Aquatic Monsters

Six days later.

At noon, five members of Eagle Strike Squad made their way along a dilapidated highway.

Ji Yun even spotted several Green Wolves at the edge of the city and the fields.

"A-Yun, come on. Let's get into the city quickly! Wolves live in packs. Those few you saw just now may have already spotted us, and they'll soon attract a whole pack." Naili's voice took on a hint of deadly seriousness. The five members of Eagle Strike Squad finally reached their destination: City 091, Dongying City.

"A-Yun, we've spent the last three days traveling along the highway, through desolate areas." As they walked, Naili lowered her voice. "Most monsters live in cities, in densely built-up areas! The urban districts and metropolises are the truly dangerous places!"

Although monsters preferred the open spaces of the wilderness, those areas were far too dangerous.

During their long war with humanity, monsters had learned that if they lived in open, desolate areas with nowhere to hide, human armies and Martial Artists could spot them from a long distance and attack with heavy sniper rifles or even missiles!

As long as monsters hid in densely built-up areas, there were few opportunities for snipers to attack—unless they came into the city themselves! And if the human army entered the city and fought the monsters in the streets, the monsters would have an enormous advantage. Densely built-up areas were a monster's paradise!

Dongying City was different from most other cities. It lay by the sea, and the Yellow River ran through it, so aquatic monsters were abundant.

Because it was by the sea, the monsters here were powerful!

And because it had a freshwater river, there were many amphibious monsters, too!

"Everyone, stay alert," Captain Zhang Taofang said quietly.

"Dongying City has plenty of large animals, but more importantly, it has many mutated snakes and frog monsters. They aren't particularly large, but they're venomous. If you get hit, it'll be hard to deal with."

"If you encounter one, kill it in a single strike. If you can't, don't get tangled up with it—retreat immediately. These monsters aren't pack animals, which is one good thing."

"Our squad's target is naturally a Beast General Rank monster! But..." Zhang Taofang reminded them in a low voice, "Beast General Rank monsters have a certain level of intelligence. They're not much less intelligent than humans. They can order large numbers of Beast Soldier Rank monsters to gather around them and obey their commands. Almost every Beast General has a large number of Beast Soldiers around it, so killing one is difficult."

"There are quite a few Beast Generals in Dongying. There aren't that many Beast Soldiers around them, but there are still some."

The suburbs and the city were much more dangerous than the desolate areas beyond.

Among the crumbling walls and broken tiles, Eagle Strike Squad advanced cautiously.

"There's a High-Level Beast General Rank Poison Frog up ahead. We'll go around it and avoid attracting its attention. Frog monsters don't have as keen a sense of their surroundings as other monsters, so we can just avoid it."

After carefully avoiding monsters more than ten times and instantly killing six ordinary Beast Soldiers and even a Junior Beast General, Ji Yun and the others finally reached their first destination: the Wanda Realm Hotel. Eagle Strike Squad had chosen the hotel as their first destination because it was twenty stories tall. It was also surrounded by many buildings, so they wouldn't be exposed to a large-scale attack by a monster pack.

"Don't go to the roof. We'll find a presidential suite on a high floor with an intact door and go inside."

Ji Yun and the others cautiously slipped into the hotel through the back entrance. There were plenty of monsters in the lobby, and it would be easy to make noise.

"We'll take the fire escape. It's sturdy and narrow, so large monsters are less likely to show up there."

"Roar—" A harsh scraping sound echoed faintly through the floors. Eagle Strike Squad frowned. Zhang Yan, at the front, said quietly, "It should be upstairs. Everyone, be careful." They all held their weapons ready to strike at any moment. Zhang Taofang, who was using firearms, was protected in the middle.

Before Eagle Strike Squad could make it upstairs, a snake as thick as a tree slithered down and raised its head in front of the five of them.

"Hiss, hiss."

It was a Sparrow Python at Elementary Warlord Level. It wasn't poisonous, but its bite and physical strength were astonishing, no weaker than those of other land animals. The Sparrow Python swayed its flat head, then shot toward Zhang Yan at the front.

Zhang Yan reacted quickly. His only weapon was a massive, sturdy shield, with sharp blades along its edges.

Bang!

The instant the Sparrow Python moved, Zhang Yan raised his shield and rammed it head-on into the snake's head. The head crashed into the shield and, propelled by Zhang Yan's strength, flew backward.

At that moment, a streak of light flashed. Li Ke, at the back of the team, threw a throwing knife that struck straight toward the Sparrow Python's head.

Thwack!

The knife hit the snake's head. The force of the impact sent it flying backward, until it was pinned to the wall of the fire escape.

"Old Li's throwing knives are as sharp as ever," Zhang Yan said with a grin.

"All right, take the scales and fangs, then let's keep going upstairs," Captain Zhang Taofang ordered.

Eagle Strike Squad encountered two monsters on the way up, which counted as good luck. Perhaps it was because they were in this Beast General's territory, but the climb was surprisingly quiet. Ji Yun and the others reached a presidential suite on the sixteenth floor without trouble.

The suite had an interesting story behind it. Its door was locked, but the key card had been left lying in the hallway on that same floor. Perhaps the owner had gone out to check on things and been killed by a monster in the corridor, dropping the card.

Zhang Taofang swiped the key card over the lock. A soft click sounded, and the door opened.

"Everyone, get inside quickly. Make sure to close the curtains. Dongying City is near the sea, and there are plenty of flying monsters. Don't let them spot us."

Once the whole squad was inside, Zhang Taofang installed a button-sized camera on the ceiling in the corridor outside. It was connected to their Communication Watches. Then he went inside and shut the door.

"Whew, we can finally relax a little." Naili managed a rare smile and plopped down on the soft sofa, taking high-energy food and water out of her backpack.

