Corpse Collector

The Old Gun Tavern is a Hunter's bar.

The entire three-story building was packed with Treasure Hunters looking to have a good time.

The heavy metal music was as deafening as artillery fire. Women in revealing outfits writhed sexily on stage, and the air was thick with hormones. Restless men and women were everywhere, and even the dim lighting seemed to act as an aphrodisiac, illuminating faces that made no secret of their desires.

Ji Xun squeezed through the crowd and walked to the bar.

He glanced at the price list and shouted to the bartender, "A pitcher of beer."

A pitcher of beer, eighty.

The minimum charge on the menu.

He sat down on a high stool and took a sip of the foamy beer. It tasted slightly bitter, but thankfully the alcohol content was high.

As Ji Xun drank, he observed everything in the tavern. His ears automatically filtered out the noisy music, capturing the conversations from every table and sorting them into intelligence and idle chatter.

The topics the Hunters discussed were no longer just about cave exploration adventures.

More women and dirty jokes.

And some other things.

Ji Xun was particularly interested in any new intelligence about Sinless City.

His ears were filled with that news.

"A lot of new faces have arrived in Sinless City recently."

"How could there not be? The Federal Council issued an expansion order, and thousands of people have been coming down from the major cities almost every day. The elevators are practically smoking."

"Heh, no wonder it's gotten so lively after only a month away."

"Things aren't looking good. The big shots in the Federal Council have their eyes on the Old Continent's ruins, and they want to forcibly bring it under their jurisdiction. If those greedy nobles get control of the Gold Digging Dock, don't expect anything else, they'll tax everything at seventy percent. Hunters like us won't have an easy time."

"Screw the taxes! I've already been exiled, and they still want to tax me? If their noble dog paws dare to reach out, I'll chop them off!"

"Does the Cao Family really think they're the lords of Sinless City just because they're the governor? Heh, they even want to set up a security office in the lower city? What a pipe dream!"

"Yeah. Wouldn't it be better for them to just be nobles in the upper city? Why do they have to reach down here? Weren't the bodies of those Enforcers who came to the lower city a few days ago tossed into a sewer? I say, that governor is going to die suddenly sooner or later."

"Hahaha, exactly, screw the nobles!"

"..."

The Hunters talked the most about the current situation in Sinless City.

The conflict between the noble and commoner classes could already be heard in their words, with a hint of gunpowder.

Ji Xun listened with great interest.

Sinless City was more brutal and more exciting than he had imagined.

After listening for a while, piecing together the fragmented information in his mind, Ji Xun finally confirmed his previous guess.

This was a cave world.

There was no sky, no sun, no moon.

Humans lived like ants in the caves.

And the thick rock strata contained very rich resources and ancient ruins.

Mining, treasure hunting, and exploring unknown caves.

This was a world of Treasure Hunters for everyone!

And the reason it was called "Sinless City" was because it was originally a place of exile for the kingdom.

That Abyssal Rift was once the "end of the world" in the perception of the people of this world.

Like a garbage dump, the Federation exiled the most heinous criminals to the end of the world to open up the wilderness and fend for themselves.

So for many years, the city was filled with all sorts of criminals: mercenaries, war criminals, gangsters, bandits, murderers, thieves, and schemers.

There were no innocent people in the legal sense; it was truly a city of sin.

Ji Xun finally understood why the Hunters he saw all had a fierce aura about them; they were all exiled criminals.

But until a few years ago.

Some adventurers explored outside the Rift and accidentally discovered an iron chain on the wall, which was the cursed chain now connecting to the Gold Digging Dock.

They then realized that the Abyssal Rift was not the end of the world.

And the adventurers followed that iron chain to the other side of the world.

They discovered another continent.

Later, they learned that it was the Old Continent from ancient texts, from before the Great Cataclysm!

A fragmented history, sealed for thousands of years, thus lifted its mysterious veil.

The Old Continent was shrouded in black mist, teeming with monsters, and fraught with hidden dangers everywhere.

But at the same time, there were also countless ruined cities, ancient treasures, and abundant mineral resources!

The "Demon Cross" was merely one of those ruins.

With this earth-shattering discovery, Sinless City ushered in explosive development that could not be stopped.

Later, countless treasures were unearthed, to the point where even the nobles were envious.

One day, the news suddenly spread.

As if overnight, Sinless City, once a forgotten corner of sin, immediately became a hot spot for treasure hunting.

Six months ago, the Federal Congress issued a decree to open up the land and established the Governor's Mansion in Sinless City, intending to claim this treasure trove for the Federation.

At once, a great many outsiders flooded into Sinless City.

