Chapter 112: Search and Rescue Mission
As soon as Zhou Ming left the residential compound where he lived, bursts of roaring sounds came from the sky, and several Alliance fighter jets passed over the Qinshan Base.
“Had the dimensional rift in the Northern Wasteland not been resolved yet?”
Zhou Ming merely raised his head for a glance and easily identified the model of the fighter jets, the Falcon Third-generation Supersonic Fighter.
This type of fighter jet had been developed by the Academy of Sciences using energy crystals as its power source, after consuming countless manpower and material resources.
It possessed supersonic flight speed, ultra-long-range combat capability, and the ability to adapt to various complex combat environments. Its fire-control system, flight system, and sensing and detection systems were all the Alliance’s top-tier scientific research achievements.
Because it had to fight Ferocious Beasts, and within a short time needed instantaneous acceleration and directional changes, the fighter jet’s maneuverability was exceptionally powerful.
Precisely because of this, to fully unleash the fighter jet’s performance, the requirements for the pilot’s flying skills and physical fitness were extremely high.
Under the Alliance’s vigorous cultivation, the number of pilots who met the requirements to fly the Falcon Third-generation could only be maintained at around one thousand.
And the Falcon Air Regiment, formed entirely by Falcon Third-generation Supersonic Fighters, was one of the Alliance Headquarters’ three trump card legions.
Now that both the Griffin Knight Regiment and the Falcon Air Regiment had been dispatched to the Northern Wasteland, it was enough to show that the situation there was far from optimistic, after all, there was still a Legendary Beast King behind the dimensional rift.
Zhou Ming sized it up for two glances and did not continue paying attention. If the sky collapsed, the tall ones would hold it up. He still put his thoughts on making money.
Because the house Zhou Ming had re-rented was very close to the Hunter Guild, there was no need to take transportation. After walking for just a few minutes, he arrived at the Hunter Guild.
Before he even entered the mission hall, Zhou Ming saw an extremely familiar scene.
A youth with a tender-looking face was walking toward the mission hall, while the surrounding hunters kept whistling and staring at him with fierce gazes.
This special welcoming ceremony caused the youth, who was visiting the Hunter Guild for the first time, to feel immense pressure.
It was as if a little white rabbit was being watched by a pack of wolves.
In the end, unable to withstand the enormous pressure, the youth directly turned around and fled.
For a moment, various jeers rang out. Even hunters who had not participated in the welcoming ceremony earlier let out jeers at the youth’s retreating back.
Seeing this scene, Zhou Ming could only shake his head.
Insufficient ability could be slowly tempered. Even if one was not a Beast Tamer, one could still practice martial arts and use firearms to survive in the wilderness.
But without courage, any hunter would look down on them.
Yet it was precisely this unique welcoming ceremony that allowed many rash youths to preserve their lives, and also reduced the mortality rate of hunters by quite a bit.
After watching this small interlude, Zhou Ming did not linger any longer and directly walked toward the guild’s mission hall.
In the distance, the fleeing youth was being teased by his companions, as if their purpose in coming here was to test courage.
“Why didn’t he get the same treatment I just did?”
When he saw Zhou Ming enter the mission hall while the surrounding hunters showed no reaction at all, the youth immediately felt it was somewhat unfair.
“Because you’re a weak chicken.”
A hunter passing by gave the most straightforward evaluation after hearing this.
“You…”
Hearing the evaluation of weak chicken, the youth’s anger instantly surged.
“What ‘you’? Want to fight? You don’t even dare admit failure and still want to find laughable excuses.”
As a hunter, the speaker could naturally sense the aura on Zhou Ming’s body, that killing intent which could only be tempered in the wilderness.
So whether someone was a newcomer or not, those hunters could tell at a glance.
After entering the mission hall, Zhou Ming knew nothing about what was happening outside. At this moment, he was looking for a suitable mission.
As for those long-term acquisition missions, he could conveniently complete them after leaving the base.
Mission Level: Black Iron.
Mission Type: Search and Rescue Mission.
Mission Reward: Bounty of ten million.
Mission Requirements: Safely bring the target back to the Qinshan Base.
Mission Location: Ghost Cavern Ridge.
Remarks: Any hunter who met the requirements could accept this mission.
“An open mission? But for a Black Iron-level mission, why is the bounty so high?”
When Zhou Ming saw the ten million reward, he instantly felt tempted.
However, he still needed to carefully understand the specific situation of the mission.
He came to the service counter.
“I need the detailed information for mission number forty-seven.”
“Please wait a moment.”
After seeing Zhou Ming present his hunter emblem, the staff member turned around, took out a folder from the cabinet, and pulled out a sheet of information from inside, handing it to Zhou Ming.
Judging from the situation, many copies of the materials had been prepared for hunters to understand the situation.
“Thank you.”
After a polite remark, Zhou Ming directly sat to the side and began reading.
A few minutes later, he understood what was going on.
The son of the chairman of Yang’s Paper Industry had secretly left the base with several classmates, without informing his family, to explore Ghost Cavern Ridge.
As for why Yang’s Paper Industry had issued this search and rescue mission, it was because the chairman’s son had sent out a distress signal using special equipment.
Already extremely worried about his son’s safety, the chairman of Yang’s Paper Industry directly published this mission at the Hunter Guild.
Seeing the rescue target’s photo, Zhou Ming also felt speechless toward these rich young masters. Seeking thrills still required safety measures.
The chairman of Yang’s Paper Industry might not be able to hire a Professional Beast Tamer, but hiring a standard hunting corps was not a problem.
What was even more speechless was that the place they chose to explore was actually Ghost Cavern Ridge.
This place was located more than a hundred kilometers south of the Qinshan Base, a small mountain ridge stretching several kilometers.
The reason this place was famous was because it possessed extremely vast and complex karst caves underground.
According to current exploration data, the caves already covered an area exceeding ten kilometers, with depths surpassing a hundred meters.
As long as one did not enter the caves, this mountain ridge within the Alliance was not considered too dangerous. However, since the other party had sent a distress signal and then completely lost contact, it was highly likely that they had sought death by entering the underground caves.
The environment inside the caves was complex, like a maze, and there was no light source at all. Although there were no large Ferocious Beasts, there were all kinds of mutated poisonous insects, snakes, and ants.
Ordinary hunters were generally unwilling to enter, because the cramped environment would affect the combat performance of their beasts, and if a cave collapse or underground water rise occurred, it would bring fatal danger.
After understanding the detailed situation, Zhou Ming did not immediately accept this mission, but instead checked whether there were other missions more suitable for him.
Although the Ironthread Snake group and the Dark Gold serpent pupils capable of night vision were very suitable for the cave environment, underground caves were too prone to accidents.
However, after searching for a long time, either the bounty was low, or the mission requirements were high.
In the end, Zhou Ming could only accept the search and rescue mission issued by the chairman of Yang’s Paper Industry.
Who told him he lacked money?
After accepting the mission, Zhou Ming immediately began making preparations.
Among them, the detailed introduction to the caves and Ghost Cavern Ridge, maps, precautions, and so on, all had to be thoroughly understood in advance.
In addition, information about the Ferocious Beasts and mutated poisonous insects, snakes, and ants within the caves, as well as whether precious medicinal herbs grew there, also had to be clearly understood.
This trip to Ghost Cavern Ridge was not only for the ten million bounty, but he also wanted to take this opportunity to earn some extra income.
After all, given his situation, it was impossible for him to enter the wilderness long-term to obtain resources.