Trickster Hunter.

Chapter 564 Headhunter
“I can share the supplies we brought with them,” Chen Jing said. “Their numbers aren’t many, so the supply pressure on us isn’t too great. I can also have the second hunting party carry more supplies, or even establish a long-term supply line. Although maintaining it might be a bit troublesome, the three major families should be able to manage it.”

Sun Hang: "As the heir of the Chen family..."

“Uh, I’m not the heir, my elder brother is,” Chen Jing said. “I’m not very interested in the position of family head…”

“But no matter what, you are still the young master of the Chen family. There’s a saying I don’t know if you’ve heard before?” Sun Hang asked.

"You say."

“A small favor is appreciated, but an excessive one breeds resentment. Favors that are too easily obtained will make people forget gratitude. Even if you have a lot of supplies, you shouldn’t give them away for free,” Sun Hang said. “You can sell them to them—as for the pricing, the transportation cost of bringing the supplies here is already many times higher than the value of the supplies themselves. If you sell them at the price in Longcheng, you will lose too much. I suggest setting a price that is the same as in Yumen. This price is already a great act of kindness for them.”

"You're right!" Chen Jing nodded hurriedly. "It was my oversight."

……

……

Longcheng, South Bus Station.

Cheng Ming, carrying two large bags of luggage, stepped off the bus amidst the crowd and glanced back at the enormous three characters "Longcheng South" on the top of the building behind him.

He was one of only four survivors of the "Blood Feast" incident, and the only monster hunter on the G1944 train willing to continue participating in this hunt.

Cheng Ming always had a feeling that his first half of life had been very unlucky, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he had been unlucky for most of his life. Just when his unlucky life was about to end in that train carriage, that beautiful girl in pure white was like a ray of sunlight that tore through the gloom of the sky and suddenly illuminated his whole world.

First, he survived a certain death situation. Not only that, he also successfully saved the three hunters sitting next to him. This act left a strong mark on his hunter experience. Just after Cheng Ming underwent a full physical examination, his direct supervisor called to tell him that his allowance level in the institute had been raised from level four to level three, which meant that he would receive more than 10,000 yuan more every month.

This money will not only allow him and his mother to live a better life, but it will also allow them to save a little money in their bank account each month, which has never had any savings... Little by little, their lives will gradually improve.

Everything will be alright, the dark clouds will dissipate, and the sun will eventually rise.

What surprised Cheng Ming even more was that after hearing his story, a powerful figure in the Tian Shu Tower actually waived all the costs for his mother's organ transplant—meaning that Cheng Ming didn't need to participate in this hunting operation at all. Everything he wanted had fallen into his hands from the sky because of this seemingly dangerous and bizarre infection incident.

He couldn't wait to rush back to the hospital where his mother was staying to tell her the good news, and then stay with her, waiting with hope for the day the transplant surgery would come.

But he can't do that.

That stunningly beautiful girl, as radiant as sunlight breaking through the clouds, once said something to him.

"I want to make a deal with you."

The deal was simple: Cheng Ming would get what he wanted, and in exchange, he had to continue participating in the hunt and perform exceptionally well to earn the right to undertake another, more challenging mission.

Cheng Ming asked the girl that he was just an average hunter with mediocre abilities and qualifications. Among the hunters participating in the hunt, there were many experts. How could he "perform well" among a group of top hunters?

The girl told him that as long as he rushed to the most dangerous place on the battlefield, everything would fall into place.

"Are you asking me to go and die?" Cheng Ming asked with a wry smile.

"If I wanted you dead, you would already be dead," the stunningly beautiful girl replied with a smile. "I'll ask you one last time: accept, or refuse?"

Cheng Ming thought for a moment, then said, "I accept."

He had no choice; to refuse meant death… and once he died, his mother's illness would rapidly worsen, and ultimately…

Cheng Ming turned his head back and looked up at the sky.

