Hunting

Gao Gong hid among a sea of flowers. The flowers stood nearly a meter tall, blooming in vivid colors and reflecting metallic gleams under the light.

Rather than a sea of flowers, it was more like a testing ground for electric loudspeakers. Though it appeared silent, low-frequency noise was constantly assaulting anyone inside.

The blooming metal flowers emitted low-frequency noise, while the unopened buds emitted infrasound.

The range of sound the human body could receive was 20–20,000 Hz. Anything below 20 Hz was infrasound, which could stimulate the brain and cause tension, unease, and panic. If it resonated with the internal organs, it could even rupture the body's blood vessels and cause death.

Though Gao Gong felt intensely uncomfortable inside, he secretly endured it.

The reason classical mechanical hunters did not install implants inside their bodies was that radiation beasts were very good at detecting sounds and signals. Once discovered by them, the hunt could not be completed.

This metal flower field could conceal the sound of the electric motors operating inside Gao Gong's body.

At this point, Gao Gong could only make judgments based on the original host's hunting experience.

The hunted and the hunter could switch roles in an instant.

Soon, Gao Gong heard footsteps, along with— a dog's howl of agony!

The maximum speed of the man-headed dog had been set at 23 km/h. It was not that he did not want to go faster; it was that if he increased his speed any further, the junk parts from the scrapyard would explode.

That was why each man-headed dog was accompanied by more than a dozen mechanical ants. Inside each mechanical ant was a stomp detonator. Its principle was simple: two metal plates on top connected a circuit to an electric detonator, while below was a small bottle of energy-mineral extract.

These extracts were extremely unstable. They would explode when stimulated. Although their power was not great—only one-tenth that of a grenade—that was enough to buy the man-headed dog time to escape.

Sure enough, as the footsteps drew closer, explosions rang out one after another.

It should be a quadruped beast, because two mechanical ants had just self-destructed simultaneously.

"Aw woo, aw woo, aw woo, aw woo..."

Sure enough, amid the needle-like grass, a metal dog with a human head leaped into the air. A gigantic black shadow followed behind it, and even from far away, the temperature could be felt visibly rising.

Not a mechanical biobeast, but a radiation beast. So it was this thing—

The black shadow behind it also leaped up and landed with a tremendous tremor.

Behind the man-headed dog was a proper dog head. Its fist-sized eyes were bloodshot as it glared viciously at the man-headed dog.

This was a gigantic hound as large as an adult bull. Its bones were faintly visible, while thumb-thick blood vessels pulsed rhythmically beneath its flesh. Its teeth had long since become metallic, and its four legs were thicker than an average person's thighs. With every breath, a distinct glow appeared in its abdomen, and smoke spilled from its mouth.

Name: Giant Radiation Hound

Radiation Level: E+

Health: 280/300

Stamina: 195/200

Bioenergy: 312

Biological Attributes: Strength 22 Agility 10 Endurance 26 Intelligence 3 Perception 7

Skills: Frenzied Bite Lv6 Steel Claw Lv7 High-Temperature Smoke Lv4 Berserk Lv7

Remark: This is a good dog, much more normal than yours

Though the metal head of the man-headed dog could not change its expression, its four mechanical legs were trembling so badly that it was obvious how frightened it was.

Although the artificial soldiers' memory banks had been wiped clean through surgery, they were basic combat units of the Knights' Order after all, and they lacked nothing in combat intelligence. After leaping out of the jungle, it showed no hesitation and charged straight toward the flower field, not forgetting to turn around and taunt its pursuer with a few "aw woo, aw woo"s along the way.

The radiation hound froze for a moment. However, with an intelligence of only 3, its nervous system processed information extremely slowly. After being taunted like that, it immediately flew into a rage. Its bull-like body charged recklessly toward the flower field.

Half-metal flower petals and leaves scattered everywhere. The low-frequency noise made it even more agitated, while the calm hunter watched coldly from the sidelines. The miniature motors in all four joints were already running at full power.

The next moment, his figure burst forward. Red Unicorn flashed with dazzling light, and its heavy blade plunged straight into the opponent's abdomen like a chainsaw.

Its target was precisely the glowing area in the abdomen—the radiation hound's radiation organ, the source of its energy.

Gao Gong had tested it with scrap metal before. The resistance Red Unicorn encountered when cutting metal was equivalent to slicing an apple with a fruit knife. Yet when the blade tip pierced the radiation hound's abdomen, it felt like slicing pork with a fruit knife. This showed that given the hound's muscle hardness, ordinary bullets absolutely could not penetrate it.

But Red Unicorn was what Gao Gong had prepared for this moment. Very few people still knew that Aunt Xiang's deceased boyfriend had been a classical mechanical hunter. Back then, she had personally sharpened every weapon that man used.

Gao Gong's tiger's mouth tightened. With a furious roar, he drove the blade tip in, then twisted the end of the hilt with his wrist and forcefully stirred it above the glowing mass.

[You dealt 156 damage to the Giant Radiation Hound]

[You used Brawling and dealt a "Critical Hit" to the target, inflicting the Severely Wounded status]

It was obvious that when the radiation organ fell out, ninety percent of the aggression in the dog's eyes vanished at once, leaving it in a dazed, post-battle state.

