Great! I'm surrounded by villains!
Chapter 66: Monsters, Evil Spirits, and Hunters

Chapter 66: Chapter 66: Monsters, Evil Spirits, and Hunters

From this detailed narrative, Duan Mingyuan understood the relationship between Liu and Da Jiang, which involved the establishment of Wangxu and the turmoil that nearly destroyed the entire organization several years ago.

Before becoming a journalist, Liu was also a member of the organization.

It’s worth mentioning that this was also the first time Duan Mingyuan had heard the collective term for people of their kind since he joined the industry—Hunters.

At least before the organization existed in name only, the Hunters had a substantial network, with contact points spanning various locations and a clear hierarchy within, overseen by a coordinating body named "Royal Hunting Court."

Due to their frequent dealings with evil spirits and Monsters, Hunters generally led a nomadic life, making the world their home. The role of the support stations established by personnel like Da Jiang was to provide funding and intelligence support for the Hunters’ local operations. Even after the complete collapse of the Royal Hunting Court, these traditions continued to this day.

It further noted that Hunters originally had a complete self-sufficient system that was not at all like the current state of working for the love of it.

Beyond the financial and intelligence support from the contact stations, the Royal Hunting Court would also pay wages to the Hunters based on the difficulty of the tasks they resolved. The Royal Hunting Court would categorize the difficulty of tasks and publish them to contact stations across different areas, and it was from this that the title "Hunter" originated.

Hunters weren’t required to adhere to office hours nor did they have fixed targets, their remuneration depended entirely on the choices they made.

The only requirement was that Hunters who completed their tasks had to hand over the evil spirits and Monsters to the Royal Hunting Court for centralized processing.

This tradition continued for a long time until the Extraterrestrials firmly rooted themselves in this land, becoming an inseparable part of people’s lives. As awareness increased, Hunters began to harbor some doubts.

For instance, where did the evil spirits and Monsters they handed over to the Royal Hunting Court go?

Or why was the Royal Hunting Court able to provide them with a never-ending flow of financial support?

Curiosity and skepticism bubbled up from the lowest levels, radiating upwards.

Eventually, all clues pointed to the Universe Company.

The categorization of task difficulty, the endless financial support, and even the establishment of the Royal Hunting Court—it was all orchestrated behind the scenes by the company. All these investments were made for the seventh type of Energy that the company deemed crucially strategic. The company believed this Life Energy to be the core of entirely eradicating the "Cocoon."

Yunlong City, and the whole of Blue Star for that fact, was the company’s most critical Life Energy extraction site, with millions of Energy Sources being nurtured every moment.

Following this lead, the Hunters uncovered even more startling truths.

The company suppressed families that had pioneered the development of Life Energy, and through intimidation and enticement, over generations, they caused the complete eradication of this "forbidden" knowledge; all these schemes were to create a more stable and easier-to-harvest farm.

It was like stripping the wildness from the livestock on a farm, letting them wallow in a life of "stable happiness."

The Hunters belatedly realized that they, who prided themselves on being the freest of people, were in fact laborers for the company from the start, unwittingly harvesting an endless supply of Life Energy Source for them.

The Royal Hunting Court had thought that facing the immeasurable power of the Universe Company, the Hunters would choose to submit. However, one day, a spontaneously formed squad of high-ranking Hunters attacked the Royal Hunting Court, killing all its upper echelons and burning everything to the ground.

It was then that the nefarious organization known as Wangxu was born.

Duan Mingyuan had to admit, the information Liu sent was indeed extremely dangerous.

It not only exposed the company’s crimes of extracting the seventh type of energy in Yunlong City but also whitewashed the reputation of what was publicly recognized as a Terrorist organization.

Liu did not hide his identity.

When the Royal Hunting Court was destroyed, both Da Jiang and Liu were still young, filled with the same ideals but they chose radically different paths. Da Jiang decided to stay in Yunlong City to rebuild the organization, while Liu chose to follow his seniors who had risen up in revolt, to seek out the truths that had been hidden by the Extraterrestrials.

Liu didn’t hide or beautify the actions of Wangxu since its inception. After the destruction of the Royal Hunting Court, most members of Wangxu continued living the Hunter lifestyle, scattered across different places, but their activities shifted from dealing with evil spirits and Monsters to guidance. They began guiding them to control the nature of Life Energy, and in this process, many lives were naturally lost.

But in Wangxu’s eyes, the concept of "innocent people" never existed in this world.

The so-called peaceful and stable lives of the innocents are built upon unseen sacrifices, and Wangxu holds no personal sentiments towards them. All he does is for the sake of regressing the era to one where natural selection and survival of the fittest reign supreme.

The ones with stronger life energy will survive and take everything from the losers.

This is an unavoidable choice.

For, the piggies raised by the company are incapable of rebelling against the "deities."

"Mr. Mingyuan, what does it all say on there?"

Jiuyue asked curiously.

All the dishes were served without anyone noticing, but Duan Mingyuan had not touched his chopsticks at all.

The steam pot chicken of "Yunxiang Pavilion" truly lived up to its reputation as the best in Yunlong City. She ate to her heart’s content, oil stains lining the corners of her mouth. It was a night meant for enjoyment, yet Duan Mingyuan’s expression always made her feel ill at ease.

"It says a lot, but the most important part should be this next section," Duan Mingyuan continued reading. At the end of the text, Liu Xiwang hoped that after all the dust had settled, they would pass these words on to Da Jiang and convey Liu’s apologies on his behalf to his old friend.

Because...

Should the executives of Universe Company be assassinated by Wangxu in Yunlong City, it would inevitably lead to unprecedented upheaval. By then, they might very likely carry out an indiscriminate sweep operation on Yunlong City, and anyone suspected of having connections with Wangxu would be directly seized by the company for harsh interrogation—this was the company’s usual tactic.

The company would certainly discover the relationship between Da Jiang and Liu, and then every member of the Yunlong City organization.

The laws enacted by the Extraterrestrials were meant to keep the piggies well-behaved, and these regulations did not apply to the company; they could take away every legal citizen anytime, anywhere.

Therefore, Liu Xiwang hoped that after conveying his apologies for him, they would take Da Jiang and leave Yunlong City, this place fraught with troubles, as soon as possible.

Bai Kou must die.

He is the chief person in charge of the seventh-category energy project, and once he dies, factional struggles would play out within the company. At that time, the company’s focus on areas outside Yunlong City would loosen, and Wangxu would seize this opportunity to take further action.

"Looks like Liu got caught on purpose," Duan Mingyuan suddenly realized.

Being arrested as a suspected member of Wangxu, in the eyes of the company, might just be the perfect opportunity to get close to Bai Kou.

"Mr. Mingyuan (senior), what does this mean?"

Jiuyue and Tang Qianqian asked in unison.

"It means that in addition to human traffickers, terrorists have also arrived."

It’s not just terrorists, but also a shadowy organization that stands in opposition to the terrorist group.

Cries of alarm rose from the restaurant as the roar of hover cars stopped at the entrance. Security personnel dressed in uniform alloy combat suits leaped down; they stormed into the restaurant and marched imposingly toward the trio.