"Walking for four or five days really tests your endurance," Li Ke added. They were clearly in a relatively safe place now, and everyone relaxed a little.

The presidential suite was indeed quite luxurious. It covered two hundred square meters and consisted of two connected rooms, each with its own bathroom and other small rooms.

"Everyone, get some rest tonight. Tomorrow, we'll clear out this building first, then look for monsters."

"Yes, Captain," the others replied.

The night passed peacefully.

Early in the morning, Ji Yun got out of bed and stood by the window, peering down through the curtains.

"A-Yun, since this is your first day, stay here and keep the monsters from damaging our shelter." Zhang Taofang came over, patted Ji Yun on the shoulder, and smiled.

"We'll clear out this whole building today. I reckon it'll take all morning."

"You can also use the binoculars to look for suitable Mid-Level Beast Generals nearby. That's mainly what we're after. If you spot a lone High-Level Beast General, even better."

"Understood, Captain."

Ji Yun picked up the binoculars and looked down below.

Zhang Taofang left his machine gun in the room and drew two short knives. "It's not suitable to use a gun in such a cramped space, and it's too loud. I'll use knives."

"Let's go. Everyone, be careful."

They kept the same formation. Zhang Yan raised his shield, Li Ke drew his War Blade behind him, and Naili and Zhang Taofang held their weapons as they cautiously began searching the building.

Ji Yun quietly noted the locations of the Beast Generals he spotted, then turned on his Communication Watch, found his father Ji Shan's number, and called him.

The call connected quickly.

"Hello, A-Yun?"

"Dad, it's me." A faint smile appeared on Ji Yun's face.

"Wait a moment. I'll get your Uncle Luo to come over too." Ji Shan called out, "Old Luo, A-Yun's calling!"

"Coming, coming!" Luo Hong's voice drew nearer; he was clearly running over.

"A-Yun, how are you? Are you safe?" Ji Shan asked.

"Dad, we've made it to Dongying City. We're doing pretty well. I'm keeping watch at the hotel today while the captain and the others clear the floors. They should be back by noon," Ji Yun said.

"Dongying City..." Ji Shan thought for a moment. "There are a few Lord level monsters near the river. Most of the others are Beast Generals, so it's not too dangerous. As long as you stay away from the river and the sea, the strongest ones will only be High-Level Beast Generals."

"Still, be careful. Dongying is far from the military district. Whatever you do, don't provoke a Lord level monster."

"A-Yun," Luo Hong's voice called out.

"Xiao Yue misses you. Come back safe."

Ji Yun thought of the lively little girl, Luo Yue, and felt a warm glow in his heart. He smiled and said, "Of course. This place can't hold me."

"Good. Just be careful, whatever you do. That's all, then." Luo Hong handed the phone back to Ji Shan.

"Dad, I'll hang up now. You can get back to what you were doing."

After ending the call, Ji Yun continued searching for monsters.

Before long, the morning passed, and the four who had gone out to clear the building returned.

"Click." The door opened. Ji Yun immediately picked up his gun and watched the doorway warily.

"It's us, A-Yun," Zhang Taofang and the others said with a smile. "No need to be nervous."

"Oh, it's you, Captain." Ji Yun lowered his gun and sat back down. "How did it go?"

"I didn't expect there to be a Junior Beast General in this building, but we killed it. The rest are just Beast Soldiers, nothing to worry about."

"Let's rest for a while. A-Yun, how did it go finding monsters?" Zhang Taofang asked.

Ji Yun took out a map and pointed to a few places. "I won't mention the Low-Level Beast Generals. There have been Mid-Level Beast Generals at these locations alone. And over here, there's a High-Level Beast General Rank Bayonet Turtle."

"Oh, a High-Level Beast General Rank Bayonet Turtle?" The others looked surprised.

"That Bayonet Turtle probably built its nest somewhere nearby," Zhang Taofang said. "There are plenty of monsters near the river, so it would be much safer to build its nest on land."

"Bayonet Turtles are good at defense but not speed. Their strength is decent, and they aren't pack animals. We could give it a try," Li Ke said.

Bayonet Turtles had thick limbs and hard shells. Their heads, tails, and limbs were covered in scales and could retract into their shells. More importantly, they had a horn-like bayonet on their heads and sharp spikes around their shells. They were covered in spikes from head to toe, so most animals didn't want to prey on them. After all, what animal would willingly hunt a turtle that was hard to kill and covered in spikes?

But Bayonet Turtle eggs had no defense and were easy prey, so Bayonet Turtles usually stayed near their nests to protect their eggs until the hatchlings emerged.

"Captain, let's do it. It shouldn't be dangerous to at least give it a try," Naili said. "The Bayonet Turtle has laid eggs, so its strength has probably declined. More importantly, it isn't fast. On land, it only moves as fast as an ordinary Mid-Level Beast General, and after laying eggs it may only be as fast as a Low-Level Beast General. Even Zhang Yan could dodge it easily. Its defense is amazing, but with your marksmanship, we still have a chance."

Zhang Taofang was tempted as well.

"Although the Bayonet Turtle isn't especially strong, turtle monsters are quite rare, and the materials from it are valuable. If we succeed, we could probably sell them for nearly as much as materials from a Lord level monster."

"But its nest isn't all that far from the river. We might run into amphibious monsters, and they're hard to deal with," Zhang Yan said hesitantly. He had never been good at speed, and he struggled against venomous amphibious monsters.

But Zhang Yan soon stopped hesitating. The river was still at least four or five kilometers from the Bayonet Turtle's nest, so they wouldn't attract the attention of aquatic monsters.

"All right. We'll go take a look at the Bayonet Turtle at three this afternoon."

Zhang Taofang looked at the others. "Any objections?"

"None."

"Sounds good."