Chapter 188 - 187: Signing and Not Signing

Chapter 188: Chapter 187: Signing and Not Signing

Baozi turned to look at a nearby building outside the window. "The fourth is her current state: exhaustion. It’s a sleep state devoid of any emotional fluctuation."

He then said to Feng Ling, "Ms. Ling, I suggest you try to keep her in a state of hunger. Most creatures extend their sleep when hungry to conserve energy, and Pollution Bodies are no exception."

Feng Ling grew thoughtful.

’She understood. It was like how some animals hibernate in winter when food is scarce—the same principle.’

’Looks like Ye Zheng will have to go hungry for a few days. She’s certainly quieter when she’s weak. I’ll let her eat her fill once we get inside the Maze.’

’If Su Yuqing found out, she’d probably hate me for this, haha~’

"You’ve had a long day. Go get some rest. I’ll have to trouble you again tomorrow." Feng Ling smiled, thinking to herself, ’I’m so considerate.’

Baozi said goodnight to Feng Ling and went upstairs.

Feng Ling sat alone in the ground-floor lobby, took out her phone, and decided to browse the Hunter forums to see if she could recruit a replacement for Baozi.

The moment she opened the forums, a system notification popped up—

[Dear Hunter, the Hunter rankings will be published on the official Hunting Star International website tomorrow at 12:00 PM. Would you like to set a virtual name?]

The Hunter forums had a real-name policy, mainly for regulation. After all, a Hunter using their Card Ability to commit a crime was far more dangerous than an ordinary person.

Now, out of consideration for the Hunters’ privacy, they were being given the right to use a pseudonym for the public announcement.

Feng Ling thought, ’This is just self-deception, isn’t it? If they publish a list full of fake names, reporters will definitely try to find out the truth. The Hunter community is a mixed bag. Pry open one Hunter’s mouth, and you could get the real names of everyone on the list.’

Feng Ling directly selected "No."

—Besides, she was an orphan. Even if people knew her real name, she had no family or friends to endanger.

Once on the forums, Feng Ling had intended to post a recruitment thread, but she found that the first few dozen posts were all in a heated discussion about some kind of contract.

If she posted now, her thread would definitely sink without a trace.

She clicked on one of the threads.

It turned out the Hunters were debating whether or not to become contracted Hunters for Hunting Star International.

—There was bound to be a difference between signing a contract and not signing one.

[Ah Fen: I’ve finished reading the contract terms, and the differences are pretty obvious. Contracted Hunters get one-on-one coaching, with personalized, structured curriculums. Uncontracted Hunters can only attend sporadic public training sessions. Oh, and the company’s security and promotional services are also only available to contracted Hunters... In short, contracted Hunters have the company backing them for everything, while non-contracted Hunters have to rely on themselves.]

[Xu Yiming: I’m personally leaning toward signing. After all, it’s more secure. But that commission cut is pretty brutal—they actually want to take 50% of a Hunter’s income...]

[Ah Fen: It’s understandable, really. The company spends a lot of money on training Hunters in the early stages. Besides, big clients in the overseas market are willing to hire us mainly because they trust Hunting Star International as a company. Throw any of our names out there, and nobody would know who we are.]

[Liang Jiaqin: I think it’s fine. We still have Contribution Points, and they aren’t part of the commission cut. Right now, a single point is worth hundreds of thousands.]

[Li Donglang: It’s vulgar to keep talking about money. We should be doing this for honor.]

[Monkey King: If it’s just for honor, then don’t sign at all. Isn’t the whole point of discussing contracts to get better benefits?]

[Mo Liusha: Hee hee hee, I’m just going to go with the flow. If the number one on the list signs, I’ll sign. You can’t go wrong following the top dog.]

[Li Donglang: If you don’t sign, even if you’re number one right now, your ranking will fall sooner or later. Does anyone even remember the name of the previous number one? That’s reality. An individual can’t win against the power of the entire organization.]

Feng Ling: "..."

’Discuss all you want, but why do you have to drag me into it? So annoying~’

A black shadow flashed past the window.

Feng Ling had just looked up when a giant, fluttering moth entered.

She looked Ye Zheng up and down, taking in the moth wings, and asked in astonishment, "Weren’t you sleeping?"

Ye Zheng spread her wings and raised a black Beast Claw toward her. In the light of the lobby, tiger stripes were faintly visible on its fur.

"The leg... grew back," Ye Zheng said, her face expressionless.

"So it grew back," Feng Ling replied.

’I can’t just chop it off again, can I?’ she thought. ’It grows back every day, I chop it off every day... Is she playing at death by a thousand cuts?’

The goat hooves, however, hadn’t grown back, because the Black Mountain Goat Card was no longer inside her.

Ye Zheng took a step forward, her expression dark. "I fell."

Feng Ling paused. "...Then be more careful next time."

"I fell off the wall," Ye Zheng repeated. "I’m uncomfortable hanging, I’m uncomfortable standing, I’m uncomfortable on my stomach, I’m uncomfortable on my back, I’m uncomfortable on my side—nothing is comfortable! I’m uncomfortable! I’M UNCOMFORTABLE!!!"

Feng Ling: "..."

’This must be the third state: pain caused by her physical structure.’

Ye Zheng’s voice was loud enough that Baozi, who had just gone back to his room, came rushing back downstairs, leaning over the railing to look.

"How about I string you up? Let’s see how comfortable you are then," Feng Ling said, turning as if to get a rope.

Suddenly, the shriek of the Cat Owl came from outside.

Feng Ling frowned. She and the Cat Owl were connected, and she instantly knew something alive had entered her territory.

Ye Zheng’s reaction was even stronger. Her blood-red eyes flew wide, and she spun around and lunged outside!

The wind from her flapping wings blasted Feng Ling in the face, along with a bit of scale powder.

Feng Ling clenched her fists. ’So fast...’

By the time she walked out of the sales office, Ye Zheng was already fighting the intruder in the clearing outside—

To be more precise, it was a one-sided beatdown.

Baozi’s ability could only alleviate Ye Zheng’s pain, not eliminate it. After a full day of pent-up negative emotions, this unlucky intruder had become Ye Zheng’s punching bag.

Feng Ling stared at the bloodstains appearing on the concrete. ’How am I going to clean this up?’ she wondered. ’Will a hose be enough to wash it away?’

In the distance, the intruder was already covered in wounds. He forced himself up and swiped at Ye Zheng with his claws, but he missed. Instead, Ye Zheng’s claw pierced straight through the palm of his hand!

"AHHH!!!"

The pain of his hand being impaled made him cry out. He regretted being so careless on this mission; he’d never expected such a powerful Pollution Body to be hiding in an abandoned building.

Hearing the scream, Feng Ling froze.

’That voice is so familiar...!’

She quickly ran over, simultaneously releasing her Spiritual Suppression to stop Ye Zheng from attacking him further.

Under the Spiritual Suppression, Ye Zheng lowered her body. She glared back at Feng Ling unwillingly, a low growl like that of a Tiger Beast rumbling in her throat.

Feng Ling had no time to soothe her. She stared, dumbfounded, at the bloody figure on the ground and exclaimed, "Zhou Diao?!"