Standard Upgrade Strategy

Leaving the Night Banquet Bar, Zheng Yichen pondered some matters. The authorities in Longcheng were aware that the anomalies were connected to other worlds. Generally, when other worlds were mentioned, the first thing people thought of was invasion.

However, it didn't seem to be the case currently. Perhaps it was because the rifts created by those anomalies didn't last long, or perhaps for some other reason. At the same time, this matter didn't seem to be a secret that needed to be strictly kept within the Hunter community.

Liuyun District, Nefita Institute.

After arriving here and reporting to the assigned dormitory, some colleagues had already arrived. Judging by their appearance, they all seemed to be veterans.

What the heck? He thought the 'menu' the bartender recommended was entirely for newcomers, but it was completely different from what he imagined.

But that was fine. If he wanted to quickly improve his combat power in this circle, he had to find those experienced Hunters. Acting with such individuals would allow him to learn a few tricks.

His combat style so far was very simple. His fighting skills were learned from books, and he basically had no practical combat experience. The main reason was the lack of practical targets. At most, he practiced on small trees that wouldn't fight back. All other targets were abnormal small animals.

So, he currently only knew one move... Stab.

As long as his stab was fast and accurate enough, he could quickly kill those mutated small animals, even Giant Rats couldn't avoid it, provided they were within his attack range.

Throwing was something he was currently learning and studying.

The dormitory conditions looked decent, a four-person room, spacious enough. The bedding and other items were the standard hotel type. The Hunters who arrived before Zheng Yichen had already organized their belongings.

Zheng Yichen sat on the last bed, checking his belongings. He hadn't brought many extra items, except for some daily necessities, the rest was a fishing rod.

In contrast, his temporary roommates brought a lot more things, including sets of knives and Firearms. Compared to them, Zheng Yichen seemed shabby, like a bum. Everyone here was like new students being assigned dorm rooms, and the initial atmosphere was quite awkward.

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

"Of course, but we need to bet something, right?" another person chimed in. Once someone started the conversation, further communication became much easier. Zheng Yichen didn't reject this atmosphere and joined in.

Betting something meant about ten yuan per round. They had just met, so playing for high stakes wasn't appropriate. Zheng Yichen didn't like that either. This was purely to liven up the atmosphere. Losing a little wouldn't matter, as their daily salary here was two thousand.

This was the amount the institute paid taxes on, and these two thousand were their compensation for providing security. Zheng Yichen had learned a lot of inside information from the bartender.

The daily salary was indeed very high, but once such a commission was accepted, it could not be interrupted. And during this period, they were truly responsible for the work required by the 'security' agreement.

Their security work involved some of the abnormal creatures the institute was researching. Encounters with natural disasters and man-made disasters from external invasions were not within the scope of this agreement. If such events occurred, they could participate in normal security work, and resolving those troubles would bring additional rewards.

Besides that, for matters within their security work scope, there would be no additional compensation. A daily salary of two thousand to deal with 'potentially' out-of-control abnormal creatures. If newcomers who didn't understand the situation came here, they would likely think this money was easy to earn.

If they were lucky, they could earn a substantial reward by simply patrolling here for half a month. However, in reality, losing control was inevitable. The high daily salary was almost an open declaration to these Hunters to be prepared for battle; the money wasn't that easy to get.

Zheng Yichen quickly figured out the identities of these people. Two of them were retired personnel from some units outside Longcheng. After retiring, they couldn't adapt to normal life and didn't want to become those mercenaries who did anything for money, regardless of good or evil.

So they came to Longcheng and chose to become Hunters. Although Hunters were similar to mercenaries, such existences had more choices. Their business generally didn't involve dealing with their own kind, but rather with anomalies.

The rewards were not bad. As for the danger... that was mutual and depended on one's choices. After all, there were experts and low-level individuals everywhere. If they understood their own abilities and didn't choose commissions that clearly exceeded their capabilities, Generally, there wouldn't be any problems. Completely problem-free? How could that be possible?

Another person was a standard Longcheng resident. He had been caught in a disaster involving anomalies before. Witnessing the power displayed by some Hunters who resolved the issue, he decided he wanted to become a Hunter.

"It's just that I don't seem to have much talent in this area. I've always trained hard, but I'm still just a low-level Hunter," Jamie said with some helplessness. "I heard that some research institutes are studying ways to make people stronger, even to the point of enhancing their power through implanting anomalies. So, I thought I'd take this opportunity to try my luck here."

"Don't anomalies usually have side effects?" Lewis, who had retired from the military, said while playing cards. "It's said that those high-end Hunters actually have some anomalies, but I'm not interested in that. I'm quite content with my current situation."

As a Hunter, he had seen many anomalies. He had taken on many 'security' missions for research institutes like this one. He had seen the anomalous creatures being studied. The thought of implanting such things into a healthy person was chilling.

Maintaining his current conditions was good enough. The income was not low, and the risks were acceptable. The anomalies he faced could be dealt with using firearms.

"I'm a newcomer who just joined not long ago and am currently thinking about how to improve myself quickly." Knowing that the people around him were not newcomers, Zheng Yichen stopped pretending. Although the menu the bartender recommended wasn't quite right, it had provided him with a lot of popular science. He didn't bring it up proactively, planning to see what his peers would say next.

Lewis glanced at the items on Zheng Yichen's bunk, and understanding flashed in his eyes. "A newcomer, huh? This line of work never lacks newcomers. Since you've accepted this commission, be prepared for battle. Don't think about just coasting along; the money from the research institute isn't that easy to earn."

"Also, the way to improve yourself quickly is simple. Spend more money at the shooting range, then register your license with the local authorities, and buy a couple of decent guns. That's how you can quickly improve your combat effectiveness."

Lewis's words made the other two nod in agreement. This was indeed a very standard guide for novice Hunters to improve themselves, and it was very useful.