Trickster Hunter.

Chapter 513 Four Horses Crossing the Street
Xue Yue walked over and looked at Lao Hei, who was crying bitterly. Her lips moved slightly, as if she was trying to use her ability to draw away Lao Hei's grief. But at that moment, Sun Hang pressed her shoulder.

"Let him cry, it'll make him feel better."

After Sun Hang finished speaking, he walked to the body of Lao Hei's younger brother, squatted down, and examined it.

The hunter was extremely ruthless; as the bone spur pierced his throat, it also separated into two long, slender barbs, one piercing his brain and the other piercing his heart... Even if Sun Hang were to infuse him with life force now, it would be difficult to save him.

Even if Sun Hang's physical body can recover, Lao Hei's younger brother will never wake up again.

With Sun Hang's abilities, at most he could turn the corpse into a vegetable... Rather than saving a soulless shell, it would be better to let the deceased rest in peace.

The two men dragged the hunter's body out, while a few others stayed behind to help Lao Hei collect his brother's body. The rest of the group then surrounded Yang Qiaoxi and her handcart as they walked deeper into the tunnel.

A heavy, airtight door weighing several tons was pushed open by the crowd, and a cacophony of noise immediately filled the air.

The central hall of the "Spring Breeze" stronghold was the core area of ​​this air-raid shelter. According to the design standards at the time, this Yumen No. 6 air-raid shelter could accommodate up to 14,000 refugees during wartime. Therefore, the interior space was extremely spacious, and there was no problem even if several airplanes were parked inside.

The core area of ​​the air-raid shelter underwent secondary processing and was divided into several sections. Large ventilation ducts were fixed to the top of the air-raid shelter, connecting the various areas. Warm, cool, and even colored neon lights were used as lighting fixtures and placed in every corner within sight.

The outpost was filled with all sorts of voices and the roar of diesel generators, presenting a completely different scene from the desolate ruins of the city on the ground.

A rusty metal folding table sat on the floor near the airtight door, with a mahjong game still half-finished on it. A hunter saw this and rushed to the table, scrambling to disrupt the game, shouting, "You all saw the cards! This game doesn't count! This game doesn't count!"

"Why not! I'm all set!" Another hunter pulled him aside. "With that terrible hand, you should lose this round. Pay up!"

"How can I say I've lost! What if I get lucky and win by drawing the winning tile every time? It's not over until the very last moment..."

"Bullshit! With all that bad luck today, you think you can get lucky?" another hunter spat. "I don't believe it even if you beat me to death!"

"Don't you understand the law of conservation of luck? Don't you understand the principle of 'after the worst comes the best'? The hunter who disrupted the game was still trying to argue, but a fist the size of a sandbag was already pressed against his nose.

"I'll give you one more chance. You tell me, whose win is this round?" the hunter who was gripping his shoulder said menacingly.

"Don't fight." The man in the suit who claimed to be an accountant walked over and patted the hunter who had made the threats.

"Yes! You can't hit me! This is Spring Breeze! If you hit me, you're breaking the rules!" the hunter who had disrupted the game immediately said.

"Fine, I won't hit you." The hunter who was holding him loosened his fist and said with a sneer, "If you're so capable, then stay in Spring Breeze for the rest of your life and never take a single step outside."

The hunter hesitated for a moment, glancing nervously at the three hunters he was playing cards with. He finally gave in, sighing, "Alright... this one's on me. As agreed, I'll give each of you a Big Wild Goose Pagoda..."

“Not one per person, but ten per person,” the hunter said coldly.

"What do you mean?! Are you trying to extort me?"

“I’m not extorting you. Now that Boss Yang is here, cigarettes aren’t as expensive as they were a couple of days ago. The price of one cigarette yesterday can soon buy ten. The amount you’ll spend won’t be much different, right?” The hunter released the other man’s shoulder and took a step back. “If you don’t accept this condition, there’s nothing we can do but…”

"I accept, I accept, okay..."

After this brief incident, more and more mercenaries and hunters poured out from various areas of the central hall. Many of them loudly asked Yang Qiaoxi about the price of the newly arrived goods, and some even stuffed banknotes directly into Yang Qiaoxi's hands.

