Chapter 76

"她 visited several weapon shops and bought a lot of ammunition, almost as much as the reward from her last mission. But apart from that, there was no unusual activity."

Tianshe pondered for a moment and said, "Send more people to keep a close eye on her! Luoxiong, you go too. If she shows any signs of getting involved, make sure to keep her in the city!"

Tianshe also had deep reservations about this female hunter and dispatched Luoxiong, one of his four top experts.

Feiniao's eyes gleamed with excitement, and he suddenly said, "Let me keep an eye on her! I like this job!"

Tianshe's face darkened, and he barked, "No! We can't move against her now, or that old man Er Ye will fight us to the death!"

Feiniao licked his lips and smiled cruelly, saying, "That old man is only level five. I don't understand why you're so cautious! He's ruined many of our plans. In my opinion, we should have gotten rid of him long ago!"

Tianshe's face was grim as he slowly said, "We'll get him eventually, but not now. Liao Ye, how are the negotiations with the hunters going?"

Liao Ye was a lean old man with narrow eyes that always reminded people of a venomous snake. He said calmly, "Very successful! I've found someone who will definitely interest you."

Liao Ye called out to the hall, and a person wrapped in a cloak walked in and stood before Tianshe. He lifted his hood, revealing a young and handsome face.

Even in front of Tianshe, he was not the least bit nervous and said calmly, "I am Li Lunzhe, a three-star hunter, level four Origin Force."

Tianshe's eyes sparkled, and he stood up, saying, "I've heard of you! One of the strongest hunters of the younger generation! Speak, what do you want?"

Li Lunzhe squeezed out a few words, "I can help you hunt down Qian Ye. The condition is that you give me Yu Yingnan after the job is done!"

Feiniao grunted heavily from the side.

Tianshe looked at Li Lunzhe and suddenly smiled, saying, "I can't agree to that."

Li Lunzhe's face immediately changed.

Tianshe looked at him for a while before saying, "However, I can promise that after the boy is dead, if we capture Yu Yingnan, you can have her for three days first."

Li Lunzhe gritted his teeth and said, "Alright, it's a deal!"

"Tianshe, give him a few people."

"No, I'll act alone," Li Lunzhe said coldly.

"Fine! That's good too!" Tianshe laughed. In the wild, the best person to deal with a hunter was another hunter.

A moment later, Heilang, Feiniao, and Li Lunzhe set out one after another. It was still early, even before the usual time to wake up, and much earlier before dawn.

Tianshe paced back and forth in the hall, reviewing his plans from start to finish, but he still felt a sense of unease.

Liao Ye observed for a long time and then said, "Boss, to deal with such a young kid, we are using a sledgehammer to crack a nut, striking with overwhelming force."

Tianshe's expression relaxed, and he nodded. Qian Ye was very young and only a level three warrior. To deal with such a young kid, he had sent out three level four experts, two of whom were among the top four experts in the gang. They were not ordinary level four experts, and even if the kid was skilled, he could not be more experienced than these battle-hardened veterans.

Indeed, as Liao Ye said, this was an overwhelming strike, even a bit of an overkill.

Tianshe went upstairs to his bedroom, intending to sleep a bit more. He had been more exhausted from staying up all night than from not sleeping at all, and now his head was pounding. Lying down, Tianshe felt very drowsy, but his mind was still racing, and he could not fall into a deep sleep.

At this time, outside Dark Blood City, Qian Ye had found a sheltered cave and started a campfire. He sat by the fire, and a wild boar's hind leg was almost cooked. The flames licked the fat, making a slight sizzling sound, and a fragrant aroma wafted up.

Suddenly, footsteps were heard outside the cave, and then a tall young man entered.

"Smells good!" he said as soon as he came in.

Qian Ye turned the boar leg without showing any emotion and glanced at the newcomer. He dared to start a fire here, so he naturally had his defenses up, ensuring that the firelight and smell could not be seen or smelled from outside the cave.

However, the young man's footsteps were only heard when he reached the cave entrance. This meant that none of the traps Qian Ye had set nearby had been triggered, and the footsteps were probably intentionally made when he was close.

The young man took two steps to the fire, sat down opposite Qian Ye, and stretched his long legs, looking very relaxed and comfortable.

"My name is William, William Feng," he introduced himself without any shyness.

This young man had a narrow forehead, high cheekbones, and golden hair, a typical Viking-style face. His features were very handsome, with a pair of blue-gray eyes that gave a very focused and sincere impression when looking at someone. He always seemed to be smiling, and his short beard added a mature charm to his young face.

Qian Ye lowered his eyes and began to brush the last layer of seasoning on the boar leg, saying, "You can call me Qian Ye. Your name is a bit unusual; you're not from the Empire, are you?"

William smiled and said, "I was born in a small country in the western part of the Empire and came to the Qin Empire to study and settle down when I was young. My adoptive father in the Empire surnamed Feng, so I took his surname."

