"Damn, I hate you gangsters the most!"
Two tall Hunters cursed while beating up the members of the Black Rabbit Gang, then squeezed into the crack.
The Black Rabbit Gang had fabricated a limit on the number of spots in the hunting ground to earn ticket money through this false information.
According to Shell Country's Crack Management Law, no organization or individual may monopolize a crack without permission, nor can they arbitrarily guide the deformation of a crack.
Although the Black Rabbit Gang had recently received funding from an unknown force, increasing their strength, they still didn't qualify for the operating rights of a crack.
Nobody wanted to hand over their money to the gang for nothing.
If you're unsatisfied, just fight!
The Black Rabbit Gang, in order to assert dominance, instantly started battling with these Hunters.
Da-da-da-da!
Gunfire rang out!
Due to this false information, the scene became extremely chaotic for a while!
"The fighting is really intense..."
Chen Qi took out the backpack card's collector, placed it on his waist, and leisurely walked towards the crack entrance.
The numbers were sufficient; even if he was the last to enter, there would be no problem.
And right in front of him, the cloaked woman also seemed to be enjoying the chaos, walking briskly and leisurely towards the crack.
The two of them entered the crack at an unhurried pace.
Chen Qi followed behind the main group, passed through the mouth of the wiggling walls, and entered a dark tunnel.
As he stepped through the dark tunnel, a sea breeze blew from afar.
Shush, shush, shush!
Moonlight filtered through the leaves, casting its glow on his face.
[You have entered an E-rank crack, inspiration identification in progress...]
Identification success!
[Crack name: Hunting Ground (Island Forest)
Rank: E
Description: After a night of the Smiling Moon, all the wolves in the forest mutated into terrifying red wolves.
Tonight, the old Hunter has gathered 'you' newcomers to hunt the red wolves in the forest.
Clear condition: Complete the old Hunter's mission or survive for three days.
Special clear condition: Kill the hidden monster in the forest (you are aware that this monster is the old Hunter.)
Deformation rate: 31% (High deformation rate, this crack is more dangerous, please be cautious.)
Crack rank limit: Except for overseers, only First Order or lower Transcendents can enter this crack.
Nature Form: Blade
Inspiration: You see the old Hunter staring blankly at the red wolves' blood, a look of craving in his eyes. Then, he slowly looks at you and raises his hunting rifle.
Special Inspiration: You see in the depths of an island's center, at a dark cave, a giant water ball expanding.]
Chen Qi quickly scanned the inspirations before him.
Two points were noteworthy, one being the 'water ball' inspiration.
This inspiration should be related to the Deep Sea Hunter's treasure, revealing a location to him.
The second point was the 31% deformation rate!
The higher the deformation rate, the higher the danger of the crack.
For normal low-level cracks, the deformation rate remains between 10% to 20%.
A 31% deformation rate meant the crack was far more dangerous than a typical E-rank, possibly even reaching D-rank levels.
Simply put, it was a high-difficulty elite stage!
Chen Qi had seen how deformation hunting grounds presented themselves.
For high deformation rates in hunting grounds, it was highly likely the supposedly friendly old Hunter would transform into a monster and directly attack the players.
However, the greater the risk, the greater the reward.
High deformation rate cracks offered far greater rewards upon completion, typically ensuring rare-level Skill Cards or higher.
By now, the participants ahead of him had gathered in a broad clearing within the forest.
They needed to receive the old Hunter's mission here.
During the old Hunter's absence, they started discussing.
Two Hunters, one short and one fat, were particularly loud in their conversation.
"Damn it! A 31% deformation rate, is this really an E-rank crack's level?"
"Crack deformation, this rare occurrence, and we just had to encounter it!"
"Yeah, did you feel it? Red eyes are staring at us... This is an unforeseen emergency, we might need to team up!"
"Team up? It's just a deformation, I've been prepared for it."
"Prepared? What did you prepare for, so confident?"
"Hahaha! I already bought a large insurance policy! You didn't, did you?"
"Hah! That's nothing, I spent all my money and fulfilled my wishes before entering this crack; you didn't, did you?"
"..."
What kind of strange competition is this? Are you really planning to make it out alive?
