I Start with a Mysterious Island

"BRRRING BRRRING..."

He slowed the car.

Lin Li pulled his phone from his pocket and glanced at the screen, seeing an unfamiliar number on the caller ID.

"Hello?"

"Hello, sir. I’m calling from the insurance company under the Exotic Beast Hunter Guild. Is this a good time to talk?" a crisp, pleasant female voice said through the phone.

"An insurance company? The Exotic Beast Hunter Guild is in the insurance business now?" Lin Li said in surprise after hearing her introduction.

He’d gotten cold calls from insurance salespeople before, but this was the first time he’d ever encountered one claiming to be from an insurance company under the Exotic Beast Hunter Guild.

The Exotic Beast Hunter Guild and an insurance company seemed like two things that had absolutely nothing to do with each other. It made Lin Li wonder, ’Am I getting scammed?’

The saleswoman seemed to have picked up on his suspicion from his tone and quickly explained.

"Yes, sir. Our insurance company was just recently established by the Exotic Beast Hunter Guild... The goal is to provide some security for the Hunters in the Guild, to give them some peace of mind while they’re hunting Mutant Beasts in the wilderness.

According to our records, Mr. Lin, you passed the qualification exam last month and became an Exotic Beast Hunter."

When Lin Li heard her state his surname and mention that he had only recently become an Exotic Beast Hunter, he realized she wasn’t a scammer. He asked, "What kind of insurance is this? And how much is the annual premium?"

"It’s a personal accident policy. A premium of fifty thousand covers you for one year.

During that period, if you were to unfortunately die while hunting Mutant Beasts in the wild, your designated beneficiary would receive a payout of two million," the saleswoman explained.

"..." After listening to the saleswoman’s explanation, Lin Li fell silent for a moment before speaking.

"Two months ago, I got a call from another insurance company. They also told me about a personal accident policy.

With that company, the annual premium was only five hundred, and the payout for an accident was five hundred thousand.

Your policy is fifty thousand a year for a two-million payout. That’s not a very good ratio!"

"Mr. Lin, the policy you’re describing—five hundred a year for a five-hundred-thousand payout—that’s insurance for ordinary people!

For a high-risk profession like an Exotic Beast Hunter, many insurance companies won’t even consider an application.

And even if they do, the premiums they charge are much higher than the fifty thousand our company requires," the saleswoman patiently explained to Lin Li.

"Ah..." After hearing her explanation, Lin Li thought it over and realized she had a point.

After all, Exotic Beast Hunters hunt Mutant Beasts in a wilderness fraught with danger; they could be killed by a Mutant Beast at any moment.

"Mr. Lin, according to data from other departments in the Exotic Beast Hunter Guild, the mortality rate for rookies who have been Hunters for less than a year is extremely high.

That’s why I strongly suggest you buy a policy as soon as possible. That way, even if something were to happen to you, your family would still receive a sum of money.

Besides, spending what is, for you, a small amount of money for that kind of security is well worth it," the saleswoman urged.

Over the past few days, the saleswoman had made several of these calls. Whether they were rookies or veteran Exotic Beast Hunters, every single one had signed up for a policy after hearing her pitch.

The rookies, those who had just become Exotic Beast Hunters, were always the most eager.

Right now, the saleswoman knew the young man on the other end of the line was also a rookie who had only recently become an Exotic Beast Hunter.

She thought to herself that he would surely be like all the other Hunters she’d called and decide to buy a personal accident policy.

"You make a very good point..."

"Exactly! You have to get one for your family’s sake! Let me go ahead and sign you up, Mr. Lin!"

"I’ve decided not to buy it."

"Huh?" Hearing Lin Li say he’d decided not to buy, the saleswoman froze, thinking she must have misheard. "What did you say, Mr. Lin?"

"You make a very good point, so I’ve decided not to buy it," Lin Li replied earnestly.

"Mr. Lin, I... that doesn’t make any sense. If you think I have a good point, why have you decided not to buy?" the saleswoman asked, completely baffled.

"The logic is simple! You said if I buy this personal accident policy and get taken out by a Mutant Beast in the wild, my family gets a payout...

But I don’t have any family! So there’s no need for me to buy it," Lin Li explained to the saleswoman.

"Er..." The saleswoman was suddenly at a loss for words. She never expected that the rookie Hunter on the line was all alone.

With no beneficiary, there really was no point in spending money on a personal accident policy.

In the awkward silence that followed, the saleswoman, who had been ninety-nine percent sure of closing the deal, hesitated for a few seconds. Then, she mumbled, "Sorry to bother you," and hastily hung up the phone.

’It’s not that I don’t want to buy it, I just have absolutely no reason to right now,’ Lin Li muttered as he stuffed the phone back into his pocket.

Then he stepped on the gas, bringing his speed back up, and headed quickly toward the wilderness outside the East District.

...

「On the balcony of Apartment 601, Building 3, in the Happiness Garden District.」

The golden morning sun shone down on Su Yue, who was dressed in a light, white slip-style nightgown.

She was hanging her freshly washed clothes on the balcony, one piece at a time.

Once everything was done, she reached up to brush a strand of hair from her forehead. Then, holding the washbasin, she balanced on her right foot in a "golden rooster stands on one leg" pose and hopped back inside.

"THUD."

After setting down the basin, she hopped into the living room and threw herself onto the soft sofa.

She picked up her phone from the sofa, opened WeChat, and sent a voice message to Lin Li.

"Lin Li, are you awake yet?"

Driving his van, Lin Li had just passed Chenghua Avenue and was about to reach the wilderness when he heard his phone chime in his pocket.

He took out his phone and saw it was a WeChat voice message from Su Yue. After listening to it, he replied.

"I’m already up. What’s going on?"

"My mom shipped me some fresh seafood. It’s going to be delivered in a little while. I was planning to steam it for lunch. Want to come over?"

After listening to Su Yue’s second voice message, Lin Li scratched his head, looking troubled. He thought for a few seconds before replying.

"I’ve got something to do, so I don’t have time for lunch. You go ahead and eat without me!"

...