As Everyone stares at Konrad, his face changes a little, looking like he's thinking hard about choosing the right words.
"I wish I could fully answer your question, Auren. Life is full of questions, but only a small part of them are simple yes or no," Konrad says. "My Hatsu only gives me a general sense of the truth. Since he was a Nen user, my Hatsu was particularly ineffective. I did, however, sense that he believes most of what he said is true, but I also noticed a lot of uncertainty and even lies in his speech. The one thing I know for certain is that he cares about his clan... but that clan does not include the majority of the people living here. To him, they are expendable resources, much like the gas. In fact, he probably values them even less, since humans replenish themselves over time, while gas, once extracted, is gone forever."
"Cruel..." Eren mutters, his face full of shock and terror, before it slowly turns into rage.
"That isn't all," Konrad continues. "We all know what they do to gamblers. This city is only for the rich, whom they mercilessly strip of everything they have. He sounded righteous, but the truth is he's one of the most selfish people you can imagine. He only cares about his clan, while gladly accepting death and poverty for everyone else. It's true the government is squeezing him and his clan, but they're probably more justified than he is. On the other hand, the Glam Clan did legally acquire this land. So, all in all, it's complicated. There is no clearly good or evil side. The one thing he definitely didn't lie about is the Nen users he hinted at. They really are the lowest of the low. He is convinced of that. Also, he seems genuine about the rewards—it looks like he doesn't value the items you mentioned as much as he claims."
"So why don't they sell them, if that's the case?" Goreinu asks.
"Simple," Konrad says. "The Glam Clan empties their treasuries to acquire Jenny... what would people think?"
"That they need money?" Vanessa replies, a little unsure.
"Exactly," Konrad confirms. "Reputation is everything for those people—they can only slowly and steadily sell these things through brokers, and even that is quite risky. So they're probably glad to be able to use those items instead of Jenny to pay us. You're doing them a favour, Auren. In return, expect a lot of valuable and rare rewards."
"Auren," Eren says. "I want to fight. If those are really the weakest Nen users, then we have no reason to fear them! I want to grow! I also want to see with my own eyes what is happening here."
"I agree with him!" Vanessa chimes in.
"I'll make sure they're safe. I've already shown you my Hatsu during training, Auren. You wanted to see it multiple times for whatever reason, I don't even want to know—now I have the opportunity to show it in a real fight. Let's do it," Goreinu says, determined.
"I'll also follow along... and provide backup," Konrad says, looking a little embarrassed.
"No need to worry about combat, Konrad... your Hatsu is quite spectacular... more than you realize," Auren says.
"Let's do it then! Drive off—we're starting right away!" he orders.
Vanessa speeds up and drives back onto the main road.
Meanwhile, Auren and Goreinu, aided by Konrad—who has a laptop with internet access—look through the missions, referring to the documents Jasoof handed them for additional information. They are taking more time than expected deciding on their first goal.
"Hurry up," Vanessa yells, "I'm feeling stupid driving in circles!"
"Uhm, Vanessa, just park somewhere," Goreinu says, not willing to engage with her.
Vanessa suddenly stops and pulls over, realizing her mistake.
"Let's pick something easy," Auren suggests, ignoring the silliness around him. "Preferably not too far away from the center."
"How about this one?" Konrad says, summarizing: "One of the smaller pipelines used to transport gas from a nearby small gas field has stopped working. It's about 20 kilometers outside the city. The clan thinks it's either sabotage or, worse, theft. They noticed the gas stopped flowing, so they sent a small team—mostly engineers—to fix it. They never returned. Then they sent a larger armed convoy. Half of them returned, some injured, mostly from bullets, but also cuts and broken bones. Apparently, there are armed enemies there, and they got ambushed before reaching the site. All workers from that site, nine in total, also went silent after the initial incident. We accepted the mission nine days ago, and the Glam Clan hasn't done anything since sending that second team."
"So what are we supposed to do, huh?" Vanessa asks as she drives, before finally yelling, "And tell me where to drive, idiot!"
Konrad sighs. "Northern exit. We avoid the west and also the south for now, since those routes lead directly through the lawless zone and the ghetto, respectively. Our task is to investigate and get rid of any saboteurs or thieves at the site, and also check what's wrong with the pipeline. The reward is three million for a detailed report, but that sum can multiply depending on what actually happened and if we catch the culprits. It's just an H-rank mission, so this should be relatively easy. All missions are only H and G-rank, except for the fresh one that was just offered to us. Seeing it right now on the website, that one is actually F-rank. Looks like the clan is paying serious cash."