Chen Qi overheard their conversation, thinking that in this serious setting, how did two jokers slip in?
Unlike in the game, they didn't know about the deformation before entering the crack!
This was a typical emergency situation.
Chen Qi stood at the back of the crowd, thanks to the inspiration, he already knew where the Deep Sea Hunter's treasure was hidden.
At this moment, a tall figure appeared at the edge of the forest:
"Everyone's here, looks like we have a bunch of newbies."
This was a Hunter standing two meters tall, draped in a wolf skin coat, holding a hunting rifle and a bone saw.
His aged face, bulging muscles, and scars told the years of battling with nature.
He was the issuer of this crack's mission and the hidden BOSS— the old Hunter!
All eyes fell on this muscular Hunter.
The old Hunter wiped his precious hunting gun with a cloth and spoke to the crowd:
"Since you're here, you should know what's happening in this forest.
Bring me two live red wolves, and your hunting mission will be accomplished. Then you can leave this place."
[Mission received—Hunt Red Wolves
Description: Deliver two live red wolves to the old Hunter to complete the mission.]
The crack's deformation changed the task from hunting red wolves to capturing two of them alive.
Upon hearing this, everyone looked troubled.
Their weapons were all designed for large-scale damage.
Capturing live wolves was several times harder than killing them!
At this point, a scar-faced man in a light black mecha stepped forward, aiming to be the leader of the group:
"Are you sure you need them alive? Dead ones won't do?"
The old Hunter replied sternly:
"No! I need to hand the red wolves over to the Doctor to study the cause of their mutation, only then can we completely eradicate the forest's monsters."
"Alright! Leave it to us!"
The confident scar-faced man responded.
Loading his hunting rifle, the old Hunter continued:
"Now, to supervise your mission completion and to maintain the forest's balance, I need to select a supervisor to oversee you along with me!"
After receiving the mission, the second phase of the instance was:
"Selecting a supervisor."
This supervisor was appointed by the old Hunter and, typically, he would choose the person who appeared the strongest!
The old Hunter's eyes widened as he began scanning the forty-person group to pick a supervisor.
Just then, the Black Rabbit Gang's cadre, who had just asked a question, lit a cigarette and casually walked to the center of the crowd.
This person, nicknamed Scar Rabbit, was a cadre of the Black Rabbit Gang and the leader of the gang's forces for this mission.
"Everyone, there's no need for words, I think we all know who is the strongest here."
He blew a smoke ring into the air, determined to be the coolest guy in the group!
Chen Qi took a closer look.
Though a bit showy, this guy's gear was pretty good!
Under his clothes, one could clearly see some noticeable steampunk-style steam pipes.
Black Rabbit's third-generation series, small steam armor, produced by a workshop called Small Man Gang specializing in small armors, used exoskeletons implanted into mesh to greatly enhance agility.
In an overheated state, the whole person could move so fast they'd leave afterimages, as swift as the wind.
Black Rabbit... Chen Qi recalled that this equipment was already in its tenth generation.
Unfortunately, the model Scar Rabbit wore was from an earlier series, plagued by issues like being 'easily predicted', 'high damage rate', and 'can't stop'.
Speed came with a price, and the earlier Black Rabbit armor models often went out of control, resulting in fatal crashes.
But in this place, it was still decent equipment.
With such gear, Scar Rabbit had the credentials to be chosen as the supervisor by the old Hunter.
Of course, that was unless there was an unknown powerful force: the cloaked woman.
Chen Qi turned his head to glance at the cloaked woman beside him.
She was quite close.
Since they entered the crack, the distance between them had always been relatively short.
It wasn't surprising; compared to the other fully armed Hunters, he, as someone living in peaceful times, appeared much more approachable.
At this moment, the cloaked woman next to him curled her lips into a cold smile.
Simultaneously, the movement atop her head grew more intense.
She clenched her hand around the cloak's collar and tightened her fist, whispering under her breath like a mosquito:
"I'm ready, I'm ready."
"Elegance, elegance..."
"???"
What was she saying?
Ready for what? Elegance? Chen Qi couldn't shake off a foreboding feeling.
This woman seemed about ready to shed her cloak!