Boiler Elephant

Scavenger City was still Scavenger City, but perhaps due to his heightened senses, Gao Gong could clearly feel that this metropolitan area had become more dangerous.

It was as if it had once been a beast's nest, but now it was a giant beast with a gaping maw.

This isn't good. Generally, only when an A-class Beast God is born does it possess such powerful biological will.

At this strength, it's already close to a future Armored Beast Lair; but if it really were an Armored Beast Lair, how did the Security Brigade win this battle?

According to normal history, the Iron Sand Desert had been within the sphere of influence of Mechanical City until before the Hydra Campaign. It was only after that battle ended that the Iron Sand Desert truly became a paradise for monsters.

Thinking of this, a famous quote suddenly popped into Gao Gong's mind.

"Annihilate one hundred million enemies, advance a thousand miles. Crouching in the southeast, majestically surveying the central plains."

Gao Gong's mouth twitched.

No way, if I can throw a match, you guys can too? You're the regular army, you have a license!

A rustling sound suddenly came from the grass in the distance. Gao Gong spun around abruptly and shouted, "Who's there?!"

"It's me, it's me, Mr. Gao, you still recognize me, right?"

Pockmarked face sheepishly crawled out of the bushes, accompanied by two natives holding steel bars, looking fierce.

"Oh, you're here," Gao Gong's expression softened slightly as he glanced at the campfire not far away.

"Yes, Mr. Gao, what did you call us over for this time? That, hehe, I wonder if you brought any supplies this time."

Gao Gong frowned. "Of course, I brought supplies, but why is it you again, my good friend Huang Yuanli?"

"Her? She really has something going on. Oh, right, she also asked me to bring you a token."

Pockmarked face fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a small butterfly hairpin. This was indeed Huang Yuanli's prized possession.

Gao Gong's expression was calm, but a hint of coldness flashed in his eyes. This indicated that the young woman's situation was even more difficult than he had imagined.

He said coldly, "I am helping you out of obligation because of my friend. If Huang Yuanli is not present, or if she encounters any trouble, then I will not give you my supplies."

Pockmarked face was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. "Mr. Gao, please don't misunderstand. We are all friends. Sister Yuanli has no problems in the tribe; she's just genuinely unable to get away. Otherwise, why would she have me bring this little clip? It's just to prevent you from misunderstanding."

Gao Gong showed hesitation and remained silent. Pockmarked face kept winking at the other two, signaling them not to act rashly.

However, one of them couldn't hold back any longer. He suddenly pulled a handgun from his pocket, its dark muzzle pointed directly at Gao Gong.

He said fiercely, "The tribe has been out of food for almost three days. We can't wait any longer, let's just grab the food first!"

Pockmarked face's expression finally changed. He said agitatedly, "We can't do this. Mr. Gao is a friend of our tribe. Have you forgotten who saved our expedition team?"

"Whoever wants to save them can save them! I wish those lunatics would just die off completely. Without them, we were doing just fine!"

"It must have been those scientific madmen who brought down the heavenly wrath, that's why our tribe ended up like this!"

"They should be sold into slavery to protect the tribe!"

Under this person's instigation, the other also made up his mind. He gripped the steel bar with both hands, his face fierce as he surrounded Gao Gong.

Seeing this, Gao Gong said calmly, "The supplies are in the back trunk, but after this delivery, don't expect another one."

"Next time, humph, by next time our tribe will have already left!"

The man with the gun sneered, keeping his gun aimed at Gao Gong while walking to the back of the SUV. With his other hand, he opened the trunk.

Inside, there was no food, only some high-tech looking items. They looked somewhat like... things from Professor Han's laboratory?

"You—"

The moment the man was stunned, the Head-Dog, who had been slumped in the back seat, suddenly leaped up. Steel needles extended from its forelimbs, piercing the opponent's shoulder blades on both sides. At the same time, its metallic head violently rammed into the opponent, knocking him to the ground. Its head continued to ram him.

It looked like a dog and a human engaged in a high-intensity "kissing scene."

The other two Head-Dogs also jumped off the car immediately, pouncing on the other person from left and right. The man smashed one away with a steel bar, only to be bitten in the crotch by the other, letting out a painful scream. The scene looked even more inappropriate for children.

Pockmarked face was sweating profusely. He watched as Gao Gong picked up the handgun from the ground and slowly walked over.

Recalling Professor Han and the others' experiences in the tribe, he felt he was doomed.

"Can you give me an explanation?" Gao Gong asked slowly. Not far from him, two people were barely breathing. One was covered in blood, and the other's crotch was covered in blood. The latter seemed to be in a much more serious condition than the former.

Pockmarked face's mind raced with thoughts, but the moment Gao Gong cocked the gun, he immediately became honest. "Professor Han and Sister Yuanli have been locked up. Professor Han was apprehended as soon as he returned to the tribe. Sister Yuanli's freedom was restricted. After your last food delivery, Sister Yuanli was suppressed by the Great Elder for instigating a riot and was locked up like Professor Han."

