Blade of the Demon Hunt

Chapter 10 The Restaurant

The next morning, Dina arrived as promised and knocked on his door."Big Brother Amir, are you ready? I'll take you to the restaurant for breakfast."Waking up to see the charming and cute Dina made Amir feel very good. With his mood uplifted, he quickly got ready and followed Dina out of the room.On the way, Amir listened to Dina's introductions while looking around. He hadn't paid much attention before, but now he realized that this Magic City branch was quite impressive.The building had seven floors in total, each with nearly a thousand square meters of space. The first floor was for the lobby, conference rooms, and reception rooms; the second floor housed the restaurant, points redemption area, and activity rooms; the third and fourth floors were where various departments worked; the fifth and sixth floors were the living quarters for the staff; and the seventh floor was the training ground. Amir's room was on the fifth floor, while the study where he had talked with D was on the fourth floor.They took a transparent elevator to the second floor, where Amir followed Dina into the restaurant.The restaurant occupied most of the second floor and was decorated as luxuriously as a five-star hotel."Our restaurant offers 24-hour service, so no matter when you come, you won't go hungry," Dina said with a smile. "And we offer cuisine from all over the world."Dina pointed to the left and said, "That's the buffet area. If you want to save time, you can go there." Then she pointed to the right and added, "If the buffet doesn't have what you like, you can order from that area, but you'll need to wait a little while."Amir didn't want to trouble himself, so he and Dina headed to the buffet area. He took out the black ID card he had just received and, following Dina's example, swiped it on the machine, which deducted 2 points from his account.Amir noticed that his card had 50 points, thinking to himself that the reward from the demon must have been quite substantial.The breakfast in the buffet area was exceptionally abundant, with a dazzling array of both Chinese and Western morning dishes. There were over a dozen types of buns with various fillings, and for just 2 points, one could eat to their heart's content.Amir also noticed that the card Dina was holding was white. He wondered what the difference in card colors might signify.While pondering this, he continued to help himself to breakfast. Just then, a commotion erupted in the restaurant. Amir looked up in the direction of the noise.A tall man in a black trench coat was arguing with another man wearing a white jacket. Curious, Amir moved closer to hear what they were disputing about."I already apologized, didn't I?" the man in the white jacket shouted angrily."You spilled food on my weapon, and you think just an apology will suffice?" The man in the black trench coat scoffed, his tone dripping with disdain. Since his back was to Amir, his expression was unclear, but his voice was full of contempt."And what do you expect me to do? Pay for it?" The man in the white jacket clearly felt that the other was being unreasonable."Pay for it?" The black trench coat's tone grew even more scornful. "Is money all you people think about?"Is this guy trying to provoke everyone? Amir couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed by the exchange.Sure enough, the onlookers who had been enjoying the spectacle began to frown, unsure who exactly the black trench coat was referring to with "you people.""Hey, what do you mean by that?" The man in the white jacket seized the opportunity, attempting to escalate the situation. If the black trench coat revealed who he meant by "you people," the white jacket could potentially rally some allies. Amir keenly noticed that as he asked this question, the man in the white jacket quickly glanced around, trying to gauge the reactions of those watching. It seemed that in terms of arguing, the white jacket was far more skilled than the black trench coat."Do I really need to spell it out for you?" The man in the black trench coat seemed oblivious to the white jacket's intentions, or perhaps he simply didn't care about provoking more hostility. His tone was impatient as he continued, "People like you probably can't comprehend anything complex. A disposable pawn in charge of internal affairs can only see money, huh?"This guy is really skilled at making enemies, Amir couldn't help but think. Almost everyone in the room was part of the internal affairs staff, and with that one sentence, he had managed to offend nearly everyone present.As expected, the onlookers, who had initially just been curious, began to get angry and started siding with the man in the white jacket, hurling insults at the black trench coat.The man in the black trench coat seemed entirely unfazed, his disdain even more palpable as he coldly retorted, "Trash is trash. Besides gathering together to bark, what else can you do?"This guy is really pushing his luck—he's practically asking to get beaten up, Amir thought, surprised at how far the black trench coat was willing to go to provoke everyone."What did you just say, you bastard? Don't think you're so great just because you're a Hunter!" someone immediately shouted, unable to contain their anger."Yeah, so what if you're a Hunter? You still need us 'replaceable pawns' to back you up!" another person chimed in.More and more people began yelling, their anger growing louder by the second. Meanwhile, the man in the black trench coat didn't say a word. He simply rested his hand on the weapon hanging at his waist. Amir