Jia Tao thought for a while and told him everything he knew about the situation.
"The Iron Chariots have a population of over 10,000, and their leader is a woman called Ling You. She's terrifyingly strong, a tier-3 Elemental Domain evolver who specializes in lightning. No one knows how many tier-3 abilities she has. There was once a tier-3 Combat Domain wild hunter who coveted the position of leader of the Iron Chariots and wanted to challenge her. In the end, he was killed instantly by her lightning before he could even touch the corner of her clothes.
"Other than her own strength, Ling You also has two hunting teams under her command — Thunder Scorpion and Wolf's Teeth.
"Thunder Scorpion's captain — Scorpion, a tier-3 Combat Domain expert. He has four tier-3 and one tier-2 team member under him.
"Wolf's Teeth's captain — Scorpion, a tier-3 genetic warrior who can transform into a tier-3 giant wolf. He has two tier-3 and two tier-2 team members under him.
"Other than the forces under Leader Ling You, the Iron Chariots also have a Hunter's Guild stronghold. There are several tier-3 hunters with a C + rating who reside in the Iron Chariots Shelter. Their main goal is to enter the Black Steel Shelter and become its residents.
"Other than Leader Ling You and the Hunter's Guild, the Iron Chariots also have two more powerful forces, namely the Futu Chamber of Commerce and the Black Gold Chamber of Commerce. These two chambers of commerce have stable smuggling channels in their hands. Other than normal resources, they can often get some evolution potions and weapons from the shelter and sell them to wild hunters at a high price. At the same time, they also buy various insect corpses, mutated plants, mutated metals, and other wilderness items from the hunters.
"Other than these few powerful forces, the Iron Chariots also have some small gangs and hunting groups. Most of these local tyrants are backed by some powerful wild hunters.
…
After dark, Qi Yuan and Jia Tao drove their motorcycles to the Iron Chariots' gathering point. As it was close to the Black Steel Shelter, the Iron Chariots' gathering point had not appeared for a long time. The nearby gathering points would not close their doors even at night.
Looking at the tall steel walls in front of him, as well as the bright searchlights that illuminated the surroundings, Qi Yuan could already feel the power of the Steel Chariot before he even stepped through the door.
Not only were there all sorts of powerful cannons on the city walls, even the patrolling warriors at the entrance were Class 2. In front of such a gathering point, even if dozens of Class 3 insectoids were to attack the city together, they would be torn to pieces by the powerful firepower net.
A bright beam of light shone from the top of the city wall and locked onto the two of them. The two heavy machine guns nearby also aimed their muzzles at them.
The two of them stopped their motorcycles at the same time and waited for the guards to inspect them.
"Although the Iron Chariots' gates are not closed at night, the defense at night will be strengthened. If there are no special circumstances, try not to enter or leave at night. There have been cases of Polluters entering the gathering point in the past. Although there were no major casualties, the number of guards has increased by a lot," Jia Tao explained.
"The Iron Chariots don't discriminate against outsiders, but if you want to gain a foothold here, the easiest way is to register as a hunter in the Hunter's Guild. Most of the people in this gathering point are registered hunters in the Hunter's Guild, but most of them are like me, the lowest Class C-. Only those who have been promoted to Class C or C + will have a certain status in the Iron Chariots."
"Most of the Class C + hunters are experienced Class 3 aptitude users. Sometimes, the hunting team will invite the permanent Class C + hunters to join them for some missions."
Two warriors wearing gray combat uniforms and holding assault rifles walked over. One of them walked in front while the other held a gun. The muzzle of the gun was vaguely aimed at Qi Yuan and Jia Tao.
"They're hunters too?" Qi Yuan asked in a low voice.
"No, they're the Iron Chariots' guards," Jia Tao said in a low voice.
"Other than the two hunting teams in the Iron Chariots, there's also a guard team of about a hundred people. Their main job is to guard the gates and maintain law and order. Although they're not very strong, they represent the leader, Ling You, in the Iron Chariots. Most people won't mess with them."
"In the past, these people were pretty arrogant. But now, they don't provoke others. Most Wastelanders don't have good tempers. If they're put in a spot, they'll often explode. After a few people died, these people learned their lesson."
Qi Yuan nodded. Hunters in the Wilderness who often dealt with Insectoids were not cowards. It was common for them to kill people in anger when they were in trouble.
The guards who were on duty at the entrance were all veterans. They basically knew some of the hunters who were stationed in the Steel Chariot. After seeing Jia Tao, the guard who was walking in front of them relaxed a bit as a faint smile appeared on his face.
