Chapter 24: Trouble

The Special Operations Department is structured in a military style, but it follows the route of elite squads. Although it's hard for outsiders to know how many squads the Special Operations Department has, the hunters within the squads are aware of the hierarchy—from low to high, it's Swift, Fierce, and Intense. Coincidentally, the fake ID the Hunter had marked him as the highest level, Intense.

However, at this moment, looking at the blonde girl who was saluting him, the Hunter couldn't feel any joy. Although she appeared respectful, the Hunter knew she didn't fully trust him and would certainly investigate further. If anything were to be found out, he would really have to go for plastic surgery—since their first meeting, the Hunter could sense the girl's determination, and determined people are often exceptionally persistent, especially determined women, who are even more terrifying! Therefore, she wouldn't believe him just based on a simple confirmation.

"From now on, I'll take charge of things here! If you have any other questions, ask him!" Ye Qi pointed at the police chief and then turned to leave—staying any longer by her side, Ye Qi was truly afraid he might expose himself. After all, one's aura can't be faked, and the military-like aura of the Special Operations Department isn't easy to imitate. Ye Qi could fool the small-town police chief, but if he spent too much time with the real deal, he would expose himself without further investigation.

Now, Ye Qi could only hope that the fake ID made by the unscrupulous merchant would hold up for a while, and that he and John could find the Demon Servant during this time, quickly resolve the trouble, and leave immediately.

"Yes, sir!"

The blonde girl saluted Ye Qi's back again.

...

After leaving the blonde girl, Ye Qi immediately called John, complaining about his lack of loyalty. Upon learning that John had already arrived at Freyka's house, Ye Qi didn't delay and headed straight for his target, the Nock family.

The Nock family lived at the very edge of Leafless Town. If it weren't for a narrow path, Ye Qi wouldn't have found it so easily. Upon arriving, Ye Qi didn't go in immediately but began to look around. He even used an electromagnetic detector (EMS) to check the surroundings for any negative energy.

The EMS is mainly used to detect ghosts and other negative energy beings. However, since the Demon Servant sells their soul to a demon and gains power, they also emit weak negative energy. Therefore, it can be used to detect the presence of a Demon Servant, though it's not as effective as detecting pure negative energy beings like ghosts, it's better than nothing.

However, the EMS showed everything was normal. The Hunter sighed, put away the detector, and prepared to knock on the door—frankly, if it weren't for the threat of the Shadow Warrior after dark, the Hunter wouldn't be so direct. He didn't like this rash approach. Since receiving John's Hunter training, the Hunter always thoroughly investigated the mission target before taking action to ensure his own safety.

This time, however, was an exception.

As it turned out, breaking a habit isn't always pleasant—when the Hunter knocked on the door, a dark double-barreled shotgun appeared from the crack. The Hunter couldn't help but grimace, though he could sense that the other party was just trying to intimidate him and had no intention of killing, no one likes being pointed at with a gun.

"Sir, wait! I have no ill intentions, I am—"

"Get out! Get off my land! Or I'll break your head!"

The Hunter's somewhat stiff explanation was cut off by the owner, Nock. Nock raised the shotgun, moving the barrel a few inches closer to the Hunter to prove he wasn't bluffing.

"Sir—"

"Get out!"

The Hunter's second attempt was in vain, and the situation became tense. Nock's arm, which had been holding the gun for a long time, began to tremble, and he might accidentally pull the trigger due to muscle spasms—deciding to disarm Nock first, the Hunter didn't want to risk getting shot at such close range. An Apostle-level Hunter dying from an old man's accidental discharge would be the biggest joke in the Hunter's Guild in nearly a century, and he didn't want to be a laughingstock.

"Wait! Mr. Nock, we have no ill intentions—"

Just as the Hunter was about to act, the blonde girl he had just gotten rid of appeared again. Unlike the Hunter's stiffness, the blonde girl's gentle and kind smile immediately won Nock's favor—not only did he put away the shotgun, but he also invited the two inside.

"When dealing with the elderly, especially someone like Mr. Nock, we must show more love and kindness to get a positive response!" As Nock went to prepare tea, the blonde girl looked at the Hunter with a hint of sarcasm: "Jack? Or should I call you Mr. Hunter?"

"I must say, this is somewhat unexpected! I knew I would be exposed soon, but I didn't expect it to happen so quickly!" Since the other party had already seen through him, there was no need to keep up the act. Ye Qi shrugged with a bitter smile, but he was still curious about how the blonde girl had exposed him so quickly: "Where did you find the flaw?"

"You did a perfect job, but your partner, Mr. John, is a very famous Hunter. Fortunately, I saw a photo of Mr. John in the Special Operations Department's archives, even though it was just a back view, it was enough to confirm his identity—"

"So, you decided to go along with the plan and follow me to see what clues we would find!" Ye Qi interrupted before she could finish, and the blonde girl smiled and nodded: "Exactly! But I think I might have followed the wrong person. If I had followed Mr. John, we would probably have found the mastermind by now!"

People from the Special Operations Department are not unfamiliar with the affairs of the dark world. Therefore, after just a few words with Nock and a look around the room, the blonde girl knew that Nock was not the problem. Ye Qi, of course, could also see this. So, he was ready to leave and head to John.

However, if he left like this, there was no guarantee the blonde girl wouldn't follow him again. Thinking about how he had been outsmarted by her earlier, Ye Qi felt a bit frustrated. Just then, Nock came in with the tea.

"Mr. Nock, I have some business to attend to, so I'll take my leave. But my friend Lilith will stay. She is very interested in the story you mentioned about hunting wild boars thirty years ago. I'm sure you wouldn't mind telling her the details, right?" The Hunter winked at the blonde girl with a sly smile and whispered inaudibly: "Lilith, you stay here and listen to Mr. Nock's story. By the way, it's nice to see you again! And I hope we never see each other again!"