I Am Also An Extraordinary Creature

Leaving the Night Banquet Bar, Zheng Yichen pondered some matters. The officials in Hazy City were also aware of the connection between anomalies and other worlds. Generally speaking, when other worlds are mentioned, what comes to mind first are issues like mutual invasions.

But it didn't seem to be the case at the moment. It could be because the cracks produced by the anomalies didn't last long, or perhaps there were other reasons. Also, this matter didn't seem to be a particularly well-guarded secret among the Hunters' circle.

Flowing Cloud District, Nephita Research Institute.

Having reported to and settled into the assigned dormitory, Zheng Yichen found some peers had already arrived early. By appearances alone, these seemed to be the more experienced hands.

Damn, he had thought the 'menu' recommended by the bartender was exclusively for novices, but it turned out to be totally different from what he had expected.

However, this was also good. If he wanted to rapidly increase his combat ability within this circle, he needed to seek experienced Hunters to learn a thing or two by acting alongside them.

Until now, his combat style was quite simple; he learned his fighting techniques from books and practically had no real combat experience, mainly because there were no real targets to fight against, at most practicing his strikes on small trees that couldn't fight back, with the rest of his targets being extraordinary small creatures.

So currently, he only had one move… thrusting.

As long as his thrusting was fast and accurate enough, he could quickly kill those mutated small animals, even big rats couldn't avoid it—provided the enemy was within his attack range.

Throwing knives was currently something he was learning and figuring out.

The conditions of the dorm were not bad, the kind for four people. The space was ample, and the bedding and such were the hotel-standard universal styles. The Hunters who arrived before Zheng Yichen had already sorted their belongings.

Sitting on the bunk bed at the end, Zheng Yichen checked his things. He hadn't brought many extra items here, apart from some daily necessities, the rest was a fishing rod.

On the other hand, those temporary roommates brought much more, complete sets of knives and guns. Compared to them, Zheng Yichen seemed shabby, like a slacker. Everyone in the room resembled newly assigned freshmen to a dormitory, and the initial atmosphere was quite awkward.

"Wanna play cards?" A roommate asked. "After all, we're going to live here for at least half a month."

"Sure, but shouldn't we bet something?" another person got excited. Once someone initiated the conversation, the subsequent exchange became much easier. Zheng Yichen didn't reject the atmosphere and joined in directly.

When they spoke of betting something, it was just about ten bucks a hand. Everyone had just met; it wouldn't be proper to play big. Zheng Yichen didn't like that idea either. Currently, it was purely to liven up the mood. Losing a bit didn't matter since their daily wage here was two thousand.

It was the research institute's taxable income; this two thousand was their compensation for taking on security duties. Zheng Yichen had learned quite a bit of insider information from the bartender.

The daily wage was indeed high, but once they took on such an assignment, they weren't allowed to interrupt it. Additionally, during that period, they had to genuinely perform the 'security' work stipulated in the contract.

Their security work involved managing some of the extraordinary creatures studied by the research institute. Encountering natural disasters or external attacks from invaders weren't covered by this agreement, but should they encounter such incidents and still be able to participate in regular security duties and deal with those troubles, they would receive an extra reward.

Furthermore, for incidents within their scope of security duties, there would be no additional compensation. A daily wage of two thousand to handle those 'potential' extraordinary creatures could seem easy to novice Hunters unfamiliar with the insider facts.

With good luck, they could simply patrol for half a month and receive a handsome reward. However, in reality, losing control was inevitable. The high daily salary was almost an explicit warning for the Hunters to be ready for combat; the money wasn't easy to earn.

Zheng Yichen quickly figured out the identities of these people. Two of them were retirees from certain military units beyond Hazy City. After retiring, they couldn't adapt to regular life and didn't want to become mercenaries who do anything for money without discriminating between right and wrong.

So they came to Hazy City and chose to be Hunters. Although Hunters were similar to mercenaries, they had more choices. Their jobs, in essence, didn't involve violence against their own kind but rather dealt with anomalies.

The reward wasn't bad either. As for the dangers… that was mutual; it depended on how one chose. After all, every place had both experts and grass-roots. If one assessed their abilities clearly and didn't recklessly take on tasks clearly beyond their capabilities, generally problems wouldn't arise. No problems at all? That's impossible.

The other person was a genuine Hazy City inhabitant. He had been involved in a disaster related to an anomaly before and had witnessed the strength displayed by some Hunters who resolved the issue. So he had the idea of becoming a Hunter.

"It just seems I don't have much talent in this area. I have trained very hard, but I've always been a low-level Hunter," Jamie said somewhat helplessly. "I heard that some research institutes are studying ways to become stronger, even by implanting anomalies to enhance strength. So I thought I'd take this opportunity to try my luck here."

"Those anomalies usually have side effects, right?" the other retiree, Lewis, said while dealing the cards. "I heard that some high-end Hunters are actually somewhat extraordinary. However, I'm not interested in that. Things are pretty good as they are now."

As a Hunter, he had seen quite a few anomalies and taken on many 'security' tasks like the ones at the research institute, encountering those creatures under study. The thought of a perfectly normal person implanting such things was somewhat unsettling.

Maintaining his current conditions was great. His income was not low, and the risk was acceptable. The anomalies he had to face could be handled with firearms.

"I'm a novice Hunter who just entered the field and am currently thinking about how to rapidly improve myself." Knowing that the people around him were no novices, Zheng Yichen stopped pretending. Although the menu recommended by the bartender was off, it had also educated him quite a bit. He didn't speak up but was ready to hear what these peers would say next.

Lewis glanced at the items on Zheng Yichen's bed and his eyes flashed with understanding. "A newbie, huh? There's never a shortage of newbies in this line of work. Since you've signed up for this job, be ready for combat and don't think about slacking. The institute's money isn't so easy to earn."

"Also, if you want a quick way to improve yourself, it's simple. Spend some cash at the shooting range, then take your license and register with the relevant local authorities. Buying a couple of decent guns will boost your combat capabilities quickly."

Lewis's advice was met with nods of agreement from the other two. Indeed, it was a very standard guide for a novice Hunter to improve, and it was very useful.