Upon hearing Yun Bing's words, Chu Feng also turned serious.

"Our question is simple: were you the hunter who stole the kill of the superior-grade venombane scorpion that night at the venombane glade?"

Chu Feng's earlier levity had all but vanished. After all, the answer to this question was far too important for him to remain relaxed.

Yun Bing, Yun Meng, and Chu Xun were all looking at Zhang Lie intently, as if they were trying to see through his hood and into his eyes.

Zhang Lie shrugged. "Does it really matter to you? What if it were me? What if it weren't me?"

His insouciance deeply troubled the gathered scions of the Chu and Yun clans.

"If you aren't, then there's nothing to say, but if you are, don't you think you should explain yourself to us?" Chu Feng asked pointedly, stressing his words.

Zhang Lie cocked his head. "What do you mean? If you're unhappy that I stole your prey, shouldn't you blame yourself for not being strong enough? What do you want me to say? And so what if I were to tell you that I was the one who killed it? 

"Will you gang up on me in the Blacksteel settlement? Or will you try to target me back on Earth? But of course you don't know my true identity yet. Even if you did, are you sure you'd be able to take me down?"

Zhang Lie's response was startling. The Chu and Yun scions knew that Zhang Lie was a mysterious hunter, but was he so fearless or confident in his own strength that he would admit to what he had done?

"Do you realize that we almost died that night?!" Chu Feng was on the verge of losing his composure.

"As I've said, that just indicates how weak you are. What does that have to do with me?"

"..." Chu Feng knew that he had to continue the conversation, but he didn't know how.

Of course, they hadn't come to the bar in search of Zhang Lie just to have a drink, but they weren't here to cause trouble either.

Instead, they had a request to make of Zhang Lie. They were hoping to gain the initiative in the conversation by pressuring Zhang Lie, but now...

Zhang Lie could see through what they were doing, of course, or he wouldn't have acted so casually.

In contrast to Yun Bing and Chu Feng's speechlessness, Chu Xun and Yun Meng's curiosity toward Zhang Lie had reached its peak. Since the four of them had come to the bar together, they naturally knew a little of what was going on, as well as their brother and sister's attitude.

But they hadn't expected that Zhang Lie would be able to gain the upper hand so quickly, or even at all. They had never seen their older siblings conceding the upper hand before, and what they were witnessing today made Zhang Lie seem even more powerful in their minds: he was strong, mysterious, domineering, and fearless.

What was Chu Feng supposed to say? He was still so angry at the venombane fiasco that he feared he'd sour relations between them if he were to speak now. And in that case, how was he supposed to ask Zhang Lie to purchase white-grub cores from him?

In the end, it was Yun Bing who was forced to speak up. "What's over is over, and it doesn't really matter whether or not you were the hunter who stole the kill. To be honest, both our clans benefited from the aftermath, and we might even need to thank you for what you did."

Yun Bing's words turned the two girls' curiosity into awe and respect: after all, Yun Bing was essentially admitting defeat—she was thanking a hunter who had almost caused her death!

The two girls could hardly believe what they were hearing, particularly Yun Meng. This was the first time she had ever seen her sister give in! They turned to Zhang Lie with stars in their eyes.

Zhang Lie's smile grew wider. "There's no reason for thanks. I didn't cause the debacle intentionally, and, regardless of whether it was the Yun or Chu clan that chased after me, the outcome wouldn't have changed.

"Both then and now, my only intention has been to acquire superior gene fragments, and I don't plan on targeting any clan in particular. If I really wanted to do so, you wouldn't be sitting here now. In truth, the reason I decided to make a deal with your clans is because I found the two of you more amenable to me than the scions of the other clans. 

"Of course, if you can't swallow your losses, feel free to come at me at any time."

Zhang Lie's words stunned Yun Bing and Chu Feng.

They were representatives of two of the largest clans in the settlement, so just how strong did this mysterious hunter have to be if he were confident that he could take them on?

"In that case, I propose that we let bygones be bygones." Yun Bing hesitated for a moment, then raised a cup of wine toward Zhang Lie. "With this toast, let us start afresh."

While Yun Meng and Chu Xun were still glancing at the three of them in stupefaction, they had each downed a cup of wine, and they suddenly seemed closer than before.

"It looks like I made the right decision in partnering up with the two of you," Zhang Lie murmured. "In that case, let's get to the heart of the matter. What do you need from me?"

Yun Bing and Chu Feng glanced at each other before Yun Bing spoke up. "We'd like you to help us contact Zhang Lie!"

Zhang Lie almost spat out the wine in his mouth. There was only one reason that they would be in search of Zhang Lie, but he didn't want to let on just yet. "Searching for Zhang Lie? For what purpose?"

"Surely you must know that he has developed a huge stockpile of white-grub cores?" Yun Bing ventured.

Zhang Lie laughed. "Is that so? In that case, you're searching for him to acquire more cores?"