Factory Peril

In the Iron Sand Desert, E-Class beast hordes don't necessarily have D-Class leaders, but D-Class beast hordes definitely have C-Class Radiation Beasts leading them.

The higher the Radiation Beast's rank, the more likely it is to form a genetic territory.

They need their own kind to share the backlash from high-temperature radiation.

For the Marauder squad to want to hunt a D-Class beast horde, one could say they have considerable ambition.

Supervisor Zhou, after his initial happiness, was quickly entangled by another problem.

Someone had died in Gasoline Town!

The deceased was a Mechanical Hunter, his chest ripped open, and some of the mechanical parts inside his body had been completely eaten.

It wasn't a homicide; a beast had snuck in to eat a person.

And it wasn't just any ordinary beast. According to the surveillance footage, there were no traces of the "killer" appearing on any route that passed by the deceased's residence.

This indicated that the "killer" was an invisible beast. It was unclear whether it was biological invisibility or electromagnetic interference. The former could still be detected by infrared vision, similar to a chameleon, while the latter was more troublesome. Not only could it turn invisible, but it could also disrupt electronic equipment.

Gasoline Town was the rear base. If it could be infiltrated, then the Security Brigade's base could also be reached.

Supervisor Zhou gritted his teeth.

"Double the defensive forces. Important locations must be guarded not only by robots but also by living personnel!"

"Also, notify those old hands. Tell them to hurry up, or I'll transfer them back to guard the main camp."

The communications officer quickly relayed the message to the front lines.

"Heh, it's about time he got anxious."

Wilson tossed the walkie-talkie aside and twisted his thick neck.

"Alright lads, get ready. We're moving out tonight!"

Meanwhile, at the communication station, Huang Wen calmly watched the screen.

A line of text flashed repeatedly on the screen.

"Radiation levels have reached peak."

"Radiation levels have reached peak."

"Don't worry, we'll act soon."

Daisy La turned off the communicator, stood up, removed her electromagnetic blast shield with her left hand, and raised her twin magnetic storm impact guns with her right. She roared at her subordinates, "The day of glory returns, the time for knights to march!!"

Southern Front, Barren No-Man's Zone

An armored combat vehicle stopped in front of a vast pile of rubble. Gao Gong, wearing sunglasses and carrying a long saber, knocked on the car door, waking up Tin Can, who was dozing off.

"Let's go, we need to move too."

"Finally time to act," Tin Can said, somewhat dazed. The past two days had been too peaceful, making it difficult for him to connect his situation with the war.

Fat Xiang, in the back seat, was still fast asleep.

"Yeah, let's go."

The reason Gao Gong had waited for three days, besides waiting for the radiation zone to form, was to scout the area and determine the direction and settlement patterns of the beast hordes.

Ultimately, he decided to make the south the main battlefield, rather than the familiar west line.

This area was close to another oasis, and also the outskirts of another metropolitan area.

However, the industry here wasn't an automotive park, but a large number of abandoned factories.

The oasis here was built within an industrial park.

Large factory areas would inevitably store a significant amount of discarded metal materials, which served as a natural supply point for the advancing Mech-Bio Beasts.

And the complex, multi-level factory environment was a suitable battlefield for his assassinations.

Gao Gong glanced at the battlefield record, and the screen automatically displayed the rankings. He smiled dismissively at the newcomers who were starting to make a name for themselves.

No matter how lively these newcomers were now, he was certain that after this hunting war, at least half of them would meet a violent end.

Engaging with radiation beasts before the radiation zone even formed – what a suicidal act.

Entering the "radiation food chain" was not a good thing. It meant that in the eyes of a certain type of radiation beast, you had already been tagged as "food."

As long as you were still in the desert, and as long as this type of radiation beast had not been exterminated, they could repeatedly mark you and hunt you.

Until you died.

Gao Gong's previous self had seen too many powerful Mechanical Augmenters die tragically in this radiation zone for various reasons.

Was it that they weren't strong enough?

Or not vigilant enough?

Neither.

It was arrogance.

The sky was dim, but in the abandoned steel factory, it was still "brightly lit." After the radiation zone formed, the factory's electrical system began to operate spontaneously. Some mutated seeds took root and sprouted along the cables, growing all the way to the electrical boxes. Many metal-like vines began to cover the factory surfaces, and some strange fruits lit up like light bulbs.

If this situation were to develop for another ten years, who knows if another metropolitan area wouldn't form here.

The armored vehicle stopped a hundred meters away from an abandoned factory.

Tin Can's face was filled with excitement, his hands repeatedly rubbing the steering wheel.

After many years, he felt the thrill of delivering goods for a "gang" once more.

"Gao Ge, don't you need my help?" Fat Xiang asked blankly.

"No, today we'll just test the waters a bit."

If there was anything to be gained in the past few days, it was that he had measured Fat Xiang's stats.

Name: Fat Xiang

Race: Carbon-based Aberration

HP: 530/530

Stamina: 400/400

Bio-energy: 195

Personal Attributes: Strength 27 Dexterity 8 Constitution 31 Intelligence 3 Perception 6 Charisma 17

Skills: Heavy Object Toss Lv5, Gun Repair Lv8, Stick Combat Lv3 (Advanced), Aberration Lv2 (Elite)

If the original host had the 'Double Flower Red Stick' template, then Fat Xiang was the tank mode!

