Chapter 1

### Chapter 1: The Demon Hunter

A flash of a blade, and a head soared high into the air, the blood from the chest splashing all over Ye Qi's face. The demon hunter's young, handsome face, which usually looked gentle, now appeared exceptionally 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 then 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, he 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. He then turned and walked out. As he stepped out the door, a lit match flew through the air and landed on the gasoline-soaked ground, instantly igniting a brilliant flame in the dark room.

Stepping out of the stuffy underground warehouse, Ye Qi took a few deep breaths of the damp air, and with a relaxed pace, 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, tall build and the delicate features characteristic of an Easterner, Ye Qi immediately attracted the attention of many people as he entered Dad's Bar. But Ye Qi, who had no intention of staying long, pushed aside two provocatively dressed blonde women who approached him, avoided a few black men selling marijuana, and walked up to the second floor of Dad's Bar, ignoring their seductive calls.

After passing through two towering, black-suited black men who looked like gate gods, Ye Qi entered the only room on the second floor. He pushed the door open and walked in. As the door closed, the noise from downstairs instantly disappeared. Although this wasn't the first time he had experienced this, the demon hunter still felt extremely uncomfortable. 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 old 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 onto the old man's desk.

"I'm alive for you, you terrifying little brat, worse than a vampire! 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 the information I sell is absolutely true; you just missed the main target by bad luck!" The agile swindler carefully examined the fangs, then quickly put them in a drawer of the counter. He snapped his fingers twice, turned to Ye Qi, and said, "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 an optional feat. Please make your choice!"

The synthesized voice in his ear made Ye Qi's mood much better—after days and nights of hard work, he had finally reached level 4, just one step away from level 5. Of course, now wasn't the time to check these things—there was still a transaction to complete with the swindler. Honestly, if it weren't for the fear that killing the swindler would interrupt his mission, Ye Qi would have really wanted to pull out the M500 revolver from his waist and shoot the 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 for something! I need ten ounces of holy water, the real stuff! Don't give me watered-down stuff! Otherwise, I can't guarantee what uncontrollable actions I might take!"

Including the latest false 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 timing errors or missed opportunities, and promising that the next piece of information would be true, Ye Qi, who had been tricked three times, wasn't stupid and wouldn't be fooled again. Ignoring the swindler's smooth talk, Ye Qi lowered his head and began to inspect the holy water the swindler had brought out.

Ten test tubes were neatly arranged on the counter, containing a pale golden liquid that shimmered brightly in the glass. Ye Qi uncorked each test tube, smelled the liquid, and carefully took out two test tubes to taste a little. When he felt a warm sensation rise within him, Ye Qi's tense face finally relaxed a bit. However, when the swindler quoted the price, the relaxation 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 expression.

Ye Qi stared unblinkingly at the smiling swindler, his words forced out through gritted teeth: "Why is the price going up again! Twice 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, which fires .50 Magnum rounds and can kill an African elephant with one shot, was silver with a black barrel, aimed directly at Old Ward's forehead. If Ye Qi's finger moved, Old Ward's head, and even his upper body, would immediately turn into a puddle of flesh.

"Truly heartbreaking! If John saw his disciple, whom he has been teaching, point a gun at his old friend who always helps him in critical moments, what would he think?" Old Ward, facing Ye Qi's gun, showed no signs of fear or tension. Instead, he looked sad, muttering to himself and even wiping away non-existent tears 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 didn't lower, and instead, it 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 lightly touched the trigger, Old Ward gave in.

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

Watching Ye Qi disappear behind the door, Old Ward, who had just looked panicked, immediately reverted to his usual swindler's expression. Sitting behind the counter, he rubbed his chin and laughed, "Hehe, 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 true information each month, but the price for true information will be 20% higher. Yes, I, Old Ward, am so kind! Even God would be moved... damn, what does it matter if that bastard is moved or not!"

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 foggy 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 didn't dare to shoot, as Old Ward was his mission issuer!

This was a world similar yet 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 a novice demon hunter with a system-like presence.

