Chapter 66

Qian Ye now had a better grasp of the four-star female hunter's personality. It was evident that she had extensive hunting experience and was accustomed to the gender-neutral life on the battlefield, which made her so unconcerned with trivial matters. In the wilderness, where one walked the line between life and death, the distance between hunters was much closer than in ordinary life.

Qian Ye's gaze swept over several scars on her body, and he almost instantly recognized the creatures that had inflicted them by their shapes.

The two continued chatting through the bathroom door, and Qian Ye roughly understood the basic situation of the mission.

A complete werewolf tribe would include a head wolf, elders, and ordinary warriors. Some tribes would also have special types like shadow wolves, needle wolves, battle wolves, or berserker wolves.

The werewolf tribes near the Rockhold had relatively balanced strength. Head wolves were generally between levels five and six, elders were slightly weaker than head wolves, and the strength of special types like shadow wolves varied depending on the situation. However, it was rare for any to be so powerful as to disrupt the ecological balance, as such a situation would first trigger internal changes among the dark races to redefine the power distribution passed down through generations. A traditional werewolf tribe usually had about a hundred adult warriors; any more would not be enough to sustain their hunting grounds.

With Yu Yingnan's team's strength, it was impossible to directly challenge a werewolf tribe. However, her purpose for this trip was not to annihilate the tribe but to raid and seize treasure. Through certain channels, Yu Yingnan had spent a large sum to obtain a primal force potion that could severely damage a werewolf's sense of smell, significantly reducing their combat power for a short time.

In the female hunter's plan, this potion was perfect for use in the enclosed environment of a wolf den, with the expected effect lasting about half an hour. The hunters would have to seize the opportunity to raid the wolf den, snatch the totem, and then escape at full speed. Finally, they would need to avoid the werewolves' pursuit on their way back to consider the mission a success.

However, the entire operation, from start to finish, gave Qian Ye a very uneasy feeling. In his view, every step of the plan was fraught with variables. Especially in the final stage, escaping the pursuit of dozens of werewolves who had recovered their strength in the wilderness was an unimaginably difficult task.

Qian Ye expressed his concerns, but Yu Yingnan replied nonchalantly, "Alright! Isn't there always some unexpected event in every operation? As long as we prepare thoroughly, it will be fine. Don't worry, this time I've brought in Yang Tian, an expert at dealing with those gray-skinned dogs. We'll meet up this afternoon to finalize the preparations and team division. You should come with me and meet the other team members to get to know them."

Qian Ye was taken aback. From start to finish, he had never explicitly agreed to join, but Yu Yingnan assumed he had. Their relationship, if one were to be honest, was nothing more than a drink together the previous night, and she had even been knocked out by Qian Ye.

After lunch, Yu Yingnan took Qian Ye to a weapon shop on Dark Copper Street and pushed the door open.

The owner was a middle-aged man with a full beard. Seeing Yu Yingnan and Qian Ye, he pointed to the back room and said, "They're all waiting inside."

Upon entering, it turned out not to be a room but a hallway with a spiral staircase leading down to the basement. The space was surprisingly spacious, with bright gas lamps, many partitions, and various steel tracks and machines, forming a small workshop.

Yu Yingnan led Qian Ye into the room closest to the stairs, which was a weapon processing studio.

Along the walls were four workbenches, each filled with parts and some half-finished products. One workbench also had a bowl of crystal grains, which, after polishing, would become the core of blank primal force bullets.

In the corner was a shelf reaching the ceiling, stacked with untreated steel bars.

The walls, where the plaster had largely fallen off, were hung with various firearms and two design diagrams.

Qian Ye glanced at the diagrams, and several parameters circled in black ink caught his eye. He was surprised to find that they were the standard values for a level-two primal force firearm.

He couldn't help but pause and examine the entire diagram. Indeed, it was a self-designed primal force firearm that had barely reached the level-two standard, surpassing the standard issue weapons of the expeditionary force, which surprised Qian Ye. However, workshop-made firearms often had issues with mass production and reliability, so he still preferred military-standard weapons.

There were already three people in the studio. Two were sitting, and a young man with dark skin was busy processing parts at a workbench. When Yu Yingnan and Qian Ye entered, their gazes all fell on Qian Ye, with curiosity, admiration, and hostility.

Yu Yingnan briefly introduced everyone.

Yang Tian, like her, was a four-star hunter, about forty years old, and looked like a kind uncle. He extended his hand to Qian Ye and smiled, "I've never seen anyone knock out Yingnan at a drinking table before! Welcome aboard!"

The other two were named Zaxi and Li Lunzhe.

Zaxi never left the workbench, only glancing at Qian Ye when he entered and then focusing on the parts in his hands. Even when greeting Qian Ye and briefly answering Yu Yingnan's questions, his eyes never left the parts, clearly a technical enthusiast.

Li Lunzhe was very young, about twenty-four or twenty-five, but his strength had also reached level four, the same as Yu Yingnan and Yang Tian.

