The gates of the Crimson No.2 checkpoint were tightly closed. Yan Luo sat on his motorbike, having already put down the kickstand, patiently awaiting the soldier's inspection.
After a while, a notification appeared on his lens with the message [Permission to Enter], and a side door slowly opened.
Yan Luo kicked up the stand, started the motorbike, and drove inside.
As Yan Luo approached, the three machine gun turrets on the city walls were all aimed at him. If he showed any signs of anomaly when passing through the gate, the guns would immediately activate and turn him into a sieve.
Luckily, Yan Luo wasn't detected to carry any threats, and the machine gun turrets did not activate in the end.
All human settlements now used nuclear fusion power, and Crimson No.2 was no exception.
The town was plastered with bombastic neon lights everywhere, with people equipped with powered exoskeletons and carrying weapons all around.
Countless selfishly modified cars with an unknown number of useless paint jobs and exaggerated ornaments roamed the streets, accompanied by flamboyantly dressed passersby.
The motorbike drove slowly, carrying Yan Luo as he observed this town that covers an area of approximately 3,600 square kilometers.
At least 100,000 people lived here, but only one in twenty were hunters, the rest were 'living facilities' supporting the hunters.
According to research, only settlements with a total population of over 100,000 can effectively mitigate the impact of Magic Power on the human body. Therefore, across the entire Blue Star, no village could be found, with the smallest settlements having populations of 100,000.
After entering Crimson No.2, nightfall arrived completely, and the protective barrier covering the town adjusted its brightness, illuminating the entire town.
Even so, the neon lights embedded in the walls and hanging on doors continued to flicker incessantly, complementing the sky's protective barrier.
Beep Beep!
As Yan Luo was driving along the route provided by the map, planning to head to the pre-booked hotel, his glasses suddenly sounded a notification.
The wilderness had no network because Magic Power interfered with electromagnetic waves, making communication between even cities quite difficult, let alone between the wilderness and cities.
Yan Luo had the motorbike drive automatically, then connected to the voice call from Guo Xu.
[Yan Luo, how about coming out for a gathering? To celebrate our high school graduation.]
If Yan Luo were still in Lingquan City, he would definitely have gone, but now he was in Crimson No.2, so he had to decline.
"Sorry, I'm currently at Crimson No.2."
Upon hearing Yan Luo's response, Guo Xu, who had been grinning and betting with other classmates on when Yan Luo would arrive, suddenly froze, then turned to look at Wang Lingyu.
Wang Lingyu, dressed in a white long dress, with three diamonds embellishing under each eye, tightened her lips and hung her head low. Her body, which had been tense, immediately relaxed.
Guo Xu could only sigh at this, then turned back to chide Yan Luo, "You have some serious action skills, don't you? We just graduated this morning, and you're already at Crimson No.2?"
"I'm in a hurry!" Yan Luo chuckled after speaking, "Have fun, I'm heading to the hotel."
[Alright, you get some rest. We won't disturb you.]
After hanging up the call, Yan Luo had arrived at his destination.
He let the motorbike park itself and entered the hotel named 'Drunken Dream Pavilion' with Keke.
The hotel's sign slowly changed colors between pink and blue, giving off an ambiguous atmosphere. Right at the entrance were multiple vending machines for adult products, where several couples—male and female, male and male, female and female—were standing in front, casually chatting and laughing.
Yan Luo glanced at them and took Keke to the elevator.
As the elevator doors closed, the couples who were previously chatting suddenly exhaled in relief.
"Now that's heavyweight! I thought being a mechasexual was impressive enough, but it turns out there's someone who likes this type of robot!"
"At least a typical mechasexual likes humanoid robots, but this person, it's not even humanoid, just a globe!"
"Kids these days, each one has a heavier taste than the last."
Yan Luo was unaware of the discussions from the seemingly heavyweight folks downstairs. Following the navigation, he reached the room he had reserved, pressed his fingerprint on the lock, and opened the door.
No wonder it's a hotel with hunter reception certification. It had a dedicated rack and charging pile for powered exoskeletons, as well as weapon racks and maintenance oil.
Yan Luo nodded slightly, satisfied with the room.
