450: Section 450

Walking into the living room, he opened the door.

"Shall we go? Let's head downstairs to get something to eat?"

Wei Nan stood outside the door, smiling as he spoke to Lin Yi.

Lin Yi nodded, picked up the room key card, and put it into his Storage Ring.

He then closed the door and took the elevator downstairs.

This was the plan they had discussed; after arriving here, they would first check in.

After that, they would head downstairs to find a small restaurant nearby to grab a bite.

While at it, they would inquire about the Yao Beast problems in Lishui City.

It would be even better if they could gather some useful information.

Once they reached the lobby, they walked straight toward the hotel entrance.

But just as they passed the front desk, a staff member hurried over.

"Are you gentlemen heading out?"

"Yes, we're going out to get something to eat and take a stroll. Why do you ask?"

Zhou Qi asked with a smile.

The staff member's expression looked a bit troubled, but she didn't dare reveal anything.

She just said somewhat cryptically, "It's like this: Lishui City is chilly at night. Try to return as early as possible. Otherwise, the temperature difference between day and night is too large; it wouldn't be good if you gentlemen got sick!"

Zhou Qi nodded with a smile, "Right, is your hotel open 24 hours?"

"This... yes, it is!"

The staff member hesitated for a moment before nodding with a smile.

"That's fine, thank you!"

Zhou Qi didn't say anything more and walked straight outside.

Watching their retreating figures, the staff member frowned deeply.

From that question Zhou Qi just asked, she vaguely guessed something.

These few people probably wouldn't be returning too early...

"I did some research online. Lishui City doesn't have much in the way of gourmet food; the local specialties are mostly game!"

"After all, it's a mountain city, surrounded by mountains on three sides. I read online that in the past, Lishui City relied mainly on hunting for a living. If you trace it back a thousand years, this place was actually just a small county town!"

"Moreover, more than half of the people were from hunting backgrounds; they earned their living through mountain goods and game!"

"It wasn't until later, when the world changed abruptly and Spiritual Qi recovered, that some animals in the mountains Cultivate into spirits—which are the Yao Beasts of today!"

"This shattered their peaceful life. It was no longer the hunters going into the mountains to hunt. Instead, the Yao Beasts from the mountains began running down to hunt humans!"

"After several hundred years of fighting, they were finally pushed back into the restricted areas!"

"So, the dishes that were originally local delicacies based on game have all disappeared!"

"However, the reason why the Yao Beasts have been causing such a ruckus in Lishui City recently is mainly related to these mountains!"

"As long as there are mountains, there will be beasts. As long as you give them time, they can slowly Cultivate into Yao Beasts!"

After Zhou Qi finished his brief introduction, Lin Yi and Wei Nan nodded.

Wei Nan, in particular, had a flash of light in his eyes: "If that's the case, the Yao Beasts we're going to face are actually just wild beasts from the mountains?"

"What about Wolf Demons? Bat Demons, Bear Demons, Fox Demons, Leopard Demons, and Tiger Demons? Right, are there Monkey Demons? Wild Boar Demons..."

Wei Nan rattled off all the wild beasts he could think of.

Zhou Qi smiled and looked at him: "Regardless of what kind of demon it is, wild ones are always fiercer than domestic ones!"

"Someone online even made some comparisons!"

"Take the lynx, for example. It looks similar to a domestic cat, but its ferocity is simply incomparable to a house cat. It's a true wild beast!"

"Think about it yourselves: if it Cultivate into a Yao Beast, what will it be like?"

"And then there are black bears, wolves, and tigers!"

"They are already incomparably ferocious. After Cultivating into Yao Beasts, they are absolutely not comparable to the common Yao Beasts seen in cities!"

"So, this trip of ours to Lishui is a bit too risky!"

"We're facing all these wild Yao Beasts!"

"It's just unclear what the numbers are like, or how many there are exactly!"

"Moreover, the news regarding Lishui has been sealed off by the authorities!"

"Some useful information simply can't be found. So, we have two paths now: either contact a local Monster Hunting Squad and cooperate with them—though whether they're willing to bother with us remains to be seen, since we're just students and don't belong to the Monster Hunting Bureau!"

"The other path is that we explore on our own and learn as we go!"

"Learn as we go? What does that mean?"

Wei Nan looked at Zhou Qi with a bewildered expression.

Zhou Qi smiled: "It means Monster Hunting while getting to know the city at the same time!"

Wei Nan: "..."

Just as they were talking, Lin Yi's phone rang.

He took it out and glanced at it; it was an unfamiliar number.

However, the caller ID location was Lishui City.

Lin Yi didn't know anyone in Lishui City, so who was this call from...

Although he found it a bit strange, he answered it.

"Hello? Hello!"

"Hello? May I ask if this is student Lin Yi?"

A female voice came from the phone. Lin Yi nodded: "Yes, I am Lin Yi..."

The female voice on the other end chuckled and said: "I am from a Lishui City Monster Hunting Squad. My name is Meng Meng. Let's meet up!"

Chapter 307: Local Delicacies, Yao Beasts Descend from the Mountains

Qingshui Beiyuan.

When Lin Yi, Wei Nan, and Zhou Qi got out of the taxi and looked at the elegant little courtyard in front of them, they exchanged glances.

"Lin Yi, are you sure this is really a place to eat?" Zhou Qi asked, somewhat shocked.

When he was doing research on Lishui City, no one had ever mentioned the place called Qingshui Beiyuan.

He was completely unfamiliar with it.

Moreover, looking at it from the outside, it didn't look like a place to eat, but more like someone's private residence.

Lin Yi shook his head: "I don't know, that Meng Meng told me!"

"Let's go in and see, then we'll know!"

After saying that, Lin Yi walked into the small courtyard first.

Wei Nan and Zhou Qi looked at each other and quickly followed.

The moment they stepped into the courtyard gate, the sound of wind chimes rang out.

The crisp sound of wind chimes echoed throughout the courtyard, as if reminding the owner of the courtyard that guests had arrived.

This made Lin Yi think of Old He's courtyard back in the Old District.

The scale of the renovation and the elegance of the courtyard were exactly the same as this one.

This made him wonder, could it be that Old He had run here to open a private kitchen?

Just as he was thinking this, three people walked over from inside the courtyard.

Two women and one man. The man was in his thirties, with a very sturdy build and a height of about 1.85 meters.

He looked like a moving tank.

The two women were in their twenties.

The one leading them looked mature, with a touch of charm between her brows.

Her attire was quite bold, and the girl following behind her looked more like a college student, or someone who had just graduated from college.

Arriving close by, the leading woman chuckled and said: "You must be the students from Xingwu University, right? I just called you earlier. My name is Meng Meng, and I am the Captain of the Lishui City Monster Hunting Squad!"

The woman introduced herself first.

Lin Yi hurriedly said: "Captain Meng, I am Lin Yi!"

"Oh? So you are Lin Yi? You look quite spirited. No wonder Captain Chu thinks so highly of you!"

"Let me introduce you to these two; they are both my team members. She is called Su Xiaoxiao, and she can be considered your senior; she just graduated and is now my official team member!"

"This one is called Peng Wu..."

Just after Meng Meng finished introducing them, Zhou Qi and Wei Nan also introduced themselves one after another.