Trickster Hunter.

Chapter 559 The Hunting Groups of the Three Great Families

Another day passed, and a hunting party of more than 180 people arrived at the mine in Nanhua Town.

This hunting party was jointly established by the three major families of Dragon City. They provide hunters and mercenaries with equipment, supplies, and vehicles free of charge. In exchange, these people are required to give all the "merits" they earn in the hunting operations to the three major families.

Of course, this does not mean that these people will not get any money... According to the proportion of each person's contribution, the three major families will not only return all the bounty money issued by Tian Shu Tower to these hunters and mercenaries, but will also add an extra 10% "bonus" to the bounty amount.

"What are those three major families after?" Sun Hang asked Zhulong, somewhat puzzled, as he looked at the hunters and mercenaries who were setting up camp. "They're providing equipment and supplies, and even paying them extra... Isn't this a losing proposition?"

“They’re buying their way into this,” Zhulong said. “These three families are the Chen, Bai, and Batu families. They control three major sectors in Dragon City and the surrounding area: intercity trade, military manufacturing, and electronics. They are the three most powerful local tyrants in the Hexi Corridor region. At the same time, they also have deep connections with Dragon City’s city defense forces and the Hunter Management Bureau… But because of its remote location, Dragon City has a high degree of autonomy. The federal government and Tian Shu Tower rarely interfere in its affairs. While this gives Dragon City a high degree of freedom, it also becomes a barrier for the three families to expand into the interior.”

Zhulong continued, "The three major families have always wanted to establish a relationship with the Tian Shu Tower, but unfortunately they have no way to do so... The trade relations between inland cities and Dragon City are limited to the business of dealing with strange objects. Relying solely on the local population of Dragon City, the development potential is limited. For the three major families, this is a good opportunity to expand their power."

"A good opportunity?" Sun Hang asked doubtfully.

“All the contributions of this hunting group in the hunt will go to the three major families, so the bounty from the Heavenly Pivot Tower will be directly deposited into the accounts of the three major families. However, they can refuse this money in exchange for some other ‘conveniences’,” Zhulong said. “For example, tax breaks, priority in various business cooperation, etc. For them, money is much more important.”

While Sun Hang and Zhulong were still discussing the three major families, a young man dressed in advanced combat gear and wearing a powered exoskeleton approached them. He greeted them politely and asked, "You two must be the people in charge of the Tian Shu Tower, right?"

Sun Hang: "Who are you?"

“I am Chen Jing, the leader of this hunting party,” Chen Jing said.

"The Chen family?" Sun Hang looked at Yang Qiaoxi. As a local of Longcheng, she was definitely more familiar with the three major families than Zhulong.

“Yes, the second son of the current head of the Chen family,” Yang Qiaoxi said. “Although his older brother Chen Yu is the heir to the family headship, this young master of the Chen family is much more famous in Longcheng than his brother.”

Sun Hang asked, "Why?"

“Because someone of his status would frequently venture into uninhabited areas; he’s the only one like him in the entire Dragon City,” Yang Qiaoxi said.

"Mr. Yang, you flatter me. I just enjoy adventure," Chen Jing said with a smile. "With my elder brother helping my father manage the family business, I can naturally do what I want."

“Interesting.” Zhulong nodded.

"If I'm not mistaken, this must be Mr. 'Candle Dragon,' who ranks high on the list, right?" Chen Jing's gaze lingered on Candle Dragon. "It's an honor to meet you. After this operation is over, I wonder if Mr. Candle Dragon and your companions would have time to visit our residence? We will certainly treat you two distinguished guests with the highest honors."

Seeing that the other party did not recognize him, Sun Hang was happy to be at ease. At the same time, he secretly gave Yang Qiaoxi a look, implying that she should not reveal her identity.

"Isn't this a bit inappropriate?" Zhulong said.

"To be honest, although my father is a businessman, he has always admired the strong. There are many skilled hunters in Dragon City, but people of Mr. Zhulong's caliber are rare," Chen Jing immediately flattered. "Actually, this is a task my father gave me, instructing me to invite you two back... even if it's just for a simple meal. I wonder if you two would be willing..."

