I Start with a Mysterious Island-Chapter 85: He’s a Talent, We Should Send Someone to Approach Him
The sun was setting, its brilliant crimson glow soon to dip below the horizon and vanish completely.
The Exotic Beast Hunters who had participated in the day’s clearing operation, organized by the Exotic Beast Hunter Guild, began to trickle back toward the safe zone.
After a full day of culling by the assembled Exotic Beast Hunters, the large pack of Tier One Mutant Beasts that had escaped from Li Mountain Forest to occupy the hills had been almost completely annihilated.
Aside from a few clever beasts that fled at the first sign of trouble, nearly all the rest had been wiped out by the Hunters participating in the operation.
The frequent flights of unmanned transport drones between Rongcheng and the hills, combined with the joyful smiles on the faces of the returning Exotic Beast Hunters, told the whole story.
Even though the number of Mutant Beasts in the hills meant there wasn’t much to go around for so many Hunters, everyone who participated in the culling operation had managed to gain something, more or less.
...
In a safe zone in the Rongcheng North District Suburbs, bordering the wilderness, a massive tent had been erected several dozen meters from the edge.
This massive tent served as a temporary office set up by the Exotic Beast Hunter Guild staff.
With the clearing operation having concluded successfully, the people inside the tent were now busy packing up equipment.
To encourage active participation in the culling operation, the Exotic Beast Hunter Guild had offered an additional bonus of one hundred thousand yuan to any Hunter who killed three or more Tier One Peak Mutant Beasts.
Now that the operation was over, Liu Jinyang, the man in charge, turned to his assistant. "How many people qualified for the hundred-thousand-yuan bonus?"
"Thirty people in total," the assistant replied, swiping on his tablet to check the backend statistics. "That number includes five who each killed a Tier Two Initial Stage Mutant Beast."
The data showed thirty individuals, but in reality, they were representatives from thirty different Exotic Beast Hunter teams.
"Our initial intel indicated that only Tier One Mutant Beasts were in those hills," Liu Jinyang said. "But we ended up with five Tier Two Initial Stage ones... No one was killed, were they?"
"No fatalities," the assistant reported. "But several people were severely injured. They’re all in the hospital now and out of critical danger. They should make a full recovery after a few months of rest."
"Good. No deaths is the best possible outcome," Liu Jinyang said. "Everyone worked hard. Make sure you get those bonuses distributed as soon as possible."
"Understood," the assistant said with a nod.
"Wait, that’s not right," a staff member who was packing up nearby piped up, having overheard the assistant’s report to Liu Jinyang.
"What’s not right?" Hearing his report questioned, the assistant’s expression soured.
"Uh..." The staffer, who had only recently joined the Exotic Beast Hunter Guild, saw the assistant’s displeasure and immediately realized he had misspoken. He was at a loss for words.
"What isn’t right? Go on, it’s fine," Liu Jinyang, as the leader, said to the questioning staff member.
With Liu Jinyang’s encouragement, the staffer found his confidence and answered.
"I was just on the discussion board of the Hunter app and saw a post.
The poster said that one of the Hunter teams in this operation killed two Tier Two Initial Stage Bear Beasts this morning."
Liu Jinyang’s assistant frowned upon hearing this.
"The official data shows no one killed two Tier Two Initial Stage Bear Beasts. Among the five people who did kill a Tier Two Initial Stage Mutant Beast, one of them took down a single Bear Beast."
The staffer who had raised the issue scratched his head. "Then... I guess the person who made the post was mistaken? Or maybe... could the people at Superfast Recycling have made an error in their data?"
"That’s impossible," the assistant retorted. "The staff at Superfast Recycling don’t make such basic mistakes. We’ve worked with them for years, and they’ve never had an error like this.
Furthermore, for this operation, I personally called the manager in charge of this area over at Superfast Recycling.
I told their staff to be meticulous when tallying the Mutant Beast carcasses sent in by the Hunters from this mission and that there was no room for error."
As the one in charge, Liu Jinyang fell into thought for a moment before speaking to his assistant. "Let me see the files on the five people who killed a Tier Two Initial Stage Mutant Beast."
The assistant handed over his tablet. Liu Jinyang took it, swiped the screen, and quickly browsed through the five files.
"Hm? This person...?"
When Liu Jinyang swiped to the last file, a look of puzzlement crossed his face.
Seeing Liu Jinyang’s puzzled expression, the assistant and the other staffer grew curious about which of the five individuals had caught his attention.
’This person became an Exotic Beast Hunter less than a month ago, and he’s already killed a black Tier Two Initial Stage Bear Beast... Isn’t he that young man who was by himself earlier?
I advised him this morning not to go on this mission alone. He didn’t seem to pay me any mind at the time. Turns out he had the strength to back up his confidence. I completely misjudged him!
But his file says he was only at Tier One Peak when he took the Hunter qualification exam. It’s absolutely impossible to kill a Tier Two Initial Stage Mutant Beast with just Tier One Peak strength.
It seems he broke through to Tier Two Initial Stage in the few short days after getting his license.
To become a Tier Two Initial Stage Cultivator at such a young age... This young man’s aptitude for cultivation must be exceptional. I should find an opportunity to have someone reach out to him.’
After finishing with Lin Li’s file, Liu Jinyang thought for a moment before speaking to his assistant and the other staffer.
"The clearing operation is over, so there’s no need to discuss that matter any further," he said. "Let’s finish packing. We’re heading back to the city before dark."
With that, Liu Jinyang handed the tablet back to his assistant, turned, and left the tent.
The assistant and the questioning staffer exchanged a look. Since their boss had spoken, they dropped the subject.
* * *
