Migration

By the time Su Shijie had finished guiding his spiritual energy and the spiritual energy around them had settled, Su Ren had already finished cleaning up the battlefield.

He had even dug out every Scatter Shot bolt Su Shijie had fired, then destroyed the marks left where they had struck tree trunks and the ground, pouring over them a viscous tar-like substance.

Besides that, he gathered the mangled corpses, piled up dead branches and fallen leaves, sprinkled them with some oily liquid, finished his cigarette, and lit it...

Boom~

The tar-like black oil caught fire, instantly producing an extremely high temperature.

Even the Giant Brown Iron Trees, which were practically immune to forest fires, bore obvious scorch marks, while the ground briefly vitrified.

Though the trees had not caught fire, the tar and dead branches had completely burned away all traces from the scene.

Only after the flames had died out did Su Ren turn and leave with Su Shijie.

"If this had been an ordinary clash in the wild, there would have been no need for such trouble. Nature can easily deal with corpses. But this involves Evil God Cultists, and they casually sent out Scholars. We have to conceal how you fought."

Su Ren's words made Su Shijie nod, though his expression then turned strange. Why did his dad always carry such weird things in his bag?

Poison, tar that destroyed evidence, interrogation drugs... No matter how he looked at it, none of it seemed proper.

"The attackers this time were hired. There were two Transformation Tier fighters and two high-level Awakened Rank fighters. They should be somewhat well-known among the newer teams."

As though recalling something else, Su Ren continued explaining to Su Shijie.

"Under normal circumstances, you can loot the bodies. Just remember not to transfer money through the Personal Terminal. Even if they offer it, don't take it. After scanning things with a detector, you can generally take ordinary items.

"But this time, you shattered anything valuable. There's really nothing to regret."

That only made Su Shijie's expression grow stranger.

Why were you so practiced at this...

Although they had run into that pursuit on the way and Su Ren had spent time clearing the battlefield,

neither of them had expended much overall. The biggest losses had been six specialized crossbow bolts and some ammunition.

Oh, and Dad's strange bottle of poison, along with the special tar used to deal with the battlefield.

Because of that, after speeding up for the rest of the journey, they still reached the wilderness camp where they had stayed on their first night coming here.

"The fact that they hired people instead of coming to kill us personally means they take us seriously, but not that seriously.

"It's normal for mercenaries to change locations after each job. Now that we've dealt with this trouble, we probably won't need to worry about retaliation from them for a while. They can't keep watching us over this forever. Sometimes, don't think too highly of yourself.

"Besides, the Floating City will keep sending Task Forces to investigate them. They have enough trouble of their own. The crackdown on Evil God Cultists has always been merciless."

Before entering the camp, Su Ren gave Su Shijie another simple reminder, reassuring him not to be so nervous.

Having been attacked for the first time, Su Shijie had acted like a frightened mouse throughout the journey back, constantly suspicious. He kept staring at the drone and suspected every passerby of being an enemy.

Su Ren could only sigh at the sight. Calling him timid would not be right—when he had helped deal with the Contaminated Beast and in this latest battle, he had shown an excellent combat mentality. He remained calm in danger and was very steady.

But if his mental fortitude was truly so strong, why did he look so paranoid, as though he believed someone was always out to get him?

Caution was a good thing, but once it affected his normal state of mind, Su Ren needed to talk him through it and put him at ease.

After all, this had been his first time killing someone, his first time being hunted, and his first time killing his pursuers in turn. He could treat it as psychological counseling...

"Dad, do you think that dead fatso sold us out?"

Su Shijie was still tense. Everyone now looked like an Evil God Cultist to him, and that dead fatso had looked like no good person from the start.

"It's good that you can think that way. It's certainly possible, and quite likely. Actually, it's easy to determine.

"When we hunt, see whether any Task Force members come by, then confirm the time of the report with them. If no Task Force comes, or if the report was made late, then it was definitely his doing.

"Otherwise, the leak did not come from him. With a force capable of silencing us, he could have completely suppressed the matter."

Su Ren smiled and patted Su Shijie on the shoulder, then spoke with a hint of emotion.

