Monster Hunter, start with a wife!

Star Iron Inner City.

No. 108, Yunjing Villa.

Cheng Zhuo sat on the sofa, his fingers unconsciously stroking the armrest, his gaze darting towards the laboratory every few seconds, his brows furrowed tightly.

Old Gao calmly poured him a cup of tea:

"Don't worry, if the young master says it can be done in half an hour, then it definitely can."

"The Wolf Pack Guild told me the lair will open in an hour and a half. Is that enough time?" Cheng Zhuo's voice was filled with barely suppressed worry.

"To get to the Nanling Ruins, we have to pass through a medium-risk area; it seems like aircraft can't get through."

In the past few days, Cheng Zhuo has spent most of his time hunting and gaining experience in the Three Star Ruins.

He has already experienced the benefits of the core series.

Not only does it heal wounds, but the "Feast" effect is also useful for some blunt injuries. The more bleeding there is on the scene, the more ferocious he becomes.

He was determined to get his hands on the remaining two cores, no matter what!

"Don't worry, your master is here," Old Gao reassured him.

"It won't take more than ten minutes."

With his master's promise, Cheng Zhuo's mindset instantly calmed down.

Wait a moment.

Recalling how Huangfu Bai had patted his chest and promised to help him seize the core, he couldn't help but ask curiously:

"By the way, Master, isn't Young Master Huangfu vying for the core of this series? Could it be that he also possesses the origins of ancient martial arts?"

In the past few days, Cheng Zhuo has encountered some doubts about ancient martial arts techniques and has repeatedly consulted his master, Lao Gao.

I also gradually learned some basic knowledge about the origins of ancient martial arts.

Ancient martial arts origins utilize source energy to temper the body. Originally, there were no independent source cards; they were all used to assist in advancing the source.

Cheng Zhuo's Ancient Martial Arts Origin Card is a purely exceptional case.

Even his master, Lao Gao, didn't know in what way his Origin Card would advance.

Or rather, whether or not it is still necessary to advance to the next level.

"I cannot reveal the young master's origins to you for now. Perhaps she will tell you herself in the future, after all..."

Old Gao suddenly revealed a mischievous smile:

"This is the first time I've ever seen her care so much about other people's affairs."

"Click—"

Just then.

The sound of the laboratory door being unlocked suddenly rang out.

Huangfu Bai strode into the living room, and despite his efforts to maintain a dignified and composed demeanor, he could not hide the excitement in his eyes:

"All done! Fusion with the Boundary Stone, ignoring the rules of the Boundary Gate, firepower capable of annihilating fifth-tier alien beasts, a gravity-based mech tailor-made for you! Referring to your dark, dragon-man appearance, let's call it... Emmmm... Nether Dragon Knight!!"

As he spoke, he tossed a card to Cheng Zhuo.

"Give it a try!" Huangfu Bai urged.

Cheng Zhuo caught it steadily.

Explore the source of power and activate the card.

A flash of light, followed by the hum of mechanical assembly, and metal components rapidly joined together—

A red and black mech appeared instantly.

Cheng Zhuo's eyes lit up.

Compared to the previous silver body that matched the standard model, this Dark Dragon Knight's black body with red trim gives it a cooler look. The spikes on the shoulders, arms, and back make the 3.5-meter-tall body lines smooth yet rugged.

"This gravity-based aircraft carries eighteen sets of firepower weapons and nine types of physical weapons, four of which are capable of delivering a fatal blow to fifth-tier alien beasts..."

Huangfu Bai tapped the outer shell of the mecha and said smugly:

"This is a special armor fused with the Boundary Stone. Not only can it ignore the rules of the Boundary Gate, but it can also store energy and emit pulse reflections when attacked. My estimate that it can deal with fifth-tier alien beasts is a conservative one!"

That's incredibly awesome!

Cheng Zhuo's eyes widened in disbelief.

What man could resist a cool mecha?

"Not only that!" Huangfu Bai raised an eyebrow again.

"I also replaced its CPU with the Mechanical Heart Source Core. Its intelligent system can upgrade autonomously and is bound to your origin. You don't even need to pilot it yourself; it can fight for you. Of course, some functions will be limited when it fights autonomously..."

Listening to Huangfu Bai's eloquent introduction, Cheng Zhuo couldn't help but gasp in amazement:

"That must cost a lot of money..."

"It's not much money."

Huangfu Bai waved his hand dismissively and said:

"As long as you help me build the strongest team in Redstone Town, dominate the Abyss rankings, and expand Redstone Lighthouse, you'll reap many benefits in the future."

"No problem, no problem."

Cheng Zhuo beamed with joy; it felt so good to have a powerful figure backing him.