Gao Gong brought the blade down along his shoulder. As the blade sank in to the base, he slammed his shoulder viciously into the radiation hound's waist and knocked it to the ground.

He pulled out the blade in one smooth motion, then drove the tip into the vicious hound's throat again.

[You dealt 97 damage to the Giant Radiation Hound]

[You used Brawling and dealt a "Fatal Strike" to the target, Experience +350]

Gao Gong pulled out the blade once more. The splashing blood was like scalding water, spraying onto his coat with a sizzling sound.

"No wonder classical mechanical hunters were called madmen. This feeling of being one step from death is truly exhilarating."

Gao Gong wiped the sweat from his forehead and shook the blade. Its body was red and smoking, the radiation beast's body temperature turning the entire blade into a glowing-hot branding iron.

When hunting radiation beasts, cutting out their radiation organs was even more important than killing them. Once a radiation beast died and its life system stopped operating, its radiation organ, as its energy source, would self-destruct.

Although an E-class radiation beast was not very high-level, no one in Car City had managed to hunt an intact giant radiation hound for a long time.

With practiced movements, he skinned and butchered the radiation hound, digging out its valuable organs.

[You obtained an E-class bioenergy source: Radiation Hound Liver]

[You obtained an entire dog hide]

[You obtained one intact dog tail]

[You obtained forty-two metal fangs]

[You obtained one dog penis]

Radiation beast meat could not be eaten. However, dog hide treated with special tanning methods could be made into leather clothing with greater defensive power than ordinary bulletproof vests. Dog tails were also excellent biotechnological materials, metal fangs could be fashioned into ornaments and sold to fellow hunters, and dog penises were necessities for the big shots of the Evernight City.

Gao Gong looked somewhat regretfully at the giant hound's corpse, of which he had processed only a small portion. The radiation hound's bones were actually decent weapon materials as well, at least harder than reinforcing bars. He had only taken a few of the long bones; there was nothing he could do about the rest.

"Let's go and see how your other brothers are doing."

The man-headed dog had still been trembling with fear earlier, almost shaking the mechanical fluid out of itself. Now, however, it was showing off again. It even trotted over and kicked the corpse.

That was the advantage of choosing the "Husky template." This man-headed husky was always wandering on the verge of getting itself killed, and it had an exceptionally short memory.

Not long after Gao Gong left, a short scavenger discovered the giant hound's corpse, which was still more than half intact, and his mouth fell wide open.

This hunting method proved quite effective. In less than three hours, Gao Gong had hunted two more giant radiation hounds and a mechanical biobutterfly.

Whether he had stumbled into a dog den or the man-headed dog came with an aura that granted +100 taunt toward its own kind, three of the four radiation beasts were actually radiation hounds.

The remaining mechanical biobutterfly was pierced through a vital point by Gao Gong just before it could tear open the dog's head. Unfortunately, Gao Gong's luck was poor this time. The butterfly, which was the size of a basin, exploded outright, dealing him 30 damage instead.

Still, the comforting part was that after killing the mechanical butterfly, "Brawling" automatically rose by one level.

Brawling Lv9: You are an expert fighter. When using bare hands, blunt weapons, and metal blades, Attack Power +16%; damage reduction from blocking increased by 10%

"Such beautiful dog hide, with hardly any damage at all. That's impossible!"

Aunt Xiang raised her head and studied him as if she were seeing Gao Gong for the first time. After a long while, she finally asked, "You really went hunting?"

In her mind, the word "hunting" carried great significance. It was not something an ordinary person could claim to do.

Gao Gong did not answer. Instead, he turned the bag on his back inside out, and all kinds of precious organs and miscellaneous parts tumbled out.

"Radiation hound, mechanical butterfly, and— is this a grenade fruit?"

Aunt Xiang held a dark, heavy fruit in her hands. This thing was called a grenade fruit. Its exterior resembled a pinecone, with metal-like fragments covering its skin. It secreted ammonia inside, and exploded when stimulated. After being soaked in a special solution, however, it could be used as a natural grenade.

"I picked them along the way. I didn't dare pick too many in case they exploded from being jostled."

Before being treated with the solution, these grenade fruits were extremely unstable and would explode at the slightest collision. He had picked only six: he carried two himself, while the man-headed dog carried the other four, one in its mouth each.

Aunt Xiang did not mind the dirt. She rummaged through the various scraps and fragments, though her tone had improved considerably.

"I didn't expect you little brat to have some backbone after all."

"Or did you fail to become a city-dweller and simply give up on yourself?"

Gao Gong smiled. "How much could I get if I sold these things through you?"

"Leaving everything else aside, this intact E-class dog liver alone won't sell for less than eight hundred. The other odds and ends should fetch around four thousand."

"I'll give you eighty percent."

"You've lost your mind," Aunt Xiang said without looking up. "Go sell them to that great lover of yours. This is a weapons shop."

"Don't rush. Have one of the dog hides made into a coat for me, and save three grenade fruits for me. As for the rest of these materials, consider them a deposit for now."

Aunt Xiang took the note and glanced over it. At last, she raised her head and exclaimed, "You really are planning to make a big move, aren't you!?"