The weather is great today. The sky is cloudless, and the sun generously showers the earth with golden rays. The azure sky makes even breathing feel easier.

"I've already agreed to her," Cheng Ming thought to himself. "Without her, I would be dead by now... Besides, the transplant surgery issue has been resolved, and I have nothing left to worry about... Even if this so-called deal costs me my life, I'll give it to her."

Many people become extremely afraid of death after surviving a near-death experience, but Cheng Ming is not like that; he takes it all in stride.

If we compare the deal between myself and that girl to a scale, then my life is like a weight on that scale.

The heaviest weight she could put on the scales was this one, and among the weights the girl added to the other side of the scales, there was also this one that represented Cheng Ming's life.

By canceling out the two weights, what's left is pure profit for Cheng Ming.

He is already very satisfied.

The flow of people propelled Cheng Ming forward. The people around him were excitedly discussing things related to Dragon City and the hunting operation. This bus, which was traveling from Chang'an to Dragon City, was the same as the one on G1944. The passengers on it were hunters and mercenaries who had come to participate in this hunting operation, and most of them were even visiting Dragon City for the first time.

This was also Cheng Ming's first time visiting this northwestern border city of the Xia State Federation.

Although the nominal northwestern border of the Xia State Federation extends hundreds of kilometers further out, for most people, the city beneath Cheng Ming's feet is the true northwestern border of human civilization. It's only a matter of time before that uninhabited area becomes a occupied zone.

Or rather, they were no different from occupied territories; it was only for certain considerations that the federal government did not remove these lands from the map of the Xia State Federation.

Cheng Ming took a breath. In the dry air of the Hexi Corridor, besides the smell of sweat from the group of people around him, he could also faintly smell the oil emanating from military equipment... Longcheng was more like a military fortress than a city. Even the streets were filled with barricades guarded by the city's defense forces, as well as turrets built between houses and shops. Behind the huge M sign of the McDonald's restaurant, two anti-aircraft machine guns, their metal gleaming in the sunlight, were mounted. The barrels, thicker than Cheng Ming's forearm, were pointed diagonally at the sky. Two soldiers with cigarettes in their mouths were leaning against the M sign, looking down at the crowd on the street.

This city was born for war; it not only has strong external fortifications, but its interior is also prepared for street battles against invading monsters.

"call……"

Cheng Ming let out a long sigh of relief and took out his phone to take a look.

He had booked a cheap hotel, and according to the directions on the navigation software, he would need to cross four blocks, then go through a vertical passage into the underground city of Dragon City, and then walk about three kilometers to reach the place.

Cheng Ming looked up bus routes, but the navigation software only gave him three simple words: "No results".

"Maybe... I should scan a shared bike?" Cheng Ming, who had always lived a frugal life, skipped the option of taking a taxi. But he soon discovered that shared bikes were not only scarce in Longcheng, but also in high demand.

After searching three completely empty shared bike rental locations, Cheng Ming had to give up on the idea.

"If we were to walk straight to our destination, we'd probably be halfway there by now, right?" Cheng Ming bought the cheapest bottle of drinking water from a vending machine on the street. Before he could even unscrew the cap, he heard a voice behind him ask, "Hey buddy, are you a hunter from out of town?"

Cheng Ming turned around warily. A few steps behind him stood a young man dressed in a very "trendy" style. His loose bomber jacket was adorned with a bunch of badges featuring rock stars, and his ripped jeans had seven or eight gleaming metal chains hanging from them. If the "Swoosh" sneakers on his feet weren't counterfeit, they would be worth at least four figures... After scanning the other man's outfit, Cheng Ming finally focused his gaze on his face.

The man was wearing a beige baseball cap, and underneath the cap were large sunglasses that almost covered half of his face. The eyes behind the sunglasses were also scrutinizing Cheng Ming.

"How did you figure that out?" Cheng Ming asked.

