Hunter Ranking One

There were not many people on the wasteland, and even fewer among them were Evolvers.

Thus, when a mysterious powerhouse who killed an Ironwing Bird with a single strike appeared, it immediately drew the joint attention of the three factions.

No one dared to ignore an Evolver capable of entering the top ten of the Hunter Ranking. "Floating Apocalypse" dared not, and neither did the other two companies.

South of the Western Mountain Range, within a snowy mountain range, this was the front line of the Burning Fire Company.

At this moment, a battle had just ended, and the smell of gunpowder still lingered in the air.

A group of mutated beasts had just been cleared out by the company's army, and soldiers in deep blue cotton coats were sweeping the battlefield.

Ahead of the battlefield, the high-ranking members of the Burning Fire Company had gathered. At their head, a pale-faced man with a feminine expression was using a telescope inherited from the Old Era to gaze into the distant mountains.

In the lens, fragments of broken peaks loomed faintly.

"Pass the order: rest here for fifteen minutes, then continue advancing," the man said, lowering the telescope, his voice hoarse. "Our progress has already fallen behind Gray Mountain's. We must catch up."

"Yes!"

The commander of the brigade below acknowledged and left. Immediately after, everyone saw a messenger sprinting over:

"Breaking news! An unknown A-class Evolver has arrived at the Great Western Continent!"

"What?" Several directors of the Burning Fire Company were taken aback. The Evolver danger rating was a set of standards established by Floating Apocalypse.

It roughly classified an Evolver's "level of threat" based on their combat achievements.

Reaching out, he snatched the freshly printed intelligence report into his hands, lowered his head to read it carefully, and the CEO of Burning Fire Company's expression shifted continuously.

The intelligence had very few details.

It only mentioned that three hunters had witnessed a mysterious powerhouse kill an Ironwing Bird with a single blow and that he seemed to possess some kind of long-range attack ability.

"Keep monitoring! Find a way to figure out his movements!" the man ordered decisively.

An A-class powerhouse, while not a threat to the company, was still worth paying attention to. At the very least, unless necessary, avoid conflict as much as possible.

If there was an opportunity, they could even try to recruit him.

"Rated A-class?"

North of the mountain range, within a relic from the Old Era, Evolvers from the Gray Mountain Group were busy moving weapons sealed inside the relic that had not yet been damaged.

Brand-new large-caliber mortars were being hauled out and loaded onto modified snow transport vehicles.

The Chairman of the Gray Mountain Group, a tall, broad-shouldered middle-aged man with graying hair, slowly lifted his gaze from the intelligence report and said to a director beside him:

"What are your thoughts?"

"The intelligence should be genuine. We should observe cautiously. One A-class won't affect the situation, but we must also prevent him from being recruited by the Burning Fire Company. Hmm, Floating Apocalypse has surely already sent people to keep an eye on him. They can't afford to ignore this. For now, we'll wait for news."

"Then let it be."

The middle-aged man nodded, then glanced at the increasingly dark sky and shouted an order:

"The weather is changing! Set up camp here!"

No sooner had his voice fallen than a cold current swept over the hills, and a blizzard suddenly descended!

"Woo..."

This blizzard came extremely suddenly. Even though Lin Tuo had noticed it early through "Full Map Vision" and had moved to avoid it, he was still harshly grazed by the storm's tail.

In a sheltered hollow, Lin Tuo and Hua Xi sat together, silently finishing their warm lunch before casually tossing the lunch boxes onto the ground.

"The snowstorm is dying down. Let's move on." Lin Tuo pulled up his windproof mask and stood up.

"Oh." Hua Xi quickly picked up her rifle as well.

By now, they had already ventured deep into the mountain range and had begun sweeping through the red-marked areas on the "intelligence" map—zones with high-activity dangerous beasts.

As a result, they hadn't encountered many people around them. Occasionally, they spotted other hunters from afar, but there was no communication between them.

"I keep feeling like someone's watching us."

As the two walked out of the sheltered hollow and back onto the slope where the snowstorm was gradually fading, Hua Xi suddenly frowned, looking around, and said.

