Bertram was momentarily stunned but quickly understood. This matter involved the Olson Family, and Officer Nelson wanted to take all the credit for himself.
As the police chief, if he could seize this opportunity and get close to the Olson Family, his career might take a significant leap forward.
In the political world, sometimes all it takes is one breakthrough to pave the way for a smooth rise.
Bertram's mind began to race. He could either accept Officer Nelson's proposal and receive a reward or refuse and have some of the credit fall on him, bringing him into the Olson Family's radar.
If he were just a normal student, he might not agree. But who would pass up the chance to connect with the Olson Family?
"So, Chief, what kind of reward can you offer me?" Bertram asked.
Officer Nelson's eyes lit up. There was hope!
"Young man, at your age, your martial arts skills have already reached F-level. Your talent must be at least E-level. But judging by your clothes, you don't come from a wealthy family. So, I'm willing to offer you 10,000 Dawn Coins as hush money," Officer Nelson said sincerely.
Wow! Is this what a city police chief is like? Rich, seriously! Bertram was surprised.
He had scrimped and saved for over a decade and only managed to gather 2,000 Dawn Coins. Yet Officer Nelson was talking in thousands like it was nothing.
But this definitely wasn't the chief's limit.
"30,000 Dawn Coins!" Bertram countered.
With the Dawn Coins and the insights from the life simulation, his cultivation would improve rapidly.
"Deal!" Officer Nelson said with a straightforward smile.
Bertram: "..."
These old foxes... I really underestimated how rich they are.
Officer Nelson pulled out three ten-thousand-dollar bills from his pocket and handed them to Bertram. Bertram also noticed two more ten-thousand-dollar bills still in Nelson's pocket. The upper limit should be fifty thousand.
I'm still too young.
Bertram made a mental note of the two extra bills.
"Pleasure doing business!" Officer Nelson said with a smile.
"Young man, just come to the station and report that you lost 30,000 Dawn Coins. Coincidentally, a kind middle-aged man found and returned them today. You can now retrieve your lost money and go home!"
"Thank you so much for your help, Officer Nelson. You guys are truly the guardians of the people!" Bertram said with a smile, pocketing the 30,000 Dawn Coins before leaving the police station.
On his way home, Bertram felt a surge of excitement.
Not only had he resolved the future crisis and reshaped his destiny, but he had also unexpectedly gained a large sum of money.
Spending this money on his martial arts and supernatural abilities would definitely lead to huge improvements.
As for the idea of losing a little to gain a lot and giving up the credit for connecting with the Olson Family...
First of all, as a mere informant, how much credit could he really get? It all depended on how others viewed it, meaning any benefit would be up to them.
Secondly, and more importantly, these were kidnappers bold enough to abduct the daughter of the Olson Family. Who knew what kind of background the mastermind behind them had?
Officer Nelson might not fear those guys, but that didn't mean Bertram, an ordinary student, could afford to be fearless.
Bertram didn't want to see in his next simulation: "The mastermind behind the Olson Family daughter's kidnapping, resentful of your tip-off, took you out on a dark and stormy night!"
Even if it was just a simulation, the experiences and insights from it could be reflected in real life after reshaping his fate.
The longer he lived, the more experience and understanding he'd gain.
That would speed up the improvement of his current abilities.
So in the face of that kind of danger, it was better to let Officer Nelson take the spotlight while he quietly built up his strength behind the scenes.
Bertram returned to the shop where he had bought the flesh and blood essence of extradimensional creatures before.
"You're back? How was the blood essence last time?" the shopkeeper greeted him warmly.
"The blood essence was great last time, so I want to buy more this time!" Bertram, now loaded with cash, went straight for the blood essence.
"Oh?" The shopkeeper looked a bit surprised. In his impression, Bertram was just an ordinary student. He thought Bertram had spent all his money yesterday to get one last power boost before leaving this doomsday city.
That was something a lot of graduates did.
But now it seemed that might not be the case.
"Just in time. I've got a new batch of blood essence. This batch is top-quality—comes from an F++ level Golden Moses. It's more expensive than the regular ones, costing ten thousand Dawn Coins per unit!" The shopkeeper held up one finger.
Even with Bertram's recent windfall, hearing that price made his heart skip a beat. A standard complete blood source was only 5,000 Dawn Coins, but this one was double the price.
Still, he got excited pretty quickly. An F++ grade Golden Moses—it wasn't just the highest grade within the F level, but also a creature with metallic attributes, just like its name suggested.
Absorbing that kind of blood source wouldn't just boost his martial power fast—it would also help with swordsmanship, bladework, and other weapon-based skills.
And if someone had a special martial physique related to metal weapons, this would be crazy beneficial.
The shopkeeper had immediately recommended the Golden Moses blood source after seeing him. Did that mean he noticed something unique about Bertram?
Bertram stared at the shopkeeper, who gave him a mysterious smile.
Probably not, Bertram thought. The shopkeeper was just a regular store owner. It was probably just a coincidence.
"Do you have any White Source besides the blood source?" Bertram asked cautiously.
White Source was a kind of mental energy cluster produced by extradimensional creatures. It was the best kind of supplement for psychic training.
"Oh? White Source? I didn't expect you to be training in both martial arts and psychic abilities!" The shopkeeper looked surprised.
Bertram figured it must've been another coincidence.
"As for White Source, I do have one. It comes from a Moonwatching Ape. You should know the Moonwatching Ape is good with mental energy—it's known for its ability to control its mind and meditate under the moon," the shopkeeper explained.
"But the price for this White Source is pretty steep—13,000 Dawn Coins!" the shopkeeper added with a smile.
What?! Bertram thought 30,000 Dawn Coins was a lot when Officer Nelson handed it over. But now, looking at high-quality blood essence and White Source, it didn't seem like that much after all.
"How about this—one Moonwatching Ape's White Source and two Golden Moses blood sources for a total of 30,000 Dawn Coins?" Bertram, already feeling the burn in his wallet, tried to make a deal.
"Negotiating won't work; this is already the lowest price," the shopkeeper said with a small smile. "But you can put it on credit. You owe me three thousand Dawn Coins!"