When Lin Jie and William quietly withdrew from the shadows of the chanical shrine, carrying those heavy mutated brass ingots and that peculiar light-absorbing rubber hose, the "Artisan Chieftain" in the nest's core area seed still lost in anger over losing a combat squad.
It continued frantically hamring tal plates with its small hamr atop the shrine, venting its fury.
This provided perfect cover for their retreat.
"We should go," Lin Jie decisively made the call. "We've obtained far more than expected. There's no need to take greater risks just to hunt that chieftain. The nest's location is confird - the Association can organize larger-scale cleanup operations anyti."
This rational, clear-headed judgnt imdiately won William's agreent.
For an Alert-class investigation mission, their gains tonight were already absurdly generous.
If they continued fighting, they'd face siege by dozens of Gremlins and the wrath of an Artisan Chieftain whose strength likely exceeded Alert-class.
Knowing when to quit while ahead was the most essential quality of an excellent hunter.
Following their original route and with ground-level "bodyguard" Marcus providing support, the two smoothly returned from that filthy, slippery underground world to the surface.
When the morning's first rays of sunlight pierced through London's mist, illuminating their faces covered in mud and grease, all three n felt as if they'd been reborn into a new world.
They didn't linger long at the docks, instead taking a carriage directly back to the I.A.R.C. London branch beneath the British Museum.
When the three of them, particularly Lin Jie and William, appeared on the Underground City's clean, bright main thoroughfare looking as if they'd just been fished out of a mud pit, they imdiately attracted everyone's attention.
Investigators and scholars coming and going all cast curious glances their way.
Their destination was the "Mission Settlent and Material Assessnt Office" in the administrative district, a place staffed by several stern-faced appraisers and record-keepers.
The person receiving them was an elderly scholar with a rigorous deanor, wearing gold-rimd glasses, his naplate bearing the title "Material Appraiser - Third Level."
"Commission number L-1888-C017, investigation of cargo theft case at West India Docks. Executor: Free Hunter Lin Jie. Assistant: Fifth-Level Investigator William Keane." William stepped forward, submitting the mission report in his concise military tone.
"Mission objective confird. Perpetrating UMA identified as Alert-class creature 'Gremlin.' Nest located in city drainage system beneath Warehouse Number Three at West India Docks, specific coordinates mapped. Four missing Night Watch mbers confird deceased, three of them transford into 'chanical Wraiths.'"
"My partner and I jointly eliminated one squad from this tribe, totaling nine Gremlins. Considering mission complexity has exceeded 'Alert-class' scope, we chose not to conduct deep cleanup, instead withdrawing with intelligence and key materials after retrieval."
William's report was objective and precise.
The third-level appraiser recorded while gesturing for them to place their retrieved materials on an assessnt table made of special stone.
William first placed those "claws" and "crystal lenses" collected from Gremlin corpses onto the table.
The appraiser tested them with various instrunts and quickly delivered his conclusion: "Standard Alert-class UMA biological materials, dium activity, slight 'chanical Curse' residue. Standard rate: each complete set exchanges for 2 Association points. Nine sets, total 18 points."
This result matched Lin Jie's expectations.
These points were just enough to buy him about three alchemical bullets - for a successful mission, this could only be considered standard returns.
So lower-level investigators watching nearby showed understanding expressions upon hearing this assessnt.
For an Alert-class mission, this was normal earnings.
However, what happened next made all the lower-level investigators present drop their jaws in astonishnt.
Lin Jie took a deep breath and solemnly placed the oilcloth-wrapped mutated brass ingots obtained from the "chanical shrine" and that roll of light-absorbing rubber hose onto the assessnt table.
When the wrapping opened, the third-level appraiser's hand jerked violently, his gold-rimd glasses nearly slipping from his nose.
"This... this is..." His voice trembled as he bypassed instrunts, instead putting on white silk gloves and picking up one of the mutated brass ingots.
"This pure yet chaotic spirituality... these perfect curse runes... This isn't biological material!" The appraiser's breathing grew rapid. "This is deeply spiritually infused product! And the infusion has lasted at least ten years!"
These words caused an uproar throughout the room!
Everyone knew what "spiritual infusion" ant - it represented top-tier raw materials far more precious and rare than ordinary biological materials!
Such things were typically only found deep in powerful UMA nests that had been entrenched for decades or even centuries.
And these two n actually brought back materials of this level from the most basic "Alert-class" mission?
Their luck was simply too good!
"Yes," Lin Jie calmly responded to all the lower-level investigators' gazes. "We discovered a shrine constructed from such materials in the nest's core area. Considering the risks, we only retrieved a few samples with the strongest spirituality."
Only retrieved... a few samples?
Did that an there was still a massive treasure trove of top-tier materials hidden deep underground?
The third-level appraiser was already so excited he beca incoherent, imdiately pressing an alarm bell on his desk.
Soon, a white-haired elder with a "Material Appraiser - Second Level" naplate, clearly higher-ranked, hurried over accompanied by several assistants.
When this second-level appraiser saw the items on the assessnt table, his expression mirrored the previous appraiser's - equally filled with shock.
"High-quality 'Chaos Brass' that can directly forge 'Cursebreaker' series weapons capable of disrupting enemy precision weapons! And this 'Void Rubber' - the best supplentary material for making 'Stalker' cloaks! The quality of these materials..."
After repeated testing with the most professional instrunts, the second-level appraiser solemnly announced his final conclusion: "Comprehensive assessnt: the rarity and spiritual purity of these materials have reached 'High-Quality Town-class' standards!"
High-Quality Town-class!
All the newcors looked at Lin Jie with complex gazes filled with jealousy and envy.
Soon, the final settlent results were announced.
[Commission number L-1888-C017, mission completion rating: Exceeded Expectations (A-grade)]
[Base bounty 15 gold sovereigns, additional 10 gold sovereigns for exceeding expectations, total 25 gold sovereigns.]
[Conventional material exchange points: 18 points.]
[High-quality material reward: Based on material value, one-ti award of 50 Association points!]
[First independent discovery of high-value material nest, additional special contribution reward: 20 Association points!]
[Total gains: 25 gold sovereigns, and 88 Association points!]
When these numbers appeared on the settlent board, Marcus let out a loud whistle.
Over eighty points - for many rookie investigators struggling through Alert-class missions, this was a huge sum that would take months or even most of a year to accumulate.
Looking at the long string of numbers newly added to his hunter's manual, Lin Jie felt a surge of excitent.
But he knew that more important than this money and points was the recognition he'd gained from the entire organization through this mission.
With one flawless tactical victory, he had demonstrated his value to everyone.
He proved that an excellent "Interpreter" and "tactical brain" could create value in a successful hunt no less than a powerful combatant.
After solemnly collecting the materials, the second-level appraiser personally walked up to Lin Jie and handed him an embossed business card.
"Mr. Lin, I'm the deputy director of London's Assessnt Departnt. If you obtain any interesting 'materials' in the future, please contact imdiately. The Assessnt Departnt's doors will always be open for you."
This was the most important recognition of his capabilities.
User Comments
0 comments from readers