"Singledom is a painful state, and the prolonged solitude is even more agonizing. A few days ago, I saw a sow and found her to be quite charming... Barrett Walker sat on the mountaintop, gazing at the setting sun, its crimson glow reminding him of the large pool of blood on the white sheets of a hotel near his school. What kind of woman could bleed so profusely?

Watching the sunset should have been a beautiful evening dream, but Barrett Walker, feeling lonely, became lascivious and sinister, chuckling to himself as he gazed at the crystal treasures shooting across the sky. As the sun finally dipped below the horizon, Barrett Walker lost interest and slumped onto the warm boulder.

Boom! The heavens, unable to bear Barrett Walker's debauched demeanor, sent a massive black cloud rolling in, accompanied by thunder and lightning. The downpour washed away the last remnants of poetic inspiration.

"What a poem! Truly, I have composed a fine poem!" Barrett Walker quickly grabbed the sniper rifle next to him, stowed away the Desert Eagle and the Kukri knife, and gestured with his middle finger toward the sky before fleeing in disarray. The weather changed so quickly in the rainforest, and it was rare for him to enjoy getting drenched. He didn't even have a place to stay yet!

This deluge ruined his fire.

At this moment, Barrett Walker resembled a savage, covered in a thick layer of wet mud to mask his scent. His hair was disheveled, his beard unkempt, and after the rain, his dark skin was exposed. In this city without protective shields, just a few days of sun exposure caused layers of his skin to peel off. The days spent suffering in the sun had taken a toll on him, causing his back to peel off in large sheets and burn like plastic film.

But now he was fine. With one white and one red crystal hanging provocatively from his neck, he could keep cool by covering the white jade when it was hot and warm himself with the red jade when it was cold. So, regardless of the strength of the wilderness radiation and ultraviolet rays, he had not been burned and was gradually becoming a novice hunter.

"Why is it so difficult to find a sheltered cave to escape the rain?"

The rain drenched him, making him feel as uncomfortable as if he were being cut with a knife. This damned radiation rain - if it were not for genetic mutations, ordinary people from past years would have been killed by this rain! The radiation fell with the rain and then evaporated, back and forth. Who knows how many thousands of years it will take to completely evaporate.

After seeing this hidden B-level mission information from the Hunter's Tower, Sam Aflei immediately accepted it without hesitation. Although B-level missions had not been seen for a long time, the rewards for completing them were quite substantial. Once he completed this trip, he could arrange for his family to settle in the capital, bringing with him a few brothers. However, after accepting the mission, he realized that B-level missions were indeed different. There were over two hundred special forces guarding the area, and what made it even more difficult was the presence of numerous hidden and mobile sentries. The security measures for this production were more stringent than those for a head of state visiting in the past year.

"Big brother! What's the target of this mission? It's too dangerous to have so many special forces in the wilderness, isn't it?"

One of Sam's men couldn't help but ask.

"That's why it's called a B-level task! Only true masters dare to take on such a task. Work hard! Once this task is completed, our families will be able to settle in the capital, and we can rest for a while. The days of licking blood on the edge of a knife will come to a temporary end!"

Sam Aflei wiped his most beloved titanium alloy dagger. "How much money do we need to live in the capital for a while?"

"Probably at least two million! The five of us, along with our families, a total of fifteen people. One hundred thousand for each person to buy ten years of residency in the capital, leaving fifty thousand to save, enough for us to stay in the capital for another three years?"

Sam calculated the time they could live in the capital, but there was no hint of regret on his face. This was the reality of society today - useless people could only be abandoned in the wilderness or in second-tier cities, with no sense of security.

"Living for ten years would be great! Who knows, one day there might be another major alien invasion, and everything will be gone. It's not bad to be able to live peacefully for ten years. Big brother, what is the mission exactly? Don't let others beat us to it!"

"Good! Now that we have a target, everyone is happy. I'll tell you what the mission is!"

Sam quickly concealed his look of longing, and his expression turned serious. "This B-level mission is very dangerous. I think we have a few days to assess the situation. You have probably guessed some of it. There are special forces everywhere, both visible and hidden, and there are just too many of them. But these are not the main problem. The main issue is that someone else has also accepted this mission, so we need to act quickly. We can't wait for others to make the first move. We'll go tonight and capture Julia Menard and take her to the rendezvous point to complete the task!"

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

"Who!"

Sam quickly extinguished the fire and gripped his dagger.Their location was a bend in a cave, so there was no visible fire from the outside. But when he heard the sudden approaching footsteps, he became alert. There was no law to speak of in the wilderness, and murder and robbery were commonplace. Even the federal army's hunters would dare to kill and loot. After committing the crime, they would throw the bodies into the wilderness, and no one would know who had done it. So everything had to be taken with caution, illustrating the brutality of surviving in the wilderness.

