Ling Tian had not expected his reputation to be so widespread. It was no wonder Ata Sreim was so eager to please him.
However, Feng Xiaoxi secretly told Ling Tian that Ata Sreim's reaction was also driven by self-interest.
As the head of this branch of the Demon Hunter Guild, these leaders were in competition with each other.
If this branch could recruit enough strong individuals and complete enough missions, then the branch and its leader would receive more resources.
It was clear that if Ling Tian joined their branch, took on missions, and completed them, their branch would definitely gain more benefits.
Ata Sreim enthusiastically invited Ling Tian and his companions into a specially made jeep. The vehicle's barrel-like wheels spun as it drove towards the camp.
After more than ten minutes, the jeep entered the camp.
The camp was rectangular, covering an area equivalent to over a dozen football fields. The ground was ordinary sandy soil, and the camp was surrounded by fences and barbed wire.
In the center of the camp stood a five-story building covering several thousand square meters.
The lower floors of the building served as the offices for the Demon Hunter Guild, while the top floor was Ata Sreim's residence.
Ling Tian noticed that on the rooftop of the building, many people were constantly scanning the surroundings with binoculars.
In fact, the area around the camp was very open. Within hundreds of meters of the camp, there wasn't even a patch of longer grass on the ground; it had all been burned away.
Ling Tian observed that hundreds of RVs, pickup trucks, tents, and prefabricated houses were densely packed within the camp.
"Are all these people members of the Demon Hunter Guild? I really didn't expect the Demon Hunter Guild to have so many people. Has the density of superhumans in America become this high?"
Ling Tian pointed at the owners of the RVs and tents, speaking with surprise.
"Heh, Ling Tian, you've misunderstood. They aren't all superhumans, nor are they all members of the Demon Hunter Guild. Many of them don't qualify to join the guild and don't have superpowers. They are essentially adventurers among ordinary people.
Do you see that building? The first floor of that building is a hotel. Of course, this hotel is very expensive, charging several hundred US dollars a night. Ordinary people can't afford it.
However, this cost is not much for members of the Demon Hunter Guild. The vast majority of guild members live in the building."
"If they aren't members of the Demon Hunter Guild, can they still accept missions from the guild?" Ling Tian asked curiously.
"Of course not. But when members of the Demon Hunter Guild carry out missions, they often need helpers.
For example, they need logistics support personnel to help them transport equipment, assist with their daily needs, and sometimes, they even need cannon fodder.
These adventurers do these jobs. The mission rewards given by the Demon Hunter Guild are very generous. Even a sliver from the fingernails of guild members is enough for them to live on," Feng Xiaoxi explained patiently.
Ling Tian nodded, indicating he understood. This was somewhat like a symbiotic relationship in nature, where weak animals provided services to stronger animals in exchange for food and shelter.
For instance, consider rhinoceroses and oxpeckers. Rhinoceroses are ill-tempered and solitary. Although they have thick skin, their skin folds often harbor parasites.
Oxpeckers feed on these parasites. They perch on the rhinoceroses daily, and the rhinoceroses do not mind their presence because these birds help them get rid of annoying parasites.
In Ling Tian's view, the members of the Demon Hunter Guild were like the rhinoceroses, and the adventurers were like the oxpeckers.
Ling Tian also noticed that at the other end of the camp, a very muddy and rugged road wound into the distance. It seemed that all these vehicles had arrived from that road.
The jeep stopped in front of the guild's building. Ling Tian and his companions alighted. Many people in the camp, seeing new arrivals, gathered around.
Whether they were official members of the Demon Hunter Guild or adventurers, the vast majority of them were not good people.
"Hey, this chick is really hot. How much per night?"
"Haha, Sreim, where did you find such good merchandise..."
"Hey, baby, come to my room, I'll show you what a real man is like..."
A burly man with a lecherous face made obscene gestures towards Aurora and the others while making sarcastic remarks.
Seeing this, Feng Xiaoxi said to Ata Sreim with displeasure, "Uncle Sreim, I know the rules of your camp, and you can't just resort to violence.
However, I brought my friends here, and I can't stand by and watch my friends be so humiliated without doing anything. Don't you owe me an explanation?"
The camp had rules. On the way here, Feng Xiaoxi had explained the camp's regulations thoroughly to Ling Tian and Aurora.
Most of these Demon Hunter Guild members were warlike. They were a group of individuals who were easily provoked, and many had grudges from missions.
If rules were not established for them, they would fight to the death, and the camp would be unable to operate.
Therefore, almost every camp had such rules: no fighting within the camp's boundaries. If one felt the urge to spar or settle a score, they could go to a designated area on the edge of the camp.
That area was somewhat like the arena on Hell's Paradise Island in the past. There, one could use any means necessary, except for weapons of mass destruction, to fight however they pleased.
Feng Xiaoxi had heard a lot about Aurora Kuyit and knew that this woman was very dangerous. These men provoking or harassing her could very well provoke a fatal response.
Feng Xiaoxi did not want Aurora to have any conflict with the Demon Hunter Guild over such trivial matters, so she went directly to Ata Sreim to protest.
Sreim shrugged helplessly.
"I'm very sorry, Christina. These people are scoundrels, but they are not my people, and I can't interfere with what they say.
However, you are right. Since you are here, you are guests! And guests naturally receive preferential treatment?"