Collecting Materials

Luo Zhe and Luo Feng were the fastest, having their gear packed and ready in an instant. With their Hexagonal Shields in their left hands and Blood Shadow Battle Blades in their right, they stood by the iron door of the rooftop, waiting.

Gao Feng saw this and couldn't help but tease, "Are you two trying to act as our door gods?"

Luo Zhe and Luo Feng exchanged a glance, then looked each other over. If they swapped their battle blades for golden maces or cudgels, they would indeed look exactly like a pair of door gods.

Chen Gu also couldn't help but laugh, "Don't be so impatient, you two. You have to wait for me to pack my tools of the trade. We'll be counting on them when it's time to flee the battlefield."

Luo Zhe looked over to see Chen Gu dismantling the heavy sniper rifle used to take down the Bloodthirsty Tank and stowing it into a wooden case, while simultaneously handing an iron chest containing the case and a large supply of ammunition to Zhang Ke. Afterward, Chen Gu opened another iron chest and pulled out a menacing machine gun. He draped a massive chain of ammunition over his body, with one end connected directly to the weapon.

"Old Zhang, you'd better hold that steady. That's our livelihood right there. If you lose it, I'll be eating dirt for a long time!" Seeing Zhang Ke casually holding the iron chest with just his left hand, Chen Gu couldn't help but add a word of caution.

Zhang Ke replied with a grin, "Relax, Old Chen. It's not like it's my first time carrying your big iron boxes. When have you ever seen me lose them? If I really do lose it, I'll buy you a new one."

"Everything's ready, let's head down!" Seeing that everyone was prepared, Gao Feng gave the order. Luo Zhe immediately opened the iron door, and the group followed the stairs, quickly descending and leaving the Blue Sky Residential District.

Five minutes later, the group was already in a small alley, maintaining their original formation. The two newcomers, Luo Zhe and Luo Feng, protected Chen Gu in the center, while the captain, Gao Feng, and Zhang Ke brought up the rear. The leader, Wei Tie, peeked outside before turning back to say, "Captain, that Bloodthirsty Tank has collapsed and is dead."

"Old Chen, you're a beast." Gao Feng gave a thumbs-up.

High-end thermal weapons are highly effective against Beast Soldier Level monsters, but sniping a Beast General Level monster from a distance requires not just skill, but a fair amount of luck.

For instance, the shot that took down the Bloodthirsty Tank involved a degree of luck; after all, the skull is the hardest part of the head, and the tank's massive body meant that even a hit wouldn't necessarily be fatal.

Therefore—

The spots where a single shot could kill were extremely rare, such as the eyes or the area behind the ears, beneath the skull. To shoot with such precision—if the Bloodthirsty Tank had been even slightly alert or had changed its direction of movement, the shot would have missed.

Chen Gu chuckled.

"However, Captain," Wei Tie added, "there are currently hundreds of monsters gathered around the Bloodthirsty Tank's carcass. Getting our hands on the body is going to be a real headache."

This was indeed the troublesome part of long-range attacks on Beast General Level monsters; even if you successfully snipe them, retrieving the valuable materials from the carcass is highly dangerous.

However, relatively speaking, it was still much safer than fighting a Beast General Level monster head-on in the middle of a monster horde.

Gao Feng pondered for a moment, then looked at the rest of the team and commanded, "Same old routine. Wei Tie, Wei Qing, you two disrupt the herd, and we'll move in during the chaos."

"Zhang Ke, you and Luo Feng stay by Chen Gu's side. Your primary mission is to protect him and keep the monsters off him," Gao Feng said solemnly. He then turned to Luo Zhe, "Luo Zhe, you come with me to harvest the materials from the Bloodthirsty Tank. Remember to protect me."

Hearing his assignment, Luo Zhe nodded heavily, "Understood!"

Luo Zhe felt his blood beginning to boil again. Charging into a herd of hundreds of monsters—this was the most dangerous task he had faced since joining the Fire Hammer Squad in the Wilderness Zone!

Although, compared to the posts he had read on the Home of Extremes, this situation was considered relatively simple for a martial artist squad; there were scenarios ten or a hundred times more dangerous than this.

Harvesting materials from a Beast General Level monster killed at a distance was a dangerous task usually reserved for the member with the highest combat power in the squad.

This was because a large number of monsters would typically gather around the carcass of a sniped Beast General Level monster, driven by the urge to devour its fresh flesh. For low-level monsters, consuming the flesh of a higher-level monster accelerated their evolution.

Because of this craving for evolution, the herd gathered around the carcass would riot the moment they encountered outsiders coming to harvest materials!

Yet, facing this danger, the pituitary gland in his brain secreted a surge of dopamine, making Luo Zhe even more excited. He felt his heart rate reach an astonishing frequency.

He felt his body craving it!

He was looking forward to a hearty, exhilarating slaughter!

"Move out!" Gao Feng commanded.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Two streaks of black light flew from the hands of the brothers Wei Tie and Wei Qing. Like lightning, they traveled over a hundred meters and landed in the monster herd in the distance. Looking closely, these two streaks were actually oval-shaped black spheres, each with a red time signal blinking on them.

The monsters that noticed these objects cautiously backed away.

Beep! Beep!

"BOOM—"

The two Timed Bombs exploded violently. The immense force of the blast and the flying shrapnel sent two monsters near the bombs tumbling, covered in blood. At the same time, the bombs released a thick cloud of smoke that rapidly spread in all directions.

Despite the massive commotion, the bombs only managed to kill one monster and injure five or six others by sheer luck. Most of the monsters were simply thrown into disarray by the sudden explosion, and once the smoke hit, they began spinning around like headless flies.

"Charge!" Gao Feng ordered.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The seven members of the Fire Hammer Squad were all incredibly fast. The straight-line distance from the alley to the Beast General carcass was only 150 meters, and in just four or five seconds, the seven of them arrived at the site.

"Hah!" Gao Feng, moving like a bolt of black lightning, charged to the front. Wielding a heavy hammer in one hand, he swung it in a continuous motion. With two dull thuds, the skulls of two Beast Soldier Level monsters blocking their path were smashed to pieces.

Luo Zhe followed closely behind Gao Feng, unleashing his full speed. With his shield in one hand and his blade in the other, he slashed out like lightning, instantly killing several stray Beast Soldier Level monsters. By the time Luo Zhe and the others moved past, the massive bodies of the monsters finally collapsed to the ground.

While wielding his heavy hammer, Gao Feng held a dagger in his other hand. He lunged at the carcass of the Bloodthirsty Tank almost instantly, driving the dagger into the bullet hole behind the beast's ear.

As Gao Feng dissected the beast to harvest the materials, Luo Zhe remained as calm as water. Whether by slashing with his blade or bashing with his shield, he continuously killed or shoved aside the monsters charging at them. However, after repeatedly using the first form of the Nine-Fold Thunder Blade, Luo Zhe could already feel his Blood Shadow Battle Blade beginning to grow incredibly heavy.

The other five members of the Fire Hammer Squad were also struggling to hold their ground. Facing the swarm of chaotic monsters, Zhang Ke swung his long spear, defending with airtight precision, but the sheer number of monsters was so overwhelming that he, too, began to feel the strain.