The group panicked and extinguished the fire, each holding a weapon and watching the corner, ready to face any sudden movement with a barrage of attacks.

Noticing that there was no fire coming from the nearby cave, Barrett Walker cautiously entered. Having survived in the wilderness for over ten days, he had encountered many monsters and beasts and had seen more dangerous people than those wild beasts. This place was no different from the brutal world of killing that he had experienced. Once, while flipping through a fast city road, he had seen a woman lying on the road with a crying child. A small team, all uniformed in federal armor, stopped the armored vehicle because of the pitiful child's cries. As a result, the nine-person team was killed by the people who swarmed out from both sides, and the female medical officer in the federal team died most tragically. At that time, Barrett Walker was so scared that he almost cursed aloud. That day happened to be the third day of his hunting and killing of the double-headed langur. He didn't help because he was too weak, otherwise, he couldn't imagine what would have happened if he had gotten involved in such a situation with his precious items. Since then, he didn't trust anyone and had always been a loner.

Carefully entering the cave, he suddenly heard a faint sound. Barrett Walker listened intently, and when he heard the name Julia Menard, he couldn't help but exclaim. His instinctive reaction was to grab a large chunk of wet mud and wrap two energy crystals together, hiding them. Then he took out his Kukri knife, as cold weapons were more effective than guns in the wilderness - it was a matter of common sense.

"Who? Come out!"

Barrett Walker didn't know how many people were in the cave, but holding his Kukri knife, he bellowed. His voice was full of vitality, resembling that of a martial artist and capable warrior, enough to intimidate a large group of people.

Sam, with his four brothers and night vision goggles, came out. However, there was no one to be seen through the night vision goggles, but he could feel that there was someone in front of him. Given this sudden situation, as a hunter for many years, he knew that the person in front of him was definitely a master. The person knew how to conceal their energy and heat to maintain energy in critical moments. Despite only being a second lieutenant, encountering such a skilled opponent at such close range, the only way out was to surrender. He immediately dropped his dagger and night vision goggles and said, "We're just taking shelter from the rain. If you want something, just ask, but please don't kill us?"

Sam's four brothers did not show any contempt for Sam's actions. This was what hunters were like. If they knew they were no match, and didn't act sensibly, it could affect not just them but other people who depended on them too. Of course, this was not during a mission, so this had nothing to do with honor. All four men quickly dropped their weapons.

"According to the unspoken rules of the hunters, we are not your opponents. Take whatever you want, just give us a way out!"

"Based on the unspoken rules of the hunters, we are not your opponents. Take what you want, just let us live!"

These words are spoken by Sam's men, not Barrett Walker.

Encountering such a scene, hunters generally do not exterminate unless they have an irreconcilable enmity with the person. They spare their lives, even those who provide for their families. Of course, there is an exception for those who have no families, or those who are genetically mutated and unable to reproduce. These individuals are extremely wicked and deranged, with a history of crimes that have left them with no place in human society, earning them the title of "dark walking corpses."

"Do you have anything valuable? Hand it over," demanded Barrett Walker, unaware of such customs, assuming that those in the wilderness are ruthless criminals.

"We have nothing of value, but we can do something for you in exchange for our lives," Sam gestured, indicating that they were not a threat.

"Well, isn't that something!" It is assumed by the Human Federation that aside from those with the right to reside in the city, the lives of those living in various places on Earth are of little value. Therefore, killings in the wilderness are considered normal. Thus, hunters are given one rule when it comes to killings: as long as they do not surrender within the terms of the treaty, and as long as they hand over something of value, they can survive. After all, no one can guarantee victory forever.

Barrett Walker did not know these rules. He found it quite amusing how easily frightened these people were. But this was only because he had the strength to easily kill them, as long as he did not succumb to bloodlust. "So, what can you do for me? And what's the deal with Julia Menard?"

Sam felt a pang of sadness. He had not expected to encounter such a skilled individual. The ten-year right of residence for his family was now in jeopardy. However, as long as he was alive, he could still make it right. He proceeded to explain the details of the mission he had undertaken.

Barrett Walker fell silent after hearing this, especially when he saw Julia Menard accompanied by a young general, engaging in lighthearted conversation. He quickly searched through all his memories of the past three years, but it seemed that he had never encountered this person before. The only memory he had was of her marrying Mark Smith, with no other men in her life. Could it be that he had caused a change in her? This did not bode well for him.