Monster Hunter, start with a wife!

"My trial is not over yet."

Cheng Zhuo frowned, a bad feeling rising within him.

The hunter's tone hardened as he rebuked:

"This is an order, I'm not negotiating with you."

Seeing that this person was going to take Cheng Zhuo away, Pang Wei and Wei Qingfeng, who had just realized what was happening, were immediately unhappy.

"Hey, what's wrong with you guys? They provoked Zhao Shichang, and they're the ones who lost. Why are you taking our teammates with you?"

"Exactly! What are we going to do now that our star player is gone? If we don't get first place, are you going to compensate us... with money?"

The word "吗" was still floating in mid-air when a cold, metallic scraping sound suddenly rang out.

"Whoosh—"

At this moment, the sidearm of the Hunter's Army soldier was already poised in mid-air.

A tiny blue light suddenly appeared on the dark muzzle of the gun.

Wei Qingfeng choked on his words and chuckled awkwardly:

"Take it with you, we're not actually that short of money."

"Wait a moment, I'll go with you." Cheng Zhuo stood in front of Wei Qingfeng and said kindly to the Hunter's Army soldier:

"I'll just give my teammates a few instructions."

The soldier snorted coldly, but put away his gun, which was taken as tacit agreement.

Cheng Zhuo soothed the already agitated Guan Guan, brought it to An Nuo, and gave it a meaningful instruction:

"The jar will stay and help you; make sure the trouble is quite significant."

"rest assured……"

Anuo instantly understood Cheng Zhuo's meaning and nodded solemnly, "I will definitely strive to make it the most dazzling beast pet in the trial, so that some people will not dare to touch its owner at will."

"Thanks." Cheng Zhuo nodded slightly, squatted down, and rubbed the jar's head.

"Listen to this young lady carefully, I'll be back to pick you up soon."

"Meow..."

The jar didn't quite understand why it had to be separated from its owner, but it still nodded its big head.

Cheng Zhuo took a deep breath and walked up to the soldier:

"Let's go."

Upon seeing this, a series of question marks immediately appeared in the live stream chat—

"What's going on? Why did they take the winner away?"

"They probably fused a legendary meditation card, which threatened someone's interests."

"What do you mean? Aren't you supposed to keep one Meditation Card from the beginner trial?"

"You can keep it for yourself, but there's an unwritten rule in the Hunting Ruins: if you encounter a legendary meditation card, you should usually ask for the price first and try to sell it to a high-potential awakener, since meditation cards are fusion-type."

"Why should I?"

"Since city-states are a community of shared destiny, only high-potential Kashuu can hope to help city-states conquer high-level Void Realms and expand their territory."

"But why was that legendary meditation card that dropped from the six-star portal last year given to Rosa, who is only ranked F?"

"Rosa is the city lord's daughter; those who know, know."

……

Cheng Zhuo had long anticipated that this would happen.

Unexpectedly, things changed so quickly that he didn't even get to complete the trial.

However, as he scanned the scrolling comments on the live stream, he suddenly felt that being taken away halfway through might actually be a good thing for him.

The greater the influence, the safer he is.

After a while.

As soon as Cheng Zhuo took off his combat uniform and fastened his seatbelt, a powerful push came from behind him, so strong that it almost pressed him into the seat.

The view outside the window suddenly changed, and the dilapidated square was almost blurred into a stream of light.

Cheng Zhuo recognized the aircraft—the military patrol version of the "Falcon 5th Generation".

Driven by source power, extremely fast speed!

It only lasted a few dozen seconds.

He then saw the outline of the Star Iron City.

The massive city wall stretches across the edge of the land, like a lurking dragon.

In less than a fifth of the transport plane's time, the view outside the cabin of the Wind Falcon 5th Generation changed from the wilderness to the Star Iron City.

After entering the city, the aircraft did not stop.

It flew straight through the wall separating the outer and inner cities, heading towards the skyscraper in the center of the city, topped with a giant sword sculpture.