Not only were large numbers of criminal exiles sent to open up the land, but nobles, official legions, smugglers, speculative merchants, and a large number of treasure-hunting Hunters also arrived.

New faces poured in almost every day.

"So that's how it is."

After filling in the blanks about Sinless City's origins in his mind, Ji Xun finally understood why the Governor's Mansion and the Cao Family were so unwelcome.

The Cao Family was indeed very powerful, with their main family being one of the Federal Grand Councilors.

Now, parachuted into Sinless City without any foundation, apart from their own guards and a few mercenary groups bought with money, the Governor couldn't command anyone.

Sinless City was filled with exiled criminals who harbored extreme hostility towards the Federation. As for the "opening decree," no one paid any attention to it.

Sinless City had been a lawless land for many years, and it already had its own order of operation.

At the very least, Hunters didn't have to pay taxes on the treasures they obtained through their own life-risking expeditions.

Now that those nobles had their eyes on the Old Continent as a piece of fat meat and wanted to turn Sinless City into a royal territory for further exploitation, it naturally wouldn't work.

The conflict between the two sides also escalated.

As Ji Xun listened, he had already drunk more than half of his wine.

The tavern grew more crowded, and the atmosphere reached an extreme. The thumping music pounded against their eardrums, and the aroma of hallucinogenic potions in the intermittently spewing white mist stimulated everyone's hormones.

Ji Xun sat alone at the bar, and someone had already noticed him.

Suddenly, a delicate body bumped into him.

Ji Xun turned his head and saw a charming bunny girl, not bad-looking, with a graceful figure.

She pouted and said, "Oh, sorry. Handsome, are you alone?"

Ji Xun raised an eyebrow noncommittally.

Seeing this, the girl shamelessly pressed her body against his arm and charmingly asked, "My name is Sally. Can I have a drink with you?"

Ji Xun naturally knew this wasn't a freebie.

This was a paid service.

Or perhaps, someone had noticed him drinking alone.

Seeing that he didn't speak, the girl seemed to read his mind and directly called out to the bartender, "One 'Matador'."

Ji Xun didn't say anything either.

He didn't intend to appear out of place.

He had looked at the price list earlier; this drink was 399, not too expensive.

He gentlemanly took out four banknotes.

After all, if one were to talk about sources of information, besides professional information brokers, these tavern girls in Sinless City knew quite a lot.

Oh, no.

These girls, who frequently interacted with various Hunters, were most likely informants for information brokers themselves.

Ji Xun had heard before coming that everything in Sinless City had a price, including information.

Understanding the rules would save a lot of trouble.

The girl smiled with narrowed, sparkling eyes as she watched him pay, sticking even closer, "Did you just return from a hunt, handsome?"

"Mm."

Ji Xun knew the smell of the carriage had deeply permeated him, so denying it was useless.

The two drank and chatted casually.

Ji Xun ambiguously asked for some information he wanted, and the girl, thinking it was just casual conversation, answered his questions.

About half an hour passed like this, and the atmosphere became harmonious.

Seeing that their drinks were almost finished, and thinking that asking anyone would be the same, Ji Xun decided to make his 399 valuable and directly asked the question he was most eager to know: "By the way, Miss Sally, I want to change my breathing technique. Do you have any good suggestions?"

The girl looked at his unromantic demeanor and said coquettishly, "Don't you want to talk about something else, handsome?"

As she spoke, she didn't forget to press her body even closer, the ambiguous hint already very strong.

But in Ji Xun's eyes...

That's it?

It was far from the allure of a Fallen Witch.

Ji Xun's performance made it impossible for outsiders to tell that he was new to Sinless City; he looked like a seasoned Hunter who frequented taverns.

He reached out and gently tested it, as a sign of respect.

"Hmm, smooth and round, not bad to the touch."

But his body was still in a "weak state."

He was in the afterglow period and had no time to bother.

Most importantly, the need for a breathing technique was pressing.

A negative status of "Curse Power Slightly Out of Control" had already appeared on his attribute panel.

It felt like he had pulled a muscle, with the Curse Power darting around his body.

He had heard the Hunters in the carriage say before that this was a precursor to loss of control and mutation.

Ji Xun knew the reason very well.

The little Curse Power he had was all absorbed from corpses, and he didn't know how to control it at all.

And he remembered another saying that the Hunters often repeated: breathing techniques were the most effective means to prevent mutation.

After asking so many questions, the young woman already knew that the man in front of her was purely there to gather information.

Was he lecherous but not impatient, or was he not interested in her looks?

But she also had professional ethics.

If the customer paid, she had to provide equivalent value.

Sally thought that since he was a Hunter, he must have cultivated a breathing technique.

