"Bro, have you recovered?"
Seeing the topic change, Alia immediately asked Alden softly, her big eyes rolling with curiosity and excitement.
Although Jack and others believed that Alden's strength was only physical, Alia didn't think so!
"Not completely recovered," Alden evasively replied, then specifically cautioned, "Don't tell your parents about the fight! Hmph, if they find out you got into a fight, your dad might not say much, but your mom definitely won't go easy on you!"
At the mention of this, Alia immediately felt apprehensive.
She knew very well that although her mother seemed gentle most of the time, when it came to crossing a certain line, she would be even more resolute than her military father!
She didn't want to get a spanking!
In the end, this matter did not cause any waves. After Jack and the others returned, they did not boast about being beaten up by a loser, and Alden was not likely to show off either.
In fact, he didn't have time to pay attention to the aftermath of this incident.
Because the next day, he had a mission to attend to!
"Escort mission... reward of 50,000 alliance credits? Not bad," Alden looked at the message on his phone, feeling somewhat excited.
Alliance credits were the common currency used in many cities of the entire human alliance.
Added together, his father's retirement pension and his mother's salary amounted to only a few thousand alliance credits.
"I'll take this mission!" After a brief consideration, Alden accepted the task.
This was not only because of the reward. In fact, in his view, this level of reward was only average among the rewards for a one-star hunter.
But it also meant that the danger level of this mission should not be high. Especially since even a rookie one-star hunter like him received an invitation for the mission, which further indicated this point.
"A not too dangerous mission... just right for me to take on. Earning money while getting accustomed to the work of a hunter, killing two birds with one stone!"
After making the decision, Alden immediately headed to the south gate of the city as instructed by the mission.
Actually, it was a working day, and he was supposed to go to school.
However, now that he had the System, accumulating Awakening Power was a piece of cake for Alden. Moreover, his academic performance was not poor, so there was no need for him to continue attending classes. He made up an excuse, sent a text message to the teacher asking for leave, and then ran out to accept the mission.
"The south gate of the city..."
Arriving at the southern entrance, looking at the towering bronze gates and the colossal city walls that reached the clouds, Alden was momentarily dazed:
After the disaster broke out, the human ancestors built high walls, creating numerous cities, leading many humans to live within them. These walls and gates are the last bulwark of human civilization...
"According to what Light and the others said, the wilderness environment is continuously deteriorating. I wonder how long these high walls and gates can provide shelter for humans..."
Alden's attitude was not particularly optimistic. His family background and personal experiences always led him to plan for the worst-case scenario.
"If there really comes a day when the city is destroyed by disaster, at least I must have the ability to protect my family." Alden clenched his fist, firm in his conviction.
At that moment, a voice came from behind: "Are you 'Meteor'?"
Alden turned around and saw two middle-aged people, a man and a woman. He replied, "That's me."
"Meteor, Dagger, and Fleeting Blossom, these are not real names but code names."
All hunters in the Hunter Association don't use their real names for missions; instead, they choose code names as their identifiers. Meteor was the code name Alden chose when filling out his information.
"I didn't expect you to be so young as the rumors say," Fleeting Blossom, the one-star female hunter, said while looking Alden up and down, smiling.
"Seems like I'm meeting a hunter who's young for the first time," Dagger, beside her, spoke coldly. He was a one-star hunter, tall and muscular. His cheeks, neck, and chest were all scarred, giving him a fierce appearance. Obviously, he had experienced many missions and battles, making him an experienced veteran hunter.
However, Alden was not afraid of him. "Taking on so many tasks but still at one star... he's probably a sly old fox, but his strength can't be too strong."
"Hope you can behave yourself this time and not drag me down," Dagger glanced coldly at Alden.
Alden completely disregarded Dagger's attitude. "The wilderness is dangerous, and there are wild beasts everywhere. This is my first mission, so I'll definitely be cautious and won't burden our esteemed seniors. I also want to learn a lot from both of you!"