"Let's wait until the hunt is over," Zhulong said calmly. "Hopefully, we'll still be able to eat by then."

Hearing that Zhulong's words did not contain any resistance, Chen Jing's face lit up with joy. The next second, his gaze shifted to the White Tiger mech sitting to the side.

"Back in Dragon City, I heard that Mr. Nagano Soya and the White Tiger, one of the Four Divine Beasts, were also involved in this operation. Seeing them now, they are indeed awe-inspiring and live up to their reputation..."

Sun Hang glanced at Chen Jing. It seemed that this guy knew Nagano Soya's true identity. Presumably, this information was leaked to the three major families by the city defense forces of Dragon City.

"Alright, stop flattering me." A voice, processed by voice-changing software, came from inside the machine. "I'm just a dying man. This journey is my end."

"How could this happen?" Chen Jing's expression changed rapidly. One second he was smiling, the next his brows furrowed and a hint of sorrow appeared in his eyes. "Modern medical technology is so advanced, there should still be a way to reverse it. If Mr. Nagano doesn't mind, we are willing to do our best to help you find a cure..."

"Heh." Nagano Soya sneered, "Given the relationship between your Chen family and the city defense army, do you not know what the final fate of the Four Divine Beasts pilots will be? Tell your father, Chen Dazhuang, that the case of fine wine I owed him back then will be settled with my 'Spring Breeze'."

"I will definitely convey your message!" Chen Jing bowed deeply to the white tiger.

"You still have ties to the Chen family?" Sun Hang asked in a low voice.

“It doesn’t matter. Back then, the Chen family gave us a lot of things to win us over. I returned all the other gifts, but I kept only a case of good wine,” Nagano Soya said. “Chen Dazhuang is a decent person, and his two sons are well-trained. I’m relatively at ease handing Chunfeng over to him.”

“I see…” Sun Hang turned to Chen Jing and asked, “I have a question, when do you plan to start your operation?”

"Half an hour after setting up camp," Chen Jing replied immediately.

"So fast?" Zhulong asked doubtfully. "Don't you need to rest? The road from Dragon City to here is not very safe."

“No need,” Chen Jing said. “As far as I know, hunters and mercenaries from all over the Federation are rushing here. The longer we delay, the more people will participate in the mission, and the less contribution we will get. I hope we can finish this quickly and deal with this monster with Dragon City’s own strength.”

"This guy is really good at talking," Sun Hang thought to himself. "The low-EQ way to say this is 'I want to take all the credit,' while the high-EQ way is 'We will use the power of Longcheng to solve the monster'... If it were me, I probably wouldn't have said something like that."

... Chen Jing's hunting party completed setting up camp in just twenty minutes. After half an hour of preparation, they began their first probing attack on the collapsed area.

The original hunters and mercenaries also gathered around, but judging from their expressions, they seemed to only intend to observe and had no intention of getting involved.

Several mercenaries worked together to lift more than a dozen large, coffin-like crates off the truck. When these crates were opened, they revealed mechanical soldiers with body structures similar to real people. As military robots, dog-type and spider-type are the most common, while human-type are quite rare.

Humanoid robots are more difficult to balance than four-legged robot dogs or eight-legged or more-legged robot spiders, and they also have significant disadvantages in terms of impact area and running speed.

The most common application of humanoid robots is testing—using them to replace humans in highly dangerous battlefield tests.

The mechanical soldiers that Chen Jing brought were for this very purpose.

The mercenaries skillfully put protective suits on the mechanical soldiers, and then stuffed many monitoring devices the size of button batteries into the layers of the suits.

After doing all this, the dozen or so mechanical soldiers, guns in hand, walked with slightly stiff steps toward the spore-filled collapsed area.

