Ordinary observers in fast time travel

Chapter 1094 Black Zone
The idea of ​​finding mineral pigments flashed through Shi Jia's mind, but he quickly dismissed it.

First of all, he knows absolutely nothing about mineral pigments, and secondly, he doesn't even know where to find them. Is he supposed to find them in his dreams?
After making a self-deprecating remark, Shi Jia returned home listlessly, not even going to her favorite noodle shop.

The noodle shop owner, who had been waiting all night without seeing Shi Jia, was also a little puzzled. Why didn't the young man come today?
The young man, who had been nagged by his boss all night, was now standing in front of the city gate leading from the red zone to the black zone, carrying a bulging package on his back, waiting in line for the gatekeepers to let him through.

Yes, Shi Jia finally found a job. He found out from the flyer that was slapped in his face yesterday.

Hunt down the murky beasts in the Black Zone!

As previously mentioned, the ocean is a dark zone, the habitat of turbid beasts. In fact, the dark zone is not limited to the ocean; the area extending 50 kilometers inland from the coastline also falls within the dark zone.

This place is haunted by wicked beasts and rife with foul air. Not to mention ordinary people, even a regular painter who stays here for too long may have their body corrupted, their spiritual energy reduced, and they may end up as an ordinary person.

Therefore, the Black Zone can be said to be a place that ordinary people will never set foot in their lifetime.

But that's under normal circumstances. In reality, ordinary people are often seen on the edge of the Black Zone. There are even organizations that specifically recruit ordinary people to hunt low-level turbid beasts. Simple gathering activities are also mostly done by ordinary people.

And now, Shi Jia has encountered such an organization.

The other party offered a price that Shi Jia couldn't refuse. It was a three-day trip with a basic salary of six hundred. If he participated in hunting Turbid Beasts, he would receive a reward of one hundred per beast; of course, if he hunted a Turbid Beast independently, he would receive a direct reward of one thousand yuan.

Soon, Shi Jia passed the inspection, walked out of the long corridor, and entered the black zone.

The air was a bit dry. Shi Jia took a breath and felt a burning sensation in her nose and even her lungs, as if she had inhaled a chili pepper.

"Cough cough!" Shi Jia coughed.

Wang Quan, who was leading the team, frowned upon seeing this. "Newcomer, put on your mask."

Upon hearing this, Shi Jia quickly put on a mask. The burning sensation in her lungs hadn't disappeared, but at least the continuous coughing had stopped.

"Alright, everyone's out. Get in the car," Wang Quan said, looking around.

Shi Jia followed everyone else onto the bus. Because she was the last one to get on, she could only sit in an aisle seat.

"First time here?"

Shi Jia looked in the direction of the voice and saw a middle-aged woman sitting next to him. She had a rather aggressive look and a bandit-like aura about her.

"Yes, that's right." Shi Jia nodded and smiled at her. He hadn't noticed when he got on the bus and subconsciously found a seat next to a woman.

"Tch." The woman chuckled and turned her face back to look out the window.

This puzzled Shi Jia. Wasn't she just trying to talk to her?
The atmosphere in the car was somewhat silent and tense, giving Shi Jia the feeling that everyone in the car was going out to their deaths.

Shi Jia's heart was pounding, and she felt uneasy. She tried to hold back, but couldn't help asking, "Excuse me, sister, what precautions should we take when going hunting?"

Lan Yu raised an eyebrow, turned to look at Shi Jia, sized him up, a look of disdain flashing in her eyes, and scoffed, "Are you sure you're asking me?"

Shi Jia blinked. If she wasn't asking her, who was she asking? They were the only women in the car. Oh, she forgot, she was a man now.

"Well, sister, this is my first time in the Black Zone. I'm afraid I might do something wrong and affect everyone," Shi Jia said nervously. Actually, she was mainly worried that she would die here.

After all, Sun Yu would rather starve to death than leave the red zone, so I can't very well kill him in the black zone.

Lan Yu, however, seemed to see right through him and said, "Afraid of death?"

Shi Jia's body stiffened.

Lan Yu curled the corners of her lips, "If you're afraid of dying, don't come!"

Shi Jia took a deep breath. This sister's words were truly venomous. "I only came because I'm afraid of dying." After saying that, Shi Jia felt everyone in the car looking at him. He tugged at the corners of his mouth and suddenly felt less nervous.

Lan Yu was somewhat surprised. "That's interesting. Tell me about it."

"I just don't have money, there's nothing wrong with that." Shi Jia then explained her situation. No one laughed at her; aside from a few individuals, who in the car wasn't after money?

Otherwise, who would risk their life to come to a place like this?

Although life in the red zone is tough, finding a job to support oneself is not difficult. There is really no need to take the risk.

Lan Yu withdrew her gaze, offered no comment, and continued looking out the window.

Shi Jia felt a little uncomfortable. Was this person teasing him? He took a deep breath, "Sister..."

"Don't make a fuss. Just stick with the others and don't wander off, or you'll die easily," Lan Yu said calmly.

Just as Shi Jia was feeling down, they arrived at their destination. The team leader, Wang Quan, called for everyone to get off the bus.

"Today's target is the Gray-eared Rabbit, a low-grade Red-level beast. It attacks with earth spikes and has a very fast jumping speed. You'd better work in groups of several to capture it," Wang Quan said.

The group quickly formed teams, and soon only Shi Jia, Lan Yu, and Wang Quan were left standing alone, while the others had already huddled together.

Shi Jia felt a little awkward again. "Captain Wang, who should I team up with?"

Wang Quan frowned. His hunting team hadn't had any new members for a long time, and the one he finally got was so weak that he almost wanted to give up on him.

"You, you can be in the same team as Chen Dashan and the others," Wang Quan said, pointing to the only three-person team.

"Captain Wang, no, let him go to another team." Chen Dashan and the other two immediately objected. "Datou, Xiaojun, and I work well together. If another person comes in, it will only slow down our hunting speed."

The others waved their hands, saying, "Captain Wang, we have enough people in our team. Adding one more person won't make a difference."

"Yes, the young man is here to make money. If he comes with us, he won't be able to participate in the hunting, and it won't be fair to give him a share of the profits."

After going around the circle, none of the eight teams were willing to accept Shi Jia.

Hearing each rejection, Shi Jia was first embarrassed, then felt ashamed, and finally even considered leaving.

But leaving is impossible.

Shi Jia took a deep breath. "Captain Wang, do you want me to have my own team?"

Wang Quan frowned. A team all by himself? Could he even hunt gray-eared rabbits on his own? Although he was willing to recruit ordinary people into the hunting team, he wasn't one to be taken advantage of and wouldn't pay wages to people who hadn't done anything.

"If that doesn't work, Wang Quan, why don't you take the person with you?" Lan Yu suddenly said.

"Okay, you can have your own team then." He didn't want to take on newbies, especially those he had no connection with. "But let's get this straight, if you can't even hunt a single gray-eared rabbit, the agreed-upon 600 yuan is gone."

Shi Jia's breath hitched upon hearing this, but she forced a smile and said, "Okay!"

Wang Quan frowned. "Now that the teams are formed, let's begin." He glanced at Lan Yu. "Lan Yu and I will ensure safety within a three-kilometer radius. Outside that area, you'll have to be careful on your own."

It turns out that Wang Quan and Lan Yu are both spirit martial artists. They are the kind of people with high affinity for spirits but no talent for painting.

"Yes!"

Shi Jia took a deep breath and went to Wang Quan to collect a set of tools. These included a game bag, a rope, a crossbow with 10 arrows, and, oh, a map showing the distribution of gray-eared rabbits.

After collecting his tools, he plunged into the jungle.