Chapter 78: The Hunter's Gathering

In the early morning, the sun had just begun to rise, its not-yet-warm rays gently warming Dormitory 414. Before the weary birds stirred, the campus was enveloped in tranquility. The diligent students held their books and dreams close, making their way to the library, while most of the underachievers were still lost in their sweet slumber.

Xie Liu, caught in his dreams, was abruptly awakened by a cacophony.

“Clack, clack, click-click…” The rapid tapping of a keyboard and mouse jarred Xie Liu from sleep. Grumbling, he cursed, “Xu Xiong, you bastard, aren’t you ever going to sleep? Gaming this early? Aren’t you afraid of dropping dead?”

Xu Xiong seemed entirely unfazed by Xie Liu’s dire warnings. He kept hammering away at the keys, eyes fixed on the monitor. “No need to worry. Even if I die suddenly, my brainwaves have already merged with the computer system. I won’t disappear; I’ll simply enter the second dimension.” He was orchestrating a group battle, and judging by the look of things, defeat was imminent.

“Like you could ever enter the second dimension,” Xie Liu retorted, rubbing his tousled hair as he sat up, squinting sleepily around the dorm.

Gong Hou was still snoring away; Lin Yang sat by the window, bathed in the first rays of morning, reading a book, though his posture suggested he was about to doze off—quiet as a maiden. Li Shizhu had also risen early, munching on yesterday’s leftover pancake while leafing through a freshly bought manga.

Vladimir remained nowhere to be found.

Another peaceful day, Xie Liu mused. Time so serene and uneventful that it made him uneasy, as if he owed something to the Party and the nation. “No, I can’t go on like this. I must strive for progress, pursue excellence every day!” With a sudden surge of motivation, he began rummaging through his belongings for books.

Half an hour later...

Xie Liu had fallen asleep clutching a copy of “C Language: From Beginner to Giving Up.”

This seemed to have become a routine—random bouts of inspiration, random bouts of study, and equally random endings. Such was their state, and indeed, the state of most students at their school.

While scrolling through their social feeds and playing games, they complained about how others managed to win scholarships. Yet, as the saying goes, the heavens are fair; what you receive depends on what you give.

“Ugh! So boring! I’m done reading.” Xie Liu tossed the book to the floor. There were still half a month left before the national computer exam—what was the rush? He thought nothing of the fact that he’d been using this excuse to avoid studying for half a year.

In the end, Xie Liu sprawled back onto his bed, phone in hand, a silly smile on his face.

...

Ye Ling entered through the window to find the dormitory in its usual state of lethargy. As always, she took the book from the sleepy Lin Yang by the window and slapped it onto Xie Liu’s face, kicked Xu Xiong’s precarious chair over, snatched the manga from Li Shizhu, and, without a second thought, plopped herself down on Gong Hou’s belly, still fast asleep! After glancing at the manga, she pulled a disgusted face and tossed it into the trash.

“You bunch of losers, do you even know what time it is? Still rotting away here?” Ye Ling scolded, exasperated. Xie Liu scratched his head, moving the book off his face. “Rotting is an attitude, optimism is life. I’ll face this rotten existence with optimism.”

“Pah! Now you’re making excuses for your own laziness?” Ye Ling stood with hands on hips, queen-like atop Gong Hou’s stomach. Gong Hou, oblivious, continued to snore, unaware he had become a cushion.

This only made Ye Ling angrier. That fatso could still sleep? Furious, she bounced several times, landing hard on Gong Hou.

“Ah! Ah! Meteor hitting Earth!” Gong Hou woke with a start, screaming in terror. Ye Ling’s brows shot up. “You’re saying I weigh as much as a meteor?” Gong Hou finally came to, seeing Ye Ling sitting on him, and grumbled, “No wonder I dreamed I was being crushed by a pig.”

Then Ye Ling threw Gong Hou out the door, leaving him sprawled in the corridor, wearing nothing but shorts in the dead of winter, drawing a crowd of onlookers.

Ye Ling locked the door behind her. She decided Gong Hou deserved to feel the chill, wake his mind, and clear his head.

A few minutes later, as Gong Hou’s miserable cries echoed from outside, Ye Ling turned to the others. “Do you know what day it is today?”

Everyone shook their heads. Ye Ling sighed, “No wonder you’re all single. You brought this on yourselves.” She raised a finger. “Today is Christmas Eve. Tomorrow is Christmas. And you’re still just sleeping and gaming in the dorm?”

“Huh? What’s Christmas Eve?”

“Uh? I don’t know.”

“Oh? Are there dumplings?”

“Ha? Are there girls’ costumes?”

“Achoo! Open the door already!”

...

Gong Hou had wrapped himself into a mound with his blanket, shivering and sniffing, trying not to let his nose run, huddling by the bed.

“Christmas Eve is, to be precise, the best time to ask a girl out. Do you know why you don’t have girlfriends?”

“Excuse me!” Xie Liu raised his hand and pointed at Xu Xiong. “This guy actually has a girlfriend.”

“Get lost!” Ye Ling wanted nothing more than to snatch Gong Hou’s blanket and smother Xie Liu with it. “I still don’t know what Tingting sees in him.” She glanced at Xu Xiong, clearly baffled. “Alright, let’s discuss what we should do for Christmas Eve.”

Two hours later.

“Weren’t we supposed to organize an event for Christmas Eve?” Lin Yang looked helplessly at Ye Ling, who was taking her turn. “Thirty thousand!”

“Isn’t this part of the brainstorming?” Ye Ling replied. “Touch! Don’t move, that’s mine. One sequence!”