He carried a hint of arrogance, barely extending his hand to Qian Ye without greeting him, and instead turned to Yu Yingnan, "Sis Nan, this kid looks pretty green. Does he have any combat experience? Should we test him?"

Yang Tian interjected, "No need, Yingnan's choice won't be bad. Besides, this is someone recognized by Second Master."

Hearing that Second Master had also spoken, Li Lunzhe mumbled a few words but said nothing more. However, his hostility towards Qian Ye remained obvious and unhidden.

Next, they discussed their respective roles and the details of the operation.

The hunters would act separately, converging at a predetermined location outside the target valley to avoid the werewolves detecting their attack intentions in advance. Zaxi would be responsible for the escape route, Qian Ye would follow Yu Yingnan, and once the totem was seized, he would be responsible for taking it away, while the others would provide rear support to hold off the werewolves. Qian Ye was not given a specific combat task, only to leverage his speed advantage and successfully bring the totem back.

After finalizing the plan, Yu Yingnan tapped the table and said, "Next, the old rules: equipment and supplies allocation and the deposit for the operation. Qian Ye's share will be on me!"

Qian Ye had initially wanted to pay the deposit himself, but seeing the other three each take out five gold coins, he remained silent. After paying the bar bill last night, he had only one gold coin and some silver coins left.

Since arriving in Dark Blood City, Qian Ye's only income had been the ten gold coins in bounty from the Hunter's Home. The expenses for settling in, buying equipment, and auxiliary supplies were greater than he had anticipated. This was also why, despite feeling uneasy, he did not refuse to join Yu Yingnan's mission.

Neither Yang Tian nor Zaxi objected to Yu Yingnan's decision, but Li Lunzhe's hostility towards Qian Ye intensified.

The group quickly dispersed, agreeing to meet at the predetermined location in three days.

As they walked out of the shop, Yu Yingnan patted Qian Ye's shoulder and said, "You come with me, we'll set out tonight." From start to finish, Qian Ye had no room to oppose her arrangements.

They had just walked through two blocks when Yu Yingnan suddenly stopped.

This was a street of moderate width, relatively clean. Most of the buildings were single-story, with the occasional two-story house, and more than half were various shops.

It was around three or four in the afternoon, and the sky was beginning to darken. The gas lamps were gradually lighting up, the peak time for hunters returning to the city. This area should have been the busiest, but it suddenly became eerily quiet, with no one in sight.

All the doors and windows were tightly shut, as if the entire street had closed down at the same time. The dim yellow light of the gas lamps fell on the lonely signs, making them appear even more blurred and weak in the not-yet-completely-dark sky.

Yu Yingnan looked around and suddenly sneered, "Since you're here, why hide?"

A sly voice drifted from behind them, "Of course, we're worried you'll be scared and run away!"

With a creak of old hinges, a thin, gaunt man emerged from the house behind them.

Then, many doors on both sides of the street opened, and over a dozen people walked out, surrounding Yu Yingnan and Qian Ye. More than half of them had the strength of level-one warriors, and the sly-voiced man was a level-three warrior.

Qian Ye's gaze swept over them, noticing that all the exposed arms had a venomous snake tattoo, indicating they were members of the Sky Snake Gang in Dark Blood City.

The Sky Snake Gang was the third-largest gang in Dark Blood City, with considerable influence, and this street was their territory.

Qian Ye quickly assessed the surroundings. The buildings on this street did not pose an obstacle, and even if there were more ambushers inside, if they were of similar strength, they could not stop Yu Yingnan and Qian Ye. However, escaping the immediate danger did not mean escaping the aftermath, as the Sky Snake Gang could be relentless.

Yu Yingnan raised an eyebrow and said, "Flower Snake, you don't need to play these tricks with me. Just say it, what's the matter this time? If it's a trap, I'll leave immediately and settle accounts with you guys later."

Flower Snake said calmly, "Leave? Don't you want your business in the city?"

Yu Yingnan was not angry but replied calmly, "I don't want it anymore. But from now on, members of your Sky Snake Gang, especially you, won't be able to leave the city alone. If you want to go out, prepare your will first!"

Flower Snake's face changed, and his arrogance diminished. They were indeed numerous and powerful, and in the city, they would not back down from anyone.

But the wilderness was a different world. Unless they always traveled in large groups, they were no match for experienced hunters like Yu Yingnan. If Yu Yingnan decided to confront them, guarding the city's outskirts every day, few members of the Sky Snake Gang would dare to leave, at least not too far from the city.

Qian Ye was impressed by Yu Yingnan. He had initially thought she was just a woman full of violence and muscle. But thinking about it, as a four-star hunter, regardless of personality and style, none of them were easy to deal with.

Flower Snake put away his smile and said, "Alright, Yu Yingnan, you're tough! So, what about the debt you owe to Big Brother? It's fine if you keep delaying, but Big Brother said he'll go to Second Master to settle the matter. Not a single copper coin of interest or penalty will be spared!"

PS: There will be another update tonight, which might be a bit late. I will maintain the commitment of double updates for the first month until the last day.