Embers Ad Infinitum

Chapter 135: Guild Brass

As they chatted, Shang Jianyao and Jiang Baimian turned into West Street and walked toward the Hunter’s Guild.

It was still early, and the guild had not officially opened. Only a few cleaners were busy inside.

Jiang Baimian was in no rush at all; she slowly circled the lobby.

After returning to the starting point, she grumbled to Shang Jianyao, “There’s no introduction about the guild’s brass... It’s too unfair, unjust, and untransparent!”

Within Pangu Biology, every unit had to provide information on the main Person-in-Charge and related personnel on the wall.

“It might be upstairs.” Shang Jianyao looked up at the ceiling.

“Who’s it shown to then?” Jiang Baimian found a few rows of chairs at the edge of the lobby and sat down.

“How cold...” She rubbed her hands and sighed loudly.

“You can get up and move about,” Shang Jianyao said seriously.

Jiang Baimian was just about to say, “Whoa, that’s a pretty normal suggestion,” when she heard Shang Jianyao add, “Try dancing.”

“...” Jiang Baimian said in exasperation and amusement, “When we complete the mission, I can give you a break. You can dance however and wherever you want!”

Shang Jianyao’s eyes lit up as he fell into deep thought, seemingly considering how he could investigate the other Old Task Force’s disappearance better and faster.

After many Ruin Hunters had breakfast and came to the lobby to choose missions and work on their livelihood, the guild’s employees came down one after another. They either took their posts or booted up the different machines.

Upon seeing this, Jiang Baimian stood up and led Shang Jianyao to the circular platform in the middle.

At this moment, a figure passed by and rushed in front of them.

As Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao’s appearances were rather outstanding, they were as eye-catching as fireflies in the night, despite wearing clothes that were essentially the same as most Ruin Hunters. Therefore, the person subconsciously turned his head and glanced at them.

He was a man more than 1.8 meters tall, almost the same height as Shang Jianyao. This was relatively rare among Ruin Hunters—who were generally malnourished. He wore a thick, dark tweed coat. He was in his thirties, and he had black hair, blue eyes, and good facial features. Although he couldn’t be considered handsome, he had the characteristics of Ashlands and Red River heritage. His outlines were relatively deep, and his nose was especially high.

At the same time, he had a calm and confident bearing.

After watching the man walk to a window and take out a Hunter’s Badge, Shang Jianyao suddenly said, “It’s not a good thing to have a sharp nose...”

Jiang Baimian thought for a moment and chuckled. “Are you trying to say that the nose tip will end up red from the wind?”

The man from before had a rather good overall appearance. It was obvious that he wasn’t someone to be trifled with. The only flaw was that the tip of his nose was red and slightly comical.

“The wind outside is too cold.” Shang Jianyao nodded and rubbed the tip of his nose.

“You weren’t much better when you first entered the lobby...” Before Jiang Baimian could finish her sentence, she saw the Hunter’s Guild employee opposite the man stand up and hand the Hunter’s Badge out the window with both hands, appearing very respectful.

His status isn’t low... Jiang Baimian muttered to herself silently and walked to the window at the edge.

“Let me do it.” Shang Jianyao quickly took a few steps and overtook his team leader.

“Don’t.” Jiang Baimian quickly stopped him. She looked around and suppressed her voice. “Just leave the general targets to me. Don’t abuse your abilities. Be careful not to expose yourself. We’ll use your talents where they’re most needed.”

For Awakened, keeping their abilities a secret was also very important. If enemies learned of the ability, not only would the ability be useless, but it would also be easily dealt with in a targeted manner.

“Huh? What did you say?” Shang Jianyao touched his ear.

“...” At this moment, Jiang Baimian finally understood what it meant to have the tables turn. She gritted her teeth and asked, “Was I saying it too softly?”

“Yes.” Shang Jianyao nodded honestly.

“Then, I’ll be simpler.” Jiang Baimian returned to her normal volume. “I’ll do it!”

With that said, she walked to the window at the end without giving Shang Jianyao a chance to protest.

Inside was a girl in her twenties. She had short hair and large eyes. Her looks were average, but she showed very good upkeep of her appearance. On her chest was a name tag with the words: ‘Su Xiaoman.’

“I want to issue a mission.” Jiang Baimian smiled brightly.

Faced with such a beautiful, polite, and valiant woman, everyone—regardless of gender—would naturally have a favorable impression of her. Su Xiaoman was no exception. She enthusiastically inquired, “What mission is it?

“Different missions have different review times. If you can find a hunter with sufficient credit points as a guarantee or have cases of seriously fulfilling the multiple missions you issued, the corresponding time will be reduced significantly.”

“It’s a very simple mission. The reward is one can of military canned food.” Jiang Baimian smiled and said, “I think you can complete this mission too.”

As she spoke, she took out the braised beef canned food she had long prepared from her pocket.

Upon seeing that the payment was in place, Su Xiaoman felt more at ease. She smiled and asked, “What mission is it?”

“I want to know who the guild’s brass are.” Jiang Baimian put on a knowing expression. “I’ve just become a Rookie Hunter. I’m very unfamiliar with the guild and want to know more about it.”

