Infinity, The Arcade Age

"So those three caused you quite a bit of trouble?"

The tense atmosphere in Green Town had eased noticeably.

After learning that Qin Ming and Kasamoto Eri weren't allies of the previous bounty hunters but had a grudge against them instead, Simon's hostility had visibly diminished.

After all, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Although neither side had fully lowered their weapons, the barrels were no longer aimed at one another.

What had started as a standoff now looked more like negotiations.

Upon hearing from Simon that three attackers had ambushed the town and almost killed him, proving to be far stronger than the previous two novice bounty hunters, Qin Ming quickly deduced who the trio were.

Playing with his rifle in thought, he frowned slightly before speaking in a calm, steady voice.

"Farmer Simon, how about we work together?"

"Work together?"

"Yes. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, right? Since we share a common enemy, why not cooperate?"

"Hmph, but you're bounty hunters too. That makes you my enemies."

"Enemies come in different types. We don't have to fight, but those three already attacked you. Even if we do end up at odds, wouldn't it be better to take them out first and settle things between us afterward?"

Simon's gaze flickered as he lowered his head to think. After a moment, he nodded.

He had already seen that these two weren't pushovers.

Since that was the case, there was no need for needless conflict. Cooperation was clearly the better option.

Waving a hand for his men to lower their guns, Simon's face broke into a warm smile.

"If you're willing to work with me, that's great. I never thought we needed to be enemies anyway. How about this: take care of those three for me, and I'll give you $3,000. We'll call it a job well done. Afterward, you take the money and leave peacefully — no hard feelings."

Simon, a notorious outlaw with a bounty of $10,000 on his head, was infamous for being a difficult target to eliminate.

While his bounty was tempting, collecting it was easier said than done.

For a cowboy, Simon's offer was a very worthwhile deal — no need for a dangerous fight with his forces, plus a hefty reward for dealing with rivals.

Of course, this was assuming they didn't have a mandatory mission from Nightmare Space to eliminate Simon.

Having reached an agreement, Qin Ming and Kasamoto Eri holstered their guns.

The two quickly sat down with Simon and his men in the saloon to discuss the situation in detail.

After learning that the trio had blown up Simon's convoy and killed several of his men, Qin Ming had a clearer understanding of just how troublesome his targets were.

They agreed to set a trap at dawn to lure out the enemies and take them down. Simon left with his men shortly after.

Before departing, Simon cheerfully declared that all the saloon's drinks were free for Qin Ming and Eri to enjoy.

He even sent over two beautiful saloon girls to keep Qin Ming company for the night, proving himself a man well-versed in social niceties.

After all, Simon wasn't just a large-scale farm owner but also a bandit leader with deep connections.

He had influence over law enforcement in the surrounding towns, even counting the local sheriffs as his drinking buddies.

Without charm and networking skills, he wouldn't have thrived as he did.

Faced with these exotic beauties, Qin Ming graciously accepted the offer without hesitation.

As an adventurer constantly dancing on the edge of death, he had long embraced the philosophy of living in the moment.

He had enjoyed nights with call girls and fiery female soldiers alike.

But this was his first time encountering saloon girls from the Wild West. Since they were being offered for free, there was no reason to refuse.

As for whether Kasamoto Eri would be displeased… One of those saloon girls was her pick!

Would she mind? Absolutely not!

When it came to cutting loose, Kasamoto Eri was even wilder than Qin Ming.

According to her, she had "gotten to know" every female in the Sparrow Special Ops Team, including the other female protagonist, Fio.

As for being on the receiving end of such "understanding," this was a first for her.

Having grown up in the underworld, Kasamoto Eri was notoriously distrustful and rarely allowed others to get close to her.

Only Qin Ming, who had summoned her with a special ability, automatically earning her full favor, had managed to breach that wall.

Otherwise?

The last person who dared make a move on her had experienced firsthand the alternative use of a wooden-handled grenade.

The bespectacled Fio had a romance affection level of 800 points, making her notoriously difficult to win over.

