The Manipulated Bet

Miyamoto Sanzo, a master assassin hunter, is also one of Automobile City's oldest and most powerful Mechanical Hunters. Rumor has it he was once an ace assassin for a mysterious assassination organization. After failing an assassination mission and to escape the organization's pursuit, he came to this irradiated zone.

Compared to hunting prey, his peers are more worried about him returning to his old ways.

As for Gao Gong, he is also a veteran Mechanical Hunter in Automobile City, a lone wolf type hunter with extensive experience and formidable skills.

Especially his hunting performance in the last period, it was as if he had undergone a complete transformation, reborn. The rumors of his severe injury in the Great Rift Valley were completely dispelled by this performance.

And on the top ten rankings, these two are the only ones who made the list by assassinating C-Class beast leaders.

The number of beasts they hunted—

Miyamoto Sanzo, 13 C-Class beasts; Gao Gong, 9 C-Class beasts.

Monsters!

"Hiss, I really want to see these two in action, don't hold back!"

"Yeah, we strongly request the Security Brigade to release their assassination techniques. If we encounter them, we'll at least have some defense."

"What methods did these two use to take down those metal-clad monsters?"

On the outskirts of Gasoline Town, Old Sun and Aunt Xiang were staring at the rankings. More precisely, Old Sun was staring at the rankings, while Aunt Xiang was looking at Old Sun.

"How is it, has he met your standards?"

"Tsk tsk, young people nowadays are too amazing. Look at that Mechanist, he actually air-dropped weapons, set up a firing line, and used algorithms to manage the firepower. Such exquisite methods; and that Big Beard, his firepower, that's the authentic Mechanical Legion style! Oh, and that Three-Handed Woman, they're a close-combat hunting squad, rarely seen, so rare. High-tech melee weapons, why didn't we think of that back in our day..."

Aunt Xiang snorted and said, "Don't change the subject. I asked you, has that kid met your requirements?"

Old Sun's eyes flickered. "How should I put this... it's hard to say. No, he's far from it. What kind of monsters did he assassinate? Beasts that had just formed a radiation zone and had already expended most of their strength. Is that a C-Class? I think their combat power is D+ at most. How can that be considered completing the mission? It doesn't count, it doesn't count, he's too far off. I need to observe him more."

Aunt Xiang sighed and suddenly cursed, "You say I'm indecisive, but I think you're the indecisive one. You get all excited when you see young people chopping off beast heads, but after a few days, you start to back down again. You've been backing down for ten years, how much longer do you want to back down, until you're old, until you die!?"

Old Sun's shoulders twitched, and he moved away as if to escape, muttering as he walked, "I need to think about it, think about it more."

After the veteran hunting squads entered the fray, the rankings changed almost daily.

As soon as these old hands got involved, the number of Radiation Beasts they hunted was almost double that of the previous few days, and this multiplier was growing exponentially. The Mind Control Style of the Gray-Eyed Cultists, the close-combat output style of Fireweed, Wilson's Small Mechanical Legion, and even the terrifying firepower of the Symbiotic Squad and the Super Newcomer Black God's Super Mechanization Mode, all gave them a feast for their eyes. They realized that Mechanical Hunters could be this powerful!

The Marauder Squad, which had the strongest initial momentum, saw its ranking steadily decline, from first to second, then to fourth and fifth, finally stabilizing around fifth or sixth place.

With these public battle reports, the controversy surrounding Miyamoto Sanzo and Gao Gong grew larger and larger.

The reason was simple: on this electronic leaderboard, those who made the list had the right to choose whether or not to share their combat footage.

Everyone else agreed because fame in the desert was second only to military strength.

Only these two, like strippers who refused to take off their clothes, made people's hearts itch with curiosity.

Furthermore, the two seemed to be in direct competition, with one killing a Radiation Beast and the other killing a stronger Radiation Beast. Since making the list, the prey they assassinated had rarely been below C-Class.

