Southern Forest

"Is the Twilight Chapel special?" The Bartender placed a glass of fruit wine in front of Zheng Yichen, a graceful smile on his face. "You've already touched the 'truth' of the world, so you should realize that anything is possible."

The Bartender didn't hoard the information he knew about the Twilight Chapel. "My understanding of the Twilight Chapel is quite limited. Since you've been there, you should have discovered it. Those who like it will go often, and those who don't might never go back after visiting once."

"Someone I know analyzed this situation. The reason for this difference is likely that some people chose the Twilight Chapel, and the Twilight Chapel chose those people."

"So, I'm quite lucky? Since there's a Twilight Chapel, are there places like a Dawn Chapel?"

"Your imagination is truly rich."

"Can I see the menu?" Zheng Yichen decisively changed the subject.

"Do you want to accept a new commission already? Then let me remind you, after you accept this next commission, your novice period will be over."

Zheng Yichen looked somewhat surprised by the Bartender's words. "Is there such a thing?"

The Bartender smiled and shook his head. "It's just how it is here. Novice hunters without a guide have a very difficult time. Since a little casual chat can make things easier for them, why not do it? Besides, you've ordered drinks too."

"Then give me another one."

After the Bartender refilled Zheng Yichen's glass of fruit wine, he took out the 'menu' again.

The content of the menu was still similar to before, but there were fewer commissions for patrolling the farms. Instead, there were more commissions from the Research Institute, some for 'patrols' and others that directly asked hunters to conduct some tests.

"This section of commissions requires sufficient strength," the Bartender briefly explained the situation of those types of commissions to Zheng Yichen. Patrol-type commissions involved group combat with several or even more hunters, and even temporary teams could cooperate.

Commissions that explicitly stated they were for testing were more dangerous types. Although there were also one-on-many situations or even instances where equipment was provided, the test targets were stronger. If those test targets were modified creatures or something else, they were generally finished products.

Not half-finished products like in patrol commissions.

The difficulty difference between the two was huge, and it was one of the commissions that "freeloading" hunters disliked accepting the most.

"Besides these types of commissions, there's another kind: testing drugs or similar items developed by the Research Institute. I think you definitely won't like that kind."

"Eating random things will cause problems," Zheng Yichen agreed and nodded. Patrol-type commissions took a long time, while testing commissions had a set time. You just had to show up on time and it could be completed that day.

However, completing such commissions wasn't just about taking hits. Since the Research Institute had these commissions, it was with the expectation that they would be beaten to death or severely injured by the hunters present.

Even if you went to take hits, you had to achieve something. Those who were instantly killed might not even have their medical expenses reimbursed. They explicitly requested agile, strong hunters, preferably those with anomalies. Were freeloaders going there to stage an accident?

"There are bounties like this too??" Zheng Yichen saw a bounty that surprised him. How to describe this bounty? It was a... common yet shouldn't be here – a missing person notice??

Look at what he found, a missing person notice open to hunters. After looking at the commission information, Zheng Yichen's mouth twitched. "No one would accept this kind of commission, right?"

The commission was to find a missing 'Mist Walker'. The person wasn't kidnapped or met with misfortune, but disappeared while approaching an Anomaly. Hunters who didn't know the truth about Anomalies would be confused.

This looked like a common missing person case, but Zheng Yichen had been inside an Anomaly and had come into contact with the world connected to Anomalies. Therefore, this kind of disappearance was likely the Mist Walker voluntarily entering the Anomaly and not having time to return. After the Anomaly disappeared, they were left there.

It was also possible they were ambushed by the natives on the other side after passing through the Anomaly and directly died. Regardless, this kind of bounty was just for looking at. It was the type with very generous rewards but actually very little chance of completion.

"The patron pays well, so it's posted here. If some lucky hunter stumbles upon it and gets a bargain, it'll be a win-win situation for everyone," the bartender said calmly. "Do you want to give it a try?"

"Even if this kind of commission isn't accepted, as long as I find the person and bring them here, it can be completed immediately, right?"

"Of course."

Zheng Yichen then looked at the other commissions. He saw one that piqued his interest: traces of a Weird Species had been found in the forest south of Southern Longcheng, and there had been several incidents of people being injured so far.

"This one it is."

"Oh? Are you sure? It's a bit difficult for beginners."

"It's difficult, but not impossible, right? Otherwise, it wouldn't be on this 'menu'."

"Indeed." The bartender nodded slightly. "Although many of the injured died, some survived. Also, this task can be accepted by multiple people, and it goes to whoever completes it first. If there's no problem, I'll register it for you."

"Let's do that. I was just planning to find a good place to practice my shooting anyway."

"You'll be fined if the Rangers catch you. If you don't take other commissions, this kind of task relies more on luck."

"One thing at a time. I'll experience it first."

After leaving the Night Banquet Bar, Zheng Yichen went to the Twilight Chapel to pick up his weapon. After making some additional preparations, he headed straight for the forest south of Southern Longcheng. The fog in this forest was even heavier, and the Rangers' patrol areas were all on the outskirts of the forest.

They wouldn't venture deep into the forest. One reason was that the year-round fog made it easy to get lost. Another was that there were many Abnormal Creatures inside. As long as they didn't go deeper, the outer areas were still safe, and many people came here for picnics on weekdays.

However, after the recent incident, there were no more picnickers. What could be seen were vehicles with the logos of certain research institutes and some Hunters operating in the vicinity.

"..." Just looking at the scene, Zheng Yichen knew that when a major abnormal event occurred in Longcheng, most of the time, one didn't need to worry about it excessively affecting Ordinary People. Just look at the liveliness of the scene here.

The Hunters, needless to say, were here specifically for the money, searching for Weird Species. The research institutes didn't need much explanation; they were likely here for the Weird Species as well.

This place was so crowded that Zheng Yichen felt like turning back and leaving. There were simply too many competitors. Even if he got lucky and found the Weird Creature, the people around him would most likely not play by the rules.