Chapter 72: Making a Swift Escape

"Give me a straight answer—are you buying or not?" Zhang Kai pressed, his gaze sharp as he stared at the pale-faced young man.

The young man’s expression twisted with inner conflict. The boss had already given the word—handle this quietly, smooth things over, don’t let it escalate. Now, if he refused, it would clearly be his fault. He had to stand firm in his position. Damn it, this brat—just wait, once the Emperor’s birthday is over and we’re out of Luofu City, we’ll settle this.

"I’ll buy," the pale-faced young man replied, his face expressionless.

Zhang Kai grinned. "That’s more like it. Harmony brings wealth. Even in law enforcement, you need a bit of cunning! There’s hope for you yet."

The young man's eyes were icy cold. Go ahead and gloat—for now. Soon, you’ll be out of luck.

He pulled out a card and turned to his followers. "Transfer your legal funds to me."

There was a collective gasp. The followers were stunned.

"I don’t have enough," the pale-faced youth said—if he weren’t a ghost, he’d probably be blushing.

The bailiffs were instantly miserable. Damn it, we’re getting dragged down too!

But now was not the time to protest. One by one, they obediently produced their cards, pressed them to the young man’s, and with a flash of spiritual light, the transfers were swiftly completed.

Zhang Kai found this a little surprising. So, ghosts could transfer funds this easily? Wasn’t there a risk of being robbed?

At that moment, the pale-faced young man handed the card to Zhang Kai, his face dark. "I only have 875,700 left. The password is 700747. That’s all there is. If it’s not enough, I’ll owe you the rest and make it up to you later. Is that acceptable?"

Returning to his normal size, Zhang Kai accepted the card with a smile. "Forget it, I’ll do the Emperor a favor and let the rest slide. Remember, even in law enforcement, you need a bit of slyness—don’t be impulsive. Impulsiveness is the devil’s work."

The pale-faced young man gave a cold, mirthless chuckle.

Deal done, he took his men and the weapons, turned, and left without a backward glance.

Zhang Kai examined the card. It was completely black, inscribed with ghostly runes and the symbol of Luofu. He wasn’t sure whether it was exclusive to Luofu City or could be used in the underworld as well. But that didn’t matter—for now, it was enough for his needs.

With the card in hand, Zhang Kai also departed.

He went directly to a bank marked with Luofu’s insignia. Entering, he approached a beautiful young female ghost. "I’d like to make a withdrawal."

She gave a professional smile. "Certainly, sir. Please wait a moment." She took the card, verified it, and then had Zhang Kai enter the password.

At this point, the process was much like that in the mortal world. Curious, Zhang Kai asked, "I’ve seen others transfer money with just a touch, but here you still need to verify. Why is that?"

She replied, "Sir, this is a bailiff’s card. Bailiffs can transfer between each other freely, but transactions with other types of cards require verification."

Ah, that made sense.

"How much would you like to withdraw?" she continued.

"All of it," Zhang Kai answered.

"That’s quite a sum, sir. I’ll issue you large-denomination gold notes—they’re valid throughout the underworld," she informed him.

A thought struck Zhang Kai. "So, Luofu City’s cards can be used everywhere in the underworld?"

She smiled. "Sir, Luofu City is an imperial domain and part of the alliance of the Hundred Cities of the Underworld. As long as it’s within the Hundred Cities, the card is valid everywhere."

"Thank you for letting me know," Zhang Kai replied with a smile.

Internally, his suspicions were confirmed. The Youquan Grotto truly was connected to the underworld. Perhaps he could take this opportunity to visit, to see what the underworld was really like. He could survive here, but would he be able to in the underworld proper? Would there even be air to breathe? He’d die of suffocation—that would be a humiliating way to go.

Soon, the female ghost completed the transaction, handing him eight black gold notes and several wads of legal tender.

The black gold notes were exquisitely designed, heavy with yin energy, and even seemed to pulse with a mysterious aura, opening Zhang Kai’s eyes to the sophistication of the underworld.

He thanked her, tucked away the money and notes, and left the bank.

As for the bailiff’s card, Zhang Kai discarded it without a second thought. It belonged to that pale-faced youth, who would probably freeze the account as soon as he got back—best to have withdrawn everything while he could, or he’d have gotten nothing.

As for any consequences? Zhang Kai couldn’t care less. He had already abandoned the idea of celebrating the Emperor’s birthday.

The more he learned, the more he realized how dangerous Luofu City was. Now that he’d caused a scene, staying any longer would be idiotic. While they still believed he was here for the Emperor’s birthday and wouldn’t dare make a move, it was best to slip away quietly.

Luofu City wasn’t going anywhere—he could always come back for trouble once he was stronger.

With an air of leisure, he took his leave.

Once he reached a secluded spot, Zhang Kai promptly transformed into Ultraman.

He soared into the sky, heading for the city’s outskirts. Along the way, everyone who saw him was stunned. Some didn’t recognize him and simply found it curious; others, who knew about Ultraman, stared in disbelief. Especially those who’d witnessed the Hulk transformation earlier—now they were completely dumbfounded. Hulk was one thing—a super-powered mutant. But Ultraman? What the hell? Could such a thing really exist? This was world-shattering, a complete assault on their understanding of reality.

But Zhang Kai didn’t care what the ghosts thought. There were restrictions on flying over Luofu City; it felt especially dangerous, so he kept low, headed straight for the city gates, and strolled out without a care.

The gate guards, though puzzled by his unfamiliar appearance, said nothing.

Not long after Zhang Kai had left, the pale-faced young man received word: the green-skinned monster had vanished. Furious, he immediately ordered the city on alert, determined to monitor this troublemaker—yet he’d still managed to slip away. Worse, when he tried to freeze his card to protect his century-old savings, the funds were already gone, leaving him seething.

It was a huge loss—and a loss of face.

After questioning the gate, he was reassured by their report that no one matching the description had left, and he coldly ordered them to keep a tight guard: as long as that guy was in Luofu City, even with wings, he wouldn’t escape—except through that gate.

Outside Luofu City, Zhang Kai reverted to his original form and headed straight for the camp where the bearded man’s followers were stationed.

When the ghostly soldiers saw Zhang Kai, they were unconcerned. They had arrived together, after all, and their chief had been all smiles, clearly eager to recruit him. Not only did the ghost soldiers drop their guard, they even put on obsequious smiles.

Zhang Kai said, "After chatting with your general, I’ve decided to join up. I’ve finished my own affairs, and your general told me to report to your territory and get familiar with the place. I don’t know the way—could someone draw me a map and give me some directions?"

One quick-witted ghost soldier immediately volunteered, conjuring a map from yin energy and explaining the route.

After studying it, Zhang Kai said with a smile, "You’re impressive—very promising. I’ll be sure to recommend you to the general."

The ghost soldier was overjoyed and thanked him profusely.

Zhang Kai put away the yin-energy map and flew off into the sky.