Chapter 1 Cloud-Like Lightness and a Vibration Mode

Hao Ren leaned against the tombstone, arms crossed, looking askance at the few demon hunters before him. His face was a mask of moral superiority and detachment, but inside, he was practically vibrating. He managed to keep his muscles tense, preventing any sign of his nervousness from showing. He was confident in his acting skills and the procedures Hasson had taught him for infiltrating the demon hunter ranks. However, confidence was one thing, and nervousness was another. After all, these guys were the best at investigation and reconnaissance on this monster-ridden Earth, as alert as Lily guarding a big bone. Who could guarantee that the leading demon hunter wouldn't furrow his brow, sense something amiss, and just draw his blade?

But as it turned out, Hao Ren successfully bluffed his way through. The demon hunters exchanged glances but showed no hostility or vigilance, only curiosity towards Hao Ren.

It seemed their alertness and sixth sense for hunting were only effective against异类 (yi lei, other kinds of beings). When faced with a target that wasn't inherently hostile, the demon hunters' intuition wasn't much stronger than that of ordinary people.

"I'm Lockheed, the vanguard of this hunting party, a Master-level hunter," the demon hunter who seemed to be the leader said. "We're not entirely clear on the situation here. We weren't aware there was a游猎者 (you lie zhe, free hunter) in this area."

The implication was that there was a gap in their intelligence for this area, and Hao Ren, the suddenly appearing "free hunter," needed to explain his identity.

"My current name is Hao Ren. I was once a member of the Nordic battalion. God knows where everyone else is after the battalion's reorganization," Hao Ren said, following Hasson's instructions. He tried to act like an old hunter who had separated from the battalion in ancient times and embarked on a solo hunting journey. Fortunately, he spent his days with a ten-thousand-year-old impoverished vampire, so he had a good understanding of how to display "I'm older than you" in the details. He was quite comfortable playing the part. "I've been wandering for thousands of years, hunting the rats that have fled into the backwaters. The last time I contacted the科尔珀斯 (Ke'er Pu Si, Corpus) was a hundred years ago... You're a hunting party? As far as I know, hunting parties aren't very active these days. There are more and more游猎者 (you lie zhe, free hunters) like me."

Lockheed, the Master-level demon hunter, smiled wryly. He figured the man before him was one of the "lone wolves" the elders spoke of. After the 神话战争 (Shen Hua Zhan Zheng, Mythological War) entered its final stages, the world's situation changed drastically. The collapse of the "诸神王朝 (Zhu Shen Wang Chao, Divine Dynasty)" also led to the synchronous disintegration of the demon hunter holy army (innate hostility led to this incredible result). Driven by a powerful hunting instinct, many demon hunters on the front lines plunged into the ruins after the "诸神王朝 (Zhu Shen Wang Chao, Divine Dynasty)" collapsed as if they were bloodthirsty. They continued to hunt and pursue almost irrationally, thereby severing contact with the upper echelons. Some demon hunters disappeared without a trace, while others reconnected with the科尔珀斯 (Ke'er Pu Si, Corpus) after the battle frenzy subsided for thousands of years. However, for various reasons, they couldn't rejoin the main force and became permanent游猎者 (you lie zhe, free hunters). These游猎者 (you lie zhe, free hunters) were what the old hunters called "lone wolf hunters."

Apart from occasionally returning to demon hunter outposts around the world to replenish equipment and supplies and exchange information, these游猎者 (you lie zhe, free hunters) had almost completely severed all social contact with their comrades. Some had even erased their own names, using only aliases.

Dealing with these "lone wolves" was troublesome because their minds had once been dominated by battle frenzy, and their thousands of years of solitary hunting had made them very eccentric. They often only focused on their own hunts and were very hostile to anything that hindered them, even their own comrades.

In short, they were a bunch of guys suffering from severe war syndromes who refused treatment and gave up on taking medicine...

The only fortunate thing now was that the lone wolf hunter before him seemed easier to talk to and wasn't as hostile.

"We're here on an important mission," Lockheed explained the hunting party's purpose. "To deal with an ancient异类 (yi lei, other kind of being) that may soon awaken, an elder has gathered this hunting party. We originally had no plans to hunt witches; today was just incidental..."

Hao Ren's eyebrows jumped. These guys were indeed after Vivian? And they had casually stirred up trouble here...

At that moment, another demon hunter came through the thick fog and approached Lockheed. "Master, the witches have escaped. A werewolf using strange weapons led them through the encirclement. The weapons looked a bit like relics from the 神话时代 (Shen Hua Shi Dai, Mythological Era)..."

"I know," Lockheed nodded. "They'll always leave traces. After the full moon, the magical power of this land will wane. They won't be able to escape for long."

Then he turned to Hao Ren and said, "It seems our actions disrupted your hunt. I apologize for that, but I'd like to know more details. You've been tracking those witches, but you haven't struck?"