He glanced at the time, and seeing that the nest was about to open, he quickly reminded him:

"Young Master Huangfu, shall we set off?"

"No rush, I'll go take a shower first." Huangfu Bai pulled out a mirror from somewhere and looked at his fair and flawless face:

"It's so dirty!"

Seeing him slowly walk towards the bedroom, Cheng Zhuo couldn't help but think to himself:

The rich young master is great in every way, except that he's overly obsessed with cleanliness.

Why are you acting like a woman...?

……

……

The edge of the Nanling Ruins.

Catherine leaned against her heavy motorcycle, her fingertips tapping the fuel tank unconsciously, her gaze repeatedly drifting towards the end of the highway in the direction of the city-state.

"Sister K, are those two guys coming or not?"

A burly man, easily over two meters tall, leaned on an alloy staff even taller than himself, listlessly munching on a meat pie, saying between chews:

"The gate is about to open!"

A middle-aged man with a thick beard, leaning against an SUV, glanced at him sideways:

"What's the rush? Just wait. You really expect to bring two newbies at the rank of servant to grab the lighthouse rewards? Just take down a few mini-bosses."

"That's right, that's right."

A fat man with a silver-gray detector over his eye shrugged and said jokingly:

"Anyway, my goal is to serve this rich young master well. If he's happy, he might even give me an epic weapon. That would make my trip worthwhile."

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man with a thick beard suddenly lifted his droopy eyelids:

"Hey kid, you're really something. If you're hoping to snatch the treasure, you're better off just giving the young master a reward."

"but……"

The two-meter-tall, burly man swallowed a large mouthful of meat pie and said in a muffled voice:

"I heard that young master is a real jinx to his teammates. The first time, three of them died, and last time, H0173 was completely wiped out."

"What the hell are you saying, spewing such nasty nonsense!"

The middle-aged man with the bushy beard suddenly raised his voice and kicked the burly man's staff:

"We're a Tier 3 hunting team! How can we compare to those newly awakened rookies?"

"They're here."

Catherine, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke.

"Where?" The burly man rubbed his eyes and looked at the end of the road for a long time, but he couldn't see a single vehicle coming.

Those who were supposed to arrive at this time have already done so.

The highway was deserted.

Just as the group was wondering what was going on, Catherine suddenly looked up, "Up in the sky..."

The three of them suddenly looked up—

Not far away, beneath a patch of white clouds, two points of light were rapidly approaching, breaking through the wind barrier. At first, they resembled two twinkling stars, but in an instant, they magnified into clear outlines:

A man in black was seen flying rapidly towards them, carrying a mech in each hand!

"Bang! Bang!"

In the blink of an eye, the man landed steadily with two mechs.

"Sister K." Cheng Zhuo jumped out of the mecha and greeted her with a smile, "Sorry to keep you waiting."

"It didn't take long."

Catherine shook her head, but her gaze involuntarily drifted towards the man in black beside the mecha—

He was dressed in a neat suit, and his figure and face resembled those of an ordinary middle-aged man. Even though he didn't exude any pressure when he stood there, Catherine couldn't help but feel a little timid.

A slight blush of nervousness rose on her cheeks:

"This must be Mr. Gao?"

An eighth-level expert! I've never even heard of such a level before, let alone seen one.

The other three also put away their previous relaxed attitude.

He greeted Mr. Gao with utmost respect, saying, "Hello, Mr. Gao."

"Hmm," Old Gao simply nodded in response.

He then stepped aside.

Huangfu Bai resumed his aloof and arrogant demeanor, tapping his wristwatch with his fingertip, and two mini drones quickly flew into the sky above the ruins.

Both of them had an unapproachable demeanor.

Catherine wisely stopped talking and turned to Cheng Zhuo, saying:

"The guild leader was originally going to come and say hello to you, but some unexpected things happened in town. He asked me to give his regards. We will try our best to get you high-quality cores for this trip to the nest. What are your thoughts on the series type?"

"My idea? Will it affect the team's actions?" Cheng Zhuo asked, somewhat puzzled.

Catherine nodded slightly:

"Well, based on the advanced beasts that have appeared before, different types correspond to different distribution areas. We'd better decide on the type first, and then head straight for our target once we're in."

"That's right," the bearded middle-aged man beside her echoed.

"Brother Cheng, for nest-type advanced beasts, killing a few of the smaller ones will give you a good idea of ​​where the BOSS is located. Having a target will save you time and prevent others from getting there first."

"Is that so...?"

Cheng Zhuo suddenly realized, but before he could reply, he heard Huangfu Bai coldly say from the side:

"He wants to reach legendary status, but our only goal is to be number one, nothing else."

"What?!"

The four of them looked at each other in bewilderment.