Su Xiaoman’s smile remained the same as she reminded sincerely, “Although President Christina does have highly confidential missions that can’t be issued publicly, they aren’t things a Rookie Hunter can take on. It’s better for you to do something simple first and raise your credit. You can consider such matters after you become an Official Hunter.”

“President Christina...” Jiang Baimian repeated and smiled frankly. “I didn’t even know there were missions that weren’t issued publicly. See, I’m such a rookie. I want to know more about the guild mainly because I’m afraid I’ll accidentally offend someone I shouldn’t. You seem to know quite a bit. Why don’t you accept this mission?”

Su Xiaoman accepted Jiang Baimian’s explanation. “There’s nothing important. President Christina is a vice president transferred from First City. She’s in charge of communicating, coordinating, and cooperating with the guild headquarters and different regional guilds. At the same time, she also has all the missions that are inconvenient for public release. She has direct contact with many relatively high-ranking hunters.”

500 grams of braised beef canned food was worth at least 1 Oray in Weed City. Sometimes, it was even more than that. It was quite a temptation for Hunter’s Guild employees, who earned less than 30 Oray a month.

“How old is she?” Jiang Baimian casually asked.

“In her thirties. Long blond hair and light-blue eyes. She’s about the same height as you and is rather cheerful.” Su Xiaoman roughly described the characteristics of Vice President Christina in case the rookie in front of her offended someone she shouldn’t.

“Oh...” Jiang Baimian asked, “What about the other higher-ups?”

Su Xiaoman said in detail, “The guild president is also the castellan. His name is Xu Liyan, and he’s about the same age as me. He was only selected to be the castellan a few years ago...”

Jiang Baimian knew this information. She even knew that Xu Liyan was the grandson of the greatest castellan, Xu Erde. His father, Xu Wugong, had also been a castellan, but he died from an illness in his forties. Back then, Xu Liyan was only 16 or 17 years old.

Su Xiaoman continued, “The President is mainly in charge of the finances and audits. Most of the time, he won’t come over and will only send a few subordinates to handle management. We also have another two vice presidents. One is called Cui En, and the other is Zhou Linfeng. President Cui is mainly in charge of us, basically matters in the Hunters’ Lobby. President Zhou is in charge of security and our own mercenaries. Heh heh, you can also join them and quit as you wish.”

“What do they look like?” Jiang Baimian asked in a gentler manner.

“President Cui is less than 50 years old. He was an employee, and he later became a Ruin Hunter for a period of time. He knows all kinds of things very well. His hair isn’t white at all, but there’s not much of it. He’s tall and thin, and his nose is a little big...” Su Xiaoman recalled the looks of the brass. “President Zhou is about 40 years old. He’s very strong and muscular, and his arms are as thick as my legs. His hair is shaved short. He looks fierce, but he’s actually quite amiable...”

“Are there no other higher-ups?” Jiang Baimian didn’t discover anyone that met the age requirements.

Su Xiaoman thought for a moment and said, “There’s also Chief Wang. He’s our guild’s Chief Hunter.”

Chief Hunter was an honorary title in the Hunter’s Guild. There was only one in every area, and it mainly depended on one’s qualifications, not their current abilities.

“What’s his name?” Jiang Baimian asked.

“Wang Chongyue,” Su Xiaoman answered. “He’s in his fifties. If no one introduces you to him, he would appear to be an ordinary old man. However, he joined the guild when it was first established. Later, he was promoted to a Master Hunter and completed countless missions. He’s currently in charge of the guild’s training department, including the training of Rookie Hunters. If there are classes, you can register for them. The tuition fees are only symbolic.”

“Alright.” Jiang Baimian nodded slightly.

Upon seeing that Chief Hunter Wang Chongyue didn’t match the age, she stopped and asked with a smile, “Is there anything else to take note of?”

Su Xiaoman continued speaking as more and more Ruin Hunters came over and started lining up.

Upon seeing this, Jiang Baimian pushed the can into the window. “You completed this mission very well.”

Su Xiaoman looked up at the surveillance camera not far away and said, “It has to be more formal. I’ll help you upload this mission immediately.”

As she spoke, she created the mission.

Jiang Baimian thoughtfully said, “The mission’s name is ‘Assistance in Understanding the Guild.’

It didn’t directly point at the guild’s brass.

Su Xiaoman nodded and quickly submitted the mission for a review. She then took out a Hunter’s Badge and swiped it gently to accept the mission.

After that, she clicked on ‘Mission Completed.’

“This makes it very formal.” After doing this, Su Xiaoman smiled and took the can. “Besides, I can accumulate credit points. You can also gain some credit.”

Most importantly, this couldn’t be considered a private transaction.

“Not bad,” Jiang Baimian praised. She then asked, “Who was that person just now? I noticed that your colleague respected him greatly.”

Jiang Baimian was referring to the man in the black tweed coat.

Su Xiaoman thought for a moment and lowered her voice. “I can’t say the name. I can only tell you that he’s already an Advanced Hunter before the age of 30!”

This was a rank second only to Master Hunters. It was enough to indicate that the corresponding person had outstanding resources, connections, and strength.