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"You and that Novice Hunter seem to get along pretty well." Not long after Zheng Yichen left, a woman with shoulder-length hair, wearing jeans and a white shirt, with an eye tattoo on her left earlobe, approached the bartender. "Do you think highly of him?"

"I'd say I get along well with every Novice Hunter," the bartender replied with a faint smile.

An Qi didn't comment on his answer. Among the hunters who frequented the Night Banquet Bar, at least a third had been looked after by him; Zheng Yichen wasn't exactly a special case.

"What is it? Miss Qi, are you looking for new teammates again?"

"That's right. We've had quite a few losses lately and need to recruit some new blood. Do you have any good recommendations?" An Qi rested her arms on the bar counter, propping up her chin.

"No," the bartender's smile remained unchanged, but his answer was very direct.

"Heh~ You can't decide for those hunters. Recommend a few good quality ones to me." An Qi wasn't about to give up. The bartender had an excellent reputation in the hunter community and naturally came into contact with many Novice Hunters.

With his recommendation, she could save a lot of trouble.

"I can't." The bartender refused again. He never recommended new recruits to join any team. Of course, if the Novice Hunters chose for themselves, it was none of his business. He intended to break this rule for the woman in front of him.

The woman before him was named An Qi... of course, that wasn't her real name. Her profession was also a hunter, but she came from a prominent family in Longcheng, ranking seventh. She had been using the name An Qi in the hunter circles. Her primary focus in the hunter community was Anomalies, not other Abnormal Creatures.

Most Anomalies in Longcheng were managed by the Countermeasures Bureau, but in this city, money could accomplish many things. Not to mention, An Qi's family was not only wealthy but also influential, so her access to Anomalies was not difficult or restricted.

At the same time, An Qi's team consistently had the highest casualty and disappearance rates. However, the 'salary' she offered was always high, and her logistical support was excellent. Even when she was short-handed, finding replacements wasn't too difficult.

It was just the frequency of replacing teammates. If someone hadn't specifically investigated, one might think she was deliberately setting up her teammates, sending all the recruited new ones to the Black Research Institute.

Yet, she was a genuine Mist Walker hunter, specializing in... exploring Anomalies.

The bartender knew a thing or two about exploring Anomalies. Most of those activities were unsuitable for Novice Hunters. Although Novice Hunters had the highest potential, exploring Anomalies could affect them. Some recruited Novice Hunters were also dismissed from the team for being unsuitable.

In summary, An Qi wanted Novice Hunters, not seasoned veterans. This was because Novice Hunters were still in their early stages, and besides having higher potential, they were also easier to control than seasoned hunters.

Exploring Anomalies didn't necessarily require powerful hunters.

"Those hunters might not thank you if they knew about this," An Qi said as she saw the bartender unwilling to budge. She didn't intend to threaten him, although with her status, it would be easy to do so.

But in the hunter circle, her family's background provided her with significant convenience, but it didn't allow her to act recklessly. The more one knew, the more cautious they became, rather than unrestrained.

"I don't need that."

"This one will do." Zheng Yichen looked at the Portable Camera in front of him. He didn't need to hold it; he just needed to carry it. It wasn't cheap, costing nearly thirty thousand, but its advantages were its excellent stabilization and battery life. Its pixel count and electromagnetic interference resistance were also good, and it came with a decent thermal imaging function.

However, this device was portable, and its built-in screen was small. To use it comfortably, an external screen was needed, which his phone could provide.

When he bought it, he was a little concerned about the money spent, but it was part of his job. A good camera could be very useful in many situations. His main objective was to find Abnormal Creatures, powerful ones that had injured people.

That way, he wouldn't have any psychological burden when dealing with them. He could also record some photos when dealing with those Abnormal Creatures.

He wondered if he could become an amateur UP Master in Longcheng. He had indeed seen videos filmed by some well-known hunters on various websites. Some were very popular, but most of those videos were about the daily training of hunters, their basic social circles, and even combat footage was often edited.

When he watched videos of this kind before, he mostly treated them like firearm review videos. The daily training of those famous hunters also served as advertisements for some weapon merchants.

Earning money easily in his spare time, Zheng Yichen was envious. If he could reach that level, he wondered how many freebies sellers who wanted to advertise through him would give him...

With this camera, it would also be convenient to move around in the deeper areas of the Southern Forest. The fog in the forest was thick, but the body heat of living creatures wouldn't change much because of it. With the help of this device, he could at least discover more abnormal or normal creatures.

Drones... he wouldn't consider them. The Southern Forest wasn't suitable for using such equipment; the interference was too great. A drone flying up would be equivalent to it being free.

If he was lucky, he might get it back. If not... if he really needed one, he'd just buy a new one.

This time, Zheng Yichen had also prepared a lot of emergency medicine. Last time, he hadn't expected to get injured and suffered from a lack of experience, getting hurt quite badly. If he had had hemostatic drugs or something similar prepared then, he wouldn't have been so desperate on the way back.

"Arno hasn't returned yet?" At the Twilight Chapel, Zheng Yichen retrieved the weapons he had stored there and asked the nun Tia beside him.

The nuns here had excellent memories. When he had stored and retrieved items before, he had casually asked about the hunter Arno, and the nun had provided some answers, accurate down to the hour.

"No," Tia's tone was as calm as ever. "If you have a message, I can relay it. This is also part of the 'storage service'."

The storage service at the Twilight Chapel was not free. For items within a certain specification, it cost six hundred and sixty per month. If it exceeded the specification, the price would increase significantly. It was said that items stored here were extremely safe, and there had never been a case of loss.

He wondered if, after hearing this rumor, any 'brave' thieves had come to challenge it, and what the consequences would be if a challenging hero failed and was caught. Would they have their legs broken and be thrown out, or be hung up and whipped?

Zheng Yichen was quite curious about this.

"No, I was just asking casually," he shook his head. He had no message. Moreover, he was preparing to go back to the Southern Forest. This time, he planned to stay there for a longer period. After making such a decision, leaving a message at the chapel... it felt like leaving a suicide note.