A New Approach

At that moment, Luo Feng and the Fire Hammer Squad hadn't yet reached the roof of the first residential building.

Xu Qing sat down, took a sip of water, then lay back on the rooftop. Looking up at the deep blue sky, he stretched out a hand. "Lying down really is more comfortable."

He realized that he preferred using his brain to getting into a fight. It felt like much less trouble.

A lot of things seemed simple to him. He could see their essence and the crux of the matter at a glance, then find the most effective way to handle them.

"Maybe I should do what Sister Xin did and go to college, then get a job?" Xu Qing muttered. As for killing monsters, one more of him wouldn't make much difference, and neither would one less.

Even if the sky fell, someone taller would hold it up first.

Over the past few days, Xu Qing had followed the Fire Hammer Squad around and killed plenty of monsters. They'd all been beast soldiers, though, and he'd cut them down as easily as chopping vegetables.

But he'd also realized that he wasn't all that keen on killing monsters. Maybe the novelty of becoming a Warrior had worn off. He didn't seem to care much about his Warrior status anymore, either.

"Good grief, am I turning into one of those confused teenagers on TV, going through some kind of adolescent crisis? This feels weird. Heh." Xu Qing suddenly laughed, curled up, and rolled back and forth.

He'd made himself laugh and started amusing himself like a child.

Bang!

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out, echoing over the city.

Xu Qing stood up and went to the edge of the rooftop. Down on the street, a group of pig-like monsters had gathered together, roaring furiously.

In the middle of them stood a gigantic monster, its entire body covered in blood-red scales. It looked like a tank.

"An advanced-level monster. I think it's called a Bloodthirsty Tank." Xu Qing recognized it.

The shot just now must have come from someone in the Fire Hammer Squad. They'd hit the Bloodthirsty Tank.

Surrounded by the pig-like monsters, the Bloodthirsty Tank moved off into the distance, leaving blood all over the ground. It had clearly been hit in a vital spot.

"Not bad. They hit a vital spot with one shot," Xu Qing said, surprised.

Five minutes later, the Fire Hammer Squad finally came down from the residential building and went to find the Bloodthirsty Tank. By then, it had become a corpse.

But plenty of pig-like monsters still crowded around it, as if they hadn't noticed their leader was dead.

There was no doubt about it: a fight was coming.

Working together, Luo Feng and the others managed to harvest materials from the Bloodthirsty Tank's corpse, then quickly left.

After that, the Fire Hammer Squad continued with the same tactic, sniping advanced-level monsters from a distance. Unfortunately, they weren't as lucky this time, and their attempts failed one after another.

"Trying to beat a stronger opponent when you're weaker always carries risks. No matter how powerful the outside help is, it doesn't guarantee success. You still need the strength to back it up." Xu Qing rubbed his chin.

If the Fire Hammer Squad had all reached War General Level, they wouldn't need to struggle so much. They wouldn't fail to kill a single advanced-level monster.

"But they're so bad at controlling their strength. They can only get six or seven parts' worth of effect out of ten parts of strength. They're not just failing to amplify it—they're losing that much power instead." Xu Qing couldn't help complaining.

After watching for a while, he'd realized that no one in the Fire Hammer Squad knew how to exert their strength properly. Luo Feng didn't, either. All he could do was use his Spiritual Force to amplify his own strength and speed.

Even someone like Xu Qing, who'd never had professional training or practiced cultivation, knew that brute force alone wouldn't work. It was too limiting.

The weaker you were, the more important it was to control every bit of your strength. One part of strength should produce the effect of two, three, or even more.

That was what real cultivation was all about. You couldn't just keep building up brute force. Otherwise, you'd end up a big, dumb oaf.

If you could make good use of every bit of your strength, and even exceed your limits, then to some extent, beating a stronger opponent would be as easy as eating or drinking.

"That's why having brains is a good thing. And Luo Feng using his Spiritual Force to boost the speed and strength of his War Blade seems pretty interesting. I've never tried that. Maybe I should give it a shot." Xu Qing's eyes shifted as he got an idea.

So far, he'd only used his Spiritual Force to control the God-Splitting Silk. He hadn't tried using it with a bow and arrow.

Spiritual Force couldn't affect the human body; it could only act on inanimate objects. Besides, Xu Qing had only recently developed a proper understanding of Spiritual Force, so he was still a novice at using it.

"As expected of a genius recruited early by the Limit Martial Arts Hall. He's pretty good. He's given me a new idea, so I suppose I can reluctantly consider Luo Feng a future brother-in-law." Xu Qing's opinion of Luo Feng improved by a tiny bit.

If Xu Xin and Luo Feng knew what he was thinking, they would surely have been left speechless.

Before long, the Fire Hammer Squad had locked onto another target: an advanced-level Twin-Tailed Tiger Cat.

The whole squad launched a fierce attack on the Twin-Tailed Tiger Cat, and a full-scale battle began. The monster was driven back again and again.

At the same time, a six-man Warrior squad appeared four or five hundred meters away.

"Hm? Someone's here." Xu Qing sensed unfamiliar auras and moved toward them.

A few minutes later, Xu Qing appeared beside a half-collapsed building.

On the roof of a six-story residential building dozens of meters away, the Warrior squad was using binoculars to watch the battle in the distance.

Xu Qing spotted a face he vaguely recognized. He remembered the man from the Supply Base the other day, where he'd had a heated argument with Chen Gu and the others.

"What are they doing here? And why are they secretly watching Luo Feng and the others? Are they planning to steal the spoils?" Xu Qing wondered.

Fights and killings between Warriors weren't uncommon in the Wilderness Zone. They often became enemies over profits, then tried to kill each other.

The laws of the Base City couldn't reach the Wilderness Zone.

The Fire Hammer Squad and this other squad clearly didn't get along. It wouldn't be surprising if they wanted to kill them and take them out with a few shots from hiding.

Thinking this, Xu Qing approached quietly and silently made his way to the fifth floor, just below them.

Once he got closer, Xu Qing could hear them talking.

"Captain, that newbie from the Fire Hammer Squad cost me a billion. I want to kill him!"

"Fine. He's looking pretty capable. If he becomes a key member of the Fire Hammer Squad, he'll be a problem for us."

"A-Xiao, A-Dong, use your sniper rifles to take out the Fire Hammer Squad's key members first. Then immediately fire at the two monster groups nearby..."

Hearing them speak, Xu Qing frowned. These people were ruthless. They were actually planning to wipe out the Fire Hammer Squad.

"Dongzi, aim at that Luo Feng and kill him with one shot. Get revenge for me! He dared to take my money, so I'll take his life. I'll make sure he regrets it even in hell!"

"Get ready to move."

"Yes, Captain."

The two members of the squad who used firearms immediately set up their sniper rifles and lay down. They chambered their rounds, which were powerful armor-piercing bullets.