"I have a question for you."
"Mr Cheng, feel free to ask. I’ll answer everything I know."
"Since you said that Hunters coming to Dragon City at this time all are participating in the hunting operation, but with so many Hunters coming out of the station, why did you choose me instead of someone else?" Cheng Ming asked.
"Sigh... Don’t even mention it." Lee Ming waved his hand and sighed, "Most of these Hunters have already found a group on the way. They’ve either contacted intermediaries in advance or have simply submitted their applications through online recruitment... Solo travelers like you, Mr Cheng, wouldn’t exceed this number in a bus."
Lee Ming spread his palm and raised five fingers.
Cheng Ming thought about it and found it reasonable.
He indeed was an exception, because almost all Hunters in the carriage he traveled with met with disaster. The other three survivors were frightened enough to abandon the operation entirely, which resulted in Cheng Ming heading to Chang’an alone.
With the speed of information among Hunters, if the Bai Family recruits Hunters to form a hunting group in Dragon City, it wouldn’t take long for the entire carriage of Hunters to know about it. These people would have found their ways even before arriving in Dragon City, not needing a headhunter like Lee Ming to come to them.
Moreover, these days had been a bit "blurred" for Cheng Ming, as he hadn’t specially gathered such information, giving Lee Ming a "chance to exploit."
"Speaking of which, how many Hunters have you found so far?"
"Honestly speaking, you’re the first one, brother." Lee Ming said with a worried face.
Cheng Ming: "..."
"But I believe you have the strength to pass the selection, Mr Cheng!" Lee Ming said, "Although the Bai Group’s KPI for us is to recommend ten Hunters each, as long as one recommended Hunter passes the selection, it’s considered achieving the target! The bonus and base salary will be in hand immediately!"
"What happens if you can’t achieve this target?"
"...Then I’ll just have to return to working as a private intermediary on the streets." Lee Ming’s voice instantly lowered, "Achieve the target, and I can officially become a member of the Bai Group, reaching the pinnacle of life; fail, and I’ll continue to struggle in the bottom tier to make a living... Whether I can change my fate depends on this one time!"
"So you’re only a temporary worker at the Bai Group now?"
"Probation period, it’s called a probation period!" Lee Ming emphasized, "It’s different from being a temporary worker! Once the target is achieved, I’ll have a formal position in the Bai Group, receiving salary, bonuses, various benefits, and social security just like a regular employee!"
Suddenly, Cheng Ming understood why Lee Ming was so attentive towards him.
"I can’t guarantee that I’ll pass the selection..."
"Don’t underestimate yourself, brother!" Lee Ming quickly said, "You haven’t even tried, how can you say you can’t make it? In my opinion, the selection process is just a formality; most Hunters will certainly pass!"
"Why do you say that?" Cheng Ming asked.
"I’ve heard that the Bai Family, or rather the three major families, organized this joint hunting group to claim credited actions of all participating Hunters in the operation under their name, to form a closer relationship with Dubhe Tower. In this way, every Hunter participating in the operation—unless they’re ridiculously weak—will certainly be recruited into the hunting group... What if a seemingly average Hunter suddenly excels in the operation? They surely won’t pass up this opportunity! Besides, the three major families aren’t short on money, definitely not short on money! Any Hunter with a bit of capability will surely be recruited!"
"Do you know the content of the selection process?"
"Uh... I’m not really sure about that." Lee Ming shook his head, "The selection process is confidential to people like us; we only need to bring the person to the selection site to complete our task."
"Where’s the selection site?"
"The southern selection site is at Dragon City Stadium, the selection time each day is from 2 PM to 9 PM." Lee Ming raised his head and glanced at the quartz clock on the restaurant wall, covered with a thick layer of oil smoke.
It’s now 12:27 PM, there’s still plenty of time.
"Is there any prior preparation needed?"
"Probably... not?" Lee Ming was momentarily stunned, "Wait, let me ask others."
Saying this, Lee Ming took out his phone and started pressing quickly.
A few seconds later, Lee Ming shook his head at Cheng Ming, "My friend said you can go in directly, and any preparations needed will be handled after entering the selection venue. Bai Group personnel will guide you then."
"Your friend? Is he with the Bai Group?"
"A childhood friend, he doesn’t have much talent, but he has good looks. A middle-level female manager of the Bai Group took a liking to him; they’ve been dating for four years and plan to marry next year. He helped me find this job through his connections... Damn, it’s great to be handsome, living off a girlfriend is delightful... The key is, that female manager is only four years older than him, I’ve seen her photos, she’s quite attractive, with a cold elite OL persona... You get it, Mr Cheng?"
Cheng Ming recalled when he was still an ordinary programmer, the boss’s female secretary in the company, often wearing a black suit skirt, with a white shirt inside and black stockings, hair tied in a bun at the back of her head, walking around the company in high heels, always looking down at people, only responding indifferently when approached by programmers with requests.
However, Cheng Ming heard colleagues say that when he lost his sanity from a weird contamination, this secretary was publicly scared into incontinence, and later was diagnosed with a psychological issue, never coming back to work.
"I’ve finished eating." Cheng Ming put down his chopsticks.
Throughout the conversation, Cheng Ming casually asked questions, while Lee Ming kept talking nonstop, so by the time Cheng Ming finished eating, Lee Ming’s bowl of rice was almost untouched.
"Let’s head over now! The earlier, the better, then I can throw a celebration dinner for you tonight, Mr Cheng!" Lee Ming said.
"No rush, finish your meal first." Cheng Ming took out his phone and started checking information about the hunting action.
Although the signal was intermittent in the no-man’s zone, the information delay wasn’t severe. News of Chen Jing leading the first hunting group to battle with Fungus Puppet had already spread across the internet.
"The target is a fungal anomaly, firearms can’t easily kill it; it must be thoroughly eliminated with fire... I need to find a way to buy some incendiary ammo..." Cheng Ming muttered quietly as he read.
"No need to worry about that!" Lee Ming said, quickly shoveling rice into his mouth, then wiping away rice grains from his lips, "All equipment supplies for this operation will be provided by the three major groups! Since they already know the anomaly fears fire, the second hunting group will surely bring plenty of flamethrowers and incendiary ammo! Mr Cheng, you can fully relax!"
...
...
At 1:45 PM, Dragon City Stadium, Entrance 1.
Lee Ming originally thought arriving fifteen minutes early would make Cheng Ming among the first batch, even if it wasn’t his first entry; however, upon arrival, the outside was already packed with Hunters.
With a rough count, there were at least over a hundred Hunters lined up before Cheng Ming.
"Good luck, Mr Cheng! Awaiting your great news!" Lee Ming stood on the periphery, energetically waving at Cheng Ming.
Cheng Ming felt like he was a parent sending his child to a college entrance exam—although this metaphor sounded a bit odd.
At 2 PM, the gate at the entrance opened, and the queued Hunters immediately streamed into the stadium.