No wonder Aunt Xiang felt comfortable letting him out. With this HP and stamina, he could be mistaken for an elite D-Class monster.

It's just his intelligence, that still needs training.

Gao Gong thought for a moment and took out a basket of Grenade Fruits he had acquired from the Old Friend Gun Shop.

"Fat Xiang, when Tin Can opens the roof hatch, you'll be in charge of throwing the fruits. Throw them wherever there are many monsters!"

Fat Xiang nodded vigorously.

"Don't worry, Gao Ge, I'm a very accurate thrower. When my mom used to starve me, I'd sneak out to catch fruits, and I never missed."

Gao Gong smiled and nodded.

"Let's get used to the atmosphere first. Once you're accustomed to it, you'll be tanking bosses."

"Boss, can we go? I feel like some cops are already watching us."

Tin Can's face was excited, even letting out slang in his agitation.

"Let's go. Remember, the bigger the commotion, the better. But if things turn bad, run immediately."

"Don't worry, boss. I've been delivering for so many years, and I've never been caught."

Gao Gong smiled, not doubting him. Tin Can's only advantage was his driving skill honed from delivering goods at night in Sleepless City.

If he were to check, this guy's driving would probably be at least Lv8.

"Depart!"

With a "boom," the armored vehicle smashed through the factory gate, shattering it. A few small mechanical beasts blocking the way didn't even have time to react before they were dragged under the armor and crushed into pieces by the 20-ton weight, without even a chance to scream.

Although Gao Gong hadn't equipped the armored vehicle with fierce weaponry due to lack of time and funds, the armored vehicle itself was already a formidable beast. Let alone ordinary Mech-Bio Beasts, even the Reaper Commander from before would have been heavily damaged in a head-on collision.

Gao Gong pulled open a gap in the vehicle door, and three Head-Dogs stealthily jumped out from the gap.

In Gao Gong's right eye's field of vision, three small red dots were rapidly moving in three different directions.

These Head-Dogs had undergone further modifications, especially with the lowest-grade Desert Skin implanted on their bodies, making them not much different from those small Mech-Bio Beasts.

The function of the 'skin' wasn't actually to cut off electronic signals, but to 'digest' them in another way by adjusting the bio-magnetic field.

So, even in this environment, Gao Gong didn't have to worry about being discovered when using electronic devices.

Meanwhile, Fat Xiang acted like a human projectile launcher, chuckling foolishly as his hands never stopped. The explosions were almost continuous. Wherever there were many Radiation Beasts, Grenade Fruits would appear. Within five hundred meters, he could hit any target, his accuracy comparable to a sniper.

"Found a treasure, a really good material for an MT," Gao Gong muttered. He flicked his wrist slightly, and the next moment, his skin began to blend with the surrounding light, like a human-sized piece of glass. The Monofilament Wire tensed abruptly, and Gao Gong silently disappeared from inside the vehicle.

There wasn't just one abandoned factory, but several. As the armored vehicle charged through in the most ferocious manner, it naturally drew the siege of the beast horde.

"Fat Xiang, pull your head back!"

Tin Can yelled while frantically turning the steering wheel.

"Oh!"

Almost as soon as Fat Xiang pulled his head back, a string of bullets hit the bulletproof glass.

This wasn't an enemy attack, but a 'Gun-Cannon Beast' among the Mech-Bio Beasts.

As the name suggests, this type of mechanical beast could integrate human weapons and feed on bullets.

Some high-level 'Gun-Cannon Beasts' had firepower comparable to Mechanical Hunters.

At an intersection, the armored vehicle swayed violently, almost tipping over.

Fortunately, Tin Can's years of driving stolen cars were not in vain. At the critical moment, his superb driving skills were displayed to the fullest. Fat Xiang, on the other hand, seemed unfazed by the danger. He opened his mouth wide, watching giant metal scales scrape against the vehicle's body as a massive dark shadow almost coiled around the entire armored vehicle.

What a huge snake!

Barely having escaped the snake's kiss, the top of the driver's seat jolted violently again, a clear dent appearing above Tin Can's head.

Tin Can trembled in fright, instinctively activating the roof camera. On the screen, he saw a Giant Metal Scorpion crawling onto the armored vehicle. Its two pincers were at least three sizes larger than a gorilla's arms, and the vents on the pincers were clearly jet propulsion devices.

"Holy crap, this is way more exciting than making deliveries!"

Tin Can was drenched in sweat, frantically stomping on the accelerator. He sped through various factory passages, finally smashing through a lift platform, causing steel beams to fall from mid-air. Only then was the scorpion knocked back.

Before Tin Can could even breathe a sigh of relief, a pack of Mechanical Wolves pounced. If they were just ordinary wolves, it would be one thing, but the crucial part was that each wolf had a half-metal, half-bone submachine gun strapped to its waist.

A rain of metal bullets poured down.

This was a nest of Gun-Cannon Beasts!