She preemptively assumed that Ji Xun probably wanted to trade for a better breathing technique and mumbled, "Oh~ The common breathing techniques sold on the market can at most cultivate up to the ninth stage of Curse Power, and their efficiency is low. It's true that you should get better ones."

As she spoke, she continued, "However, Black Iron Quality breathing techniques are not easy to find. At the United Commerce Guild's auction house, you might occasionally see some."

While speaking, she observed Ji Xun's expression and added, "There are also the major Hunter groups and mercenaries. Like Battle Axe, Hydra, Golden Harp, Storm. If you're willing to join a regular group, handsome, you might have a chance to be assigned a Black Iron breathing technique if you enter an elite squad."

"..."

Ji Xun remained calm throughout, still not speaking.

In his heart, he had silently noted all this information.

He had also heard Hunters say before that joining Hunter groups and mercenary groups required signing contracts and participating in team expeditions.

In essence, it was a contract of servitude.

While obtaining resources, they would also have the obligation to complete tasks arranged by the team's management.

Ji Xun had no intention of joining any Hunter group for the time being, so he directly dismissed this method of acquisition.

The young woman's ability to read people was part of her profession. Seeing Ji Xun's calm expression, she preemptively assumed he looked down on Black Iron and needed higher quality ones.

Her bright eyes flickered, and she then said, "Silver Quality breathing techniques are even rarer. I know of a few at the Hunter's Guild, and some are in the major factions, but..."

She didn't finish, seemingly assuming the guest in front of her knew what she was implying.

Those avenues were simply not something ordinary people dared to covet.

"..."

Ji Xun listened silently.

So there were different quality levels for breathing techniques?

Seeing that he didn't speak, the young woman continued, "Then there's the Governor's Mansion's 'Enforcer Training Camp.' Their public recruitment notice says they will distribute breathing techniques for free, along with the complete [Six of Hearts - Enforcer] professional sequence and subsequent promotion paths. After all, the Cao Family is a high-ranking noble family, and they don't lack breathing techniques or professional cards."

However, as she spoke, she also reminded him, "But handsome, you should know that Sinless City is not very friendly to Enforcers. Even with such generous conditions, not many people go. You..."

Ji Xun spoke at the opportune moment, "I'm not interested in being an Enforcer."

By now, how could he not understand the conflict between the upper-class nobles and the lower-class Hunters?

If he dared to say he wanted to be an Enforcer in the lower city of Sinless City, his corpse would likely be found in a ditch somewhere the next day.

The young woman racked her brain, and then said, "Then there's the 'Physician Association,' which does recruit doctor apprentices, but their breathing techniques lean towards the healing type, and very few Hunters choose that path. Otherwise, there's the black market, but I imagine you've been there before. Without familiar connections, it's easy to suffer losses, and you can only rely on luck. There are also casino fighting competitions, where professional cards and breathing techniques are sometimes prizes. However, I would suggest that if you have time, you can go to the Hunter's Guild market on Glow Street in the South City. There are often unexpected surprises there..."

Ji Xun wasn't looking to trade for a breathing technique; he hadn't learned one at all.

So his needs weren't that high.

In his current situation, he thought he'd just find any breathing technique to get by.

After listening to the young woman, Ji Xun had some ideas and decided to visit the Hunter's market first.

As the young woman spoke, seeing that her guest didn't respond much, she thought she had said too much and put on a show of being affected by the alcohol, saying coquettishly, "Oh~ Sorry, handsome, the alcohol is getting to me, I seem to have said some nonsense..."

Ji Xun smiled, "No. It was very helpful."

To others, this might have been common knowledge.

But to Ji Xun, it was very useful.

At least this information was worth the price of the drinks.

Seeing the young woman finish her drink, she prepared to signal the bartender for another one.

Seeing this, Ji Xun immediately got up.

He didn't have much money on him and didn't plan to spend it all here.

Factory apprentices in the city earned less than 3,000 a month. Just a few drinks here had cost him several days' wages; it wasn't cheap.

Besides, information couldn't be gathered in just one place, or it would be too easy for people to figure out his background.

Ji Xun stood up, naturally slung an arm around the woman's slender waist, and said, "Thank you, Miss Sally. I'm a bit tired tonight, so I'll call it a night."

There were hundreds of nightclubs on Downing Street, and he planned to visit a different one.

The woman looked at him getting up to leave, her expression faltering, "Huh?"

Wasn't he going to do anything else?

Before she could figure it out, Ji Xun had already left his seat and squeezed into the crowd.

The woman was left alone at the bar, bewildered.