Although leaving the old radiation zone would cause a certain degree of decline in the strength of Radiation Beasts, with C+ becoming C, C becoming C-, and C- becoming D+, only Mechanical Hunters who had actually been on the battlefield understood how difficult these high-level beasts were to deal with.

And since making the list, these two had been constantly breaking their own records.

Miyamoto Sanzo, 15 C-Class beasts; Gao Gong, 11 C-Class beasts.

Miyamoto Sanzo, 12 C-Class beasts; Gao Gong, 7 C-Class beasts.

Miyamoto Sanzo, 8 C-Class beasts; Gao Gong, 7 C-Class beasts.

Miyamoto Sanzo, 8 C-Class beasts; Gao Gong, 8 C-Class beasts.

They just wouldn't let anyone watch!

They just wouldn't let anyone watch!

While these two assassination masters made people's hearts yearn, they also raised a question.

That is, who among these two was the strongest.

Admittedly, Miyamoto Sanzo's hunting efficiency was still higher than Gao Gong's so far, but as the strength of the Radiation Beasts gradually recovered, his efficiency was also steadily declining. On the other hand, Gao Gong showed a strange stability—stable as an old dog.

"Gao Gong, the lone wolf, must be the strongest. The old man's stamina will run out, and it's only a matter of time before he's surpassed!"

In a Black Market Gambling Den, a gambler who had lost his mind and bet his entire fortune shouted with a flushed face.

"Look at the numbers, it's clear that Master Miyamoto is superior," said a man who had won money, triumphantly.

"Nonsense, nonsense, he'll definitely surpass him. I think it'll happen in the next few days."

"Not necessarily," said a Mechanical Hunter who had just returned from the battlefield and was relaxing with a few bets at the gambling den, shaking his head.

"Don't look at me like that," seeing the gambler's red eyes fixed on him, this person quickly smiled and waved his hand. "Don't think of me as a jinx. I don't think they're much different in terms of individual strength, but compared to a team, Gao Gong is inferior to Miyamoto."

"Team? Aren't assassins all lone wolves?" someone asked blankly.

"No, you forgot, sometimes when Miyamoto takes missions in Gasoline Town, he's followed by three strange individuals dressed in black."

"Those seem to be Miyamoto's apprentices, I heard him introduce them," a familiar person interjected.

"How much skill can apprentices have?"

"Yeah, don't all capable apprentices graduate? I heard that in the assassin profession, the most formidable apprentices present their master's head as their graduation gift."

"No, it's not like that," the Mechanical Hunter smiled. "These three apprentices are very special. They're special because they're not humans, nor are they bionic humans, but combat AI that have been implanted with mechanical bodies."

"AI."

"Taking an AI as an apprentice? What kind of strange thing is that?"

"I only heard about it from others. Miyamoto Sanzo implanted three AI templates into mechanical bodies and made them record his combat patterns every day, along with stealth techniques, killer psychology, and combat experience—"

"AIs with loyalty attributes written into their core logic won't betray him. Miyamoto Sanzo naturally wouldn't hold back. Three killer AIs that mastered all the experience of an old killer, tsk, just thinking about it is terrifying."

The Mechanical Hunter stood up, collected the scattered chips into his pockets, and smiled, "Everyone continue playing. I've rested enough and it's time to go earn some money."

After he left, some gamblers looked at each other, their expressions changing. After a brief stalemate, they all rushed to the Bionic Human dealer and shouted:

"I want to adjust the odds!"

After the Mechanical Hunter left, he didn't go to the battlefield as he said. Instead, he circled Gasoline Town several times, ensuring no one was following him, before ducking into a small house.

The small house was filled with surveillance screens. In front of the screens, Little Finger's eyes were burning with excitement, and like an old gambler, he kept adjusting the market.

"Brother Finger, the news has been released."

Little Finger tossed him a wallet without looking back.

"Go wander outside for a few days and don't come back. If we get exposed, the act won't work anymore."

