Chapter 8 Settling Down

"Delivery’s here! Please accept your package!"

Early in the morning, Lin Huang was roused by a sharp, shrill voice and knocking at the door. When he opened it, he found a palm-sized yellow bird standing on the threshold—the source of the earlier call.

This yellow bird was known as a Thousand-Tongue Bird, said to be capable of learning over a thousand languages. Their intelligence matched that of a five or six-year-old child, and once they mastered human speech, they could engage in logical conversations with people. Yet their primary use as couriers wasn’t just due to their language skills; each feather concealed a storage space—some large enough to hold an entire cubic meter of goods.

Seeing the door open, the Thousand-Tongue Bird looked up at Lin Huang. "Good morning, Mr. Lin Huang. Your package has arrived. Please sign for it!"

As it finished speaking, it flapped its wings twice, and several parcels tumbled to the ground. Some were several times larger than the bird itself. With a flick of its head, a receipt appeared in its beak. It flew to Lin Huang’s shoulder and handed him the slip.

Listed on the receipt were all the detailed items of this delivery. Lin Huang glanced over the list, signed his name, and kept the customer’s copy. As he handed the signed receipt back, he also scooped a handful of candies from a small bowl by the door and offered them.

"These are for you."

In this world, sweets were beloved by many monsters, and candy was the Thousand-Tongue Bird’s favorite. Most households kept a few candies on hand to reward the birds when they delivered packages. Knowing he’d be receiving deliveries these days, Lin Huang had prepared a bowl in advance.

"Thank you!" The little bird swept its wing over Lin Huang’s palm, making both the receipt and the candy vanish instantly. It gave Lin Huang a polite nod and flew away.

Lin Huang carried each item into the house. After closing the door, he began to check his inventory.

"One standard Black-Iron grade combat blade."
"One basic military survival knife."
"One basic military canteen."
"One box of armor-piercing explosive rounds (Gray Hawk 17 only), ten in total."
"Ten boxes of bullets, five hundred rounds in all."
"One waterproof rain suit."
"One pair of night-vision goggles."
"One pair of binoculars."
"Two bottles of coagulant."
"One roll of hemostatic bandages."
…

Purchasing all this had nearly drained eighty percent of his savings. The combat blade alone had cost him ten thousand credits. The canteen, made from the stomach pouch of a creature called a Sand Rat, was a spatial compression device capable of holding a ton of liquid, and had cost eight thousand credits. The box of armor-piercing explosive rounds, at a thousand credits for two, had set him back five thousand for the box. The rest of the miscellaneous supplies added another two thousand credits.

This was the largest expenditure Lin Huang had made since coming to this world, but he believed it worthwhile. These supplies, he thought, might prove useful in the Reserve Hunter Assessment.

The content of the Reserve Hunter Assessment changed every time, but the final stage always included a wilderness survival test. Lin Huang had purchased these items in preparation for that last ordeal.

"That was quick. I only placed the order yesterday, and everything’s already here this morning. When I got up, I was still wondering whether to change the delivery address because of the upcoming home renovation. Seems there’s no need," he mused, stowing everything in his storage space.

Registration for the Reserve Hunter Assessment was done on the Hunter Association’s website via Mindnet, but the test itself was held at a medium-sized stronghold. Each such stronghold hosted the assessment once a month. The nearest to Lin Huang was Stronghold 7C87, with the next exam a week away. It only took about two hours to reach by Wind Roc, so he had plenty of time to prepare.

As Lin Huang was contemplating what else he needed to do, a fresh round of knocking came from the door.

He went to answer it, a little surprised. Outside stood a middle-aged man in a suit, surrounded by a group of workers in uniform.

The suited man stepped forward, shaking Lin Huang’s hand with a particularly attentive smile. "Mr. Lin Huang, we received a renovation order from the Alliance Government yesterday. We’re here today to begin repairs on your home. If you have any preferences or requests, please let us know."

"I don’t have any special requests—as long as the scars on the walls and floors are covered up," Lin Huang replied. He hadn’t expected such efficiency. The afternoon before, just as he was finishing dinner, he’d received the Alliance’s approval notice, and now, bright and early, the crew had already arrived.

"In that case, we’ll do our utmost!" The middle-aged man nodded, handing Lin Huang a keycard. "Renovations will take about five days, no more than that. The room we’ve arranged for you is booked for five nights."

"Thank you," Lin Huang said, accepting the card. Glancing at the hotel name, he was momentarily stunned. The card read "Tranquil Residence"—the most luxurious hotel in the entire stronghold. Even the most basic room cost at least a thousand credits per night, on par with hotels in the largest strongholds. He shrugged it off, assuming the Alliance provided such accommodations for all residents during renovations.

"For the next few days, leave everything here to us. If any packages arrive, we’ll forward them to your hotel. Should you have valuables at home, you can pack them now. We’ll wait until you finish," the suited man reminded him.

"Valuables? None," Lin Huang replied with a shake of his head. "I’ll just grab the toiletries my sister and I need. You can go in."

"No rush—please get your things first," the man insisted.

Seeing he wouldn’t be swayed, Lin Huang went upstairs for their toiletries. Once he was sure he hadn’t forgotten anything, he came back down.

"All right, I’ll leave this to you. I’m heading to the hotel," he said, handing the man a slip of paper. "This is the front door code. The doors are unlocked, but the key is in the cabinet above the sink in the second-floor washroom if you need it."

The man accepted the note with a nod. "Don’t worry—we’ll take care of everything."

Stronghold 7D101 wasn’t large, with only three or four main streets. The street where Lin Huang lived—Street 101—represented the founders’ hopes that, one day, the stronghold would grow to over a hundred streets and become a Class B metropolis.

A ten-minute walk brought Lin Huang to Tranquil Residence. The courtyard before the entrance was arranged in an elegant, Eastern style, which lifted his spirits. Standing at the gate, he snapped a photo of the hotel and sent it to his sister, Lin Xin, with a message: "Home renovations have started. We’ll stay here for the next five days—room 302. Come straight here after school."

"Brother, you’re not tricking me, are you?!" Lin Xin replied almost immediately.

She knew the location well—her route to school often took her past Tranquil Residence, and she sometimes detoured just to take pictures of the flowers and plants. She’d always been curious what the hotel’s rooms looked like, so upon receiving her brother’s message, she thought he was joking.

Lin Huang made no effort to explain. Instead, he sent her photos of both sides of the room card.

What he didn’t know was that, at the very moment he entered Tranquil Residence, a gaze within the hotel had already fixed upon him.

"Heh, an interesting little fellow has arrived..."