“I f**king hate gangsters like you the most!”

Two large hunters cursed while beating up the Black Rabbit Gang members, then forced their way into the rift.

The Black Rabbit Gang had fabricated a restriction on the number of people allowed into the hunting ground, using the false info to scam people out of entrance fees.

According to the Bay Kingdom’s Rift Management Law, no organization or individual is allowed to claim a rift without permission, nor are they allowed to guide a rift’s distortion evolution on their own.

Even though the Black Rabbit Gang had recently received backing from an unknown force and grown stronger, they still weren’t qualified to obtain the operating rights to a rift.

No one was willing to hand over money to a gang for nothing.

If you’re not happy, then fight!

To seize control, the Black Rabbit Gang instantly clashed with the hunters.

Dada-da!

Gunshots rang out!

Because of the false information, the scene quickly descended into chaos!

“They’re really going at it...”

Chen Qi pulled out the Collector from his Backpack Card, attached it to his waist, and leisurely headed toward the rift entrance.

The headcount was already sufficient—no issue even if he was the last one in.

Right ahead of him, the cloaked woman was also strolling toward the rift in a gloating mood, her steps light and unhurried.

The two of them entered the rift at a relaxed pace.

Chen Qi followed behind the main group, stepping through the mouth of a squirming wall into a pitch-black tunnel.

As he crossed the tunnel, a sea breeze blew from afar.

Rustle rustle rustle!

Moonlight filtered through the leaves and landed on his face.

【You have entered an E-rank rift. Conducting inspiration appraisal…】

Appraisal success!

【Rift Name: Hunting Ground (Island Forest)

Rank: E

Description: After a Laughing Moon night, all the wolves in the forest mutated into terrifying Red Wolves.

So tonight, the Old Hunter has gathered ‘you’ newbies to hunt the Red Wolves in the forest.

Clear Condition: Complete the Old Hunter’s mission or survive for three days.

Special Clear Condition: Kill the hidden monster in the forest (You have learned the monster is the Old Hunter).

Rift Distortion Level: 31% (High distortion rate. This rift is especially dangerous—exercise extreme caution).

Rift Rank Restriction: Aside from Supervisors, only Tier 1 and below Transcendents may enter.

Elemental Alignment: Blade

Inspiration Revelation: You see the Old Hunter staring blankly at the Red Wolf’s blood, desire in his eyes. Then, he slowly looks at you and raises his hunting rifle.

Special Inspiration Revelation: In the heart of the island, deep within a dark cave, a giant water sphere is swelling.】

Chen Qi skimmed through the revelations.

Two things stood out. First, the “water sphere” revelation.

This must be tied to the Deep Sea Hunter’s treasure—something only he could see. The revelation had shown him a location.

The second was the 31% distortion level!

The higher the distortion, the more dangerous the rift.

Typical low-level rifts maintain a distortion level between 10% and 20%.

A rift with 31% distortion meant it was far more dangerous than a normal E-rank—possibly even comparable to a D-rank rift.

In short, it was a high-difficulty elite stage!

Chen Qi had read about what distortion in the Hunting Ground meant.

When the distortion rate is high, the originally friendly Old Hunter has a high chance of transforming into a monster and attacking players directly.

But as they say: the greater the risk, the greater the reward.

High-distortion rifts offer much better rewards—guaranteed loot above Rare-grade Skill Cards.

By now, the other participants ahead of him had gathered on a relatively wide clearing in the forest.

They needed to accept the Old Hunter’s mission here.

Taking advantage of the time before the Old Hunter arrived, everyone started chatting.

Two hunters—one short, one chubby—were especially loud.

“D*mn! 31% distortion rate—is that even normal for an E-rank rift?!”

“Rift distortion, and we just happened to run into it?! What are the odds?!”

“Right? Did you feel it? Red eyes staring at us... This is an unexpected emergency. We might need to team up!”

“Team up? It’s just a distortion. I’ve been ready for this.”

“Ready? What’d you prepare to be so confident?”

“Hahaha! I bought a high-value insurance policy in advance! Don’t tell me you didn’t?”

“Heh! That’s nothing. Before I came in here, I already spent all my money and fulfilled my last wishes. Don’t tell me you didn’t?”

