Special Extermination Team

"Hello, there are a total of fifty-six Acid Sac, worth a total of twenty-eight thousand. Would you like to exchange them for vouchers, or would you like to take Wildlands Coin directly?"

After counting the spoils, the receptionist with long dark brown hair smiled and asked Luo Jun a question.

You can exchange them for tickets and save them to redeem for double the reward after the Ant Queen is killed. If you directly exchange them for Wildlands Coin, you will not be able to enjoy the possible double bonus.

"I need a receipt."

Luo Jun is still in the beginner phase, so his room and board are free and he's not in a hurry to spend money.

Incidentally, yesterday Luo Jun collected more than eighty Acid Sac from the ant nest, some of which were killed by Dong Huicheng and his group. Luo Jun left thirty for them. Dong Huicheng was naturally embarrassed to accept them, but since Luo Jun's tone was a bit cold, they didn't dare to disobey and obediently accepted them.

Little Luo likes to take advantage of others, but not just any advantage. Dong Huicheng and his group are good people, but they suffered significant losses on this mission. Injuries were one issue, and their armor and equipment were also badly damaged. If they don't get anything, the days ahead will be tough.

As for the anthill mission, they don't plan to continue for the time being. Deng Yuanlong's injuries haven't fully healed, and Dong Huicheng just broke through and needs to consolidate his realm. The team needs to rest and recuperate for the next few days.

After taking the receipt from the receptionist, Luo Jun placed a watermelon-sized Acid Sac on the table. "It's not listed on the task list, how much is this worth?"

Upon seeing this thing, the receptionist's eyes widened. "It's huge... What is this?"

Luo Jun was slightly taken aback. "These are the Acid Sac of large Soldier Ant... Has no one handed them in?"

"You mean those giant, purplish-gold Soldier Ant?" The receptionist clearly knew about this new monster.

Luo Jun nodded.

"Please wait a moment." The receptionist left and walked to the back. After a while, a man with a small mustache, wearing the uniform of the Wildlands Hunter Guild, came out with a broad smile, "You must be Mister Ye. Ye..."

Luo Jun nodded.

The man with the mustache put on gloves, picked up the enormous Acid Sac, examined it carefully, and then smiled, saying, "It shouldn't be wrong... In that case, please come with me to the second floor to discuss this further."

Luo Jun thought to himself, "Do I really have to go up to the second floor to exchange money?" Somewhat puzzled, he picked up the Acid Sac and followed the man with the mustache.

"They've gone up to the second floor!" one of the hunters in the hall noticed.

"Did you make a big haul? A monster of level five or higher?"

"I've never seen that masked kid before. What's he carrying?"

"It looks like the Acid Sac of Soldier Ant, it's that big?"

Amidst the murmurs of conversation, Luo Jun went up to the second floor and entered a Reception Room.

The man with the mustache told him to wait a moment and left. After a while, he came in with a middle-aged man wearing glasses.

"Mister Ye, is that right?" The middle-aged man sat down opposite Luo Jun. The man with the small mustache next to him poured two cups of tea, which smelled very good and must be a specialty of the Savage Wilderness.

It's me.

Luo Jun picked up the teacup and took a sip. Although it was steaming, it was far from the flames spewed by Firemane Ant. He could feel the heat, but not the scalding heat. It was a hard feeling to describe.

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Ling Yi, and I'm the rotating manager of the Wildlands Hunter Guild."

Luo Jun glanced at the other side with slight surprise. Due to the pollution, it was impossible for anyone to stay in the Savage Wilderness permanently, so the staff of the Wildlands Hunter Guild had to be rotated periodically. The so-called rotating manager was the person in charge of the guild in the Savage Wilderness during this period, and could basically be regarded as the person in charge of Lingyun City.

Such an important person, came all the way to receive me?

He didn't show it on his face, but he was secretly flattered.

Seeing that Mister Ye did not respond, Ling Yi was not surprised and started chatting familiarly. "I heard that Mister Ye just registered as a hunter this month? I wonder which team you joined?"

Luo Jun shook his head. "No, I'm used to being alone."

A glint of light flashed in Ling Yi's eyes. "Powerful people tend to act alone. However, since you've only been here a short time, you may not know much about the Savage Wilderness or the guild yet. But you should be able to see that the guild is taking this operation against the Ant Nest very seriously."

Luo Jun nodded. "Quite a show."

"Yes..." Ling Yi sighed, "There's nothing we can do. Although the gate has been open for over a century, our understanding of the Savage Wilderness is still very limited. These Firemane Ant are a completely new and dangerous species for us. At their current rate of development, they could very well threaten Lingyun City in the near future, and even affect humanity's exploration of the Savage Wilderness."

"That's why we issued large-scale quests to attract many hunters to explore and hunt... but the results don't seem to be ideal."

"Get to the point." Luo Jun was getting impatient with this roundabout way of chatting. Were all important people like this?

"I've been long-winded..." Ling Yi laughed, "Let me put it this way, most of the casualties among the hunters who went to the ant nest yesterday were caused by these giant Violetgold War Ant ... This is the name the guild just finalized last night. We received more than thirty eyewitness accounts, but you are the first to actually kill one and bring back the spoils."