As Ye Qi silently thought, a twenty-inch, light blue character image appeared in front of him. The image clearly displayed Ye Qi's current character status:

Name: Ye Qi

Title: Novice Demon Hunter

Level: 4

Class: None

Attributes:

- Strength: 15 (+1)

- Agility: 14

- Constitution: 14

- Perception: 16 (+2)

- Charisma: 14

Unallocated Attribute Points: 1

Feats: Beast Instinct

Unchosen Feats: 1

Skills:

- Appraisal: 5

- Bluff: 5

- Concentration: 8

- Trap Making: 4

- Medicine: 2

- Stealth: 18

- Listen: 15

- Medicine: 2

- Rumor: 2

- Lockpicking: 10

- Pickpocketing: 2

- Search: 10

- Firearm: 20

- Cold Weapon: 18

Unallocated Skill Points: 7

After allocating the firearm skill to 25 and the cold weapon skill to 20, Ye Qi closed the status bar. He didn't rush to allocate the attribute point and feat. Ye Qi hadn't decided on his next move—level 5 would allow him to choose a formal class. Ye Qi didn't want to make a hasty choice and end up regretting it. Another important reason was that Ye Qi believed his current strength was sufficient to handle the dangers of the missions Old Ward issued. After all, each attribute point was a game-changer for Ye Qi, and he couldn't afford to waste them.

The system-like presence on Ye Qi's body didn't calculate attribute points according to common sense. For example, if Ye Qi's current strength was 14, adding one point should logically increase it by 1/14. However, if he added that point, the actual effect would be a 50% increase on the original value! In other words, if Ye Qi used that free attribute point, any one of his five main attributes—strength, agility, constitution, perception, or charisma—would immediately increase by 50%.

As for the feats, there were three options in the selection bar: one that increased rumor and resistance checks, another that increased stealth and listen skills, and the last 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."

Ye Qi, looking forward to the unknown classes that would be available at level 5, decided in his heart.

...

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.

But 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 the vampire was about to kill Ye Qi. After a battle, John managed to drive the vampire away, though he was injured in the process.

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 memory-less" 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 didn't show any outstanding combat talent. But when John assigned Ye Qi a surveillance mission as a training exercise, a turning point appeared.

"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. His body was stronger, faster, his vision clearer, and his hearing sharper. He also gained a system-like presence. After familiarizing himself with the sudden appearance of the system, Ye Qi thought he could rule the world and look down on everyone. But he 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 depressed, then when he learned that killing monsters didn't 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. To catch up with John, he estimated 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 Union was only average, and there were countless people stronger than him. Thinking about the countless people stronger than John, Ye Qi realized his weakness even more—no matter how much the system enhanced him, he needed to work hard.

Realizing the harsh reality, Ye Qi began to quietly take on missions and honestly 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, insignificant 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, Ye Qi didn't regret it. He 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 not only experienced the rapid feeling of leveling up but also appreciated the benefits of the small missions John had assigned. He was even more grateful to John. Without the training from these 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 to be D-level but was 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.

The small missions John assigned 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 mission.

"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 threat."

"Damn!"

As soon as he opened the paper, 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 mission "Complete ten consecutive missions issued by Old Ward" and "Reach level 5." The former was C+ level, and the latter was E level. Ye Qi had always wondered why the C+ level mission included E+ and D- level missions, and one D-level mission. It turned out this was waiting for him. The previous missions didn't count; this 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 mission, almost no combat was needed to complete it. For D-level missions, combat was definitely required. Although the highest-level mission Ye Qi had experienced was D-level, this didn't stop him from guessing the difficulty of a C+ level mission. During the last D-level mission, Ye Qi had directly stormed into a blood slave's lair and faced the fierce attacks of ten blood slaves. If it weren't for his good luck and the use of terrain to defeat them one by one, he would have been torn apart and eaten as a midnight snack!

If D-level missions were so difficult, then a C+ level mission, which was almost two levels higher than D, would be even more challenging. 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.

...

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