The Hunt Begins!

Outside Fujin Hall.

As the gap in the side door closed, the sound of tables and chairs being moved came from inside. Lin Yi took the lead, walking at the front of the group.

Chen Yu gripped his phone tightly, his face a mix of nerves and excitement as he followed Lin Yi.

Zhou Jianjun held a table leg like a short club in one hand and a makeshift shield—made from a chair seat bound with strips of cloth—in the other. He brought up the rear, keeping watch.

"Stay by the second-floor stairwell."

Lin Yi's voice was barely above a whisper. "A Yu, find a spot with a clear view and set up your phone. Record everything, and keep the footage steady. Focus on the fight and the monsters' reactions. Uncle, protect A Yu. If any get past us, just hold them off until I can help."

Chen Yu nodded firmly and made an understood gesture, then crouched behind a large vase against the wall on the other side of the stairwell.

The spot offered an excellent view. He only had to shift a step to overlook the entire First Floor Hall and most of the small square outside the entrance.

Zhou Jianjun raised his shield to show he understood. He gave Lin Yi a long look, then followed Chen Yu.

Lin Yi remained alone at the stairwell. He didn't hurry downstairs. Instead, he cautiously poked half his head out and quickly surveyed the area.

"One...is eating a corpse, farther inside...The other one's guarding the entrance. It must be the one that got away earlier. Looks like it's acting as a sentry."

Even Abyssal Beasts have to play second fiddle when they don't have a proper unit.

He silently grumbled to himself.

"Two uses of Source Energy Projection left...one for the last one that tries to run, and one as a backup. That should be enough."

Lin Yi reviewed his plan in his mind, then held his breath.

As source energy quietly circulated through his body, he controlled his movements precisely, suppressing every sound that might give him away. Then, like a weightless shadow, he crept down the stairs along the wall.

He stepped silently over the last few steps and swiftly slipped into the shadows beside the First Floor Hall, sweeping his gaze across the wrecked room.

Overturned tables and chairs, shattered glass, broad patches of dried, blackened blood, and...a Corrosive Abyss Wolf with its back to him, crouched over a mangled corpse and devouring it.

The beast was completely absorbed in its meal. Its thick tail swung absently, the tip of its Bone Tail, slick with viscous fluid, occasionally brushing the floor.

But Lin Yi ignored it and looked instead toward the spot nearer the shattered entrance.

There, another Abyssal Wolf crouched, its murky, dark-red eyes warily scanning the street outside. Its ears turned from time to time, picking up distant gunfire and explosions.

Outside the entrance, diagonally across the street, the Purple-black Vortex pulsed slowly like a gigantic heart. Its color had deepened since it first appeared, and dark-red veins along its edges flashed in rhythmic bursts.

Around the vortex, more than forty Corrosive Abyss Wolves roamed in groups of three or five, like scattered dark-green reefs.

Some gnawed on corpses by the roadside, some anxiously scraped at the ground, and others growled low at the distant gunfire.

They seemed to be scattered at random, but Lin Yi could tell from his past-life experience that the pack was divided into six or seven small groups. Each group guarded the entrance to a building or the wreckage of a vehicle where survivors might be hiding. Like seasoned hunters, they waited patiently for their prey to panic or show a weakness.

There were quite a lot of them, but Lin Yi wasn't worried they would interfere with his next move.

Each group had its own task and wouldn't easily come to another's aid. In fact, if the squad at the entrance was wiped out, the nearby Abyssal Wolves wouldn't even approach for a while.

Of course, when the Abyssal Beasts returned next time, they would first deal with other areas, then concentrate their forces for a full-scale assault.

So, compared with the groups of Abyssal Wolves not far away, Lin Yi cared more about the state of the Abyss Beast Nest.

"It's already starting to spawn a Giant Rock Abyss Bear. Looks like the nest is preparing for the assault to come..."

The Giant Rock Abyss Bear was the strongest Elite Unit a Miniature Nest could spawn, aside from the nest's leader. Its hide was thick, its strength immense, and it was almost immune to light firearms. It was one of the toughest enemies to deal with in the early stages.

Lin Yi's expression turned serious. With him at Hongfu Tower, the place was safe enough, but there was no telling how things were for the other survivors.

At the very least, the bus not far away that clearly had people hiding inside wouldn't withstand a charge from a Giant Rock Abyss Bear.

"We need to speed things up... First, I'll take care of this small group at the entrance and create a temporary safe zone. Then I'll figure out how to take down this nest."

With that in mind, Lin Yi lowered his body and lightened his steps, keeping close to the wall and the wreckage of an overturned sofa as he silently approached the Abyssal Wolf that was eating with its back to him.

Five meters...three meters...

The Abyssal Wolf seemed to sense something. It suddenly stopped eating, its nostrils flaring as it began to turn around.

At that instant, Lin Yi sprang into action!

He made no unnecessary movements. His left foot drove into the ground as he lunged forward, gripping the Black Iron Long Staff. Source energy surged through it, and the staff tore through the air with a muffled whistle, stabbing precisely into the side of the Abyssal Wolf's neck.

Thwack!

The staff plunged nearly halfway through, almost piercing straight out the other side.

The Abyssal Wolf's massive body stiffened. It couldn't even whimper before collapsing onto the corpse it had been eating.

At almost the same moment, the Abyssal Wolf guarding the inside of the entrance was alerted.

It whipped around, its blood-red eyes instantly catching sight of Lin Yi and its fallen companion. With an enraged yelp, it immediately lunged at him.

"Awrooo!"

But the howl only made it halfway out.

Lin Yi was faster.

He didn't stop after killing the first wolf. Riding the momentum of his lunge, he planted a foot and changed direction. As he kept charging forward, he yanked the staff free, twisted his body, and mimicked Mountain Crushing Spin from Dark Great Sage, a move that demanded exceptional coordination. The staff swept through a heavy arc and slammed into the head of the Abyssal Wolf charging at him.

Crack!

The howl cut off abruptly.

The Abyssal Wolf that had escaped last time still hadn't managed to evade Lin Yi this time.

Its skull crumpled as if struck by a sledgehammer. Its massive body flew sideways, slammed heavily into the wall, then slid to the floor. Red and white fluids seeped from its shattered skull, and its neck twisted at an unnatural angle. It was clearly dead.

"Awrooo?!"

The instant the Sentry Abyssal Wolf died, five Abyssal Wolves on the street outside—already alerted by that half-howl—erupted in furious roars, like kegs of gunpowder catching fire!

They became five dark-green deathly gusts, charging through the shattered entrance and the windows beside it. In an instant, they split into three in front and two behind.

The front three formed a wedge, fangs bared and claws glinting, lunging straight at Lin Yi from the front and both sides.

The other two tried to circle around the edge of the fight and cut off any possible escape route.

Beside the vase on the second-floor stairwell, Chen Yu's breath caught. He kept his phone's camera locked on the scene below, his palms slick with sweat.

Worry filled Zhou Jianjun's eyes. He gripped his shield and short club, his body taut as a bow. Gritting his teeth, he stood ready to rush down and help.