The Harvester Family

The highest-level monster the original owner of Gao Gong's body had ever hunted was a C-rank Harvester.

That achievement had once caused quite a stir in the circle.

Yet the Cable Tribe was facing a small Harvester family.

This Harvester family had thirteen Harvesters in total. Its leaders were two adult Harvesters, seemingly one male and one female. The male had feelers on top of his head, while the female did not.

These two adult Harvesters were undoubtedly C-rank. Most of the immature ones, whose armor displayed clear insect-shell characteristics, were D-rank.

The remaining three were as tall as little girls. They had not even fully grown their signature reaping scythes yet, making them E-rank.

Two C-ranks, eight D-ranks, and three E-ranks. No wonder the Cable Tribe had suffered such heavy losses.

Gao Gong's expression turned solemn. The original owner had taken down one C-rank Harvester and then spent a month bedridden—and even that had involved a great deal of luck.

Now he had to deal with an entire nest of them, while he was not even at his peak.

Retreating... was impossible. Perhaps influenced by the original owner's "Double Flower Red Staff" temperament, he greatly enjoyed the feeling of personally hacking monsters to death.

But charging in right away was impossible too. He had no ties with these people. Helping as much as he could was one thing, but this situation clearly demanded that he risk his life.

Unless the Cable Tribe could restrain the two adult Harvesters and provide some support after he dealt with the other Harvesters, all he could do was take potshots and handle the work from within the grass.

It's not that I don't want to save you. It's just that we're all NPCs. You can't revive after you die, but I can't respawn either.

A metal sparrow sensed something and suddenly flew away from the main group, landing in the tree where Gao Gong was hiding. It spoke in a human voice.

"Hunter friend in the tree, if you can help us, you'll become a lifelong friend of our Cable Tribe."

Gao Gong replied, "I don't need that many friends. What I need more are partners who can bring me benefits. I can help, but the key question is, what can you give me?"

Even at this critical juncture, the person controlling the sparrow remained utterly calm, his voice even carrying a soothing quality like a clear spring.

"Our tribe can help you tame three small mechanical biobeasts."

"So three beasts can be exchanged for dozens of lives in your tribe? Your people really aren't worth much." Gao Gong sneered.

"Five!"

Gao Gong remained silent, but the battle suddenly changed. The burly man in animal hide at the very front abruptly ran out of strength and stumbled. In the next instant, three scythes pierced his body. Blood sprayed everywhere as he fell backward, his fate unknown.

It was obvious that the big man was an important member of the Cable Tribe. The moment he fell, their battle line became dangerously unstable.

"What do you need?" The person's voice finally carried a hint of urgency.

"Three conditions. First, I need your technology for controlling mechanical biobeasts. Second, I need a way for you to drive off the two adult Harvesters. Third, when I make my move, I need you to guarantee that those two adult Harvesters won't interfere with me."

"I can agree to the first condition personally. The second is beyond my capabilities. As for the third, I can only say that I'll do my best."

"Fine."

Gao Gong agreed without hesitation. There was only one reason: the quest had been triggered.

Quest: The Cable Tribe's Plea for Help

Difficulty: Hard+

Quest Brief: An expedition team from the Cable Tribe has been attacked by a Harvester family. Rescue them from the blades.

Quest Objective: Ensure that more than 10 members of the Cable Tribe survive. For each additional survivor, gain 100 experience and improve the quest rating.

Quest Rewards: Experience +6500 Cable Tribe Favorability +500 Specialization Points +1

Additional Reward: Incomplete Mechanical Puzzle [1/5] ×1

Gao Gong glanced at the quest rewards and casually asked, "By the way, may I ask how I should address you?"

"My surname is Han. Everyone calls me Professor Han."

The steel cable went taut. Under Huang Yuanli's nervous, uneasy gaze, a figure descended from the tree.

"No need for anything else. Go back to the vehicle and wait for my news. If I manage to save them, bring some medical supplies down from the vehicle."

Gao Gong paused. "If I can't save them, make sure the two of us can escape."

Huang Yuanli took a deep breath and nodded forcefully.

In the forest, Gao Gong sprinted at full speed. As he selected a suitable sniping position, he also thought of ways to set some traps.

He poured all the experience he had left into Precise Shooting.

[You have raised Precise Shooting to Lv6]

[You have raised Precise Shooting to Lv7]

[You have raised Precise Shooting to Lv8]

Precise Shooting Lv8 (Advanced): As an excellent firearms user, years of battle have granted you an exceptional feel for guns. Firearm damage +15% Recoil -9% Critical hit rate +8%

Crouched on high ground, Gao Gong could clearly sense a faint connection forming between himself and this sniper rifle. He did not know whether this was the legendary feel for guns, but when he pulled the trigger, he had an extremely strong premonition.

The next shot would hit for sure!

An E-rank Harvester that was just about to pounce suddenly froze. At the same time, its head vanished, leaving behind only a bloody neck.

