Hunting Time!

Outside Fujin Hall.

As the gap in the side door closed, the sound of tables and chairs being moved came from inside. Lin Yi took the lead, walking at the very front of the group.

Chen Yu gripped his phone tightly, his face a mix of nerves and excitement, and followed behind Lin Yi.

Zhou Jianjun brought up the rear, holding a table leg as a short club in one hand and a makeshift shield—made from a chair seat and strips of cloth—in the other, keeping watch over the group.

"Stay by the staircase on the second floor."

Lin Yi kept his voice low. "Chen Yu, find a spot with a clear view and set up your phone. Record everything, keep the footage steady, and focus on the fight and the monsters' reactions. Uncle, protect Chen Yu. If any stragglers get upstairs, just hold them off until I can back you up."

Chen Yu nodded firmly and made an "understood" gesture, then crouched and hid behind a large flowerpot against the wall on the other side of the staircase.

The view from there was excellent. He only had to shift one step to overlook the entire first-floor hall and most of the small plaza in front of the building.

Zhou Jianjun raised his shield to show he understood, then gave Lin Yi a long look before following Chen Yu.

Lin Yi stayed alone at the stairwell entrance. He didn't hurry downstairs. Instead, he cautiously peeked out half his head and quickly surveyed the area.

"One. It's eating a corpse. The other one's closer to the entrance, keeping watch. It's probably the one that slipped away earlier. Looks like it's acting as a sentry."

"Even Abyss Beasts have to play support when they're out of formation."

He silently grumbled to himself.

"I've got two uses of Source Energy projection left. One for the last one that tries to run, and one as a buffer. That should be enough."

Lin Yi mentally went over his plan once more, then held his breath.

As Source Energy quietly circulated through his body, he carefully controlled his strength and suppressed every sound that might give him away. Then, like a weightless shadow, he crept down the stairs, keeping close to the wall.

He stepped silently over the last few stairs and quickly slipped into the shadows at the side of the first-floor hall, sweeping his gaze across the wreckage.

Overturned tables and chairs, shattered glass, large patches of dried, blackened blood—and a Corrosive Abyssal Wolf with its back to him, crouched over a mangled corpse and devouring it ravenously.

The beast was entirely absorbed in its meal. Its thick tail swung idly, the tip of its bone-covered tail occasionally scraping the floor, slick with viscous fluid.

But Lin Yi ignored it and focused instead on the area closer to the shattered entrance.

There, another Abyss Wolf crouched, its murky, dark-red eyes warily scanning the street outside. Its ears twitched now and then, picking up the distant sounds of gunfire and explosions.

Outside, across the street, a purplish-black Vortex pulsed slowly like a giant heart. Its color had grown darker since it first appeared, and dark-red veins along its edges flashed in rhythmic bursts.

Around the Vortex, more than forty Corrosive Abyssal Wolves roamed in groups of three or five, like dark-green reefs scattered across the area.

Some gnawed at corpses by the roadside, some anxiously pawed at the ground, and others let out low growls at the distant sounds of gunfire.

They looked like a disorderly mass, but thanks to his experience from his previous life, Lin Yi could tell at a glance that they were divided into six or seven small groups. Each group guarded the entrance to a building or the wreckage of a vehicle where survivors might be hiding. Like experienced hunters, they patiently waited for their prey to break down or reveal an opening.

There were quite a few of them, but Lin Yi wasn't worried they would interfere with his next move.

Each group had its own task and wouldn't easily come to another's aid. In fact, if the team at the entrance was wiped out, the nearby Abyss Wolves wouldn't even approach for a while.

Of course, the next time the Abyss Beasts attacked, they would first deal with the other areas, then concentrate their forces for a major assault.

So, compared with the groups of Abyss Wolves nearby, Lin Yi was more concerned about the state of the Abyss Beast Nest.

"It's already started nurturing a Giant Rock Abyss Bear. Looks like the Nest is preparing for a siege later on."

The Giant Rock Abyss Bear was the strongest elite unit a Micro Nest could produce, second only to the Nest's leader. Thick-skinned and incredibly powerful, it was nearly immune to light firearms and one of the toughest opponents to deal with in the early stages.

Lin Yi's expression grew serious. With him here, Hongfu Restaurant was relatively safe, but there was no telling how things stood where the other survivors were hiding.

At the very least, that bus nearby, which was obviously sheltering people, definitely wouldn't withstand a charge from a Giant Rock Abyss Bear.

"We need to pick up the pace. First, take out this small group at the entrance and create a temporary safe zone. Then we'll figure out how to wipe out the Nest."

Thinking this, Lin Yi lowered his body and softened his steps. Keeping close to the wall and the overturned sofa wreckage, he quietly approached the Abyss Wolf with its back to him, still eating.

Five meters. Three meters.

The Abyss Wolf seemed to sense something. It abruptly stopped eating, its nostrils twitching as it began to turn its head.

In that instant, Lin Yi sprang into action!

He made no wasted movements. His left foot slammed against the ground as he charged, gripping the Black Iron Staff tightly. As Source Energy flowed through it, the staff tore through the air with a muffled whistle, stabbing precisely toward the side of the Abyss Wolf's neck.

Thwack!

The staff plunged in nearly halfway, practically piercing straight through.

The Abyss Wolf's massive body stiffened. It couldn't even whimper before collapsing atop the corpse it had been eating.

At almost the same moment, the Abyss Wolf keeping watch inside the entrance was alerted.

It whipped around, its blood-red eyes instantly spotting Lin Yi and its fallen companion. With an enraged yelp, it lunged at him.

"Awrooo!"

But it only got half the cry out.

Lin Yi was faster.

He didn't stop after killing the first one. Riding the momentum of his charge, he planted a foot and changed direction. As his body continued forward, he yanked the staff free, then twisted around and imitated the highly coordinated "Mountain-Crushing Spin" from Dark Great Sage. The staff traced a heavy arc and slammed into the head of the Abyss Wolf lunging toward him.

Crack!

Its howl cut off abruptly.

The Abyss Wolf that had escaped last time had finally met its end at Lin Yi's hands.

Its head caved in as if struck by a sledgehammer. Its massive body flew sideways, crashed hard into the wall, then slid to the floor. Red and white matter slowly spilled from its shattered skull, and its neck twisted at a grotesque angle. It was clearly dead.

"Awwooo?!"

The moment the sentry Abyss Wolf died, the five Abyss Wolves in the street outside, already alerted by that half-cry, erupted like barrels of gunpowder set alight, roaring in fury!

They became five dark-green whirlwinds of death, rushing through the shattered entrance and the nearby windows before splitting into a group of three in front and two behind.

The three in front formed a wedge, fangs bared and claws glinting, and charged Lin Yi from the front and both sides.

The other two tried to circle around the edge of the fight and block any route Lin Yi might use to retreat.

Beside the flowerpot by the second-floor staircase, Chen Yu's breath caught. His phone camera stayed fixed on the scene below, his palms slick with sweat.

Worry filled Zhou Jianjun's eyes. He gripped his shield and short club, his body taut as a drawn bow. He gritted his teeth, ready to rush down and help at any moment.