Wilderness Area

"Move out!"

At Chu Tian's command, the six members of the Phantom Squad stepped onto the highway leading toward City 023.

By now, the highways in the Wilderness Area were long since dilapidated, with the road surfaces completely cracked.

On both sides of the road, there were abandoned sedans, trucks, and cargo vehicles everywhere...

On the ground, one could occasionally see patches of blackened blood and the remains of various monsters.

It was currently summer, and even in the evening, the air still held a hint of sweltering heat.

The six members of the Phantom Squad continued to advance along the ruined highway.

"Roar, roar..."

"Awoo..."

In the fields on both sides of the highway and within the long-ruined villages, the roars of monsters echoed from time to time.

There were quite a few scattered Beast Soldier Level monsters in the Wilderness Area, but these monsters were not worth the Phantom Squad stopping for; their target was, at a minimum, an Elementary Beast General Level monster.

Therefore, as long as these low-level monsters didn't provoke them, they simply ignored them.

However, there were always some blind monsters that would run over to throw their lives away.

"Roar, roar, roar..."

Accompanied by a low growl, several Beast Soldier Level monsters blocked the path in front of the Phantom Squad.

"It's Tiger Mastiffs!"

Yang Wu looked cautious; aside from the initial practical assessment, this was his first time encountering monsters in reality.

But before Yang Wu could react, Sister Lu Qing at the front of the team had already drawn her bow and nocked an arrow.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

In an instant, several sharp arrows tore through the air.

Each arrow traveled hundreds of meters in a flash, striking the vital points of the Beast Soldier Level monsters charging toward the Phantom Squad one after another—either their eyes or their throats.

In that very moment, the monsters blocking the Phantom Squad's path all dropped dead.

Afterward, the arrows that had been fired actually detached themselves from the monsters, traced arcs through the air, and flew back into the quiver on Sister Lu Qing's back.

"It can do that?"

Yang Wu watched from the side, dumbfounded.

Clearly, the arrows Sister Lu Qing fired were all being retrieved by Chu Tian using his spiritual force.

"Haha, Captain, your coordination with Sister Lu Qing is getting more and more seamless!" Zheng Tao laughed softly from the side.

"Yang Wu!" Chu Tian turned his head and asked Yang Wu, "Do you know how to harvest materials from the bodies of various monsters?"

"I do!" Yang Wu answered immediately.

He had gained quite a bit of combat experience against monsters from the Time Simulator, and while he couldn't compare to Chu Tian and the others, he could be considered a veteran martial artist. Moreover, after joining the Extreme Home, Yang Wu had browsed many posts regarding the harvesting of monster materials.

"Good!" Chu Tian ordered directly, "Brother Zheng, take Yang Wu and harvest the materials from the Beast Soldier Level monsters ahead so he can get familiar with it as soon as possible!"

"Got it!" Zheng Tao replied, then quickly headed over with Yang Wu.

Under normal circumstances, when the Phantom Squad set out, they wouldn't waste time harvesting materials from Beast Soldier Level monsters; only when returning to the Base City, if there was still space in their backpacks, would they hunt some Beast Soldier Level monsters on the way back.

But this time, with a newcomer like Yang Wu, Chu Tian intended to let him familiarize himself with the methods of harvesting monster materials first.

After all, no matter how much one reads about it, it doesn't compare to doing it by hand.

Both Zheng Tao and Yang Wu had physical fitness levels that reached the War General Level, so harvesting materials from Beast Soldier Level monsters was naturally effortless for them.

Soon, the two of them finished harvesting the materials from the monsters and quickly caught up with the team.

"Captain, Sister Qing!" Yang Wu said after catching up, "These monster materials..."

Yang Wu had learned from the Extreme Home forum that monster materials from Beast Soldier Level monsters generally belonged to whoever killed them.

"Whatever you harvest belongs to you!" Chu Tian said, "Brother Zheng, how was it? Did the harvesting go smoothly?"

"Captain, Yang Wu has great talent; he harvested the materials very thoroughly!" Zheng Tao said with a smile, "If I didn't know this was his first time in the Wilderness Area, I would have thought he was a veteran martial artist!"

"Captain, should we find an F-class monster for Yang Wu to hone his skills on later?" Zhou Zheng reminded from the side, "After all, this is his first time in the Wilderness Area!"

"No rush!" Chu Tian said with a smile, "Yang Wu's physical fitness is very high, and his marksmanship and footwork are also quite good. For his first battle, we should find a slightly more formidable monster!"

Hearing this, Zhou Zheng couldn't help but be stunned, then quickly said, "Captain, F-class monsters are already the strongest of the Beast Soldier Level. If you want something stronger than that, are you planning to have Yang Wu face a Beast General Level monster in his first fight?"

Zheng Tao and Wang Zhi, standing nearby, were also slightly alarmed.

Although Yang Wu's strength was good, he was, after all, entering the Wilderness Area for the first time. It would be good if he could display fifty percent of his strength during his first monster hunt!

"Yang Wu was able to fight to a draw with Wang Zhi before; as long as he performs normally, dealing with an Elementary Beast General Level monster shouldn't be a problem!" Chu Tian said calmly, "Yang Wu, what do you think?"

If Yang Wu couldn't even handle an Elementary Beast General Level monster, then he would definitely be a burden to the Phantom Squad.

"I'll listen to the Captain!"

Yang Wu certainly knew this was a test from the Phantom Squad, but he felt no fear at all.

He had hunted plenty of War General Level monsters during his simulations, so he was by no means lacking in experience.

"Brother Tian!"

Suddenly, Lu Qing, who had been keeping a close watch on their surroundings, whispered, "There is a herd of porcine monsters to the front left. Judging by the size of the group, there should be a War General Level monster inside!"

Upon hearing Lu Qing's alert, Chu Tian and the others all came to a halt, pulling out their binoculars to look toward the front left.

They saw a herd of porcine monsters wandering about roughly a thousand meters away.

A group of Iron-Haired Wild Boars and One-Horned Wild Boars were surrounding a creature that looked like a tank, its entire body a deep, crimson red, as it slowly lumbered forward.

"Captain, it's a Bloodthirsty Tank!" Zhou Zheng said with a smile. "Judging by the color of its scales, it should be at the Elementary Beast General Level!"

"Haha, our luck is pretty good. We just set out and already ran into a Beast General Level monster!" Zheng Tao was equally delighted.

Generally speaking, it was very difficult to encounter Beast General Level monsters in wilderness areas like this. Even if one did appear, it would usually be quickly hunted down by passing warrior squads.

Since the Phantom Squad had only just departed, running into a Beast General Level monster so soon was indeed good luck.

At this moment, the herd of monsters clearly had not yet discovered Yang Wu and the others.

Captain Chu Tian smiled and said, "This Bloodthirsty Tank has decent strength; it's perfect for Yang Wu to practice on!"

"Captain, the defensive power and charging force of a Bloodthirsty Tank are among the best for monsters of its level!" Zhou Zheng couldn't help but advise, "Why don't we look for an Elementary Beast General Level Tiger Cat or Lion Mastiff later instead?"

"Yang Wu, what do you think?" Chu Tian asked.

Although Chu Tian's expression was calm, Yang Wu knew that if he refused, he probably wouldn't last much longer in the Phantom Squad.

"Captain, I have no problem with it!" Of course, Yang Wu wasn't about to refuse!

True War General Level experts were all capable of hunting monsters of the same level. Although Yang Wu's physical fitness was slightly inferior to the Bloodthirsty Tank before him, his techniques were far superior, so he was naturally fearless.