Hunter of Mysterious Creature

Chapter 871 - 107: Four-Person Squad (Part 2)

Cheng Ming didn’t want to be a Mysterious Creature Hunter, but he had no other choice.

Cheng Ming sometimes found it amusing that those hunters who appeared in the news seemed to possess world-destroying abilities with just a gesture, but his own ability sounded like a joke.

"Photosynthesis."

That’s right, the only ability he inherited from the mysterious cactus was "photosynthesis".

Cheng Ming didn’t need to eat; when he felt hungry, he only needed to sunbathe. Moreover, during this process, he would absorb carbon dioxide and exhale oxygen like a plant.

This ability seemed magical, but for a Mysterious Creature Hunter, it was utterly useless—photosynthesis didn’t mean Cheng Ming could "fast" like a Cultivator; he still needed to consume water, although his need for food was significantly reduced.

The only significance this ability held for him was to save on his daily meals and buy a little more nutritional supplements for his mother.

Besides photosynthesis, the most apparent difference between his body and that of an ordinary person was his physiological endurance—if the average value for ordinary people was 7, and 10 for specially trained, strong-willed, physically excellent soldiers, then Cheng Ming’s physiological endurance was about between 12 and 13.

Physiological endurance is a rather broad indicator, symbolizing the body’s resistance to pain, hunger, thirst, fatigue, extreme temperatures, and harsh environments. It also encompasses physical strength, injury recovery speed, and stamina. In short, the higher the number, the stronger the body is compared to ordinary people.

The director of the Research Institute told Cheng Ming that most infected individuals would experience an improvement in physiological endurance. Cheng Ming’s figure was neither high nor low, merely the average for infected individuals.

In the second mission, the physiological endurance of the other hunters was lower than Cheng Ming’s. Although they suffered lighter injuries compared to Cheng Ming, Cheng Ming was the one who survived—this was also a reflection of the physiological endurance indicator.

The other three hunters had already moved their conversation from the nightclubs of Shen City to the housing prices in Shen City—even though Cheng Ming wasn’t participating in their conversation, he still learned their names from their words.

The young female hunter was named Yu Duo, the only Free Hunter among the four. She seemed young, but her actual age was already twenty-nine, and she had dated ninety-five boyfriends—she said this with a tone that was almost boastful.

The male hunter, who had a working-class demeanor, was named He Dawei. He belonged to the Liangzhu Mysterious Creature Research Institute, was thirty-one years old, and had been a hunter for seven years, but had only completed as many tasks as Cheng Ming—four.

As for the hunter who looked like a high schooler, he was called Shen Rui, also from the Liangzhu Mysterious Creature Research Institute, and had just turned eighteen this year.

While discussing "achievements," He Dawei kept talking about how difficult the four tasks he had completed were, whereas Yu Duo was speaking about how many challenging men she had dealt with—the things they talked about were completely different, yet they bizarrely could chat together.

"Speaking of which, entering the uninhabited area of the Hexi Corridor seems to require finding a guide," Yu Duo suddenly said, "Looking for a guide alone is too costly; since we all have the same goal, why don’t we form a temporary team and pool money to hire a guide?"

"Teaming up is fine, but there’s no need to find a guide," He Dawei lowered his voice, shaking his head, "There are so many people in this carriage heading to Nanhua Town, surely some will spend the money to find a guide first. When the time comes, we just follow the main group... it’s safer that way too."

"Makes sense!" Yu Duo glanced at He Dawei, "We’re just going for some basic guaranteed income, not competing for credit. Following the main group is perfect! Maybe we’ll even meet a few handsome guys..."

"Anyway, I’ll just follow Wei," In just a few minutes, Shen Rui had started calling He Dawei "Wei," after all, they came from the same research institute, and in some sense, He Dawei was Shen Rui’s senior.

"What about you?" Yu Duo looked at Cheng Ming, "You’ve been silent all this time, so I assume you’re not interested in forming a team?"

"I’ll join," Cheng Ming nodded.

His thinking was similar to He Dawei’s: after reaching Dragon City, directly follow the main group into the uninhabited zone. Once at the mission area, assess if there’s anything he can handle himself, just to have some evidence when it’s time to claim the reward.

"I thought you would keep silent and act all high and mighty." Yu Duo joked, "Those who are aloof and always work alone are usually masters... I wonder if you’re any good?"

"Not great." Cheng Ming answered honestly.

Yu Duo: "Are you being modest or just truthful?"

"Truthful."

"Since we’ve decided to team up, could you tell us your name, brother?" He Dawei asked.

"Cheng Ming."

"Okay, Mr. Cheng," He Dawei nodded, "I know it might be a bit offensive to ask directly about your abilities, but would you mind sharing your experience? Just so we’re a bit informed."

"One year and eight months, completed four missions," Cheng Ming replied.

"Wow, four missions in less than two years?" He Dawei showed a hint of surprise on his face. Compared to Cheng Ming’s record, his own seven-year, four-task experience suddenly seemed insufficient, "But speaking of which, Mr. Cheng, you’re not a registered hunter of the Liangzhu Mysterious Creature Research Institute, are you?"

As the second largest mysterious creature research institute in the eastern Xiazhou Federation, second only to Shen City, Liangzhu gathered numerous Mysterious Creature Hunters. For people like He Dawei, whose ability was nothing special, it was quite difficult to get a mission in a year... there’s a stark contrast compared to places like Celestial City, where a skilled hunter would be worked to the bone.

"No, I’m from Kuaiji."

"Oh, no wonder... The number of employed hunters at the Kuaiji Institute isn’t many, so it’s no wonder you had to do four missions in two years." He Dawei felt as if he had regained some face—while Liangzhu wasn’t on par with Shen City, it was still much stronger than Kuaiji.

This gave him back a sense of superiority.

"I’ve been to Kuaiji, it’s a nice city," Yu Duo said, "There are many bars and lots of handsome guys, but it’s still not as bustling as first-tier cities like Liangzhu and Shen City."

"Of course, Liangzhu is the second largest city in the eastern part of the Federation," He Dawei said proudly, "Mr. Cheng, what were the levels of difficulty for your four tasks? Over the years, I haven’t heard of any major mysterious creature invasion events in Kuaiji. If there were, we in Liangzhu would definitely receive distress signals."

"They were simple tasks," Cheng Ming said, "Not dangerous."

"I knew it... Compared to Liangzhu, Kuaiji’s hunters are quite leisurely. After all, if something happens nearby, people will definitely think of us in Liangzhu first..." He Dawei boasted.

"Maybe he’s just being modest," Yu Duo glanced at He Dawei from the corner of her eye. There was a flicker of disdain in her eyes, but it didn’t show on her face.

"No, I’m telling the truth; they were easy containment tasks," Cheng Ming said.

"And you, Miss Yu? How many tasks have you completed?"

"Three tasks—two were collaborations and one was completed independently," Yu Duo said, "All were hunting revenants, solvable with a gun."

"Looks like I might just be the most experienced among us," He Dawei laughed, "Shall I be the team leader, then? Anyone against it?"