Legion Blade

I conscientiously returned to my room and did not come out again that night.

At nine o'clock, Zhang Ruolin seemed bored at the bar and messaged me for a while. "How about we go level up at Morning Glow Plains tomorrow? The monsters there are level 15–25 in the current version. We can head to the level 25 area. I'll call Xiao Bai and Axe. The four of us from the Heaven and Earth Society squad haven't gotten together in a long time."

"Sure!"

I immediately agreed.

So I asked Lu Xiaobei for leave and had her cover my shift. Though she was unhappy about it, she agreed.

Morning.

After leaving my room, I was about to wash up when I found that the woman next door was already up. She seemed to be tidying her room. Her bag and documents were piled on the living room table, along with a work badge.

I glanced at it. In the photo on the badge, she wore work clothes—a black women's blazer over a white shirt. With her long hair, she looked exceptionally refined and beautiful. Beside the photo were her name and position.

Lin Qingying.

Xidong Electric City, intern.

Understanding dawned on me. Xidong Electric City was very close by, only a five- or six-minute drive away. No wonder she lived here—it was convenient.

I did not dwell on it and quickly finished washing up.

Afterward, I left, bought breakfast and lunch downstairs, and headed for the Player Black Market.

By the time I arrived at the black market, I had finished breakfast. I waited briefly in front of the Phase Teleportation Array before Zhang Ruolin and the others arrived.

She and Xiao Bai were already level 20 and had completed their advancement missions for the second tier. Axe was still level 19 and had yet to enter the second-tier sequence. Presumably, Gene Warriors leveled more slowly in the early stages.

"Ding Han!"

Axe walked over with a grin. "Long time no see. Now you're already in the top three of the regional rankings when we meet again. Awesome!"

"Just luck."

I smiled. "Axe, what have you been busy with these past few days?"

"Nothing much. Fell behind in levels."

"Let's go. We'll catch up on levels today. Level 20 will be easy!"

"Mm!"

The group paid the teleportation fee before stepping into the Teleportation Array.

This was my second time at Morning Glow Plains, but it was already different from last time. A small market had actually appeared outside the Teleportation Array!

"The aberrants and mutant beasts near the Teleportation Array were wiped out long ago."

Zhang Ruolin said, "We need to rent a vehicle. We can rent one at that market over there. A beat-up pickup costs 500 a day. Pretty cheap and practical."

"That's true. Let's rent one!"

Everyone immediately agreed. We rented a pickup that seemed ready to shed parts everywhere it went. Axe drove, Xiao Bai sat in the front passenger seat, while Zhang Ruolin and I held our guns in the open truck bed.

The vehicle headed north. After traveling dozens of miles, the road gradually became swallowed by weeds.

"Be careful!"

Zhang Ruolin suddenly pointed into the distance. "There's something over there!"

"Aberrants! Watch out!"

Xiao Bai hurriedly warned us.

Sure enough, Lickers and Devourers continuously burst from the bushes ahead. They were all first-tier aberrants, level 25 elite monsters. Judging from their numbers, there were at least thirty of them!

"Damn, that many!?" Axe cried in alarm.

I said nothing. I simply raised the Roarer and aimed before pulling the trigger in controlled bursts. Amid the rhythmic bang, bang, bang of gunfire, one aberrant after another sprayed blood and collapsed to the ground.

Zhang Ruolin also wielded a Blue BOSS Submachine Gun. Its caliber was larger and its firepower stronger, but its rate of fire was slightly lower. Moreover, her Basic Shooting had not been maxed out, so her output efficiency at the same range was considerably worse than mine.

"Axe, don't stop! Kite them and kill them all!" I shouted.

"Got it!"

Axe floored the gas pedal, and the pickup began to drift. Zhang Ruolin and I continued aiming and firing, killing every one of the dozens of aberrants within just a few minutes!

Once the pickup came to a stop, Axe climbed out holding a Submachine Gun. "Ding Han, Ruolin, you two are seriously insane. You wiped out that many aberrants so quickly!"

Zhang Ruolin smiled. "I'm only borrowing his strength. The one with truly fierce firepower is Ding Han. His accuracy and Headshot rate are terrifying!"

"Let's go."

I switched to a full magazine and said, "There should be plenty of aberrants in this wilderness. Since we've already alerted one group, the others will probably smell us and come over soon. We need to keep changing positions so we don't get wiped out by a huge horde."

"That makes sense..."

Axe nodded deeply. "Let's go."

And so, we roamed the boundless wilderness, hunting only groups of ten or twenty aberrants at a time and steadily raising our Experience Points.

In the blink of an eye, it was around three in the afternoon, and everyone was a little tired.

After using more than 3,000 rounds, I had raised my Experience Points to 97% of level 22. With just a little more grinding, I would reach level 23!

But just then, a blood-red light suddenly began flickering on the minimap.

"Something's coming!"

Zhang Ruolin abruptly turned around and peered into the distance through her sniper rifle scope. A group of hunched-over Lickers was charging toward us, numbering around a hundred. Among them was an enormous creature roughly three meters tall, charging alongside them!

Its back was swollen into a massive pustule, and a foul stench radiated from its entire body. It was actually a mutated beast!

"Careful, it's a BOSS!"

Zhang Ruolin immediately turned around. "What do we do?"

"Full firepower!"