glanced over and noticed that the weapon looked like a machete, though it seemed longer than usual.As soon as the others saw him make this move, the noisy crowd instantly fell silent."Hmph." The man in the black trench coat sneered, "And you claim you're not just a bunch of barking dogs."Amir really couldn't stand it any longer. He wondered if this man was either out of his mind or had been seriously wronged by someone in the internal affairs department. By antagonizing everyone so recklessly, he risked stirring up widespread resentment among the internal staff against the Hunters. If things escalated that far, it would be bad for everyone involved."You're going too far," Amir said, his voice laced with displeasure. "We're all members of the same guild. It's only natural that we want to avoid unnecessary conflict, isn't it? Do you really have to be so harsh? And is it really honorable to face off against unarmed people while you're armed?"Hearing this, the man in the black trench coat turned around to face Amir.This was the first time Amir got a good look at the man's appearance.The man was tall, yet his features were strikingly delicate. His complexion was pale, and his eyes were narrow and sharp, like blades, filled with obvious contempt and a hint of scrutiny. Despite his attitude, there was no denying that his looks were quite attractive."Who are you?" the man in the black trench coat asked coldly, giving Amir a once-over."I'm—" Amir began to respond, but the man cut him off."A black card," the man noted, raising an eyebrow as he spotted the ID card in Amir's hand. "A Hunter I haven't seen before." He let out a short, mocking laugh, narrowing his eyes slightly. "So, you're the newcomer that D and White brought back a few days ago.""Yes," Amir replied, unsure of the man's intentions, but sensing that the laugh didn't bode well."Just an intern Hunter, and you're already making bold statements here? If you have any opinions, save them for after you've completed your internship," the man in the black trench coat sneered, his lips curling into a cold smile after Amir confirmed his identity."This has nothing to do with my status, does it? I'm just trying to say—""Of course, it has nothing to do with your status," the man in the black trench coat rudely interrupted Amir again, his tone dripping with arrogance. "It has to do with whether you're alive or dead. After all, who cares about the opinions of a dead man?" With that, he left Amir and the surrounding crowd in stunned silence as he turned and walked out of the restaurant.Dead man? Amir frowned in confusion, watching the man's retreating figure. He wanted to chase after him and demand an explanation, but deep down, he knew that even if he did, the man wouldn't bother responding."Don't let it get to you, Big Brother Amir," Dina gently patted Amir's shoulder in a comforting gesture. "Big Brother Kamal just has that kind of temper.""Kamal?" Amir asked, realizing that she was referring to the man in the black trench coat."Yes, Hunter Kamal is notorious in our China Division. He's got a bad temper and a foul mouth. We're used to it, but it still gets on our nerves sometimes," chimed in one of the internal affairs staff who had almost argued with the man in the black trench coat earlier. It seemed that Amir's intervention had left a good impression, as the staff member's attitude had shifted, and he now smiled warmly. "You've got guts, kid, standing up to him right after you arrived. Don't be fooled by his behavior; he's actually very strong.""Hunter Kamal," Amir thought to himself, finding the name oddly amusing. Is that a nickname or something? It must take some serious grudges for people to call him that.As they chatted, Amir and Dina found a table and sat down. The staff member smiled at them politely before walking away."Does he always act like that?" Amir asked as he started eating breakfast."More or less," Dina replied after thinking for a moment. "Big Brother Kamal rarely stays at the branch. He spends most of his time out on missions, but every time he comes back, he ends up in a conflict with someone."This guy's temper is really something else, Amir thought, unsure how to even begin to assess Kamal's behavior. But what bothered him the most was Kamal's parting comment about "dead men." Did he mean Amir was too weak and likely to die on a mission? But didn't White Night say the tasks wouldn't be too dangerous?With Kamal's words lingering in his mind, Amir lost interest in touring the guild's branch after breakfast. He said goodbye to Dina and returned to his room.He kept turning Kamal's words over in his mind, sensing that they carried a deeper meaning, something beyond just doubting his strength.Oddly enough, Kamal's remarks stirred something in Amir. His initial reluctance to accept a mission was starting to shift.Although he admittedly lacked strength, Amir was determined not to be underestimated, especially not by someone with such a notoriously bad temper.However, this meant he would have to face those terrifying demons again.In his agitation, Amir decided to open his computer, thinking that keeping himself occupied might help calm his nerves. He logged back into the Hunter Guild's website and clicked on the bounty task page.As he browsed through the C-level tasks, he noticed that the task listings had been updated.The updates were surprisingly quick. Amir saw that although the number of pages remained at a hundred, several tasks on the first page were different from what he had seen the day before.He clicked on one of the new tasks at random and, after taking a quick look, he was stunned.