Chapter 1

A flash of sword light, and a head flew high, the blood from the chest splashing all over Ye Qi's face. The face of the demon hunter, which usually looked young and handsome, became abnormally fierce. Glancing at the lifeless body on the ground, Ye Qi casually grabbed a tablecloth nearby, wiped his face and the short knife in his hand, and bent down to carefully examine the head on the ground.

"Damn it! The damn swindler tricked me again! It's just a low-level blood slave!" Opening the dead man's mouth and seeing the terrifying fangs, Ye Qi couldn't help but curse under his breath. Then, Ye Qi swiftly took out a pair of pliers, pulled out all the fangs, and put them in the inner pocket of his jacket.

Standing up, Ye Qi searched the entire room, then picked up a bucket of gasoline he had prepared in advance and splashed it around. Then he turned and walked out. As he stepped out the door, a lit match flew through the air and fell on the gasoline-soaked ground, instantly igniting a brilliant light in the dark room.

Leaving the stuffy underground warehouse, Ye Qi took a few comfortable breaths of the damp air and left the place where he had been lying in wait for nearly three days, disappearing into the fog-covered street.

The night was deep, and most people were sound asleep, but "Dad's Bar" was in full swing. Countless rebels and thrill-seekers were having their own parties here.

With his strong and tall build, and the delicate features characteristic of an Easterner, Ye Qi attracted a lot of attention as soon as he entered Dad's Bar. But Ye Qi, who had no intention of staying long, pushed aside two provocatively dressed blonde women who offered themselves, avoided a few black guys pushing marijuana, and walked up to the second floor of Dad's Bar amid their calls.

After passing through two black men, each over two meters tall and dressed in black suits like gate gods, Ye Qi entered the only room on the second floor. He walked straight in, and as the door closed, the noise downstairs instantly disappeared. Although he had experienced this feeling before, the demon hunter still felt extremely uncomfortable. Moreover, the white-haired old man in front of him, who had sold him false information again, made Ye Qi's mood even worse.

"Damn God, always blind! Why is this swindler still alive? Do you lick his toes every day, old Ward?" First, he exclaimed with a look of surprise, loudly cursing the swindler, Old Ward. Then, Ye Qi threw the fangs he had just pulled out in front of the other person.

"I'm alive for you, you little brats who are more terrifying than vampires! If I were to die, I should go to hell, under the care of dear Satan. It has nothing to do with the long-dead God! And I sell only real information; you just had bad luck and missed the main target!" The swindler, who was quick and nimble, carefully examined the fangs and quickly put them in a drawer of the counter. Then, he snapped his fingers and turned to look at Ye Qi, saying, "My dear Ye, do you want to trade for something or cash?"

As the swindler put away the fangs, a light that no one else could see flashed from Ye Qi's body, and the familiar synthesized voice reappeared in his ear: "Congratulations, your character level has been upgraded to 4. Your injuries and energy have been fully restored, and you have gained one free attribute point. You have gained seven skill points, which you can allocate as you wish." After a pause, the synthesized voice continued: "Congratulations, your character level has been upgraded to 4, and you have gained the opportunity to choose a feat. Please make your choice!"

The synthesized voice in his ear made Ye Qi's mood much better—after days and nights of constant effort, he had finally reached level 4, just one step away from his goal of level 5. Of course, now was not the time to check these things—there was still a transaction with the swindler to complete. To be honest, if he wasn't worried that killing the other person would interrupt his mission, Ye Qi really wanted to pull out the M500 revolver from his waist and shoot the human vampire swindler in the head. Glancing at the swindler who was smiling at him, Ye Qi said in a very unhappy tone, "Of course, I want to trade! I need ten ounces of holy water, the real kind! Don't give me watered-down stuff! Otherwise, I can't guarantee what uncontrollable actions I might take!"

Including the latest piece of information, this was the third time this month that the swindler had given him false information about his mission. Although the swindler always looked innocent, making excuses like a time error or a missed encounter, and promising that the next piece of information would definitely be real, Ye Qi, who had been tricked three times, was not so foolish as to be deceived again. Ignoring the swindler's smooth talk, Ye Qi lowered his head and began to inspect the holy water the other person had brought out.

Ten test tubes were neatly arranged on the counter. The pale golden liquid inside the glass test tubes shimmered with a brilliant light. Ye Qi uncapped each test tube, smelled the liquid inside, and carefully tasted a little from two of them. When he felt the warmth rising from within his body, the tension on Ye Qi's face finally eased. However, when the swindler quoted the price, the relief immediately froze on Ye Qi's young face.

"Thank you for your patronage, a total of 110 gold pence! Deducting the 20 gold pence value of the blood slave fangs, you need to pay 90 gold pence. Cash or trade?" Old Ward's face was now filled with a warm, comforting smile, like the Madonna in the mural of the church on the same street as Dad's Bar—completely the opposite of Ye Qi's stiff face.

