City 023

After Yang Wu fought the Bloodthirsty Tank, everyone in the Phantom Squad had fully accepted him.

Along the way, Zhou Zheng, Zheng Tao, and Wang Zhi each took turns dealing with monsters and constantly guiding Yang Wu.

Yang Wu had already gained plenty of combat experience in the previous simulation. With everyone's constant guidance, he was now much more adept at hunting monsters. Although he still wasn't as quick and clean as the others, that was because of the difference in their physical abilities.

If they were comparing experience and technique alone, then only the captain, Chu Tian, an Advanced War General, and the vice-captain, Zhou Zheng, could probably still outclass Yang Wu.

Early the next morning, the six members of the Phantom Squad finally reached the outskirts of City 023.

The sun had yet to rise. Though it was the height of summer, the heat in the air had mostly dissipated over the course of the night.

A breeze swept past, bringing a chill with it.

"Roar!"

"Awoo..."

Roars sounded in their ears from time to time. It was early morning, and even without human experts hunting monsters, the monsters would still fight among themselves for food.

Of course, these frenzied roars had no effect at all on the battle-hardened members of the Phantom Squad.

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

The others all looked at Chu Tian as well, waiting for his orders.

At that moment, all the Phantom Squad members except Yang Wu seemed quite relaxed.

After getting used to the intense fighting in City 003, arriving in City 023 was like a max-level character entering a beginner's village.

As long as they didn't head into the center of City 023, they could handle themselves with ease in these ordinary suburbs!

"Our target this time is the run-down Siyuan Residential Area, two kilometers to the south," Chu Tian said quietly. "Before the Grand Nirvana, it was a well-known residential area, with a vast expanse of land and enough room for more than a hundred thousand residents.

Now, the Siyuan Residential Area is teeming with monsters. There's nowhere more suitable for us in these suburbs!"

"Understood!" the members of the Phantom Squad replied in unison.

"We're already in the city. We haven't found a safe house yet, so we have to be extremely careful. We absolutely can't hunt monsters here like we did on the road!"

Chu Tian glanced at Yang Wu and said gravely, "The monsters here are packed together. There are all kinds, flying overhead and running along the ground. If we're forced to fight, we have to end it quickly!"

"I understand!"

Yang Wu nodded at once.

On the way here, the Phantom Squad's vice-captain, Zhou Zheng, had already told him what to watch out for when hunting monsters in abandoned cities.

The most important thing was not to trigger a large-scale monster stampede.

Since all kinds of monsters tended to gather in abandoned cities, their density was far greater than that of the monsters they had seen on the road.

In smaller places, a pack usually consisted of one Beast General Level monster leading several hundred ordinary Beast Soldier Level monsters.

In big cities, however, large packs often consisted of several Beast General Level monsters leading thousands of Beast Soldier Level monsters.

Even with the Phantom Squad's strength, they wouldn't dare charge head-on into a pack like that.

"Move out!" Chu Tian ordered with a wave of his hand.

The Phantom Squad moved carefully along the road, on high alert.

Lu Qing had put away his bow and now held a menacing heavy machine gun. Long belts of ammunition were wrapped around it, ready to fire at any moment.

Although the machine gun's stopping power was now inferior to that of the bow in Lu Qing's hands, its rate of fire was far beyond what a bow could manage. Against a pack, it could still inflict devastating casualties among lower-level monsters.

The journey was barely two kilometers. A War General Level warrior could cover that distance in less than half a minute at full speed.

Yet the Phantom Squad took nearly ten minutes to reach their destination: the Siyuan Residential Area.

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

Fortunately, a Spiritual Master's methods were unfathomable. Some monsters had died before they even noticed Yang Wu and the others.

"Get inside!" Chu Tian swept his Spiritual Force through a relatively well-preserved apartment building. After confirming what was inside, he gave the order in a low voice.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

All six members of the Phantom Squad rushed into the apartment building and hurried up the stairs.

Wang Zhi, carrying a War Blade and shield, took the lead.

Evidently, Wang Zhi's strength was least affected in such a narrow space.

After killing several monsters inside the building, they reached a fairly elegant apartment on the sixteenth floor.

They quickly locked the doors and windows. Only then did everyone breathe a sigh of relief and sit down to rest on the long-battered sofa.

"While we're in City 023, this is where the Phantom Squad will rest!"

Chu Tian took a piece of dried meat from his backpack and handed it to Lu Qing. Then he said, "Zhou, tell everyone about the area around us, so we don't end up provoking a Lord-level Monster!"

"Understood, Captain!"

Zhou Zheng took a map out of his backpack and motioned for everyone to gather around.

Before coming here, Zhou Zheng had already gathered a great deal of information about City 023.

Yang Wu and the others hurried over and listened attentively as Zhou Zheng explained the situation.

"This is where we are now." Zhou Zheng pointed to the spot marked Siyuan Residential Area on the map. "Within a twenty-kilometer radius, there are two Lord-level Monsters: an Primary Lord Level Fire-Scaled Three-Pronged Pig inside Times Square, fifteen kilometers to the south, and an Intermediate Lord Level Great Strength Demon Ape, nineteen kilometers to the northwest."

"These two Lord-level Monsters are the rulers of the eastern suburbs of City 023! They both have many Beast General Level monsters under them, as well as large numbers of Beast Soldier Level monsters!"

"Everyone, be careful. No matter what happens, we must stay away from these two places!"

"Understood!" Yang Wu and the others replied.

"All right!" Chu Tian said. "As long as we don't provoke those two Lord-level Monsters, the Phantom Squad shouldn't be in much danger here!"

"Wang Zhi will keep watch today. Everyone else, rest for half a day. We'll start hunting monsters this afternoon!"

In the Wilderness Area, even when they rested, someone had to stand guard.

No warrior squad dared to let its guard down. Even the safest place could still have monsters appear.

"Understood, Captain!" Yang Wu and the others replied.

Wang Zhi, fully armed, went over to the balcony to keep watch. The others replenished their energy and water, then began to rest.