All my hunting commissions come from another world?

The sanatorium was also in a relatively remote location, not far from the warehouse. It was still early, but when Zhou Si and Aponia arrived at the sanatorium, they spotted a child sitting alone in the courtyard.

The girl looked to be only seven or eight years old, with a rather thin frame. Despite it being early autumn, she was only wearing a thin dress. She was facing away from Zhou Si and Aponia, her small body swaying back and forth, seemingly doing something.

"Nia, what are you doing?"

Aponia walked up behind the girl and took off her shawl, draping it over the girl's shoulders.

"Sister Aponia!"

Nia seemed to be so focused that she didn't notice someone approaching from behind and was startled.

Upon realizing who it was, Nia hurriedly hid what she was holding behind her back, her little face tense as she looked at Aponia.

Aponia didn't expose Nia's little scheme; she simply tightened the shawl to cover Nia's body as much as possible so she wouldn't catch a cold.

How long have you been out?

"I've only been out for a few minutes... Achoo!"

Seeing Nia sneeze, Aponia's face was full of helplessness, and she could only reach out and pat her head.

"Hurry up and come inside, it's almost breakfast time. I'll have to trouble you to wake them up today."

"I guarantee I'll complete the mission, Sister Abedia!"

Nia saluted Aponia, and was about to run back into the house when she noticed Zhou Si standing to the side and asked him a question out of curiosity.

"Sister Albania, is this older brother your friend?"

After all, since she was taken in by Aponia and brought to the sanatorium, she had never seen Aponia bring anyone else back.

Except for Paddo, who broke in on her own. The children all know that she was caught by Aponia for trying to steal the sanatorium gate.

The issue of the child was causing Aponia some distress. After all, it was the first time she had met Zhou Si, and she had approached him with ulterior motives, making it difficult for Aponia to take the initiative to bring it up.

"My name is Zhou Si, and I'm a friend of Aponia. May I call you Nia?"

Under Aponia's gentle gaze, Zhou Si slowly walked up to Nia, squatted down, and smiled as he looked at the thin child.

"...Can."

Nia, who had just been very cheerful, became a little shy under Zhou Sizhen's sincere gaze and reached out to grab the hem of Aponia's skirt.

【Purchase successful】

[27 survey points remaining]

As the Hunter's Book sounded, Zhou Si took out a bag of candy from behind him and handed it to Nia.

“Aponia often mentions you to me, saying that you are very obedient and make her very worry-free.”

"So I specially prepared some gifts for the good kids, take them and share them with your friends."

Hearing Zhou Si's words, Nia blushed slightly. Actually, she was one of the more mischievous children, but encouraged by Aponia's gaze, she still accepted the candy from Zhou Si's hand.

"Thank you, big brother."

After saying that, Nia ran into the house with the candy in her arms.

Zhou Si stood up, looking at Nia's back, and the smile that had just appeared on her lips immediately vanished.

That child has Honkai disease...

Zhou Si had sensed it while she was talking to Aponia; the Honkai energy within the child was constantly eroding her body.

Although the current level of erosion is not yet very deep, it is already very serious for children whose resistance is much weaker than that of adults.

Judging from Zhou Si's unprofessional perspective, if Nia hadn't been exposed to a high concentration of Honkai energy, she could probably have lived for another year or two.

But in this world, on Dusk Street, the probability of such a thing happening is almost zero.

Such children are common in sanatoriums; Zhou Si alone has seen more than a dozen.

"On behalf of the children of the sanatorium, I thank you, Mr. Zhou Si."

Aponia sincerely thanked Zhou Si. She had just noticed a slight shift in the children's fate; the bag of candy seemed to possess magical power.

"You took very good care of them."

Zhou Si's voice was somewhat low. He was also an orphan, and he could clearly see the child's affection and love for Aponia in his eyes.

'Of all times...'

Zhou Si stared blankly at his double-digit investigation points. If it had been earlier, he could have bought enough Honkai Energy Inhibitors to save those children.

Let me eat first: [@AAA High-Price Monster Material Buying, Doctor, can you get some Honkai Energy Inhibitor?]

AAA offers high prices for monster materials: [Sure, but you can only get one or two bottles at most. You should know how that stuff is made; even the inhibitors inside the Firemoth are scarce.]

Möbius, who was discussing laboratory details with the Rhode Island engineering department, frowned as she looked at the information on her phone. She knew without guessing why Zhou Si had suddenly asked this question.

AAA offers high prices for monster materials: [While completely suppressing the erosion is difficult with current technology, I can prevent the symptoms from worsening, enough for you to find the Chameleon.]

Dr. Möbius is so reliable!

Before Zhou Si could even feel disappointed, she immediately saw the second message from Mebius.

Let me eat first: [Thank you so much, Doctor!]

AAA offers high prices for monster materials: [Just call me Mebius. Send me the quantity you need, and I'll prepare them and send them to you directly.]

Mebius's lips curled up slightly. Now that kid should know who to turn to first when he encounters a problem in the future.

AAA is offering high prices for monster materials: [Please save some materials from the Chameleon; I'm quite interested in how it becomes invisible.]

Let me eat first: [Mission accomplished!]

Zhou Si put down her phone and took a deep breath. Now she had another reason to find Xia Long as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, Aponia could no longer maintain her composure, and for the first time, a look of surprise appeared on her usually calm face.

