Sonic Beast

In less than ten minutes, all fifteen magazines had been emptied. The aberration corpses below had piled up like mountains, and their assault slowed. Many of them seemed frightened too, only roaring from afar and no longer approaching.

I stopped firing and abruptly activated Bio-Optical Invisibility. My body slowly vanished from the tree, and I swiftly leaped onto the branch of another large tree. Then I sat amid the high branches and began reloading.

"Damn..."

At that moment, someone spoke in the Star Chart again. "Didn't they say there was an aberration army in the northeast corner? Why can't we see anyone..."

"No idea..."

Someone replied, "It's pretty quiet on our side too."

"Those aberrations seem to have been intercepted halfway. I used my scope just now and spotted a blurry figure with a health bar. It should be one of our players. They directly held back a huge number of aberrations in the north."

"Holy shit, who's that badass?"

"I dunno. They look pretty fierce..."

I didn't say anything.

I really had no interest in becoming famous among players. In Star Abyss, what I wanted most was to quietly make a fortune, become the king behind the world, then find Fatty, who had been completely out of contact until now, and take that unlucky kid home!

Not long afterward, the aberration army launched its second wave of attacks. As before, they were all Tier 1 elite monsters. Aside from Lickers and Devourers, there were no other species.

By then, all fifteen of my magazines were fully loaded again. Another round of spraying bullets began!

This repeated until dawn.

When I checked my strategic reserves again, my ammunition consumption was severe. Of the nearly ten thousand Roarer rounds I had brought, fewer than three thousand remained. That rate of consumption was truly terrifying!

Fortunately, the aberration army stopped attacking at that point. They seemed to have suffered too many casualties and had no intention of continuing the assault.

"Phew~~~"

I leaned against the cold tree trunk, took out some roast chicken from my strategic reserves, and dug into it along with a bottle of ice-cold Nutri-Express. After wolfing it all down, I still wasn't satisfied.

In the past, eating something so cold in winter and drinking a bottle of iced Nutri-Express would have guaranteed an upset stomach. My digestive system wasn't great in reality. Sometimes, even eating an apple could give me diarrhea for an entire day.

But now, after eating such cold food, I felt absolutely nothing. Instead, my stomach felt pleasantly warm.

Nothing else to say—Intestinal Fortification was freaking awesome!

"Ding!"

A WeChat message arrived from Zhang Ruolin. "How is it? Are you safe?"

"Extremely safe."

I planned to stay in the tree a while longer. This place was indeed exceptionally safe. It was located on the edge of West Wind Forest, and the aberration army had already been driven back. The Dark Tide's Vanguard probably wouldn't discover this place anytime soon.

"That's good."

Zhang Ruolin smiled. "I saw the event Points rankings. Your ranking is terrifying, kid. Even Gun Like a Dragon and One Blade Into Soul got pushed below you. Going solo really maxes out the efficiency!"

"Is that so?"

I sent an awkward smiling emoji.

Then I opened the event Points rankings. Sure enough, I was sitting at the top without any surprise—

1. Shadow Chaser Level: 20 Class: Starry Sky Super Weapon Points: 17778

2. Gun Like a Dragon Level: 21 Class: Starry Sky Super Weapon Points: 4322

3. One Blade Into Soul Level: 20 Class: Starry Sky Super Weapon Points: 4124

4. Bunny Critical Hit Level: 20 Class: Firepower Specialist Points: 4111

5. Milk Tea Life-Extending Immortal Level: 19 Class: Psionicist Points: 3982

6. Lu Xun Deletes Comments Overnight Level: 19 Class: Starry Sky Super Weapon Points: 3822

7. I'm Bad But Can Talk Trash Level: 19 Class: Firepower Specialist Points: 3799

8. Zu'an Liberal Arts Top Scholar Level: 19 Class: Psionicist Points: 3705

9. Ruolin Level: 19 Starry Sky Super Weapon Points: 3565

10. Chaos Demon King Level: 19 Class: Starry Sky Super Weapon Points: 3500

With the boost from Advanced Shooting Lv. 10 and a blue submachine gun, my place at the top was expected. The two big shots, Gun Like a Dragon and One Blade Into Soul, could only rank behind me.

Ranked fourth was Bunny Critical Hit, One Blade Into Soul's younger sister. After Chief Helmsman Chen died, I had met her once in the wilderness. She looked like such a soft and delicate girl, yet she had unexpectedly reached fourth place with such high Points!

That was the advantage of the Firepower Specialist class. As long as they had sufficiently good firepower, along with traits like accelerated firing and weapon aiming, they truly possessed a massive advantage in the early stages of the game.

Ruolin's ranking was very stable. She had been hovering around the bottom of the leaderboard, neither falling out of the top ten nor rising much higher.

The next moment, Zhang Ruolin sent another message. "I feel like you could quit the event now and still hold first place steadily."

"More or less."

I nodded. "After all, I burned through a huge amount of ammunition. Such a massive investment ought to bring this kind of return. To be honest, I even borrowed money from Lu Xiaobei and Milo to buy bullets."

"Impressive..."

Zhang Ruolin said, "Is this the legendary enduring humiliation and living in disgrace?"

"More or less..."

I reminded her, "You, Xiao Bai, and axe need to be careful. Rewards are a small matter. Staying alive is what matters."

"Mm, you too."

Time passed bit by bit, and night fell in the blink of an eye.

During that time, I dealt with a few more scattered aberrations. My ammunition reserves dwindled further until fewer than two thousand rounds remained. And as night fell, it felt as though the real danger had finally arrived.

