Chapter 63

Qian Ye's mood suddenly felt as if a herd of mammoth elephants had stampeded through his heart, leaving him at a loss for words. Wasn't that old man the owner of a gun shop? Why did he suddenly come to the Hunter's Home?

Qian Ye immediately decided to leave. As for seeking justice, he hadn't even considered it. Discussing fairness with a local thug who ran a weapon shop in a place like Dark Blood City? Besides, he wasn't cheated too badly; the assault rifle, after some repairs, could still be worth fifty gold coins.

However, just as Qian Ye turned around, the old man behind the counter suddenly looked up, his gaze landing on Qian Ye.

Qian Ye's whole body stiffened, and the step he had taken hung in the air, unable to fall back down!

Qian Ye's movements were not restricted, but at this moment, he didn't dare to touch his weapon, or even move a toe. The sharp aura behind him had completely locked onto him, and any slight movement could trigger a storm of lethal attacks.

But by remaining calm and waiting for the opponent to make the first move, he could find a gap amidst the aura and have a chance of survival. This was his combat instinct, honed from countless brushes with death since he was seven.

This stalemate lasted for several seconds, and then the sharp aura suddenly disappeared. Qian Ye finally put his foot down and slowly turned around.

The three big men in the hall all looked at Qian Ye, their eyes showing admiration.

The old man stood up and said, "Kid, from your expression just now, I guess you've been to A1's Gun Shop."

Qian Ye looked at the old man and finally noticed a subtle difference. The old man from the gun shop had a look of a transcendent master, but his wrinkles seemed a bit more, and there was a glint of cunning in his eyes. The old man in front of him had a small scar on his face, which, though very inconspicuous, was strikingly clear to Qian Ye, who had been trained in facial recognition.

The old man continued, "The owner of A1's Gun Shop is my twin brother. He's called A1, and I'm called A2. Everyone here calls me Second Master."

Qian Ye felt his expression must have been quite colorful, as he really didn't know what to say.

"Do you want to be a hunter?" Second Master asked.

"......Yes," Qian Ye replied. He felt that this Second Master didn't seem like a fraudster, but the experience at A1's Gun Shop kept echoing in his mind.

No fraudster looks like a fraudster.

Second Master rummaged through the counter and took out a hexagonal copper badge, throwing it to Qian Ye, saying, "You've passed the test. You are now a hunter, a one-star hunter."

Qian Ye subconsciously caught the copper badge and asked somewhat bewildered, "Test?"

"Exactly. Just now, I looked at you. That was the test. You did very well. So now you are a member of the Hunter's Home. Keep this thing; it's your token and proof of being a hunter." Second Master said calmly.

Qian Ye looked at the copper badge in his hand. It was polished to a shine, clearly quite old. Despite this, it couldn't hide its rough craftsmanship. The star in the center was uneven and twisted, as if carved by a child.

"Alright, what can I do as a one-star hunter?" Qian Ye finally accepted the reality. As long as he didn't have to pay an entry fee first, he didn't mind joining the Hunter's Home.

Just as he was thinking this, Second Master said, "First, pay the quarterly membership fee, one gold coin per month."

Second Master said it casually, but Qian Ye's heart skipped a beat.

"What are my rights?"

Second Master pointed to a tattered book hanging on the wall and said, "It's all written there."

Qian Ye opened the book, which contained handwritten rules. Although the book was tattered, the handwriting was fresh and elegant, each character exuding an indescribable power, making Qian Ye's mind waver. He had to secretly circulate his original force to stand steady.

The rules were actually quite simple. The amount of membership fees paid by hunters would be the main criterion for advancing in star ratings. Different star ratings had different permissions.

The main rights of hunters included selling proof of killing dark races to the Hunter's Home to exchange for bounties. They could also buy special weapons and armor, as well as certain special materials from the Hunter's Home. If they were dissatisfied with what the Hunter's Home provided, they could have the Hunter's Home contact relevant craftsmen for customization.

The bounties alone were enough to cover the membership fees. Of course, this was on the condition that they could kill enough dark races. Different star ratings had different bounty caps. For example, a one-star hunter could earn a total of ten gold coins per month, a two-star hunter could earn twenty, and each star increase doubled the cap, and so on.

But at this moment, Qian Ye's eyes were filled with the astonishing power hidden in the handwriting!

After a long while, he finally calmed down and asked, "Can I see what kind of weapons and armor I can exchange for?"

"Of course. Xiao Mi, take him to the one-star warehouse."