I said in a low voice, "Clear out the Lickers as much as possible before the BOSS reaches us. Once we engage the BOSS, Ruolin will hold it off while the rest of us look for chances to attack. The moment Ruolin's health bar drops to half, use Explosive Charge to retreat. I'll take over the BOSS!"

"Okay!"

"There are too many..."

Xiao Bai looked somewhat despairing. Facing the densely packed Lickers, the firepower of the four of us truly could not kill them all in a short time.

"Don't be afraid!"

After using Wind Whisperer to kill more than ten Lickers in succession, I abruptly switched my main-hand weapon when they came within five hundred meters of us. I pulled a large weapon from my Dimensional Storage Space and rested it on my shoulder—

RPG-32!

"Holy shit!"

Axe nearly jumped in fright.

"Is that an RPG?!"

Xiao Bai was also dumbfounded. "Ding Han, where did you get that..."

"I snatched it from the Dark Tide forces!"

With my mind completely focused, I aimed at the densest cluster of Lickers. Then, consuming an extremely precious grenade, I fired it directly!

Whoosh~~~

The grenade flew out trailing flames, streaking straight through the air before exploding amid the densely packed Lickers. Damage numbers immediately rose in rapid succession—

"4882!"

"5012!"

"4900!"

"5091!"

"4999!"

Within the flames, an entire swath of Lickers was instantly wiped out. At least thirty Lickers died on the spot!

That left more than fifty Lickers. With our squad's firepower, we could more or less handle them as long as we did not conserve bullets!

Actually, I could have fired another shot, but grenades were far too precious. I could not bear to use them like that!

Switching back to my Submachine Gun, I fired controlled bursts without pause!

Thus, in the wilderness, the four of us stood in a line, all maintaining firing stances as tada-da-da continuously greeted the charging Lickers. Lickers kept tumbling to the ground!

A few seconds later, only seven or eight Lickers remained, along with the BOSS charging toward us.

"Careful!"

I successfully switched magazines and continued firing in bursts. At the same time, I used Step Slash to avoid a Licker's pounce. Xiao Bai covered me, the Green Submachine Gun in her hands spitting fire like mad.

Zhang Ruolin raised her shield and blocked the level 25 Mutated Direwolf BOSS!

After spraying down the final Licker, I had no time to inspect the BOSS's attributes. I immediately loaded a full magazine and unleashed a sustained barrage from the side at the Mutated Direwolf's head!

I emptied the magazine in four seconds, and the Mutated Direwolf's health bar instantly dropped by around 25%.

Crack~~~

At that moment, its teeth actually bit through Zhang Ruolin's heavy shield. Then its mouth suddenly opened wide, its head splitting into three petal-like jaws as barbed tentacles shot into the air and lunged for Zhang Ruolin!

For a moment, even a veteran like Zhang Ruolin froze in place. The sight before one's eyes was simply too horrifying!

"Run!"

I abruptly activated Explosive Charge, instantly passing through the BOSS's body and stunning it. At the same time, I raised my hand and spent 20 Essence Points to unleash Tian Gong Kai Wu!

Whoosh!

A trace of gilded light seeped into the Mutated Direwolf's skull and began breaking down its defenses from within. Golden cracks immediately appeared all over its body, greatly reducing its armor!

Without any hesitation, I loaded a new magazine and fired another full burst.

Unfortunately, firearm damage was based on firepower and was fixed. Tian Gong Kai Wu's bonus was not very high.

At the side, Xiao Bai and Axe fired controlled bursts frantically, while Zhang Ruolin activated Explosive Charge, plunging the BOSS into a second stunned state.

With all four of us attacking together, it was indeed much faster!

As my magazine emptied, the final few seconds of Tian Gong Kai Wu's strongest weakening effect arrived. I immediately switched to Vanguard Bee Sting and attacked from the side. Sword light flashed wildly as I delivered a flurry of normal strikes, Dragon Blade, and Bloodthirsty Assault onto the BOSS.

At last, the Mutated Direwolf let out a miserable howl. Its final sliver of health was emptied, and it collapsed limply to the ground!

[Congratulations, you killed Mutated Direwolf (Blue BOSS) and obtained item: BOSS Ability Crystal ×1!]

[Battle Notice: You killed Mutated Direwolf (Blue BOSS), gaining 124536 character experience. Essence Furnace extraction gained 62268 Experience Points!]

"Awesome!"

Axe held a Submachine Gun with a barrel glowing red and could not help laughing. "Fuck, killing monsters with Ding Han is amazing. Last time, when I went out to kill aberrants with a few useless idiots, one Devourer almost wiped us all out. It was fucking ridiculous!"

I was stunned. "That really is ridiculous!"

Zhang Ruolin and Ling Baiwei covered their mouths and giggled.

"How were the rewards? Everyone got a BOSS Ability Crystal, right?"

"Of course."

"Hurry up and open them!"

The next moment, I opened the BOSS Ability Crystal I had obtained, and a rather pleasant notification sounded beside my ear:

[Congratulations, your BOSS Ability Crystal was successfully opened. You obtained item: Legion Blade (Quality: Blue)!]

Buzz~~

My mind instantly went blank, followed by overwhelming ecstasy!

It was a Blue Monomolecular Sword, and a second-tier one at that. A Blue melee weapon had finally arrived!