While Zhou Si was playing on her phone for a while, she witnessed the turning point in those children's lives, from being on the verge of collapse to being full of life.

This change was something she had always dreamed of but never achieved, which made Aponia even more certain of her choice.

Zhou Si followed Aponia into the sanatorium and into her lounge.

"So what's the reason you specifically sought me out?"

"Mr. Zhou Si, do you believe that human destiny is predetermined?"

Aponia's deep blue eyes seemed to possess a certain magic, drawing Zhou Si's gaze and causing him to unconsciously begin to ponder this question.

"Perhaps, but I don't really care about so-called fate."

Looking at his palm, Zhou Si still felt a sense of unreality.

System, Time Travel, Hunter, Ancestral Dragon...

He often felt that there was an invisible hand controlling everything, but when he set off again, these questions would naturally be left behind.

"I believe that each person's choices determine their fate rather than the idea that fate is predetermined."

"Is this so..."

There was no ideological conflict. As the 'lucky one' who could see the threads of fate, Aponia was the one who least believed in predetermined destiny.

Otherwise, this sanatorium would not have been built.

Although Zhou Si's thoughts were slightly different from hers, there was no doubt that they were the same kind of people.

"I was born with the ability to see the course of people's destinies..."

Zhou Si impressed Aponia with her character, thoughts, and abilities, so she chose to abandon all pretense and probing and reveal all her thoughts.

"I recently saw that Phyllis's fate had changed, and new possibilities had emerged for her. Although the road was still rugged, the final outcome no longer led to that pitiful door."

This was precisely the time when Vervies told Mebius the address of the workshop.

“And when I saw Phyllis again yesterday, I could no longer glimpse her fate, just like you.”

This might seem incomprehensible to others, but at that moment, Aponia felt genuine joy.

Because in Aponia's eyes, the absurd ability to glimpse fate was nothing more than a heavy burden.

"Mr. Zhou Si, if you need anything in the future, I will do my best to help you."

Aponia's true purpose was to see this person who might change Padofelis's fate.

This brief encounter convinced her that Zhou Si might indeed bring hope.

All she needs to do is offer help when Zhou Si needs it.

Excessive intervention may not yield good results, a lesson Aponia has learned firsthand over the years.

"I understand."

Zhou Si nodded toward Aponia.

————————————————————————

"Lone Bird, come and look this way!"

In the midst of a snowy landscape, Alma, the receptionist bundled up tightly, seemed to have spotted something and shouted loudly in the direction of the lone bird.

At this moment, the lone bird was carrying an insect club, and Zhou Si's Tidehunter was peeling materials from the corpses of several Wind Dragons.

Following Zhou Si's suggestion, the first batch of Sea-Beast Hunters, evolved under Isamara's guidance, has officially entered the guild.

Whether as Zhou Si's nominal master or among the most outstanding hunters in the guild, Lone Bird was naturally the first to enjoy the Sea Insect Hunting.

Upon hearing Alma's call, the lone bird stopped its work of gathering materials and went over.

The place they were in was called the Ice Mist Cliff.

After the Bird Team defeated the Thunder Dragon, they found a passage through the people of Fire Kiln Village that may have been the one Nata used when he left, and that passage is now covered with a thick layer of ice.

They are now searching for clues leading to the Guardian's village amidst the icy cliffs.

"What did you find, Alma?"

"Look over there!"

Alma looked anxious as she pointed to a clearing below the cliff. The lone bird peered through the wind and snow in the direction Alma was pointing.

Then they saw what appeared to be a human figure in the ice somewhere in that area.

"Gemma, you continue setting up the temporary camp here. Alma and I will go check it out!"

The lone bird called out to the blacksmith girl who was busy not far away. After receiving an affirmative reply from Gemma, it summoned the heron dragon and ran towards the open space with Alma and Tuanzi.

Thanks to the Heron Eagle Dragon's excellent gliding ability, they quickly arrived at the open space.

No, calling it an open space isn't accurate.

This platform is not supported by soil, but by a huge, bottomless layer of ice.

The figure they had just spotted was now frozen inside this layer of ice.

"He should be dead by now."

Alma looked at the man wearing a strange mask, whose body was covered in exposed wounds.

Having suffered such severe injuries and being frozen in ice, it would be very difficult for a normal human to survive under such circumstances.

Alma's judgment is understandable.

However, Lone Bird, who often sparred with Zhou Si, noticed something was amiss.

"This guy's injuries seem to be healing at an extremely slow rate."

The lone bird's words caused Alma and Tuanzi, who were standing nearby, to exclaim in surprise at the same time.

"No way?!"

Chapter Ten: The Radiant Dragon! (4k)

"Hurry up and save them!"

After discovering that the masked man inside might still be alive, Lone Bird immediately took off his insect staff and began digging with the Tide Hunter.

Alma led the Heron Eagle Dragon and Tuanzi to a safe distance to avoid being hit by the ice shards stirred up by the lone bird.

Soon, the thick ice layer was thinned by the efforts of the two, and they got closer and closer to the location where the mysterious masked man was frozen.

Just as they were about to reach the masked man, Lone Bird stopped and handed over the digging task to the Tide Hunter.