Hunter of Mysterious Creature

Chapter 787 60: Ya Qiaoxi (Part 2)

"I've been quite busy with tasks these years." Candle Dragon replied with a polite smile.

"Your skills at making excuses are still as lousy as ever." The female knight directly pulled over a chair from the side and sat down at the table with Sun Hang and the others, "Aren't you going to introduce these two? This young girl... Don't tell me she's your daughter."

"I haven't even gotten married, how would I have a daughter?" Candle Dragon smiled wryly.

"Not married yet? Then it looks like... I still have a chance?" The female knight said half-jokingly, her eyes constantly sizing up Sun Hang and Xue Yue, "Colleagues?"

"Yes, they are like me, all Hunters." Candle Dragon nodded.

"It seems you've come to Dragon City for a mission, not for vacation." The smile on the female knight's face slightly retracted as she said to Xue Yue and Sun Hang, "Order whatever you want to drink or eat, it's on me."

"This is the owner of this tavern, Ya Qiaoxi." Candle Dragon introduced to Sun Hang, "She used to be a mercenary active in the uninhabited zone of the Hexi Corridor, later..."

"Later I nearly lost my life in the uninhabited zone, so I washed my hands clean and opened this shabby tavern in Dragon City, doing some intelligence business on the side." Ya Qiaoxi interrupted Candle Dragon's introduction and said with a smile, "I also do some gray business, like pharmaceuticals and military equipment... But I know you surely aren't short of those things. So, what do you need from me?"

Candle Dragon took out a box of Xinghua Village Fen Wine from underneath the table.

"My tavern refuses to allow self-brought drinks." Ya Qiaoxi glanced at Candle Dragon and chuckled.

"This is a gift for you." Candle Dragon said, "We've come over for a request."

Sun Hang thought Ya Qiaoxi would refuse the gift, but unexpectedly she directly pulled out a folding knife from her belt, quickly sliced open the box's seal, lifted a bottle, and took a small sip straight away.

"Mm... This taste is really nostalgic, this stuff is rare in Dragon City." Ya Qiaoxi licked her lips and said, "Sells for five hundred per bottle in Chang'an, but when brought here, the price at least doubles."

"Is it that easy to earn money?" Sun Hang was surprised, "Chang'an isn't that far from Dragon City, wouldn't buying wine there and selling it here be more profitable than running a tavern?"

"You obviously came through the exempt channel, ah, the elite Hunters' privileges are really enviable." Ya Qiaoxi said, "Through normal entry channels, tobacco and liquor require hefty entrance tax, and besides, there's a daily limited transport quota. If it's full, your goods can only wait by the city gate for the quota to refresh the next day... Earning money isn't that easy."

"This box is also for you." Candle Dragon pushed the second box of Fen Wine to Ya Qiaoxi.

Ya Qiaoxi's eyes slightly changed: "Your bidding price isn't low, what is it you need my help with? But I must say, I'm done with being a mercenary."

Two boxes of Xinghua Village Fen Wine, by Ya Qiaoxi's stated price, total value already surpassed the reward for the "Copper Finger's" delivery assignment transfer, no wonder Ya Qiaoxi was suspicious.

"We need to recruit a group of skilled individuals to carry out a... a very high-risk mission." Candle Dragon said, "We need those top-notch experienced Hunters or paranormal experts, preferably those who could contend with ranking Hunters."

"A very high-risk mission? How high?" Ya Qiaoxi instantly changed to a serious expression, wiping the remaining wine from her mouth with her fingers, "Recruiting skills is no problem, but without clear mission details, nobody would take it."

"The mission location is in the Surrendered Area." Candle Dragon stated.

"Surrendered Area? I thought it would be more dangerous... The uninhabited zone in Hexi Corridor isn't much different from a Surrendered Area." Ya Qiaoxi suddenly started laughing, but after two laughs, she realized something was off in Candle Dragon's tone.

"Wait... Which Surrendered Area are you talking about? Western Siberia? Taklamakan? Or Yundian Plateau?"

"Egypt." Candle Dragon said in a voice that only their table could hear.

"What?" Ya Qiaoxi's long eyebrows immediately twisted together, "Say it again... where's the mission location?"

"Egypt." Candle Dragon repeated.

"Are you sure it's the Egypt located in the northeast corner of the African Continent, and not some similarly named area around Xiazhou Federation?" Ya Qiaoxi asked incredulously.

"It's that Egypt."

"Has Dubhe Tower gone crazy or the Federation Government? They haven't even fully explored the neighboring Surrendered Areas of Xiazhou, and now are off doing all sorts of things in Africa?" Ya Qiaoxi exclaimed.

"We're only responsible for executing the mission, never questioning the reasons behind it." Candle Dragon said with an official tone.

"This is utterly insane, even if we can recruit people, it'll probably be a bunch of lunatics." Ya Qiaoxi murmured, "Besides, how do you plan to get to Egypt? From Xiazhou's border, you'd be crossing Surrendered Areas larger than the Xiazhou Federation's territory."

"Near-Earth orbital drop." Candle Dragon seemed to trust the tavern owner Ya Qiaoxi very much, and openly discussed the mission details with her, "Dubhe Tower will arrange two drop capsules, one for personnel and one for a rocket to bring the personnel back."

"Crazy, crazy, crazy, you folks must be insane." Ya Qiaoxi shook her head repeatedly, "And now you're dragging me into madness too!"

"Just say if you can recruit people." Sun Hang asked, "If not, I'll have to enlist some Hunters from the ranking list to go to Egypt."

Ya Qiaoxi took several deep breaths, her chest's intense rise and fall gradually calming down. She stood up, went behind the bar, took out a bottle of distilled liquor and a glass from the fridge, and returned to Sun Hang's table.

With a sharp "pop", the cork shot out like a bullet, as Ya Qiaoxi poured herself a full cup of liquor, gulping down half of it.

"This news is too shocking, I need to digest." Ya Qiaoxi said, then chugged the remaining half of the glass.

She then poured herself a second, third... until she finished the fifth glass. At last, she pushed the bottle forward, saying, "Manpower can certainly be recruited, Dragon City lacks neither people, lunatics, nor death-defying lunatics. But there are two critical factors—time and compensation."

"We have half a year." Candle Dragon said, "But I'd like the recruitment done in three months. I need time to familiarize with the recruits and the team requires time to adapt."

"Three months... isn't impossible." Ya Qiaoxi nodded forcefully, her cheeks already showing a faint blush, clearly at the threshold between sober and tipsy, "The most crucial... is compensation. Let me clarify, compensation isn't necessarily money. Or rather, for the type of people you want, most probably won't demand money."

"As long as the Federation Government and Dubhe Tower can meet the requirements, we can too." Candle Dragon stated.

"Wow, that's quite a statement." Ya Qiaoxi squinted, "Looks like the higher-ups really value this operation... Alright, leave it to me!"

"Thank you then." Candle Dragon nodded.

"But eggs... hiccup... eggs shouldn't be kept in one basket." Ya Qiaoxi said, pouring herself another glass, "I suggest you visit other old friends, and besides, try your luck on your own too."

"I will." Candle Dragon said.

"As for luck... try... hiccup... at Yumen." Ya Qiaoxi said, "I've heard some strong Hunters... are recently at... Yumen."