Hunter rode his motorcycle through the space membrane and the first thing he did was take off the goggles he’d worn for nearly seven days, breathing a long sigh of relief.
Typically, the optimal duration for an abyss hunt is 5 to 12 days. Extending the time further would require excessive supplies, reducing the efficiency of the hunt.
The young soldier at the checkpoint greeted Hunter with a laugh and offered him a cigarette, which Hunter waved off and declined.
The soldier, cigarette in mouth, chatted while checking Hunter and his gear: "A team brought your haul back the other day. How did you manage to take down that huge demon with just the gear you had?"
"Just... handled it like that." Hunter made a swinging motion, "The Heatmelt axe struck the spine of the desert crocodile."
The Heatmelt axe was stashed in the middle layer of Hunter’s backpack, a quick reverse draw could pull it out.
The weapon compartment had insulation and cooling functions, could connect to the goggles for remote preheating of the Heatmelt axe.
The soldier said "Oh," unsure if he understood Hunter’s words.
Hunter quickly passed the inspection and drove to the Hunter’s Guild entrance.
Taking the Space Box from the side compartment, Hunter briskly entered the guild hall.
"Back already? Was the haul as big as last time?" Several hunters who considered themselves familiar with Hunter greeted him with grins.
Last time Hunter ventured into the abyss, slaughtering a massive number of demons, his haul exceeded three million, though he only publicly declared it was over a million.
But for hunters, especially low-level hunters of Sequence 5, amassing over a million from a single abyss hunt is extremely rare.
Since Hunter couldn’t handle City-breaking Level demons, the only way to earn that much was through volume hunting.
Adding to the rumors circulating in the guild recently, some claimed Hunter had twice cleared an entire area of the abyss, killing vast numbers of demons, even causing the third squad of the Glazed Group to find no low-level demons, forcing them to catch lethal-level demons for scholars to study.
Now, many in the guild believe the rumor is true, hence they’ve started calling Hunter ’Yama’ in secret.
The nickname was gaining traction, perhaps Hunter might officially adopt it as a title in the future.
Upon hearing the hunters’ inquiries, Hunter glanced at the Space Box.
"Barely over a million."
Without accounting for the desert crocodile’s bones, this abyss hunt should also net Hunter over a million.
Compared to before, Hunter no longer needed to risk his life against lethal-level demons. With caution, he could now defeat one unscathed.
During this time at the Blood Lake area, Hunter encountered a lethal-level aquatic beast and acquired a ’Pure Water Core’, capable of purifying water sources contaminated by nuclear radiation, a material the United Government was purchasing.
With the Sequence 2 [Prayer Lord] personally setting the ritual, a single Pure Water Core could purify a small lake, allowing a forest ecosystem to gradually recover.
After casually replying, Hunter took the Space Box to the guild’s service center to request a business suite, leaving the hunters momentarily perplexed.
Hunter stayed in the business suite for a while, waiting for the guild staff to inventory all his hauls, before he exited the room.
Upon leaving, Hunter’s sharp hearing caught numerous people discussing him.
This marked his third abyss hunt with a haul value exceeding a million, a feat not even Sequence 4 hunters consistently achieve.
Other hunters were debating whether studying the demon encyclopedia like Hunter could yield similar hauls.
After all, Hunter was just an ordinary person; if he could secure such a haul from the abyss, why couldn’t they, as Engravers, do the same?
Listening to their discussions, Hunter felt amused.
Hunters generally had restless mindsets; would they genuinely have the patience to learn from him? How long would their enthusiasm last?
Nonetheless, Hunter didn’t voice anything, merely announced that his haul once again exceeded a million, then drove back to his villa.
After seven days of abyss hunting, even Hunter felt somewhat exhausted.
Navigating the abyss demanded constant vigilance, especially for a lone hunter like Hunter, requiring utmost caution.
Upon returning to the villa, Hunter noticed that the neighboring villa had been purchased, even renovated.
More importantly, the Fields Clan’s emblem was affixed to the neighbor’s villa gate.
"Is this the new home?"
As Hunter arrived at his villa gate, a floating sedan approached from across the street.
Stopping in front of the neighboring villa gate, a casually dressed blonde youth wearing sunglasses exited the vehicle, shrugged at the ’compact’ villa with a hint of resignation.
The youth glanced around, noticed Hunter, and greeted him with a smile: "Hey there, neighbor!"
Not one to harm the friendly, Hunter glanced over and nodded slightly, "Hello."
As the gate before him opened, Hunter ignored the young man and drove his motorcycle inside.
Yet, the youth continued calling out: "I’m Luciano Fields, seems we’ll be neighbors for a while. I’d like to know your name!"
As the villa gate gradually shut, Hunter’s calm voice drifted out.
Luciano paused briefly before realizing, "So you’re that Hunter! Hey, being neighbors with such a renowned figure, this will be interesting!"
Silently appearing behind Luciano, a stern-faced middle-aged butler reminded: "Master Luciano, if you desire, you can become famous too."
Luciano pursed his lips at this, "That’s just a hollow title. Hunter’s fame is earned through his own merits. You wouldn’t even let me join the team traversing the abyss to get here, insisting I fly instead. I’ve abandoned any hope you’d allow me to become ’famous’."
Is the Fields Clan’s convoy tasked with crossing the abyss to Crimson No.2?
With his keen hearing, Hunter overheard Luciano and the butler’s conversation clearly.
Their tone implied the Fields Clan intended to do something on Crimson No.2.
However, didn’t the Fields Clan control Crimson No.1? Why come to Crimson No.2?
Hunter parked in the villa front yard, lost in thought.
After a moment, he shook his head, dispelling extraneous thoughts and drove the motorcycle into the garage.
Such matters weren’t his concern, nor did he care to ponder them further.
No matter what the Fields Clan planned on Crimson No.2, even if they intended to wrest power from Daoist Li, it had nothing to do with him.
Hunter parked the motorcycle in the garage, leaving subsequent matters for Keke to handle as he entered the bathroom to wash up.
After a shower, Hunter sat at the dining table instead of immediately retiring to bed, eating lunch while reviewing news from his recent abyss days.
Suddenly, a news report from two days ago caught Hunter’s attention.
[According to Abyss Administration Bureau research, the probability of demon tide occurrences in various abysses has risen from 3.67% to 8.98%. Outposts, military personnel, and local hunters stationed around abysses are advised to remain vigilant and respond cautiously.]
Hunter calculated the timing, realizing that if his prediction held true, the chance of a demon tide next year would be one hundred percent.
The last demon tide occurred in Abyss Calendar year sixty-eight, and now it’s the end of the abyss’s seventieth year, with New Year just over a month away.
If the demon tide intervals haven’t shortened, next year will certainly see a demon tide.
At the earliest, early in the year; at the latest, year-end; most likely around March to April.
Thus far, the pattern of demon tides has remained unbroken, presumably this time won’t be different.
Upon this thought, Hunter lowered his gaze, sighing silently.
The demon tide is coming...