[You have killed an immature Harvester. Experience +80]

Next time I go back, I need to exchange for some special bullets at the military depot. Ordinary sniper rounds can no longer guarantee instant kills against D-rank monsters.

Gao Gong cycled the bolt, and another string of data flashed across his right eye.

The next moment, another immature Harvester was blown apart from the waist up.

Wounding ten fingers was not as effective as severing one.

The Harvesters immediately reacted. A buzzing sound like a radio being tuned came from the feelers of several growing Harvesters—in other words, D-rank monsters.

The next moment, four Harvesters lunged toward Gao Gong at once.

I need to change my skin as soon as I get back. Otherwise, I won't be able to survive this.

The Harvesters actually have a method resembling wireless communication. This is even more troublesome than I imagined.

If they had merely been sensing ordinary electronic signals, these four monsters would not have coordinated so perfectly.

Without the slightest hesitation, Gao Gong abandoned the sniper rifle. At the same time, he reached to his waist and lit something with a flame. The burning water-pipe tobacco immediately produced a large amount of white smoke.

In less than three seconds, a violent gust exploded. A fierce slash tore through the smoke.

An adult Harvester's slashes could reach Mach 1. Although a D-rank Harvester had not reached its peak, it still possessed the ability to "cleave steel."

Footsteps rang out. The Harvester's reaction speed was astonishing. Its steel foot slammed into the ground, and a cross-shaped blade flash shattered the fog, precisely cutting a humanoid dog into four pieces.

Yet in the next moment, a scarlet streak also slashed out from within the fog. It moved so quickly that, before dying, the Harvester even thought of its father.

The "Scythe-Wielding Predator" before him had its head blown apart in an instant. Almost at the same time, the fog exploded in all directions. White vapor shot out like long arrows, more like the sonic boom produced when an aircraft broke through the sound barrier.

[You have dealt 1243 damage to a growing Harvester]

[You have killed a growing Harvester. Experience +480]

Gao Gong stood at the center of the sonic boom, his face flushed red. In one hand, he held the nearly two-meter-long Crimson Unicorn. In the other, he gripped a highly mechanical scabbard.

Unlike the motionless blade, the scabbard buzzed loudly. The miniature motors in Gao Gong's four bionic joints were vibrating at the same high frequency.

After the draw-cut, Gao Gong stared at the three monsters. Leaning forward, he pressed his thumb against the back of the blade and slowly guided it into the strange scabbard.

The other three Harvesters clearly froze for a moment. They seemed not to have expected their opponent to remain where he was instead of fleeing.

More than that, this seemingly frail human had not retreated. He had charged toward them instead.

The Harvester grew excited as well. Its entire body was covered in heavy iron armor, without the slightest opening. It was the sort of creature least afraid of close combat.

Seven or eight fins opened along its lower back, revealing nozzles as thick as thumbs, like the exhaust pipes of a sports car. Thick flames burst from them.

This made its killing speed even more astonishing.

Gao Gong only had time to twist his neck before the biological scythe slammed into his shoulder blade.

The collision between the biological scythe and the titanium-alloy skeleton resulted in the blade sinking half a centimeter into him.

[You have lost 17 health]

The front of Gao Gong's foot was forcibly chopped into the mud.

The miniature motor in his joint began to buzz.

The next moment, Gao Gong raised his head, revealing a bloodshot left eye, a glowing red right eye, and his right hand gripping the blade with bulging veins.

A scarlet blade flash tore across the sky. This time, including its biological scythe, the Harvester's entire body was split in two by the Crimson Unicorn.

Another sonic boom erupted.

Gao Gong gripped the hilt with both hands and delivered a backhand slash, beheading the creature.

Facing the two remaining D-rank Harvesters, Gao Gong grinned and charged forward with his blade without the slightest hesitation.

Name: Electromagnetic Exciter

Category: Mechanical Scabbard

Quality: Fine-

Weight: 2.1 kg

Operation Mode: Manual Switch

Auxiliary Module: Electromagnetic Burst Rotation

Note: A high-tech scabbard capable of making weapons extremely dangerous

Electromagnetic Burst Rotation: An ultra-exciting scabbard jointly crafted from magnetoresistive stone and an electromagnetic converter. Draw speed +500%. Cooldown: 30 seconds.

Magnetoresistive stone, like energy ore, was a byproduct of energy radiation. It was even rarer than energy ore. Only a small amount of the material was available at the military depot, and Gao Gong had swept it all up as soon as it was released.

Its greatest characteristic was that it could transform back and forth between attraction and repulsion.

For firearms, kinetic weapons, this thing was not very useful. Whether a bullet traveled a little faster or slower made no real difference.

But when used on melee weapons—especially when the electromagnetic converter repeatedly compressed the repulsive force—the damage unleashed when the Crimson Unicorn left its scabbard would be terrifying.

Against four D-rank mechanical biobeasts, especially Harvesters with extremely powerful close-combat abilities, Gao Gong had been unable to defeat them all with only two fists.

But with only two left, they were much easier to deal with.