Chapter Sixty-Two: The Hunt Amidst the Revelry

Loud music, flashing lights, frenzied crowds, a restless space, an unpleasant smell.

This was Zhou Shu’s impression of the nightclub at this late hour.

Yes, he’d entered this club called “Revel.”

He sensed something was off. Some people inside seemed drunk, and a few really were, but there was undeniably something wrong.

Especially after he circled around to check another alley entrance and still found no signs or indicators.

From the outside, no one would ever guess that there was a nightclub here. The alley’s streetlights were broken, shrouding it in darkness—no normal person would choose to walk down this path, yet many people were entering.

Perhaps it was an offline gathering arranged online, but the timing didn’t fit.

It wasn’t Friday or Saturday night, nights when partying until dawn was commonplace. It was already late Sunday night—soon it would be Monday morning. In a few hours, the city would awaken for work and school. Who would come here for revelry at such a time?

Most importantly, there had been a fleeting moment of “alertness” before, something he would have ignored in the past. But since he’d discovered his ability, he’d learned to heed any odd sensations.

They might just be a warning for his very survival.

When he’d returned home after killing his first monster and pondered his existence, he’d considered this: humans can die by accident, suddenly and uncontrollably.

But to be devoured alive by a monster—that was simply absurd.

Since fate had bestowed the Hunter System upon him, it would be equally absurd to do nothing.

So when he realized a monster might have infiltrated the club—or perhaps the club itself was a trap for humans—he felt duty-bound to investigate.

Even if only for the sake of primal energy, to avoid leaving empty-handed tonight, he had to enter.

He observed from outside for a while, figured out how to get in, and noticed that people entered alone as well, so his approach wouldn’t seem out of place.

Sure enough, he entered smoothly and witnessed the chaotic scene.

It was truly clamorous—the lights flickered rapidly, making it nearly impossible for anyone with poor eyesight to see clearly inside.

But for some, visibility didn’t matter. In fact, the less they could see, the more they could unleash the emotions repressed deep within.

Revelry!

Yet Zhou Shu saw it differently.

His physique, having broken through level one, had changed him; his eyesight, once near-sighted, was now sharp as a hawk’s, able to catch minute details. Still, the rapid flashes weren’t kind to even his new eyes.

His eyes watered, yet he could feel them adjusting rapidly, striving to adapt to the environment.

His increasingly sensitive ears were tormented; the cacophony was almost unbearable.

If he were in a quiet place, he could catch sounds he’d never noticed before. Here, it was nothing less than an assault.

His sense of smell, too, had grown keener with his improved constitution—not as exaggerated as in some web novels, but he could pick out certain specific scents amid the chaos.

Yet in this club, even “chaotic” was too mild a word for the smells.

He couldn’t fathom how people managed to stay here—let alone grow more excited.

Though his newfound physical abilities were earned through repeated brushes with death, and he was better at controlling them than those who obtained power suddenly, the virtual barracks and beach battlefields were nothing like this place. He needed time to adjust.

Just as he was about to withdraw to a quieter spot to catch his breath, he felt two hard points press against his back, followed by a soft sensation, then a wave of hot breath at his ear and a woman’s voice.

And an overwhelming perfume.

“Hey, handsome, are you alone? Want to come with big sister and experience the thrill of ‘evolution’?”

The woman’s arm naturally wrapped around his waist.

“My, what impressive abs you have, handsome. How do you train? Find a quiet spot and show me, won’t you?”

Zhou Shu hadn’t expected this. But in a club this noisy, a woman throwing herself at him held no appeal.

He rubbed his nose, uncomfortable from the heavy perfume, and began to refuse: “I’m not—”

But before he could finish, the system suddenly alerted him: faint monster pheromones detected—on the woman behind him.

He quickly changed his tune.

“I’m not... I didn’t expect to have such a lucky night. Looks like today’s my lucky day.”

He didn’t know her age, but at eighteen, he figured calling her “big sister” was safe, so he continued, “Big sister, this is my first time here. Do you know any good spots?”

He borrowed from movie and novel plots—after all, he had no experience with this. Tonight was his first time in a place like this.

Hearing his words, the woman behind him licked her lips, sniffed the distinct scent on him, her eyes glinting red, a smile curling her lips as she drew him out of the crowd.

“Big sister just loves polite, strong little brothers like you. Come with me~”

The whole time, Zhou Shu never saw the woman’s face. The Hunter’s information flickered—sometimes displaying nothing, other times confirming monster pheromones on her. Clearly, something was interfering with the system’s logic.

He also recalled Wang Kailun mentioning that contact with monster corpses could contaminate one with a special scent, difficult to remove, and likely to attract nearby monsters.

He suspected he’d been targeted.

But that was fine—he hoped to gain something from this woman.

Maybe tonight’s first dose of primal energy would come from her.

As he left with the woman, he didn’t notice someone watching him.

“What’s he doing here?” muttered a wiry man.

“Who?” asked a burly, rough-looking companion.

These two weren’t strangers—they were Ren Guang and Hu Wenli, whom Zhou Shu had seen before at the Demon Suppression Bureau, though both wore subtle disguises.

“I think I just saw Zhou Shu,” Ren Guang said, pointing in the direction Zhou Shu and the woman had gone.

At this, before Hu Wenli could respond, the woman beside them—more accurately, a girl—spoke up first.

She had short hair, no lipstick, no eyeshadow, no blush; her skin was sallow rather than fair, and she wore an old-fashioned pair of glasses. Judging by appearances, she seemed a perfect match for the wiry man and the big gorilla beside her.

She asked, “Who’s Zhou Shu? Will this affect our ‘outing’ plans?”

“No,” Hu Wenli replied.

Hearing this, the girl turned to Ren Guang.

Ren Guang shrank back and said, “Sister Jing, it shouldn’t be a problem. Although Zhou Shu came to our place for the ‘test,’ his results were poor—only at the level of a second-class athlete. The ‘coach’ probably won’t let him into the ‘national team.’ He’s probably just here by coincidence.”

The girl nodded. “So long as it doesn’t interfere. We rarely get the chance to ‘come out and play’ together. Wouldn’t want anyone ruining it.”

Anyone familiar with them would recognize the coded language, but this was a place they’d found themselves—no one here would know them.

They chatted a bit longer, swaying to the music before splitting up for the restroom.

By now, the club’s atmosphere was reaching its peak; people could hardly restrain themselves. As the three made their way, they kept their eyes roaming, memorizing all the key spots.

The girl strode quickly toward the restroom, ignoring the passionate couples in the corners. She shut herself in a stall and began messaging on her smartwatch.

Lin Tianjing: [I’ve found two points. Have you found anything on your side?]

Ren Guang: [Got some too. I’ve spotted three here. We can confirm this is an ‘evolution’ den.]

Hu Wenli: [Time to begin the hunt, you two.]