“...”

What kind of weird competition is this? You guys really planning to walk out of here alive?

Chen Qi listened to the two chatting in the distance. In this serious scenario, why did two clowns show up?

Unlike games, they hadn’t known about the distortion before entering the rift!

This was a textbook emergency event.

Standing at the back of the group, Chen Qi had already learned the location of the Deep Sea Hunter’s treasure thanks to his Inspiration Revelation.

Just then, a tall figure emerged from the edge of the forest:

“You’re all here, huh. Judging by your looks, a bunch of rookies.”

It was a two-meter-tall hunter draped in wolf pelts, holding a hunting rifle and a bone saw.

His aged face, bulging muscles, and battle scars spoke of years of combat with nature.

This was the quest giver of this rift, and also its hidden boss—the Old Hunter!

All eyes turned toward the sturdy-looking hunter.

The Old Hunter wiped down his precious rifle with a cloth and addressed them:

“Since you’re here, you should already know what’s going on in this forest.

Bring me two live Red Wolves and your mission will be considered complete. You’ll be allowed to leave this place.”

【Mission Acquired—Hunt the Red Wolves

Description: Bring two live Red Wolves to the Old Hunter to complete the mission.】

Due to the rift’s distortion, the mission to hunt Red Wolves now required capturing two alive.

Everyone looked troubled.

Their weapons were all designed for heavy killing power.

Catching something alive was way harder than killing it!

Just then, a man with a scarred face in light black steampunk armor stepped forward—he wanted to become the team leader.

“Are you sure they have to be alive? Dead ones won’t work?”

The Old Hunter said gravely:

“No! I need to hand the Red Wolves over to a doctor to study the cause of their mutation. That’s the only way to eradicate the monsters in this forest.”

“Alright! Leave it to us!”

The scarred man responded confidently.

After loading his rifle, the Old Hunter addressed the group again:

“Alright. To supervise you all and maintain balance in the forest, I need to appoint a Supervisor to help me oversee you.”

After accepting the mission came the second phase of the dungeon:

“Selecting a Supervisor.”

The Supervisor would be chosen by the Old Hunter—typically someone who appeared the strongest.

The Old Hunter widened his eyes, scanning the group of forty for his candidate.

Just then, a Black Rabbit Gang officer lit a cigarette and swaggered into the center.

This guy was nicknamed Scarred Rabbit, a Black Rabbit Gang officer and the leader of their faction for this mission.

“Everyone, no need to say more. I think we all know who the strongest person here is.”

He blew a smoke ring toward the sky, determined to be the flashiest guy in the group.

Chen Qi took a closer look.

A bit of a showoff, but the guy’s gear was decent!

Under his clothing, you could clearly see some steampunk-style steam tubing.

It was a third-gen Black Rabbit series lightweight steam armor, made by the Shorty Gang—a workshop specializing in small-scale armor. It used bone-implanted exoskeleton tech to greatly boost agility.

In overheating mode, the wearer could move fast enough to leave afterimages—swift as the wind.

Black Rabbit… Chen Qi recalled the armor was already in its tenth generation.

Unfortunately, the model Scarred Rabbit wore was one of the earlier versions—prone to prediction, high failure rate, and hard to stop once activated.

Speed came at a cost—early Black Rabbit armor was notoriously unstable and often led to fatal crashes.

Still, for this scenario, it was decent equipment.

With it, Scarred Rabbit definitely had the qualifications to be picked as the Supervisor.

Unless, of course, there was someone whose strength remained a mystery—like the cloaked woman.

Chen Qi turned his head toward the cloaked woman nearby.

She was still close to him.

The two of them had kept a short distance ever since entering the rift.

Not surprising—compared to the other heavily armed hunters, he looked like a much more approachable person from a peaceful era.

Just then, the cloaked woman curled her lips into a cold smile.

At the same time, the wriggling at the top of her head intensified.

She placed a hand on her cloak’s collar, then clenched her fist, as if psyching herself up. In a soft mosquito-like whisper, she said:

“I’m ready, I’m ready.”

“Graceful… graceful...”

“???”

What is she talking about?

Ready for what? Graceful?

Chen Qi had a bad feeling.

This woman… might be about to take off her cloak!