Chapter 30: The Visitor
The sky was a clear blue, clouds drifting slowly. A light brown bird fluttered down, pecked swiftly, and came up with a grasshopper in its beak.
No sooner had the bird flown off than an armored vehicle sped past, leaving tire tracks in the mud and grass. Bits of grass and mud clung to the tires before being flung far away.
Hum~
A three-wheeled motorcycle with an ultra-high chassis drove by, followed by a massive convoy. By conservative estimate, the convoy consisted of several hundred mechanical vehicles, with heavy trucks bringing up the rear for cargo transport.
Inside the lead armored vehicle, a man with a Mohawk haircut sat in the back seat. His blood-red eyes indicated that his blood fever was already severe.
"Old man, you probably won't blame us, right?"
The blood-eyed man patted a large sack beside him, from which blood was slowly seeping. Inside that sack was the former leader of Shelter 13, known as Red Axe Old Man.
"Only with you dead can we survive."
The blood-eyed man was clearly unhinged. Not just him, but everyone in this convoy, men, women, and children alike, sported the same Mohawk hairstyle. They were the thugs of Shelter 13, notorious and infamous.
"We're here. Up ahead is the livestock farm of Shelter 9."
"Finally."
The blood-eyed man leaned his upper body out the window. Though called a thug, he wasn't brainless. Surrendering to Yahada of Shelter 9 was inevitable, but even if he submitted, Blood Eye wasn't content to be a mere lackey.
So, he had ambushed and killed his own former leader, rallying over 80% of the hunters from Shelter 13 to defect to Shelter 9. Numbers meant leverage.
The convoy soon entered the surface-level slums of Shelter 9. The moment they arrived, Blood Eye was stunned by the sight before him.
As far as the eye could see, the area was packed with all kinds of mechanical vehicles. At least three to four thousand hunters sat on those vehicles, each wearing mechanical exoskeletons and carrying two or three metal guns on their backs or hips.
Bang, bang, bang...
A large hand rudely slapped the window, leaving several big handprints on the already grimy glass. Seeing this, Blood Eye drew a short gun.
"Newcomers, go wait over there."
A burly, scar-faced man left this remark and led his group away.
Under normal circumstances, Blood Eye would have lashed out, but today he chose to hold back. His convoy was surrounded, and if he so much as said a word of refusal, the entire convoy would be riddled with bullet holes.
The convoy slowly backed up and lined up at the designated spot. The nearby hunters looked visibly disappointed. If anyone had started trouble, they could have stepped in. Each troublemaker's ear was worth 2 Shock coins.
Three days had passed since Yahada's death. On the first day, few hunters came to pledge allegiance to Shelter 9, but by the second day, the numbers exploded.
In just two days, the hunter count at Shelter 9 skyrocketed from 2,138 to 17,539. Moreover, most of these hunters arrived in groups, some even bringing substantial supplies.
On the second night, the first conflict broke out, but within ten minutes, both sides were wiped out. The new leader, Naga, enacted a decree: each troublemaker's ear was worth 2 Shock coins, and the rest of their property went to those who suppressed them.
After that, there was no more trouble. After 27 small groups were annihilated, no one dared to cause a disturbance.
As for the healing potion, it wasn't as miraculous as the hunters had imagined. Drinking it only alleviated the burning pain in some organs. To fully escape the torment of blood fever, a second dose was needed.
All hunters who came to Shelter 9 could receive one free dose of healing potion, and a black skull pattern was branded on the back of their hand.
They all received the same order: find the supernatural plant, Dibamu.
During the search, the hunters were completely free to go wherever they pleased. However, their teams were broken up into squads of 200, with most members within each squad being strangers to one another.
The hunters would monitor and guard against each other. If anyone was found slacking off, a report to Shelter 9 would earn the informant a dose of the potion, relieving them of the pain of blood fever.
As for the reported individual, they would never be allowed near Shelter 9 again, or they'd be shot on sight.
Though the hunters didn't know where the supernatural plant Dibamu was, what it looked like, or its purpose, they knew one thing: this was their lifeline. Find it, and they'd never have to worry about blood fever again, plus a reward of 50,000 Shock coins.
The supernatural plant Dibamu equaled life plus wealth. No hunter wasn't tempted. Everyone was driven mad by it.
Blood Eye waited in line for nearly three hours before finally receiving his potion. He downed the pale green liquid in the glass vial in one gulp. After a moment, he began to cough, bent over.
A few minutes later, Blood Eye leaned against a mechanical vehicle, utterly drained. He felt truly alive again. Though there was still a "fire" burning in his chest, compared to the earlier sensation of his organs melting, he now felt as if he were in heaven.
"Supernatural plant... Dibamu!"
Blood Eye looked toward the potion distribution point. A man in a long black leather coat with a sword at his waist sat there, surrounded by a dozen vigilant hunters.
In the crowd, Su Xiao was flipping through a stack of papers. He had returned to his usual attire, with his bracers and other equipment properly equipped.
Su Xiao had little interest in managing Shelter 9. It was different from running the insect nest.
Back then, with the insect nest, Su Xiao had ownership rights, and every enemy killed by his insects earned him rewards. The hunters of the shelter were different.
The power structure of the shelter was far too loose. Even as the leader, he couldn't profit from the kills of his subordinate hunters.
Moreover, these hunters all had their own ambitions and ideas. They weren't easy to command. So, Su Xiao directed them through missions, using direct incentives. He sent most of the hunters out to search for the supernatural plant Dibamu.
Shelter-type forces were simply too chaotic. They could change leaders several times in a single year. It wasn't that no one had tried to establish a rule system, but overly restricting the hunters would lead to mass defections, eventually resulting in a new leader.
The mission time limit was still 26 days. Su Xiao didn't know if the hunters would find the supernatural plant Dibamu, but he was certain of one thing: if this many hunters couldn't find it, his chances of finding it alone were negligible.
Su Xiao tore the paper in his hand. It was a tally from Baha. So far, over 84,500 hunters had been deployed.
It was foreseeable that even more hunters would join later. Su Xiao had deliberately reduced the effectiveness of the healing potion for this reason. The first free dose was a watered-down version of a watered-down version. The second dose was the real deal.
Furthermore, something was bothering Su Xiao. In the past few days, he had felt like someone was watching him.
Thump, thump, thump...
The ground beneath Su Xiao's feet began to tremble. This put him on alert. Based on his combat experience, something ultra-massive was approaching.
Gasps and shouts rang out. Baha swooped down from high above.
"Boss, there's a big one coming."
"A big one?"
"Yeah, conservative estimate, over 200 tons. It's a living creature."
Baha landed on Amu's shoulder. It had been the first to spot the colossal being. Even if it attacked, Baha had no idea where to strike.
Su Xiao stood up from his seat. Those skilled in blade techniques had a common hobby: they loved cutting down large enemies, the bigger the better, with dragons being the prime example.
The same was true in the void. That's why, in the void, dragons would always take a detour when they saw a blade master.