City No. 012

During the decades-long war between monsters and humans, the monsters discovered that if they lived in open, barren areas without cover,

human armies and Human Warriors could lock onto them from a great distance and launch long-range attacks with heavy sniper rifles, missiles, and the like!

But in urban areas, buildings stood everywhere.

As long as monsters hid within densely packed buildings, whether it was a warrior squad or a human army, they would have to enter the city and engage the monsters in street fighting if they wanted to attack them.

At that time, monsters, which relied primarily on their bodies to attack, would hold an enormous advantage.

Thus, the Wilderness Zone nowadays was populated mostly by relatively low-level monsters. A Beast General level monster might occasionally appear, but they rarely appeared in groups, and any that did appear in the open Wilderness Zone would be cleared out immediately.

The former human cities from before the Great Nirvana, with their dense clusters of buildings, were the true paradise of monsters!

At that moment, the Golden Spear Squad quietly infiltrated the suburban area of Codename 012 City.

Before the Great Nirvana, it had been a prefecture-level city and an economic center within Huaxia Country, located more than three hundred kilometers from the Northern Military Region.

"Xia Zhi, over the past two days, we traveled along the highway, through nothing but barren terrain."

Liu Yan lowered her voice. "Now we've entered the suburbs on the outskirts of the city. Once we enter the Main urban area, that's when we'll reach the truly dangerous place!"

"We've always operated in the suburbs before, only occasionally reaching the outskirts of the city. This time, we'll head to our first destination first. Everyone, proceed carefully and avoid fighting whenever possible," Captain Qin Feng reminded them.

"Yes, Captain." The other three nodded.

The suburbs and urban districts were different from the barren land outside. There were far more monsters here.

When traveling along highways and other desolate areas, Xia Zhi and the others had been quite carefree. They could kill whenever they wanted without worrying about alerting other monsters.

But entering the city was different. If they caused too much of a disturbance, they could easily be surrounded by monsters.

If they drew out a large number of Beast General level monsters, even a War God level expert would have to run.

In terms of physical strength alone, the gap between humans and monsters was enormous.

They carefully made their way through the buildings, avoiding danger more than ten times.

After Qin Feng and Xia Zhi attacked in succession, instantly killing six Beast Soldier level monsters and one beginner Beast General level monster,

the squad finally reached the first destination of their trip—a technology building in what had once been City No. 012's high-tech district.

"Shi Tou, protect Yanzi. Xia Zhi, you and I will clear out the monsters inside first. Don't make too much noise."

Before entering the building, Qin Feng spoke quietly to the group.

This thirty-seven-story technology building was the tallest structure within a five-kilometer radius. The four members of the Golden Spear Squad steadily climbed the stairs.

"Roar—" Low monster roars faintly echoed through the floors. The four frowned slightly, and Qin Feng, at the front, said in a low voice, "They should be upstairs. Be careful, everyone."

Everyone gripped their weapons, ready to strike at any moment.

Liu Yan, who used firearms, drew her pistol with her left hand while holding a Tiger Fang Military Saber in a reverse grip in her right. Xu Kui stood guard beside her with his shield and axe raised.

"Mm?" Xia Zhi suddenly saw a Shadow Cat monster leap out from around the stairwell corner ahead. It stood nearly two meters tall, its long fur making it look as large as a lion.

The instant the Shadow Cat appeared and spotted the humans, it let out a low growl and pounced at them amid a gust of foul wind.

Seeing the Shadow Cat dive toward them, Qin Feng rushed forward with a short spear in each hand. Just as their bodies were about to collide,

the short spear in his right hand became a blur, its tip piercing through the Shadow Cat's eye and penetrating its skull. His left-hand spear swept and pulled,

and the corpse of the instantly slain Shadow Cat was gently guided to the ground. The entire process was incredibly swift and made almost no sound.

While climbing the building, the Golden Spear Squad encountered a total of five monsters.

One of them had actually charged up from the stairs below.

At the time, Liu Yan and Xu Kui had been at the rear of the group. Xu Kui turned around and cleanly killed the G-rank monster with a single axe strike.

Only after reaching the rooftop and stepping out of the stairwell did the four finally breathe a sigh of relief. In that narrow stairwell, encountering a powerful Beast General level monster would be no joke.

"Seal off the stairwell entrance to keep monsters from running up from below," Qin Feng said.

