"Roar!!!"
A group of monsters rampaged through the streets. Not far away, several women quietly dropped down from a high-rise.
"Damn it, we still lost it in the end."
Liu Qingling wanted to stomp her foot in frustration, but held back when she considered the noise it would make.
But bottling up her anger felt even worse!
"Can't be helped. The Golden Silk Demon Spider is famous for being good at both chasing and escaping, especially since it uses other monsters to get in the way."
Ye Yu patted Liu Qingling on the back to comfort her.
"Look on the bright side. During this hunt, Xiao Ai managed to kill several Intermediate Beast General Level monsters in a row, plus one High-level Beast General. That's already amazing."
"Exactly. Most people would be lucky to trade blows with an Intermediate Beast Soldier Level monster after being a Martial Artist for just one month. Xiao Ai can already kill High-level Beast General Level monsters."
Yu Fei put an arm around Xu Ai's shoulders and smiled.
Gu Zizhen, standing beside her, also nodded with a smile.
Xu Ai waved her hand, but still couldn't help grinning at her sisters' praise.
"Aw, it was just luck!"
"I wish I had that kind of luck. I'd love to kill a few Lord Level monsters."
"Yeah, yeah. Better yet, imagine getting lucky enough to take down a King-level Monster!"
"Don't be modest. Without a solid foundation, even the best luck won't let you kill monsters above your level."
For a while, everyone forgot their disappointment at the Golden Silk Demon Spider's escape and chatted merrily.
It was quite some time before they finally changed the subject.
"Xiao Ai's performance tonight has already exceeded expectations. Tomorrow, we'll slowly make our way into the middle zone," Ye Yu suggested. Liu Qingling naturally agreed.
"Sure, I'm fine with that."
"Agreed."
"I don't think Xiao Ai has reached her limit yet. We might as well test the waters in the middle zone."
Everyone agreed, and Xu Ai had no objections either.
"It's already late. Let's take turns keeping watch and get some rest."
"Got it!" ×6
Liu Qingling and Yu Fei took the first watch. The two fragile ones, Jun Xia and Gu Zizhen, lay down beside Qin Yi, whose presence made them feel safe. Xu Ai also lay down beside Ye Yu and closed her eyes.
Time slipped by quietly...
"Xiao Ai, wake up. It's our turn to keep watch."
Ye Yu patted Xu Ai, making a faint clanking sound.
That was right—they were wearing alloy combat suits, and they were stiff as boards.
Xu Ai opened her eyes groggily and climbed up from Ye Yu's chest.
"Ugh, I'm a little numb..."
Xu Ai touched the red mark on her face and gave Ye Yu's ample chest a resentful look.
Don't get the wrong idea. Ye Yu hadn't hit her. Xu Ai had rested her face on Ye Yu's chest and, after lying there for too long, the stiff combat suit had left its mark.
Ye Yu smiled and patted Xu Ai on the head, then went to the window to watch the nocturnal monsters below.
"We'll leave it to you."
Yu Fei handed Ye Yu a notebook, smiled at Xu Ai, then curled up beside Liu Qingling and closed her eyes. Before long, her breathing turned steady—she was asleep!
Liu Qingling and the others had spent years roaming the Wilderness Zone. They'd long since learned how to lie down and fall asleep anytime, anywhere, so they could catch up on rest whenever they had the chance.
It was also a sign of their trust in their teammates. Without that trust, how could they entrust their safety to one another?
Xu Ai yawned and went to keep watch by the door.
There weren't actually many monsters in the corridors at night. Non-nocturnal monsters would find a secluded spot to sleep. Only monsters that lived in groups would leave a few behind to keep watch, and even those didn't wander around.
Only some nocturnal monsters would try their luck in the corridors, but they spent most of their time prowling and fighting in the streets and alleys.
Xu Ai sat down by the door, bored.
"We might be able to scavenge some leftovers again tomorrow morning," Ye Yu told her. Xu Ai was still a little groggy and looked at her in confusion.
"Leftovers? What kind of leftovers?"
"Monsters don't just eat people; they eat monsters of other species too. When they hunt, they're after the meat, so they usually leave things like claws and fangs behind. Those are the things we can scavenge. For example, we can pick up the one-horned wild boars' horns tomorrow. Come take a look."
Ye Yu beckoned Xu Ai over.
Xu Ai walked over and followed Ye Yu's gaze down to the street. A pack of Lion Mastiffs was attacking three one-horned wild boars.
"Most monsters don't store food. They usually hunt, eat on the spot, and then leave. Anything they can't eat gets left behind. At the very least, we can scavenge the one-horned wild boars' horns tomorrow."
Xu Ai nodded in understanding.
"I see."
This was one of the ways Martial Artists earned a living. There were far fewer Martial Artists than monsters, and they were nowhere near as efficient at hunting. Sometimes, the rewards Martial Artists got from killing monsters were worth even less than what they could scavenge.
Because of this, some Martial Artists took up this relatively low-risk approach and specialized in scavenging. They were known as Scavengers.
"Make a note of the places where monsters are fighting below. We can go scavenge there tomorrow morning."
Ye Yu gestured at the notebook in her hand—the one Yu Fei had given her.
Xu Ai nodded. Ye Yu was teaching her the essentials of life in the Wilderness Zone. Some things weren't explained in much detail online; you had to learn them through firsthand experience and guidance from someone more experienced.
Although Xu Ai had learned some things from Hen Ren's memories, they weren't very detailed.
That was because Hen Ren's template had developed incredibly quickly too. Not long after becoming a Martial Artist, he'd entered the Elite Training Camp.
"Besides that, some clever monsters build nests and drag their prey back to feed themselves and their young. So monster nests are treasure troves too. But monsters that live in nests are generally found in groups, and most are High-level Beast General Level or above."