Lin Tuo did not turn back, only replying calmly:

"Your feeling is correct. Someone is indeed following us, but they're quite far away."

He paused, then added: "It's people from Floating Apocalypse."

By switching his consciousness back to his main body, he could easily overlook the entire Great Western Continent, effectively having "Full Map Vision" enabled, so he had already noticed them earlier.

"Them?" Hua Xi did not doubt Lin Tuo's words. She thought for a moment and asked, "So what do we do? Should we warn them?"

"No need."

Lin Tuo's reply was as usual, his gaze fixed ahead, locking onto a strange python hidden in the snow, his body trembling as he entered a combat state. "Just keep an eye out for me."

"They seem to have spotted us."

In the distance, at the edge of a forest, several hunters sent by the Floating Apocalypse headquarters were hiding there.

Each of them was equipped with binoculars.

At that moment, one person looked through the lens at the "short figure" that had turned around and was staring in their direction, and spoke.

As soon as the words fell, the others all drew in a sharp breath:

"The Great Snow Python was killed... that fast?"

A few exchanged glances, and one of them smiled bitterly as he pointed at the notebook in his hand.

On it were the "battle records" of Lin Tuo they had observed and recorded, listing the species killed and the corresponding points.

"How long has it been? This page is almost full, and he's only hunting Dangerous Beasts, ignoring ordinary mutated beasts entirely, not even picking them up after killing them. What exactly is he trying to do?"

"I don't care about his intentions. I'm just wondering what expressions the big shots at headquarters will have when this record is sent back..."

Another person had a strange look on his face: "I'm afraid his rating will be adjusted too."

After a brief exchange, one of them stood up and sent this battle record back to the main base, while the rest continued to follow.

Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, the sun set in the west, and the sky grew darker and darker.

At night, the danger level in the wild increased exponentially, and many hunters returned before dark.

In the "Hunter's Home" bar, the crowd was bustling, exceptionally lively.

But tonight, the atmosphere here had become very strange.

By the fireplace, as the returning Evolvers bought the latest "intelligence" and finished reading it, the expressions of everyone changed noticeably:

"Tsk... where did this savage come from? S-Rank rating? How many years has it been since we've seen a powerhouse of this rank?"

"Is it them? I happened to run into them during the day. Two people, one big and one small. The tall one had a strange style of clothing, and the small one was carrying a rifle..." someone said.

"...I ran into them too. I almost made a move on them at the time..." another person said with lingering fear.

An S-Rank Evolver!

You have to understand, if A-Ranks could still be found in considerable numbers on the wasteland, then S-Ranks were few and far between. Even among the Three Major Powers, relying solely on combat strength, they could easily sit in the upper echelons.

"...I heard it's more than that. It's just that Floating Apocalypse's highest rating is only S-Rank... so..."

"Haven't you noticed? Look at the Hunter Ranking! This mysterious person has already climbed to second place, 851 points! He's about to catch up to Lone Wolf! And he only used half a day!"

Prompted by this, many people turned their gazes to the "Hunter Ranking."

This ranking was updated with each new issue of intelligence.

At this moment, although "Lone Wolf" was still in first place thanks to his accumulated time, he was already teetering on the edge.

The second place was occupied by a blood-red "question mark."

"At this rate, by tomorrow noon, Lone Wolf will probably be pushed down to second place." someone said with a complicated expression.

At the same time, he cast a sidelong glance at a hunter in the corner of the bar, who was wearing leather armor and drinking alone.

In the strange atmosphere, that figure put down his wine glass, picked up his weapon, and without a word, silently pushed open the wooden door.

Amidst the expressions of some who seemed to want to speak but held back, he resolutely stepped into the pitch-black snowy night.

"Pat."

A gust of wind and snow blew into the room, fell into the fireplace, and let out a faint crackle.

The air in the entire room grew even more turbid.

That night, the hunters lodged there. When the next morning arrived, the sky brightened and the wind and snow ceased.

Only then did they crawl up from the floor and corners, one by one, stretching their bodies, picking up their weapons, and preparing to enter the mountains.

It was at this moment that the door of "Hunter's Home" was suddenly pushed open.

