"Chang Qing? Hmm... Your qualifications aren't so great," said the bartender at the Night Banquet Bar, located in the lower city district of Hazy City. He scrutinized the resume in front of him and then gave the rather young-looking applicant a doubtful glance.
"Not great, but they meet the standards," the young man said.
This made the bartender's expression even more conflicted. It wasn't that the bar was hiring, no, it wouldn't be accurate to say they weren't hiring, but the people they were looking for weren't employees; they were people for another, bigger task.
The resume in front of the bartender looked exactly like that of a complete slacker. If there was something outstanding about it, it was utterly non-existent, but to say it was utterly useless wouldn't be true either. Generally, people in the field wouldn't be able to find any teammates, and slackers wouldn't look for other slackers.
"The main issue is that I haven't had enough time, otherwise the resume could have been prettier," the young man stated.
"Would you like to order a drink?" the bartender murmured under his breath with a silent tsk, not bothering with a pretense. The youths these days...
Zheng Yichen nodded: "Then the one with the lowest alcohol content, please."
The bartender served the young man a glass of fruit wine, then continued to review the rest of the resume: "Since you've found this place, you also know that we're just an agency here. Anything that happens outside the bar has nothing to do with Night Banquet Bar."
"Of course." Zheng Yichen tasted the fruit wine before him, his eyes lighting up. Though there was a faint taste of alcohol, the rich fruit flavor was more pronounced, better than some soft drinks.
Seeing Zheng Yichen's reaction, the bartender produced a form: "Just fill this out and we're good. But I still need to remind you, as an adult, you have to take responsibility for your choices. You can flaunt this identity to classmates and relatives later, but with this identity, even if you actively avoid abnormalities, they will approach you when you least expect it!"
The young man in front of him was young, but no longer a child. If he wanted the 'Hunter' identity just because it sounded cool, he would be the only one to regret it later.
'Hunter' was a generic term that encompassed 'Hunter-Demons,' 'Aberration Exterminators,' and the like. Basically, these types of beings are usually paid to do jobs, not much different in scope from regular mercenaries; it's just that they can handle strong anomalies that normal mercenaries can't.
Hunter-Demons weren't the type to get stiffed on payments or to get poked to death with pitchforks...
"Relations with classmates are so-so, and I have no relatives," Zheng Yichen quickly filled out the form in his hand.
The bartender looked at Zheng Yichen with a touch of sympathy: "Then you should be thinking more about living a good life, not seeking out abnormalities."
Regarding the bartender's advice, Zheng Yichen just smiled, handed over the completed form: "It's precisely because I realized that I am more suited to dealing with abnormalities that I chose to do so."
The bartender took the filled-out form and snapped a photo of Zheng Yichen with a camera. The background didn't need to be too particular; after all, all they needed was a good picture of the young man's face. No matter how fancy the background, as long as the portrait was clear, that was enough. It wasn't unusual for people to later submit a photo with a monster in the background to look cool.
"You need to bring in a proof within the next week," the bartender said as he placed the form and Zheng Yichen's resume together, glancing slightly at a section of the resume with a teasing tone: "Even if it's just a mutated chicken."
Do I also need to prove that the chicken can play ball? Zheng Yichen nodded, finishing the rest of his fruit wine in one go. He hadn't paid for it to waste it, and as for the bartender's joking, he had no intention of retorting—he was well aware of how much filler was in his resume.
He left the bustling Night Banquet Bar, and the city at night was enshrouded in fog.
The name of Hazy City came from this phenomenon; the situation in the upper city district was somewhat better, but in the lower city district, the fog would become particularly severe at night, with special fog lights for street lamps. Even so, the figures of people seen at a distance remained somewhat elusive shadows.
Back at home, Zheng Yichen took off his coat and went to the bathroom. Facing the mirror, he lifted his tank top to examine the faint marks on his chest and nodded in satisfaction.
In this world, there were abnormalities, and he himself was an abnormality—a case of 'Withering Disease' not found in any normal medical record. This strange disease made his process of regrowth quite difficult. If he hadn't been one of the many transmigrators, he probably would have died young.
He couldn't understand the shrinkage after transmigrating; at that time, what he cared most about was the 'strange disease' that had appeared on his body, only later to find out that it was also an abnormality.
Being young afforded him the ability to blend smoothly into this world. In a modern society, a child, even one without a traceable background, could still assimilate easily. He managed to get along fairly well in the orphanage.
Internally an adult, he didn't develop any additional awkward traits due to his issues. He was still himself. Although life had become somewhat harder, he had successfully grown up and left the orphanage.
Growing up again was not difficult; managing the abnormality that came with him always was.
When he was younger, it wasn't too severe, mostly just wrinkled skin. As he grew older, the problem became more serious. Despite his efforts to exercise and stay fit, the results weren't very significant, but at least exercising was more effective than taking medicine.