Standard Guide to Improving

After leaving the Night Banquet Bar, Zheng Yichen pondered a few things. The authorities here in Longcheng also knew that anomalies were connected to other worlds. Generally speaking, when people mentioned other worlds, the first thing that came to mind was an invasion between worlds or something similar.

But from what he could tell, that wasn't the case. Maybe it was because the rifts created by those anomalies didn't last very long, or maybe there were other reasons. At the same time, this didn't seem to be a secret that needed to be kept under wraps in hunter circles.

Liuyun District, Nefita Institute.

After arriving to check in and heading to the dormitory they'd assigned him, he found that some of the others had already arrived. Judging by their appearance, they all seemed like veterans.

What the hell? He'd thought the "menu" the bartender recommended was meant entirely for newcomers, but it was nothing like he'd imagined.

Still, this was for the best. If he wanted to quickly improve his combat ability in this line of work, he needed to find experienced hunters. He could learn a thing or two by working alongside people like them.

So far, his fighting style had been extremely simple. He'd learned his combat techniques from books and had practically no real-world experience. That was mostly because he had no targets to practice on. At most, he could take swings at little saplings that wouldn't fight back. His only other targets had been abnormal small animals.

So right now, he only knew one move... a thrust.

As long as his thrust was fast and precise enough, he could quickly kill those mutated little animals. Even Giant Rats couldn't dodge it, provided they were within his attack range.

As for throwing, he was still learning and figuring it out.

The dormitory looked pretty nice. It was a spacious four-person room, and the bedding and other supplies were the standard kind you'd find in a hotel. The hunters who had arrived before Zheng Yichen had already unpacked their things.

Zheng Yichen sat on the last bed and checked his belongings. He hadn't brought many extra items with him. Aside from some everyday necessities, all he had was a Fishing Rod.

His temporary roommates, on the other hand, had brought plenty. They had what looked like complete sets of knives and firearms. Compared to them, Zheng Yichen looked downright shabby, like some freeloader. Everyone was in the same awkward situation as freshmen assigned to a dorm for the first time.

"Want to play cards?" one roommate asked. "Either way, we'll be living here for at least half a month."

"Sure. But we should put something on the line, right?" Another roommate perked up too. Once someone got the conversation going, it was much easier for everyone to talk. Zheng Yichen didn't mind the atmosphere and joined in.

Putting something on the line meant ten yuan a game or so. They'd only just met, so playing for higher stakes wouldn't be appropriate, and Zheng Yichen wasn't into that anyway. This was just to break the ice. Losing a little was no big deal, especially since they were being paid two thousand a day here.

The institute would report their wages for tax purposes. Those two thousand yuan were their pay for providing security. Zheng Yichen had learned quite a bit about the situation from the bartender.

The daily wage was indeed very high, but once they accepted a job like this, they weren't allowed to quit before it was over. And during that time, they really did have to carry out the duties required by the security agreement.

Their job was to keep watch over some of the abnormal creatures being studied at the institute. Disasters and trouble caused by outside intruders weren't covered by the agreement. If something like that happened, they could still take part in the regular security work and deal with the problem, but they'd receive extra pay for it.

Aside from that, there was no additional compensation for anything within the scope of their security duties. They were being paid two thousand a day to deal with abnormal creatures that might lose control. If a newcomer who didn't know the details came here, they'd probably think it was easy money.

If they were lucky, all they'd have to do was patrol the place for half a month and they'd earn a generous reward. But in reality, a loss of control was inevitable. The high daily wage was practically a blatant warning to the hunters to prepare for a fight. The money wouldn't come easy.

Zheng Yichen soon learned who the others were. Two of them were retired soldiers from units outside Longcheng. They hadn't adjusted to ordinary life after leaving the military, but they also didn't want to become the sort of mercenaries who'd do anything for money, regardless of whether it was right or wrong.

So they'd come to Longcheng and chosen to become hunters. Hunters were similar to mercenaries, but they had more options. Their jobs generally didn't involve targeting other people, but rather dealing with anomalies.

The pay wasn't bad, either. As for the danger... that went both ways. It depended on what you chose to do. There were experts and ordinary workers everywhere. As long as you knew your own abilities and didn't choose jobs that were obviously beyond your capabilities, you generally wouldn't run into trouble.

That didn't mean there was no risk at all, of course. How could there be?

The other man was a typical Longcheng local. He'd once been caught up in a disaster involving an anomaly. Back then, he'd seen how powerful the hunters who solved the problem were, and that was what had made him want to become one.

"But I don't seem to have much talent for this. I've been training hard all along, but I'm still a low-level hunter," Jamie said helplessly. "I heard some research institutes are studying ways to make people stronger. Apparently, you can even improve your strength by implanting an anomaly. So I thought I'd take this opportunity to come here and try my luck."

"Those things called anomalies all have side effects, don't they?" said Lewis, another former soldier, as he played a card. "I've heard that the high-level hunters are all a little abnormal, but I'm not interested in that. I'm fine as I am."

As a hunter, he'd seen plenty of anomalies. He'd taken on lots of "security" jobs at research institutes like this one and seen the abnormal creatures they studied. The thought of implanting something like that into a perfectly normal person gave him the creeps.

Staying as he was seemed just fine. The pay was good, the risks were manageable, and the anomalies they dealt with could be taken care of with firearms.

"I'm a newcomer. I just got into this line of work, and I'm trying to figure out how to improve quickly." Now that he knew the people around him weren't newcomers, Zheng Yichen stopped pretending. The bartender's recommended menu might have been a little off, but it had taught him quite a bit. He hadn't brought it up himself, figuring he'd see what his fellow hunters had to say.

Lewis glanced at the things on Zheng Yichen's bed, a look of understanding passing through his eyes. "A newcomer, huh? There's never a shortage of newcomers in this line of work. Since you've accepted a job like this, get ready to fight. Don't expect to coast through it. The institute's money doesn't come easy."

"And if you want to improve quickly, it's simple. Spend some money at the shooting range, then take your license to the relevant local department and register. Buy yourself a couple of decent guns, and your combat ability will improve fast."

The other two nodded in agreement. It really was a standard guide to improving as a Novice Hunter, and it was very useful.