"Don't rush, everyone. I need to take stock of the goods. It'll be 8:30 tonight at the same stall. You can find me there. There's a lot of goods we're preparing to sell this time, so don't worry, everyone will get a share!" Yang Qiaoxi shouted.

"Boss Yang, you always say there's enough for everyone, but every time you're just a little slow and there's nothing left! I don't believe you!"

"Exactly, exactly. Large quantities of goods have been snapped up by those small groups, leaving us individual workers with only scraps. If we're slow, we won't even get the scraps and will have to hold our noses and ask for high prices... Prices in Yumen are already high enough, and our money doesn't grow on trees..."

"I'd rather let Boss Yang make money than let those who get rich by hoarding goods make money." A burly hunter blocked the handcart. "Boss Yang, tell me, what price do you sell your goods to those people for? I'll add 15% and buy them from you!"

"I'll add twenty percent!"

"twenty two!"

"Alright!" Yang Qiaoxi slammed her hand on the top box of the handcart and shouted, "They asked me about the goods they ordered. In business, honesty is the most important thing. If I sell their goods to you, how am I supposed to survive in this industry?"

"Then we'll make a reservation too!" one hunter shouted. "How much is the deposit?"

"Reservations are possible, but you have to book six months in advance, and I require full payment upfront." A sly smile crept across Yang Qiaoxi's lips.

"Six months?" The hunters and mercenaries present fell silent.

These conditions are indeed somewhat demanding.

The mortality rate is very high among people making a living in the Hexi Corridor. No one knows if something will happen to them during these six months. If something bad happens, the money will basically be swallowed up by Yang Qiaoxi.

Yang Qiaoxi had a good grasp of this group's mentality, which is why she put forward such a seemingly "reasonable" but actually difficult for people to accept.

"Six months is too long, one month is acceptable." The burly hunter shook his head. "Boss Yang, is there really no room for negotiation?"

“We can discuss it. If you want to order express delivery, that’s fine too, but I won’t be charging you money for express delivery,” Yang Qiaoxi said, raising an eyebrow.

"What do you want to collect?" a mercenary asked in a low voice.

"Anything that can be exchanged for money, but is harder to obtain than money." Yang Qiaoxi tossed her hair. "For example, some valuable intelligence, samples of strange objects found in no man's land, or antiques you dug out of the ruins. Whatever you want depends on my mood."

"So what do you want now?"

"I haven't decided yet, I'll talk about it later." Yang Qiaoxi waved her hand. "Alright, everyone get out of my way. If anyone dares to block the way, I'll write them all down, and when it's your turn in line, I won't sell you anything!"

Upon hearing this, the hunters and mercenaries immediately made way for them.

"I need to process some goods. You three can wander around as you like," Yang Qiaoxi said to Sun Hang and Zhulong before pushing her cart away, surrounded by the crowd. "Boss Yang is really popular here," Sun Hang muttered to himself, watching Yang Qiaoxi's departing figure.

“It’s not her who’s popular, but the things she can bring,” Zhulong said. “’Spring Breeze’ originally had three stable suppliers, but now she’s the only one left.”

"Where are the other two?"

"One was a former officer of the Longcheng City Defense Army who was found to be smuggling, embezzling, and misappropriating military supplies and was taken down. The other was a caravan from Chang'an, but they encountered a sandstorm while transporting goods and were completely wiped out."

"With money so easy to make, there must be a lot of people bringing goods to Yumen, right?"

“Of course. Everyone who comes to Yumen brings something with them. Even if they don’t get any work, they can still make a lot of money by selling their goods,” Zhulong said. “When I first bought those cigarettes and alcohol, I actually planned to bring them to Yumen.”

"You still need money?"

“No, I don’t intend to sell them for money.” Zhulong shook his head. “Using them to exchange for information or to win people’s hearts… their price here is much higher than in Dragon City.”

"Actually, I'm quite curious. Everyone's thinking about making money, carrying high-value goods like cigarettes and alcohol, so how do they manage basic consumables?" Sun Hang wondered. "In a place like this, shouldn't food and water be the most scarce things?"

"These basic supplies were all provided by the owner of 'Spring Breeze'. He has unique channels that enable him to solve these problems."

"So he doesn't sell cigarettes and alcohol himself?"

