"I can distribute the supplies we brought to them," Chen Jing said. "There aren’t many of them, so the pressure on our supplies won’t be great. Moreover, I can have the second hunting group bring more supplies, or simply establish a long-term supply line. Although maintaining it might be a bit troublesome, the capability of the three major families should be able to manage it."

Sun Hang: "As the heir of the Chen Family..."

"Uh, I’m not the heir, my elder brother is," Chen Jing said. "I don’t have much interest in the position of Patriarch..."

"But in any case, you are also the young master of the Chen Family. Have you ever heard of a saying?" Sun Hang asked.

"Please go ahead."

"A gift of rice will earn gratitude, but a bag will create resentment. Too easily received favors make people forget gratitude. Even if you have many supplies, you shouldn’t distribute them for free," Sun Hang said. "You can sell it to them—as for the pricing issue, the cost of transporting supplies here already exceeds their value many times. If you sell at Dragon City’s price, you’ll lose too much. I suggest setting a price equivalent to Yumen’s. For them, that’s already very generous."

"You’re right!" Chen Jing nodded hastily, "I overlooked that."

...

...

Dragon City, South Bus Station.

Cheng Ming, mingling among the crowd, carried two large bags and got off the bus, taking a glance at the enormous words "Dragon City South" atop the building behind him.

He was one of the only four survivors of the "Blood Feast" incident, and the only Mysterious Creature Hunter from train G1944 willing to continue participating in this hunting operation.

Cheng Ming always had a feeling—his first half of life had been unlucky, to say he had been unfortunate most of his life would not be an exaggeration. Just when his unlucky life seemed like it was going to end in a train carriage, a beautiful pure white girl, like sunlight tearing through the overcast sky, suddenly illuminated his entire world.

First, he survived a situation where death seemed certain, and not only that, he successfully saved the three hunters sitting next to him. This act left a significant mark on his hunting career—just after Cheng Ming completed a comprehensive physical exam, his direct supervisor called to tell him his stipend level at the department had been raised from level four to level three, which meant he could get more than a thousand extra yuan every month. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

This money could not only provide a better life for him and his mother, but also allow him to save a little in his long-empty bank account each month... Little by little, slowly, life would improve.

Everything would get better, the clouds would clear, and the sun would come out.

More surprisingly for Cheng Ming, a big shot from Dubhe Tower, after hearing his story, waived all the fees for his mother’s organ transplant—meaning that Cheng Ming didn’t even need to participate in this hunt anymore. Everything he wanted, thanks to this seemingly perilous Mysterious Creature incident, had fallen into his lap from the heavens.

He couldn’t wait to rush back to the hospital where his mother was staying to tell her the good news, and then stay with her, anxiously waiting for the day of the transplant surgery to come.

But he couldn’t do that.

The beautiful girl who shined like the sun through the clouds once said a sentence to him.

"I wish to make a trade with you."

The content of the trade was simple. Cheng Ming would get what he desired, and in exchange, he must continue to participate in this hunting expedition and perform outstandingly, earning the qualification to undertake another more challenging mission.

Cheng Ming asked the girl, as an average hunter with average abilities, with many experts among the hunters participating in the hunt, how could he possibly "perform outstandingly" among a group of top hunters?

The girl told him that as long as he rushed to the most dangerous locations on the battlefield, everything would fall into place.

"Do you want me to die?" Cheng Ming chuckled bitterly.

"If I wanted you dead, you’d already be dead now," the beautiful girl replied with a smile. "I’ll ask you one last time: accept or decline?"

Cheng Ming pondered for a moment and then said, "I accept."

He had no choice; declining meant death...and if he died, it wouldn’t be long before his mother’s illness worsened and eventually...

Cheng Ming turned his head back and looked at the sky.

Today’s weather was fantastic, without a cloud in sight, and the sun generously cast its golden rays on the earth, making the azure sky feel like it even eased one’s breath.

"I’ve agreed with her," Cheng Ming said in his heart. "Without her, I’d already be dead... and since the transplant surgery issue has been resolved, there’s nothing holding me back... Even if this so-called trade is for my life, then I’ll give it to her."

Many people become more afraid of death after narrowly escaping, but Cheng Ming was not such a person; he had a broader perspective.

If he were to view the trade between himself and the girl as a scale, then his life would be equivalent to a weight on the scale.

The heaviest weight he could place on the scale was his life, with the girl adding another pile of weights on the other end of the scale that included the representation of Cheng Ming’s life.

By offsetting these two weights, what remains for Cheng Ming is "pure gain."