This was Cheng Zhuo's first time entering the inner city.

I never expected it to be like this.

Unlike the crowded, oppressive, and monotonous concrete buildings in the outer city.

The architecture of the inner city is a visual feast—

Skyscrapers of various shapes stand tall, their exteriors gleaming with a cold metallic sheen and neon lights. Countless holographic figures, like colorful fish, dart and flicker among the buildings. Hovering cars and high-altitude trains speed along predetermined tracks, leaving behind fleeting streaks of light.

Only now did Cheng Zhuo truly feel like he was "in the future world".

What impressed him most was undoubtedly the lighthouse that pierced the clouds like a giant stone monument.

That was the ultimate guarantee for humanity's survival, preventing the expansion of the ruins from this city.

After a while.

The Falcon 5 landed smoothly on the rooftop helipad of the building.

Led by two members of the Hunting Ruins Army.

Cheng Zhuo took the elevator, passed through a heavily guarded corridor, and stopped in front of a wooden door with a somewhat classical feel.

A wooden plaque with the words "Deputy Director" engraved on it hangs above.

"Squeak—"

Before the soldiers could knock, the wooden door opened automatically inward.

"Let him in by himself."

A dignified male voice came from inside the door.

Cheng Zhuo stepped in, his feet making a slight sound as they stomped on the smooth, mirror-like wooden floor.

The room was simpler than he had imagined, without complicated decorations, only a long black wooden table of unknown material, behind which sat a middle-aged man in a black uniform.

The man had a square face, broad shoulders, and a thick back. He wore silver-rimmed glasses and was typing on the projector with one finger.

His slightly comical movements made his otherwise fierce face appear more approachable.

Cheng Zhuo already had the answer in his heart:

This person should be Hu Yansong, the deputy director of the Hunting Ruins Army.

Last year, he single-handedly traversed the Six Star Ruins Realm, becoming the strongest fighter in Star Iron City.

I heard that this person has a bad temper and rarely appears in the media.

But when Cheng Zhuo saw it was him, he felt a little more at ease.

Last year, it was he who brought back the legendary meditation card and gave it to Rosa, who was still an F-rank at the time. This led to Rosa's legendary transformation from an F-rank attendant to a new S-rank star.

Rosa's achievements led to his promotion to deputy director.

Do you know why I'm looking for you?

Huyan Song's voice was deep and resonant, revealing neither joy nor anger.

Cheng Zhuo said calmly, "Because of that legendary meditation card."

Hu Yansong glanced at him sideways: "I thought you would pretend to be stupid."

Cheng Zhuo shook his head: "It's pointless. I don't think I can fool the deputy director."

"Do you see that knife?"

Hu Yansong glanced towards the window.

Cheng Zhuo followed his gaze and looked over.

"Twenty years ago, my teacher used that sword to kill the Seven Star King. Otherwise, our entire outer city of Star Iron might have been destroyed."

"Master Yuan is indeed a hero," Cheng Zhuo exclaimed sincerely.

"Then do you know that if the teacher possessed the legendary meditation technique, he wouldn't have needed to perish together with that king!" Huyan Song's voice suddenly turned cold.

Cheng Zhuo was silent for a moment before speaking:

"I understand what you mean. The city-state is a community of shared destiny. You think I should give up that legendary meditation card."

"Shouldn't it be like this!"

Hu Yansong's thick fingers tapped the table with a 'thump, thump, thump,' and his gaze behind his glasses suddenly sharpened:

"Fool! Just to save face in front of your ex-girlfriend, you recklessly wasted a legendary meditation card? Do you know how many lives those high-star portals devour every day? If we had one more high-level card cultivator, how many hunters and citizens could have been spared! You are destroying the future of this city-state!!"

"Deputy Director," Cheng Zhuo interrupted him, his voice respectful but not timid:

"Perhaps you are right, but you certainly know that the level of the source card obtained from any type of blind core will be affected by the source of the opener."

"So what if it is?"

"That means that without my luck, there would be no legendary source card."