The first one?

Luo Jun was taken aback, then recalled Dong Huicheng's experience. If the Violetgold War Ant appeared alone, it wouldn't be anything special, but it was often with a large number of Soldier Ant, and with the addition of a fleshy tumor that could confuse people's minds, it was basically a sure-kill situation for an ordinary hunter team. It would be lucky to escape, and it was almost impossible to Counter-kill.

Without the Elemental Construct Box, defeating the Violetgold War Ant amidst an attack by dozens of Soldier Ant ants wouldn't be so easy...

"So this thing hasn't been priced yet?" Luo Jun pointed to the Acid Sac on the table.

"That's precisely why I've come to see you," Ling Yi said with a smile. "You are currently the only hunter to have successfully killed the Violetgold War Ant, and we need your help to assess the monster's strength and value."

If you want me to set the price, then I'll have to ask for a much higher one... But then Luo Jun realized that although the others hadn't been killed, they already had plenty of corroborating evidence, so asking for an exorbitant amount wouldn't make much difference; what they really wanted was intelligence.

"Of course, as a reward for providing firsthand information, we will pay you a considerable sum of money." As if knowing what Luo Jun was thinking, Ling Yi added just in time.

Making a living on guild territory, taking money and then spouting nonsense is a bit unreasonable.

"I can provide information," Luo Jun said, "But I'm new here and have no hunting experience, so my description might not be accurate enough."

"It's alright. We've already gathered a lot of information about the Violetgold War Ant, but the sources are quite diverse and there are many contradictions." The bearded man beside him had already taken out a notebook and pen. "As the sole killer, you only need to help us determine the veracity of these descriptions."

That would save trouble... Luo Jun readily agreed, but he soon realized that he couldn't answer most of the bearded man's questions.

After all, he dealt with the Violetgold War Ant rather quickly, and some of the features described were features he had never seen before. It was impossible to determine whether they were fabricated or whether the monsters were killed before they could even show their abilities.

In short, Luo Jun felt he hadn't provided any useful information...

"How was it?" Ling Yi asked, turning his head after Luo Jun finished answering.

"Mister Ye has sifted out a lot of useful information for us!" the mustachioed man exclaimed excitedly. "I can basically deduce the level of the Violetgold War Ant now."

How did you make that guess? Luo Jun thought to himself.

"You've been a huge help!" Ling Yi said to Luo Jun with a smile, "On behalf of the guild, I thank you for your contribution to the anthill raid and hereby award you 50,000 Wildlands Coin as an intelligence fee!"

Fifty thousand? Luo Jun was shocked. This was the highest reward Ling Fei had promised yesterday. It felt like he got it a little too easily...

Just as Luo Jun was filled with doubt, Ling Yi changed the subject and said with a smile, "In addition, we would like to invite you to join the Ant Nest Special Extermination Team. What do you think?"

"Special Extermination Team?"

"Yes," Ling Yi said with a smile, "Yesterday's setback led the union to reassess the threat posed by the anthill. After deliberation, it was decided to divide this large-scale task into two parts."

"The first part, like before, still involves summoning hunters to hunt ants and weaken the anthill's power."

"The second part is to assemble powerful Wildlands Hunter, form Special Extermination Team, and carry out Beheading Operation."

"This anthill is more troublesome than we imagined. Conventional bounty hunting alone will not be enough to eradicate it. We must assemble our elite forces and strike at its heart!"

So this was the real purpose... The previous rewards were just a tactic to win me over; what the guild really valued was my demonstrated Combat Power...

"This is dangerous," Luo Jun said calmly.

"We have prepared generous rewards for the Special Extermination Team." Ling Yi nodded. "Moreover, you don't need to hunt every day like other hunters. The guild will integrate the intelligence reported back by ordinary hunters and help you develop suitable plans."

"Currently, the Firemane Ant are showing considerable intelligence. Once the Ant Queen senses a threat, she is likely to become defensive. Therefore, we only have one chance. After gathering enough information, we must strike decisively!"

"I'm not trying to raise the price," Luo Jun shook his head. "The guild overestimated my strength."

Luo Jun knew his own limitations. No matter how talented he was, he was only at the Body Refinement Realm, without even Body Protecting Qi. He could handle ordinary Soldier Ant on the outside, but going deep into the anthill?

Although the Elemental Construct are powerful, their numbers are limited, and they would easily be exhausted when faced with countless ants. He also lacks the ability to escape, and if he were to encounter real danger, he probably wouldn't even be able to find a way to run away.

Ling Yi, however, thought he was being modest, "Don't joke around. You're an expert who can single-handedly defeat dozens of Soldier Ant and a Violetgold War Ant... There are definitely risks involved in the mission, but the guild has made the most thorough preparations."

As he spoke, he leaned forward slightly and whispered, "I can give you a heads-up: the Frost Moon Troupe has agreed to participate in the Beheading Operation!"

(End of this chapter)