City 048

"Haha, I don't know why either, I just like going head-to-head with monsters. Fighting like this is thrilling; it makes my blood boil," Sett said.

The group set off again. In the night under the moonlight, the howls of monsters could be heard from time to time, but fortunately, Sett and Luo Feng had adapted to the feeling of this Wilderness Zone.

"If we follow this highway, we should arrive in about two more days," Chen Fan said.

All five of them were at least at the intermediate warrior level, so even carrying large packs, they could cover over a hundred kilometers in a single night.

Not to mention that they occasionally had to stop and fight the monsters blocking their path.

The sky was already beginning to brighten, and the five of them, having walked all night, were somewhat exhausted.

"There's a village over there; let's go find a room to rest for a bit," Chen Fan said, spotting an abandoned village in the fields not far away.

After descending from the dilapidated highway, they walked through the overgrown fields, keeping a careful eye on the ground beneath their feet.

After all, venomous insects and snakes used the grass for concealment and could launch a fatal strike at any moment.

"Watch out!" Yang Hui, who had sharp eyes, shouted.

He immediately grabbed his sniper rifle, quickly aimed at a patch of grass, and gently squeezed the trigger.

Bang! As the bullet left the chamber, the supersonic round struck the body of the snake hiding in the grass.

After being hit, the snake's body twitched violently, looking extremely painful as it flicked its tongue and thrashed its head back and forth.

Yang Hui fired another shot, blowing the snake's head apart.

The dead snake was green in color and not as massive as other monsters, only two meters long, making it effortless for it to hide in the waist-high grass.

"I was almost bitten by this nasty snake; that would have been trouble," Chen Fan said, looking at the snake's carcass not far from him with surprise.

Being bitten by a venomous snake in the wild was a huge hassle. Although warriors had fast metabolisms, the snakes had mutated, and their venom had become increasingly potent.

If not handled properly, it was easy to lose one's life out in the wild.

"Nice shooting, Brother Yang," Luo Feng quickly said from the side.

"Heh heh, just average, just average," Yang Hui said, acting a bit shy, though his marksmanship was indeed excellent.

Zhao Yong walked over to the snake's carcass, took a look, and kicked it, saying, "A low-level soldier-class venomous snake. Not even worth skinning. Let's hurry and find a place to rest."

After the venomous snake ambush, the five of them became even more cautious.

Fortunately, there were no further surprises, and they finally made it through the grass and into the abandoned village.

"Let's take this building. Go inside and rest," Chen Fan said, pointing to a small, decent-looking villa nearby.

Creeeak. The iron gate emitted a harsh sound as it was pushed open. The building had been abandoned for decades and had long since become dilapidated.

"I'll stand guard for you all first, then we'll swap later. Go get some rest," Chen Fan said. He was still feeling relatively energetic and decided to let the other team members rest first.

The four of them naturally didn't waste any words; they climbed to the second floor, did a quick sweep of the floor, ate some food, and went to sleep.

In the wild, their nerves were always taut or semi-taut, so the four of them fell asleep almost as soon as they closed their eyes. The high-intensity travel throughout the night had left them very exhausted.

Chen Fan sat to the side, wiping his long spear, his ears tuned to the rustling of the wind and grass, ready to wake the others at the first sign of trouble.

The other four slept in their gear, with their weapons placed right beside their hands, ready to enter combat mode at a moment's notice.

Fortunately, there weren't many monsters in the vicinity, and the five members of the Hunting Gun Squad were not disturbed for the entire day.

Seeing that it was getting dark, Luo Feng woke the other four. After eating some compressed biscuits and finishing their water, they rested for a few minutes before officially setting off again.

On the dilapidated highway, the Hunting Gun Squad walked along the path beneath their feet.

From time to time, they encountered monsters blocking the road. Chen Fan basically left these monsters to Luo Feng and Sett, allowing the two of them to improve their practical combat skills.

Under Zhao Yong's guidance, Luo Feng was progressing rapidly, learning how to kill monsters quickly rather than just trading blows with them.

After all, this wasn't a movie; there was no need for flashy moves to entertain an audience. A true killing blow happened in a split second, and that single moment was enough to decide life or death.

Luo Feng's blade technique gradually became clean and efficient, and he was using his Micro-level footwork with increasing proficiency.

As for Sett, Chen Fan didn't really know what to teach him. This guy had infinite strength; fighting monsters was like watching two monsters brawl, and his entire style was filled with a savage quality.