"I'm fishing for a big fish," Hao Ren said, arms crossed, looking at the night sky where the fog was gradually dissipating, and a nearly full moon was emerging from behind the fog. "I discovered that these witches are looking for an ancient ruin. The ruin is highly likely to be related to an ancient one among the异类 (yi lei, other kinds of beings), so I haven't acted, but have only been tracking them from afar. Today should have been their last gathering. I could have obtained the most crucial information, but you interrupted without rhyme or reason! Not only that, but you let them escape!"

Lockheed listened in a daze, then his expression suddenly solidified. He followed Hao Ren's lead and thought, "You said ancient ruins? And related to an ancient异类 (yi lei, other kind of being)?"

"It's very likely to be your target this time," Hao Ren gave Lockheed a deep look. "Now you know why I'm so angry, right? You not only ruined my hunt but even ruined your own mission! The witches were discussing how to open the ruins and the specific location of the seal. One of the blood mages was even about to say the spell to break the seal! If you had just waited one more minute, just one minute! They would have told you all the information themselves! Damn it, can't you control yourselves?"

Hao Ren finished speaking and sighed, continuing to look up at the sky while desperately trying to keep his face from twitching. It would be so embarrassing to break character in such a solemn moment.

Lockheed's expression was even more indescribable. He was completely dumbfounded, and after a long while, he finally squeezed out a sentence: "...The werewolf among the witches stimulated our hunting instincts. We originally wanted to observe for a while, but... Wait, you were lurking in the cemetery, didn't you feel the effects of the hunting instinct? And the werewolf didn't notice you?"

Hao Ren, who was halfway through his act, didn't expect to be hit with this question and coughed twice. "Ahem... In thousands of years of hunting, I've naturally developed some special techniques. Shielding my aura and suppressing my hunting impulses in a short period of time is a necessary quality for a游猎者 (you lie zhe, free hunter). Otherwise, how could one act alone in a place filled with darkness?"

Lockheed looked Hao Ren up and down with some surprise, but he didn't become overly suspicious. Although hunting instincts couldn't be eliminated, some old hunters could indeed achieve short-term self-control through specially trained powerful mental strength. As for aura shielding... it was basically a basic skill for every demon hunter. Although its range was limited and it couldn't completely block the innate hostility effect, it was still possible to avoid being discovered by异类 (yi lei, other kinds of beings) while maintaining a certain distance.

Then he fell into great remorse. "Damn it... I must take responsibility for this impulsive action tonight..."

"People always make mistakes..." Hao Ren comforted him instead. "Instead of dwelling on the mistake, you should think about how to fix it. For example, let's discuss that ancient异类 (yi lei, other kind of being)..."

"No, I must confess my mistake to the elder. As for whether there will be punishment, that's something the elder will consider," Lockheed was still a stubborn person and wasn't tempted by Hao Ren's suggestions. "Please rest assured, the elder is on his way. He will soon come here in person. We can explain the situation to him in front of him."

Hao Ren was taken aback. "The elder? You mean the leader of this hunting party? He's coming here?"

Lockheed wasn't the highest leader of these demon hunters. He was just leading a vanguard team. If he wasn't mistaken, tonight's hunt was his independent operation with this vanguard team. Originally, when Hao Ren heard the other party mention that there was an elder as the supreme commander of this battle group, he had decided to gather some information from this vanguard and then find an opportunity to leave, trying to avoid meeting the "elder" whose background was unknown. However, plans couldn't keep up with changes. The elder they mentioned was actually coming in person?

At this moment, forcibly making up a reason to leave would probably arouse the other party's suspicion. Hao Ren could only bite the bullet and continue acting. He could only hope that the weapons and badges Hasson had given him were really as the old hunter said, and that even the elder class of the科尔珀斯 (Ke'er Pu Si, Corpus) wouldn't be able to detect any flaws even if they personally examined them...

Just as he was thinking this, the demon hunters on the outer perimeter suddenly made some movements, and Lockheed's face also showed a solemn expression. "The elder is here..."

Hao Ren quickly adjusted his posture, placing the demon hunter's short sword on his waist and the emblem on his clothes in conspicuous places so that he could gain trust at the first opportunity.

The fog in the cemetery quickly dissipated, as if the arrival of that powerful demon hunter had accelerated the disintegration of the magical forces in this place. A tall, gray-haired old hunter walked in, bypassing the demon hunters on the outer perimeter, and asked as he walked, "Lockheed, I heard there's a游猎者 (you lie zhe, free hunter) here?"

The moment Hao Ren heard this voice, his expression froze. After seeing the appearance of the demon hunter elder, cold sweat immediately broke out. Then he "swish" hid his short sword and emblem—if it wouldn't have a bad influence to go naked in public, he would have even wanted to put away the newly changed clothes—

Holy crap, Hasson!!

That set of disguise equipment might really be able to fool every demon hunter elder of the科尔珀斯 (Ke'er Pu Si, Corpus), but Hasson knew them one hundred percent!!