What would he choose: give up the license he'd only recently obtained in exchange for a chance to join the Bureau? If he hadn't fully entered an anomaly and come into contact with another world, he might have seriously considered it. Things were easier to handle from inside the system, after all.
Anomalies appeared in Longcheng pretty frequently. Roy hadn't told him much, but he'd tacitly confirmed that 'things' sometimes came out of anomalies. They were from other worlds, and not all of them were as easygoing as George.
Some were openly hostile. That meant he'd have plenty of chances to encounter the abnormal. He wouldn't mind living that way.
But that was only because he hadn't known any of this. Now that he did, he had more ideas—or, to put it another way, he was getting a little carried away. His ambitions had grown.
"Got it. But even if you have your own ideas, you can still do it." Roy didn't mind Zheng Yichen's refusal. He'd met plenty of novice hunters, and those who chose this path usually had their own reasons.
Some could stick with it. Others couldn't. After taking a beating from reality, they'd come to their senses and joined the Countermeasures Bureau. The Bureau didn't accept just anyone, either. To get a Hunter License, you only needed to be capable of dealing with abnormal creatures and have some relevant experience.
Anyone with the ability could get a Hunter License, even people with criminal records. They'd just have a little chat with law enforcement first...
The Countermeasures Bureau, on the other hand, required not only ability but also a clean record. Bureau staff handled some of the same work as the police in their day-to-day duties, so they had that requirement.
"Okay." Zheng Yichen glanced at the giant rats all around him and repeatedly jabbed with his Fishing Rod. Every strike killed one. Roy's expression turned a little strange.
At first, he'd thought Zheng Yichen was an expert. But as the giant rats were cleared away, he gradually realized that Zheng Yichen was simply incredibly precise with his thrusts. In every other respect, he seemed pretty ordinary.
Well, his physical fitness was excellent, too. He'd exploded into action over a dozen times without even looking winded. He was a self-taught hunter with no foundation, but Zheng Yichen's choice to specialize in a single kind of attack was undeniably sound.
A lack of fundamentals didn't matter. If he honed his preferred attack to a high enough level, it could make up for his shortcomings in other areas.
As long as he was fast enough to land a devastating blow—or kill his enemy outright—there'd be no chance for them to expose his other weaknesses. A dead enemy couldn't watch him and study him. Of course, such a specialized technique could also be countered...
"Got anything stronger? I want to give it a try."
"...No. Just stay here." Roy gave Zheng Yichen a disapproving look. A spearman like him, lacking fundamentals in every area except physical fitness and fast, precise thrusts, was suited to guarding a position.
The giant rats were pouring out of the storm drains. With Zheng Yichen stationed here, he could hit every one of them. What would he do anywhere else?
The deeper areas weren't suitable for novice hunters.
"Is there a bonus?"
"Of course. You'll get a few other things, too." Roy gave a few instructions, then left. Other Countermeasures Bureau members were stationed here as well. Zheng Yichen only had to precisely kill every giant rat that got out.
Any that he couldn't take down would be killed by the other officers. After the initial surge was cleared, though, there weren't many giant rats left. One would only dart out when people let their guard down for a moment, and Zheng Yichen's reflexes were fast enough to keep up with them.
Left behind, Zheng Yichen jabbed a giant rat that darted out and flung it aside. He felt dissatisfied. He wanted to fight a bigger abnormal creature. These rats were too weak, and with people around, he couldn't drain them dry.
At most, he could take a fifth of their blood. It was like eating one bite of a snack and throwing the rest away. Snacks weren't very nutritious, but what a waste.
Zheng Yichen stared longingly in the direction of the anomaly, torn. He wanted to sneak over and take a look, to see whether the anomaly really was connected to another world—and, if so, what kind of world it was.
It was too intriguing.
The sound of more intense gunfire rang out. Roy emerged from the fog. His uniform had been neat before, but now it was disheveled, and half an arrow was stuck in his shoulder—a Bone Arrow.
"Don't stay here anymore!" Roy had come to reassign people. Something serious had clearly happened near the anomaly, making the cleanup of the abnormal creatures a secondary concern. Zheng Yichen stabbed a giant rat that had darted out, drawn by the smell of blood.
"What came out of the anomaly?"
"A whole group of things." Roy didn't waste time explaining. He reassigned the people here and got them organized before answering Zheng Yichen. Then he hurried to a police car and opened the trunk. He took out a bottle of medicine, poured two pills into his mouth, and his pained expression eased.
