"What compensation?" Ya Qiaoxi used a dagger to pry open a new can, then dumped the food all at once into the pan, "Didn't you eat your fill before we set off?"

"No, I'm talking about a few days ago in Lake Baikal City, after we completed the mission, we were roasting meat in the wilderness. Just when the meat was about to be done, Mr. Yang's call forcibly dragged me back to Tianfu City... Ah, I really miss that sizzling oil-dripping roast meat." Sun Hang sighed longingly.

"Lake Baikal City? Hasn't it already fallen? Were you on a mission there?" Ya Qiaoxi asked with a look of great interest.

"Ahem." Candle Dragon deliberately coughed twice, then lightly nudged Sun Hang with his elbow in front of Ya Qiaoxi.

"Alright alright, it's all classified, I know." Ya Qiaoxi waved her hand with a frown, "So boring."

"Our profession is quite special, I hope you understand." Candle Dragon nodded slightly at Ya Qiaoxi with an apologetic tone.

"I understand, I understand... Could you pass me that bottle of cumin?"

...

After the four finished their lunch and tidied up, they played poker for a while at Ya Qiaoxi's suggestion to kill time. It wasn't until 4:55 in the afternoon that a somewhat muffled broadcast came through the radio on the SUV.

"This is... zi... Dragon City... zi... Sandstorm Observation Center... zi..."

"Oh, finally there's a signal." With a lousy hand, Ya Qiaoxi tossed her cards aside, leaped to the door with a quick stride, pulled out paper and pen from her jacket pocket, and quickly noted things down.

"Zi... Today morning... zi... the 'No. 5196' Death Storm generated at 10:42 and has now crossed... zi... the Longgu River, moving northward at a speed of... zi... 600 kilometers per hour... zi... zi zi... According to the results observed by Station No. 17 twenty seconds ago, the current coordinates of this sandstorm are..."

"Nice!" Ya Qiaoxi quickly jotted down a bunch of data on the paper, calculated it several times thoroughly, and then contentedly stuffed the paper and pen back into her pocket, "We can hit the road again. This sandstorm is heading directly north, and it's more than 200 kilometers away from us. Even if it turns around after we leave the stone forest to chase us, we'd already be in Yumen before it reaches us."

"Two hundred kilometers... That should have exceeded the range of the sandstorm's lifeform perception, right?" Candle Dragon said.

"If, and I'm saying if." Ya Qiaoxi put on her helmet again and mounted her motorcycle, "In case it catches up, we only need to lure it to Yumen, and naturally, someone will lead it away... If the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up, and Yumen lacks everything but 'tall ones'."

Sitting back in the SUV, Sun Hang exchanged a glance with Candle Dragon, seeing a hint of a wry smile in the latter's eyes—given their capabilities, if not hidden, they would indeed be the 'tall ones' Ya Qiaoxi referred to.

Candle Dragon aside, if Sun Hang unleashed the substantial life energy within him, it might well cover half of Dragon City.

"That ability, you should have a way to hide it, right?" Candle Dragon started the car, asking in a low voice.

"You're sitting right next to me, and even you can't sense the life energy I'm hiding inside. The sandstorm certainly can't." Sun Hang said, "But you better not get hurt, otherwise if I have to use my ability to heal you, then I can't hide it."

"Heal? Is your ability healing?" Ya Qiaoxi's voice came over the communication channel, "That type of ability is quite sought after in Dragon City, especially among those free hunters who act in groups... If you ever become a freelance hunter, I can't imagine how in demand you'd be."

"Really?"

"Speaking of which, we've had drinks and meals together, yet I still don't know your name." Ya Qiaoxi suddenly asked, "That can't be classified too, can it?"

"I'm Sun Hang, and that little girl is my sister, Xue Yue." Sun Hang said.

"Sun Hang... wait, you said your name is Sun Hang?!" Ya Qiaoxi's voice suddenly raised several degrees, and the motorcycle in front suddenly drifted and turned, coming alongside the SUV, as Ya Qiaoxi turned her head to look at Sun Hang through the car window with a face full of surprise.

"You're the one who... took down Chimera 17, Sun Hang?" Ya Qiaoxi confirmed with Sun Hang.

"That's me." Sun Hang nodded. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

The news of Lake Baikal City being purified has yet to be announced to the public; otherwise, Sun Hang's fame would probably soar not just one, but several levels.

"If you truly are Sun Hang..."

"I am, really."

"I mean, if you're really that Sun Hang who took down Chimera 17, you'd better not casually reveal your real identity... especially in Yumen." Ya Qiaoxi said.

"Why?" Sun Hang asked, "I was thinking that maybe I could still recruit a batch of skilled hunters with this name."

"If you really want to reveal your identity, it's best to do it when you're about to leave Dragon City." Ya Qiaoxi said gravely, "You have to know... the place you're about to go, Yumen, is a truly lawless land. In that place, the relationship between people is solely based on profit... As long as your fists are big enough, what you say becomes the truth. Things like murder and robbery are commonplace... In my opinion, some people are even more dangerous than the supernatural creatures."

"Well, I suppose my fists are quite large. Can what I say be used as truth?" Sun Hang asked.

"If you are that kind of veteran top hunter recognized by everyone for both fame and strength, what you say in Yumen would be quite influential. Most people wouldn't dare provoke you without a direct conflict of interests." Ya Qiaoxi said, "But you just happen to be a newly famous figure who vaguely threatens the top spots on the hunter ranking. That changes the situation completely."

"How does it change things?"

"Not just in Yumen, but even in Dragon City, many people don't believe in your achievements."

"Huh?" Sun Hang was taken aback, initially pondering how to keep a low profile, only to discover he didn't even need to pretend here.

People outright don't believe in his feats.

"Many people think you are merely a 'hero' promoted by the Federation Government." Ya Qiaoxi said, "A 'hero' artificially created to stabilize the situation."

"…" Sun Hang couldn't help but recall what Candle Dragon had told him in Lizhou City.

Yang Qi had also said: "The public needs a hero, the Federation also needs a hero."

He suddenly understood these individuals' perspectives.

"In many people's view, you're just a nobody who suddenly emerged, no different from those 'celebrity hunters' in Chunming City who are overloaded with endorsements and show up in all sorts of commercials." Ya Qiaoxi said, "Do you know how many people want to step on you? With your current reputation, stepping above you would indeed be an instant rise to fame."

"Well, they've really got quite the nerve..."

"For free hunters, this is the best way to become famous quickly." Ya Qiaoxi said, "And on the Internet, especially on those official institution websites, the information available about you is pitifully scarce, causing people to believe even more that your achievements are fabricated, and that the Federation Government credited you with merits that weren't yours."

"If that's the real situation... do you have anything you want to say?" Sun Hang asked.

"If that is indeed the case, your identity should be kept even more confidential." Ya Qiaoxi reiterated, "Once your identity is revealed, the number of people looking for trouble will be countless! If your ability truly is healing, Candle Dragon alone cannot handle those guys!"