The Old Town District.
Lin Yi stood outside the supermarket.
The first time he came, he hadn't looked at it closely.
Now, standing here, he looked at the sign above the supermarket's entrance.
It read, 'Starway Supermarket'.
After a brief pause, Lin Yi stepped inside.
It was the same boss lady, a woman in her thirties.
Her complexion today, however, was even better than when he had seen her a few days ago.
And her clothing was a bit more revealing.
Tonight, she wasn't alone behind the counter binge-watching dramas.
Instead, she was holding her phone, her fingers flying across the screen as she typed.
"Boss lady, I'd like a bottle of Tianshan Mineral Water!"
Lin Yi said, mimicking the way Wei Nan had before.
As soon as he spoke, the owner didn't even glance at Lin Yi, simply pointing toward the shelves inside.
"Go get it yourself!"
"Alright!"
Lin Yi paid for the water and walked deeper into the store.
After grabbing the mineral water, he pushed open the back door and went through.
The courtyard was filled with people.
They were all holding their own mission tablets, or else they were standing in long lines, waiting to accept missions.
Lin Yi wore a mask, his hat pulled down low.
He did his best to hide his eyes.
Wei Nan had warned him that most of the people who came here were just looking to make money.
They were all in the same trade, but there were also some devious characters mixed in.
He absolutely could not let them see his face, and he definitely couldn't flash any wealth.
Otherwise, he could bring a fatal disaster upon himself.
Lin Yi's gaze swept quickly over the several rooms.
Two rooms were for accepting missions, and one was for turning them in.
At the moment, an old man was sitting inside that one.
He wore a cartoon character mask on his face.
His hair, however, was already graying.
And of all the rooms, his was the most deserted.
'It seems not many people actually complete their missions…'
"Hello, I'm here to turn in a mission!"
Walking into the room, Lin Yi took out his mission tablet and placed it on the table.
At his words, the old man looked up at Lin Yi.
"No need for words. Just leave the mission tablet there!"
The old man's voice was deep and hushed.
As if afraid of being overheard, Lin Yi nodded.
The old man then took Lin Yi's mission tablet and did something with it under the table.
Then, he nodded. "Mm, ten points. This is your mission reward!"
The old man produced a file folder, a point card, and the mission tablet—which had previously been marked 'Number Twenty-Eight'—and handed them all to Lin Yi.
When Lin Yi took the mission tablet, he noticed that its original dark red color had returned to its previous green.
He frowned, just about to ask something.
The old man lowered his voice and said, "If you want to accept another mission, go get in line. If not, leave immediately. Don't linger here... you've already been targeted!"
After the old man's warning, Lin Yi subconsciously glanced back outside.
He saw two men outside the room, furtively sizing him up.
The moment they realized Lin Yi had turned around, they quickly averted their gazes.
But that alone confirmed what the old man had said.
'This place is a real den of wolves.'
'I can get targeted just for turning in a mission?' Lin Yi carefully put away the file folder.
Holding his mission tablet, he headed straight for the mission acceptance line.
And at the very moment he stepped out of the room, the two men who had been staring at him nonchalantly looked around.
Lin Yi walked past them.
He saw their respective talent tags appear above their heads.
[Tier Two Martial Artist Certification: Possesses a certain foundation in Martial Arts]
[Fancy Fist and Embroidery Legs: Possesses some basic skills, but not many]
[Nefarious: Devious, with no good intentions...]
When Lin Yi saw the talent tags of the person on his left, his expression changed slightly.
'I can even see their Martial Arts Realm now?'
As surprise gave way to relief, Lin Yi's mind gradually relaxed.
A mere Tier Two Martial Artist wasn't even a match for most of his classmates.
Lin Yi had no reason to worry about being spied on by someone like that.
He turned his head to look at the other man.
[Tier Two Martial Artist Certification: Possesses a certain foundation in Martial Arts]
[Iron Fist: Fists like iron, Strength +5%]
He was also a Tier Two Martial Artist, but his talent tags were much simpler.
He even had an [Iron Fist] tag.
However, neither of these two was at a high realm.
'They probably aren't here to accept Demon Hunting missions. They're here to ambush people.'
These types were usually the incompetent ones who wanted to reap rewards without sowing any seeds.
Complete newcomers like Lin Yi were their primary targets.
Lin Yi went to the 'Mission Room' and got in the back of the line.
There weren't many people accepting Demon Hunting missions tonight; only five or six people were in line.
The person sitting in the Mission Room was still wearing that Sun Wukong mask.
The entire process was silent. Not a single person spoke.
After handing over the mission tablet, 'Sun Wukong' would perform some action under the table. The tablet would then be returned, and the person receiving the mission would enter the next room to exchange it for a file folder.
That file folder contained the information for the upcoming mission...
「Ten-odd minutes later.」
Lin Yi walked out with his mission file folder.
He subconsciously glanced at the two men again.
Their gazes darted away once more...
Lin Yi paid them no more mind and walked straight out the courtyard's back gate.
He had two file folders. One was the reward for his completed mission.
The other contained the new Demon Hunting mission he had just accepted.
Outside the courtyard, the alley was pitch-black.
Only the distant streetlights managed to push back some of the darkness.
Without pausing, Lin Yi headed straight out of the alley.
When he reached the side of the road, he saw several other people just like him: wearing hats, with their faces covered by masks or respirators.
They were all silently waiting for the bus.
Just as Lin Yi came to a stop to wait for the bus, three more people emerged from the alley behind him.
Lin Yi glanced back at them.
Two of them were the same men who had been watching him in the courtyard.
The third person hadn't been in the courtyard, or at least, Lin Yi hadn't noticed him.
When he looked at the talent tags above the third person's head, Lin Yi's expression changed slightly.
[Tier Four Martial Artist Certification: Possesses exceptional Martial Arts talent]
[Golden Light Fist: A fist technique that works in concert with Qi and Blood]
[Body Tempering: A strong body, forged through countless refinements]
[Divine Dao: An enlightenment ability. Can comprehend the mysteries within books, paintings, etc., thereby advancing one's Martial Arts cultivation...]