To improve training effectiveness and progress, Li Fan set up group exercises.
The land group consisted of Zhan Zhan and Pao Fu, while the air group comprised Xiao Bendan, Wan Pi, and Ye Ye.
Less than an hour after the training began, Ye Ye flew back to the suspended camp, huffing angrily.
"Goo goo!"
Ye Ye landed on a tree branch and let out an displeased cry.
"Uh... joining the aerial training group now might be a bit tough. How about you and Kuku do some simulation practice then?"
Li Fan, who was sketching the attack patterns of the Zinogre, understood that Ye Ye didn't want to be a third wheel.
"Goo goo!"
"Ah? You're saying Kuku can fall asleep even without me using a Hypnosis Pulse?"
Li Fan was now in a dilemma.
Ye Ye's specialty was stealth and tracking in complex terrain.
It had been fine against five-star monsters that couldn't fly, but now, to participate in team combat, Ye Ye had to switch to directly facing the Zinogre in open skies.
To ensure safety and security, a lot of specialized practice was necessary.
However, training in the air group was indeed difficult for Ye Ye.
"How about this, with me supervising, Kuku won't fall asleep."
Li Fan felt that Kuku was more engaged when training with him.
He then jumped off the edge of the branch, using a Wirebug as a buffer, and landed steadily.
"Wow! Wow!...."
Li Fan heard Kuku's cheerful shouts not long after he walked away.
Stepping out from the bushes, he saw Kuku chasing after Dilu, who was riding on Qingtian.
"Go, Kuku, meow!"
As Dilu shouted,
Qingtian, the wild boar, without slowing down, executed a right-angle turn, throwing Kuku off.
*Crack!* Kuku's aerial charge crashed, and he tumbled. After getting up, he hopped in place and flapped his wings, appearing quite indignant.
"The right-angle turn actually worked! This one has the potential to become a Boar King."
Li Fan was somewhat surprised.
*Screech!* Qingtian dug his front hooves into the ground, braking and kicking up dust before stopping in front of Li Fan.
Upon closer inspection, Qingtian's arched back reached Li Fan's elbow joint, and the base of his protruding, curved tusks was as thick as a wrist.
"You've grown so fast. I remember when we first met in the vegetable patch in Kamura Village, I could pick you up with both my hands."
Li Fan gently stroked the mane on Qingtian's back, sighing.
"Hmph hmph!"
Qingtian let out a comfortable grunt.
With Li Fan's guidance, Kuku stopped sleeping and diligently served as Ye Ye's sparring partner.
By afternoon, Pao Fu and Zhan Zhan encountered problems again.
Li Fan went to check the situation and found that both monsters were cooperating as required, but their lack of synergy had led to no progress.
Becoming increasingly agitated, Pao Fu and Zhan Zhan began to "chat across dimensions" in a civilized and friendly manner.
Ye Ye, seeing large swathes of trees destroyed, jumped out to scold them.
Upon seeing Zhan Zhan and Pao Fu turn their heads simultaneously, casting friendly gazes, Ye Ye quickly jumped back.
Li Fan soothed everyone's emotions and finally resolved the conflict by lowering the training objectives.
Thus, after three days of bumpy training, apart from Xiao Bendan and Wan Pi, the cooperative training between other monsters progressed very slowly.
Through observation, Li Fan summarized a new type of ability: cooperative ability.
If he were to rank them, Xiao Bendan and Wan Pi undoubtedly possessed the highest level of this ability.
Zhan Zhan, who was at odds with his own kind, should have been the lowest, but due to his surprisingly good combat synergy with the hunter, Li Fan ranked him at a medium level.
Ye Ye, who was adept at operating alone, had strong individual combat capabilities, but no cooperation with other monsters had been observed yet, so he was temporarily classified as low level.
The reason Li Fan was studying monster cooperation was that he already had a sufficient number and variety of monsters to experiment with more team compositions.
However, like many attempts before, this was still an uncharted territory, and every step required Li Fan to slowly explore.
The five-day training period concluded. The Hinoa returned to Kamura Village for a half-day of rest and resupply before heading towards the Dragon Observatory Headquarters in Pokke Village.
Five days later, the Hinoa landed in an airport built on the mountainside.
After disembarking, Li Fan went to the front desk of the Dragon Observatory Headquarters to inquire about the contract to hunt the Zinogre in the Ancient Forest.
After the female attendant explained everything, Li Fan returned to his single room for intermediate hunters at the headquarters with a stack of documents.