Around eight that evening, after killing several aberrations, I climbed back into a tree to avoid danger.

"Ding!"

Suddenly, a WeChat message came from Lu Xiaobei. "Ding Han, one of the machines has a small problem. Sakura can't fix it. Can you take a look?"

"What's the problem? What does the screen look like? Take a picture and send it to me."

"Okay."

Lu Xiaobei sent a photo, but I couldn't tell what the issue was. I would have to run the system to find out.

"How about a video call? You can teach me through the video."

"..."

I was a little speechless. Could I even start a video call? There was a hail of bullets on my side...

"Forget it, we'll talk later. Just label that machine as faulty for now. I'll fix it when I go to work tomorrow morning."

"Okay."

Lu Xiaobei asked, "Where are you? Do you want to come have a late-night snack with me?"

"I really don't have time today. I'm busy."

Maybe I had been too perfunctory. Lu Xiaobei didn't reply again.

"Hiss hiss..."

I had just put away my phone when I sensed something strange in the wind. Looking down, my scalp went numb. At some point, an aberration had appeared beneath the tree, staring straight at me. It moved without making the slightest sound, but its gaze was that of a predator eyeing prey, making my heart race!

[Sonic Beast (Sonic Howler)] (Blue BOSS)

Level: 25

Attack power: 225-290

Defense: 120

Health: 28000

Skills: [Sonic Boom Lv. 7] [Swiftness Lv. 7] [Night Perception Lv. 7]

Details: Sonic Beasts are mutants created after radiation. Their beast genes underwent immense changes, and their skin is covered in resonant cavities. Their heads can split into four sound-producing organs, allowing them to emit a directional 200-decibel Sonic Boom. Using echolocation, they can fully adapt to dark environments.

"Damn..."

I frowned. It was another Tier 2 Aberration, a Level 25 Blue BOSS!

Although its attack power was somewhat lower than the Osteo Reaper's, it had a larger health bar and even possessed a defense-ignoring skill like Sonic Boom!

"Click..."

The Roarer was ready to fire!

"Hiss hiss~~~"

The Sonic Beast seemed to have sensed the threat. Its eyes became incomparably vicious as it suddenly lowered its body. The four sound-producing organs around its head began trembling continuously, and a heart-pounding infrasonic vibration started spreading!

[Combat Notice: Sonic Beast (Sonic Howler) (Blue BOSS) has begun charging Sonic Boom Lv. 7!]

The next moment, a 3-2-1 countdown appeared above the Sonic Beast's head!

Without hesitation, I aimed at the sound-producing organs around its head and opened fire. Under the Roarer's fierce barrage, blood splattered around the Sonic Beast's head. But two seconds later, a milky-white sonic shockwave surged out from its body!

"Boom!"

The thunderous blast shattered countless leaves and dead branches. My body was struck as well, and an indescribable agony shot through my ears!

[Combat Notice: Sonic Beast (Sonic Howler) (Blue BOSS) used Sonic Boom Lv. 7, dealing 5200 damage to you!]

Though the pain was unbearable, I didn't stop for even a moment and continued firing!

This Sonic Beast was too vicious. One Sonic Boom attack had instantly taken nearly 70% of my health. If it hit me with another Sonic Boom, I was dead!

And that was only because my health bar was thick. If an ordinary player at this stage encountered this Sonic Beast, the outcome was certain—they would either die or be badly injured!

I switched magazines and kept firing!

The Sonic Beast roared while whipping its tail. Its body was incredibly swift, greatly increasing the difficulty of aiming. Fortunately, Level 10 Advanced Shooting was truly steady. I could still maintain an accuracy rate above 90%, while keeping my Headshot rate at around 30%. My overall damage output wasn't affected much.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh~~~"

The Sonic Beast roared, blood flowing all over its body as it charged wildly up the trunk. Several times, it tried to rush up, only to be blasted back down by my frenzied gunfire. After I emptied four magazines, the Sonic Beast opened its bloody maw again. The four sound-producing organs around its head trembled continuously, and its second Sonic Boom attack was about to arrive!

"Fuck you..."

I leaped down from the tree and viciously drove my sword into its head. Immediately afterward, I unleashed Bloodthirsty Assault, then activated Explosive Charge at the final second of the Sonic Boom countdown!

"Boom!"

The Sonic Beast's body shuddered. I didn't know whether its skill had been interrupted or whether its health bar had simply emptied, but it collapsed limply to the ground, ending its miserable life as an aberration.

[Congratulations, you killed Sonic Beast (Sonic Howler) (Blue BOSS) and obtained: BOSS Ability Crystal ×1!]

I was slightly delighted. While gaining a large amount of Experience Points, I had also received another BOSS Ability Crystal!

I opened it without hesitation!

[Congratulations, your BOSS Ability Crystal was successfully opened. You obtained: Soul Ripper's Helm (Quality: Blue)!]

It was actually a blue helmet. It looked somewhat like the Level 3 helmets from battle royale games, though its overall design leaned more toward a fantasy style. After taking it out, its attributes appeared.

[Soul Ripper's Helm] (Quality: Blue)

Tier: 2

Defense: 30

Strength: +20

Specialty: Accuracy +20

Blessing: Powerful-I, increases attack power by 50

Requires strength: 100

A new week had begun, and three platinum-tier great authors had gone online. My new book ranking dropped by three places. How tragic!

But it's fine, keep charging! Please vote with monthly tickets, recommendation tickets, and keep reading—give me everything! Charge on, brothers!