Trickster Hunter.

Chapter 543 Exam Questions
"The effective kill radius of 'Dust Storm' is one kilometer. To be on the safe side, please maintain a safe distance of more than 1,200 meters from the target, and stay behind cover as much as possible to avoid damage from shrapnel and the explosive shockwave," the mainframe continued.

"No, don't launch the missile yet," Sun Hang suddenly said.

"Why?" The one who asked this question was not the mainframe, but the Candle Dragon standing to the side. "If you intend to devour the memes of this monster, you can wait until the missiles have bombarded it to the point of near death before you make your move... If that's not possible, you can reduce the number of missiles launched."

"What do you think about using this big guy as a test for selecting hunters?" Sun Hang asked.

"You plan to use this to..." Zhulong hesitated, "...isn't it a bit too risky?"

“What’s so risky about it? Don’t we have missiles to cover us?” Sun Hang said. “Anyway, I don’t think any monster that can be dealt with using modern technology and weapons is a tough opponent.”

In other words, all the fear stems from insufficient firepower.

When the firepower is so intense that it can even tear apart a primordial monster, the primordial monster no longer feels so terrifying.

“Actually, most of the monsters that humans have encountered can be eliminated with modern technological weapons. It’s just that many times, these high-powered weapons can cause great harm to the lives and property of federal citizens when eliminating monsters, so the federal government is hesitant to use them. The Hexi Corridor is a no-man’s land, so there are no concerns about the use of weapons here,” Zhulong explained.

“Why don’t I think so?” Sun Hang questioned.

"That's because after you became a hunter, the monsters you encountered were those 'very few' special individuals that couldn't be eliminated by conventional means, such as the Time-Space Shadow, Eternal Night, Chimera Seventeen, and Death Aurora... The opponents you take for granted might be super bosses that many hunters would never encounter in their entire lives." Zhulong sighed, "Currently, there are tens of thousands of monsters recorded in the Tian Shu Tower, so many that I dare not say. More than 50% of them can be dealt with with bullets, while more than 90% of them would be reduced to ashes by a single nuclear bomb... If the average quality of the monsters encountered by human civilization was the same as the ones you encountered... humanity would have disappeared from this planet long ago."

"Got it. I feel like I could write a novel called 'Rebirth: My Hunter Career Starts at Hell Difficulty.' The most troublesome monsters other people encounter in their entire lives are the gym-student zombies who can do pole vaulting, while the first monster I face in the starting village is Dr. Zombie King piloting a giant robot... Tsk, don't you think I'm a huge victim?"

"With great power comes great responsibility," Zhulong said with a wry smile. "Although I don't particularly like this saying, it's quite fitting for you."

“I never thought about taking on any responsibility. I just don’t want my city to become like that ghoul in the occupied zone.” Sun Hang shrugged. “If humanity had any interstellar escape… ah, I mean interstellar migration plan, I would definitely sign up.”

“If there really is such a plan, count me in,” Zhulong said jokingly. “But until we build a spaceship capable of interstellar migration, if the sky falls, you, being the tall guy, will probably have to hold it up.”

“Old Pei probably thought the same thing… He really dared to bet on me.” Sun Hang sighed, then turned to the mainframe and ordered, “In the name of the Tian Shu Tower, issue a bounty for the hunt of this monster. The mission can be accepted by all registered hunters, free hunters, and mercenary organizations in the area from Yumen to Longcheng. As for the reward… what’s the highest reward for this kind of hunting mission again?”

"No upper limit," the mainframe replied.

"Aren't there any examples that are of reference value?" Sun Hang asked.

"In June of the year 4710 in the Chinese calendar, Yawan Biotechnology Company, in conjunction with the Qilu Mystery Research Institute, issued a bounty mission, requiring those who accepted the mission to go deep into the Hexi Corridor to hunt the mystery 'Bing Er Liu Shi Si · Yan Hou' and obtain the mystery's meme sample. This mystery is a giant worm that roams the desert surface. It has the ability to summon small-scale death sandstorms and change the terrain within a small area. It can also use terrain changes to avoid long-range missile attacks. The danger rating is 'extremely high'."

A string of letters flashed across Sun Hang's glasses: "After comprehensive evaluation, the difficulty of this mission is similar to the mission you are preparing to issue. Each participant in this mission will receive a one-year quota of advanced inhibitors and 50,000 yuan in cash, as well as high-quality equipment provided free of charge by Yawan Biotechnology Company. Upon completion of the mission, an additional one-year quota of advanced inhibitors and 100,000 yuan in cash will be awarded. During the mission, the families of those who die or their designated heirs can receive a compensation of 650,000 yuan." "That's all? The reward doesn't seem very high," Sun Hang muttered.

This amount of money is not even as high as the reward for the search and rescue mission that the dog-catching hunter took on—assuming that the intermediary called Brother Lei didn't take a cut.

"This is just the most basic, guaranteed reward, which hunters call 'basic living allowance'," the mastermind immediately explained. "This reward is given as long as you participate in the mission."

"Does that mean you get paid even if you don't put in any effort?" Sun Hang asked. "Wouldn't that mean there are a lot of people slacking off?"

“Cliff Bay Biotechnology Company is rich and powerful, they don’t care about a few dollars,” Zhulong interjected. “Besides, there aren’t many people who can slack off in this kind of mission… For many hunters and mercenaries who participate in the mission, this money is just a errand fee for a round trip in the no-man’s land.”

"What about the higher-level rewards?" Sun Hang asked.

"It will be determined based on the level of contribution made during the mission," the mastermind replied. "Cliff Bay Biotechnology Company and Qilu Strange Object Research Institute also sent an elite team to participate in the mission. Their main task is to keep detailed records of the mission process, and these records will be the basis for determining the final reward."

What is the highest level of compensation? And what are the conditions?

"Single-handedly kill Rockthroat and obtain a memetic sample," the mastermind replied. "The reward is two percent of Cliff Bay Biotechnology Company's shares."

"Two percent of the shares? How much are they worth?"

“In those days, that was equivalent to four hundred million in cash,” the mastermind replied.

“Back then it was 400 million, now it’s much more,” Zhulong added. “In the past ten years or so, Yawan’s stock price has increased several times over… Not only that, back then Yawan Biotechnology Company offered another option besides shares.”

"What choice?"

"It's said to be a kind of mysterious artifact, but nobody knows exactly what it is. Whether it was shares or in-kind rewards, nobody got them in the end… At least thirty hunters died in that mission. Rockthroat, severely wounded, fled to the border between the no-man's-land and the occupied zone. Six top hunters pursued him for three days and two nights, finally killing him after losing three more. The three survivors ultimately chose to split the 400 million reward equally," Zhulong said. "As far as I know, this should be the highest-paying mission in the Hexi Corridor in all these years."

"Isn't it said that many hunters don't actually want money?"

“Yes, that’s why the rewards for those missions are hard to quantify… If you ask the mainframe to find a mission that can serve as a benchmark, this is all the mainframe can come up with,” Zhulong said helplessly.

(End of this chapter)