A quick-witted young man suddenly appeared, snapped his fingers at Qian Ye, and said, "Follow me."

Qian Ye followed the young man to the basement and entered a warehouse.

This was called the one-star hunter warehouse, but the equipment was very rich. Qian Ye even saw the regular weapons of the Empire's main army, the Hellfire Original Force Machine Gun! This was a third-level weapon, and they were all brand new!

However, this gun had four stars on it, meaning it could only be bought by a four-star hunter. It was unclear how it ended up in this warehouse. In addition, there were complete tactical armors, multifunctional military knives, and all-terrain sights, making it almost a small armory.

Seeing this warehouse, Qian Ye finally dispelled his doubts and followed the young man back to the hall, where he honestly paid the membership fee.

After completing the procedures, Qian Ye couldn't help but ask, "What if a hunter who wants to join can't afford the membership fee?"

"They can owe it. But they have to pay one gold coin in interest per month." Second Master said casually.

Qian Ye was shocked again. A quarterly membership fee of three gold coins, with one gold coin in interest per month, was a pretty steep rate.

It seemed to see through Qian Ye's thoughts, one of the big men interjected, "If you can't even earn the membership fee, what kind of hunter are you? Go home and have kids!"

The big man's words made sense.

However, Qian Ye didn't want to simply pay the membership fee. He took out a small bag and poured out six vampire fangs. These fangs were from the three vampires he had traded with Qi Yue.

Qian Ye pushed the fangs to Second Master and said, "These should be able to exchange for bounties, right?"

According to the Hunter's Home's exchange formula, a fang from a regular blood race warrior could be exchanged for one gold coin. This also meant that each hunter had to kill at least one of the lowest-level blood races each month to be considered qualified.

Seeing this rule, Qian Ye understood why the Hunter's Home looked so deserted. To kill a blood race warrior, one had to be at least a second-level combatant, which was a high threshold, almost as high as the Red Scorpion's recruitment requirements. Of course, a first-level combatant could also become a hunter, but it would be much harder.

These six fangs should more than cover the membership fee, Qian Ye thought.

Second Master suddenly exclaimed, picked up a fang, and examined it for a while, saying, "If I'm not mistaken, this fang should be from a formal member of the Nidzchel clan. This vampire clan has produced counts, and if they develop enough descendants, it could be troublesome. So they are more threatening than ordinary fourth-level blood races. Just this pair of fangs is worth ten gold coins."

Qian Ye hadn't realized that the old vampire he had killed had some significant background. Originally, a fourth-level blood race could only exchange for four gold coins. Now, according to Second Master, the bounty was more than doubled.

Second Master rummaged through the counter again, took out ten gold coins and a hand axe, and pushed them to Qian Ye, saying, "Your bounty for this month has already reached the cap, so I can't give you more. But I think this axe suits you well, so consider it a personal gift."

Qian Ye took the axe, weighed it in his hand, and examined it carefully.

The axe was very small, only about half a meter long, with a blade the size of a palm. It was heavy, made of an unknown material, definitely not metal. Qian Ye tried several methods to sense and detect it, but none of them worked. In the wild, this axe, which couldn't be detected by various instruments and abilities, would undoubtedly be much more valuable.

Qian Ye lightly swung the axe, feeling it was very smooth, as if it were an extension of his arm. He suddenly swung it a few times with force, and the blade cut through the air, emitting a faint whistle!

Qian Ye's face showed delight. This hand axe was much more convenient to use than daggers. This was truly a weapon that suited him, indicating that his combat style still leaned towards simplicity and directness.

Putting the axe back into a special leather bag and hanging it on his waist, Qian Ye said, "This thing is great, I like it. I'll go hunting now."

Second Master squinted his eyes, as if about to doze off, and nodded slightly as a farewell to Qian Ye. The sharp gleam in his eyes when he saw the axe's trajectory had already disappeared as if it had never existed.

After Qian Ye left, one of the big men said, "The kid is good, he has potential."

Another coldly said, "I hate him. He has the smell of an Empire lackey."

The third person shrugged and said, "Lackeys also have levels. This kid is clearly from a group of top-level lackeys."

"Top-level lackeys are still lackeys!" the first person said.

Second Master took out an old pocket watch from somewhere, looked at the time, and slowly said, "This kid is quite suitable for that task."

"Which one?"

"The task related to Miss Qi Qi."

The three big men suddenly shivered, and their gazes towards Qian Ye's back were filled with more sympathy.

Page AD starts

Page AD ends