"Yes." Xia Zhi and Xu Kui found an iron bar and used it to jam the stairwell's iron door shut.

"Ah, we can finally relax a little."

Liu Yan rarely showed a smile. Ever since entering the city, she had kept her nerves taut. As a firearms user, she did not dare fire casually for fear of alerting the monsters.

She sat directly on the rooftop floor and took out high-energy food and water from her backpack.

"Everyone, rest up. In a while, we'll take out the binoculars and check below from the edge of the rooftop to see if we can find any Beast General level monsters!"

"Remember, don't expose too much of your body over the rooftop. It'll be troublesome if the monsters below spot us," Qin Feng said.

Atop the thirty-seven-story technology building, it was difficult for ordinary monsters to climb up.

Even if Beast General level monsters led a large monster pack charging up the stairs, the narrow stairwell would not be easy to force through. Xia Zhi and the others would have ample time to escape.

Therefore, when warrior squads hunted monsters in cities, they would first find a high vantage point, then search for suitable targets.

After discovering a target, they would formulate an appropriate hunting plan. Every action prioritized preserving their own safety.

"Start searching for Beast General level monsters."

"Shi Tou, look carefully."

"Don't worry, Sister Yan."

Xia Zhi also took out his binoculars, crouched by the rooftop's edge, and looked down.

The excellent vantage point gave him a clear view of everything within several kilometers of the surrounding suburban area.

The streets below were filled with monsters everywhere. On one street in particular, a single glance revealed at least several hundred monsters moving through it.

"There really are ten or even a hundred times more monsters in densely built-up areas than in the wild."

Looking at the vast number of monsters below, Xia Zhi sighed inwardly. "Even with my current strength, if I were surrounded by several hundred monsters, I'd have to rely on my abilities as a Mind Controller just to have a chance of escaping."

"Captain, Sister Yan, they're all Beast Soldier level monsters," Xu Kui said.

"I haven't seen any Beast General level monsters either," Xia Zhi said.

"Don't rush. Being able to search for targets safely up here is far better than blindly trying our luck below. Keep looking. Don't miss anything," Qin Feng said.

This was one of the easiest methods for warrior squads to hunt Beast General level monsters in cities. From a high vantage point, they could see much farther.

It was ten or even a hundred times faster than searching for Beast General level monsters in the streets, and it was extremely safe as well.

"Captain, call me when you find a target. I'm going to sleep for a while."

Unlike the others, Liu Yan did not search for targets. After assembling a nearly two-meter-long heavy sniper rifle, blackish-gray from end to end, she hugged the gun and began to doze with her eyes narrowed.

While the four members of the Golden Spear Squad hid on the rooftop searching for a Beast General level target,

at the station within the Northern Military Region rest stop, a four-man warrior squad had just stepped out of the doors of a fully enclosed Armed Train.

The moment the four appeared, a rat-faced man hurried over to greet them.

"Elder Ying, you're here."

The leader of the warrior squad was none other than Uncle Eagle, the Old Man.

Seeing the man who had come to receive them, he gave a grunt and asked, "You're certain the Golden Spear Squad went to the Wilderness Zone, right?"

"Yes, Elder Ying. I've investigated everything thoroughly."

The man continued, "The Golden Spear Squad's recent hunting operations have all taken place within the area around City No. 012. Judging by their direction this time, they're still heading there. That's right."

"Very good. Return to the rest stop first, then give me a detailed report on the Golden Spear Squad's intelligence."

With that, Uncle Eagle led the others out of the station.

Over the past two days, readers have kept pointing out all sorts of issues in the comments. Haha, I'm truly grateful that so many of you are willing to spend your time reading my book and leave comments. This is a new writer's new book, and when I first started writing, there were inevitably things I took for granted, parts that were incomplete, or places that did not match the original work. Please forgive me. I've been busy lately, and maintaining updates has consumed all my energy, especially since my regular job is already very demanding. Later, I'll revise some of the issues readers have raised. Thank you all for your support and encouragement!

Let me add one more thing: only after I truly started writing did I realize how difficult it really was. The pressure of updating every day is immense, and many times I doubted myself and wanted to give up! But I've already signed a contract, and this is my first practice work. Even if I get criticized, I'll accept it. Everyone needs a chance to grow. Thank you for your encouragement. If you find any poison points, feel free to criticize me. I accept it.