Everything Ye Yu taught her about life as a Martial Artist was fascinating. Maybe it was also because Ye Yu was a beautiful older sister, but Xu Ai listened with rapt attention.
Of course, it would've been even better if Ye Yu had been wearing a teacher's outfit—something with a low neckline, a miniskirt, and black stockings...
Two hours passed in the blink of an eye, and it was time to change shifts again. This time, Qin Yi, Gu Zizhen, and Jun Xia took over.
After Ye Yu left the window, Jun Xia and Gu Zizhen took her place, carefully watching the area below and noting down where monsters were fighting.
Xu Ai and Ye Yu returned to the corner where they'd been lying down and dozed off again. When they woke up, it was already six in the morning.
After taking care of their personal needs, everyone ate compressed rations while watching the scene outside.
Five or six in the morning was when most non-nocturnal creatures woke up. The early hours were lively, and large bird monsters occasionally flew across the sky. It was a perfect illustration of the saying that the early bird catches the worm—except they weren't eating worms, but other monsters.
It was around seven or eight when the bird monsters began to appear less frequently. Then Xu Ai and the others got up and went downstairs, collecting the valuable parts of monster remains from the locations they'd marked down the previous night.
After quickly finishing their scavenging, they decided to set out for the middle zone.
"Our destination is the middle zone of City 0551. There are large numbers of Beast General Level monsters there, as well as a few High-level Beast Soldier Level ones. Elementary Lord Level monsters might appear too, so stay alert," Ye Yu said. It was obvious she was saying all this for Xu Ai, who had the least experience.
"Understood."
Everyone answered in unison.
The middle zone wasn't very far, but there were plenty of monsters along the way. When they came across two or three, Xu Ai and the others killed them along the way. But when they encountered a large group, they weren't willing to take the risk or waste time, so they simply avoided them.
After winding around for over two hours, they finally reached the middle zone.
The group found a high-rise to use as a base. Yu Fei began adjusting her sniper rifle, while Liu Qingling explained the essentials of life in the Wilderness Zone to Xu Ai.
"Beast General Level monsters are more intelligent, so they're more afraid of dying. They'll gather lots of Beast Soldier Level monsters around them as bodyguards."
"The best way to deal with that is to kill the leader with a single shot from a distance. Once the Beast General Level leader is dead, the Beast Soldier Level guards will naturally fall into disarray.
"They have some intelligence, but it's very basic. They can only recognize danger, and the death of their leader is obviously extremely dangerous.
"Team up to face danger and get through hard times together? Sorry, they don't do that. All they know how to do is run."
Yu Fei raised her sniper rifle and smiled.
"All right, my rifle's ready. Everyone can start looking for monsters."
Yu Fei smiled as she spoke, then picked up her sniper rifle and searched the streets through the scope for Beast General Level monsters.
The others took out their binoculars and looked outside through the windows.
"I've spotted one—a one-horned wild boar, High-level Beast General Level."
Qin Yi was the first to spot a monster. Yu Fei went over to her and looked through her scope.
"High-level Beast General Level. Not bad—off to a good start."
Yu Fei watched for a while. When the one-horned wild boar turned its back to the rifle and lowered its head, she squeezed the trigger. A bullet powerful enough to pierce the defenses of a High-level Beast General Level monster went straight through the spine in the boar's neck.
Watching the one-horned wild boar collapse and its subordinates scatter in every direction, Yu Fei nodded in satisfaction.
"Good. Next one."
"I found one here—a mid-level Earth Demon Beast."
Xu Ai waved her over. Yu Fei came across and expertly aimed her sniper rifle where Xu Ai was pointing. A large grayish-white rat was gnawing on a Tiger Cat, with a group of rat monsters of various shapes beside it.
"Tsk, an Earth Demon Beast. Another rare monster."
They said Earth Demon Beasts were one of the culprits behind rat stampedes. No one knew if it was true.
Earth Demon Beasts were relatively rare. Its fur and teeth were worth quite a bit, comparable to those of some Elementary Lord Level monsters.
But it wasn't nearly as powerful as the Golden Silk Demon Spider. In fact, it was weak. Aside from its large number of underlings, it fell far short of other monsters in every way. It was practically a sniper's favorite prey.
Yu Fei squeezed the trigger, ending the Earth Demon Beast's life, then continued searching for another monster.
Xu Ai aimed her binoculars to the other side, and froze when she saw a familiar figure.
Ye Yu frowned. "The Golden Silk Demon Spider? What's it doing here?"
There was no doubt about it. Xu Ai had spotted the Golden Silk Demon Spider!
"Where?"
Liu Qingling went over to Ye Yu and looked through her binoculars. In the street, a huge golden spider had pierced a Reckless Bull with one of its legs and was feasting on it.
"Was it just a coincidence, or...?"
If the Golden Silk Demon Spider had deliberately followed them, that would be trouble. They couldn't take it down, and they couldn't stay on guard against it forever.
"Xia, it's up to you. Keep an eye on it over the next few days."
"Got it."
Jun Xia nodded. As the team's Spirit Reader with the widest field of view, she made them feel safer when she was on watch.
Xu Ai looked at the Golden Silk Demon Spider and shook her head.
If she unleashed her twentyfold Force Amplitude, her striking power would match or even surpass that of an ordinary High-level War God. Combined with swordsmanship and footwork beyond the Artistic Conception Level, she ought to be able to kill it.
Or so she hoped. That spider sense was simply too overpowered. When they'd surrounded it last time, Xu Ai had felt that the Golden Silk Demon Spider's gaze had been fixed on her...
She even suspected it might be an Innate Secret Technique.
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