Two Master Assassins

On top of a seven-story factory building, a barely visible thin line slowly slid down. As it passed over a pane of glass, a nearly transparent humanoid figure could be vaguely seen through it.

"Quite lively," Gao Gong muttered to himself.

Is luring monsters dangerous? Of course, it's dangerous, but if you don't face danger directly, death will be your future.

He didn't know if formidable figures like Black Rose and Professor Han could survive in normal history.

But in the Beast-Machine Disaster, Aunt Xiang and her son definitely wouldn't survive.

Since Fat Xiang had the potential to survive, Gao Gong would do his best to temper him, allowing him to have the ability to protect himself in future natural disasters.

Of course, this was also for himself.

One person couldn't stop the tide.

Only a group had that possibility.

"Hm? Did a dog find some prey?"

Gao Gong stroked his chin, flicked his wrist, and the Monofilament Grapple shot back.

The next moment, he pushed off the windowsill with both legs, the micro-motors revving up. In the next instant, he leaped three meters into the air.

He flicked his wrist again, the Monofilament Grapple shot out, grabbed a lift, and swung his entire body forward.

A few Mech-Bio Beasts on the ground looked up. They didn't sense any living beings and soon lowered their heads again, gnawing on steel bars.

However, this "Spider-Man" mode could only be maintained within a 10-meter range, not like that little spider, who could move freely among skyscrapers.

If Gao Gong were to do that, his muscles would first tear, then the motors would explode, and finally, even his titanium alloy bones would be ripped apart.

According to the comic's setting, Spider-Man's strength could reach up to 20 tons. For Gao Gong to be like him, he would need at least a second transfer, meaning after level 60, and undergo specialized biological augmentation.

Coincidentally, no matter which planet it was, once a carbon-based civilization reached level three, a hero culture would emerge, and with it, super-speciesism. If this ideology became rampant, it would trigger a "Mutant Revolution."

But for now, he could play the mechanical version of Sekiro.

Soon, Gao Gong appeared at the marked location of a Head-Dog.

It was a giant metal tree, its trunk as thick as a person could embrace. Its stem was like an electric drill, cutting through scrap metal and devouring it.

On the surface of the tree, a thick layer of metallic protein was being secreted, metal modeling, and constructing layer by layer. This felt very much like 3D printing.

"A C-Class Metal Nest."

Gao Gong narrowed his eyes. If this thing successfully grew, it would become a skyscraper-like existence, constantly attracting Mech-Bio Beasts and converting them into guardian beasts, settling down, and multiplying.

This was also one of the most difficult species to eradicate in urban areas, and even heavy weapons, aerial missiles, and thermonuclear bombs couldn't completely destroy it.

In its mature stage, it was a standard B-Class radiation ecosystem.

But now, Gao Gong didn't hesitate. He gripped the Red Unicorn with one hand, the Electromagnetic Exciter at full power. The blade flashed, and the edge cut through the sound barrier.

The Metal Nest seemed to sense something. Its metal, thorn-like roots began to curl upwards, and the canopy above closed like armor.

But it was too late.

[You dealt 1315 damage to the Metal Nest]

[You have killed a C-Class Metal Nest, EXP +720]

By the time Gao Gong sheathed his sword, the sound of "crack" came from behind him. Half of the tree trunk crashed to the ground, emitting a strong metallic rust smell.

And after Gao Gong left, a group of small Mech-Bio Beasts were attracted by the commotion.

The growth time was too short; the Metal Nest hadn't even raised a guardian beast swarm.

Half an hour later, Gao Gong appeared at an incomplete construction site, his sniper rifle aimed at a Radiation Corpse leader not far away.

This tall Radiation Corpse leader was nearly 3 meters tall, its muscles were bulging, and more bizarrely, it had radiation organs resembling "livers" hanging from its chest and shoulders.

With the enhancement of the radiation organs, its radiation power could control all surrounding Radiation Corpses.

On this construction site, there were at least a thousand wandering Radiation Corpses.

The next moment, a faint gunshot rang out.

The large Radiation Corpse's upper body jolted violently. It slowly lowered its head, only to see a bullet the length of an index finger lodged in its chest, its surface hot and smoking.

[You used 'T5 Armor-Piercing Round' to deal 131 damage to the Radiation Corpse Leader]

Another faint gunshot, this time at the abdomen.

However, its abdomen did not have the twisted muscles of steel bars. The bullet passed through the abdomen and ricocheted off the tower crane behind it.

[You used 'T5 Armor-Piercing Round' to deal 231 damage to the Radiation Corpse Leader]

This time, the Radiation Corpse Leader let out a furious roar.

The next moment, the radiation organs on its body glowed yellow.

The next moment, all the Radiation Corpses also had their eyes turn yellow and began to riot.

An invisible radiation circle stirred the entire construction site.

[You have entered a light radiation state. All attributes -8%, duration one day. You have undergone certain physical mutations.]

[Your body's mutation has been neutralized]

[You have been marked by radiation power]

[Due to your subcutaneous anti-radiation layer, you cannot be marked]

Gao Gong calmly pulled the trigger, firing the third shot. Then, he swiftly injected himself with an anti-radiation shot and retreated into the darkness before any Radiation Corpses could reach his location.

Without the ability to be marked by radiation power, all the Radiation Corpses on the field were effectively blind.

Though numerous, these blind creatures were merely moving targets for the assassin from the night.

Compared to Mech-Bio Beasts, Radiation Beasts possessed a more diverse range of abilities, including psychic powers, physical mutations, and bio-contamination.

