Entering the venue for the wish mission, Bai Ye was slightly surprised.
When Bai Ye had been looking at the light screen, he had thought that the venue for this wish mission should be a scene of modern civilization, given the tall buildings with a modern feel.
However, upon entering, Bai Ye discovered numerous suspended bridges in the air. Despite lacking supporting pillars, they remained aloft.
In addition, there were many aircraft flying through the sky, and the cars on the ground were filled with a sense of technology. By the roadside, some trash can robots would automatically move towards people needing to discard trash, or pick up litter from the ground and deposit it into their own bodies.
Bai Ye did not rush into action but first opened the light screen to take a look.
As expected, this was an era of future technology.
However, it was in its early stages.
Simply put, it was a phase where modern civilization was transitioning into future technological civilization. Some future technological devices and techniques were already present, but the gap in technological level compared to modern civilization was not very large.
Robots and the like had already been put into use, but they were limited to simple job positions such as garbage robots and cleaning robots, or semi-robots.
For example, construction robots were present on construction sites, but they could not completely replace manual labor and still required human monitoring and a certain degree of operation.
In addition to this background, there existed a profession called Hunters in this world.
Hunters were also known as bounty hunters. Their job was to capture fugitives and bring them to justice, for which they would receive a reward. They possessed weapons permits and were authorized to use weapons, with a certain degree of immunity from prosecution for killing.
Under normal circumstances, Hunters were only allowed to apprehend criminals, not kill them. However, if there was a threat to life, a Hunter could shoot the target.
Of course, their portable pursuit recording devices had to document the moment they were subjected to a life threat. Without video evidence, killing someone was still a crime, considered a high-level permit for legitimate self-defense.
Currently, Bai Ye and the other eight participants were the nine most wanted criminals in this city, with bounties high enough for any Hunter to live a life of luxury without working for generations.
Therefore, every Hunter in this city wanted to apprehend the nine of them.
After reviewing this information, Bai Ye felt that this wish mission was relatively less brutal and bloody.
Compared to the simple and direct "only one left to survive" rule of the Twelve Great Wars, a city-wide pursuit allowed for survival even without mission rewards, similar to the Holy Grail War.
However, the degree of brutality and slaughter was higher than the Holy Grail War.
This was because the ultimate goal of the Holy Grail War was to obtain the Holy Grail, not to kill. Theoretically, it was possible for the wish mission to end without anyone dying.
A city-wide pursuit was definitely not like that. The best-case scenario was that only one person would die, and after nine days, the person who successfully apprehended them would win.
The worst-case scenario was that after nine days, no one had completed the pursuit. In that case, a final battle would be triggered, and the last one standing among the nine would be the victor.
Bai Ye mused as he walked along the street, pulling up his collar and glancing around before entering a clothing store.
Moments later, screams echoed from within the clothing store, and customers continuously fled the premises.
Meanwhile, Bai Ye quickly broke through the back door and grabbed a scarf from inside, tying it over his face.
This was incredibly awkward. Bai Ye had no intention of robbing the clothing store. He simply thought that, being a wanted criminal, it was unwise to walk around on the street openly, and he wanted something to conceal his face.
However, as soon as he entered, the store's large screen was playing the profiles of wanted criminals, with his own face prominently displayed.
Then, he found himself staring at the sales assistant at the door for half a minute, after which she almost sent him away with her operatic soprano.
Exiting the alley, Bai Ye quickly moved towards the side.
As he continued forward, Bai Ye realized his predicament, or rather, the predicament of all nine participants was not good.
The screens and billboards by the roadside were continuously broadcasting news about the nine wanted criminals.
The reason was...
The Villain Pursuit Convention in the wish mission!
This was an annual event in the city, where a large number of Hunters would pursue the nine most wanted criminals, who had been selected for their high bounties.
The already substantial bounties would be directly doubled during the Villain Pursuit Convention, naturally driving the Hunters into a frenzy.
Simultaneously, the entire city would broadcast information about the wanted criminals, providing assistance to the Hunters.
"Damn it!"
Upon learning of this situation, Bai Ye could not help but curse.
Let alone in this life, even in his past lives, the core of the wish missions Bai Ye had participated in was the competition among the chosen ones. This was the first time the chosen ones hadn't fought among themselves and might have to deal with the natives first.
At this moment...
Tuk, tuk, tuk, tuk, tuk...
A continuous burst of gunfire suddenly erupted. Bai Ye instinctively ducked, a somersault, and rolled behind a car for cover.
"Are you kidding me? They're here too fast!"
Although he had been exposed, being pursued by Hunters right after leaving a clothing store, this efficiency was a bit too outrageous.
But after the gunfire, Bai Ye found that there was no further movement.
This made Bai Ye somewhat puzzled. He couldn't help but peek out from behind the car and walk towards the corner where the gunfire had come from.
As Bai Ye reached the corner, a figure suddenly darted out.
Bang!
"My nose!"
Bai Ye and the other person clutched their faces simultaneously, involuntarily stepping back. Then, they looked up.
"Damn it!" The figure who darted out was stunned and cursed, "It's you again!"
Bai Ye turned his head and saw that it was none other than Li Jiayi!
The next moment, Li Jiayi swept a leg towards Bai Ye. Bai Ye quickly raised his arm to block.
Bang!
Their collision sent a jolt through Li Jiayi's hand, followed by a burst of bright white light.
Bai Ye felt a sharp sting in his eyes, and then his vision went black.
Bai Ye cursed internally, a blinding status effect!
In the darkness, Bai Ye felt a blow to his chest and was sent flying backward, crashing heavily into a car on the side, denting it.
The blinding effect did not last long, and Bai Ye quickly regained his vision. He saw Li Jiayi launching a ferocious knee strike towards him.
Bang!
Bai Ye crossed his arms, blocking the blow again.
"Stop hitting me, you bastard," Bai Ye cursed. "Are you after me? Go after Number One!"
"How did you know I was Number Two?" Li Jiayi was stunned, then became even more enraged, roaring at Bai Ye, "Was it you, you bastard, who initiated the wish mission? Pay me back my Zouwu!"