"We will definitely bring back the ancient world with blue skies and white clouds!"
Zachary's passionate and holy look made Danielle's smile slowly fade.
Zachary didn't know that the people in the central zone, after several generations, were no longer as pure as those from a thousand years ago.
Now, most of them were selfish people who just wanted to control the world...
Danielle forced a smile. "Yes, we definitely will. I'm going to check in now."
Every gifted person joining the middle zone had to register at the hunting hall.
This was the condition for entering the middle zone for free. They would be placed into hunting teams to complete the missions issued by the hall.
Local people in the middle zone had the advantage — they could use connections to join strong teams, which were much safer.
But people like Danielle, who had risen from the lower zone, usually couldn't get into good teams.
The staff member who arranged the teams glanced at Danielle's form, and their expression slightly changed.
"You can wait over there for now. There's no suitable team for you."
After saying that, they hurried into the office in the back.
Danielle was a bit upset, but she didn't want to cause trouble. She just wanted a peaceful life, so she stayed calm and played with Rain and Zachary.
At the same time, a small team in the waste zone was rushing toward the Pure Land, carrying a blue-glowing crystal.
"Captain, I can't believe we finished the mission so fast! When we get paid, I'll buy my little sister a pair of shoes. She's liked them for a long time."
The young man, despite having blood on his face, still had a bright smile.
The man with a beard laughed loudly and slapped the young man's shoulder.
"Don't worry. Everyone will get a good share this time. Buy whatever you want."
His arm looked like it had been slashed by something sharp — the wound was so deep the bone showed.
Blood dripped steadily, but he still looked happy.
Nearby, a cold-looking girl kept sending out a soft white light from her hands.
Every time the light entered the bearded man's body, his arm injury improved a bit.
"That's enough, Shuang'er. We're almost at the Pure Land's border. Save your strength. We'll be fine."
The bearded man smiled at the cold girl.
She glanced at him but said nothing. Her hands didn't stop.
"Shuang'er, come on. The captain is tough. He doesn't need you. I do! Look at my leg — it's almost useless. Heal me!"
A guy with slightly long hair grinned and leaned close to her.
She glanced at the small scratch on his leg and said coldly, "Get lost."
"Aww, Shuang'er, you're still so heartless. After all I've done for you!"
This was one of the most basic four-person hunting teams. Only teams with four members could take on missions.
If they didn't have four people, the team would be disbanded and rearranged.
Lu Yi still wanted to joke around, but in the next second, he suddenly drew a blade and held it in front of him, alert.
"Everyone, be careful."
The bearded man summoned a giant hammer out of nowhere. "Xiao Yang, do you sense anything ahead?"
Fei Yang's bright, handsome face turned pale.
"It's... it's a high-level beast."
Before he even finished speaking, the grey, dusty world seemed to be torn apart.
A beast, more than ten meters tall and over twenty meters long, rushed at them.
The bearded man's face turned grim. Seeing the beast's red, violent eyes, he knew their team was in serious danger.
His arm muscles tensed, reopening the wound. The smell of blood grew stronger.
The beast roared at him, and he realized he wouldn't make it.
He looked at his teammates with a trace of affection.
"When I count to three, run to the Pure Land. No one is allowed to look back."
"Captain!"
"One, two, three — run!"
In the waste zone, the captain's word was law.
The moment he gave the order, the three others took off running.
Bang!
A loud explosion sounded behind them.
Fei Yang turned around, eyes wide. "Captain—"
At that moment, the bearded man had already turned into a rain of blood in the sky.
"Run!"
Lu Yi, who had wind powers, created a sudden gust that helped Fei Yang and Leng Shuang run even faster.
Leng Shuang bit his lip, wanting to turn back, but Lu Yi held on tightly and dragged them forward.
Run.
Running was the only way to survive.
The glow of the formation grew brighter and brighter, but the heavy footsteps behind them were getting closer—so close that they might not make it out of the danger zone in time.
Lu Yi gave Leng Shuang a deep look, then pushed hard, making the two run even faster for a second—
But he turned and ran back.
"Lu Yi!"
Leng Shuang and Fei Yang were thrown into the formation, just in time to see the beast stomp heavily on Lu Yi—
Bzzz! Bzzz! Bzzz!
An ear-piercing alarm rang out.
More gifted people ran past Leng Shuang and Fei Yang.
"It's a high-level beast! Quick, we must stop it from breaking through the formation!"
As more and more gifted people rushed in, Leng Shuang and Fei Yang stumbled forward with them.
Finally, the beast was driven away. They found Lu Yi barely alive, no longer looking human...
"Move! Move! We need to report our mission!"
Danielle had been looking at a chart of gifted people's rankings online when she heard the noise and looked up in confusion.
She was shocked—two blood-covered people, one man and one woman, rushed past her holding a blue crystal.
The strong smell of blood made her almost throw up.
"Sigh, another team gone!"
"Yeah, just two kids left—what can they even do?"
Voices of pity and mockery surrounded them.
Danielle looked at Zachary in fear. "Is the danger zone really that scary?"
Zachary looked at the two and a trace of sadness flashed in his eyes.
"It is. According to unknown sources, at least a hundred gifted people die every day, and dozens of teams are broken or reshuffled."
Danielle looked at the long trail of blood on the floor, and her eyes filled with tears.
Even people with teams faced that much danger. What kind of life had Zachary lived before?
She had known it must've been tough for him, but never imagined it was this dangerous.
Her heart ached so much, her body started trembling.
Zachary thought she was scared and gently pulled her into his arms.
"If you're scared, we can just pay the money and skip the missions."
Gifted people didn't have to do missions, but they had to pay a big fee every month instead.
Still, for Danielle, Zachary was willing to do it. He decided to hunt more beasts each day from now on.
Even if he didn't have a team, it didn't matter—he had always done things on his own anyway.
But suddenly, two soft arms wrapped around him, making him freeze. The smell of her made him feel flustered.
"Zachary, I'm sorry. I came too late… That's why you've had such a hard time!"
The wet feeling on his chest filled him with a strange, swelling emotion.
He hugged Danielle's slim waist and said softly, "But the good thing is… you're finally here."
They looked into each other's eyes. A quiet, sweet feeling started to grow between them.
"Why?! We still have three people! Why are they disbanding our team?!"
Danielle looked back. It was the blood-covered young man from earlier…
Sadness, unwillingness, and anger completely filled his expression.