Wild Hunt

"This character's mechanics are really fun."

With that thought, Ji Minghuan reached out and touched the "Ring Chessboard" surrounding him.

Then the "king," "queen," "soldiers," and "chariots" in the office all turned into streams of light, converging at his side and merging into the black-and-white ring.

They reverted to quiet chess pieces, slowly orbiting his body.

Ji Minghuan silently withdrew Heavenly Drive back into his body, and everything returned to normal.

The office was silent. The pungent smell of blood and the faint stench of something alien being burned still lingered in the air. The Working Demon's corpse was slowly dissolving into fluorescent motes, and even the blood gurgling across the floor was turning transparent.

Ji Minghuan looked at the corpse on the ground, then turned back to look at the three troupe members sitting in a corner of the office.

He asked, "So, am I qualified to join the troupe?"

Anluns and Robert exchanged a glance, while Ayase Origami remained expressionless.

"I vote for him," Ayase Origami said coldly. "A very interesting Heavenly Drive."

"I think it's pretty interesting too." Anluns shrugged. "I've never seen an Exorcist like this before. Since it's an ability the captain is interested in, I'll vote for him as well."

Robert thought for a moment before speaking in his deep, mechanical voice. "Even if his ability has great potential for development, he's still very weak. If he stays with us... he'll most likely die." He paused. "Forget it... There are already two votes. Whether I vote or not is meaningless."

Anluns patted his shoulder and said with a laugh, "If we don't let him join, won't he die anyway?"

"Why?"

"The captain said that if we weren't satisfied, we were to kill him directly."

"You're right," Robert said flatly.

"Anyway, two to zero. The newbie officially joins the team." As she spoke, Ayase Origami stood from the corner and slowly walked toward Ji Minghuan. Then she reached into her kimono sleeve. "This is a gift from the captain."

"A gift?"

"That's right, a gift," Ayase Origami said in her cool voice.

The next moment, Ayase Origami pulled a pitch-black crow from the ochre red sleeve. The crow spread its wings, flew toward Ji Minghuan, and landed on the back of his hand.

"A mark of joining the troupe. Pick anywhere you like," she said. "Mine is on my shoulder."

As she spoke, she lowered her eyes and pulled aside a corner of her ochre red kimono, revealing part of the Crow Tattoo on her shoulder.

Ji Minghuan stared at the Crow Tattoo on the girl's shoulder, half-understanding. After thinking for a moment, he casually gave an answer.

"The back of my hand?"

The instant he finished speaking, the crow seemed to suddenly swell under extreme heat. It twisted, deformed, then melted, spilling onto the back of Ji Minghuan's hand like a puddle of black water.

Its black feathers turned into a crow-shaped design, tattooed onto the back of Ji Minghuan's hand;

Its scarlet eyes became a number in the center of the design—"12."

Its bone-white skeleton formed two straight lines, crossing over the design.

"Welcome, our No. 12 member." Anluns smiled. "Now the last vacancy has been filled."

He put an arm around Ji Minghuan's shoulders and reminded him, "The other members aren't as good-tempered as we are. You'd better be careful when dealing with them."

Ji Minghuan nodded and quietly gazed at the Crow Tattoo on the back of his hand.

At that moment, a mission prompt appeared before his eyes.

Main Quest 1 completed: Arrive at the meeting place and successfully pass the White Crow Troupe's admission test.

Mission reward obtained: 1 Skill Point, 1 Split Point, 1 Attribute Point

Main Quest 1 updated: Accompany the White Crow Troupe in the July 21 Tokyo Underground Auction heist and survive the operation.

Robbing an auction... Ji Minghuan thought. It doesn't sound very dangerous. There probably isn't anyone in Japan who can stop the troupe. I can just tag along.

Anluns said with a smile, "It's about time we got going. The other members haven't arrived in Tokyo yet, so let's get something to eat first, then disband for now."

"Food," Ayase Origami said flatly. "I'm hungry."

"Then let's go... I happen to have a portal to a ramen shop left over from last time," Robert said.

"What are you standing there for, No. 12?" Anluns said as he swept past Ji Minghuan.

The four set off back toward the abandoned corridor from earlier. Maintaining his deadpan expression, Ji Minghuan silently followed at their side.

He lowered his gaze and brought up the character's exclusive cultivation panel.

This character's Exclusive Cultivation System is—"Wild Hunt Winter System."

The core rule of the "Wild Hunt Winter System" is: when you kill enough "demons" and "Superhuman Species," you can obtain rewards through the cultivation system.

Current progress—Cultivation Task 1: Kill any C-rank or above "demon," or one C-rank or above "Superhuman Species" (Reward: 1 Attribute Point) (Task progress is the "total number of demons and Superhuman Species killed")

"Cultivation Task 1" detected as complete. Reward obtained: 1 Attribute Point

Advanced to Cultivation Task 2: Kill any 10 C-rank or above "demons," or 10 C-rank or above "Superhuman Species" (Reward: 1 Attribute Point)

This one's easy. I just need to kill alongside the troupe. They're a bunch of lunatics anyway, Ji Minghuan thought. He closed the cultivation panel and brought up the character's personal panel instead.

Name: Xia Pingzhou (Rare Character)

Age: 19

Current nickname: None (His fame in the real world is too low; he has yet to emerge as an emerging talent)

Strength: D-rank (Adding this attribute can improve your overall physical quality)

Speed: C++ rank (Adding this attribute can improve your nerve reaction speed, as well as the speed of "chess pieces")

Spirit: C++ rank (Adding this attribute can improve your spirit power, as well as the strength of "chess pieces")

Attribute Points held: 2

Split Points held: 1

Skill Points held: 1

Before long, this nickname should update to 'White Crow Troupe No. 12 Member,' Ji Minghuan thought.

I'll look at the Skill Tree later... As for Attribute Points, they're easy enough to assign. This is a 'summoner'-type character, so it doesn't need Strength. Just put points into Speed and Spirit.

Following that line of thought, Ji Minghuan quickly assigned the two Attribute Points he had just obtained.

No. 2 Game Character "Xia Pingzhou" Speed attribute changed: C++ rank → B-rank

No. 2 Game Character "Xia Pingzhou" Spirit attribute changed: C++ rank → B-rank

He then closed the panel. Just then, a set of Footsteps suddenly came from the office behind them.

The three troupe members chatting beside him turned toward the sound and glanced at the office from the corners of their eyes.

A mixed-race young woman wearing a Lüsterk Hat and a khaki trench coat slowly walked in through the office entrance. Her leather boots clicked against the floor.

Beside her was a young girl in a green athletic T-shirt with medium-short hair.

Ji Minghuan was the last troupe member to turn around, but when he caught sight of the two figures at the entrance, he froze slightly.

Little Sister? He raised an eyebrow. And... her Exorcist teacher is with her too.

Separated by dozens of meters, he, Ke Qirui, and Su Zimai exchanged glances.

"Looks like there are other guests here besides us," Robert said.

"Should we kill them?" Ayase Origami asked expressionlessly.

"Mm... Since they saw us, there's no helping it," Anluns said. "Kill them."

The New Book has reached 14th place on the overall rankings. Requesting Moon Tickets and follow-up reads—thank you, everyone!