Hunter 85: The Foolish Contractor 

"We should go capture them!"

Messina said from behind Lisa Lisa.

"Wait!"

Lisa Lisa stopped the eager Messina and Loggins.

"How is this possible? They didn't even make a move!"

Jade Forest, who barely managed to catch his breath under Lin Jiu's sword, was surprised to see that Lisa Lisa and the other two hadn't joined the fight but were instead watching from the sidelines.

"Idiot!"

Even Lin Jiu couldn't help but remark, wondering if this was a trait of the undead. This violator's body wasn't afraid of sunlight but also didn't like it, preferring to act mostly at night.

Regardless of whether Speedwagon had informed Lisa Lisa about the Pillar Men and his matters, in this situation, even if Lisa Lisa intervened, she would likely have been helping him.

Lin Jiu was curious about what kind of strange creature's abilities this Contractor No. 22321 had. Not only did his flesh have a strong regenerative ability, but even his soul, although not as strong as his flesh, could slowly recover, unlike most undead.

This guy had been beaten by Lin Jiu up until now and had only lost one arm. Still, it was due to the insufficient corrosiveness of his soul energy, which remained calm like a lake's surface.

Speaking of Lisa Lisa, she was Straizo's adopted daughter and a Hamon Warrior's successor. Her biological father had died at the hands of vampires. In her eyes, no matter how peculiar Lin Jiu's aura was, Jade Forest, whose flesh could rapidly recover, was more likely the enemy.

As for the mentioned Red Stone of Aja, Lisa Lisa noticed that when the supposed vampire mentioned it, the knife-wielding man glanced in her direction. His gaze showed no emotion, and he didn't even look at the Red Stone, just wary of anyone else intervening in the fight.

At this point, Lin Jiu didn't care about the Red Stone of Aja. He didn't want to draw the attention of all the other Contractors to himself too soon. He would eventually get the Red Stone of Aja, but not now, so he had no interest in it at the moment.

"This guy!"

Lisa Lisa could tell that the knife-wielding man wasn't after the Red Stone of Aja necklace, but she still gritted her teeth because their battle had destroyed many of the training facilities passed down through generations of Hamon Warriors.

[Notification: The Hunter has successfully hunted down the violator. The hunting mission is complete.]

[You have received 1 Bronze Medal of Honor.]

This guy was incredibly difficult to kill. Even after Lin Jiu had hacked the violator into pieces, Lisa Lisa and the others looked at him with odd expressions. They then noticed that the pieces were still squirming, with a hint of life left. Without a second thought, Lin Jiu pulled out his firearm and fired a few rounds.

While taking out Contractor No. 22321, he also left a sizeable hole in the building.

Lin Jiu wasn't entirely sure what caused this violator to exist. It was a strange fusion. Originally, this foreign creature was supposed to fully devour the Contractor, but something seemed to have gone wrong during the process. The body was fully devoured, but before the creature could devour the Contractor's soul, its soul collapsed.

Essentially, Contractor No. 22321 had taken over this creature's body.

Reincarnation Paradise had provided a recovery solution, but Contractor No. 22321 was unwilling to give up the body's powerful regenerative abilities and its cell-devouring and self-optimizing abilities, so he refused the recovery solution and ignored the Reincarnation Paradise's warning.

Lin Jiu didn't need to know why this violator existed; he just needed to kill them.

"Nice."

Seeing that the violator he had been chasing for days was finally dead, Lin Jiu breathed a sigh of relief. He was now entirely unrestricted in this derivative world and could return at any time, meaning he could participate in many dangerous activities.

"You must be... the vampire hunter Red that Speedwagon mentioned."

Lisa Lisa's expression was complex as she spoke to Lin Jiu.

Lin Jiu paused. It seemed Speedwagon had informed those who knew the details about what had happened at the base after he left. Perhaps Speedwagon had asked Lisa Lisa and the Hamon Warriors if they knew anything about the vampire hunters.

"Yes, I've been hunting this guy for five days. As for why he chose to come here, could it be related to the Red Stone of Aja he mentioned?"

Lin Jiu didn't deny it and nodded, taking the opportunity to ask a question in return.

"Perhaps," Lisa Lisa didn't share any information about him, whom she was meeting for the first time. She wasn't an easy person to get along with. Otherwise, five days into the derivative world, Lin Jiu wouldn't have seen any Contractors on this private island.

For these regular Contractors, obtaining the Red Stone of Aja necklace, which was the main storyline task, was the simplest, so they tried to approach Lisa Lisa. Most of the Contractors would have gathered here, but up until now, Lin Jiu hadn't seen a single Contractor succeed.

He was naturally excluded. If not for Contractor No. 22321 running here, he wouldn't have shown up.

Lin Jiu believed that the other Contractors were still in Venice, completing various mission lines related to this island. Some probably suggested attacking the island together, but those fools were quickly dealt with.

Lin Jiu didn't need to use any detection equipment to know that this Hamon Warrior was no simple character.

A fifty-year-old Hamon Warrior, looking like she was in her twenties, indicated that she had mastered the Hamon technique to a profound level.

In the final battle, if not for believing that Kars would abide by their agreement, she wouldn't have been tricked. Even if she couldn't defeat Kars, she would have made him pay a heavy price.

Not to mention there were two other Hamon Warriors on the island. If the three joined forces, Lin Jiu would have to pay a considerable price. Contractors suggesting an attack on the island were either fools or utterly reckless.

Lin Jiu's method of getting to the island was rather special. Speedwagon had let Lisa Lisa know about him in advance; he was here because he was chasing a supposed vampire enemy, following the principle that "the enemy of my enemy is my friend," and most importantly, he was strong enough that conflict was unlikely.

Lin Jiu didn't plan to stay. In two days, JoJo and his team would indeed come here to train, but Lin Jiu didn't need to build relationships with them, so staying here was useless.

Without the restriction of mandatory executions, Lin Jiu could explore other areas. If he was still alive or hadn't returned in a month, he could come back.

...

"Look, isn't that a Contractor?"

"Looks like it!"

"He came from the island; maybe he has some mission clues!"

Several Contractors noticed a boat approaching from the island, carrying someone who seemed to be a Contractor.

As the boat got closer, they confirmed that it was indeed a Contractor based on his attire.

"Who's going to ask him?"

"Why don't you go?"

"I'm too scared!"

"If you're scared, then so am I! This guy's aura screams that he's one of those crazies from the Reincarnation Paradise!"

"Right, right! He must've gone mad, successfully got on the island, and then got kicked off by Lisa Lisa!"

"I knew it! No Contractor who gets on the island would come back. That explains it!"

What a bunch of idiots, thought Lin Jiu as he heard their conversation while the boat docked. This must be what they call 'loudly conspiring,' right?

Deciding not to bother with these fools, Lin Jiu shot them a cold glance before leaving in another direction.

"Oh no! Did you see that look? Did he cast some kind of skill on me?"

One of the men started frantically checking himself, making sure he wasn't missing any parts.

"It's probably not that scary. He's already gone; I don't think he'll come back to kill us."

"We should focus on finding mission clues and getting to the island. It's much safer under Lisa Lisa's watchful eye."

One Contractor suggested, and it was quickly agreed upon.

Foolish Contractors certainly make things lively. Lin Jiu couldn't help but think as he walked towards the airport.

Fortunately, this wasn't during the time of the JoJo vs. Dio battle, or it would be impossible to move. Eighteen years ago, there weren't even such things as airlines. The first modern passenger plane had only been launched five years ago.

With the developments over the past few years, airline facilities were now relatively well-established, and without any involvement from JoJo, Lin Jiu could safely take a plane to another place.