City 34

January 12, 2057. In the main urban area of Jiangnan Base City stands an 88-story skyscraper. The building's exterior wall features the eye-catching letters "hr." Surrounding the ground floor is a beautiful plaza and the largest fountain in all of Jiangnan Base City, with over a thousand heavily armed soldiers patrolling and guarding the perimeter, forbidding outsiders from entering.

The floor of the HR Alliance lobby is polished to a mirror-like shine, and the various decorations are extraordinary. The servers here, both men and women, are attractive and wear smiles that make one feel as if they are bathed in a spring breeze.

A young martial artist wearing a gray combat suit, carrying a shield on his back and a bronze-colored spear in his hand, walks in alongside a tall young woman with short black hair, dressed in a black combat suit with a battle blade and shield strapped to her back.

Some martial artists already resting in the lobby glance at them casually, only to find them unfamiliar.

"A man and a woman. Are they martial artists from elsewhere?" Some wonder to themselves, but none have the inclination to ask.

In the Wilderness Area, human martial artists hunt monsters, but they also frequently clash for various reasons. Killing among martial artists is actually not uncommon; as long as it isn't done in the open, the various factions generally don't interfere.

Chen Daolin and Ji Xuan find a sofa to sit on, order two cups of Pu'er tea to rest for a while, and observe their surroundings.

Having stayed at home for too long, Chen Daolin couldn't sit still. To hone his spear technique and improve himself, he decided to head to the Wilderness Area to hunt monsters for a period. Upon learning of his plan, Ji Xuan asked to come along. Although Ji Xuan's current physical fitness is only at the mid-level Warlord Level, her Spirit Reading Power allows her to exert the strength of an entry-level God of War. Furthermore, because she is a Spirit Reader, she is even more formidable in combat than an ordinary entry-level God of War martial artist, so Chen Daolin did not refuse her request.

After resting for a while, the two leave the HR Alliance building, board an exclusive HR Alliance vehicle, and head straight to the train station to depart from the base city for the Wilderness Area.

City 003 is one of the most terrifying regions in the entire Eurasian Region. It possesses one of the densest clusters of buildings in all of Asia and an astonishing density of monsters. Not only are there a large number of Lord Level monsters here, but there even exist terrifying monsters that surpass the Lord Level.

Countless martial artists flock here to hunt monsters. Those who can survive here generally have decent strength, and even some Gods of War are frequent visitors.

The Southeast Military Region Supply Base is used for resting and recuperating by passing martial artists, but Chen Daolin and Ji Xuan don't even go inside, heading straight toward City 003.

Following the highway, they travel for about a day before entering the territory of City 003.

Because it is close to the ocean, this place contains not only land monsters and aerial monsters but also marine monsters. It can be called a concentration camp for monsters. Chen Daolin and Ji Xuan avoid large swarms of monsters and slowly infiltrate the interior of City 003.

Chen Daolin's physical fitness is at the entry-level God of War, while Ji Xuan's is at the mid-level Warlord Level. With her Spirit Reading Power capable of scanning the surrounding environment, providing excellent reconnaissance and warning, the two are like fish in water in City 003. They spend two days on the outskirts, hunting many monsters. Most are Beast General Level, but they also take down a mid-level Lord Level monster, the Golden-Thread Black Python, and two entry-level Lord Level monsters, the Iron-Sword Giant Tiger and the Dragon Mastiff Beast. However, their goal is different from other martial artists; they are primarily here to hone their strength, and hunting monsters is merely incidental.

For instance, when facing entry or mid-level Lord Level monsters, Chen Daolin does not use the King Kai Fist prematurely, instead fighting and battling them with his own strength. Only after he has pushed himself does he unleash his power to kill them.

Ji Xuan is the same, but because her physical fitness is only at the mid-level Warlord Level, she can only engage mid and high-level Beast General Level monsters without relying on her Spirit Reading Power. When facing a Lord Level monster one-on-one, she must use her Spirit Reading Power, and she can only handle entry-level Lord Level monsters or assist Chen Daolin in ambushing mid-level Lord Level monsters. As for high-level Lord Level monsters? They haven't encountered any yet.

Even if they were to encounter a powerful Lord Level monster, Chen Daolin wouldn't need to worry about Ji Xuan's safety, as a Spirit Reader can control objects to carry themselves in flight. Aside from flying monsters and the King Level Monsters that surpass the Lord Level, ordinary land-based monsters cannot fly and pose no threat to a Spirit Reader in the sky.

However, flying in the sky makes one a very obvious target, easily discovered and surrounded by aerial monsters, so they avoid flying unless necessary.

"Come, have some water and rest for a while." Chen Daolin and Ji Xuan sit in a room of a street-side shop, leaning against the wall, drinking from their water bottles and eating compressed biscuits to rest.

Ji Xuan sits quietly across from Chen Daolin, occasionally looking at this seemingly ordinary young man with a glimmer of wonder in her eyes. She knows just how terrifying the power hidden within this seemingly average youth is. Even a mid-level Lord Level monster cannot last more than a few seconds under the full force of Chen Daolin before being severely wounded and eventually finished off by their combined efforts. The power, speed, and momentum he displays still make her heart race when she thinks about it.

Chen Daolin told her that he obtained the Dragon Blood as a reward from the Extreme Martial Arts Hall, which is why he has his current physical fitness, making Ji Xuan somewhat envious.

However, she doesn't know that the main reason Chen Daolin is so strong is the five-fold power amplification of the King Kai Fist; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to severely injure a mid-level Lord Level monster in such a short time.

Even for those ordinary peak high-level God of War martial artists, defeating a Lord Level monster is easy, but killing them is very difficult because they will flee, and they are often followed by countless other monsters. Once they get entangled in the city for too long, it might attract even more monsters. After all, the Wilderness Area is the home base of monsters. Furthermore, a secret is popular among the high-level martial artists of this world—if one hunts too many high-level Lord Level monsters in the same area, it is easy to be hunted down by the King Level Monster of that region.

"The harvest these past few days has been good. Let's hunt for two more days, and then we can head back." Chen Daolin looks at the backpack at his feet filled with monster materials, a satisfied smile on his face.

Ji Xuan smiles as well.

Materials from entry-level Lord Level monsters can generally sell for 50 million to 500 million at the HR Alliance, while mid-level Lord Level monster materials usually range from 500 million to 5 billion. High-level Lord Level monster materials typically exceed 10 billion. The legendary materials from King Level Monsters could potentially be worth tens or even hundreds of billions.

God of War level powerhouses certainly make a lot of money hunting monsters. Of course, they also have their own expenses, such as purchasing and repairing expensive weapons and combat suits, buying potions, and acquiring secret manuals for cultivation, all of which require vast amounts of money.

Therefore, although it is said that an entry-level God of War martial artist can generally earn 5 billion a year, this assumes zero expenses, which is impossible in reality.

Mid-level Gods of War earn even more, with annual incomes in the tens of billions.

For high-level Gods of War, earning 20 billion a year is quite normal.

The stronger one is, the easier it is to earn money, but their expenses are equally staggering. A martial artist's wealth is mostly concentrated in their weapons and equipment or converted into strength; no one is foolish enough to keep large amounts of cash on hand unless it is for other purposes.

After resting for a while, Chen Daolin and Ji Xuan set off once again to hunt monsters.