The Hunt Begins!

At the entrance of Fujin Hall.

As the side door's gap closed and the sound of tables and chairs being shifted echoed from within, Lin Yi took the lead, walking at the very front of the group.

Chen Yu followed closely behind Lin Yi, his face a mixture of nervousness and excitement as he gripped his phone tightly.

Zhou Jianjun brought up the rear, acting as the lookout. He held a table leg in one hand to serve as a short staff, while his other hand gripped a makeshift shield fashioned from a chair seat and strips of cloth.

"Stay by the spiral staircase on the second floor."

Lin Yi's voice was kept extremely low. "A-Yu, find a spot with a wide field of view to set up the phone. Record the entire process; keep the footage steady. Focus on the combat movements and the monsters' reactions. Uncle, protect A-Yu. If any stragglers make it up there, just hold them off until I can provide support."

Chen Yu nodded vigorously and gave a thumbs-up signal before crouching down to hide behind a large vase against the wall on the other side of the spiral staircase.

The view from there was excellent; with just a single step to the side, he could overlook the entire first-floor lobby and most of the small plaza in front of the entrance.

Zhou Jianjun raised his shield to show he understood. He gave Lin Yi a deep look before following Chen Yu.

Lin Yi remained alone at the entrance of the spiral staircase. He did not rush downstairs; instead, he quietly poked half his head out and took a quick scan.

"One. It's gnawing on a corpse. The other one is further in, keeping watch at the door. It must be the one that slipped away earlier; it looks like it's acting as a sentry."

Even Abyss Beasts have to play lackey when they lose their formation, he muttered silently to himself.

"I have two uses of Source Energy projection left. One for whoever tries to run at the end, and one for error tolerance. That's enough."

Lin Yi reviewed his tactics in his mind, then held his breath.

As Source Energy flowed quietly through his body, he precisely controlled his strength, suppressing every sound that might give him away. Then, like a weightless shadow, he hugged the wall and quietly slipped down to the first floor.

Stepping silently over the last few stairs, Lin Yi quickly flashed into the shadows on the side of the lobby, sweeping his gaze across the chaotic hall.

Overturned tables and chairs, shattered glass, large patches of dried, blackened blood, and a Corrosive Abyssal Wolf, currently with its back to him, feasting greedily on a mangled corpse.

The beast was eating with extreme focus, its thick tail flicking unconsciously, the tip of its bone-tail, coated in viscous fluid, occasionally brushing against the floor.

Lin Yi ignored it, however, and fixed his gaze on the position closer to the shattered entrance.

There, another Abyssal Wolf was half-crouched, its murky, dark-red eyes scanning the street outside vigilantly, its ears twitching from time to time to catch the distant sounds of gunfire and explosions.

Outside the door, diagonally across the way, a purple-black vortex pulsed slowly like a giant heart. Not only was its color deeper than when it first appeared, but dark red veins were also flickering in waves along its edges.

Near the vortex, about forty Corrosive Abyssal Wolves drifted about like scattered dark-green reefs, moving in groups of three or five.

Some were gnawing on corpses by the roadside, some were pawing at the ground in agitation, and others were letting out low growls at the faint sounds of gunfire drifting from afar.

They appeared disorganized, but with his experience from his past life, Lin Yi saw at a glance that the pack was divided into six or seven small groups. Each group guarded the entrance to a building that might hide survivors or the wreckage of a vehicle, waiting patiently like experienced hunters for their prey to break down or reveal a flaw.

There were many of them, but Lin Yi was not worried that they would interfere with his upcoming actions.

Because these small groups each had their own tasks and would not easily support one another. On the contrary, if this squad at the entrance were wiped out, the nearby Abyssal Wolves wouldn't even approach for a while.

Of course, the next time the Abyss Beasts came, it would be a full-scale assault with concentrated forces after they had finished elsewhere.

Therefore, compared to those other wolf groups nearby, Lin Yi was more concerned about the state of the Abyss Beast nest.

"It has already started gestating a Giant Rock Abyss Bear. It looks like the nest is already preparing for the subsequent siege."

The Giant Rock Abyss Bear was an elite unit that a Micro Nest could produce, second only to the nest leader. With thick skin, sturdy flesh, and astonishing strength, it was nearly immune to light firearms and was one of the toughest nuts to crack in the early stages.

Lin Yi's expression grew solemn. Although he was here at Hongfu Restaurant and safety wasn't an issue, the same couldn't be said for where other survivors were hiding.

At the very least, that bus nearby, which clearly contained people, would definitely not be able to withstand a charge from a Giant Rock Abyss Bear.

"I need to speed things up. I'll take out this small squad at the entrance first to create a temporary safe zone, then figure out a way to take down this nest."

Thinking this, Lin Yi lowered his body slightly, softened his footsteps, and clung to the wall and the wreckage of an overturned sofa, quietly closing in on the wolf that was still feasting with its back to him.

Five meters. Three meters.

The Abyssal Wolf seemed to sense something; it suddenly stopped eating, its nostrils flared, and it looked as if it were about to turn its head.

In that very instant, Lin Yi erupted!

He didn't waste a single movement. His left foot kicked off the ground, and as he sprinted, he gripped the Black Iron Staff tightly. As Source Energy surged, the staff tore through the air with a dull whistle, thrusting precisely toward the side of the wolf's neck.

Puchi!

The staff pierced nearly halfway through, almost exiting the other side.

The wolf's massive body stiffened abruptly, and before it could even let out a whimper, it collapsed onto the corpse it had been devouring.

Almost simultaneously, the wolf on the inside of the door that had been keeping watch was alerted.

It whipped its head around, its blood-red eyes instantly catching sight of Lin Yi and its fallen companion. It immediately lunged at Lin Yi with a short, furious howl.

"Awoo!"

However, that howl was cut short.

Because Lin Yi's movements were faster.

He didn't stop after killing the first one. Using the momentum of his charge, he stepped and changed direction. While his body continued to surge forward, he pulled the staff out, twisted his torso, and—mimicking the "Mountain-Crushing Spin" from the Dark Great Sage that required extremely high coordination—swung the staff in a heavy arc, smashing it fiercely into the head of the incoming wolf.

Crack!

The howling stopped abruptly.

The Abyss Wolf that had slipped away last time ultimately could not escape Lin Yi's retribution.

Its skull deformed instantly as if struck by a heavy hammer. Its massive body was sent flying sideways, slamming heavily against the wall before sliding to the floor. Red and white matter oozed slowly from the shattered cranium, and its neck was twisted at a grotesque angle; it was clearly dead.

"Awoo?!"

The moment the sentinel Abyss Wolf perished, the five Abyss Wolves out on the street—already alerted by that half-stifled howl—erupted like ignited powder kegs, letting out furious roars!

They transformed into five dark-green hurricanes of death, lunging through the shattered doorway and adjacent windows before instantly splitting into a group of three and two.

The leading three formed a triangular formation, baring their fangs and flashing their cold, sharp claws as they pounced on Lin Yi from the front and both sides.

The trailing two attempted to skirt the edge of the battlefield, cutting off any potential retreat for Lin Yi.

Beside a vase on the second-floor spiral staircase, Chen Yu held his breath, his phone camera locked firmly on the scene below, his palms slick with cold sweat.

Zhou Jianjun's eyes were filled with worry. He gripped his shield and short baton, his body coiled like a taut bow, and gritted his teeth, ready to charge down and provide support at any moment.