SWISH SWISH SWISH—
Lin Yi darted through the alleys on this rainy night.
He was tracking the cry for help he had just heard.
Soon, in a remote, deserted area, he saw them.
Two figures were dragging a third person toward an even more secluded spot.
[Hunter: A designation for a type of Hunter. They often appear at night, taking pleasure in the hunt and savoring the process...]
[Sense of Smell: Innately possesses an exceptional olfactory Sensitivity...]
He saw that above the two dragging figures,
the entry for [Hunter] had appeared over each of them.
But it was the talent entry below it that made Lin Yi's eyes gleam.
'Dog Demon?'
A slight smile touched the corners of Lin Yi's lips.
'I've found you...'
With a single leap, Lin Yi sprinted toward the alley.
Inside the alley, two Dog Demons dragged a girl in.
"Heheheh... Tonight's merchandise isn't half bad. The boss will like this, don't you think?" one Dog Demon said in a raspy voice.
The other Dog Demon nodded.
Its crimson eyes stared at the girl, who was already terrified.
It stuck out its blood-red tongue and licked the corner of its mouth.
"A pity we two brothers can't enjoy her ourselves. If we could... heh heh heh!"
The chilling laughter made the girl's scalp tingle with fear.
Her face was a mask of terror as she propped herself up with her hands, scrambling backward.
Her face had long since been washed clean countless times by rain and tears.
She stared at the two beasts before her—creatures that could stand and walk like humans, but had the heads of dogs.
The girl pleaded, "Please, let-let me go. I'll give you money. I can give you anything you want..."
Hearing this, the two Dog Demons just laughed and shook their heads.
"We don't want anything. As long as we offer you to our boss, we'll be rewarded tonight!"
"So, don't struggle..."
Before one of the Dog Demons could finish its sentence...
...its expression suddenly changed, and it whipped its head around to look back.
In an instant, a dark figure lunged forward.
A fist smashed directly into the Dog Demon's head.
WHAM...
Caught off guard, the Dog Demon was knocked to the ground by the punch.
The other Dog Demon reacted instantly, its head snapping toward the person who had suddenly appeared.
"You're... a Demon Hunter?" A flash of terror crossed the Dog Demon's eyes.
Lin Yi nodded. "That's right. The man who hunts Dog Demons like you!"
The next moment, Lin Yi strode forward, his fist whistling through the air as he aimed another punch at the Dog Demon's head.
However, this Dog Demon was already on alert.
The moment Lin Yi's fist came crashing down, it swiftly dodged to the side.
As the fist grazed the tip of its nose...
...it bared its blood-red maw. "Too slow!"
BOOM—
It followed up with a vicious punch of its own, slamming into Lin Yi's ribs.
Struck by excruciating pain, Lin Yi stumbled back several steps.
The pain was so intense he couldn't even stand up straight for a moment.
Seeing this, the Dog Demon sneered, "With such pathetic skills, you dare call yourself a Demon Hunter? That's the funniest thing I've ever heard..."
The first exchange was over.
The Dog Demon seemed to have seen through Lin Yi's weakness.
He didn't possess the formidable strength of a true Demon Hunter.
This made it drop its fear and caution, and it began to taunt him instead.
Lin Yi stared intently at the Dog Demon, and just as it threw its head back to laugh...
...he once again used the [Divine Speed] skill, appearing before the Dog Demon in a flash.
A dagger appeared in his hand, and he viciously stabbed it toward the Dog Demon's neck.
A cold glint of light shot toward the Dog Demon.
The aura of danger made its expression change drastically. Its smile vanished as it hastily retreated.
However, it failed to notice its companion, who had just been knocked out by Lin Yi's punch.
Lying right behind it, it tripped hard over its fallen comrade.
It immediately lost its balance and staggered, about to fall.
Seeing his chance, Lin Yi rejoiced inwardly. 'Now!'
He rushed toward the Dog Demon again, and at the exact moment it fell to the ground...
...Lin Yi's dagger plunged deep into its neck.
Instantly, fresh blood spurted out.
A look of unwillingness flashed in the Dog Demon's crimson eyes.
It reached out, trying to grab Lin Yi's neck.
But it had just raised its hand, before it could even touch Lin Yi...
...all the strength in its body seemed to drain away in an instant, and its arm fell limply to the ground.
[Congratulations, you have slain a Tier 2 Dog Demon.]
[Do you wish to plunder its talent entries?]
[Hunter (Purple): A designation for a type of Hunter. They often appear at night, taking pleasure in the hunt and savoring the process...]
[Sense of Smell (Blue): Innately possesses an exceptional olfactory Sensitivity...]
[Iron Fist (Blue): Fists like iron, Strength +5%]
When the indifferent system prompt appeared on time...
...Lin Yi could finally confirm that the Dog Demon before him was dead.
The talent entries of a Tier 2 Dog Demon weren't anything special.
Besides [Iron Fist], Lin Yi didn't want either of the other two talents.
He made his choice immediately.
[Congratulations, you have plundered the 'Iron Fist' entry.]
Lin Yi let out a long breath and, for good measure, delivered a final stab to the other Dog Demon lying beside them.
As a result, three talent entries appeared for that one as well.
Aside from the first two being the same, the third entry was [Toughness (Blue)].
After unhesitatingly choosing this entry as well...
...he turned to look for the girl from before.
But she was gone.
Lin Yi frowned slightly and quickly glanced around.
And there, at the mouth of the alley...
...a figure was standing.
It was completely dark, and he couldn't make out their features.
But in the play of shadows, was that... another dog head?
'Dog Demon?'
Lin Yi's heart sank.
'Did I just fucking kick the hornet's nest?'
'I was only supposed to be hunting one Dog Demon. Why are there so many?'
'No, wait. These two weren't my targets.
The target Dog Demon is in the One-Star Realm. These two clearly didn't meet the mission requirements!'
Lin Yi's focus sharpened as he stared at the Dog Demon at the entrance of the alley.
After a long moment, the Dog Demon let out a sharp laugh.
"Heheheh... A Demon Hunter? I hear you've been looking for me for several days?"
"I set up this little trap especially for you today. It saves me the trouble of you chasing me endlessly like some insect!"
Hearing this, Lin Yi was startled.
Now he was certain. This Dog Demon was, in all likelihood, his mission target.
However, he could feel a powerful pressure emanating from it.
The suppression of a higher realm.
But compared to the pressure from the motorcycle guy he'd met before...
...it was like comparing a firefly to the moon; there was no comparison at all.
According to the mission data, the target was only at the One-Star Realm.
And Lin Yi himself was now at Tier 4.
As long as he could raise his Qi and Blood value to 100%, he would reach the One-Star Realm.
The difference in their realms wasn't huge. He still had a fighting chance.
"You... are the fourth little pest to follow me!"
Seeing that Lin Yi didn't respond, the Dog Demon slowly extended a claw.
It pointed at Lin Yi and spoke with disdain.
The moment the words left its mouth, the Dog Demon's body flickered slightly.
Leaving behind an afterimage, it lunged straight at Lin Yi.
It closed the distance in a fraction of a second.
The Dog Demon opened its cavernous, bloody mouth and went to bite viciously at Lin Yi's neck.
'Not good…'
Lin Yi's heart leaped in alarm.
He never expected this Dog Demon to be so fast.