Unexpected Guests and a Chaotic Rescue

As the sun dipped below the horizon.

Within the slightly disheveled living room, Yao Jing cautiously attended to his unexpected guests.

“Please bear with these humble refreshments; my hospitality is lacking.”

Having offered the tea he held, the hunter settled onto the opposite sofa, his gaze sweeping over the two individuals.

A man and a woman sat before him. The man wore sunglasses, his posture erect, shoulders broad, his entire physique exuding powerful strength.

The young woman, however, was the source of his current vexation. Though she, too, wore sunglasses, her distinctive brown hair immediately betrayed her true identity: a prominent figure often seen on television programs.

‘Why would the Council come to my doorstep?’ he pondered.

No one spoke first, and a heavy silence enveloped the trio.

As if unable to tolerate the pervasive tension, the burly man was the first to break the quiet. He drained the tea in his hand with a single gulp, then spoke:

“Now, Yao, this isn’t right. I’ve been sitting here for ages, and you still haven’t recognized me? We shared years of camaraderie on the battlefield, after all.”

“You’re… Uncle Mo?”

Yao Jing stared at the man before him in astonishment. He had since removed the sunglasses that obscured his face, and the familiar features brought to mind a long-lost acquaintance from the past.

“Indeed, it’s me, Uncle Mo, Mo Zhixing.”

A refined, literary name paired with a rugged appearance—there was no doubt this man was the very senior hunter with whom Yao Jing had once fought alongside.

“My apologies, truly, for not recognizing you. I recall you mentioning you were returning to the Inner Realm?”

“It was far too peaceful there; I simply couldn’t stand it. After a while, I felt restless all over, so I came back to the Outer Realm to find something to do. Now, I’m working as a bodyguard for my boss’s daughter.”

‘Peaceful?’

A shiver ran down Yao Jing’s spine as he recalled the Doctor’s past words, but he knew this was not the time to dwell on such thoughts.

“A bodyguard? But didn’t you…”

‘Didn’t you despise being a lackey for high-ranking officials and dignitaries?’

Though the rest of the sentence remained unspoken, Uncle Mo readily understood the implication in Yao Jing’s eyes.

[The Council] was a government agency established in Dongchuan by the [Outer Realm Alliance] to curb the [Supervisory Bureau]’s monopolistic power.

Since its inception, constant friction had plagued both sides, and hunters aligned with the [Supervisory Bureau] particularly loathed the [Council]’s ceaseless interference.

‘Uncle Mo, a retired hunter, is acting like a traitor,’ Yao Jing mused.

“Ahem, ahem, this young lady is different; she’s rather…”

“Uncle Mo.”

The brown-haired young woman gently interjected, cutting short Uncle Mo’s reminiscing. Even with her amiable disposition, when faced with matters concerning the safety of her loved ones, she wished to quickly get to the point.

“My apologies, truly, I’ve spoken too much.”

The man, having been interrupted, knew full well that his chattering was delaying matters, so he simply closed his eyes and began to feign sleep.

“…”

“My apologies, Mr. Yao Jing. I’ve come to ask for your assistance. Rest assured, this isn’t related to the Council; it’s a personal request… I need your help investigating someone.”

The brown-haired young woman produced a photograph, placing it on the table. It depicted a slender, black-haired youth.

While hunters were considered a type of soldier, they possessed an extraordinary degree of freedom. As long as they didn’t miss crucial operations and refrained from breaking laws during their leisure time, they were permitted to accept commissions from various parties.

“Could you tell me more about him?”

“His name is Liu Yu, a student at Xuyang. He appeared in this city quite suddenly, and all of his identification documents are forged. Furthermore, according to Uncle Mo’s investigation, it’s highly probable he’s involved with certain illicit organizations within the city.”

“Such as?”

“The [Bloodthirsty Mutual Aid Society]. He has connections to that organization.”

‘If they were going to act, they would have done so already,’ she tried to reassure herself.

She tried to convince herself of this, yet the fear of potentially losing a loved one constantly gnawed at her heart. If only they had listened to her and stayed home, but instead, they chose this very time to make public appearances.

“I have another photograph here, you might want to see it…”

“Brother Yao, your phone.”

The bedroom door suddenly swung open, and accompanied by the cacophony of an electronic game, Wu Liyun emerged from the room, still in his pajamas.

“Uh… you have guests?”

