Meanwhile, in the gathering area.

The burly man was interviewing a male player in his thirties who had an automatic pistol holstered at his waist.

"Tell me about your combat record!"

"Boss, I’m seriously badass. I went into a dungeon yesterday and killed a hundred players all by myself, even got the ’Hundred-Man Slayer’ achievement..."

The player being interviewed rattled on and on about his accomplishments.

Zhao Chen couldn’t take it anymore and snapped in frustration.

"Shut up! There’s a limit to bragging. A hundred-man slayer? Even if they just stood there and let you shoot, would you even have that much ammo?"

"Boss, I’m not bragging! I really am that good."

"Fine. What’s your KDI?"

"Ah, that’s not very accurate. Nothing special to see there."

"What is it?!"

"2.8."

"Get lost!"

Hearing this, Zhao Chen’s face darkened, and he roared at the top of his lungs.

Watching these interviews, Qin Ying yawned, completely uninterested.

"Brother, is this really going to work? We’ve been interviewing for so long and have only recruited a few people. When are we going to get enough?"

"Soon."

Qin Ye lazily reassured his sister.

Just then, Qin Ying suddenly noticed Long Ming at the very end of the line and patted Qin Ye.

"Brother, look. That one seems pretty tough, don’t you think?"

"Which one?"

"The player at the very back, the one wearing a mask."

"Oh? You’re right. Hey, you, the guy in the mask at the back! You don’t have to wait in line, come on over!"

Qin Ye stood up and shouted to Long Ming.

Long Ming was slightly surprised to hear this. ’Looks like gear really is everything,’ he thought. ’I don’t even have to wait in line.’

He then walked over to Qin Ye and the others.

At this, everyone turned to look at Long Ming, their faces filled with shock!

"Holy shit, who is this guy?"

"No idea, but look at his gear! So badass!"

"He’s gotta be a top-tier expert!"

...

Soon, under everyone’s gaze, Long Ming walked through the line of players and stood before Zhao Chen.

Zhao Chen took a deep breath. Just as he was about to start the interview, Qin Ye stepped forward directly.

"Old Zhao, step back. I will handle this interview personally!"

"Yes, sir!"

Zhao Chen respectfully stepped back.

Nearby, the few players who had already been recruited—dressed in full combat gear with sharp gazes—frowned when they saw Qin Ye was conducting the interview himself.

Qin Ye looked Long Ming up and down, his gaze growing more and more intense as he silently sized him up.

’Military-grade body armor, mechanized power boots, a special-ops mechanical mask, a high-grade firearm, and a top-tier tactical knife on his belt.’

’This is a fully-kitted, top-tier expert, no doubt about it.’

Long Ming frowned slightly as he watched Qin Ye, who had been staring at him for a while. He finally spoke in a cold voice.

"I’m here for the job."

"No problem. What do I call you, man? What guild are you with?"

Hearing this, Long Ming was about to give his real name and guild, but on second thought, decided it wasn’t a good idea. He changed his answer.

"Red Ghost. I’m not in a guild."

"Red Ghost?"

Hearing Long Ming’s reply, Qin Ye thought for a moment, trying to recall if he’d ever heard of someone by that name.

"What? Is there a problem?"

"Nope. It’s a good name. Got personality. I like it! But to be fair to everyone, I still need you to provide your combat record and proof of your skills."

"My skills are so-so. My combat record is decent."

For a moment, Long Ming was stumped by Qin Ye’s question and wasn’t sure how to respond.

"Ahem, do you have any highlight reels of your fights? Any video recordings?"

Qin Ye was a bit speechless. All the other applicants did their best to brag about themselves.

But this guy comes along and just says he’s ’so-so’.

"No."

Long Ming shook his head.

’Even if I did, I wouldn’t show them,’ he thought. ’It would reveal too much information.’

"Then what’s your KDI?"

Qin Ye asked patiently.

"I don’t know. How do I check?"

Now it was Long Ming’s turn to be stumped by the question.

The crowd instantly burst into an uproar, and people started whispering amongst themselves.

"No way. He doesn’t even know his own KDI?"

"You think he’s a fraud? Maybe he just bought all that gear with cash?"

"I doubt it. You can’t buy that gear in the item shop. It could only come from front-line dungeon clearing."

...

Qin Ye almost laughed, but he managed to keep a straight face and explain.

"Bro, open your character status on your wristband and scroll all the way to the bottom. It’s displayed there. The KDI number doesn’t mean everything, since luck plays a part and some people deliberately farm it, but it generally gives a good idea of a player’s skill level."

Following Qin Ye’s instructions, Long Ming raised his wristband, opened his character status, and scrolled to the very bottom. Then, he spoke.

"My KDI is 12.1."

The moment he said it, the entire area erupted.

"Holy shit, 12.1?!"

"That’s insane!"

"He’s gotta be lying, right?"

...

Qin Ye was stunned as well. He asked in disbelief,

"Bro, you’re not messing with me, are you?"

"No."

"Let me see it."

"Fine."

Long Ming held up his wristband for Qin Ye to see.

After looking, Qin Ye broke into a brilliant smile.

"Excellent. You’re hired!"

"Hold on. We haven’t discussed the pay or the details of the escort mission."

Long Ming cut him off directly.

"Easy. My offer is between 10 to 60 million Dimensional Coins. The others I hired are all starting at 10 million. For you, I’ll guarantee a base of 20 million, and you get to keep any personal loot. On top of that, if you do well, there’s a bonus. But if the mission fails and you die, you get nothing, and any losses are your own."

Qin Ye laid out his terms.

After hearing him out, Long Ming continued his questioning.

"And the escort details?"

"The mission is at the Stargazer Observatory Base."

"The Stargazer Observatory Base? What’s that?"

"Wait, you don’t know about the hottest dungeon map right now?"

Qin Ye looked at Long Ming with utter surprise. He was starting to suspect the guy was just messing with him.

"I don’t."

"The Stargazer Observatory Base is a super lucrative dungeon. It’s also one of the top spots for ’Invitation’ drops. That’s why it attracts tons of players who fight to the death in there. I don’t need to explain how dangerous that makes it, do I?"

"I don’t quite understand. If the profits from this dungeon are so high, why are you willing to let us keep our personal loot?"

Long Ming frowned, looking at Qin Ye in confusion.

’There’s no such thing as a free lunch,’ he thought. ’These rich kids might have money, but they’re not philanthropists.’

"Talking to you is exhausting. It’s because at the Observatory Base, you can do the upgrade quest for the 2x2x2 safe box. I’m hiring escorts to protect me and my sister while we activate the base. We don’t care about the dungeon’s loot or whether we get out safely."

Qin Ye explained, his patience wearing thin.

In fact, he was starting to doubt if Long Ming was really up to the task.

But Qin Ye had no other choice. The guild he’d invested in didn’t have the strength to protect him while he activated the observatory. They had tried several times and failed every single time.