On top of a seven-story factory building, a nearly invisible thin line slid downward bit by bit. As it passed over a pane of glass, a vaguely visible, almost transparent human figure could be seen through it.
"What a lively scene."
Gao Gong muttered to himself.
Was luring monsters dangerous? Of course it was. But if he did not face danger now, what awaited him later would be death.
He did not know whether formidable figures like Black Rose and Professor Han could survive in the normal course of history.
But during the beast-machine disaster, Aunt Xiang and her son absolutely would not survive.
Since Fatty Xiang had the potential to survive, Gao Gong would temper him as much as possible so that he could protect himself during the disasters of the future.
Of course, this was also for his own sake.
A single person could not withstand the tide of events.
A group of people might.
"Hm? One of the doggies found prey?"
Gao Gong rubbed his chin. With a light flick of his wrist, the monomolecular grappling claw swung back.
The next moment, he kicked hard against the windowsill. The micro-motor roared at full power, and he leaped three meters through the air.
He flicked his wrist again. The monomolecular grappling claw shot out and caught a lift, flinging his entire body forward.
Several mechanical bio-beasts on the ground looked up. Failing to sense any living creature, they soon lowered their heads again and resumed gnawing on the steel bars.
However, this "Spider-Man" mode could only be maintained within a ten-meter range. He could not maneuver and flip through skyscrapers like that little spider.
If Gao Gong tried that, his muscles would tear first, then the motor would explode, and finally even his titanium-alloy bones would be ripped apart.
According to the comics, Spider-Man's strength could reach as high as twenty tons. For Gao Gong to reach that level, he would need at least a second advancement—in other words, to surpass level sixty—and specialized biological modifications.
Coincidentally, no matter the planet, once a carbon-based civilization reached level three, hero culture would emerge. Super-species ideology would arise as well, and if that ideology spread unchecked, it would ignite a "mutant revolution."
But for now, he could first play the mechanical version of Sekiro.
Soon, Gao Gong appeared at the location marked by a dog-headed man.
It was a gigantic metal tree. Its trunk was thick enough for several people to wrap their arms around, while its stem, resembling a power drill, cut through scrap metal and devoured it.
A thick layer of metallic protein secreted across the tree's surface, modeling metal and constructing it layer by layer. The sensation was extremely similar to 3D printing.
"A C-grade metal nest."
Gao Gong narrowed his eyes. If this thing matured, it would become something as large as a skyscraper, constantly attracting mechanical bio-beasts to transform into guardian beasts, settle down, and reproduce.
It was also one of the most difficult species to eradicate in an urban zone. Even heavy weapons, air-to-ground missiles, and thermonuclear bombs would struggle to destroy it completely.
Once mature, it would be a standard B-grade radiation ecosystem.
But for now, Gao Gong did not hesitate in the slightest. He gripped Red Unicorn in one hand and drove the electromagnetic exciter to full power. Blade light flashed, and the blade struck with a sonic boom.
The metal nest seemed to sense something. Its metal-spiked roots began to curl upward, while the canopy above folded downward like armor.
But it was too late.
[You dealt 1,315 damage to the metal nest] [You have killed the C-grade metal nest. Experience +720]
Only after Gao Gong returned his blade to its sheath did a cracking sound come from behind him. Half the tree trunk crashed to the ground, releasing a dense metallic-rust odor.
After Gao Gong left, a group of small mechanical bio-beasts was drawn over by the commotion.
Its growth period had been too short. The metal nest had not even managed to raise a group of guardian beasts.
Half an hour later, Gao Gong appeared at an incompletely constructed building site, a sniper rifle aimed at the radiation corpse leader in the distance.
This tall radiation corpse leader stood nearly three meters high, its muscles knotted across its body. Stranger still, organs resembling "livers" hung from its chest and shoulders.
With the support of these radiation organs, it could control every radiation corpse in the surrounding area.
There were at least a thousand wandering radiation corpses at this construction site.
The next moment, a faint gunshot rang out.
The upper body of the large radiation corpse jolted violently. It slowly lowered its head and saw a bullet as long as a finger lodged in its chest, its surface searing and smoking.
[You used a "T5 Armor-Piercing Round" to deal 131 damage to the radiation corpse leader]
Another faint gunshot rang out, this time striking its abdomen.
However, its abdomen lacked the twisted, rebar-like mutated muscles. The bullet passed through and struck a tower crane behind it.
[You used a "T5 Armor-Piercing Round" to deal 231 damage to the radiation corpse leader]
This time, the radiation corpse leader let out an enraged, agonized scream.
The radiation organs on its surface suddenly shone with yellow light.
The next moment, the eyes of every radiation corpse turned yellow as well, and they erupted into a frenzy.
An invisible radiation field churned across the entire construction site.
[You have entered a state of mild radiation. All attributes -8%. Duration: one day. You have developed certain bodily mutations] [Your bodily mutations have been neutralized] [You have been marked by radiation energy] [Because of your subcutaneous radiation-resistant layer, you cannot be marked]
Gao Gong calmly squeezed the trigger and fired a third shot. He then turned his hand and injected himself with an anti-radiation shot. Before the radiation corpses could reach this area, he retreated and vanished into the darkness.
Unable to mark him with radiation energy, all the radiation corpses in the area were effectively blind.
The blind were numerous, but to a killer from the night, they were merely moving wooden targets.
Compared to mechanical bio-beasts, radiation beasts possessed more varied powers: supernatural abilities, physical mutations, biological contamination—everything imaginable.
