Professional Team

"This is the place."

Outside the Wasteland Zone base built by Wangyou Media, a battered old truck sat in the distance among sparse trees. It clattered to a halt, and several enormous figures climbed out of the cargo bed.

Yellow Big Tiger jumped down and looked around. Seeing no one, he cautiously moved a few steps forward and peered at the base's screened-off perimeter. Then he took out a tiny phone that barely fit in his palm and checked it.

Black Tiger, his face bruised and swollen, circled the truck and said with some heartache, "We spent all the money we had left on this new truck, and now it's wrecked."

Big Rhinoceros Deer jumped down from the driver's seat and shot him a cold look. "I told you I couldn't drive this thing. You two couldn't fit in the cab, either. What was I supposed to do?"

As tiger demons in human form, Yellow Big Tiger and Little Black Cub were simply too big. The driver's cabins designed for humans were impossible for them to enter. The two Rhinoceros Demons could just about squeeze inside, but the problem was... they didn't know how to drive.

The two brothers had only recently fled the Wasteland Zone. They'd learned not to eat garbage off the ground only after trying rat poison a few times. Expecting them to master driving was asking too much of a Rhinoceros Deer.

A lion with dreadlocks had served as their instructor. He'd somehow managed to teach one Rhinoceros Deer to drive without being allowed to smoke or call his student an idiot, and he'd suffered plenty for it.

Yellow Big Tiger had paid him extra, too.

But there hadn't been any better options. This might have been the suburbs, but plenty of cars passed through lately. Without a vehicle, the demons couldn't get far before someone spotted them.

By the time Big Rhinoceros Deer had bumped and rattled the truck all the way here, it wasn't just a little damaged—it was practically a wreck.

"The target... is here?" Second Rhinoceros Deer stared fixedly at the base. "Are you sure?"

"Positive." Yellow Big Tiger nodded. He had a picture on his phone showing Yue Wen and Zhao Xing'er driving their motorhome inside. "I hired the Flying Bird Group to track them. They were supposed to notify me as soon as the targets left the city."

The Flying Bird Group was a monster organization in Jiang City, founded by several bird spirits. They could command birds to observe and keep watch. For monsters who couldn't reveal themselves openly, the group's help was extremely useful—a powerful source of intel.

But it came at a steep price.

They hadn't taken much with them when they escaped the Tiger Head Gang, and after all these expenses, the two tiger demons could only be described in four words:

Dead broke.

But they didn't care. They could earn more money, but if they didn't avenge their brothers, they might lose their chance...

When Yellow Big Tiger got bored in the basement, he watched human movies and animation. He knew all too well how terrifying young humans without parents could be. This guy was only at the lower three realms today; before long, he might be in the upper three!

So revenge had to come early.

Of course, he didn't read books. Though he was working hard to learn human culture, reading for leisure was still too high-level for him. Even among humans, only the exceptionally intelligent, beautiful, and virtuous made reading one of their hobbies.

While he was still observing and thinking things over, Second Rhinoceros Deer heard the word "positive" and strode off with a hammer in hand.

"Hey, hey, hey—" Yellow Big Tiger hurriedly reached out to stop him. "What are you doing?"

"What do you mean?" Second Rhinoceros Deer turned back, bewildered. "Going after the target."

Big Rhinoceros Deer rolled up his sleeves and gripped a wrench. "Just leave it to us. We're professionals."

"Professionals, my ass!" Yellow Big Tiger pointed toward the base, whose outer perimeter was hidden behind a row of sheds. "Do you even know what kind of place that is?"

Big Rhinoceros Deer closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "There's a lot of restless demonic energy. It feels familiar. Is it some Demon King's territory?"

"It's a private garden! There's a sign right there. Can't you read? You can sense the demonic energy, but you have no idea how many human cultivators are hiding inside!" Yellow Big Tiger said. "If you just barge in, you'll be walking straight to your deaths!"

"Walking where?" Second Rhinoceros Deer looked blank. "Did a reindeer come, too?"

"What reindeer?" Yellow Big Tiger was at his wit's end. "It's human territory. You can't just go barging in recklessly. You have to be careful."

"What eggs?" Big Rhinoceros Deer frowned at him. "Did a chicken come, too?"

"Your mom came!" Yellow Big Tiger was nearly losing his mind. "It's an idiom! Do you even know what an idiom is?!"

Second Rhinoceros Deer looked around. "My mom's here? Really?"

"..." Yellow Big Tiger looked as if he'd given up on life. He fell silent for a moment before saying, "Just follow my lead, all right?"

"You're paying, so of course we'll follow your lead." Big Rhinoceros Deer nodded and held his brother back.

"You haven't learned a thing about the human world, but you picked up the whole money thing pretty fast." Yellow Big Tiger let out a long breath. "First, we'll watch and see what they're doing in there. Then we'll find a chance to sneak in when the gates open. If we charge in recklessly, do you have any idea how many humans are inside?"

"Mm." Big Rhinoceros Deer agreed.

The demons all lay low in a ditch on the hillside, watching the base and observing it carefully.

