Chapter 11: The Hunter

"That stubborn girl! I've warned her more than once not to go to dangerous places, yet... sigh!" Uncle Zheng downed his drink in one gulp and slammed his fist onto the table. It was clear he truly cared for Qi Fang.

Looking at Ye Yang, Uncle Zheng added, "As for your situation, fine, I'll take your word for it for now. Such things are possible. A single punch killing a Level 2 mutant? Heh, I’ve seen it with my own eyes, and those things don’t even fear being bitten!"

"Oh? What kind of things? Are they like me?" Ye Yang was immediately intrigued.

Uncle Zheng gave a dry laugh. "Not exactly the same, heh! Those guys are nothing like you; they are terrifyingly beyond reason! The world is in chaos now. Level 2 mutants? Heh, if zombies can evolve, why wouldn't humans?"

"..." Ye Yang fell silent. He had indeed thought about his own situation. Evolution? Perhaps "mutation" was a more accurate term, though it didn't sound very pleasant. But why? Why would his body suddenly mutate? And were there others like him? Ye Yang's appetite for answers had been completely whetted.

"No rush. Listen to me slowly," Uncle Zheng said, squinting.

As he explained, Ye Yang learned some new information. Qi Fang’s account had been mostly correct, but this burly man’s explanation was far more detailed, covering everything from the beginning of the apocalypse to the end of the war.

It was true, as Qi Fang had said: China no longer existed, though two cities remained—Yanjing and Shanghai. Of course, the nation was gone, and the government was nothing like it used to be. Yanjing and Shanghai no longer had a formal government; they were simply organizations formed spontaneously by the people.

Yanjing, now also known as the Zhonghua Alliance, was a different evolution of governance, functioning more like a guild. Its primary mission was to maintain law and order and protect the city and its surrounding villages.

Then there was Shanghai, but due to the vast distance, there was little contact between them. Unless there were specific matters of cooperation, they largely kept to themselves. Shanghai was not part of the Zhonghua Alliance; they had their own guild called the Capital of Yanhuang.

Other cities had similar setups—none were countries, all functioned as guilds. There were exceptions, of course, such as London, which was managed by the Catholic Church and called the Sacred Holy See, or the city of Jia, which had been taken over by a religious sect. Then there were the chaotic regions in Africa, where things were most unstable; some people there called themselves emperors, and some had even regressed to a slave society.

Ye Yang felt like crying. Humanity had spent thousands of years evolving into its current social structure, only for this apocalyptic storm to completely reset them to the beginning. A slave society? He couldn't even imagine it; only those African warlords would be capable of such things.

After chatting a while longer with Uncle Zheng, Ye Yang’s heart began to ache. He realized that his hope of finding his parents and Xiao Ya was incredibly slim. The world was in absolute chaos; finding specific people was like looking for a needle in a haystack, and he didn't even know if they were still alive.

If they lived in a major city, he could at least check residency records, but if they were in a small village, there was no chance of finding them. There were too many scattered villages. While many had gathered around the big cities for protection, others were hidden deep in the mountains and forests, impossible to contact.

"Twenty-plus years? Tsk, this world has changed completely in these twenty years. Let it go; the chance of you finding them is just too slim," even Uncle Zheng remarked.

Ye Yang took a deep breath and nodded blankly, his heart feeling as though it were shattering. Were his parents still alive? And Xiao Ya... on the day they parted, she had been intending to tell him she was pregnant with their child, and yet...

"I still have to look!" Ye Yang gritted his teeth. As long as he held onto hope, anything was possible, but if he gave up, he would have no chance at all.

"Suit yourself. Haha, it's good for a young man to have drive," Uncle Zheng said, patting Ye Yang on the shoulder.

Ye Yang gave a bitter smile. A young man? Looking at this uncle, who seemed to be around forty, he was probably younger than Ye Yang himself. He was already pushing fifty.

"By the way, what was that about human mutation?" Ye Yang asked with a frown. This was the topic he was most concerned about, as it was directly relevant to him.

"That? Heh, have you heard of the Hunters?" Uncle Zheng squinted.

"What? Hunters? What's that?" Ye Yang was confused. He had never heard the term. Hmm... he seemed to remember playing a single-player game with that name once.

"They’re just mutated humans. Nobody knows how they mutated, but they mingle among the people in the Zhonghua Alliance and the Capital of Yanhuang. Other countries have them too. Hmm... their main task is killing zombies and those mutated monsters."

"Heh, just like you said—punching a Level 2 mutant to death? Those guys can do that too, and they're even stronger. They don't seem like humans at all."

"Tsk, I’ve encountered them twice while helping a nearby village. That guy was truly exaggerated! He could fire something like artillery from his hands. Damn it, I was scared out of my wits!"