But their health was not high, less than half that of a reaper leader of the same level. Nor did they possess the reapers' heavy steel shells.
After only five shots, the three radiation organs on the radiation corpse leader's body flickered like short-circuited light bulbs, seemingly ready to explode at any moment.
The next moment, a figure suddenly descended from above. The blade shadow resembled the cold moon at the edge of the sky. A flash of crimson blade light passed, and the radiation organ on its shoulder was severed at the root.
The radiation corpse leader let out a scream, but a crafty glint flashed through its eyes. One palm suddenly opened and transformed into a huge saw-toothed mouth, while a white bone blade shot from the flesh of its other palm.
The two weapons attacked Gao Gong from left and right.
This radiation corpse knew very well that the mechanical hunter coveted the radiation organs on its body. Once it saw that it was losing, greed would influence him, and he would close in for the kill.
That was why it had already prepared a biological energy-storage mode inside its body.
On the system panel, the radiation corpse leader's health suddenly surged by five hundred.
Gao Gong remained expressionless. He lowered his head slightly, dodging the opponent's right hand as it expanded to three meters. At the same time, he leaned forward and stepped backward, his blood-red blade sweeping perfectly across the opponent's abdomen and carrying out a string of filthy innards.
[You inflicted Bleeding on the enemy, increasing attack power by 5% (one stack)]
At the same time, Gao Gong spun around. He seemed to vanish into the darkness, leaving only a flash of red light.
The radiation corpse leader screamed again. Its right eyeball exploded on the spot.
[You inflicted Bleeding on the enemy, increasing attack power by 5% (two stacks)]
The continuous stacking of the "Blood Drinker" effect made the eyes in the darkness grow even more feverish.
His sword technique was like a chaotic dance of blood-red flowers.
The remade Red Unicorn had been shortened, its blade reduced from nearly two meters to 1.3 meters. It was designed specifically to complement the Dark Night Warrior's fighting style.
The Dark Night Warrior's boosts to attack speed and attack power also made up for the medium blade's lack of killing power.
The radiation corpse leader had never expected that a sniper's close-combat ability could actually surpass its own.
It howled loudly, ordering the surrounding radiation corpses to close in. It even acted as if it wanted to flee, all to buy time.
Yet Gao Gong's blade technique did not become the slightest bit disorderly.
The blade light sliced down like a caress across a beauty's skin, cutting away the final radiation organ. At the same time, the bloody light turned gently, severing the radiation corpse's head.
[You dealt 135 damage to the radiation corpse leader] [You have killed the C-grade radiation corpse. Experience +610]
Without the surrounding bodily tissue, the radiation organ was like a detonator without explosives. It merely burst apart with a light pop.
Gao Gong glanced at it without expression.
He had no interest in such low-level radiation organs. The main reason he had not sniped the opponent to death was his concern that the explosion would attract other high-level beasts.
With their leader dead, the surrounding radiation corpses entered a state of complete frenzy.
Heads rolled beneath his blade as a sea of people surged around him.
Just before the radiation corpse horde pounced, Gao Gong returned his blade to its sheath. With a flick of his wrist, he vanished into the darkness once more.
I wonder whether I can find a suitable radiation organ tonight.
Gao Gong hunted bosses so actively not only to farm experience and missions, but also for another important reason: to find suitable radiation organs.
Many mechanical hunters were obsessed with mechanical modification and cybernetic implants.
But they overlooked the paradise of biological modification right beneath their noses.
There was nowhere with more radiation beasts than the Iron Sand Desert.
The night's slaughter was not confined to a single place.
On the following day, when the electronic sign outside Gasoline Town refreshed, everyone's eyes nearly fell out of their heads.
Not even the most insane gambler had expected this to happen.
Apart from the raider team in first place, every team from second to ninth had been replaced.
The new rankings were—
Mechanical Master Team
Fire Stealer Team
Torch Grass Team
Gasoline Worshippers
Symbiosis Team
Gray-Eyed Believers
Miyamoto Sanzo
Gao Gong
Black Rose
"Th-this, this is—"
"No way. Is there something wrong with the electronic sign, or did the battlefield communicator bug out?"
The few veteran hunting teams were fine. Their fellow hunters vaguely sensed that they were preparing some major move. But the Symbiosis Team, the Gasoline Worshippers, and Black Rose—who the hell were these three?
Soon, someone well-informed found out the origins of the "Gasoline Worshippers."
"You mean they're people from a warlord?"
"Why should warlords be allowed to participate in our competition?"
"Those cannibalistic bastards aren't even fit to be called human. They're worse than dogs. I heard they eat their own companions."
"Heh. If you're so tough, try defending the northern and southern lines without those native trash."
"You're already working as lackeys for the Security Corps, and you're still putting on airs?"
The origins of the hunting team known as the "Gasoline Worshippers" were quickly dug up. They were a hunting team organized by a certain powerful native warlord.
Their results naturally went without saying—they were as weak as a vast ocean.
But no matter how weak they were, they had several thousand armed natives behind them, giving them free points.
Since they could make it onto the electronic sign, that at least meant their actions complied with the rules.
After the arguments and complaints came to nothing, the mechanical hunters soon shifted their attention to another aspect.
The highest-level monsters killed by individuals.
Gao Gong and Miyamoto Sanzo.
In a certain sense, both of them were ruthless figures who had made the rankings by soloing monster leaders.
Before you continue