Three days passed in a flash. Yan Luo informed his friends, who might send him messages, that he was about to embark on his first Abyss hunt, then grabbed his weapons and left his residence.
While taking the elevator, Yan Luo encountered Li Xinyue.
Both of them were Hunters who took the registration exam in the same group. The guild assigned them accommodations in the same apartment building, even on adjacent floors.
Unlike Yan Luo, who was somewhat of a 'talking-point', Li Xinyue had yet to find a suitable team.
Seeing the fully armed Yan Luo, Li Xinyue, dressed in casual wear, nervously tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear and greeted him with a smile, "Heading to the Abyss for a hunt? You haven't been a Hunter for long, right?"
Yan Luo nodded politely and replied, "I'm a rookie; I can't expect the team to work at my pace."
As they spoke, they reached the first floor. Li Xinyue took a deep breath and walked out, while Yan Luo stayed in the elevator to the underground parking, where he mounted his motorcycle.
It was now 8 a.m., and it wouldn't take long to reach the Hunter's Guild. Yan Luo figured he would have just enough time to replenish some consumables at the guild.
The other three members of his team were very mysterious. Even at this point, they hadn't sent Yan Luo the hunting route for this hunt. However, being a newcomer, it was normal not to receive the route on his first hunt.
Without a route, not knowing the hunting target, Yan Luo couldn't prepare specific gear and could only stock up on general equipment like concussion grenades, pressure mines, and stun grenades.
The Demon's deflection shield could only defend against direct attacks. It couldn't defend against stun grenades or flashbangs, and using stun grenades against Demons often worked wonders.
"Yo, the newcomer's pretty early!"
As Yan Luo was restocking equipment, a playful voice came from behind.
Without turning around, Yan Luo knew who it was.
Qiao Lingzhi, a member of the team 'Purple Fox', which Yan Luo joined, was a frivolous and laid-back person but with handsome looks that were favored by many women.
"Because I need to restock equipment."
Though a novice, Yan Luo wasn't at all obsequious. He spoke in a plain tone without even turning his head.
Qiao Lingzhi didn't mind. He walked up, slung an arm around Yan Luo's shoulder, and leaned his head forward to take a look, "Oh, you're really well-prepared!"
Yan Luo said, "After all, you guys didn't give me the route, nor did you tell me the target, so I can only prepare for the safest option."
Upon hearing this, Qiao Lingzhi pretended not to hear Yan Luo's complaints and giggled, "The route is a squad secret. Since you're a newcomer, you can't be told for now. But don't worry, stick with us, and you'll make big money."
Yan Luo was skeptical of this.
The Purple Fox Squad ranked very low on Crimson No.2. Excluding solitary hunters, there were over nine hundred hunter squads on Crimson No.2, and the Purple Fox Squad ranked eight hundred and ninety-second.
All three hunters in the squad were Sequence 5, each possessing only one Engraving. Based on the guild's internal network, Yan Luo learned that none of the three had a complete Engraving.
The growth of an Engraving requires Magic Power. Hunting Demons allows one to absorb a small amount of Magic Power as the Demon's body dissipates, or one can use certain resources 'collected' from Demons to gain a lot of Magic Power, all of which promote the growth of an Engraving.
The shortest time any of the three in the Purple Fox Squad had been hunters was a year. Even if their Magic Power compatibility was low, with a bit of effort, they should have a complete Engraving by now.
But none of them did.
Yan Luo didn't respond, silently continuing his preparations for entering the Abyss.
"Tsk!"
Qiao Lingzhi lost interest, released Yan Luo, and moved aside to start his own resupply.
Shinkai Katsuyuki and the last member of the Purple Fox Squad, Brandon McKinney, arrived one after another. Just like before with Yan Luo, they acted mysteriously and didn't discuss tactics before entering the Abyss, merely warning Yan Luo to follow their orders once inside.
Yan Luo readily agreed, only stating in advance that he would not comply with orders that were clearly sending him to his death.
"Don't worry, it won't be dangerous," Qiao Lingzhi said with a grin, patting Yan Luo's arm.
No danger but big money?
Since when is there such an easy thing in the world?
Yan Luo remained skeptical of this.
Soon, it was 9 o'clock, and the four set off for the Abyss.
When they arrived at the checkpoint, even the soldiers on duty couldn't help but give Yan Luo a second glance.
In the last two days, Jin Taiwen would rather let others know he was beaten up by Yan Luo than not publicize that Yan Luo was a wasted Hunter.
Thus, this matter not only spread in the hunter circles, but others from different circles on Crimson No.2 also knew about the Hunter who couldn't form an Engraving.
Yan Luo wasn't angry about this. It was a fact that he couldn't form an Engraving, and getting angry would only please Jin Taiwen.
Passing through the frosted-glass-like entrance, the Purple Fox Squad's four members entered the Crimson Abyss.
Red moonlight cascaded down, providing some light to the deep, dense forest below.
The Crimson Abyss was always damp and cold. Immediately upon entering, Qiao Lingzhi couldn't help but shiver.
Brandon, standing beside him, couldn't resist teasing, "I told you to stop playing with so many women; just look at your weakened state!"
Being a man, Qiao Lingzhi, of course, could not admit his weakness, and quickly retorted, "Nonsense! You're the one who's weakened!"
Yan Luo shot a sideways glance, "Enough, don't argue!"
Brandon and Qiao Lingzhi were stunned.
Despite being a newcomer, Yan Luo dared to command them?
At this moment, realizing the tension, Shinkai Katsuyuki quickly stepped in to mediate, "Yan Luo's right, this is the Abyss after all, danger can lurk anywhere, even near the entrance, so keep your voices down."
Upon hearing this, Brandon and Qiao Lingzhi were a bit unwilling, their lips moving subtly, yet ultimately refraining from reprimanding Yan Luo for being disrespectful to his seniors.
Clearly, even though Yan Luo was a novice, he didn't regard what the seniors said as the absolute truth. In his eyes, the three seniors held no authority; he had his own opinions.
"This time we'll be active in the Abyss for three days. About this, I have already mentioned it in the team chat before. Our exoskeletons aren't designed for sustained operation, so from now on, let's shut down most of the functions, keeping only the basic detection and short-range communication functions," Shinkai Katsuyuki instructed.
As the leader of the Purple Fox Squad, during activities in the Abyss, it's best for team members to follow the captain's directives to ensure consistency in actions.
Following Shinkai Katsuyuki's instructions, Yan Luo and the other three shut down most of their exoskeleton functions.
Yan Luo found this perplexing. Although every Abyss is very extensive, even the relatively smaller Crimson Abyss was about one-tenth the size of the Northern Region, with plains, hills, and even mountain ranges within.
But with a three-day activity period, considering the return trip, they'd be active in the Abyss for at most a day and a half.
In this day and a half, if it's only hunting Dangerous-level Demons, they certainly wouldn't make big money, but trying to hunt Deadly-level Demons was even more impossible.
The reason was simple: the Purple Fox Squad wasn't capable of that.
Leaving aside Yan Luo, if Shinkai Katsuyuki and the other two were capable of hunting Deadly-level Demons, they wouldn't still be at Sequence 5 without even completing their first Engraving by now.
Wearing tactical goggles and a metal respirator covering the lower half of his face, the others couldn't discern Yan Luo's current expressions.
Shinkai Katsuyuki scanned the circle. Seeing the team obeyed his command, he nodded in satisfaction and then turned to Yan Luo, "Did you bring the capture bags I asked you to bring?"
Yan Luo patted his backpack, "Twenty of them, along with a simple foldable cart."
At this point, Yan Luo understood why Qiao Lingzhi said they would make big money.
Shinkai Katsuyuki grinned and waved them to follow, "This is the entrance, so we're likely to encounter other squads. Come, let's discuss as we walk."
Yan Luo paced his steps with Shinkai Katsuyuki, with one word echoing in his mind.
--- [Gathering]!