At his doorstep, Su Aoxue scratched his hair and took a hair tie he had “borrowed” from his sister, casually tying his hair into a messy bun.
It looked quite delicate, and his movements were unexpectedly skilled.
This was primarily because Su Aoxue had once perfected these techniques by practicing on his younger sister’s hair.
However, Su Aoxue never imagined there would come a day when he would use those skills on himself.
‘I’ll cut my hair after I’ve joined a guild.’
Su Aoxue thought to himself, rubbing his chin.
He wasn’t sure if his hair would return to its original state after he deactivated his Witch Form and changed back, so he decided to wait and see.
After walking a significant distance from his apartment building, Su Aoxue ducked into a narrow alley.
He pulled a black cloak from his small bag and draped it over his shoulders.
When he emerged, Su Aoxue had once again transformed into the Witch.
“Um… once I have some money, I should… buy some feminine products?” she muttered. ‘Otherwise, the empty feeling inside these clothes is just too weird.’
She rubbed her chest and immediately slapped her cheeks. “Anyway, it’s just underwear, not a skirt or anything.”
Her heart was filled with contradiction. The price of obtaining power was becoming a woman, yet she desperately needed that strength to earn money and survive.
But having lived as a man for his entire life, suddenly transitioning to a female identity was quite the leap… simply put, she needed time to adapt to this new persona.
Fortunately, she could still change back. Otherwise, she really wouldn’t know what to do.
‘Using the Witch’s power is only temporary. Once my true self grows, I won’t need to use it. I can live my life as myself!’
‘Yes, exactly.’
Shortly after, Su Aoxue sat by the roadside in her black cloak, clutching her phone as she browsed the web for information on the Base City’s guilds.
However, as she felt the sensation of her chest pressing against her thighs while crouching, her face couldn’t help but flush red.
‘It’s a novel experience… come to think of it, my mind has been so occupied with making money that I never even thought about getting a girlfriend. I’ve never even held a girl’s hand, and now I’ve turned into one myself…’
Though she felt a bit uneasy, she quickly regained her composure. After entering the Witch Form, a mysterious power kept her mind calm and clear at all times.
‘The Jiuyang Guild is the largest in the Base City and one of the top organizations around. A guild that large must have very strict personnel management, right?’
‘This one won’t work. Next… hiss, this one won’t work either. It requires real-name registration. I don’t have an identity in this form!’
‘This one… and this one… damn it, they all seem to require real-name registration!’
‘I remember the requirements for these guilds weren’t that strict before.’
‘When did they change the rules?’
Su Aoxue checked the dates when these guilds had posted their notices.
To her surprise, she found that the real-name registration requirements had been implemented within the last six months.
‘Strange, did something happen in the last six months?’
Su Aoxue frowned. Her intuition told her that this matter was not simple.
Due to the Gray Mist affecting signal transmission, the resources required for one Base City to contact another were immense.
Consequently, unless there was an emergency, there was almost no communication between cities. This also meant that the databases of each Base City were not interconnected.
If a person fled to this Base City as a refugee, as long as they had strength, they could usually go straight to a guild to earn quick money and rebuild their lives.
Because of this, guild membership requirements generally didn’t mandate real-name registration — with the exception of official government organizations.
To obtain a resident identity, one had to live in the city for at least six months, and the locations where one could live were restricted.
‘Tch, I haven’t heard a single bit of news about this. Is this the sorrow of a small fry…?’
Anyone capable of surviving a journey to another Base City was bound to have some strength. These people were valuable labor!
Su Aoxue sighed helplessly.
Just as she was beginning to think her only option was to find a way to sneak out of the city, she suddenly found a few comments at the bottom of a small guild’s website.
[Forming a team to hunt Gray Fog Creatures outside the city. Must have strength.]
“Hmm?”
This appeared to be a private recruitment post, and it caught Su Aoxue’s attention.
To leave the city, one only needed an exit permit.
As long as at least one person in the group had one, they could pass through. Therefore…
‘Try it?’
With that thought, Su Aoxue added the user as a friend.
The other party accepted almost instantly. Only a few seconds after Su Aoxue sent the request, it was approved.
It seemed they were still short on people.
“Are you here to form a team to hunt Gray Fog Creatures?”
“What’s your strength? Do you have an entry permit or identification?”
Su Aoxue watched the two messages pop up, her brow furrowing.
‘Something’s wrong.’
‘An entry permit and identification?’
‘Currently, only guilds and official organizations can issue entry permits.’
‘Hiss… I recall that guilds usually accept missions as a collective, and a squad completes them together.’
‘This kind of private team…’
‘This guy… I see. Joining his team comes with extra requirements, doesn’t it!’
Realizing this, Su Aoxue sent a message: “I don’t have an entry permit or identification.”
“But I’m not weak. I’m a B-rank Martial Artist, and I can even handle an A-rank Warrior.”
Knowing the other party might try to exploit her, Su Aoxue decisively stated her advantages.
In her view, anyone trying to squeeze money out of people without identification probably wouldn’t have very high strength themselves.
Sure enough, after seeing Su Aoxue’s message, the other party replied with skepticism.
“An A-rank Warrior? I hope you aren’t bragging. I need to verify your strength.”
“We’ll talk in person.”
Following that was a series of coordinates.
‘Oh? Seems a bit timid.’
After seeing those two messages, Su Aoxue thought to herself, ‘Everything’s set!’
‘This place is a bit remote. It’s an abandoned area.’
A long time later…
‘Is it a warehouse?’
Following the address provided, Su Aoxue arrived at an old, dilapidated warehouse.
It looked like someone had repaired it recently. There were many fresh footprints on the ground.
‘It looks like they aren’t very rich. I hope the pay is decent,’ Su Aoxue thought, rubbing her chin.
Right now, she only wanted to make money. She needed to earn as much as possible!
She wasn’t certain if she could defeat an Elite-level monster alone to obtain a heart.
To be prepared for any outcome, Su Aoxue was determined to work herself to the bone over the remaining month to leave money for her family.
Her only hope was that no harm would come to them.
Su Aoxue stood before the rusted iron gate. Instead of knocking, she sent a message.
“Hello, I’ve arrived at the warehouse you mentioned. Open the door.”
Not long after the message was sent, footsteps echoed from behind the gate.
Then, the rusted iron gate creaked open with a harsh, grating sound.
“Are you the one who messaged me?”
The person who opened the door was a serious-looking man, nearly 6 feet tall, with a scar running along the left side of his chin.
However, when the Scarred Man saw Su Aoxue wearing a cloak that obscured her face, a look of vigilance appeared on his face.
His hand instinctively moved toward the dagger at his waist.
“That’s right,” a calm voice replied. Su Aoxue spoke with cold indifference, a habit she adopted when facing strangers.
Hearing her voice, the Scarred Man froze. “A girl?”
His hand, which had been reaching for the dagger, relaxed slightly.
“Come in. We’ll perform the strength test now. I want to see if you really have the strength of a B-rank Martial Artist.”
“I hope you aren’t lying to me.”
The Scarred Man gave Su Aoxue a cold look and stepped back, making room for her.
‘He seems wary of me. Looks like he’s an old veteran,’ Su Aoxue noted, making her own guess.
He was wary of her, but she was just as wary of him.