City 023

After Yang Wu experienced the battle against the Bloodthirsty Tank, the members of the Phantom Squad had completely accepted him.

Along the way, Zhou Zheng, Zheng Tao, and Wang Zhi took turns engaging monsters, constantly providing guidance to Yang Wu.

Yang Wu had already gained a significant amount of combat experience from his previous simulation, and with the constant guidance from the others, he became increasingly adept at hunting monsters. Although he was not yet as clean and efficient as the others, that was merely due to the difference in physical fitness.

If one were to compare only experience and technique, perhaps only the captain, Chu Tian, and the vice-captain, Zhou Zheng—both high-level War Generals—could firmly hold an edge over Yang Wu.

One morning, a day later, the six members of the Phantom Squad finally arrived at the outskirts of City 023.

The sun had not yet risen, and although it was the height of summer, the heat in the air had dissipated quite a bit after the night.

A gentle breeze blew by, bringing with it a touch of coolness.

"Roar!"

"Awoo..."

The sounds of beast roars drifted into their ears from time to time. It was early morning, and even without human powerhouses hunting them, monsters would often fight each other for food.

Of course, these frantic roars had absolutely no effect on the battle-hardened members of the Phantom Squad.

"Captain!" Zheng Tao asked in a low voice, "We haven't been to City 023 in a long time. Where are we heading this time?"

The others also looked at Chu Tian, waiting for his orders.

At this moment, apart from Yang Wu, the members of the Phantom Squad were quite relaxed.

Having grown accustomed to the high-intensity slaughter in City 003, arriving in City 023 felt like a max-level character entering a beginner's village.

As long as they didn't head toward the center of City 023, they could move through these ordinary suburban areas with ease!

"Our target this time is a dilapidated residential area two kilometers to the south—Siyuan Residential Area," Chu Tian said in a low voice. "Before the Grand Nirvana, this Siyuan Residential Area was a very famous complex. It covered a vast area and was once capable of housing over a hundred thousand people."

"Now, Siyuan Residential Area is teeming with a large number of monsters. In these suburbs, there is no place more suitable for us than that!"

"Understood!" The members of the Phantom Squad nodded one after another.

"We have now entered the city zone and haven't found a safe house yet, so we must be extremely careful. We absolutely cannot hunt monsters the way we did on the road!"

Chu Tian glanced at Yang Wu and said solemnly, "The monsters here are very dense; there are those that fly in the sky and those that run on the ground, everything you can imagine. If we are forced to fight, we must finish the battle quickly!"

"I understand!"

Yang Wu nodded quickly in response.

On the way here, the Phantom Squad's vice-captain, Zhou Zheng, had already told him about the precautions one must take when hunting in abandoned cities.

The most important point was to avoid triggering a large-scale beast stampede.

Because various monsters preferred to gather in abandoned cities, the density of monsters in the city was far beyond what they had seen on the road.

In smaller areas, a herd was usually led by one Beast General Level monster and hundreds of ordinary Beast Soldier Level monsters.

But in large cities, it was often a massive herd with several Beast General Level monsters leading over a thousand Beast Soldier Level monsters.

Against such a herd, even the Phantom Squad would never dare to charge head-on.

"Move out!" Chu Tian waved his hand to give the order.

Walking cautiously along the road, the Phantom Squad was already in a state of high alert.

Lu Qing had already slung his bow onto his back and was holding a menacing heavy machine gun. Long chains of bullets were wrapped around the weapon, ready to be fired at any moment.

Although the lethality of the machine gun was no longer comparable to Lu Qing's bow, its rate of fire was far superior. If they encountered a herd, the machine gun's mass-damage potential against low-level monsters was still astonishing.

The short distance of two kilometers could be covered in less than half a minute if War General Level martial artists exerted their full speed.

However, the Phantom Squad took nearly ten minutes to reach their target—Siyuan Residential Area.

During these ten minutes, the captain, Chu Feng, had already killed dozens of Beast Soldier Level monsters and two Beast General Level monsters with his throwing knives.

Fortunately, the methods of a spirit reader were unfathomable; some monsters died without even realizing that Yang Wu and the others were there.

"Head upstairs!" Chu Tian scanned a relatively well-preserved residential building with his telekinesis, and after confirming the situation inside, he whispered his order.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The six members of the Phantom Squad rushed into the building in an instant, moving steadily up the stairs.

Wang Zhi, holding his battle blade and shield, took the lead.

Clearly, in such a confined space, Wang Zhi's combat effectiveness was the least affected.

After killing several monsters inside the building, the group arrived at a relatively decent room on the sixteenth floor.

They quickly locked the doors and windows, and only then did everyone breathe a sigh of relief, sitting down to rest on the old, worn-out sofa.

"During our time in City 023, the Phantom Squad will rest here!"

Chu Tian took a piece of dried meat from his backpack and handed it to Lu Qing, then said, "Brother Zhou, tell everyone about the situation in our surroundings so we don't end up provoking a Lord Level monster!"

"Yes, Captain!"

After saying this, Zhou Zheng took a map out of his backpack and signaled for everyone to look at it.

Long before coming here, Zhou Zheng had already collected a vast amount of intelligence on City 023.

Yang Wu and the others quickly gathered around, listening intently as Zhou Zheng explained the situation.

"This is our current location!" Zhou Zheng pointed to a spot on the map marked as Siyuan Residential Area and said, "Within a twenty-kilometer radius of us, there are two Lord Level monsters! They are the Primary Lord Level monster—the Fire-Scaled Three-Pronged Pig, located in Times Square 15 kilometers to the south, and the Intermediate Lord Level monster—the Great Strength Demon Ape, located 19 kilometers to the northwest."

"These two Lord Level monsters are the two great overlords within the eastern suburbs of City 023! They both command many Beast General Level monsters, as well as a large number of Beast Soldier Level monsters!"

"Everyone, please be extremely careful. No matter what happens, we must not go near these two places!"

"Understood!" Yang Wu and the others replied in succession.

"Alright!" Chu Tian spoke up, "As long as we don't provoke these two Lord Level monsters, our Phantom Squad won't be in too much danger around here!"

"Wang Zhi is in charge of keeping watch today. Everyone rest for half a day, and we will start hunting monsters in the afternoon!"

In the Wilderness Area, even when resting, one must arrange for someone to keep watch.

No martial artist squad dares to slack off because even in the safest of places, monsters can still appear.

"Yes, Captain!" Yang Wu and the others replied one after another.

After speaking, the fully armed Wang Zhi walked to the balcony on the side to keep watch, while the others began to replenish their energy and hydration before settling down to rest.