Ye Qi stared at the smiling swindler without blinking, his words forced out through gritted teeth: "Why the price hike again! Two price hikes in a week, and both times when I'm trading items! Isn't this a bit too coincidental?"

As he spoke, Ye Qi put his thoughts into action.

The M500 revolver, with its 0.50-inch barrel firing .50 Magnum rounds powerful enough to kill an African elephant, was silver in color, and its black muzzle was aimed directly at Old Ward's forehead. If Ye Qi's finger moved, Old Ward's head, and even his upper body, would instantly turn into a puddle of flesh.

"Truly heartbreaking! If John saw his disciple, whom he has been teaching, point a gun at an old friend who always helps him in critical moments, what would he think?" Old Ward, facing Ye Qi's gun, showed no signs of tension or fear, but instead muttered sadly, even wiping away a non-existent tear from the corner of his eye.

Old Ward's performance, even if evaluated by a child, would be considered third-rate or worse, let alone by Ye Qi! The gun did not lower, but instead moved closer, pressing directly against the swindler's forehead.

"Alright! Alright! Ye, we're good friends, don't be so impulsive! These... these... holy waters, I'll give you a discount—70 gold pence. Consider it a reward for completing nine missions in a row. Oh, and here's your new mission, take it quickly, and put the gun away..." As Ye Qi's finger slightly pulled the trigger, Old Ward gave in.

Putting away the gun, Ye Qi threw the money on the counter, took the ten test tubes and the note with the next mission, and walked out without looking back.

Watching Ye Qi disappear behind the door, Old Ward, who had just been pretending to be panicked, immediately returned to his usual swindler's expression. Sitting behind the counter, he rubbed his chin and laughed, "Heh, the kid is getting stronger and is almost developing his own aura. He really scared me when he pulled out the gun. I guess I need to be nicer to the kid from now on! Hmm... I'll try to give him one or two more pieces of real information each month, but the price for real information will be 20% higher. Yes, I, Old Ward, am so kind! Even God would be moved... Damn, what does that bastard care?"

The swindler, who had been laughing happily, couldn't help but spit a thick wad of phlegm to the side.

...

Leaving Dad's Bar, Ye Qi walked down the misty night street with his hands in his pockets. Facing the swindler's poor acting, Ye Qi had pulled out his gun in anger, but unexpectedly, it had the desired effect. Ye Qi absolutely dared not fire the gun because Old Ward was his mission giver!

This was a world similar to but different from Ye Qi's original world—there were televisions, telephones, and cars, but no countries like in the original world. Although it maintained various similar traditions and cultures, it was a much larger world. Of course, the most peculiar thing was that Ye Qi was an apprentice demon hunter with a game-like system.

With a mental command, a 20-inch, light blue character image appeared in front of Ye Qi. The image clearly displayed Ye Qi's current character status:

Name: Ye Qi

Title: Apprentice Demon Hunter

Level: 4

Class: None

Attributes: Strength: 15 (+1)

Agility: 14

Constitution: 14

Perception: 16 (+2)

Charisma: 14

Unassigned Attribute Points: 1

Feats: Beast Instinct

Unchosen Feats: 1

Skills: Appraisal 5, Deception 5, Concentration 8, Trap Making 4, Medicine 2, Stealth 18, Listening 15, Medicine 2, Rumor 2, Lockpicking 10, Pickpocketing 2, Search 10, Firearms 20, Melee Weapons 18.

Unassigned Skill Points: 7

After allocating the firearms skill to 25 and the melee weapons skill to 20, Ye Qi closed the status bar. He did not rush to allocate the attribute point and feat because he had not yet decided on his next steps—level 5 would allow him to choose a class. Ye Qi did not want to make a hasty choice and end up regretting it. Another, more important reason was that Ye Qi believed his current strength was sufficient to handle the dangers of Old Ward's missions. After all, each attribute point was a game-changer for Ye Qi, and he could not afford to waste them.

The game-like system on Ye Qi's body did not calculate attribute points in the usual way. For example, if Ye Qi's current strength was 14, adding one point should logically increase it by 1/14. However, if he really added that point, the actual effect would be an increase of 1/2 on the original basis! In other words, if Ye Qi used that free attribute point, any one of his five main attributes—strength, agility, constitution, perception, and charisma—would immediately increase by 50%.

As for the feat, there were three options in the selection bar: one that increased rumor and resistance checks, another that increased stealth and listening skills, and the last one that increased the power of dual-wielding weapons. All three feats were good, either increasing skills or granting special abilities. But precisely because they were so good, it made it even harder for Ye Qi to choose.

"I'll wait until level 5 and see what classes are available."

Looking forward to the unknown classes that would be available at level 5, Ye Qi decided.

...

Four years ago, Ye Qi had a family and dreams. But before he could realize his ideals and ambitions, a sudden car accident ended his life. However, after death, Ye Qi found himself in another world, reborn as a teenager.