Qian Ye's eyes sparkled, and he said, "You're from the Upper Continent?"

William raised his eyebrows in surprise, "You are very perceptive, my friend. Yes, I am indeed from the Upper Continent."

Qian Ye did not say anything more but took the cooked boar leg off the fire, cut it in half with a dagger, and handed half to William. William was delighted and did not hesitate to take it and start eating.

Qian Ye watched him eat, and his fingers trembled slightly. William's ears twitched, but he did not look up, continuing to eat with relish.

Qian Ye stopped watching him, placed another boar leg on the fire, sprinkled seasoning and wine, and started cooking it again.

Both of them had large appetites and quickly devoured the two boar legs, which together weighed over a hundred pounds.

William patted his stomach, looking satisfied, and said with a smile, "I haven't eaten so much in months!"

"Food is indeed hard to find on the wasteland," Qian Ye agreed.

"Food is easy to find, but good food is hard to come by. Do you mind if I rest here for the night?" William asked with a smile.

Qian Ye spread his hands and said, "Of course not, please make yourself at home. I'm going to sleep."

William placed his backpack on the ground near the fire, using it as a pillow, and lay down, quickly falling into a deep sleep.

Qian Ye stared at the dancing flames for a while, then moved back, half-reclining against the cave wall, closed his eyes, slowed his breathing, and entered a state of light sleep.

This was a state between deep sleep and wakefulness, a special technique used by special forces in the military, suitable for resting in battlefields or dangerous environments, allowing one to instantly regain full alertness at the slightest disturbance.

The night was very quiet, with only the occasional crackling of the fire.

This was an unusual silence. The wasteland at night was the domain of nocturnal predators and lower-level dark races, and travelers who dared to spend the night would usually prepare to deal with at least one or two attacks. But this night was exceptionally peaceful, with almost no howls or roars.

At exactly 5:00 AM, William suddenly opened his eyes, yawned, and said, "I slept really well!"

As soon as William moved, Qian Ye opened his eyes.

William stood up, stretched, and then smiled brightly, saying, "Thank you for your hospitality!"

"I didn't do much," Qian Ye shrugged, saying.

William leaned over, patted Qian Ye's shoulder, and said, "Alright, I should go. See you again if we have the chance! But on my way here, I saw a few people who seemed to be after you. Be careful!"

"I will," Qian Ye, still wrapped in his cloak, leaned against the cave wall and slightly raised his head.

William looked at Qian Ye deeply, a meaningful smile in his eyes, picked up his backpack, waved, and walked out of the cave without looking back.

Qian Ye remained seated, not moving until William's footsteps faded away. Then he let out a deep breath and suddenly broke out in a cold sweat!

Qian Ye touched the spot on his shoulder where William had patted him and brought his hand to his nose, taking a deep breath. He immediately detected a faint, scorching aura. It was unmistakably the smell of dark Origin Force, which seemed to originate from the werewolf region.

This young man, William, had unfathomable strength. Qian Ye had known something was off about him from the moment he entered the cave, but he could not discern anything until William deliberately left that trace of aura. This meant that William's strength far exceeded his, on a completely different level.

Additionally, while William was eating the boar leg, Qian Ye had glimpsed a tattoo on his neck, partially hidden by his collar.

It was a mountain peak, towering and steep, with a shape and angle that perfectly matched a pattern deeply etched in Qian Ye's memory. It was not an ordinary tattoo but a totem symbolizing faith and power.

The Summit of Peaks was an extremely powerful and mysterious werewolf tribe on the Upper Continent. Each of its members was said to be a terrifying presence at the top of the food chain.

Why would a member of the Summit of Peaks suddenly appear in Dark Blood City? Recalling the mysterious black-robed figure who had appeared that day, Qian Ye had a vague feeling that a massive storm was forming on the Rockhold territory. If he was caught in it, he would be crushed to pieces.

Only after William truly left did Qian Ye realize he had narrowly escaped a disaster. If William had any hostility towards him, a casual pat could have torn Qian Ye to shreds. In the face of absolute strength, any technique or trick was useless.

William mentioned that some people were tracking him, which were likely sent by Tianshe. Tianshe's reaction was within Qian Ye's expectations.

Qian Ye extinguished the fire, made some minor adjustments in the cave, and recovered some of the traps outside before leaving.

Half a day later, a group of adventurers appeared at the cave entrance. Leading them was Heilang, an expert in tracking on the wasteland, who had managed to follow Qian Ye all the way here.

PS: Thank you to our new patron, Chongchong Tianjiang, and to rimoflove for the gold patronage. Everyone, *Yongye* will likely go on sale in early June. We'll play the monthly ticket game in June... This month's update is only for red tickets, and the patronage will be accounted for and returned on the weekend (I need to control the debt scale a bit!).

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