"The contract has been successfully certified?"
Eudora asked tentatively.
"Yes."
Li Fan placed the documents on the table.
Zinogre was a five-star monster, and the team was not qualified to take on the quest initially.
However, since the contract was jointly issued by the Guild and the Dragon Observatory, even if a Guild hunter's star rating was insufficient, they could still take on the contract with the status of an intermediate Dragon Observatory hunter.
Moreover, Li Fan had also learned from Shireen that the participation conditions for these urgent contracts, which were open to all regions, were negotiable.
The team's greatest advantage was their excellent mission record, having successfully completed every contract they had taken on without a single failure, and they also possessed a medium-sized combat airship.
By communicating more with the Guild regarding these conditions, they were sure to get approval.
"Tomorrow is the combat deployment meeting, the day after is eating Palico food, and the day after that we head to the Ancient Forest with the Dragon's Eye Ship Pioneer... the schedule is so packed."
Eudora sighed as she looked at the schedule on the documents.
"Your favorite, Grilled Khezu Tail, is also on the Palico food menu. There seems to be a Strange Dragon's Tail option as well."
Li Fan reminded her.
"Oh! Really! The Dragon Observatory Headquarters is indeed different. Even the Palico food can be chosen."
Eudora exclaimed in amazement.
After a brief deployment discussion, Eudora returned to the Hinoa to train.
Li Fan, carrying his intermediate Dragon Observatory hunter badge, went to the research lab to borrow some books.
The next day, the combat deployment meeting was held in the headquarters' conference room.
A total of five hunter teams were present. The Dragon Observatory required at least one, and at most two, representatives from each team to attend the meeting.
Li Fan and Eudora arrived together and found seats towards the back in the oval-shaped venue.
As soon as the appointed time arrived, a young dragon person, dressed in a light blue Dragon Observatory researcher uniform and wearing round-framed glasses, walked onto the conference room stage.
"Hello everyone, I am De Wen, the chief researcher of the Dragon Observatory."
After bowing slightly, De Wen got straight to the point, explaining the purpose of the combat deployment meeting.
As this was an urgent contract open to all regions, the participating teams would undoubtedly be numerous, in addition to the generous rewards.
With multiple teams hunting together, coordination issues would inevitably arise.
The primary objective of the combat deployment meeting was to coordinate the departure times of the hunting teams.
Simultaneously, efforts would be made to reach an agreement on the distribution of rewards among the multiple teams.
Teams that could not reach an agreement on distribution could still participate in the hunt.
As De Wen continued his explanation, Li Fan understood his point.
Suppose three teams reached a distribution agreement.
Then, any one of them, during their departure time, would hunt the Zinogre, either repelling or killing it, and the other two teams would have distribution rights.
How to divide it would require negotiation among these three teams.
As for the teams that did not participate, any contribution would be merely accompanying.
Of course, if a team could achieve the objective within their departure time solely through their own strength, they could claim all the rewards.
This model was actually quite good, as it not only temporarily increased the size of the hunting party but also deepened the bonds between teams.
However, Li Fan couldn't do it. Firstly, he couldn't achieve information sharing.
Secondly, in terms of combat power, joining the team would be too disadvantageous.
"De Wen, I refuse. The departure times can be allocated freely. May I leave now?"
A muffled male voice rang out from the front row of the conference room.
The standing man was clad in a full set of Magnamalo armor, wore a red Hannya mask, and carried a Great Sword named "Oni-Gaeshi [Ghostly Sky]."
He exuded a ferocious aura while also giving off an exceptionally mysterious impression.
"You can leave now, Lone Wanderer, but there will be a presentation on Zinogre ecology and the environment of the Ancient Forest later. Won't you stay and have a look?"
De Wen said with a friendly tone, trying to persuade him.
"There's no need."
Lone Wanderer said indifferently and walked straight out of the conference room.
The three teams in front then began to discuss.
"If the Lone Wanderer Oni participates, we should team up."
A middle-aged hunter sighed.
The surrounding participants nodded in agreement.
Lone Wanderer Oni? Wasn't that the title of Instructor Yin Tie?
Could it be that he was just boasting back then?
But what about those hunting records of special individuals...
The appearance of Lone Wanderer Oni plunged Li Fan into deep confusion.
"Representatives of the two teams in the back row, what are your opinions?"
After the three teams confirmed their distribution agreement, De Wen asked Li Fan and Eudora.
"We have decided not to participate in the distribution agreement."
Li Fan replied.
"Alright, let's move on to the next segment."
