Monster Hunter, start with a wife!

"Splash—"

Inside the office of the deputy director of the Hunting Ruins Administration.

The blue-and-white porcelain teacup was slammed heavily onto the floor in front of the desk, making a loud bang.

Huyan Song suddenly stood up, angrily tearing open two buttons on his uniform collar, his tiger-like eyes wide open as he glared and said:

"Are you just sitting around doing nothing?! Why would a rookie with S-rank potential sign a contract in a godforsaken place like Redstone Town?! Huh? Speak up!"

At his desk, his plump secretary hunched over, forcing a bitter expression on her face.

"According to Lingxi's statistics, there were no S-rank awakenings this time."

"Lingxi! Lingxi! Can't you use your brain? All you do is rely on Lingxi! Just because we in Star Iron City don't have it, does that mean other cities don't?"

Huyan Song stepped forward and slammed his finger heavily on the map:

"Have you been paying attention to those large conglomerates that operate across cities, especially since they're constantly moving their personnel around?"

The chubby secretary lowered her head even further after being scolded, and hurriedly pulled up another set of data, handing over the data board with both hands:

"Deputy Director, I really have been keeping an eye on these things! I've checked the movement lists of the intercity conglomerate for the past month, and the registration information of vagrants, and there's really no one named Huangfu Bai here! And look..."

He tapped on Huangfu Bai's profile and explained:

"This person's public information is encrypted at the highest level by Lingxi, and even the headquarters cannot access it."

Hu Yansong's tense expression faltered slightly. "Highest level of identity encrypted?"

"That's right."

"Alright." Hu Yansong's expression softened slightly, realizing he had misunderstood him, and he asked in a calmer tone:

"Huangfu Bai... Is there any large conglomerate with the surname Huangfu?"

"No, I've checked. The strongest background the Huangfu family has is just a councilor," the fat observer replied.

Huyan Song sat back in his chair, rubbing his temples with his fingers:

"Gravity body, Silver Knight is a model from Kirin Technology, right?"

The chubby secretary shook his head:

"I contacted them when they arrived. None of their directors have the surname Huangfu, nor have they developed any models that can enter the newcomer market."

"They might have changed their name." Hu Yansong hesitated for a moment, then asked:

"Has his team crossed the boundary?"

"It's in. Here's his team information." The chubby secretary then projected another image with photos of five people.

"Hmm." Hu Yansong raised his eyebrows slightly, his gaze falling on Cheng Zhuo's personal profile:

"It's that kid again. He really did become a wilderness hunter."

"Deputy Director, what's the next step?" the round-faced fat man asked. "Should we send someone to Redstone Town to demand their return?"

"No need," Huyan Song waved his hand.

"This kind of person won't be influenced by the decisions of a small town. We'll pay attention to their team's situation, and once he emerges, we'll immediately bring him to headquarters..."

He tapped his fingers on the table, paused for a moment, and then added:

"Tell him we can treat him according to the highest standards for an S-rank newcomer... no, add the rank of Major in the Hunting Ruins Army, and exempt him from all taxes in the city-state. As long as he is willing to stay in the city, we can discuss it."

The fat man quickly wrote it down and then asked:

"What about his other temporary teammates? Should we...?"

Huyan Song waved his hand:

"Let's talk about the others if they can get out alive."

……

……

A vast wasteland, the blazing sun hanging high in the sky.

At the edge of the distorted and deformed earth, billowing smoke and dust formed a boundless yellow wave.

A group of people are running as fast as they can.

"Hurry! Run faster! The city gate is just ahead!"

The burly man leading the group was shirtless, his bronze muscles splattered with blood, and he carried half a broken iron bar on his shoulder. He kept yelling, "Run! Don't you dare look back!!"

Behind him.

Dozens of men, women, and children of all shapes and sizes were running frantically in a sorry state.

Several slower-moving people were left behind in the distance and soon fell into a group of rapidly writhing, strange rocks. They stumbled and fell, and before they could get up, they were covered by the rocks.

Amidst screams of agony, he was gradually sucked dry...

Occasionally, one can glimpse it through the crooked cracks of the stone pile.

Beneath the stone shells,

It was covered with strange, human-like faces!

Their skin folds piled up like old tree bark, and they move entirely by 'skin'.

The moment it made contact with a person, its cloudy eyes flashed with a greedy yet excited light, and it opened its mouth wide, hissing as it bit down—

"Hurry! Hurry! Get into town!"

The big man was the first to rush to the city gate, grabbing it and ready to close it at any moment.