Jia Tao obviously knew him as well. He smiled and said, "Brother Lu, why are you guys working the night shift again?"
Lu Yong, who was walking in front, smiled and signaled the young man behind him to stop. He walked over alone.
"Can't help it. I've lost a lot recently. I can only work the night shift to make up for it!"
Lu Yong turned his head and looked at Qi Yuan. His gaze paused for a second at the Death Reaper behind him. He smiled and asked, "How should I address you? You look a little unfamiliar."
"Qi Yuan. I just came from Blackstone Town," Qi Yuan said with a smile.
"Blackstone Town!" Lu Yong recalled for a moment. He then said with a surprised expression, "Blackstone Town is not far from here.
I didn't expect you to be able to cross such a long distance. It's been more than half a year since someone from Blackstone Town came here last time. "
"I saw the chief of Blackstone Town, Wei Tao, three years ago. Is he still here now?"
"Wei Tao was the chief of New Moon Town. He died a few days ago when New Moon Town was destroyed. The current chief of Blackstone Town is Situ!" Qi Yuan corrected him casually.
"Oh!
I remembered wrongly. Look at my memory. "
Lu Yong slapped his forehead and said embarrassedly, "I won't take up any more of your time. It's getting late. Please go in."
Lu Yong said as he moved aside. At the same time, he signaled the young man behind him to put down his gun.
Jia Tao smiled and started the motorcycle. He said, "Then I won't bother you guys anymore. I'll treat you to a drink tomorrow!"
"Sure!"
Lu Yong waved at the two of them.
"I didn't expect a ruthless person to appear in a place like Blackstone Town!" Lu Yong muttered to himself.
"Master, are you talking about that Qi Yuan?" Gu Cunxi, who was holding a gun, asked in confusion.
"He seems to be only Stage 1."
Before approaching the two of them, Gu Cunxi quietly activated the detector. It clearly showed their strength levels. One was Stage 2, and the other was Stage 1.
Lu Yong narrowed his eyes as he watched the two of them leave. He took out a cigarette from his pocket and put it in his mouth. Gu Cunxi tactfully snapped his fingers and used his ability to light it for him.
Lu Yong took a deep breath and exhaled a cloud of smoke.
"Kid, don't think that those Wilderness Hunters won't touch you just because you're wearing these clothes. If you want to live long, you still have a lot to learn."
"I'm learning from you, Master!" Gu Cunxi said with a smile.
"Kid, you've been with me for so many days, but you haven't even remembered the faces of those ruthless people. Sooner or later, you'll be at a disadvantage!"
"I definitely won't cause trouble for you, Master!"
Gu Cunxi glanced in the direction Qi Yuan and Jia Tao had disappeared.
"I remember that Jia Tao isn't the ruthless person you mentioned. This Qi Yuan is also only Stage 1. Master, aren't you being too careful?"
"What do you know?
Although Jia Tao isn't ruthless, this Qi Yuan isn't simple. If you meet him in the future, you'd better be alert! "
Lu Yong softly reprimanded him and patiently explained.
"I've told you before, don't judge a person's strength purely by their ability level. For Aptitude Users under Stage 4, the difference of one level isn't that big."
"This Qi Yuan was able to cross hundreds of kilometers from Blackstone Town to Iron Chariots alone. This is a reflection of his strength."
"Just based on the motorcycle he rode, it's not simple. If it wasn't modified by an expert, how could he cross the wilderness and come to Iron Chariots?"
"Moreover, the Death Reaper on his back is also very dangerous. If I'm not wrong, it should be a modified firearm as well!"
"Finally, think about who Jia Tao went out with this morning."
Gu Cunxi's memory was obviously good. He quickly thought of a few names.
"Nie Xiu and his brothers?"
"You have good eyesight. You know that Nie Xiu, Ghost Snake, and Sun Ye are together." Lu Yong gave a rare compliment.
"Ghost Snake and Sun Ye are both Stage 2 Transcendents. Nie Xiu has at least two Stage 2 abilities. Although they pretended not to know each other, they couldn't escape my eyes."
"All these years, the three of them worked together to kill many lone Wild Hunters. I originally thought that Jia Tao wouldn't be able to come back this time. I didn't expect that he would come back and the three brothers would disappear."
"Jia Tao is definitely not a match for the three brothers. Therefore, their disappearance must be related to this Qi Yuan."
"A Stage 1 Aptitude User who can silently kill three Stage 2 Hunters is not someone we can mess with. Therefore, add this Qi Yuan's name to the list of people you can't mess with!"
