The next day, Xia Yu returned to the Monster Hunter Guild, ready to compile the information.
The structure of the Monster Guild is quite simple, usually a team of four, with three focusing on combat and one handling information or pure support.
There are many teams in the Jiuxing City’s branch, the team Xia Yu belongs to is the thirteenth team, led by Wu Lei.
"How did it go?" Wu Lei looked at Xia Yu as she walked in and asked, "Any progress?"
Wu Lei was muscular, with a long scar on his face.
In this line of work, having no injuries is nearly impossible.
Xia Yu also had her share, though her face was unscarred, her arms had several marks.
"I did collect quite a bit of money." Xia Yu raised a bag.
Lin Chen’s guess was correct; this time it totaled thirty thousand.
Human gamblers have a very severe mentality.
"It seems a lot of people participated."
"Most were just trying their luck." Xia Yu smiled bitterly, not hopeful: "I shouldn’t have listened to Huang Xiaotian’s lousy idea, sitting there bored me to death."
"Haha, let me see." Wu Lei took the bag.
Xia Yu still kept a very serious attitude towards her work, and the new direction mentioned by Lin Chen was also recorded.
"Go upstairs and get Huang Xiaotian, let’s go take a look now."
Wu Lei glanced at the situation, a week had passed since the Poisonous Bee Beast murder incident.
The city government and the Beast Taming Guild were urging them nervously because there were several villages near the location of the Poisonous Bee Beast, fearing more fatalities.
Xia Yu went upstairs, and soon the sound of argument came.
Huang Xiaotian was a young guy, younger than Wu Lei and Xia Yu, with a Spirit Beast of the information class:
[Skill: Echoes Surrounding, extremely sensitive to sound, able to detect sounds within a certain range]
This type of Spirit Beast is quite useful in the information category, resembling bats, small in size, and fast.
"... Look, I can earn thirty thousand just by using my brains." Huang Xiaotian said proudly as he came downstairs.
"Next time you go, I’m resting." Xia Yu retorted.
Wu Lei was used to it; if these two stopped arguing for a day, he’d wonder if they hadn’t slept well.
He led the two of them to set off, searching one spot after another based on the guessed locations.
The saying that more people bring more ideas is true; there was no shortage of talents in the Beast Tamer Guild, predicting many new directions.
But all were incorrect.
"This waterfall shouldn’t need checking, right?" It was Lin Chen’s insight, but Wu Lei glanced at it and was ready to give up.
Their range was within a kilometer of the murder spot.
Expanding beyond that would be hard to search.
Huang Xiaotian picked it up, glanced at it, and saw it mentioned:
The secret entrance is under the Fire Shrub, but the true entrance is at the waterfall.
He then said, "This shouldn’t need recording, baseless imagination?"
Xia Yu recalled and said, "That boy said it logically, so I recorded it. He said there might be a hidden river underground..."
Huang Xiaotian was taken aback and fell into remembrance.
Most Beastmasters handling information have intricate thoughts; he collected and completed many information clues.
He remembered it was indeed strange at the time; the soil under the Fire Shrub shouldn’t have the same moisture as nearby.
"Continue." Huang Xiaotian’s expression turned serious.
"Serious?" Xia Yu asked, arguing aside, she trusted Huang Xiaotian’s thinking abilities deeply, so she continued, "He also said the reason why we can’t find a smell is that they entered the waterfall, got washed, and had their scent masked."
Xia Yu tried to recall, mentioning all the clues Lin Chen had given.
"He also mentioned the hideout might be quite large, so we should be careful." Xia Yu finished and recalled, adding, "The opponent seemed like a rookie Beastmaster."
"That’s why I always advise you not to judge people by their age..." Huang Xiaotian exhaled.
"What do you mean?" Xia Yu squinted, thinking, am I giving you too much leeway?
But Wu Lei interjected, "Xiaotian, are you suggesting..."
"What he said might be possible." Huang Xiaotian said, walking ahead, and the two quickly followed.
Arriving at the waterfall, indeed, they found a small cave inside, though not deep.
There were rocks everywhere, with many gaps.
"How do we search?" Xia Yu asked.
"Just look for a hole the size of a Poisonous Bee Beast." Huang Xiaotian replied clearly.
Xia Yu and Wu Lei searched around, compared a few, and found three.
Huang Xiaotian summoned the Ghost Sound Beast to start exploring.
The first one, nothing.
The second one, also nothing.
"Difficult." Wu Lei and Xia Yu exchanged looks, thinking this clue might not be useful either.
Inside the third one, Huang Xiaotian closed his eyes again, following the Ghost Sound Beast’s view deep inside...
Suddenly, Huang Xiaotian shouted:
"Ghost Sound Beast, run!"
Wu Lei and Xia Yu were startled, before they could react, the Ghost Sound Beast dashed out.
Immediately after, the sound of Poisonous Bee Beasts followed, and many of them charged out.
Wu Lei and Xia Yu barely had time to be surprised; they stepped in front of Huang Xiaotian, with Wu Lei summoning a Spirit Beast, while Xia Yu single-handedly picked up a twenty-pound rock from the side and smashed it forward.
Wu Lei’s summoned Spirit Beast was named [Fire Monkey], which appeared rubbing a fireball, growing larger and larger, and threw it forward.
The three quickly jumped down, and as they leaped, a collapse happened behind them, with the Fire Monkey landing last.
"It’s really here." Xia Yu exclaimed in surprise.
Lin Chen guessed it accurately.
Huang Xiaotian said, "Hurry back and call for more people; this hideout is indeed quite large."
The two nodded, understanding.
Once the Poisonous Bee Beasts are discovered, clearing them early is critical because their nature is:
Once discovered, they immediately relocate.
Lin Chen hadn’t gone out for two days; Xiaobai was leveling up quickly, not only due to its diligence, but the previous encounter with the Flame Wolf benefited it greatly.
So Xiaobai had already advanced to Level 4.
Thanks to its efforts, Lin Chen finally reached Level 2.
Lin Chen had already decided that when Xiaobai reaches Level 10, he’d perform the second bloodline purification.
Since Divine Beasts evolve for the first time around Level 20, but Xiaobai’s bloodline percentage isn’t good enough yet.
Thinking about the evolution, Lin Chen’s head felt heavy as well.
Evolution requires materials as assistance, and each is astronomically priced.
With Lin Chen’s current income, improving by then isn’t feasible, thus embarking on the borrowing path might become necessary.
After all, evolution is significant.
As for Xiao Hong, since it couldn’t form a contract with Lin Chen currently, its cultivation speed was relatively slow.
The Little Fox seemed to be lost in thought day after day, recently favoring daydreaming.
Lin Chen picked up the Guild Machine, planning to check if there were any tasks available, only to see a red warning message on the homepage.
"Another Beast Tide?!" Lin Chen was astonished, noting that this year’s Beast Tides seemed particularly frequent.
Clicked into the content:
[Warning: The area 5 to 6 kilometers out of the northeast gate of Jiuxing City has been strictly closed]
[Today, the Beast Tamer Guild jointly with the Monster Hunter Guild acted, removing the Poisonous Bee Beast’s hideout in the Secret Realm, due to the excessive numbers, complete elimination wasn’t possible]
[Based on the Poisonous Bee Beast’s traits, Beastmasters should not approach within five days, stay clear of the area, violators bear the consequences]
[Signed: Beast Tamer Guild]