After receiving an affirmative answer, De Wen proceeded to the next stage of the combat deployment meeting.
An hour later, the meeting concluded.
"Ah! This hunt is so troublesome!"
In the headquarters' restaurant, Eudora said, covering her head as she looked at a thick stack of documents.
"It's not too bad. Since it's a contract open to all regions, there will definitely be other participating hunter teams besides us."
Li Fan explained, then brought up something that surprised him.
"However, it's a bit unexpected that the Ancient Forest is not under the Guild's jurisdiction."
"It's probably due to its remoteness, the high degree of danger in the region, and the absence of any villages or towns."
Eudora speculated.
As they were halfway through their meal, De Wen, carrying his tray, circled the crowded restaurant and, seeing an empty seat at Li Fan's table, approached and asked, "Do you two mind if I sit here?"
"Not at all."
Li Fan gathered the documents on the table, making as much space as possible.
After De Wen sat down, he noticed a Dragon Observatory journal at the bottom of the documents.
"You are... Li Fan?"
De Wen asked tentatively.
"Yes."
"Are you very interested in this journal?"
"Sort of. How did you know?"
"When we printed it, we considered that hunters might read it in the field, so we designed many protective features for the journal. This is the latest issue, number 134. If the cover is this worn, it must have been flipped through many times."
De Wen explained.
"Such sharp observation skills. You're right."
"You flatter me. What content are you most interested in?"
De Wen inquired.
"The latest observation report on the Valstrax."
At the Dragon Observatory, the status of a chief researcher was similar to that of a chief hunter. Li Fan thought that since the other party was interested, he might be able to obtain some useful information.
"Yes, who wouldn't be paying attention to the Valstrax these days."
De Wen sighed.
"Have there been any recent developments?"
Li Fan asked.
"No. We had hoped that the Natural Selection, which was supposed to replace the Pioneer, would observe more information in the Ancient Forest. Unfortunately, that Zinogre appeared and disrupted all our plans."
De Wen explained.
"When I arrived at the airport, I saw the Pioneer undergoing repairs. Was it attacked?"
"It wasn't caused by an attack. We neglected maintenance while collecting Scalding Shells, and with the upgrade to the propulsion system, we decided to return to headquarters for a major overhaul."
De Wen informed him.
"Uh... even with improvements to the propulsion system, it still won't be able to catch up to the Valstrax, right?"
Li Fan asked curiously.
De Wen put down the food he had picked up and said helplessly, "Yes."
"Then what's the purpose of doing this..."
"Even if the chance is slim, someone has to do it, don't they?"
De Wen smiled kindly.
"The journal mentioned that the Valstrax is constantly descending, as if searching for something. Perhaps you could try investigating from this angle."
Li Fan suggested.
"It's useless. Once the Valstrax starts paying attention to the ground, disaster strikes... You must really hate it, right?"
"Not at all."
Li Fan, chewing on a meatball, shook his head.
"You don't hate the Valstrax?"
De Wen confirmed.
"No. It's just surviving in its own way. It might not even care about the existence of humans, so it naturally wouldn't consider human feelings. Perhaps it would even find the hunters' organized resistance perplexing. Of course, since it threatens human survival, it's perfectly fine to eliminate it with all our might."
"A very interesting perspective..."
De Wen said with some surprise.
"By the way, is that Lone Wanderer also a Dragon Observatory hunter?"
Li Fan asked curiously.
"Lone Wanderer is not affiliated with the Dragon Observatory. He is one of the eight seven-star hunters currently in the Guild, nicknamed the Lone Wanderer Oni. Most people only know that he is a terrifying solo hunter, but his true identity is unknown."
De Wen informed him.
"Thank you."
The next day was the day for eating Palico food.
After enjoying the Grilled Khezu Tail at noon, the team began researching this hunt on the airship until evening.
In the evening, Li Fan stretched as he walked out of the cabin and saw a purple phantom appearing in the airport. He quickly rubbed his eyes.
Only then did he clearly see that the Lone Wanderer was standing at the bow of a small airship, casting a gaze towards them.
"What's the assimilation effect of the Magnamalo armor... becoming a big sucker?"
Li Fan muttered to himself as he returned the gaze.
Eudora ran out of the cabin and shouted, "Li Fan! I just thought of a very serious problem. Do you think our Hinoa is still missing an Felyne chef team... What are you looking at so intently?"
Li Fan pointed with his finger, but by the time Eudora turned her head, the Lone Wanderer had already vanished.