In the end, Ian Song and Summer Xia’s six teammates reached an agreement: they would take care of buying groceries and rice, and even handle all his household chores—leaving Ian to just focus on cooking. Everyone was happy with the arrangement.
That afternoon, the other two members of the Tempest Hunter Squad finally arrived.
One was the captain, Gordon Gu, about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old. He had already reached the third stage of the Transforming-Gang Realm, making him the squad’s only third-stage expert.
The other was Ryan Lin, a second-stage Transforming-Gang cultivator, vice-captain of the Tempest Hunter Squad, and Gordon Gu’s trusted right-hand man.
“Brother Stone, welcome to the Tempest Hunter Squad!”
Gordon Gu greeted Ian Song with a big smile, but deep down, there was a hint of coldness in his eyes. Before Ian joined, Gordon was both captain and the squad’s only third-stage expert—his word was law.
But with Ian Song, another third-stage member, joining, Gordon’s authority was bound to be affected. What’s more, Ian had instantly bonded with Summer Xia and the other six, which made Gordon even more uneasy. Still, he was a deep schemer and didn’t let it show.
“Thank you,” Ian replied with a smile.
“Alright, let’s have a meeting first.” Suddenly, Gordon Gu’s expression turned serious.
At his words, everyone put away their smiles and sat up straight, looking serious.
Gordon Gu spoke in a deep voice, “Let’s talk about the mission. Yesterday, I accepted a quest to find a sixth-tier mutant beast core. Over the past two days, Ryan Lin and I have gathered a lot of intel and finally spotted traces of a sixth-tier mutant serpent in a valley over a hundred li outside the city.”
Besides us, nine other hunter squads have also accepted this mission. To keep things quiet, I’ve decided we should head out right now to hunt that sixth-tier mutant serpent. Does anyone object?”
Summer Xia thought for a moment and asked, “Can the cars drive all the way to the valley?”
“No, the furthest we can drive is about fifty li from the valley,” Gordon Gu shook his head.
At that, Summer Xia considered, “So just traveling will take us nearly two hours. After trekking fifty li, we’ll need some time to rest. If all goes well, we should be able to take down the sixth-tier mutant serpent within an hour, but by the time we head back, it’ll already be after seven in the evening.
Most mutant beasts are more active at night. If some strange mutant beast ambushes us, our squad could take heavy losses!” By now, worry was showing on Summer Xia’s face.
The others listened to her analysis and nodded quietly, agreeing with her reasoning.
Gordon Gu nodded, sharing his own plan: “Summer’s analysis is spot-on. That’s why I don’t intend for us to travel at night—instead, we’ll camp overnight in the valley!”
“There are plenty of mutant beasts in the wild. Camping in the valley might not be that safe, right?” Summer Xia still sounded uneasy.
“Heh heh!”
Ryan Lin suddenly let out a cold laugh. “If you want to do missions, you have to take risks. The captain went to a lot of trouble to find this sixth-tier mutant beast. If another hunter squad snatches it first, all our effort will be wasted. Besides, the sect is offering a high reward: just the core alone is worth 200,000 Credits, and the serpent’s meat, blood, gall, and tendons could fetch at least another 80,000.”
Gordon Gu nodded, “That’s right. Normally, a sixth-tier core only goes for 120,000 to 160,000. This time, the sect is offering 200,000—it’s a rare opportunity. If we succeed, the core money will be split by merit, and the rest will be divided evenly!”
Hearing this distribution, Meng Ni and the other four first-stage Transforming-Gang members all looked tempted.
In other words, as long as they completed the mission, each of them would get at least 10,000 Credits—about two months’ worth of sect stipend.
Gordon Gu took in everyone’s eager expressions and said, “Alright, let’s vote. If you want to set out immediately, raise your hand!”
After a brief hesitation, Meng Ni, Xie Min, Hong Ran, and five others raised their hands in agreement. Summer Xia hesitated slightly but raised her hand too. As for Ian Song, he didn’t mind either way—seeing most people agreed, he raised his hand as well.
“Good, unanimous. Everyone go home and get ready—meet at the city gate in ten minutes!”
With time so tight, everyone rushed home to prepare.
Ten minutes later.
Ian Song and the others all arrived at the city gate, where Gordon Gu and Ryan Lin were each waiting in an off-road vehicle.
After splitting into two groups and getting in the cars, everyone headed straight for the valley.
The city’s roads had been roughly cleared; they were drivable, but the speed was limited to about eighty kilometers per hour.
Ian Song rode in Ryan Lin’s car, together with Summer Xia, Xie Min, and Meng Ni. Hong Ran and the other three rode with Gordon Gu.
“We’re being followed!”
Ian Song, sitting in the front passenger seat, suddenly spoke.
At his words, Ryan Lin instinctively glanced at the rearview mirror—and sure enough, three off-road vehicles were a hundred meters behind them.
“Ever since we left the city, those three cars have been trailing us the whole time!” Ian Song continued.
“Why didn’t you say something earlier?” Ryan Lin demanded coldly.
Ian Song wasn’t bothered by the question. He explained, “At first I wasn’t sure they were following us. Only after we switched roads several times and they kept trailing did I know for sure.”
Ryan Lin picked up the in-car communicator and reported to Gordon Gu up ahead, “Captain, we’re being followed!”
“Are you sure?” Gordon Gu’s deep voice came through the communicator.
“Brother Stone says they’ve been trailing us since we left the city. What should we do?”
“Block the road with the cars. Stop them and ask what’s going on!”
“Got it!”
Ryan Lin put down the communicator, slowed the car, and swung the wheel—skidding the vehicle sideways across the road. Gordon Gu reversed and blocked the road with his own car, completely sealing off the way forward.
Soon, the three cars behind pulled up and stopped a few meters away.
Then, eleven people got out of the three vehicles.
“It’s the Heavenly Dragon Hunter Squad!”
Summer Xia said grimly.
“Let’s get out too!”
Ryan Lin, face cold, said nothing more and pushed open the car door to get out.
Soon, the two groups stood facing each other just a few meters apart.
“Senior Brother Wang, why are you following us?”
Gordon Gu stared at the tall yet handsome young man leading the other group and demanded. In his arms was a voluptuous woman in a red leather jacket—none other than Nie Shuangshuang, who had previously tried to show off to Summer Xia in Tianluo City.
The man in front was Wang Teng, captain of the Heavenly Dragon Hunter Squad and an elite disciple of Tianluo Sect, with a cultivation of fourth-stage Transforming-Gang.
Hearing Gordon Gu’s question, a playful look appeared on Wang Teng’s face. “Junior Brother Gu, you’re way off base. You’re the one who blocked our Heavenly Dragon Squad’s way, so how can you accuse me of following you?”
Nie Shuangshuang’s voice chimed in right after: “Exactly! The road is open to everyone, Gordon Gu—what gives you the right to say we’re following you?”