At 9:05 a.m., in an alley diagonally opposite the Hunter’s Guild.
After Long Yuehong confirmed that nobody was tailing him, he carefully ran in and spoke to Bai Chen, who was hiding in the corner. “You can go to the guild to accept the mission.”
Bai Chen took off her beret and mask and tugged at her gray scarf. “Alright.”
She felt that it was necessary to cooperate with the investigation and clear the suspicion so that the guild could take down the mission. Otherwise, it would be very annoying if wave after wave of Ruin Hunters came looking for her. Furthermore, it would bring unnecessary danger.
The only thing she couldn’t understand was why Long Yuehong insisted on reconnoitering before heading to the lobby. It wasn’t a dangerous place.
But since the rookie assigned by the company had such a cautious attitude, it was still worth encouraging.
After accompanying Bai Chen out of the alley, Long Yuehong reminded her as various gazes swept over them. “When being interrogated, touch your pocket every minute.”
Bai Chen said in amusement, “Do you really believe that naggy fellow?”
The fellow who rented the room opposite them clearly had a handsome face, but he looked like a lunatic. However, if it weren’t for the fact that she couldn’t find anything when she tried touching her pocket later, Bai Chen really would’ve believed that there was a folded star in her pocket.
But even so, when she thought of what the fellow had said about waiting for someone to ask before touching her pocket—about how touching it meant that she was dreaming—Bai Chen was not so sure that there really were no folded stars.
She had also encountered and heard of some magical things, especially those involving Awakened.
It seems like I subconsciously believe in this matter... Bai Chen didn’t think too much about it and entered the Guild Hall before the Ruin Hunters approached.
When she was inside, she was no longer in a rush. She looked up at the scrolling and synchronized broadcast on the large screen.
“Mission: Find the suspects involved in Eugene’s disappearance.
“Description: A man and a woman. The man is about 1.8 meters tall. He wore a navy down jacket and a baseball cap. The woman was about 1.7 meters tall and wore a gray cotton jacket. She also wore a baseball cap...
“Reward: A clue that passes a review and is deemed valid will earn you at least 10 Oray, with a maximum of 500 Oray.
“Mission rank: C, 100 credit points.
“...”
Bai Chen then saw her photo on the big screen.
“Mission: Find Ruin Hunter Bai Chen.
“Description: Female. Known aliases: Qian Bai and Bai Feng. Involved in Eugene’s disappearance. She’s about 1.6 meters tall and has short hair. See photos for specifics.
“Reward: 5 Oray for every effective clue provided. 20 Oray for bringing Bai Chen to the guild or the City Defense Command’s headquarters.
“Mission rank: E, 10 credit points.”
They are indeed looking for me... Bai Chen looked around and noticed a man in a thick black coat looking at her.
She had previously seen this Ruin Hunter and had just heard Long Yuehong mention his name. Thus, she knew that he was Advanced Hunter Oudick.
Bai Chen casually retracted her gaze and walked to a window at the circular platform area. She calmly said, “I’m here to take on a mission.”
“Which mission?” asked the female employee at the window instinctively.
According to their standard operating procedures, they couldn’t redirect Ruin Hunters that came to them for the machines. They had to provide them the service before they could give a reminder.
“Searching for Ruin Hunter Bai Chen.” Bai Chen didn’t have the strange feeling of saying her name.
“Alright, please give me your Hunter’s Badge,” said the employee with a smile.
She took the badge and swiped it before suddenly becoming stunned.
After a few seconds, she looked up slightly and looked out through the glass. “You... are Bai Chen?”
Bai Chen had registered herself as Qian Bai with the Hunter’s Guild, but Eugene’s team had provided the guild with her real name.
“Yes.” Bai Chen was relatively calm. “Taking the opportunity to earn a sum.”
The clerk reacted after a while. “Then, I’ll directly give you the choice of mission completion? Also, please wait here for a while; I’ll report the matter.”
Bai Chen directly said, “It’s best if someone that can make a decision comes over and lets me cooperate with the investigation while satisfying my conditions.”
The employee naturally couldn’t agree to Bai Chen’s request directly. She picked up the phone on the table and reported the matter.
Before long, a tall, thin man came to the lobby and walked toward Bai Chen with a few bodyguards guarding him. His hair was relatively sparse, but it was still black. Wrinkles had grown out of the corners of his eyes, mouth, and forehead. The most obvious characteristic was his large nose.
“I’m the guild’s Vice President, Cui En.” The tall, thin man nodded and introduced himself. He then politely said, “Madam Bai Chen, there’s no need to be nervous. The city’s defense forces are only looking for you to assist in the investigations.”
Bai Chen said without any care, “I have two conditions: First, I don’t trust them. As you know, there are many situations where they can’t find the true culprit and might casually choose a few scapegoats to point them out as the culprits. Therefore, I’ll only accept the interrogation and cooperate with investigations inside the guild.
“Second, I still have unfinished missions and need to earn money to survive. I’m in a rush; please be quick.”
The Hunter’s Guild’s creed had always been to serve and facilitate Hunters, becoming a Hunter’s home in a sense. Regardless of whether this was actually realized or not, none of the guild’s brass would dare to deny it in public.
Cui En was no exception.
Coupled with the fact that the local Hunter’s Guild had a special relationship with Castellan Manor, Bai Chen’s request was easy to fulfill.
Cui En pondered for a moment and smiled. “Sure. Don’t worry; as long as you haven’t done it, the Guild won’t watch you be wronged.”
Cui En said the last sentence very loudly so that the Ruin Hunters around them could hear him.
With the vice president in charge of Hunter’s Affairs promising her, Bai Chen felt relieved. She followed him to the second floor and entered a small room.
There was only a rectangular table here, with a chair on each side.
Bai Chen sat on the inner seat and subconsciously reached into her pocket.
She forcefully controlled her urge and silently mocked herself. I really was influenced by that naggy fellow...