He glanced at the guns in the trunk and reached for one. "How's your aim?"
"I just finished registering. I was about to buy a gun and practice, but I can practice now!" Zheng Yichen sounded eager.
"..." Roy paused, silently put the gun back, and picked up a Rocket Launcher instead. He had no intention of handing that over to Zheng Yichen. As Zheng Yichen watched in disappointment, Roy closed the trunk again.
He had no intention of giving him a gun.
"Don't get the wrong idea. If the situation were under control, I wouldn't mind lending you a gun. It's just too chaotic right now. Stick with that weapon of yours—it's pretty good."
So that was why he'd put the gun back and taken a Rocket Launcher instead? Zheng Yichen flicked his Fishing Rod and clicked his tongue, annoyed. When they reached the scene and he saw what was there, he felt even more disappointed.
Things had indeed come out of the anomaly, and they were vicious. But this time, they weren't creatures. They were chunks of rotten flesh and piles of bones!
"Does this happen often?" Zheng Yichen looked at the skeletons carrying bone bows. Those things had to be Skeleton Soldiers, right? There were also some corpses. What kind of fantasy world had they come from?
As a transmigrator from Earth, the moment he saw them, all sorts of possibilities raced through his mind.
"No." Roy shook his head. He hoisted the Rocket Launcher and aimed at the skeletons emerging from the fog, then pulled the trigger. The explosion's flash didn't completely dispel the fog, but it blasted the skeletons it hit to pieces. The shock wave scattered the nearby skeletons as well, but it didn't kill the Skeleton Soldiers for good.
Their heads were still clacking as they moved.
Roy's shot wasn't the most impressive display. There was heavy firepower suppressing them elsewhere, too. Zheng Yichen spotted a burly man whose uniform looked about to burst at the seams. He carried a six-barreled Gatling Gun and wore a huge ammunition pack on his back. As he swept the muzzle across the area, it looked like he was swinging a long chainsaw.
The Undead Creatures pouring out of the fog fell in droves, like wheat being harvested.
"..." Zheng Yichen stared silently at Roy. Roy didn't look embarrassed.
"If you had any experience with guns, I'd have lent you one. And you saw for yourself: guns aren't very effective against these creatures."
"But cannons are." Zheng Yichen looked at Roy's Rocket Launcher. Guns were indeed at a disadvantage against Skeleton Soldiers. Even a hit might only break one or two of their bones. Their legs were much thinner than those of creatures with flesh, too.
The burly man had cut down a great many Skeleton Soldiers, but their bones hadn't been destroyed completely. Some still had their upper bodies intact and could shoot their bone bows.
Zheng Yichen thrust with his Fishing Rod, striking an arrow and knocking the Bone Arrow aside.
"Impressive." Roy praised him. The arrows weren't as fast as bullets, but intercepting one with a thrust and actually hitting it was already remarkable.
At the center of the anomaly, they saw a gigantic head. Even through the fog, it drew everyone's attention.
It was a skull as large as a freight truck, with ghostly blue flames burning in its eye sockets. Enormous wings loomed in the fog. There was no doubt about it: it was a Bone Dragon...
Good grief, had the Lich King invaded another world? Wasn't that the Burning Legion's job?
Zheng Yichen couldn't help swallowing. If he got the chance to hit that thing, he wondered whether he could draw some marrow out of its bones...
"Can the firepower here handle that thing?" Zheng Yichen gripped his Fishing Rod tightly. He got no response. When he looked at Roy, he saw that Roy had put down the Rocket Launcher and was calling for support on his communications device. He had no time to answer.
So Longcheng had been in constant danger all along?
"What did you ask just now?" After finishing the call, Roy looked much more relaxed.
Zheng Yichen repeated his question. Roy shook his head. "We've got enough firepower to clear out those 'dead' things, but probably not enough to deal with that big one."
"I just asked the experts. If we attack that big one directly, we'll definitely be wiped out. But if it comes over here, our firepower will be enough to hold it off!"
Huh? So there was more to this than he knew? He wanted to ask, but Roy brushed him off with the excuse that it was classified information and that knowing too much would get him forcibly recruited.
The Bone Dragon in the depths of the anomaly moved. Ghostly blue energy pierced the fog and gathered in great quantities, then it took a deep breath in their direction!
"Evade!"
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