At this moment, a guy who looked like a pimp sidled over and asked, "Sally, what's the deal with that new face just now?"

The woman shrugged, "Just a Hunter who came back from exploring a ruin, still asking about breathing techniques. Not worth paying attention to."

The pimp: "Oh?"

"Ah, I thought I could get some extra benefits tonight, but he only had two drinks."

The woman complained with a hint of boredom, swirling her empty wine glass. Then, a smile curved her lips, and she added, "But, he was quite handsome~"

The pimp glanced at her helplessly and said, "Keep a closer eye out. There might be big things happening in the city these days. Also, a directive came from the Demon Cross today; information is very valuable lately."

The woman rolled her eyes, "Got it."

Sinless City was huge, and there was no rush to get familiar with it in a single day.

Ji Xun walked out of the Old Gun Tavern, intending to find another tavern to sit in for a while, gather more information, and then go browse the market.

The pendulum of the giant mechanical clock on the bell tower in the distance swung back and forth, pointing to twelve.

He figured it must be midnight.

Despite Downing Street being brightly lit, chaos and disorder lurked everywhere beneath the prosperity. The pitted streets were flooded with sewage, rats in the alleyway trash cans rummaged for food with impunity, beggars in tattered clothes were seen everywhere along the streets, and various punk gang members with unfriendly gazes were also present.

The stark contrast of extreme wealth disparity was visible everywhere.

Ji Xun walked along the street. As he walked, his peripheral vision suddenly caught something amiss: "Is this guy tailing someone?"

He had initially intended to observe if anyone in the nearby crowd was looking for trouble with him, but he ended up noticing something else.

A green-haired youth was squatting at the entrance of an alley between two buildings, his gaze fixed on the "Bull Tavern" across the street.

And in the shadows of the alley behind him, there were a few more figures.

It was a clumsy attempt at surveillance.

At least it was far worse than the tracking by those from the Demon Cross.

Ji Xun saw that they weren't after him and didn't intend to get involved.

He slowed his pace, not wanting to stir up trouble.

Not long after he stopped, the butterfly doors of the Bull Tavern were pushed open, and several burly men wearing the blue work uniforms of the Gold Digging Dock emerged.

At the same time, the green-haired youth in the alley noticed them and waved nervously. The figures hidden in the darkness suddenly pulled out their weapons.

"An assassination?"

Ji Xun finally understood what was happening and quickly found cover.

In an instant, the guns in the hands of the green-haired guys erupted in muzzle flashes.

The burly men, ambushed, quickly sought cover and then drew their own sidearms to return fire.

The two sides immediately started a firefight on the street.

For a moment, the street was filled with the dense crackle of gunfire, like firecrackers.

However, the gunfire didn't last long before a third party joined the fray.

Over a dozen steam motorcycles sped over, and a group of people who were clearly gang members dismounted and pulled out various weapons, opening fire on the green-haired group in the alley.

The entire shootout ended in less than two minutes.

The clumsy assassins in the green-haired group were completely wiped out, while several on the other side were killed or injured.

The motorcycle gang members who arrived later checked the bodies, took their equipment and whatever else they had, leaving behind a street full of corpses.

Ji Xun, having inexplicably encountered a gunfight that ended just as inexplicably, felt his eyelids twitch. He couldn't help but chuckle wryly, "Is Sinless City's local customs this simple?"

If it were fighting and killing in ruins, that would be one thing, but he never expected a shootout to break out directly in the city.

What was even more outrageous was that the pedestrians on the street, apart from being startled, didn't seem to find anything unusual about it?

It was as if they were watching an impromptu entertainment show; no one paid it any mind.

The various taverns were once again bustling with people, eating and drinking as usual.

The bodies still lay in pools of blood.

Ji Xun was lost in thought.

He wanted to see what happened next, so he remained standing in place.

Not long after, a black steam truck rushed down the street.

Four individuals wearing black uniforms and gas masks got out of the vehicle, carrying body bags.

Ji Xun watched as they fiddled with several corpses, then efficiently gathered them into the body bags and loaded them onto the truck.

The black truck then drove away from the street.

Ji Xun watched, but his attention was drawn elsewhere.

He saw an advertisement on the side of the black truck: "Golden Oak Security Company is recruiting Corpse Collectors, ¥3500/week, Address: 117 East City Street."

"Corpse Collectors get paid that much?"

Ji Xun was a little surprised at first glance.

That salary was comparable to most active Hunters.

But what interested him was something else.

Corpses?

The Demon Feast required corpses with Extraordinary Traits, and he was worried about not knowing where to find so many to devour.

The moment he saw the advertisement, Ji Xun had already planned his livelihood for a long time to come.