “Look. I even got two weapons. From now on, I can protect myself.”

Qixue regarded her with suspicion.

After what had happened the night before, she did not insist on examining them this time. She merely frowned, her gaze settling on the two short swords that gleamed coldly.

“These swords must have been very expensive, right? Xingyu… could you afford them?”

Xingyu smiled awkwardly. “Perhaps… I could.”

Seeing that Qixue still seemed ready to ask more questions, Xingyu immediately changed the subject. “I have a question. Don’t you think the Border Mutual Aid Alliance’s management fees are too high?”

At the mention of this, fatigue and helplessness instantly appeared on Qixue’s face.

She let out a soft sigh, her shoulders drooping slightly.

Xingyu pressed her advantage. “The management fee is two thousand a week now, right? The regulator even said it would rise to four thousand next week. Why do we have to listen to them?”

“Even in Ring C, and even in areas managed by the Commission Office, the weekly management fee is only one or two thousand. Besides, we’re in a place this remote and dangerous.”

To her surprise, Qixue did not agree with her.

Instead, Qixue shook her head firmly, her voice filled with helplessness. “But, Xingyu, we can only stay here… The protection fees charged by the Border Mutual Aid Alliance are expensive, but I can still just barely afford them for now. If I work a little harder…”

“And there’s a reason the protection fees here are so high. Have you forgotten how safe we’ve always been? There’s no chaos here, and we’re guaranteed food and clothing as well.”

Her voice gradually softened. “You may think… that I’m having a hard time, but at least here, we have a better chance of surviving. Safety is more important than anything else.”

Xingyu knitted her brows.

To be honest, she had not expected Qixue to take this position, much less to show faint support for the Border Mutual Aid Alliance.

“I can protect myself now,” Xingyu replied. “We don’t need to rely on their protection forever.”

Qixue looked at her pleadingly. “But it’s still too dangerous outside, Xingyu. Even if you’ve become an agent, more dangers will come looking for you. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go on living peacefully like this?”

“…I can take care of everything. Why do you insist on taking risks?!”

Her voice rose, and her emotions once again began to grow agitated.

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Xingyu tried to steer the conversation back onto a rational track. “Do you really think the Border Mutual Aid Alliance is safe? Is this place truly worth everything we’re paying for it?”

“Isn’t it?” Qixue shot back, bitterness in her voice. “There’s endless looting everywhere. People kill one another for a bite of food, and a single can of food can bring disaster upon someone. Isn’t every corner of this world like that?”

“…”

For a moment, Xingyu found that impossible to refute.

The order maintained by the Border Mutual Aid Alliance truly was extraordinarily rare in this chaotic society…

Abnormal would have been the more accurate word.

Remembering how she had been killed by a monster on her very first day, she asked in return, “Do you know what the regulators are actually regulating?”

Qixue looked at her blankly, her brows drawing together. “Aren’t the regulators there to protect our safety?”

Xingyu sighed. “The regulators… what exactly are they regulating? Us, or something else?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Qixue shook her head, her eyes filled with concern and confusion.

After hesitating for a moment, as though she had sensed something, she asked tentatively, “Xingyu… did something happen to you? You can tell me. We’ve always trusted each other, haven’t we?”

…Why did talking to Qixue feel so exhausting?

Xingyu shook her head without answering.

Silence spread between them. Qixue watched her nervously, looking as though she wanted to speak but could not.

In the end, Xingyu drew a deep breath and broke the silence.

“…I can leave. As an agent, I can secure a stable place to live whenever I want. No matter where it is, it will at least be better than this place.”

Strangely, Qixue’s reaction was far more intense than expected.

Her voice immediately turned panicked. “N-No! Why do you have to leave? What’s so wrong with this place?!”

Even her hands had unconsciously clenched into fists, her knuckles whitening with the force.

A wave of irritation rose in Xingyu’s heart.

Her tone became firmer, even somewhat aggressive. “We don’t have to endure that kind of humiliation. Once we leave, we can live anywhere. Two thousand in protection fees is enough for anyone to live safely, no matter where they are. Anywhere would be better than this place!”

She had already decided that if Qixue insisted on staying, she would leave alone.

“No!” Qixue seemed to realize what she intended. Her voice instantly became frantic and shrill, nearly breaking.

“No, Xingyu, you can’t! You—we… we absolutely cannot leave this place!”

There was something far too unnatural in her tone.

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Xingyu keenly sensed that something was wrong.

She stared directly into Qixue’s eyes and asked, “Why?”

Qixue’s body began to tremble, her face turning deathly pale.

She turned away, her lips moving soundlessly, no longer daring to meet Xingyu’s gaze.

“Xingyu, we… we absolutely can’t leave anymore.”

Merely saying those words seemed to require immense resolve from her. Her eyes were filled with terror.

Xingyu took in every detail of her reaction and asked again in a calm voice.

“Why?”

“We… I’m sorry, I…” Qixue’s emotions were on the verge of collapse. Her words came in broken fragments, scarcely forming complete sentences.

“I—I hid it from you. I signed a contract with those people. The regulators come every week to collect the fees… If we violate it… we’ll all die.”

After saying this, she lowered her head deeply, no longer daring to face any of Xingyu’s questions.

Yet in the face of this shocking revelation, Xingyu remained unnaturally calm.

Her voice was steady, as though she had no doubts at all.

“A commission contract, right?”

Qixue cautiously raised her head and stared at Xingyu blankly.

…That was true. Qixue could not even read the words on the contract.

Xingyu changed the way she asked.

Her voice softened slightly. “In other words, we have to obey the Border Mutual Aid Alliance in everything. Our lives are in their hands, aren’t they?”

“Yes… yes. It’s all my fault… I’m sorry. I acted without asking you… I’m sorry.”

Qixue admitted it painfully, her voice so quiet it was nearly inaudible.

“I understand,” Xingyu replied briefly, no emotion discernible in her voice.

She seemed lost in thought, her fingertips rubbing the blade of the sword beside her leg.

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