Meanwhile, Kasamoto Eri, that boozy lunatic, had a blazing-hot affection level of 850 points—higher than Fio's even!

After fooling around for half the night, fully indulging in the exotic charm of the West, and even swapping partners midway, the second floor of the saloon finally went dark.

Qin Ming, with two beautiful cowgirls in his arms, drifted off to sleep.

Beside him, Kasamoto Eri, having mercilessly kicked her own companion off the bed once she was done, lay down by herself with her arms as a pillow, eyes closed.

The room fell into silence.

But suddenly, Kasamoto Eri, her face flushed from drinking over a bottle of vodka, opened her eyes with a sharp, alert glint.

She abruptly sat up, her ears perked as she frowned, listening intently.

Her pupils constricted as she reached for her clothes, yelling loudly.

"Boss! Get up! Something's wrong!"

The shout jolted Qin Ming from his sleep.

He opened his eyes, about to ask what was going on when the two cowgirls snuggled against him suddenly sprang to life.

In a flash, they snatched knives from the jeans draped over the table and aimed deadly strikes at Qin Ming.

Their attack was swift and vicious—one aiming to slit his throat, the other going for a crippling groin stab.

Even if they failed to kill him outright, their strikes would have left severe injuries.

Unfortunately for them, Qin Ming was no ordinary person. He was practically a monster immune to blades and bullets.

Moreover, after an exhausting night of being thoroughly ravaged by Qin Ming and Kasamoto Eri, the two women were left weak and sluggish, lacking their usual deadly precision.

The cowgirl aiming for his throat didn't even get close before Qin Ming reacted, grabbing her wrist in a vise-like grip.

With a sharp twist, he contorted her arm into an unnatural shape, reducing it to a mangled mess.

Before she could scream, he wrenched the knife from her grip and plunged it straight into her temple, killing her instantly.

Her wide-eyed, golden-haired beauty was frozen in shock as her body went limp.

Tossing the corpse off the bed, Qin Ming looked down at the other cowgirl, who had managed to stab him in a critical spot—only to find the blade couldn't penetrate his body.

Her eyes widened in disbelief.

Without a second thought, Qin Ming lashed out with a powerful kick, sending her flying off the bed.

She crashed onto the floor and rolled straight into Kasamoto Eri's arms.

Before the dazed woman could recover and strike with her knife, Kasamoto Eri's eyes gleamed murderously.

She snatched up a wooden-handled grenade from nearby and smashed it against the cowgirl's head.

With a dull thud, the cowgirl rolled her eyes back and lost consciousness.

Without hesitation, Kasamoto Eri stuffed the grenade into her mouth, yanked the pin, and delivered a savage kick, sending her crashing through the door and into the hallway.

Outside, cowboys who had stealthily crept up with guns drawn and were ready to breach the door froze at the sudden commotion.

They stared, dumbfounded, at the naked woman tumbling into the hallway.

Their minds blanked for a split second—enough time for disaster to strike.

BOOM!

A massive explosion erupted, flames surging through the doorway and illuminating the room.

Inside, Qin Ming, hastily pulling on his pants, grabbed Kasamoto Eri's machine gun and braced it against the window.

He unleashed a wild barrage of bullets, the muzzle flashing furiously.

Cowboys who had crept up in the darkness screamed as they were shredded by gunfire.

The survivors scrambled for cover, realizing their ambush had failed spectacularly.

In the room, Kasamoto Eri, now fully dressed, wore a thunderous expression.

Grabbing a bottle of vodka, she took a long swig before drawing her twin revolvers and charging toward the door.

She burst into the hallway, gunning down the stunned cowboys still reeling from the explosion.

"You bastards! I was just getting into my zen state, and you had to ruin my rest! Do you have any idea how exhausting it is handling three people at once? Couldn't you have waited a little longer?!"

Back in the room, Qin Ming, still manning the machine gun, shouted without looking back.

"That's MY line!!!"

(End of Chapter)