Fortunately, Sett's fists were hard enough that few monsters could take more than a few hits, which could be considered simple and brutal.

Finally, on the third day, the five of them arrived at City 048.

Before the Great Nirvana, City 048 had been a third-tier city—not particularly large, but not small either. Its urban area spanned over a hundred kilometers and was filled with a vast number of monsters.

A low-level general-class monster in the suburbs could occupy one or two streets, while the powerful monsters in the city center were usually mid-level or high-level general-class. As for the city center or the CBD area, there were even lord-level monsters lurking about.

"We'll camp in the suburbs for a few days to help Luo Feng and Sett find their rhythm. Once our coordination is good, we'll head into the city to hunt mid-level general-class monsters," Chen Fan explained the operational goal to everyone.

For some reason, monsters loved to head toward abandoned cities. Usually, the monsters in the wilderness weren't very strong, and general-class monsters were rare in the Wilderness Zone.

The five of them had walked from the military zone to City 048, and the only general-class monster they had encountered was the Blue-Blooded Deer on the first day. The strongest ones they met afterward were only high-level soldier-class monsters.

Therefore, warrior squads usually headed into abandoned cities to hunt monsters.

Generally, the strongest monsters in a county town were only general-class. As for the legendary City 003, general-class monsters were everywhere and lord-level monsters were as common as dogs; even high-level war-generals didn't dare to enter City 003.

Of course, City 048 was enough for the Hunting Gun Squad to hunt in, especially since there were even lord-level monsters in the city center.

The Hunting Gun Squad entered the residential area along the Binjiang riverbanks.

"I bet there's a stinking ditch nearby," Sett remarked after seeing the name.

After all, back in those days, developers would dare to call a place a "riverside property" just because there was a stinking ditch nearby, and they had the nerve to claim "subway access" if there was a station a few kilometers away.

The group chose the tallest residential building next to the road. The five of them sprinted up the 33-story high-rise in just a few minutes.

Once they reached the rooftop, the Hunting Gun Squad quickly dropped their backpacks. "Yang Hui, you rest first; we'll keep watch for you," Chen Fan said to Yang Hui.

Following that, the other four paired up and used binoculars to scout for monsters on the street.

Relying on Yang Hui's precision sniping, while the other five rushed down to finish off the targets and collect the loot, was the primary tactic of the Hunting Gun Squad.

It was also the standard tactic for most other squads.

After all, with the abandoned city teeming with monsters, one couldn't just foolishly fight them out in the open streets.

Naturally, the captain also wanted Yang Hui to rest first and conserve his energy; it wouldn't be too late for him to take action once the other four found a suitable target.

There were simply too many monsters in City 048, even here in the suburbs.

Sett lay on the rooftop for half an hour and already spotted several waves of monsters.

On the street, two groups of monsters were confronting each other not far apart. Both sides were led by low-level Commander-level monsters.

One side was a wild boar with two massive tusks, while the other was a giant wolf.

Behind the two Commander-level monsters were dozens of Soldier-level monsters, howling away behind their respective bosses.

"Brother Chen, look over here." Sett noticed something off about the two groups and quickly called out to Chen Fan, who was looking in another direction.

"Let me see." Chen Fan came over to Sett's side and raised his binoculars to look in the direction Sett was pointing.

"Looking at this, these two groups of monsters are about to fight," Chen Fan said.

"What? Monsters fight each other too? And it's a gang fight?" Luo Feng, standing nearby, asked in surprise after hearing Chen Fan's words.

"It's normal for these monsters to fight each other for survival. The number of monsters killed by us human martial artists isn't even as high as the number they consume among themselves.

Look at these two groups below; they are clearly fighting over territory. The competition pressure is low in the suburbs, so even a low-level Commander-level monster has dozens of monster underlings," Chen Fan said with a shrug.

After all, monsters need to eat, too. Furthermore, these monsters aren't low in intelligence after their mutations; a Commander-level monster has the intelligence of a human elementary school student.

Naturally, there are territorial disputes, and the two groups of monsters downstairs were indeed preparing to clash under the leadership of their bosses.

Over a hundred Soldier-level monsters were howling wildly, and any lone monsters nearby fled the scene upon hearing the commotion.

The two monster leaders also let out their own roars, ready to strike at any moment.

Finally, after a ten-minute standoff, the Grey Wolf let out a howl, and its underlings charged forward.

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