A large group of Hunters noisily rushed out of the Hunter’s Guild, arm in arm, heading towards the bar closest to the Guild. As soon as they walked in, they shouted, "Where are those bastards from Scarlet One? Get the hell out here!"
The bartender, yawning as he cleaned the counter, looked up and saw a group of brawny Hunters storming into the bar. He sighed helplessly, tossed the rag onto the counter, leaned on the bar with both hands, and asked, "What are you guys up to this time?"
As the entertainment venue closest to the Hunter’s Guild, this bar, from the boss to the waitstaff, had long gotten used to the Hunters’ antics.
Plenty of Hunters came to play at the bar, and whenever their numbers swelled, trouble was bound to follow.
"It has—has nothing to do with you. We’re looking for those bastards from Scarlet One!"
A Hunter with a flushed face waved his hand, turned his head around, and scanned the bar hall. His gaze glanced over the unresponsive, self-absorbed cleaning robots and focused on those hiding in the booths.
Hearing the Hunter’s words, the bartender raised an eyebrow and asked, "What do you want with them? Don’t tell me you’re planning on a fight?"
Another Hunter chimed in, swinging his fists and shouting, "We’re going to run them out of here!"
The bartender opened his mouth to speak, but a large hand clapped onto the shoulder of the shouting Hunter, and a tall figure squeezed through the crowd into his line of sight.
Yan Luo stepped forward and said to the bartender, "Those Hunters from Scarlet One need some regulation. Ever since they arrived, there have been three rape cases here in Crimson No.2; you might’ve seen it on the news. While local Hunters are rowdy, we rarely do anything extreme. At most, we brawl and cause some property damage, but we always compensate afterward. Do you really think it’s a good thing to have a group of unruly people living in your city?"
Listening to Yan Luo, the bartender thought: I don’t like either group, but if I had to choose... local Hunters are easier to deal with.
"Alright." The bartender sighed again, "You’re right; those guys do need some regulation, they’re in room 206 upstairs. Don’t tell them I told you."
Yan Luo gave an OK gesture, then led the group of Hunters up the stairs.
Reaching the door of room 206, Yan Luo kicked it open with a single blow.
A roar erupted from inside the room.
Followed by a few screams.
Yan Luo and the others looked over and saw a few scantily clad women shrinking into the couch, trying to hide themselves.
Before Yan Luo could react, a few Hunters rushed in from behind him and grabbed two calm men out of the room.
A Hunter with messy hair grabbed a black man’s shoulder and reeked of alcohol, "You punk, are you from Scarlet One?"
The black man was not to be outdone, flinging the disheveled Hunter’s arm aside, "So what if I am?"
The next second, his stomach took a punch.
"Ha ha, that’s right!"
With only two Hunters from Scarlet One in the room, Yan Luo didn’t even have to lift a finger; the other Hunters had already beaten them to the ground.
The first black man who got hit was being questioned about the whereabouts of other Hunters from Scarlet One, but how could he know?
Though he was from Scarlet One too, the Hunters from there didn’t keep in close touch; they only lived in the same exploration town with no other shared ties.
"I don’t know!" the black man shouted in despair.
At that moment, Yan Luo tapped the shoulder of the Hunter holding the black man, gesturing to let him ask the questions.
The Hunter hiccuped, tossed the black man onto the floor, then moved aside.
Yan Luo crouched down, gazed down at the black man, and softly asked, "What’s your name?"
Lying on the ground, John’s face was bruised, and his whole body ached, but he had no choice but to answer, "John Bruno."
"Very good, John." Yan Luo nodded slightly, "Have you read the news lately?"
"News?" John Bruno looked puzzled.
Yan Luo spoke softly, "Three Hunters from Scarlet One came here and committed rape; they’ve all been caught. That’s why we’re giving you trouble."
"What?" John looked bewildered. "You beat us up because of that? Come on, other than being from Scarlet One, I have nothing in common with them! Whatever I do, I follow the rules; even when I mess with women, I pay them. You can ask them yourself!"
Yan Luo glanced at the women huddled on the couch, then looked back at John and shook his head: "Being law-abiding yourself isn’t enough. This is Crimson No.2, you’re marked with the ’Scarlet One’ label. You need to follow the rules, and so do the others."
Sitting up indignantly, John waved his hands and exclaimed, "How could I possibly control others? I’m just a regular Low-level Hunter, trying to make a living..."
Yan Luo cut him off with a punch to his face, effectively silencing John.
"We’re teaching you the rules now," Yan Luo stated blandly to John. "If you can’t learn them yourselves, we can teach you. No shouting. Now, John, tell me why you came from Scarlet One. Did the Fields Clan send you?"
Though the punch from the towering young man in front of him felt lighter than those from others, the pain in John’s face suggested otherwise.
Clutching his left cheek where Yan Luo had hit him, John sucked in a breath and answered, "No one sent us. We just heard the demon tide is coming and knew Scarlet One couldn’t hold out, so we came here on our own."
Upon hearing this, the surrounding Hunters burst into laughter.
"Gosh, what’s he saying? He thinks Scarlet One can’t hold out, so he just ran over here himself?"
"Moving from one exploration town to another, what are you really running from? Why not head back to the city directly?"
"Do you think there’ll be no demon tide here in Crimson No.2? This is foolish!"
Hearing their jeers, another Hunter from Scarlet One, pinned down, yelled in frustration, "We’re not afraid of dying! But those Fields have all run away. If we stayed, it would be like waiting for death!"
Yan Luo looked over, intrigued, and asked, "What do you mean?"
The other Hunter angrily retorted, "The Fields Clan is transferring their family assets. I know a few merchant friends, and they’ve all told me the Fields Clan sold off their properties in Scarlet One and Phoenix City at low prices. If not planning to run, what else could they be doing? Charity?"
Hearing this, a Hunter nearby mumbled, "Come to think of it, recently the Fields Clan’s stores have been buying materials at really fair prices, higher than consignment at the Guild or even the Li Family. I remember someone made a huge profit because of it. Could it be that the Fields Clan wants to settle in Crimson No.2?"
Is the upcoming demon tide that terrifying?
It’s strong enough to compel a family holding an exploration town to abandon their existing assets, willing to spill blood to move to Crimson No.2 and contest power with the resident Li Family.
"Why bother with all that!"
A Hunter, face flushed from drinking, waved a dismissive hand, "Whatever comes, we’ll face it! Can we even stop the demon tide? No matter what, we need to focus on the here and now! Those Hunters from Scarlet One are causing trouble here; we don’t welcome them; we must drive them all back!"
This statement bolstered the confidence of the other Hunters, "Yes, drive them back!"
Soon their focus fell on John and the other Hunter from Scarlet One.
John hesitated for a moment, "You... want to drive us away?"
"Three days, and you must go back!"
The flushed-faced Hunter held up three fingers, "If you don’t, every time we see you, we’ll beat you up!"
"On what grounds?!" John shouted angrily.
"Because we want to uphold the order of Scarlet One!"
Yan Luo took over, speaking earnestly: "John Bruno, you’re a rule-abiding person, but you can’t ensure all those from Scarlet One follow the rules. To prevent our place from getting ruined by you all, we have no choice but to reject all Hunters from Scarlet One. Everyone knows, among ’Hunters’, there are all sorts of rotten people—smoking, drinking, fighting, womanizing, what have you—but at least we local Hunters don’t harm the place where we live. You’re different.