“There are many hunters in Dragon City. If you randomly pick someone on the street, there’s a one-in-three chance they’re a monster hunter,” the young man said with a grin. “Of course, I didn’t just pick you randomly… I have a very sharp eye. I know you’re not only a hunter, but also someone who has just arrived in Dragon City to participate in that hunt with a huge bounty.”

Cheng Ming's expression changed slightly, and the young man immediately clapped his hands happily: "See? I knew I wasn't wrong!"

"Are you a middleman? Or an information broker?" Cheng Ming asked. In his knowledge, there were only two types of people who would actively approach a monster hunter.

“I used to be, but now I work for a big corporation.” The young man proudly pointed to himself with his thumb. “The Bai Group, ever heard of it?”

Cheng Ming shook his head.

Now it was the other party's turn to be dumbfounded: "You don't know the Bai family? The Bai family, one of the three major families in Longcheng? You must know about Bai's military industry, right? Most of the weapons in Longcheng's defense forces are manufactured by them!"

“You can tell I’m from out of town, so why do you think I know all this?” Cheng Ming retorted.

The young man paused for two seconds before laughing somewhat awkwardly, "That's right, that's right, it's normal that you don't know. But you can ask anyone, the Bai family is indeed one of the three major families in Dragon City, I wouldn't lie to you about something like that!"

"Why should I ask someone? What does it have to do with me whether the Bai family is one of the three major families in Longcheng?" Cheng Ming asked, puzzled.

"No, buddy... okay, okay, I didn't explain myself clearly... Listen, buddy, want to get rich? I have a way..."

"I don't want to," Cheng Ming refused decisively. "Your words sound like an outdated scam."

"I already told you I'm an employee of the Bai Group, would I lie to you?" Seeing that Cheng Ming seemed unwilling to continue the conversation, the young man suddenly became a little anxious. "It's definitely a lie to say you don't want to get rich. Don't you think about why you came to Longcheng? Isn't it because you want a share of that sky-high bounty?"

"What does that have to do with you?" Cheng Ming increasingly felt that this guy was a fraud.

"If you want to participate in a hunting operation, you have to go deep into no-man's-land, right? You need experienced guides and equipment supplies that can handle all kinds of situations in no-man's-land, right?"

"You still insist you're not a middleman?"

"I used to be a middleman! I used to be!" The young man was getting a little frantic. "I'm trying to tell you that there's an opportunity that will not only give you free equipment, supplies, and a guide, but also a 10% bonus on the bounty. All you have to do is join the Bai Group's hunting party and participate in this hunt with a host of other hunters! Now you understand?"

“I still think this is a scam.” Cheng Ming shook his head. “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.”

"Dude, you're not playing dumb with me, are you?" The young man's eyes widened. "With the Bai Group backing it, how could this be a scam! Let me explain. The Bai Group, also known as the Bai family, is one of the three major families in Dragon City. They value reputation and connections above all else. The reason they formed this hunting group is to use money to acquire these things. And you, you just need to participate in this operation as 'temporary employees of the Bai Group.' Not only will you receive the full bounty, but the Bai Group will also give you an extra 10% of the bounty as a bonus, and provide you with equipment, supplies, vehicles, guides, and so on for free... Even if you're a hunter from out of town who doesn't know anyone, going deep into the no-man's-land with a large group is much safer than going alone, right? Not to mention, the deadly sandstorms in the no-man's-land are no joke! Every year, hundreds of rookies go missing in the no-man's-land!"

“I have a question,” Cheng Ming said.

"You say it, you say it!"

"Since you say there are many hunters in Dragon City, why don't you look for someone else instead of me?"

These words left the young man speechless. He mumbled for a while before finally saying incoherently, "The last hunting party already took quite a few people... The Bai Group has given us headhunters quotas, requiring each of us to recruit at least ten hunters... Besides, whether you'll even be selected is another matter. Since you don't believe me, why don't you come with me to the selection site? It's free to see anyway, and I can't lie to you, right?"

(End of this chapter)