"You really ought to learn from me. Your approach is way too reckless," Yellow Big Tiger said. "My brothers and I spent over ten years in the city's underworld. We carried out countless assassinations and never once made a mistake. I'm the professional here."

"Then how did your brothers die?" Big Rhinoceros Deer asked.

"..." That one question left Yellow Big Tiger speechless.

He didn't know what to say. They'd spent over ten years being cautious, only for someone to show up at their door one day and wipe them out. He still found it hard to accept.

"Our brothers were at home playing cards and listening to music when those two cultivators came in. They started killing as soon as they walked through the door," Black Tiger answered.

"You don't need to tell them all that," Yellow Big Tiger said.

"I heard those two only got five hundred yuan to come after us," Black Tiger continued indignantly. "Five hundred for both of them, mind you."

"Keep your voice down!" Yellow Big Tiger scolded. "It's nothing to be proud of!"

"Only five hundred for killing three?" Second Rhinoceros Deer looked up at Big Rhinoceros Deer. "Big Brother, is five hundred thousand a bit much for killing two?"

"Quit saying embarrassing things," Big Rhinoceros Deer scolded. "Five hundred is more than fifty. How many times have I taught you?"

"Oh..." Second Rhinoceros Deer nodded.

Yellow Big Tiger shut his eyes in despair, convinced there was no future for this team.

Just then, a convoy of heavy trucks came rumbling in, their weight making the road vibrate. The enormous demons felt the ground shaking beneath them. The convoy consisted of dozens of trucks, their cargo sealed shut. From far away, the vehicles looked like the spine of a black dragon.

At the same time, the garden gates opened, and a crowd of people poured out to direct the convoy inside.

Big Rhinoceros Deer closed his eyes and sniffed the air. "The demonic energy is so strong—stronger than inside!"

"Perfect!"

At the sight, Yellow Big Tiger's eyes suddenly gleamed. His predator's instincts told him this was the perfect chance to sneak into the garden.

"Watch what I do and follow me!"

He gave a low growl, then sprinted on all fours, as if he'd reverted to his beast form. He rounded the hillside and came alongside the convoy. With a nimble leap, he sprang beneath a heavy truck, clung to its undercarriage, and rode it into the garden.

At that moment, he was the mighty ruler of the forest!

Big Rhinoceros Deer and Second Rhinoceros Deer followed close behind. They looked a little clumsy, but there was something strangely nimble about them. They swayed along after Yellow Big Tiger, then each hopped beneath a truck with a couple of quick bounds.

Only Black Tiger ran into trouble. He didn't dare reveal his true form, and he still hadn't gotten used to his human body. His leap went slightly wrong, and he scraped against a wheel with a thud.

The heavy wheel hit him hard, leaving him seeing stars. He tumbled a few times and collapsed on the ground, dazed.

"What was that noise?" Someone noticed the commotion and looked over.

The demons' hearts leaped into their throats.

If they made the humans suspicious and the workers checked every vehicle, the whole plan would be ruined!

Then someone over there shouted, "What happened? One fell out! Good thing we drugged it. It won't wake up right away. Hurry and get it into the park!"

"Coming!" Several cultivators who'd been accompanying the convoy ran over and hoisted Black Tiger up.

One of them looked back. "Doesn't look like anything's wrong with the cargo compartment. Was this one part of our shipment?"

"Must be," another said. "Look at its bruised-up face. It got hurt when it hit the city's barrier."

"True..."

As the humans chatted, the entire professional assassination team made it into the garden.

A few minutes later, the director's voice came through Yue Wen and the others' earpieces.

"Everyone, keep your expressions still and carry on with what you're doing. I have an announcement."

"Thanks to your outstanding performance, we're running low on monsters in our Wasteland Zone. We've sent in a new batch, and they're a little stronger, so be prepared. The simulated Wasteland Zone won't feel tense enough if the difficulty doesn't go up a bit. Of course, with your cultivation levels, you should still be able to handle them."

"Right now, Sister Hua has the most viewers in her personal livestream, followed by Fei Xia and Yue Wen. Yue Wen, especially—you're really popular with the audience. Keep it up."

"It's late, so you can get some rest if you like. There aren't many viewers at this hour, and you've been exploring for a long time. As long as you're safe, feel free to sleep for a while and recharge."

Yue Wen was taken aback. What was he supposed to keep up?

Aside from being handsome, what had he done to win over the audience?

Whatever.

As for getting some rest, that was even more ridiculous. He'd finally found such a good place. He wished he could split into three and hunt down evil spirits all by himself. Rest? The monsters were right there. If he didn't go after them, someone else would.

How could he sleep?

"Ji Yang, your personal livestream has the lowest viewership. You're currently in last place. You could learn from Yue Wen and kill a few more monsters," the director reminded him. "The audience doesn't seem to like watching you search for treasure chests. They'd rather see fights."

"Okay, that's all. Over!"

Once the director's message ended, everyone wore different expressions.

Ji Yang, who'd been working hard to find treasure chests, especially gritted his teeth. He'd still wanted to open a few more and win the game, but the audience preferred watching him kill monsters?

Heh. Fine.

Then he'd show them what a disciple of Hidden Dragon Pool could do!