In the crowd, two girls wearing shorts and white T-shirts were running hand in hand, stumbling and scrambling through the city gate.

The two women were Xia Mo and Xia Chan, who had been caught up in the extra-distance boundary.

"It's alright, it's alright!" Xia Chan gasped for breath as she hugged her sister, glancing back at the city outside in a daze.

The stone-faced monsters, covering the mountains and plains, surged in like a tide.

The rustling sound sent chills down one's spine.

Fortunately, these things can't climb, so they're safe once the city gates are closed.

"Close the door now!"

Two green-haired youths, who looked somewhat alike, were stuck by the city gate and urged him on.

"Can't you see there are still people!" The burly man glared back, then turned and shouted at the slower group, "Hurry up, don't panic, we've made it!"

But just then...

A young woman holding a baby stumbled and fell to the ground with a thud.

"Wow!"

The baby in her arms immediately burst into tears.

As the group of stone-faced monsters drew closer, the burly man cursed under his breath, threw his iron rod to the ground, and dashed out.

He quickly picked up the baby, grabbed the young woman's arm, and turned and ran!

However, as soon as he turned around, he was horrified to find that...

The city gates were slowly closing!

"Don't turn it off! Don't turn it off yet!!"

The burly man glared, his neck contorted as he roared, "Don't fucking shut it down! There's still time!!!"

However, the two green-haired brothers who had been scolded by him earlier completely ignored him.

With a loud crash, the door slammed shut.

"Fuck your mother!!!"

The burly man's eyes were bloodshot with rage as he pounded his fists against the city gate with a dull thud. "Open the gate!!!"

However, no matter how hard he tried, the door remained firmly in place.

"Hey, why are you locking people out like this!"

Xia Chan was so anxious that she wanted to rush forward, but Xia Mo held her wrist tightly and shook her head to indicate that she was not going to.

That's too late.

"Don't open it! Don't open it! Please don't open it!" a middle-aged woman, still wearing a bathrobe, cried out in a shrill voice.

"It's better for two people outside to die than for us all to die!"

The younger of the green-haired brothers turned around and glared fiercely at Xia Chan:

"Anyone who wants to die can try opening one!"

"No, no, we won't open it!"

Except for the woman in the nightgown who was still screaming.

Everyone else remained silent, trembling with fear.

The burly man roared and cursed outside the door, amidst the cries of a baby.

Some people felt reluctant to open the door, but the ever-present rustling sound and the menacing green-haired brothers wielding daggers made them lack the courage to do so.

"I'm sorry, we've dragged you down."

Outside the city gate, the young woman's tears flowed freely as she glanced with a sense of despair at the approaching horde of stone-faced monsters.

Seeing that there was no hope of opening the gate, the big man immediately took a few big strides to the city wall.

Looking at the stone wall that was twenty or thirty meters high, he swallowed hard and turned to look at the young woman:

"If I can get up there, I'll throw you a rope; you hide first!"

Having said that, he bit the baby's swaddling clothes, let out a low growl, and his arms instantly grew brown hair, with sharp claws sticking out, and his two large hands became the shape of bear paws.

He leaped forward, his sharp claws digging deep into the cracks in the wall.

But after climbing only a few steps, pebbles began to fall from the cracks in the wall, causing him to stumble and fall to the ground.

Without daring to delay, he stomped his feet hard on the ground!

He leaped again.

The young woman nervously looked up at the back of the burly man as he slowly moved upwards, then glanced back at the approaching group of stone-faced monsters.

It seems like they've gone all out.

She picked up the burly man's iron rod and ran while screaming:

"Come on! You disgusting monsters! Eat me, please—"

She deliberately slammed the long stick to the ground, making a "bang" sound.

The stone-faced monster's attention was indeed drawn, its turbid eyes turning towards her as it wriggled and followed her.

The big man noticed that she was buying him time and dared not be distracted. Even though blood was seeping from between her claws, he could only grit his teeth and carefully climb upwards!

"call--"

After climbing onto the city wall, he quickly held the swaddled baby tightly and turned to look back.

The young woman stood a hundred meters away, holding a slightly deformed iron rod, standing quietly in place, while swarms of stone-faced monsters rapidly approached her from all directions.

She seemed oblivious to his presence, her gaze fixed on the burly man who had successfully scaled the city wall, and smiled brightly.

She raised her hand and waved, as if saying goodbye to the child, or perhaps saying:

Please.

"Oh shit!"

The big man turned his head away, unable to bear watching her being swallowed up by the stone-faced monster.

He turned his back, raised his hand, and waved back...