“Test 01 and Test 02 have entered the spore-dense area, and the spore concentration in the air is rapidly increasing,” said a young woman standing next to Chen Jing, holding a laptop. “Corrosion has been detected on the surface of the protective suit, but the degree of corrosion is still within a controllable range. Based on the current formula for spore concentration and corrosion efficiency, the outermost coating of the protective suit can withstand the collapse for more than 20 minutes in the center of the area.”

"What is the vertical depth of the center position you measured?" Chen Jing asked, glancing at the young woman.

"zero."

“Then this data is meaningless.” Chen Jing shook his head. “We can’t possibly fight while hovering above the pit. As the depth increases, the spore concentration will only get higher and higher.”

“But we lack spore concentration data from deeper within the crater,” the young woman said. “Drones can only detect spore concentration in the surface area; the instruments get interfered with in deeper areas.”

"That's why we brought the robot," Chen Jing said, "to let the robot enter the pit."

"Yes!"

Two mechanical soldiers at the front had reached the edge of the cliff. They turned around and shot a steel rod into the rock. Then, they pulled out a steel cable from their bodies and attached the locking buckle at the end of the cable to the steel rod.

The two robotic soldiers bent their knees slightly and braced themselves against the edge of the rock. As the steel cable gradually lengthened, they began to descend deeper into the pit and soon disappeared from everyone's sight.

Charles and his group craned their necks, staring intently at the edge of the pit. As the first two mechanical soldiers entered the pit, four more mechanical soldiers followed suit, rappelling down from different locations.

The remaining mechanical soldiers, armed, stood guard at the edge of the cliff.

"Tsk, it's good to be rich. This model of mechanical soldier must cost hundreds of thousands, right?" one of the mercenaries next to Charles exclaimed. "They can find out the situation at the bottom of the pit without risking their lives. If I had the money, I would definitely send the robot first."

“This model of robot is probably impossible to buy even if you have the money,” Charles muttered. “This thing isn’t a civilian robot; it’s a mechanical soldier specifically sold to the military. If an ordinary person buys one and gets caught, they’ll probably end up in jail.”

"Holy crap, how did they get their hands on that?"

"Idiot, don't you think about what kind of business the Bai family, one of the three major families, is in? These robots were originally produced by them. They just erased the production serial numbers and claimed they were modified versions of civilian robots. Do you think anyone would dare to cause them trouble?"

"Damn, I almost forgot about that." The mercenary scratched his forehead sheepishly. "So this is a self-produced and self-consumed situation..."

Meanwhile, beside Chen Jing.

“Ten meters deep…fifteen meters deep…the rate of increase in concentration has increased by 0.9 percent…” the young woman said, staring at the data on the screen. “Apart from that, no other abnormalities have been found so far.”

"Can you see the target?" Chen Jing asked.

“The visibility is too poor to capture the target with an optical camera,” the young woman replied. “However, based on the reaction of the meme monitoring equipment, we can confirm that the target is at the bottom of the pit, at a depth of about 1,100 meters.”

"Increase the descent speed," Chen Jing ordered. "The current speed is too slow."

"Okay... wait!" The young woman's expression froze. "Test 01's signal has been lost... Test 02's signal has also been lost! All six robots that entered the pit have lost their signals!"

"What happened?" Chen Jing asked immediately. "Did you see anything in the last frame before the signal was lost?"

The young woman shook her head and said, "The footage from the last second before the signal was lost was all normal, and no abnormalities were found in the data from any of the monitoring devices. The degree of corrosion on the protective suits was also completely within a controllable range... It seems that they were subjected to a remote attack that was difficult to observe..."

"Have the robots on the cliff pull up the steel cable and see what's left of the robot that lost its signal," Chen Jing said.

"I'm working on it... wait! The equipment has detected a large number of memetic responses! It's a lot of individual entities, about five hundred... no, more than eight hundred! They're climbing up the pit wall!"

"A offspring monster?!" Without hesitation, Chen Jing shouted to the assembled crowd, "Something's about to crawl out of the pit! Everyone, prepare for battle!!"

(End of this chapter)