Dinosaur Hunter

Heming lingered at home for several days before he finally felt at ease leaving for the United States. He had been terrified that those people might seek revenge on Rie, and it was only after seeing a news report about the death toll from a gang conflict in a certain area that he finally set his heart at ease. Before his departure, Heming gave Rie a call.

Heming was a rather simple person; he hung up after a few words of instruction, not knowing how long this trip would take.

Practicing the Pitch Black Heart Method on the plane was undoubtedly the most effective way to pass the time. Heming didn't even pay attention to the clock; he only knew that by the time he finished his practice and stood up, he had already arrived.

A private car was waiting to pick him up at the airport, so Heming had no need to worry about getting lost.

The American branch... it was truly exaggerated. It was actually more than twice as tall as the Japanese branch.

With its pitch-black exterior and straight, towering floors, it looked like a massive monument of challenge standing at the entrance.

Once inside, there wasn't much difference, save for a slight change in the layout.

The receptionist at the door greeted Heming very warmly, "Welcome, Mr. Heming. President Kuo is waiting for you in his office on the top floor. Please, follow me."

She led Heming to the VIP elevator.

The elevator moved quickly, reaching the top floor in a matter of seconds. After the doors opened, Heming stepped out, and the receptionist bid him farewell.

Passing through one more door, he arrived at Kuo Ming's office. At that moment, Kuo Ming was on the phone with someone.

"Yeah, no problem. Good, I'll be back the day after tomorrow. The Immortal Binding Rope is indeed with Heming, yes, he's right here with me. Fine, I'll just ask him for it and bring it to you the day after tomorrow. Yes, yes, yes, I'm begging you, stop nagging, will you? Damn it, I'm hanging up!" After ending the call, Kuo Ming sat at his desk and gestured for Heming to step forward.

Kuo Ming pulled a file from his drawer and said, "Recently, a strange creature was discovered in a famous artificial freshwater lake here in the States. Five people have gone missing so far, and it's basically confirmed that this thing is responsible. Although I could go over there and solve it in a few seconds, I want to give the opportunity to you. You need the experience. Right, the Asian Twin Eagles will be working with you this time. Take a look at the file, then go to the garage, pick a car, and go pick them up. They should be waiting for you at the arcade. Off you go. I have to head to Antarctica shortly to finish a mission before returning to the Japanese branch to report. I'll be away for quite a while."

Heming nodded, took the file, handed the Immortal Binding Rope to Kuo Ming, and headed out.

A figure appeared in Kuo Ming's office. "Kuo Ming, what are you going to Antarctica for? Are you lying to him?" The voice was clearly a woman's.

Kuo Ming frowned and said, "My dear Jing Ming, could you please stop sneaking in? I'm afraid you'll scare me to death one day. Going to Antarctica is real, and it was Yaming herself who ordered it. It's about Zhen Yajie; she has agreed to join the organization. Her codename has already been decided: Guangcheng Mingtian. It's a male name, but there's nothing to be done about it—she chose it herself. Are you trying to come with me? That's not happening. You must stay here and wait for me to return the day after tomorrow."

Jing Ming walked over to Kuo Ming's desk and stroked it. "Fine, go then. I'll wait for you here. It's been a while since this place was cleaned, hasn't it? I'll do it for you. And when you go to Antarctica, bring me back a nice piece of ice. My supply is almost out."

Kuo Ming nodded and turned away, lost in thought.

Heming was reading the file in the car. Damn, what kind of file was this? It just said the creature came out at night and was immune to bullets!

Upon arriving at the arcade Kuo Ming had mentioned, he ran into the Asian Twin Eagles at the entrance. They were waving at him.

"Let's go play Dinosaur Hunter first! I managed to pull a limited-edition T-Rex Capture Card a few days ago, but I haven't had the time to use it. Today is perfect—let's play a round! I've wanted a T-Rex for ages!" Deng ran over and said to Heming.

Heming had no choice but to nod and agree. Following them inside, the three quickly took their seats in the Dinosaur Hunter special action pod.

At first, there weren't many spectators, but once Deng inserted the T-Rex Capture Card, the crowd began to grow. Every display screen in the arcade shifted to focus on the Dinosaur Hunter game; no one doubted the strength of someone who possessed a T-Rex Capture Card.

Dinosaur Hunter was a special game exclusive to Pitch Black's American locations. Because the game's realistic damage system was set to fifty percent, players rarely chose to capture large carnivores. Furthermore, the requirements to capture such beasts were extremely high—one needed a score of over ten thousand just to apply for a Velociraptor. The T-Rex Capture Card was even harder to obtain; it required ten thousand credits for a single draw, with only a twenty percent success rate. Naturally, anyone who could get such a card was no amateur.

Before the game even started, the number of spectators had swelled to several thousand. The arcade was packed, and the large screens outside began broadcasting the match.

The game began. All three chose their respective specialties: Deng chose dual pistols, Zeng chose a long rifle, and Heming chose a combination of full-body armor and leg guards. This chaotic mix of equipment left everyone outside feeling confused. Two people using melee weapons? How were they going to survive the Tiger-Winged Dragon's blockade later?

Entering the environment, the trio faced five challenges. The first was a swarm of Velociraptors, the second was six frenzied Triceratops, the third was the Tiger-Winged Dragon, the fourth was a group of Ankylosaurus, and the fifth was a mix of the previous four. