Leaving the checkpoint, Yan Luo headed to the Hunter's Guild.
He learned from the soldiers at the checkpoint that he had been registered by the Hunter's Guild as a 'missing person' and needed to update his status to alive to facilitate operations on Crimson No.2.
When Yan Luo walked into the Hunter's Guild, he coincidentally met Jin Taiwen walking out of the guild gate with his companions.
Jin Taiwen's gaze intersected with Yan Luo's for a brief moment, and his body stiffened immediately.
Having 'promoted' Yan Luo all over Crimson No.2, Jin Taiwen felt guilty and instinctively averted his eyes.
Yan Luo glanced at him, not pausing his steps, and walked straight to the reception desk.
To him, Jin Taiwen was just a clown, not worth spending words on.
"I am Yan Luo."
Yan Luo knocked on the desk in front of the reception desk, "I've returned alive from the Abyss. Can you help update my survival status?"
The receptionist behind the desk blinked, and the glasses on his nose projected Yan Luo's information.
After just a glance, the receptionist was extremely surprised and said, "Yan Luo from the Purple Fox Squad? According to other members of the Purple Fox Squad, you encountered a deadly class demon, and you actually came back alive!"
"That's me." Yan Luo nodded, "By the way, help me leave the Purple Fox Squad. I can't trust those people."
Others overheard and couldn't help but perk up their ears.
Hey, there's a story here!
"Alright, please wait a moment."
Seeing the damage on the visor Yan Luo was wearing, and the armor on his exoskeleton full of scars, the receptionist knew he had been through a fierce battle in the Abyss.
Thinking of the deadly class demon reported by the Purple Fox Squad, the receptionist could imagine how great a cost Yan Luo had paid to narrowly escape from that deadly demon.
Changing the survival status was easy; it just required confirmation that the person standing there was indeed Yan Luo. However, leaving the Purple Fox Squad was a bit troublesome.
If Yan Luo's smart equipment hadn't been damaged, it would be much easier to operate, bypassing a lot of authorizations, but unfortunately, not a single piece of equipment on Yan Luo was intact.
After leaving the Purple Fox Squad, Yan Luo asked the receptionist where he could buy smart equipment on Crimson No.2.
In modern society, it's impossible to move without smart equipment, not even to go home.
The receptionist directed Yan Luo, informing him that there was a mall selling smart equipment just 300 meters away from the Hunter's Guild.
After expressing his thanks, Yan Luo turned and left.
He heard people around him pointing and whispering about him.
Being a Hunter incapable of Engraving already drew a lot of attention to Yan Luo, and coupled with encountering a deadly class demon on his first Abyss hunt, these two pieces of news created an unimaginable reaction.
Everyone in the Hunter's Guild knew Yan Luo. They were all intrigued by the fact that this ordinary person had escaped from a deadly class demon alive.
However, just as Yan Luo had returned from the Abyss, hunters empathized with him, knowing how exhausted he must be, so they refrained from crowding around to ask about it.
In the mall, Yan Luo bought a visor of the same model. After paying with his iris, he looked at his account balance with concern.
Only ten thousand left.
The damaged exoskeleton needed repairs, a new backpack was necessary, alongside new firearms and tactical equipment, and this money was far from enough.
The only consolation was that the Hunter's Guild offered hunters low-interest loans, and if repaid within a month, it was virtually interest-free.
Yan Luo quickly calculated and realized that if he wanted an interest-free loan, he must repay at least three hundred thousand within a month.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sigh deeply.
What a dilemma…
......
"Drink! Everyone drink! It's on me today, and if you don't drink, you don't respect me!"
Qiao Lingzhi placed one foot on the coffee table and excitedly shouted at the alluring women of various appearances in the private room.
After speaking, he picked up a bottle of beer from the table and tilted it into his mouth.
"Wow!"
The women, who had undergone numerous modifications, widened their eyes and clapped and screamed.
Qiao Lingzhi downed the entire bottle of beer in one gulp, casually tossed the bottle aside, sat down on the sofa, and laughed heartily as he reached out to touch the women around him.
They had made a huge profit this time, with the buyer already sending the deposit. Once they handled the goods, they would receive a substantial final payment.
Even though they'd lost Yan Luo, and wouldn't make as much next time, and despite the appearance of a deadly class demon near the Abyss Stone mines, hunters are like creatures who live for the moment. Most hunters don't consider what to do next outside of Abyss hunts.
No one knows what they will encounter in the Abyss, just as they encountered a deadly class demon this time.
If it weren't for Yan Luo 'helping' to stall for time, they might not have escaped from the Abyss.
Qiao Lingzhi, with two women in his arms, let a third pour drink into his mouth, and at that moment, a prompt sounded in his mind.
In an instant, Qiao Lingzhi sat up straight, the smile vanished, his expression shocked and bewildered.
——[Yan Luo has left the Purple Fox Squad]!
This was the message Qiao Lingzhi received.
Having implanted a chip in his brain, Qiao Lingzhi could send and receive messages without wearable smart equipment.
"...Stop."
Qiao Lingzhi calmed himself, pushed all the women away, and sternly pointed to the door of the room, "Out!"
The women exchanged gazes.
"Out?"
Qiao Lingzhi's eyes widened, "Everyone get out!"
As if their seats were on fire, the women immediately sprang up from the sofa and hurriedly ran to the door, scrambling out of the room.
After they left, Qiao Lingzhi lit a cigarette and contacted Shinkai Katsuyuki and Brandon.
He sent a message in the Purple Fox Squad's group chat: [Let's meet up and discuss that matter.]
Soon, Shinkai Katsuyuki and Brandon both replied affirmatively.
They had also received the message about Yan Luo's departure!
Five minutes later, Brandon arrived in the room, and twelve minutes later, Shinkai Katsuyuki also arrived in the room.
When Shinkai Katsuyuki arrived, he saw Qiao Lingzhi with his left hand resting on the back of the sofa, and his right hand holding a bottle of beer, chugging it down, while Brandon sat silently beside him, smoking a spiked cigarette.
Shinkai Katsuyuki sat beside Qiao Lingzhi, looking at the two and asked, "What are your thoughts?"
Qiao Lingzhi paused, chuckled, "What thoughts?"
With that, he took another swig of beer.
Brandon took a deep draw of his cigarette, his eyes drifting and wistful, and said slowly, "He knows about that matter... He can't be left alive."
Shinkai Katsuyuki didn't immediately share his thoughts, crossing his arms and leaning on the back of the sofa.
This bar was a place for hunters to 'entertain', and there were no cameras or recording devices in the private rooms — not counting devices brought by guests, at least not those installed by the bar.
Therefore, even if they discussed matters here, no outsiders would know.
But to be on the safe side, Shinkai Katsuyuki and the others wouldn't talk about the 'Abyss Stone' outside the Abyss, only referring to it as 'that matter.'
After a while, Shinkai Katsuyuki shared his opinion, "Even if we want to kill him, we can't do it on Crimson No.2."
This was a civilized place, with surveillance everywhere. If they acted, they definitely couldn't escape the monitors.
"How about hiring a hitman?" Brandon suggested.
Shinkai Katsuyuki rolled his eyes, "Hiring a hitman to kill a hunter on Crimson No.2? Or do you want the hitman to chase him into the Abyss? Brandon, are you thinking straight? How do you know if Yan Luo's next trip to the Abyss won't be to 'that place.' If he goes there, and the hitman tracks him, finds that place, what will we do then?"
Hearing this, Brandon was momentarily stunned, then dropped his eyes and sighed.
"To kill Yan Luo, we need to do it ourselves, and the location must be within the Abyss."
Shinkai Katsuyuki clenched his fists, took a deep breath, "The fact that he was willing to privately sell that thing with us before shows that he wasn't a rule-abiding person from the start. He might be planning to seize control of that thing from us. Therefore, we must be cautious and observe whether he joins other teams.
"While chasing Yan Luo, don't kill him immediately, because he might have a timed message set up. If he dies in the Abyss, that message will be sent out, informing the Hunter's Guild of 'that thing's' existence. So, before killing him, we must interrogate him to figure out a mutual constraint. If we can join forces again, that would be even better. You've both seen how much we earned this time!"
Having tasted the profits, Shinkai Katsuyuki didn't want to return to the low-efficiency collection work of the past.
In the past, entering the Abyss once netted at most a million, but this time it was double, even more!
Thinking of this profit, Qiao Lingzhi and Brandon couldn't help but feel their hearts stir.
If every future Abyss hunt yields that much profit...
The three members of the Purple Fox Squad sat quietly in the private room, each harboring their own thoughts, imagining the future.