Man Who Steps Into the Mountain Range

Lin Tuo's initial landing point was already close to the west, and since this continent itself was only three hundred thousand square kilometers, even without paved roads.

He could only race across the wilderness, hunting beasts along the way, and after two days, he successfully arrived at the Great Western Continent.

Along the way, there were no incidents; the biggest problem was running out of fuel for the car.

Considering the vehicles were all fuel-powered, he simply used the Sandbox to buy a few barrels of gasoline from Yangcheng City and brought them in. With the high-quality fuel injected, the speed of this beat-up modified car also increased.

During the journey, Hua Xi gradually became familiar.

Without Lin Tuo asking, she chattered on endlessly, mostly recounting her glorious deeds of roaming the wilderness. Lin Tuo listened to pass the time.

By the third day, when they officially entered the Western Mountains, the off-road vehicle could barely pass.

"The terrain ahead is impossible to drive through. Pack your things and follow me on foot into the mountains."

Under the dim sky, the cold wind howled.

The closer they got to the Great Western Continent, the lower the temperature. Even Lin Tuo had to move his body from time to time to generate heat.

"Oh."

From the back seat of the car, Hua Xi, wearing a cotton coat and a cotton hat, responded. She deftly slung the depleted ammunition backpack over her shoulder, stuffed a few cans of beer into it, and hugged her rifle tightly.

Over the past two days, she had adapted to her role as "assistant" and "follower."

Looking up, ahead lay the vast western mountain range.

Dark clouds piled up in the sky, the light was dim, and the mountains crouched like beasts on the earth, inspiring fear.

Not far in front of the two stood a wooden post, clearly a signpost, with three arrows pointing in different directions, labeled "Burnfire," "Gray Mountain," and "Floating Apocalypse."

Seeing this, Lin Tuo's expression turned strange.

"This should be a sign they set up for later arrivals. It shows the directions to the three powers," Hua Xi said, tightening her collar.

"I thought this place would be a chaotic battlefield," Lin Tuo said.

Hua Xi shook her head:

"Without encountering something good, there won't be large-scale war. Over the years, the three sides have fought too many times and already have an unspoken understanding.

Many powerful mutated beasts live in the Western Mountains. Rather than wasting strength on each other, it's better to sweep them together."

"Of course, if we really run into a large weapons depot, laboratory, or Secret Seal, peace definitely won't hold."

"Mm." Lin Tuo nodded and said, "What do you think?"

"I think we should find a Hunter's Home first, gather some intel, and then act," Hua Xi analyzed calmly.

"Lead the way." Lin Tuo pulled his windproof mask tight and said in a muffled voice.

"Hunter's Home" was the branch of "Floating Apocalypse" in various places, and it was no exception on the front lines of the Great Western Continent.

Abandoning the car, Lin Tuo and Hua Xi walked on foot, following the path along the snowy mountain.

After walking for a while, they began to encounter some Evolvers.

Some were in groups, others alone, all wrapped in thick winter clothes, carrying weapons, keeping a wary distance from each other, scattered across the Western Mountains.

"These should all be Wasteland Hunters, taking advantage of the Great Western Continent's opening to hunt beasts, explore Relics, and grab benefits. Don't worry, as long as we don't draw too much attention, no one will notice," Hua Xi explained in a low voice.

Lin Tuo nodded silently, staying alert.

Continuing forward, they occasionally saw some temporary structures. After climbing another hill, a newly built camp appeared in view.

A flag bearing the emblem of "Floating Apocalypse" fluttered in the cold wind.

"That's Hunter's Home," Hua Xi said.

At the same time, sporadic gunfire came from deep within the mountains.

Coming from various directions, quite a few.

"Are those gunshots from the Scout Teams of the three powers?" Lin Tuo asked. After receiving an affirmative answer, his eyes briefly glazed over as he switched his consciousness back to his main body and used Full Map Vision to observe.

He saw that in the western mountains of the Sandbox continent, snow covered everything, large patches of forest were scattered, and thick gray clouds hung overhead.

In the mountains, three groups of teams maintained a safe distance from each other, arranged from south to north, trying to push the front line deeper.

In the middle, "Floating Apocalypse" had the fewest people, scattered and disorganized, likely some powerful Wasteland Hunters exploring.

To the south and north were "Burnfire" and "Gray Mountain," with large numbers of people carrying thermal weapons, likely military forces.

Moving his gaze further west, from an overhead view, he could clearly see the ruins hidden in the mountain hollows.

Unfortunately, Lin Tuo wasn't very interested in that.

Shifting his consciousness into the Sandbox, Lin Tuo followed Hua Xi toward "Hunter's Home."

It was a messy cluster of buildings, with a wooden house at the center, guarded by fully armed individuals who warily eyed the passersby.

Hua Xi, with practiced experience, used her mask to conceal her features, straightened her back, and pushed open the wooden door of the cabin.

Instantly, the murmurs inside came to a halt as gazes shot over, taking in the two figures who stepped in with the wind and snow, then quickly looked away.

The so-called Hunter's Home was decorated much like a bar.

Inside, a fire blazed in the hearth, warding off the chill. About twenty or thirty people were scattered around the bar counter, warming themselves and drinking a bitter brew made from wild fruit.

"A summary of recent intelligence."

Putting on an air of experience, Hua Xi walked to the counter, pinched her voice, and presented her identity token to the "receptionist" of the Floating Apocalypse.

