Gourmet Hunter - Chapter 115 (Patreon)

Chapter 115: Setting Out as a Team

The most dreaded thing is when the air suddenly becomes quiet...

Tonpa still had a lot to add about the horrors of the Amarlo Jungle to convince Luo and Buhara of the importance of having a teammate familiar with the terrain.

However, he was brutally shut down by Buhara after just a brief attempt.

He stood stiffly, facing Buhara, who didn't seem to be joking, and showed an awkward smile.

Language was one of his weapons, but who would have thought he'd encounter such a bizarre character. The mention of the exotic beasts alone was enough to kill his appetite, wasn't it?

"If it's not poisonous, it should be edible, but whether it's tasty or not, only trying it will tell," Luo said with a smile, coming to Tonpa's defense against Buhara's doubts.

"The terrestrial spider crab, I'm not sure if it's a spider or a crab," Buhara clicked his tongue, swallowing his saliva, "I think the crab would taste better."

Luo looked calmly at Tonpa, who didn't know how to continue the conversation, and said lightly, "I suppose Mr. Tonpa would know better."

Hearing Luo's words, Buhara immediately turned to Tonpa, who forced a smile and nodded, saying, "I know a bit. The terrestrial spider crab is a land crab, but it looks very much like a spider, hence its name."

This species is among the more dangerous in the Amarlo Jungle because its body is taller than the bamboo. Its eight legs resemble bamboo sticks, making it easy for an unwary person to step on it and end up skewered.

Tonpa chose not to mention this detail.

"It is a crab," Buhara's mouth was practically watering.

Seeing Buhara's burgeoning appetite, Luo smiled wryly, unwilling to waste more time, and said, "Alright, let's take a stroll through the village first."

With that, he decisively bid farewell to Tonpa.

Despite Tonpa's apparent familiarity with the Amarlo Jungle, Luo was well aware of Tonpa's identity and intentions and thus had no interest in interacting too much with him.

"Wait."

As Luo and Buhara turned to leave so decisively, Tonpa was initially stunned, then quickly became anxious and called out to them.

Luo and Buhara stopped and turned back to look at him.

"Don't you think the Amarlo Jungle is very dangerous? Having an extra person means less danger, and I'm quite familiar with the Amarlo Jungle. How about we team up?"

Tonpa jogged a few steps to close the distance with Luo, putting on a friendly face, but internally he was frustrated, thinking these two were completely unpredictable.

Buhara looked at Luo, feeling that Tonpa did seem to know a fair bit about the Amarlo Jungle. Teaming up with Tonpa could be beneficial in identifying edible creatures along the way.

He saw this as a harmless choice, but if Luo disagreed, he would not insist.

"Mr. Tonpa, are you serious?"

Facing Tonpa's seemingly benevolent gaze, Luo suddenly showed a warm smile.

Truthfully, Tonpa left a strong impression on him. Having participated in over thirty Hunter Exams without any major injuries showed that Tonpa was adept at avoiding danger.

To put it nicely, he had an excellent sense of crisis, a talent that should not be overlooked. If Tonpa were to learn Nen abilities, he could potentially become a formidable Nen user, possibly developing unique Nen powers.

While that was the thought, Luo had no real expectations, and even if there were a need for a team in the future, Tonpa wouldn't be considered.

Now, with Tonpa persistently bothering them, Luo wondered if he should just eliminate the nuisance once and for all.

For some reason, Luo's genuinely pleasing smile inexplicably sent a chill down Tonpa's spine, almost causing him to shiver.

This reaction perplexed him; even a smile hiding a blade shouldn't feel like this. So, what could be the reason...

Fortunately, he was mentally resilient, maintaining his composure and quickly nodding, "Of course, I'm serious. Having more people means we can look out for each other."

"Hmm..."

Luo pondered for a moment, then shrugged, saying, "Seeing how eager you are, it would be rude of me to refuse. Alright, you're in."

"Thank you, thank you," Tonpa quickly expressed his gratitude, a natural response after receiving approval. However, he then felt something was amiss.

This wasn't how it was supposed to go.

Wasn't he supposed to boast first, making the newcomers realize his importance, and then have them come to him, begging to join?

Instead, it turned into him desperately attaching himself to them, and the young man agreeing reluctantly out of courtesy?

And that warm smile that sent chills

down his spine, everything felt off.

Suddenly, Tonpa had a faint feeling he might have made the worst decision in his life.

"Mr. Tonpa, we're leaving now."

Luo and Buhara, having walked a few dozen meters, saw Tonpa still standing there and reminded him.

"Coming, coming."

Tonpa suppressed the strange feeling inside him and followed with his bag in hand.

Just two newcomers, and not very old at that, how could he not handle them?

With more than twenty attempts at the Hunter Exam under his belt, Tonpa forcibly bolstered his confidence, completely extinguishing the weird feeling Luo had stirred within him.

The trio began wandering around the village.

The village was named Amarlo, and it seemed all the residents' names began with "Amarlo," though their surnames were unclear.

Whenever they passed houses with many dried goods hanging outside, Luo would brazenly visit, mainly interested in these goods.

After shamelessly inquiring, they exchanged some pearls they had brought with them for some dried wild boar meat and two types of processed spices from the villagers of Amarlo.

Tonpa just followed obediently, not daring to rush them, as they covered the entire village.

"Alright, we can go now."

Having acquired their loot, Luo was satisfied. The dried wild boar meat was secondary; obtaining two unique local spices was the real win.

After getting the dried wild boar meat, Buhara didn't stop munching, savoring the unique flavor. Though the texture was poor—both astringent and hard to bite through—he was very pleased.

Just as the trio was about to leave the village, a young, attractive woman chewing gum approached them directly.

"Forming a team?"

She blurted out the question.

Luo and Buhara instinctively looked at Tonpa, who quickly shook his head, indicating he had no connection to her.

"Are you forming a team or not? How many of you?"

Seeing that the trio didn't immediately respond, the woman frowned, her tone far from gentle or tender.

While Luo, Buhara, and Tonpa were wandering through the village, a few groups of examinees had arrived, and this woman was one of them.

Buhara and Tonpa looked to Luo, and their behavior immediately drew the woman's attention to him.

Luo sized up the woman. She was quite pretty, especially her eyes, which were very pleasing to look at. However, her gum-chewing and the tone of her voice involuntarily tagged her with a "tough girl" image.

She seemed to be dressed like an archaeologist, even wearing a rather odd-looking safety helmet.

"No, thank you."

Luo didn't take long to refuse.

"Oh."

Seeing Luo's refusal, the woman left without hesitation, heading towards another group walking towards the village entrance.

Her straightforwardness and lack of persistence were somewhat surprising to Luo.

He glanced back at the woman, then turned away, leading the way out of the village, with Buhara and Tonpa following.

"That woman might have been heading for the City of Gold," Tonpa said after they had left the village.

"The City of Gold?"... For readers looking for more, you can search "XYZ" to find this site immediately.

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