Humanoid Radar

Smack! Smack! Smack!

Once all the members of the Earth Dragon Squad landed safely, they immediately formed an arrowhead formation.

Qin Dadi stood at the front, with Xiao Yunlong and Liu Zhaozhao guarding the flanks. Qin Tian took the center, serving as the squad's brain.

"Qin Tian, which way?"

After seeing Qin Tian's extraordinary perception, Qin Dadi had decisively handed over command and taken on the role of the squad's meat shield.

Qin Tian lowered his eyelids and focused his thoughts.

Within a two-kilometer radius, streams of information—the sounds, scents, and heat sources—converged in his mind, ultimately forming a radar-like map of hotspots.

"This way."

Qin Tian pointed in a direction. From that side came the sound of scales scraping against the ground, indicating that Snake-men were on the move.

"Let's go!"

The Earth Dragon Squad headed for the direction Qin Tian had indicated without a word. It was pitch-black, and the terrain was rough. Even with the Multifunctional Helmets assisting them, they had to watch their footing constantly, so they couldn't run very fast.

Halfway there, Qin Tian suddenly called out:

"Stop!"

The others stopped at once, tense and alert.

"What is it, Qin Tian?" Xiao Yunlong asked in a low voice.

Qin Tian took the Hidden Kill off his back and propped it between several huge rocks. He carefully pointed its muzzle through a narrow gap, aiming ahead as he slowly swept it from side to side.

"He's right up ahead."

Up ahead?

Qin Dadi, Liu Zhaozhao, and Xiao Yunlong immediately looked forward. With the infrared assistance of their Multifunctional Helmets, they could see the grass, fallen trees, and broken stones—but not a single Snake-man.

"Qin Tian, are you sure?" Xiao Yunlong asked doubtfully.

Qin Tian gave a small nod. "I'm sure."

The Snake-man ahead had adjusted his body temperature to perfectly conceal his heat signature. That trick could fool the helmets' infrared detection, but it couldn't escape Qin Tian's keen eyesight.

In his field of vision, a Snake-man was crawling toward them almost flat against the ground, moving with utmost caution. His dark green scales blended into the night, while the sound of them scraping against the ground was drowned out by the howling wind.

The Snake-man thought he was moving silently and leaving no trace. Little did he know that, with Qin Tian's powerful Night Vision Ability, none of his movements could go unnoticed.

Vmmm—

The Three Great Runes on the Hidden Kill Rune Gun activated. Qin Tian pulled the trigger, and a specially made bullet shot from the muzzle, striking the Snake-man precisely between the brows.

Bang!

The Third-Order Snake-man Warrior was taken out with a single headshot.

Unless the target was a Beast Spirit Warrior with a powerful Bloodline, the Hidden Kill meant certain death for anyone below Fourth Order.

Even against someone above Fourth Order, he could still take a chance with [Ember Critical Strike].

Yesterday's Fourth-Order Myriad Poison Snake-man was proof enough.

Bang!

The Snake-man's head burst open, spraying red and white across the ground.

The Earth Dragon Squad blinked. Only then did they spot the Snake-man through their night-vision devices.

"Damn, that was close."

Xiao Yunlong drew in a sharp breath, shocked and frightened.

If not for Qin Tian, the Snake-man might have crept right up to them before they even noticed.

"How did that Snake-man evade infrared detection?" Liu Zhaozhao asked, puzzled.

She had fought Shadow Cats and Spirit Cats before, but this was her first time facing Snake-men. She didn't know what abilities they possessed.

Qin Tian explained:

"It's an ability that lets them control their body temperature. Snake-men with a bit more strength can change their temperature to blend into their surroundings, making them invisible to infrared detection."

If he hadn't absorbed the [Thermal Sense Control] talent, he wouldn't have imagined Snake-men had a trick like that.

After the Snake-man was killed, two talent orbs flew toward Qin Tian. Unfortunately, neither was enough to displace [Thermal Sense Control] or [Body of Ten Thousand Poisons].

But the Evolution Points he gained from the kill were a pleasant surprise.

1557 points

From the looks of it, this must have been a relatively high-level Third-Order Snake-man.

Not bad. A great start!

Qin Tian's lips curled up slightly. Just then, his ear twitched as he heard the sound of fighting in the distance.

"This way."

Qin Tian pointed south, and the Earth Dragon Squad set off immediately.

Before long, Qin Dadi and the others heard the sounds of fighting ahead as well.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

War Blades clashed in midair, scattering sparks.

A hulking Snake-man swung a great blade as he fought three humans. Judging by their psychic pressure and how they performed, all of them were Third-Order Psionic Users. The Snake-man was clearly stronger than the other three, holding his own against them all.

"Should we step in?" Xiao Yunlong asked Qin Tian.

Qin Tian thought it over, then shook his head.

"Let's see how things play out first."

Things were different now.

This was a grand hunt targeting Snake-men.

Every squad was doing its best to find any stragglers and kill them, hoping to earn more Military Merit Points.

Jumping in while allied forces weren't showing signs of defeat would be like stealing kills in a game. It was bound to cause resentment, or even a dispute.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The clash of weapons continued, and the fight grew fiercer.

Just as the Snake-man swung his blade to block an oncoming Long Sword, he suddenly felt something slap him on the back.

As observers, the Earth Dragon Squad had a clear view of what had just happened.

A moment earlier, a black gate about the size of a book had appeared silently behind the Snake-man. A hand emerged from the Black Gate and slapped a white object onto his back. Then the hand quickly withdrew, and the gate closed.

As soon as the hand emerged, the three Psionic Users surrounding the Snake-man retreated in perfect unison. The next instant, the Sticky Bomb on the Snake-man's back exploded with a thunderous boom.

Boom!

A flash of fire. The powerful blast sent the Snake-man flying, his scales shattered and blood spraying everywhere as a chilling scream rang out.

"Holy shit, that ability is so underhanded! How's anyone supposed to defend against it?"

Xiao Yunlong's jaw dropped. He couldn't help exclaiming in a low voice, then immediately added:

"If I had that ability, I'd be a legendary thief by now."

Qin Dadi said calmly, "That ability is only useful for support. You also have to consider its range. It's not as powerful as you think."

That's right.

Qin Tian silently nodded in agreement with Qin Dadi.

If the Snake-man hadn't been occupied by the other three Psionic Users, he would surely have sensed the Black Gate opening and reacted in time.

That ability wasn't suited to direct combat.

Still, Xiao Yunlong had a point. If there were no range limit, it really would be an almost impossible ability to guard against when used for theft.

Qin Tian turned and looked at a tree more than two kilometers away. Through Heat Source Sensing, he could tell that the Ability User was hiding in its branches, well concealed by the thick foliage and sitting perfectly still. There was no way to spot him with the naked eye. He was pretty...

Suddenly, Qin Tian's pupils shrank.

In his field of vision, a scaly face had appeared behind the Ability User. A sinister glint shone in its yellow eyes. But the Ability User, with all his attention fixed on the battlefield, hadn't noticed the Snake-man behind him.

Even from more than two kilometers away, Qin Tian had been keeping an eye on the battle below. With Heat Source Perception no longer working, he hadn't detected this Snake-man either.

This is bad!

Qin Tian quickly shouldered his rifle and fired at the Snake-man.

Almost at the same moment—

Thwack!

Bang!

A steel blade pierced the Ability User's back, while the bullet blew the Snake-man's head apart.

"Qin Tian, why did you...?"

The three members of the Earth Dragon Squad looked at Qin Tian, questions in their eyes.

Qin Tian slowly lowered his rifle and shook his head.