"Instigated a riot? This little woman, what did you do to make her so angry?" Gao Gong asked in surprise.

Pockmarked face said with some shame, "According to the Great Elder, half of the tribe's members were to be sold to outsiders, and in return, the other half would join the Flame Apostles."

"What are Flame Apostles?" For some reason, Gao Gong found the title strangely familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere before.

"Flame Apostles are followers of the God of Radiation and Gunpowder, and his most loyal subordinates. The Great Elder told us that as long as we join the Flame Apostles, our Cable Tribe will be saved!"

God of Radiation and Gunpowder, that name was very familiar. It was the native warlord two continents west of Automobile City.

Gao Gong sneered, "You're being so vague, I thought you were up to something else. So it turns out you're engaging in slave trade."

In the Iron Sand Desert, scavengers were at the very bottom of the power pyramid.

But there were those even more miserable than them: the slaves of the native warlords. Most of these slaves were scavengers captured by the warlords.

These types of slaves also had another name: "meat people," humans as their name suggested, like meat livestock.

"Mr. Gao, I advise you not to go in. You are alone, and our tribe has at least a hundred neuro-beasts. You are no match for them."

Half an hour later, Gao Gong and Maziali were crouching in a patch of grass. Gao Gong closed his left eye, his cybernetic eye scanning the area like a scope.

Two visible sentries, two hidden ones.

And over a dozen Mech-Bio Beasts scattered around.

Gao Gong hadn't expected the Cable Tribe to choose such a bold location, right between two Mech-Beast clusters.

And these were both D-Class clusters.

He remembered back when he was with the exploration team, if it hadn't been for Gao Gong's overwhelming power, those people would most likely have been wiped out.

And that was just a small cluster.

Gao Gong abandoned the idea of a frontal assault and turned to Maziali.

"Can you get me inside?"

Maziali grimaced and shook his head. "Forget bringing you, I can't even get in myself. Those two you killed were confidants of the Great Elder. Three go out, one comes back, the Great Elder will skin me alive."

Gao Gong thought for a moment, then beckoned. A Head-Dog poked its head out from the grass.

Then he took something out of his backpack that looked like a 'square dance speaker'.

"What's this?" Maziali asked blankly.

Gao Gong ignored him and turned the tuning knob on the 'speaker', adjusting the noise frequency of the 'neural disruptor' to ensure he wouldn't aggro too many enemies.

Finally, Gao Gong pressed the power button.

With a thought, the Head-Dog shot off like an arrow, biting down on the 'speaker'.

The next moment, Gao Gong also fled the area frantically.

Maziali blinked. What was going on? The person was gone, the dog was gone, and he was the only captive left.

He felt so lost.

However, in the next moment, he was no longer lost.

The two Mech-Dogs at the tribe's entrance suddenly barked across the distance, as if sensing an invisible intruder.

A moment later, the two dogs were enraged, breaking free from their chains and lunging towards Maziali.

Maziali was startled and, almost without thinking, scrambled in the direction Gao Gong had fled.

The next moment, birds scattered as a flock of Metal Sparrows flew out from within the tribe, also heading in the direction the Mech-Dogs were rushing.

Then, a large number of Mech-Beasts, flying in the sky, swimming on the ground, and climbing trees, surged past where the two had just been.

If Maziali had been half a step slower, he would have been trampled to death by the Beast Tide.

"Wh-what did you do?"

Maziali scrambled to Gao Gong's side, terrified.

However, Gao Gong's expression was also stunned.

"You—"

Maziali was about to say something else when a series of 'boom', 'boom', 'boom' sounds, like a large forging machine hammering hot iron, suddenly rang out, extremely loud and spreading in all directions.

A giant leg, thicker than a tree that took two people to embrace and equally taller, descended from the sky, smashing into the metal vines and flattening them.

This giant leg didn't look like a mechanical leg, but more like a prosthetic leg, smooth on the surface except for the joint.

"Boiler Elephant! Why is it out!?"

This prosthetic elephant was a C+ Mech-Bio Beast, settled next to the Cable Tribe. It fed on metal bark and leaves and had always had a gentle disposition.

Woosh—

As its trunk let out a sound like a train whistle, superheated steam rose within a radius of several miles, engulfing swathes of forest.

Fortunately, Gao Gong's Desert Skin had high-temperature resistance, but Maziali was miserable. It was like being stripped naked and thrown into a bath, but in the hotter section.

His skin turned red at a visible rate, and his pockmarked face became as red as a pomegranate.

Maziali gritted his teeth, managing to suppress a scream.

Gao Gong's expression suddenly changed. He felt a powerful threat from above. Looking up, through the mist, a giant bird shadow the size of a bomber flashed across the sky.

He faintly heard the sound of onboard missiles being launched.

About ten seconds later, a fierce pillar of fire erupted from the direction the Head-Dog had fled, shooting into the sky.

Gao Gong was silent for a moment, then sent the Head-Dog its final command:

Die as far away as possible, and don't come back.