"Five universal bullets or equivalent," the receptionist said flatly.

Such a rip-off...

Hua Xi cursed inwardly, reluctantly pulled out five bullets, and exchanged them for something resembling a newspaper, which she handed to Lin Tuo.

The latter unfolded it, scanned a few lines, and raised an eyebrow slightly.

It was indeed a simplified version of a newspaper, containing "intelligence" from the past seven days in this area.

Much of it was already outdated; the most valuable part was the marked activity zones of certain Mutant Beasts in the Western Mountains, already surveyed.

All were inked in, with red zones clearly being the most dangerous.

But what was "dangerous" to others was, to him, the perfect tool for tempering his body.

Beyond that, a "Hunter Ranking" piqued his interest a little.

In essence, it was a hunter achievement list compiled by the Floating Apocalypse, tallying the gains of Wasteland Hunters across the Great Western Continent—could also be seen as a "combat power ranking."

Others could use the list to judge who to provoke and who to avoid.

Each name had a corresponding score attached.

Lin Tuo glanced over it. Topping the list was a hunter called "Lone Wolf," with a score of 876 points, a full 150 points ahead of the second place.

It tallied the top fifty in total.

"Pretty clever setup." Shaking his head with a faint smile, Lin Tuo folded the intelligence sheet and said, "Let's go."

With that, he strode forward and left first. Hua Xi froze for a moment, then quickly followed without a word.

As the two pushed the door and departed, three hunters who had been gathered together inside suddenly rose at the same time, grabbed their weapons, and followed them out.

The others showed no surprise at this, though a hint of wariness crept into their eyes.

"Someone's tailing us."

Once outside the warm cabin, the biting wind howled through the Mountain Range. Hua Xi followed Lin Tuo deeper into the mountains for a while before speaking up with alertness.

"I know." Lin Tuo didn't stop or look back, just kept walking forward, showing no trace of fear, his tone indifferent:

"Just a few small fry. Let them be. If they're blind enough to come at me, I'll kill them."

After two straight days of slaughter, crossing the wasteland from the central region to the Great Western Continent, Lin Tuo had slain countless Mutant Beasts.

His body-tempering progress steadily increased, and his combat experience grew richer.

Along the way, he'd encountered a few hunters who tried to strike at him, all of whom he'd turned the tables on and killed.

As a result, he'd picked up a hint of killing intent.

Even his temperament had sharpened considerably.

That casual remark now, falling on Hua Xi's ears, made her heart tremble. She knew full well that the mysterious man she followed absolutely had the ability to back it up.

In fact, throughout their journey, she'd come to doubt whether any living thing in this wasteland could defeat him.

"Shhh—"

As they walked, a strange whistling suddenly sounded overhead, rapidly closing in.

Hua Xi instinctively rolled, raised her rifle, and aimed at the sky, only then spotting a massive, grotesque bird descending from above.

Its body was about the size of an adult human, pitch-black all over, with wings gleaming like metal—clearly, it had marked them as prey.

In the distance.

The three hunters trailing behind them saw this and their expressions shifted sharply. They stopped in their tracks, raising their guns or blades, their faces tense:

"It's an Ironwing Bird!"

As hunters who had arrived in the Great Western Continent earlier, they knew well the terror of this local mutant flying beast.

Its feathers were as hard as iron, and it was exceptionally agile, hard to harm with bullets. It especially loved to harass its prey—once it locked onto a target, shaking it off was nearly impossible.

Even top-ranked hunters on the Hunter Ranking often preferred to avoid these things.

"They're dead. Let's go now." The lead hunter said reluctantly but decisively.

Yet at that very moment, the situation suddenly shifted!

There, far ahead, the tall, lean figure didn't dodge or evade. Instead, he stood his ground, pulling into a strange stance. Then, in his hands, a phantom longbow began to condense!

Martial Ancestor Manifestation, bow drawn like a crescent moon!

"Swish!"

Lin Tuo's wrist flicked, and the illusory arrow condensed from Aether qi shot straight into the sky!

At the same time, Hua Xi, crouching beside him, adjusted her gun barrel and fired several rounds, sealing off the Ironwing Bird's escape routes!

"Boom!"

The next second, with a mournful cry, the head of that pitch-black, terrifyingly powerful flying beast was brutally blown apart by Lin Tuo's arrow, and it died midair before crashing like a broken kite onto the snowy plain!

"This..."

"How is that possible?!"

The three hunters in the distance stared in shock at the scene, and for a moment, they felt a chill run through their bodies, as if thrown into an ice cave.

They had never imagined that the target they had set their sights on could be this strong.

"They're leaving!" After a long pause, one of them finally snapped out of it and exclaimed in surprise.

"What?"

The other two were startled, only then realizing that the two figures ahead, one large and one small, hadn't paid them any attention at all. They hadn't even picked up the dead Ironwing Bird but had already drifted away into the distance.

The three exchanged glances, and only when Lin Tuo and Hua Xi's figures had shrunk into two tiny dots did they dare to step forward and pick up the frozen raptor:

"Back to Hunter's Home! A mysterious powerhouse has arrived on the Great Western Continent—this news is sure to sell for a high price!"

Hours later, news of the mysterious powerhouse reached the hands of the Three Major Powers through various channels.

And then, all three powers were shaken.

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