An Evolver responsible for delivering intelligence swept his gaze over the crowd with an indifferent expression, then said to the "receptionist":

"Latest news. Lone Wolf is dead."

The Wasteland Hunters had ultimately misjudged.

In fact, they didn't even have to wait until noon. This strongest hunter had died in a dangerous zone while fighting a beast, and vanished from the ranking.

Some said that Lone Wolf was ambushed and killed by a beast on his way to find the mysterious person.

Others said that he had hunted high-level mutated beasts all night and died from exhaustion.

No one could say for certain.

That name was quickly forgotten as well.

In any case, that morning, before Lin Tuo's second "achievement" had even arrived here, he had already become the name at the very top of the Hunter Ranking.

Lin Tuo knew nothing of this. Even if he did, he probably wouldn't care.

The only thing he perceived was...

"Why are all three factions converging on me?"

Deep within the mountain range, somewhere.

Taking advantage of a moment's rest, Lin Tuo switched his consciousness back to his main body and unexpectedly discovered:

The "Burning Fire Company" to the south, the "Gray Mountain Group" to the north, and the scattered few Wasteland Hunters in the central region had all tacitly dispatched teams, changing their course to head straight for his location.

Their momentum was fierce, vaguely forming an encirclement.

Lin Tuo naturally didn't know that his own power had already provoked great wariness among the three major powers, successfully shattering the balanced power structure of this area.

Originally, the three parties had agreed to divide the land and compete among themselves.

But suddenly, a powerful and unfamiliar predator had barged in, naturally triggering a "common hatred of the enemy" among the three major powers.

Without much communication, the three factions tacitly acted together, attempting to surround and kill Lin Tuo.

Their intent was to eliminate this unexpected variable.

No one wanted another person competing for the Secret Seal.

"They've noticed me? Worried I'll snatch their prize, so they're temporarily joining forces to kill me?"

Though he didn't know the specifics, Lin Tuo could roughly guess their reasoning.

"They're coming. What do we do? You can't beat this many people. They have too many guns and cannons."

Hua Xi's small face was pale, bloodless. By now, she could already see the enemies emerging from the left, right, and rear in an encirclement, while ahead lay ferocious beasts.

It was a perfect trap.

No matter how strong Lin Tuo was, he was still human. There was no way he could escape thousands of gun barrels. And she would probably die here too.

"What's there to fear? If we can't fight, we hide," Lin Tuo said calmly.

"Hide? How?" Hua Xi's eyes went wide.

"Well... like this. Come here, hug me tight and don't let go. If you fall, I won't have time to catch you," Lin Tuo said after a moment's thought.

Hua Xi looked utterly bewildered, not understanding at all, but she let Lin Tuo pull her close, burying her head against his chest and wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Hold tight. I'll take you flying."

Once he was sure she was secure, Lin Tuo looked at the dense ranks of soldiers pouring out from the mountain ranges on both sides, a smile in his eyes as he whispered.

At the same time, the light in his eyes dimmed as he withdrew his consciousness back to his main body.

"Switch!"

Lishan Martial Arts School, in the study.

Lin Tuo stood leaning over the Sandbox, squinting as he reached his hand into it, settling it among the mountain ranges, and controlled his Avatar to bring Hua Xi along as they jumped into his palm.

"Under normal circumstances, I really couldn't escape. But I can fly," he muttered to himself. He blew a breath toward the mountain ranges and quickly raised his hand.

Great Western Continent, atop the mountain range.

When the people from the "Burning Fire Company," "Gray Mountain Group," and "Floating Apocalypse" finally locked onto the two figures—one large, one small—within the encirclement, their faces had yet to show joy before they witnessed a shocking scene.

A sudden blizzard descended out of nowhere, blinding their vision.

In the wind and snow, someone vaguely noticed two black dots flash by.

A few breaths later, the wind stopped and the snow ceased.

On the vast, white expanse of earth, where was Lin Tuo to be found?

The mountain range fell silent.

A full few breaths passed before someone finally snapped back to reality:

"The target... the target... is gone!!!"

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ps: Monday, asking for recommendation tickets!