The eye that Zheng Yichen had popped on the Giant Bear had been replaced with a new one, and it even had a layer of protection over it. Taking it out through the eye wouldn't be so easy anymore. On top of that, the Giant Bear's limbs were now covered in thick protective armor.
"This time, you won't be able to pry its skull open," Lewis said to Jamie, eyeing the Giant Bear's head.
"Yeah. It's got an even more Iron Turtle-like head now." After Jamie said that, all four of them ran off into the distance in perfect sync.
The Giant Bear tore along at full speed. They had to use the testing site's surroundings to fight. The roaring bear and the hunters' shouts made the place feel so intense that Zheng Yichen almost thought they were in a party fighting a boss.
No, it wasn't just a feeling. They really were in a party fighting a boss.
The scene reminded him even more of a game on Earth where Immortal Artifacts and Divine Artifacts flew everywhere: a gunfight game with graphics from fifty years ago and technology from five hundred years in the future. This was the retro version, where a bunch of burly men fought with weapons that had no skins and couldn't shoot laser effects.
And Zheng Yichen was the kind of deadweight with no gun, stuck stabbing the boss with a little knife...
The Giant Bear had tremendous destructive power, but this wasn't open terrain. It was inside a building, so they could use the structures for cover. Still, Zheng Yichen felt the challenge was ten times harder than before.
Not the danger level, just the difficulty of killing it. The Giant Bear had been upgraded, and its strength had increased enormously, but it was about as fast as before—slow enough for the veteran hunters there to react to. As for the rookie hunters cursing up a storm, no one was paying attention to them right now.
If they wanted to become hunters, they had to accept the risks that came with it. Besides, getting a license wasn't easy. The first requirement alone, building up experience, would weed out most people.
Even as rookies, they could stay safe as long as they didn't stupidly charge in and kept their legs moving. Rookie hunters weren't new recruits; they'd all seen some combat before earning their licenses.
Even so, the rookies were being chased around in a sorry state. Most of their bullets were stopped by the Giant Bear's armor, and even when they hit exposed flesh, the effect was negligible.
Someone threw a hand grenade, a weapon with a wide area of effect, but the upgraded Giant Bear clearly had new decision-making capabilities. When faced with something like a grenade, it smacked it away with its paw.
"Look for a chance to attack," Lewis said to Zheng Yichen with a sigh. Then he ran over to another group of hunters, while Jamie and the others joined a new squad as well.
It was obvious that a rookie like Zheng Yichen, who could only deal damage in close combat, had been overlooked. Hard-hitting gunfire was the main thing; melee fighters were just too ineffective in this kind of environment.
In a fight like this, melee fighters had to worry about both the Giant Bear and friendly fire.
Looking at the amount of firepower the Giant Bear was taking, Zheng Yichen really didn't want to get close. He wouldn't come out of it unscathed.
But he couldn't make it too obvious that he was slacking off, either.
Crouched behind a damaged wall, Zheng Yichen listened to the commotion. After its latest round of modifications, the Giant Bear could react to weapons like grenades. It was no longer just a wild animal—or rather, it was a biological weapon with a different brain.
Was its head full of flesh and blood, or an electronic chip? They'd have to dismantle it to find out.
In the Monitoring Room, several researchers watched the fierce battle on the screens. This was exactly the kind of situation they wanted. Hunters weren't like troops that had undergone intensive training. Military operations were far too orderly, and the troops were also very familiar with the research facility's layout.
Once they engaged an Experimental Subject, it would be surrounded. If the facility's security personnel fought it with the same equipment, the battle definitely wouldn't be this chaotic.
The hunters didn't know the layout of the research facility's testing site. Though they'd been given some information in advance, the fight still felt like an encounter battle. The chaos gave them more realistic data; standardized tests could easily overlook certain problems.
Besides, hunters came in all types. Plenty of low-ranking hunters were ordinary people, but some of the rookies were bound to be special. Those special ones would bleed when injured, right? Once they cleaned up the site afterward, the research facility would have new research material.
Just as Zheng Yichen, crouched behind the wall, prepared to take the opportunity to launch a sneak attack, the wall behind him suddenly exploded.
"Shit..." He hit the ground and ran forward without looking back. The Giant Bear's roar sounded right behind him.
As he ran, he thrust the Fishing Rod behind him. A faint crack sounded. Cracks appeared across the surface of the Giant Bear's mechanical eye, and a burst of sparks flew out. The impact sent Zheng Yichen flying backward, too.
After landing, Zheng Yichen couldn't help shaking his arm. He'd meant to ambush it, but it had nearly swatted him flat.
With one of its eyes damaged, the Giant Bear's movements became noticeably sluggish.
"Nice work!" Lewis called from a distance, then increased the covering fire. He'd also gained a new appreciation for Zheng Yichen's strength.
After finding new cover, Zheng Yichen rubbed his arm. His palm had been badly scraped by the impact. The Giant Bear was strong enough to flip a tank.
He exhaled and prepared to look for another opening. He'd never been in a chaotic battle like this before, and it put him under a lot of pressure. The Giant Bear was one source of it; his allies were another.
They were all firing their guns. It was terrifying. He'd seen veteran hunters carrying melee weapons, but even they were using guns in a fight like this.
After losing one eye, the Giant Bear's judgment was clearly impaired. Its armor didn't cover its whole body, and under sustained fire and pressure, its mobility rapidly deteriorated. Before long, it could no longer move at all.
The hunters hiding behind various pieces of cover waited until they were sure the Giant Bear really couldn't move before coming out. "Damn, this money's hard-earned!"
One hunter cursed as he looked at the fallen Giant Bear. It had no ranged attacks, but its blows were devastating, and it could throw things, too. Even the rubble it sent flying when it smashed cover could hurt people.
His arm had been grazed by a piece of rubble, leaving a deep gash. If it had hit at a slightly different angle, the stone could've broken his arm outright.
"At least this thing was still within our ability to handle," another hunter said, letting out a long breath. "There's nothing left for us to do now. We just have to wait until these last two days are over."
Rubbing his arm, Zheng Yichen stared absently at the Giant Bear's "corpse." What exactly were the people at the research facility researching this thing for?
As he pondered the question, someone patted him on the shoulder. Jamie smiled. "Not bad. Even bullets couldn't easily break that eye, but you popped one right out."
"That was all I managed." Zheng Yichen showed him the Fishing Rod in his hand. Its tip was badly bent. "I'll have to get this fixed when I get back."
"That won't be a problem. I'll recommend a good place to you later. They can fix things there—and people, too," Jamie said casually.
Before long, the research facility's staff arrived and began the recovery work. After completing their two-day commission, the hunters took their money and left. As Zheng Yichen was leaving, Jamie slipped him an address, while Lewis gave him a Gun Store business card.
There was a phone number on the card. If he wanted to buy a gun, he could just call. The address Jamie gave him was for a place in the Lower City called the Twilight Chapel.
Did Longcheng have a place like that?
Before you continue