However, their health points were not high, not even half that of a Reaper commander of the same level. They also lacked the Reapers' thick, steel exoskeletons.

With just five shots, the three radiation organs on the Radiation Corpse Commander's body flickered like short-circuiting light bulbs, appearing as though they would explode at any moment.

The next instant, a figure suddenly descended from the sky. The blade's shadow was like the cold moon at the horizon. A flash of bloody light sliced off the radiation organ on its shoulder at the root.

The Radiation Corpse Commander let out a scream, but a cunning glint flashed in its eyes. One of its palms suddenly opened, transforming into a jagged maw, while from its other palm, a straight bone knife sprang forth from its flesh.

The two attacks lunged at Gao Gong from left and right.

This Radiation Corpse knew that Mechanical Hunters coveted its radiation organs. When it realized it was losing, it knew it would be affected by greed and attacked up close.

Therefore, it had long since prepared a biological energy storage mode within its body.

On the system panel, the Radiation Corpse Commander's health points suddenly surged by five hundred.

Gao Gong's expression remained unchanged. He slightly lowered his head, dodging the enemy's right arm, which had expanded by three meters. As he leaned forward, he stepped back with his foot, and the blood-red blade light precisely sliced across the enemy's abdomen, spilling out a string of foul contents.

[You have inflicted a Bleed effect on the enemy, increasing your attack power by 5% (1 stack)]

Simultaneously, Gao Gong spun around, as if hiding in the darkness, with only a fleeting flash of red light.

The Radiation Corpse Commander screamed again, its right eyeball exploding.

[You have inflicted a Bleed effect on the enemy, increasing your attack power by 5% (2 stacks)]

The continuous stacking of the 'Frenzy' effect made the eyes in the darkness burn with even greater fervor.

His swordsmanship was like a chaotic dance of bloody flowers.

The heavily modified 'Red Unicorn' had its blade shortened, from nearly two meters long to one meter three, specifically to complement the 'Night Warrior' combat style.

The attack speed and attack power granted by the Night Warrior also compensated for the insufficient damage of the medium-sized blade.

What the Radiation Corpse Commander didn't expect was that a sniper's close-combat ability would actually surpass its own.

It let out a loud howl, ordering the surrounding Radiation Corpses to close in. It even feigned an escape, all to stall for time.

However, Gao Gong's swordsmanship showed no signs of faltering.

The blade light sliced off the last radiation organ as if caressing a beauty's skin. At the same time, the blood-red light subtly shifted, severing the Radiation Corpse's head.

[You dealt 135 damage to the Radiation Corpse Commander]

[You have killed a C-Class Radiation Corpse, EXP +610]

Without its body tissue, the radiation organ was like a detonator without explosives; it merely exploded faintly.

Gao Gong glanced at it, his expression unchanged.

He wasn't interested in such low-grade radiation organs. The reason he didn't finish it off with a sniper shot was primarily the fear that the explosion's sound would attract other high-level beasts.

With the leader dead, the surrounding Radiation Corpses completely entered a berserk mode.

Heads rolled under his blade, and a sea of bodies surged around him.

Just as the swarm of Radiation Corpses lunged forward, Gao Gong sheathed his sword. With a flick of his wrist, he once again vanished into the darkness.

I wonder if I'll find a suitable radiation organ tonight.

Besides gaining experience and completing missions, Gao Gong was actively hunting bosses for another important reason: to find suitable radiation organs.

Many Mechanical Hunters were only interested in mechanical augmentation and cybernetic implants.

But they overlooked that right under their noses was a paradise for biological modification.

There was no place with more Radiation Beasts than the Iron Sand Desert.

The night's slaughter was not confined to a single location.

And on the second day, when the electronic sign at the entrance of Gasoline Town refreshed, everyone's jaws dropped.

Not even the most insane gambler could have predicted this outcome.

Except for the top-ranked Raider Squad, the second to ninth positions had all been replaced.

The new rankings were:

Mechanist Squad

Fire-Thief Squad

Tinder Grass Squad

Gasoline Worshippers

Symbiotic Squad

Gray-Eyed Cultists

Miyamoto Sanzo

Gao Gong

Black God

"This, this, this—"

"Impossible, is it the electronic scoreboard, or did the battlefield communicator bug out?"

The veteran hunting squads were fine, and their peers could vaguely sense they were holding back their ultimate moves, but who the hell were the Symbiotic Squad, Gasoline Worshippers, and Black God?

Soon, someone well-informed inquired about the origins of these "Gasoline Worshippers."

"You mean they're with the Warlord?"

"Why would the Warlord participate in our competition!"

"Those man-eating bastards are worse than dogs; I heard they eat their own comrades."

"Heh, go ahead and don't let these native trash guard the north and south defense lines."

"They're already lackeys for the Security Brigade, still being so fussy."

The origins of the "Gasoline Worshippers" hunting squad were quickly dug up. They were a hunting squad organized by a local native warlord.

And their achievements, needless to say, were abysmal.

But no matter how bad they were, they had thousands of armed natives behind them to boost their scores for free.

Since they could get on the electronic scoreboard, it at least meant this behavior was within the rules.

After the arguments and complaints ended without resolution, the Mechanical Hunters soon turned their attention to another aspect.

Single-handedly hunting the highest-level monster.

Gao Gong, Miyamoto Sanzo.

In a sense, both of these individuals were formidable figures who made the list by soloing monster bosses.