“Why is my phone with you?”

Patting his pockets, Yao Jing realized his phone was indeed not on him.

“You left it in my room last night when you were playing.”

“…”

“…”

“Don’t say such strange things! We were just playing games last night.”

Feeling the increasingly peculiar gazes from the two behind him, Yao Jing hastily retorted.

“Here, I’m tossing it to you.”

A sharp ‘thwack’ sounded.

The sound of the door locking echoed, and Wu Liyun retreated back into the bedroom.

‘This fellow is no ordinary person,’ Uncle Mo thought, a wave of surprise washing over him. From the bedroom to the living room, such a considerable distance, yet the man had managed to toss the phone precisely into Yao Jing’s hand.

“Hello, hello, who is this?”

Taking the phone, Yao Jing listened to the clamorous sounds emanating from the other end, his expression peculiar.

Shouts, cries, sounds of fighting, the collapse of colossal structures—was this some kind of battlefield?

–It’s Captain Wang. Yao Jing, hurry up and come control your kid! They’re causing too much damn trouble! Hurry, I’ve sent you the address, hurry!–

Before he could reply, the call abruptly ended.

‘Nothing serious could have happened, could it…’

‘And… my kid?’

‘Sarah and I don’t even have a child yet?’

He turned to his two unexpected guests and said, “My apologies, but I’m afraid I must ask you both to wait a moment. I have an urgent matter to attend to and will return as soon as I’m finished. If anything comes up, you can speak with Old Wu—the man who just left.”

With that, he hurriedly departed, leaving behind the two bewildered clients to exchange glances.

****

“Please, I beg you, don’t do this! Stop!”

Vanderlin cried out in utter despair; it was difficult to reconcile this desperate plea with the composed individual he had been moments before.

“Heh.”

Xiu Lan sent a giant rat flying with a single kick, its massive body slamming into a nearby high-rise, which shuddered violently from the impact.

She was merely toying with the horde of giant rats.

Indeed, she was merely playing.

‘How, precisely, does one torment a person?’

After much deliberation, Xiu Lan concluded that the most effective way was to torment what he cherished most. For Vanderlin, this undoubtedly meant his giant rats, these meticulously cultivated experimental subjects into which he had poured no small measure of his affections.

She tied the tails of two giant rats together, swinging them like a flail, or casually grabbed one to dunk like a basketball, kick like a soccer ball, and so on.

It wasn’t that she hadn’t considered killing them, but…

Truth be told, these giant rats were rather endearing. With their pristine white fur, bodies occasionally emitting a faint herbal fragrance, and surprisingly expressive, anthropomorphic eyes, they shared little more than a name with the rats of old.

She simply couldn’t bring herself to do it. Seizing another giant rat, she indulged in another round of high-altitude tossing, the plummeting weight carving a deep crater into the street.

“…”

“Are you alright?”

Robin helped Captain Wang to his feet. With the giant rats now Xiu Lan’s playthings, he, too, had naturally been released.

However, the officer’s expression was far from pleasant.

It was understandable, considering the scene: debris and rubble littered the ground, buildings lay collapsed, and roads were pockmarked with craters. The destruction caused by Vanderlin’s actions paled in comparison to even a tenth of what the figure in black had wrought.

‘What exactly have you protected?!’

He wanted to roar.

Yet, upon closer reflection, the actions of the figure in black were not entirely wrong; they could even be lauded as an act of valor. After all, [Evolved Ones] were universally condemned, and even if this were to go to court, there was a high probability of an acquittal.

Thus, until a certain hunter arrived, he could do little more than watch…

“Boom!”

Dust kicked up by a plummeting giant rat directly assailed the faces of the two onlookers. Robin, shielded by his mask and black robes, was fine, but Captain Wang’s condition was far from ideal.

His originally pale face was now smeared black, and his already tattered uniform was made even worse, becoming a grimy, ash-covered mess.

It was impossible to guess what thoughts plagued his weary mind and body at that moment.

“Cough… cough…”

To avoid getting more dust on himself, Robin took a step back, widening the distance between himself and Captain Wang.

This chaotic spectacle of giant rats soaring through the air persisted until Yao Jing’s arrival. Gazing at the surreal scene before him, he rubbed his eyes, discovering it was no mere illusion.

“What mischief is this damn girl stirring up now?!”

Yao Jing stomped angrily towards the figure in black.