"Huh?! So it's not about the dead or missing people, but just about the pipes themselves? Evil fucks!" Vanessa complains. "Also, what does H mean? Explain the mission rankings to me!"
Konrad sighs even louder. "And you call yourself a Hunter! Missions are ranked from H to SS, H being the easiest."
"Huh?! We're potentially facing a lethal threat from armed criminals! How is this the easiest mission available?!" Vanessa wonders.
"I have to agree with her," Eren says, looking confused. "This seems wrong on so many levels."
I vaguely remember that dealing with Chimera ants, who were capable of eradicating mankind if left alone, was only a B rank mission. This system is stupid, and trying to make sense of it is equally dumb. The Association just loves downplaying dangers and threats.
"The rankings make no sense, ignore them," Auren says. "Even something I could probably never accomplish on my own in my entire life might just be ranked C or B. Don't think too much about it. The important thing is the reward and the mission itself. Even silly escort or bodyguard jobs we did in Swardani City were also ranked H, despite being laughably easy compared to this one. I also read that acquiring a copy of Greed Island was only initially an H-rank mission, since the game 'only' required money—5.8 billion Jenny. In my honest opinion, something like that should be at least D-rank. So forget the silly ranks and focus on the mission itself."
As the group's car slowly drives out of the city, the streets grow dirtier and more unstable, slowly turning into barely recognizable country roads that are really just trails left by other cars.
Vanessa says, "We should still be driving exactly on top of the pipeline. I can see vague signs that they've dug something here not too long ago."
"Good. If you spot anything out of place, stop immediately," Konrad reminds her.
"Uhm," Eren says, looking worried. "I feel we're a little underprepared.... I don't even have any weapons with me."
"I agree," Auren says, "but we're hunters. For this kind of mission, you don't need to be prepared, nor do you need weapons. If we can't do something this simple, we are simply incompetent. We're not special soldiers or mercenaries; a Hunter only needs his Nen abilities to deal with this kind of task! With our abilities, we should be more than able to deal with whatever comes our way. You're also wearing Neffi's special clothes. That should be plenty. Vanessa, make sure to stop the car way before we reach the target location. I'd rather approach on foot. When we leave, stay behind me and Goreinu."
Finally, using the maps provided, Konrad says, "Okay, that should be close enough. Park the car behind those rocks over there. I'd rather not walk back on foot."
The group exits the vehicle and feels the blistering heat, the sun shining down on the red dirt. Without the shadow of the large buildings the city provides, their surroundings feel way different.
They head toward the small facility built to extract gas in these parts.
Finally, they spot the few buildings and pumps in the distance.
Using a few rocks as cover, they carefully approach before Auren lifts his hand, signaling them to stop.
I'd better make sure there are no snipers around. I, and probably Goreinu as well, might be able to react and predict the bullets and dodge, but the others probably can't.
Auren uses Gyo and scans the buildings and the near surroundings. He spots a small hill and eyes it with suspicion.
"The site is abandoned, nobody is there, I can guarantee it. I would be able to spot Auras," Auren explains, before looking back at the hill.
Goreinu, noticing Auren's focus on the hill, speaks up, "It might be worth going around there, just to make sure. As far as I can see, the site is completely abandoned. It should only take us 10 minutes to detour and approach from the other side."
"What a drag..." Vanessa complains.
"I don't want to be ambushed by snipers!" Eren says, looking pale. "We need to check out the hill!"
"This is serious, Vanessa. Stop crying," Auren orders.
"Let me take the lead," Goreinu says, and heads back before marking a curve towards the hill, the others following him.
Under his lead, taking the small detour, the group quickly approaches the hill from the other side.
As they do, they actually see a few vehicles, including a camper stationed at the bottom of the hill—the side that wasn't visible from their initial direction.
"Vanessa, stay behind if you're not comfortable with what's going to happen next," Auren says, looking at her.
"Who do you think I am? I can deal with murdering terrorists, don't underestimate me!" she responds.
No hesitation... okay.
Auren uses Gyo and spots a few men in the distance. They are carrying guns and wearing uniforms. He counts four sitting around on chairs and another two inside the camper.
"Okay... let's do this then," Auren says. "4 targets outside, 2 inside the camper. There might be more stationed on top of the hill. It's best if we get rid of them silently."
Auren uses Zetsu, his presence vanishing in front of the others, who quickly follow suit.
The group quickly approaches, ready to strike.
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