"But the person who hired them still hasn't shown himself, and he has already set his sights on us. To avoid further complications, once this Deer Herd Migration is over, you've hunted enough valuable prey, and Congcong and the others have all reached the Awakened Rank, we'll move..."

Standing before the camp, Su Ren made plans for the future, his tone carrying a trace of sadness.

After all, he had lived here for so long. It was the retirement haven he had carefully chosen, and he had been satisfied with both its atmosphere and environment. He had gotten familiar with the place, so leaving so suddenly would naturally be hard.

Still, there was no way to know whether this Task Force could wipe out the Evil God Cultists in one stroke. If some slipped through the net and kept targeting them, they would never know peace. They could only leave.

When the twitchy Su Shijie heard Su Ren directly mention moving, he froze for a moment, then felt a little wistful as well. He had lived here since childhood; it was impossible to say he felt nothing for the place.

Those damned Evil God Cultists were truly a scourge. They had been forced to leave their home—how infuriating.

It felt like offending a group of desperadoes who knew where you lived. Though the police had already been called, if you had the means to move, you would probably still move.

Sigh~ Perhaps moving really was the best choice. Once they finished hunting the deer herd, the exams would be nearly over as well, and he could even get an Awakened Rank potion. They would be leaving with a full haul...

This Deer Herd Migration was undoubtedly a lavish feast for Su Shijie. He could extract souls, speed up his spiritual energy guidance, and make money.

It was like hitting three birds with one stone.

After all, traveling through the wilderness and hunting every night over the past while had shown that catching Spirit Beast-level prey outside normally required quite a bit of time and effort.

But during this Deer Herd Migration, there was no need to worry about not finding enough prey.

Maybe he could even improve his bloodline once more!

When they entered the camp again, it was obvious that there were far fewer people inside.

This was already the last wave. Everyone who was coming had arrived, and most had already reached P-314 to rest and regroup.

"Yo, back so soon? Not staying a few more days? Here for the deer herd?"

The leader of this wilderness camp, Han Wenlong, a refined-looking man blind in one eye, smiled when he saw the two of them enter.

"Of course. It only happens once a year, after all."

"Then you don't need to go back to the shelter. A few Spirit Deer have already passed through. The main herd should begin formally passing through tomorrow. From about ten kilometers south of here to about ten kilometers from P-314, that whole stretch is their deer route."

Having remained here all along, Han Wenlong was naturally better informed than the two of them, who had just returned from the city.

"Then we made it just in time."

Su Ren smiled.

"Mm. Remember to sell me anything good you catch."

"Tch, you're too far from the route."

Su Ren did not agree just because the other man had given them information. The closest part of the deer route was still ten kilometers away. When every second counted, who had the time to come all this way just to sell something?

He could simply sell to passing merchants nearby.

Besides, when merchants passed through here, they would already handle quite a bit of merchandise on the spot. This guy dealt in bulk business, so he was only saying it casually.

"By the way, has anything else happened recently?"

Su Ren asked in an unconcerned tone.

"Oh, Task Force people came again. I heard Evil God Cultists have been active nearby. They're making quite a commotion, and it looks like they'll probably stay until the whole hunt is over."

As expected of a local power, Han Wenlong had a quick grasp of developments in the area.

Hearing that, Su Ren glanced at Su Shijie, who visibly relaxed. With the Task Force searching nearby, they at least would not need to worry about the Evil God Cultists causing trouble in the near future.

They could set aside time to move with peace of mind.

However, as Dad had said earlier, this also confirmed that the dead fatso was not the source of the leak, because the Task Force had arrived before the two of them.

After chatting with Han Wenlong for the time it took to smoke a cigarette, Su Ren set up a tent with Su Shijie, who had traveled all day, and went inside.

"You never joined the hunts before, so remember to turn on the scanning function on your Personal Terminal. The many merchants who come here will actively display their locations. Normally, there will be at least one purchasing point every kilometer along the deer route."

Because of spiritual energy interference, communication signals were weak, and Personal Terminals usually could not access satellite channels in the wilderness.

But they still had this short-range scanning function. With a walkie-talkie, they could usually communicate within one kilometer.

The function was rarely used in ordinary times, but during this kind of wilderness hunting carnival, its usefulness became apparent.