"What's there to expose? I didn't lie," the Mechanical Hunter said dismissively. "That old man Miyamoto does have three AI apprentices. Aren't they all implanted by you?"

Little Finger waved his hand, ignoring him.

"By the way, Brother Finger, even though we're manipulating things from the shadows, how can you be so sure that Gao Gong will definitely be inferior to Miyamoto? Youth trumps age."

"A few days ago, we were almost overturned several times. Gao Gong was almost catching up."

"But now you're adjusting the odds again, betting on Miyamoto to lose. Why is that?"

The Mechanical Hunter chattered incessantly.

"Do you really want to know?" Little Finger turned around, his voice cold and eerie.

"No, I don't, not at all—"

The Mechanical Hunter chuckled nervously, then turned and ran.

Little Finger snorted and snapped his fingers. The gunports that had emerged from the wall quietly retracted.

The black market boss thought for a moment, then made a phone call. His expression changed, and he put on a fawning smile.

"Brother Gao, how are things on your end? That's right, reel it in a bit, reel it in. It's not time to make a comeback yet."

"Don't worry, how could I not give you your share of the money... By the way, let's take a break for these two days and let that old man Miyamoto have the upper hand. When I've prepared enough Mech Coins to crash the market, I'll harvest those gamblers in one go."

"Regarding the number of kills you made today, how about we set it at 3... Okay, okay, don't worry, I'll throw your share of the money at the bar later."

In the ruins of a factory, Gao Gong ended the communication and looked up, "After we finish this one, we're going back!"

"Going back? Not farming anymore? Alright!"

Tin Can's smug voice came from the armored vehicle. The next moment, the engine covers on both sides of the armored vehicle opened, and two automated machine guns extended out. Powerful firepower immediately tore apart the small bio-beasts that were swarming them.

Gao Gong hefted "Iron Rain" again, aiming the DIY rocket launcher at the front, and gently pulled the trigger.

The next moment, thirteen heavy spears tore through the air. Their tails spun like propellers, further accelerating them in mid-air and even creating sonic booms. Finally, they hammered into the charging mechanical leopards like falling rain, one by one. The "propellers" fully bloomed upon landing, transforming into scattered hooks that embedded themselves in the ground and walls, causing secondary tearing damage.

"Fat Xiang, go draw aggro!"

Gao Gong gave the order, and Fat Xiang charged forward. He was wearing a strange "exoskeleton" – not an exoskeleton armor, but an ancient armor made entirely of monster bones. This armor seemed a size too large on Fat Xiang. Considering this, the original owner of the bones must have been at least three meters tall.

However, as Fat Xiang took a deep breath, a trace of ferocity flashed in his usually vacant, small green eyes. His skin suddenly turned crimson, and white mist spewed from his mouth and nose.

"Roar roar roar—"

The next moment, a strong radiation fluctuation emanated from him. Fat Xiang's height increased steadily. Strange veins bulged from his skin, stacking layer upon layer on his surface, completely stretching out the ancient exoskeleton.

Finally, the foolishly fat man transformed into a two-story-tall monster, even larger than a large bio-beast.

Aberration: A minority of aberrations can rapidly expand aberrant cells in a short period, triggering an aberration reaction. Strength +50%, Agility -15%, Additional Status: Muscle Wall.

Muscle Wall: High-density muscles can block ordinary bullets and most beast bites.

Fat Xiang, wielding a massive mace, took one step at a time, directly blocking the remaining mechanical leopards. He swept the mace in his hand like a thorny giant wall.

With a single sweep, three or four mechanical leopards were sent flying.

No mechanical beast could break through his iron wall.

Meanwhile, Gao Gong calmly shot, reloaded, and shot again.

This "Metal Nest" was clearly stronger than the last one, with at least three waves of guardian beasts and a large number of small mechanical bio-beasts that had migrated here.

However, it was all useless.

He wasn't the only one who had gotten stronger.

As the last bullet ignited the tree trunk.

[You have killed a C-Class Metal Nest. Experience Points +780]