Although the room contained numerous adult toys, the accommodation fee was low, 10% to 15% lower than other hotels in Crimson No.2.
"Shower, sleep."
He had to get up early the next day, so it was best to sleep soon.
......
The next day, Yan Luo awoke from the round bed, freshened up, donned his powered exoskeleton, picked up all his equipment, and left the room.
On his glasses, Yan Luo selected to check out, and with a "ding" sound, the accommodation fee was automatically deducted from his account.
Going downstairs, Yan Luo encountered the couple he saw in the lobby last night, though he no longer remembered them, he nodded in greeting as he entered the elevator.
The couple glanced at Yan Luo and the robot by his side, their expressions a bit tense, but they still nodded in acknowledgment.
Leaving the hotel, Yan Luo, ignoring the odd expressions of the couple, assumed they were adulterers sneaking out behind family's backs, and put their business out of his mind, driving toward the Hunter's Guild.
To enter the Abyss for hunting, one must first register as a Hunter, and the [Hunter License] Yan Luo possessed was the prerequisite for registering as a hunter.
Only by hunting more than three danger-level mutant creatures can one acquire a [Hunter License], but this is merely one of the prefequisites for becoming a hunter; additional screenings are also required for registration.
Yan Luo drove his motorbike to the Hunter's Guild, one of the most prominent buildings in Crimson No.2 alongside the fusion power station and town government, located at the edge of the town.
From the outside, the Hunter's Guild was a mere ten-story building, but its rooftop bore a large cannon capable of targeting any corner of the town.
In the sunlight, the 30-meter-long, one-meter-caliber shiny silver barrel reflected a chilling light, looking very imposing.
Gazing up for a moment, Yan Luo proceeded into the Hunter's Guild with Keke.
"Hello, new guest, I am Reception Robot No.12 at the Hunter's Guild. May I assist you with anything?"
Bearing the appearance of a mature woman, No.12's warm smile easily engendered goodwill. She wore a dark red suit short skirt uniform, paired with black stockings and high heels, her figure tall and graceful, only half a head shorter than Yan Luo.
"I wish to register as a hunter." Yan Luo stated truthfully.
No.12 covered her mouth in surprise quickly, "Oh, I see, please follow me, guest."
Welcome robots like No.12 were ubiquitous within the Hunter's Guild building. From the moment they rolled off the production line, they had been endowed with the mission to serve humanity.
As service-type robots, they contain the most precise etiquette knowledge in their central chips, and their bodies are fitted with bionics muscles and skin that proficiently mimic human emotional expressions like joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness. Except for the indicator light embedded on their foreheads, it's rare for someone to instantly recognize them as robots.
Aside from the welcome robots, Yan Luo also spotted several hunters.
Their attire varied widely; some wore studded leather clothing, some were shirtless, exposing scar-laden bodies, and others were wrapped up tightly with no skin showing.
Of course, there were also those in business suits, resembling serious businessmen.
But as Yan Luo's gaze passed over them, by noting their names and personal profiles, he realized they were all hunters.
In any area with network connectivity, people could use smart devices to view the names and profiles of others. For instance, with the intelligent glasses that Yan Luo wore, he only needed to focus his attention or activate scan mode to view the floating boxes beside others, checking their names and profiles.
Ordinary people had their names displayed in unchangeable white. In contrast, hunters had their names changed to red.
——Some hunters even had a publicly and guild-recognized 'title' prefixed to their names.
Yan Luo followed No.12 to the fifth floor of the Guild, where a touch of white met his eyes.
A woman who seemed a few years older stood in the hallway, her powered exoskeleton indicating she was another regular person aiming to become a hunter, like him.
[Li Xinyue][Celestial Sea University Military Academy Graduating Class of 2114 in Abyss Hunt Studies]
As Yan Luo curiously observed Li Xinyue, she happened to glance back at him, their eyes met in the air, connecting briefly before parting.
Li Xinyue retracted her gaze, while Yan Luo turned his attention to a man who had just come up via the elevator.
Approaching them, the man spoke, "I am the registration instructor of the Hunter's Guild. Do both of you wish to register as hunters?"