“I won’t sell. I remember Yang Qiaoxi telling me that the boss of Chunfeng once said that he shouldn’t make all the money himself. He should leave some opportunities for his friends so that everyone can make money together and create a virtuous cycle,” Zhulong said. “Or you could say that he simply doesn’t care about the small amount of money he makes from reselling cigarettes and alcohol.”

Sun Hang stopped in front of a hot pot restaurant. Just as he was about to go in and see what ingredients "Chunfeng" hot pot restaurant could provide, the man in the suit who had previously claimed to be an accountant suddenly approached him.

"Hello sir, may I ask your name?" the man in the suit asked politely.

"My surname is Sun." Sun Hang nodded—given Yang Qiaoxi's suggestion, and to avoid trouble as much as possible, Sun Hang decided it was best not to reveal his identity for the time being.

“Thank you so much for helping us get rid of that hunter who broke the rules. In principle, our boss should come to thank you in person, but he has been too busy lately, so he can only ask me to convey his gratitude.” The man in the suit handed over the briefcase. “This is a small token of my appreciation from Chunfeng. It’s nothing special.”

Sun Hang took the suitcase, opened it, and found two bottles of fine wine, a pack of high-quality cigarettes, and a stack of brand-new 100-yuan bills tied with paper strips.

Judging from its thickness, this stack of 100-yuan bills must be worth about 30,000 yuan.

“Your boss… is quite generous,” Sun Hang said.

"I'm just doing what the boss says." The man in the suit bowed slightly. "If there's nothing else, I'll get back to work. You three can always come to me if you have any questions. Have a nice time at Spring Breeze."

After the man in the suit left, Sun Hang put the wad of banknotes into his backpack, then casually handed the briefcase to Zhulong and asked, "What do you think?"

“This is probably a gesture of goodwill toward you,” Zhulong said. “You have demonstrated sufficient strength, so using this money to buy the friendship of a master is not a bad deal.”

“I think so too.” Sun Hang nodded. “It’s time to get down to business.”

He was the first to enter the hot pot restaurant—unlike those in inland cities, there were no enthusiastic waiters, nor were there menus and pictures of dishes hanging on the walls. There was only a chef-looking man lying on a bench, playing an old-fashioned handheld game console with a bored expression.

It's not lunchtime yet, and there isn't a single customer in the restaurant.

"Are you the boss?" Sun Hang asked.

"Yes, are you here for dinner?" the man replied, but his attention remained focused on the handheld screen the entire time, without glancing at Sun Hang and the others even once.

"Is there a menu?"

"No, we'll eat whatever they have. If you don't like it, you can go to another restaurant," the hot pot restaurant owner said.

"Can I ask you something?"

"In Yumen, there is no free information."

Sun Hang took out a hundred-yuan bill and placed it on the table.

The hot pot restaurant owner finally glanced at him and asked, "Tell me what you want first, and then I'll decide if your price is right."

Do you know a place called Sima Hengjie in Yumen?

The hot pot restaurant owner was taken aback, but continued playing the game: "Never heard of it, take the money."

After leaving the hot pot restaurant, Sun Hang wandered into an antique market—a market converted from a wide tunnel, with a dozen or so stalls scattered along both sides, displaying treasures—or rather, trash—picked up from deserted areas.

Two mercenaries were squatting in front of a stall, holding a copper wine jug, haggling with the owner. Sun Hang saw this and went over to them, asking in a low voice, "Can you ask me something? Do you know where Sima Heng Street is?"

"What do you mean by 'Four Horses Crossing the Street'? You mean Yumen?"

"Is there such a place as Yumen? I've never heard of it before?"

"You're probably not asking about place names in the no-man's-land, are you? Only a ghost would know that."

Sun Hang asked several more people, and the most common answers he received were "Never heard of it" and "Are you crazy?" Some even thought Sun Hang was making fun of them and cursed at him.

After all, the name "Sima Hengjie" sounds a bit like "dead mother" in Chinese, making it hard not to associate it with profanity.

In about half an hour, Sun Hang had asked more than fifty people, but still hadn't received a definite answer.

"What do you think?" Sun Hang nudged Zhulong lightly with his elbow and said in a voice only the two of them could hear, "That guy hiding in the shadows, have you noticed me yet?"

(End of this chapter)