After a few drinks, Uncle Zheng became animated, telling Ye Yang everything he had seen and heard, swearing and spitting as he spoke, leaving Ye Yang stunned.

"Hunters? Mutated humans? Firing artillery from their hands? Come on! Are you talking about Superman or Ultraman?" Ye Yang couldn't help but retort; it was simply too unbelievable.

"I’m not sure. It’s hard for us living on the outskirts to know these things. If you could get to Yanjing, you might understand, but it’s hard to get in without a residency permit," Uncle Zheng shook his head with a bitter smile.

There was no more useful information after that. The uncle just complained about how good city life was and how hard it was outside, and how he lacked the fortune to live there. Ye Yang listened half-heartedly.

"Yanjing, huh? I really do need to go there. Hunters? I must see them for myself," Ye Yang mused.

As they were talking, the bar suddenly went quiet. Uncle Zheng didn't notice and kept rambling, but Ye Yang did. He looked back, froze, and caught the hushed whispers of the people at the neighboring table.

"Are those Hunters? Why are they here?"

"..." Ye Yang pursed his lips. What a coincidence. He had just wanted to see them, and now they were here. Was this God answering his prayers?

Three people dressed in strange clothing walked through the door. It wasn't the clothes that were strange, but the fact that they were wearing retro plate armor... Who wore armor in this day and age?

Not only that, their weapons were also very retro. Although they had guns holstered at their waists, what caught Ye Yang's eye was something else. The leader was a burly, bearded man holding a massive broadsword, the blade shimmering with silver light.

"A mercury sword..." Ye Yang recognized it instantly. He noticed the other two were similar. The second was a young girl holding a pair of short swords, and the third was a youth who had no visible weapons, but Ye Yang saw he was wearing silver, gleaming gauntlets.

"It’s him!!" Uncle Zheng let out a startled cry, pointing from afar at the youth with the gauntlets. "That’s him! I recognize him! He’s the one who can fire artillery from his hands!"

"Damn! Are you serious?" Ye Yang stood stunned. He had thought the uncle was just drunk and talking nonsense. Could a hand really fire artillery? Did he have a rocket launcher hidden in his sleeve? But after one look, he dismissed that thought.

They truly might not be ordinary people! Ye Yang gritted his teeth. He didn't know why, but these three gave him a sense of immense oppression. Just as Uncle Zheng said, they didn't seem like humans at all!

There was no extra talk, and they didn't drink at the bar. The three simply rented a room and went straight upstairs. Ye Yang finished the remains of his drink, exchanged a polite word with Uncle Zheng, gritted his teeth, and followed them.

"Kid, I advise you not to provoke them," Uncle Zheng said as they parted ways. It was clear he was terrified of these people—the kind of people that even a seasoned drifter like him feared... but that only made Ye Yang more interested.

Coincidentally, the three were staying on the same floor as Ye Yang—the third floor—and their room wasn't far away.

Ye Yang went back to his room to check on Qi Fang, who was still fast asleep. He resisted the urge to take advantage of her, turned around, and headed straight to the door of the three strangers' room.

*Knock, knock, knock.* Ye Yang knocked. The door opened shortly after. Before the person could speak, Ye Yang ducked his head and walked right in; there were some things he didn't want others to hear.

"Get out!" The girl who opened the door gave him one look and immediately ordered him out.

"Uh... I need to talk to you. Are you Hunters?" Ye Yang asked, frowning.

"Get out!!"

"Uh... I really have something to discuss. Actually, I have special abilities just like you, I—"

"GET OUT!!!!"

*Bang!* The door slammed shut. Ye Yang rubbed his backside, feeling frustrated. Damn! Was this girl on her period? Did she have to be so arrogant? She was pretty enough, but cold to the point of being infuriating.

He lingered by the door for a long time but didn't dare knock again. Gritting his teeth, he went back to his room to plot a strategy.

How do you get a girl's attention? Three ways:

One: "Miss, let's get a room?" This was the easiest way to get attention, but also the most punchable. The usual result was getting beaten up, unless you happened to run into a girl in that specific line of work.

Two: "Miss, my father is Li Gang." This was also very effective. Most vain girls would throw themselves at you for that, but a girl who wasn't vain... did such a thing exist in this world? Unfortunately, Ye Yang’s father wasn't Li Gang, so that was out.

Three: "Miss, you dropped your money..."

After lying on the floor for a long time, Ye Yang gave up. First, he had no money. Second, this girl was clearly so arrogant she wouldn't even bother to pick up cash. So...

Sigh. Ye Yang sank into deep helplessness. He was out of options.