The High Ground

The seven members of Fire Hammer Squad advanced cautiously along a narrow path.

"Stop."

Suddenly, Wei Tie, the elder of the Wei Brothers and the one walking in front, raised a hand and stared intently ahead.

The others looked into the distance. A massive Iron-Haired Wild Boar lay on the ground, while two Tiger Mastiff Hounds crouched beside it, devouring its flesh. One of them suddenly lifted its head and spotted Fire Hammer Squad in the distance. It grew wary, opened its mouth, and let out a low growl, revealing bloodstained fangs.

"Let's go around. Don't engage," Gao Feng said softly.

Out on the desolate stretches of highway, Luo Zhe and the others had been free to kill monsters whenever they wanted. But the city was different. Every extra second they spent in one place meant more danger.

They proceeded cautiously, avoiding danger more than ten times and killing eight ordinary Beast Soldier Level monsters in an instant. At last, Fire Hammer Squad reached their first destination: Blue Sky Residential District, an apartment complex in County-level City 0201. The squad had chosen it as their first stop because it had three residential towers, each twenty-one stories tall.

"Come on. Let's get to the rooftop."

"Be careful. A monster could come out anywhere inside these buildings."

"Don't make too much noise."

The seven members of Fire Hammer Squad made their way up the stairs.

"Roar—" A low growl echoed faintly through the building. The seven members of Fire Hammer Squad furrowed their brows. At the front, Wei Tie murmured, "It should be upstairs. Stay sharp, guys." Everyone gripped their weapons, ready to strike at any moment. Chen Gu, who used firearms, was protected in the middle.

They continued upward, step by step.

"Hm!?"

When they reached the seventh floor, Luo Zhe spotted a monster suddenly emerge from around the corner of a doorway ahead. It stood two meters tall, its whole body covered in long fur, and was as large as a military off-road vehicle. The moment the Lion Mastiff Hound appeared and saw the humans, it let out a low growl and charged, bringing a foul gust of wind with it.

The other members of Fire Hammer Squad were still on the stairs and had yet to react. That left Luo Zhe alone facing the Lion Mastiff Hound's charge. Its massive body carried such momentum that he felt wave after wave of pressure.

The narrow space was almost completely filled by the Lion Mastiff Hound's body, leaving Luo Zhe hardly any room to maneuver.

Luo Zhe lunged forward. Just before its claws touched him, he bent backward in a bridge-like dodge, barely brushing past the Lion Mastiff Hound's two forepaws. At almost the same moment, he thrust out the shield in his left hand and struck it at an angle, throwing the monster off balance.

"Pfft!" A sinister arc of cold light skimmed past the shield and slashed upward into the Lion Mastiff Hound's exposed throat. Blood gushed out like water from a tap. Luo Zhe had no time to dodge. He tensed his legs, summoned a burst of strength, and used the shield in his left hand to brace against the monster's momentum, forcing his body forward.

Then he sprang up and spun around. His Blood Shadow Battle Blade shrieked through the air and pierced the eye of the fallen Lion Mastiff Hound, driving through most of its skull.

"Ghh—" The Lion Mastiff Hound's four paws twitched twice without purpose, then fell still.

The squad had run into three monsters on the way up, which counted as good luck. Besides the Lion Mastiff Hound Luo Zhe had killed, another had charged up from the stairs below. Zhang Ke and Luo Feng had joined forces to kill the G-rank monster cleanly and swiftly, while the Wei Brothers had teamed up to take down the third monster up ahead.

Leaving the stairwell, the seven members of Fire Hammer Squad reached the rooftop of the twenty-one-story residential tower.

"Shut the stairwell door. Make sure it's locked tight!" Gao Feng ordered. "We don't want any monsters coming up from below and reaching the roof."

"Got it."

Luo Zhe and Luo Feng immediately went to close the metal door at the stairwell entrance. They even found an iron rod to wedge it shut.

"Phew. We can finally catch our breath." Zhang Ke plopped down on the rooftop and wiped the blood from his face. He took high-energy food and water from his backpack, then tossed Luo Zhe a towel. "Here, Luo Zhe. Wipe the blood off you before it dries and gets harder to clean."

"Thanks, Zhang." Luo Zhe took the towel and pulled a bottle of water from his backpack. He poured it over his head and let it run down his cheeks, gather at his chin, and drip off. Then he casually wiped himself with the towel.

"Everyone has binoculars, right?" Team leader Gao Feng said. "Take them out and look down from the edge of the rooftop. See if you can spot any Beast General Level monsters! Remember, don't lean too far over the edge. If the monsters below notice you, we'll have a little trouble."

The rooftop was actually quite safe.

A twenty-one-story residential tower was generally impossible for ordinary monsters to climb from the outside.

Even if a Beast General Level monster led others up the stairs, how wide could a stairwell be? They wouldn't pose much of a threat. Fire Hammer Squad would have plenty of time to escape.

County 0201 was a wilderness town with a relatively low danger level. Though it teemed with Beast Soldier Level monsters, the densely built-up city had ten or even a hundred times as many monsters as the surrounding wilds. But compared with the enormous number of Beast Soldier Level monsters, Beast General Level monsters were exceedingly rare.

After cleaning off the remaining monster blood, Luo Zhe took out his binoculars and crouched at the edge of the rooftop, glancing down at the streets below. Every street was teeming with monsters. On one of them, he could see at least several hundred monsters moving along.

Even a War General Level fighter would have little chance of escaping alive if surrounded by hundreds of ordinary monsters.

"Team leader, I'm only seeing Beast Soldier Level monsters."

"I don't see any Beast General Level monsters either."

All six team members apart from Chen Gu, including the team leader, were using binoculars to scan different directions below. The higher you stood, the farther you could see. From the rooftop of the twenty-one-story building, they could indeed see a long way—and spot plenty of monsters.

"Click!" A metal case opened. Chen Gu, the only member of Fire Hammer Squad not using binoculars, opened the case he had been carrying on his back. Along with a large supply of ammunition, it held a long, rectangular wooden box. He opened it to reveal several gun parts and quickly assembled them.

A moment later—

A heavy sniper rifle, nearly two meters long and entirely silver-gray, was fully assembled, with its optical sight and other equipment fitted in place.

Chen Gu loaded ten special rounds into the magazine.

"Team leader, let me know when you find a Beast General Level monster," Chen Gu said.

"Sure. Get some sleep and rest up. We'll look for the Beast General Level monsters," Gao Feng replied with a nod, then instructed the others, "Stay focused. Don't miss anything."

This was one of the easiest ways to hunt Beast General Level monsters in a city. From a high vantage point, they could see far. It was ten or a hundred times faster than searching for them in the streets, and much safer, too.

Luo Zhe, Luo Feng, Zhang Ke, the Wei Brothers, and Gao Feng all held binoculars and carefully scanned the area below. Chen Gu, meanwhile, cradled the heavy sniper rifle, closed his eyes, and began to sleep.