Evan wasn’t the only one staring at the charred corpse of the Undying Salamander.
All six Breaker?tier hunters had their eyes locked on it as well.
Yes, Yvonne Hart had been the one to personally kill the beast—but the six of them had burned through its life?saving regeneration skill earlier.
Without that, even an S?grade monster would’ve slipped from their grasp.
And truthfully, if they hadn’t forced the salamander to use its trump card, the entire escort team might not have survived the final minutes.
They all felt they deserved a share.
But none of them dared say it aloud.
Everyone waited for Yvonne to announce the distribution.
Dividing the Tier?1 Loot
Under Yvonne’s direction, they began with the Tier?1 beasts.
Fifty?six Tier?1 corpses lay scattered across the battlefield.
Four had clear individual killers.
The remaining fifty?two were communal kills.
Evan and Wendy Lewis had used the Wailer’s Skull to help eliminate thirty?five of those beasts.
That contribution was undeniable, so they received half of the Tier?1 spoils.
No one objected.
Or rather—no one dared.
The rest of the Tier?1 loot was divided evenly among everyone, including the three hunters who had died.
Yvonne set aside their shares to be delivered to their families through the Black?White Bar, along with additional compensation.
The Tier?2 Ironclaw Crab
The Tier?2 D?grade Ironclaw Crab was split among the six Breaker?tiers and Wendy.
Each person received roughly seven to eight hundred thousand credits’ worth of materials.
The Main Prize
Then came the moment everyone had been waiting for.
All eyes turned to the scorched corpse of the Undying Salamander.
Yvonne spoke first:
“Aside from its extract, the salamander doesn’t have much valuable material.
A standard Tier?2 S?grade extract sells for around a hundred million credits.
This one is rarer—maybe one?twenty.”
The six Breaker?tiers nodded.
That estimate sounded right.
Yvonne continued:
“You six did good work earlier.
Eight million each.
The extract is mine.
Fair?”
“More than fair,” the six replied immediately.
Even if she’d given them nothing, they wouldn’t have protested.
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The distribution was settled.
Collecting the Goods
Everyone got to work extracting materials and processing the corpses.
Evan watched eagerly as Yvonne used her portable extractor to draw a glowing orange vial from the salamander’s body.
Once all materials were gathered and valued, the shares were handed out.
Even the lowest?earning hunter walked away with sixty to seventy thousand credits’ worth of loot—far more than their daily commission.
Some chose to keep their materials to sell later for a higher price.
Others sold their shares on the spot for instant digital payment.
Evan, unsurprisingly, chose the latter.
Among the Chrysalis?tiers, he and Wendy received the largest shares—Evan around four hundred thousand credits’ worth, Wendy about five hundred thousand.
But Evan didn’t care about the money.
He cared about one thing:
the Undying Salamander extract.
A Surprise Transfer
His phone buzzed.
A five?hundred?thousand?credit transfer.
He looked up to see Wendy smiling at him.
“The Wailer’s Skull is yours.
Anything I earned using it should belong to you.”
Evan immediately tried to send it back.
“We’re family. Don’t be ridiculous. You did the work.”
Wendy rolled her eyes at him, amused.
“Where did a kid your age learn to be this shameless?”
She glanced around, making sure no one was watching, then slipped the Wailer’s Skull back into his hand.
Evan tucked it away discreetly.
Then he asked:
“Sis, can you ask Yvonne how much she wants for the salamander extract? I’ll buy it.”
A voice behind him answered instead:
“Oh? Not calling me ‘Mom’ now?”
Evan turned to find Yvonne standing right behind him.
“If you like it, I can call you that every day,” he said earnestly—though his eyes were glued to the vial in her hand.
Yvonne snorted.
“Please. With that silver tongue, who knows how many ‘moms’ you’ll collect. I’m not fighting a whole crowd of bargain?bin mothers for you.”
Then she extended the vial toward him.
“Take it.”
“How much? I’ll transfer it.”
Wendy chimed in:
“Family doesn’t talk about money.”
Yvonne added:
“We survived because of you.
Consider this a thank?you gift.”
Evan protested weakly:
“I can’t possibly—”
But his hands were already gripping the vial like it might vanish.
Yvonne waved him off.
“Keep it. I don’t need the cash.”
Wendy smiled.
“Money doesn’t mean much to us. Most of our expenses go through research budgets anyway.”
With both of them insisting, Evan could only accept the extract—reluctantly, of course.
Inside, he was ecstatic.
I really was born with a rich?kid destiny.
My ‘previous dad’ gave me two hundred million.
Now my new sister and new mom casually hand me a hundred?million?credit extract.
Sure, his biological father was gone.
But who cared?
He now had a Sister and a Mom—and they filled the emotional… and financial void perfectly.
Absorbing the Extract
Plenty of people saw Yvonne hand him the vial.
Evan immediately felt the weight of their stares—envy, jealousy, greed.
Yvonne noticed too.
“It’s still a while before sunrise.
Absorb it now.
I’ll guard you.”
Perfect.
With Yvonne watching over him, no one would dare make a move.
And once he absorbed the extract, there’d be nothing left for anyone to covet.
Evan uncorked the vial and downed it in one gulp.
“Holy—this tastes like pesticide!”
The liquid burned all the way down, searing his throat and stomach.
He sat down immediately, letting the S?grade extract begin its transformation.
With his solid foundation, success was guaranteed.
The only question was—
Would he get to choose his skill again?
Family isn’t always blood.
Sometimes it’s the people who stand with you when the world tries to kill you.
But gifts this valuable always come with strings — even if you don’t see them yet.
If you were Evan, would you trust your new “Sis” and “Mom”… or keep your guard up?