Before Ye Qi could be shocked, a vampire with bat wings covered in rune marks and a scar under his eye suddenly appeared in front of him, baring his fangs. Fortunately, the demon hunter John appeared just as Ye Qi was about to be killed by the vampire. After a battle, John, at the cost of his own injury, drove the vampire away.

In later conversations with John, Ye Qi played the role of a teenager who had lost his memory due to a sudden accident. As expected, John took in the "helpless and memoryless" Ye Qi and began training him to survive in the "dangerous" world. So, John was both a savior and a mentor to Ye Qi. In simpler terms, he was a life-saver. That's why when the swindler used John to act, Ye Qi immediately pulled out his gun in anger.

Originally, Ye Qi thought he would become a slightly capable person or a third-rate demon hunter under John's training and live a mediocre life. As an ordinary person from Earth, Ye Qi's physical condition was average, and the body he was reborn into was also average, even poor. Especially during a series of training sessions, he did not show any outstanding combat talent. But when John assigned Ye Qi a surveillance mission as training, a turning point arrived.

"System activation, fusion..."

"Character optimization in progress..."

"Character randomly gains the feat Beast Instinct; 100 skill points..."

Beast Instinct: Due to growing up among animals and long-term interaction with various animals, you have gained an extraordinary sense of danger. Effect: Perception +2

After a series of synthesized voices, Ye Qi found himself changed—stronger, faster, with better vision and hearing, and with a game-like system. After familiarizing himself with the sudden appearance of the system, Ye Qi thought he could rule the world, but was once again disappointed. Despite the system's optimization, his strength, speed, and physical condition were several times better than before, but he was still a step behind John.

If this only made Ye Qi feel depressed, then when he learned that killing monsters did not grant experience and that experience could only be gained from missions, and that he would only get one free attribute point every four levels, Ye Qi became completely obedient—each level-up would only grant one skill point. By his estimation, to catch up with John, he would need to reach level 20 and accumulate five attribute points to fully enhance himself again. According to John, his strength in the Demon Hunter Guild was only average, with many people surpassing him. Thinking about the countless people stronger than John, Ye Qi realized his own weakness—no matter how powerful the system was, he needed enough effort.

Realizing the harsh reality, Ye Qi began to quietly take on missions and diligently accumulate strength.

Four years turned a teenager into a young man. Compared to his naivety when he first arrived, Ye Qi was clearly more mature. During these four years, Ye Qi trained and took on minor, unimportant missions. These small missions gradually made Ye Qi more mature. Although he only reached level 3 two months ago when he left John, which frustrated him, he did not regret it. Ye Qi knew that the seemingly simple small missions John assigned were the capital that allowed him to survive better.

Moreover, after leaving John and being introduced to Old Ward, Ye Qi, while experiencing the rapid level-up, faced increasingly difficult missions and appreciated the benefits of John's small missions even more, feeling more grateful to John. Without the training from John's small missions, even with the system's enhancement and several times the strength of an ordinary person, Ye Qi doubted he could complete these missions unscathed.

The system's missions were divided into six major levels based on difficulty: S, A, B, C, D, and E. Each major level had three sub-levels. For example, if a mission was not difficult enough for D level but harder than E level, it would be classified as E+ level. Conversely, it would be E- level. If it was normal, it would be E level.

John's previous small missions were all E- or E level with no life-threatening risks, while Old Ward's were mostly E+ and D- levels, with one D level.

"C+ level mission: Mysterious Expansion. Investigate the reason for the recent rapid expansion of territory by the boss of Fisher Street, 'Mad Dog' Noki, and eliminate the hidden danger."

"Damn!"

After opening the note, the mission level prompt immediately sounded in Ye Qi's ear, making him burst out with a curse. When he first met Old Ward, the system had assigned the tasks "Complete ten consecutive missions from Old Ward" and "Reach level 5." The former was C+ level, and the latter was E level. Ye Qi had always wondered why a C+ level difficulty task included only E+ and D- level missions, with one D level mission. It turned out this was waiting for him. It seemed the previous missions didn't count, and this final one was the main event!

While the increase in mission difficulty would make the experience richer, the danger would also increase proportionally. For the lowest E level missions, almost no combat was needed to complete them. At the D level, combat was definitely required. Although the highest level mission Ye Qi had experienced was D level, this did not prevent him from estimating the difficulty of a C+ level mission. During the last D level mission, Ye Qi had directly stormed into a blood slave's lair, facing the fierce attacks of ten blood slaves. If it weren't for his good luck and using the terrain to defeat them one by one, he would have been torn apart and eaten as a midnight snack!

If the D level mission was so difficult, then the C+ level mission, which was almost two levels higher than D, would be even more challenging, and Ye Qi was well aware of this.

"Looks like I need to prepare well."

Tightening his leather jacket, Ye Qi quickly disappeared into the end of the street.