The next day started routinely; Jayden was preparing breakfast while Clare was still sleeping. After finishing their meal, they went to the Pearl. The place was practically empty, as usual at this time. Only four middle-aged men sat at one of the tables, eating and drinking. From what Jayden noticed, these guys barely left the Pearl. Terry gave Clare orange juice and Jayden a tiny carton of tomato juice that contained blood. Vincent provided Jayden with cartons of these to meet his daily blood requirement. Theoretically, he didn't have to drink blood every day, but if he didn't, the "hunger" would start to control him. Ordinary food would not be able to satisfy him. Jayden grimaced; drinking blood didn't come easily to him, but he had no choice.
"Clare, have you seen this latest assignment?" Terry sat next to her at the bar.
"I'd have to be blind not to notice it. Everyone's talking about it." Clare took her phone out of her pocket, pointing to something on it. "All this fuss about a measly million credits? I don't know what he's thinking," she replied.
"There must be a catch there since he promoted it so much." Terry read carefully from her phone. Jayden felt a little strange, not knowing what they were talking about. He slowly approached them, wanting to know more. Clare smiled at him with interest, noticing that the boy wanted to ask something, but lacked the courage.
"Look." She handed him the phone. "Here's my source of information."
"Hunter's Cave?" Jayden replied uncertainly. The name sounded pathetic, but he preferred not to comment on it aloud. It looked a bit like some social networking site but without profile photos. Instead, there was some information about the goal, location, and reward. He didn't understand any of it.
"Oh yeah, you didn't tell him," Terry interjected. "Clare is a Bounty Hunter." Jayden grimaced. As far as he knew, it was a profession for those who had failed in life and couldn't find anything better. They were usually criminals or losers. Hunters had a poor reputation among humans.
"Why do you look so weird?" The girl looked at him reprimandingly. "I don't know what they told you, but not all Hunters are idiots or thieves."
"On the contrary. The government deliberately made such propaganda to keep the Hunters in the shadows. Most of them belong to the Gray district. And there are plenty of madmen from the Brown and Green districts, that's a fact," Terry replied confidently, straightening his hair. The young man smiled slightly, not wanting to hear about it anymore. "And the Cave is something like a portal for Hunters, where they get information about rewards, tasks, and other hunters." The bartender smiled. He was very committed to this topic; his eyes were shining.
"Are you a Hunter too?" Jayden asked, seeing the way he talked. Terry shook his head no.
"The Pearl is my life." He laughed loudly. "Besides, can you see me as a Hunter?" The boy smiled widely, almost laughing. "By the way, you're a Hunter too."
Jayden was speechless for a long moment, not sure if she was joking with him or not. "What?" He laughed nervously. "What? Are you kidding?"
"How else would you have a new identity?" Clare interjected, "That's the quickest way. Actually...I guess I'll have to show you how it works."
“Well, that would be appropriate,” Terry added sarcastically. She just scolded him with her eyes.
"Anything else I should know? Maybe I'm a dragon?" Jayden tried to be funny. He tried.
"There" Clare took out her second phone. "It looks like a phone, but it's not. Well, it is but not only. It's a hunter's communicator, so no, you can't order food from it. However, it's just as fancy, you have access to a network that is only for Hunters."
"Think about it as a cool phone only for the 'chosen ones'," Terry added with a smile. "Every Hunter must have this with them. Without it, you cannot access quests or enter various other events. Not to mention that for us, it is much safer than a normal phone. Believe me."
"That's why you have to have it with you at all times, okay?" She gave Jayden his phone, turned it on, and set it up. "On the computer, you can also enter and check what's going on in the Cave, but you still have to verify everything over the phone. This is an additional form of verification. Plus, it's safe. We can communicate using it."
"The Hunter's Cave..." Jayden repeated quietly.
"Yeah. Stupid name, but Johnny came up with it." Clare rolled her eyes.
"And as we know, you can't laugh at Johnny's ideas." Terry winked at him. "The guy is smart, but with names... he's really bad at it." “Okay, okay, I admit, you're right. the name is just bad,” Terry sighed when he saw her grimace.
"Who's Johnny?"
"Aah, Johnny King, boss of all bosses." Terry laughed. "He is the boss and the one who invented the Hunters. Felix 'Taxi Driver' Speedwagon, is his right-hand man. Or just his driver."
"You said it, Terry," Clare interjected. She looked at the blonde. "See, Jayden, you have to remember this. Johnny is strong, very freaking strong. An airbender. I don't recommend messing with him. He's got a goofy nature, but he's one of the most powerful and influential people in the world. You piss him off, he'll kill you. Just like that "
"Uuuuu, that gives me chills," Terry added with a smile. "You describe him like he's some kind of monster, but he's not. He's just a businessman. And as you know, sometimes business can be bloody.
"And you have the example of a VIP from the Platinum District." Jayden watched the conversation and noticed that Terry and Clare liked to tease each other, but at the same time they were very similar. A little in looks but more in character "Johnny's a son of a bitch, Terry, and you know it too. A friendly son of a bitch, but still a son of a bitch"
"You're exaggerating," the bartender looked at the young man, "Don't listen to her. Just remember that Johnny is a VIP, the boss, etc. etc. In general, you have to obey him. All tasks are accepted and posted by him. He also sets the ratings and rewards for the tasks. He and his management, that is. He wouldn't be able to handle it all on his own. But you can ignore them. Except maybe Felix." Terry served smaller snacks on the counter, which was typical of him. There always had to be food, especially during a discussion like this.
"Also, enough of the introduction about Hunters. Read in the Cave, there is information about practically everything, not only about hunters but also about other Night Creatures. So there's a lot of reading ahead of you."
"Isn't there any summary?"
"Haha! I can do it for you, but believe me, it's better if you read and then I'll answer some questions?" Terry said with a smile. Jayden liked him, he radiated such warmth and kindness. His eyes were sincere. Unlike Clare. Her eyes were definitely hiding a secret. She was smiling, but it wasn't visible in her eyes. It was cold. Terry, on the other hand, smiles a lot and you can see the joy on his whole face.
“Are Hunters always Night Creatures?”
“No” the bartender started to answer “Actually anyone can be but somehow it turned out that a lot of people among the Hunters are Night Creatures”
"It didn't 'just turned out like that', you know why," the brunette laughed lightly, although her voice had a certain bitterness to it, "at first glance - easy money and you can hide from the authorities." The older man just nodded.
“What about you, Clare? Why did you become a Hunter?” the vampire had already finished his drink and started slowly eating his snacks. “For the 'easy money' too? they both laughed at the question.
“Do you think that low of me?” the girl pretended to be offended, which made the boy a little nervous "No, I..." she paused for a moment to think about what she wanted to say next "I had a choice - either to become a Hunter or to be a waitress at his place" She pointed at Terry, who looked back at her, trying to look sad . But it came out more comic than sad. The teenager laughed lightly, having a hard time imagining her as a waitress.
“Even Jayden is laughing. You see what choice I had."
“Okay, okay, I admit, you're right. The choice was poor,” Terry sighed.
"Okay. Thanks for explaining. I'll go upstairs and read the rest," Jayden replied, trying to sound natural and nice. He said goodbye to them and went upstairs to his apartment.
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