“I don’t think we’ll ever come up with a good plan like this,” Gong Hou said, scratching his belly. “Ugh, a blank tile—I’ve drawn three, damn it!”

“I think this is pretty good. Everyone’s relaxed and happy; isn’t that what holidays are for?” Xie Liu laid out his hand. “*, Seven pairs. I actually got *—come on, pay up, pay up!”

Everyone else paid up, faces contorted as they handed over their cash. Xie Liu watched his pile grow with satisfaction, just as Vladimir pushed open the door. He saw the group “gambling” and grinned oddly. “I’ve received a report—someone’s playing mahjong in the dorm. It’s confirmed! Come on, hand over hush money and I won’t turn you in.”

So the group stuffed a roll of unopened toilet paper into his mouth, successfully “silencing” him.

“You people—do you even want to stay in this team? I’m your supervisor, you know!” Vladimir spat out the roll, surprisingly without anger. He produced a small metal chip. “I’ve got the latest orders. Don’t you want them? Don’t you want your year-end bonus?”

“What? Year-end bonus? What’s that?” Ye Ling was the first to put down her cards. Vladimir, pleased that he had finally caught someone’s attention, continued, “Don’t say I never gave you a chance. I can tell you clearly, this is very important information.”

Yet, aside from Ye Ling, no one took him seriously.

“What other nonsense could there be? Besides the Hunter Tournament, what’s left at year’s end?” Gong Hou threw down his tiles in frustration, having just lost to Xie Liu.

“The Hunter Tournament—what’s that?” Ye Ling asked, intrigued by the name. “Sounds impressive.”

“Well, you could think of it as Fantasy City’s Olympics, but with fewer events and rules. Basically, it’s two people fighting, then a brawl, and finally, whoever stands longest wins.” Xie Liu’s explanations remained abstract as ever—anyone with less-than-average intelligence would hardly understand him.

Clearly, Ye Ling was one of those less-than-average.

Ye Ling turned a pleading gaze to Lin Yang, who was tidying up the tiles. “Can you explain?”

“You know, one of the largest organizations in the city is our Hunting Squad—I mean the entire squad, not just our seventeen direct teams,” Lin Yang began after arranging the mahjong tiles. “Currently, there are 790,000 registered hunters, with at least 300,000 fighting on the front lines. These are the elite of the city, and you could say they are Fantasy City’s main force against the Special Alliance.”

“The Hunter Tournament was originally organized spontaneously by these hunters. After decades of development, it has become a grand festival for the whole city. On this day, hunters from around the world gather in the main city to celebrate and reward outstanding squads.”

“Lin Yang, you missed the main point,” Xie Liu interrupted, drawing Ye Ling’s gaze from Lin Yang’s delicate face to himself.

“Yes, it’s a gathering for the hunting squads, but most important is the ranking battle and promotion matches among the seventeen direct squads.”

“What’s that?” Ye Ling asked, curious.

“Promotion matches don’t concern us—they’re for non-direct squads trying to become direct ones. If a non-direct squad is chosen by a director and brought under their command, they become a direct squad.”

“But that’s not our concern. What matters is the ranking battle. The seventeen direct squads compete directly, and their performance in the tournament determines their ranking for the coming year.”

Ye Ling roughly understood. “So we have to participate in this tournament too? By the way, what was your ranking last year?”

Her question brought silence to the group, the atmosphere turning oddly tense until Xie Liu sighed. “No need to hide it, Ye Ling—you probably heard from the Godslayer Squad.”

“That’s right. Last year, we were dead last. In the first round, we faced the previous year’s top squad, the Godslayers. I didn’t even see their captain before I was blown out of the arena.”

“No way!” Ye Ling’s mouth fell open, but the earnest faces told her Xie Liu wasn’t exaggerating. “At that time, Gong Hou was already level eight, right? Just got knocked out that easily?”

“Yes, we had no chance to resist. They had four level-nine powerhouses. In less than ten seconds, they KO’d us all. As Vladimir said, his instant coffee wasn’t even brewed before we were boarding the flight home.” Xie Liu shrugged helplessly. “And you know, any team that ranks dead last three years in a row gets expelled from the direct squads.”

“Wait, this is your third time participating?” Ye Ling realized she didn’t know when Xie Liu’s group had joined the Hunting Squad.

Xie Liu shook his head. “We joined in the tournament before last. As a new team, we were already dead last by rule. Then we ranked last again in our first tournament. So if we’re last again this time, we’re out.”

Ye Ling felt something was off. “Hang on, isn’t there usually a policy to help new teams? How come you were already counted as last place when you just joined?”

Vladimir picked up where she left off. “That question has been raised before, but the council’s explanation is: the enemy doesn’t give new teams any special treatment.”

“Special treatment is murder! That’s what the former Western European director said. I think it’s spot on.” Vladimir nodded. “As Xie Liu said, you have no more chances. And one more thing—I regret to inform you, the tournament rules have changed.”

“If you don’t want to be expelled from the Hunting Squad, this time you must make it into the top five.”

“Oh, so this time we... Wait, what did you say?” Xie Liu and the others were dumbfounded, speechless for a long moment.

Currently available intelligence: The Hunter Tournament is an annual grand event organized by the hunters of the Hunting Squad. It is usually held at the end of the year and is one of Fantasy City’s largest festivals, now officially recognized. The tournament lasts three days. Any superpowered individual with “Hunter” status in the city can participate. Outstanding squads are rewarded, strategies for the coming year discussed, and the city’s leadership pays close attention. The most intense part of the tournament is the ranking battle among the direct squads, showcasing the strongest superpowered individuals.