"I'm still counting on you to take care of me when I'm old. Don't make me send you off when you die!"
It was not rare for a Stage 1 Hunter to kill a Stage 2 Hunter. A good gun or an ability that could restrain a Stage 2 Hunter could do it.
However, killing all three at once was no easy feat. This was especially true for Nie Xiu and his two brothers. Their Tier 2 combat prowess was not weak, and they could even put up a fight against a Tier 3 Hunter if they worked together. Shi Feng had never imagined that they would die so quietly in the wilderness.
This kind of person was definitely not someone he could mess with!
Gu Cunxi shrunk his neck. He remembered that he had pointed his gun at Qi Yuan. He could not help but feel a little scared.
"This Qi Yuan won't hold a grudge against me, right?"
"Under normal circumstances, he won't." Lu Yong shook his head.
"You have to learn how to read people. Nie Xiu is dead. Since Jia Tao was able to come back alive, it proves that Qi Yuan is not a bloodthirsty person. As long as you don't cross his bottom line, he won't find trouble with you. After all, we still have Leader Ling You behind us."
Gu Cunxi nodded seriously. Unless he was strong enough, he had to keep his eyes open if he wanted to survive in the gathering point.
…
"The Iron Chariots are divided into the Southern and Northern Districts. The residents of the Southern District are usually weaker Wild Hunters. The Hunter's Guild's stronghold is also here. There are more outsiders, so it's a little more chaotic here. The price of accommodation is also a little cheaper. A night here only costs 50 yuan."
"Because of the existence of Leader Ling You and a few chambers of commerce in the Northern District, there will also be patrols at night. Those rich and powerful Wild Hunters all like to live in the Northern District, so it's safer and more expensive. The price of accommodation is generally above 100 yuan."
Jia Tao carefully acted as a guide. If it were any other time, he would have already arranged a place for Qi Yuan to stay in the northern district. However, in order to take revenge on Nie Xiu, he had spent almost all of his wealth to obtain a single plasma bomb. Although he had returned alive, his pockets were empty and he was unable to afford the high costs of living in the northern district.
"To the Northern District!"
Qi Yuan quickly made a choice. Before leaving Blackrock, he had taken a sum of money from Xu Xiaoshuang's bag. Before leaving, Situ had borrowed Hu Hao's hand to send him a total of 10,000 yuan. Therefore, he was now full of money and could completely afford the expensive expenses in the Northern District.
Moreover, the checkpoint in the shelter was in the Northern District. However, this checkpoint seemed to be a little different from the other checkpoints. Although it was very close, the precise location of the checkpoint was very vague and could not be locked on to.
Jia Tao, who was embarrassingly short of money, pondered for a while. Suddenly, he remembered the Bug Beast Detector in his pocket, so he asked tentatively, "I'll go to the Hunter's Guild first and see if I can submit the mission to clear the swamp!"
When he killed Nie Xiu, he had taken the Bug Beast Detector from Nie Xiu's body. The Bug Beast Detector was an instrument launched by the Hunter's Guild. In addition to detecting Bug Beasts, it also had a positioning and recording function. The information recorded inside could be used as a basis to complete the mission.
When he accepted this mission, he had registered Nie Xiu's name and his name. Although Nie Xiu was dead, as long as he had the Bug Beast Detector, he could still receive the mission reward.
Fortunately, the reward for this mission was generous. Not only was there a reward of 40,000 yuan, there were also many mission points. It was even possible for his Hunter Authority to be raised from C- to C.
The elevation of a Hunter's status was very obvious in the Iron Chariots Shelter. It could help him avoid a lot of unnecessary trouble.
Qi Yuan only pondered for a moment before he noticed Jia Tao's predicament. A person who had nothing to worry about and was determined to perish together with his enemies must have spent all the money in his pocket. He could only place his hopes on the mission reward from the Hunter's Guild.
Qi Yuan took out ten 100-yuan notes and handed them to Jia Tao.
"Find a place to stay first, then go to the Hunter's Guild. I'm just about to register a Hunter identity.
Remember to find a quiet room. I don't want to be disturbed by random people! "
Jia Tao was clearly stunned when he saw the notes in Qi Yuan's hand. However, he quickly understood. With Qi Yuan's ability, it would not be difficult for him to earn money by accepting missions as long as he joined the Hunter's Guild. Therefore, he nodded readily.
"I know a place where Lord Ling You and Master Qu live nearby. Unless the entire Iron Chariots is lost, no one would dare to commit a crime there."
Qi Yuan nodded and agreed with Jia Tao's suggestion.