Fleeting Blossom smiled and said, "Don't worry. Follow big sister, and big sister will protect you!" Her smile was as bright as flowers, contrasting sharply with Dagger's attitude, making it impossible to discern her true thoughts.
While the three of them were conversing, a group of people and horses arrived at the south gate. "Three hunters... why is there a kid?" A middle-aged man wearing a short leather jacket and a serious expression got out of the car, glanced at Alden and the others, furrowing his brow.
Alden looked at the man, but his gaze fell on the car behind the middle-aged man: an Awakening Power vehicle! It was powered by Awakening Power crystals!
In the post-disaster era, humans still inherited previous electrical and fossil fuel energy sources. However, these resources were nearly only used within human inner cities because the wild beasts in the wilderness were extremely sensitive to energy. Using electric or gasoline-powered vehicles in the wilderness would easily attract the attention of the wild beasts. In contrast, vehicles powered by Awakening Power hardly caused additional disturbances and had much better mobility and performance than traditional vehicles. They could also quickly escape in case of emergencies.
Although Awakening Power was difficult to obtain, Awakening Power vehicles were indeed powered by Awakening stones, making them hard to widely promote and only accessible to a few elites. Alden had only heard of the existence of Awakening Power vehicles before but had never seen one. This indicated that the identity of the employer for this mission was definitely not simple.
"Sir Sea, please rest assured." Facing the mission employer, Dagger changed his previous attitude and showed a somewhat embarrassed but flattering smile. "We three are experienced hunters and will abide by professional ethics to ensure the completion of your guard mission!"
Sea nodded helplessly. "There's no way around it. Jiang City is too small, and the Hunter Association is short-handed. For slightly larger tasks, even kids have to take part. Let's go!" Despite some dissatisfaction, after complaining, the three of them followed Sea onto the car.
Sea's Awakening Power vehicle was an off-road truck. As the vehicle slowly approached the city gate, the originally serious city guard saw what the driver took out, and his face immediately changed dramatically. He put on a brilliant smile and gestured.
"Click..." Accompanied by the sound of gears turning, a roughly three-meter square door under the bronze giant gate slowly opened.
"Wishing you a pleasant journey, Sir." With the city guard's polite send-off, the Awakening Power vehicle drove out of the city gate where Alden had lived for more than ten years.
Alden looked out the window and indeed found that this place was truly desolate, surrounded by barren land with only dense weeds and scattered trees. He observed carefully but didn't find any traces of wild beasts.
Seeing Alden's concern, Fleeting Blossom explained with a smile, "Alden, don't worry. The area near the city walls is a safe zone. The military, expedition teams, and enforcement bureau have already cleared it, so there won't be any wild beasts around."
"However, our destination is outside the safe zone, which is why the employer hired the three of us hunters as guards," she added, "We're taking a route that has been explored before. As long as everything goes smoothly, there shouldn't be any problems. It's your first mission, so don't be too nervous..."
Alden gratefully smiled at Fleeting Blossom, "Thank you, senior Fleeting Blossom. Thanks to you, I can relax like this."
"No need to thank me. Since you've become a one-star hunter, it means your awakened strength is genuine. The more you understand the actual situation, the more relaxed you'll be, and our mission will go more smoothly," Fleeting Blossom said casually.
Fleeting Blossom did not decline and sincerely shared her thoughts. Alden was very gracious about it. However, Sea ahead couldn't help but furrow his brow upon hearing their conversation:
"This kid seems not only inexperienced in missions, but also lacking in basic knowledge of the wilderness. So unreliable! Jiang City is such a troublesome place; to think they could find such a rookie among three hunters..."
Although he felt dissatisfied, Sea, after all, was a person of great stature, so he just muttered a few words to himself without saying it out loud.
The off-road Awakening Power vehicle's mobility was indeed extraordinary, quickly taking the three away from the safe zone and deep into a depression.
"What's that over there...?"
Alden squinted slightly and noticed a massive figure several kilometers away.
Was that a wild beast?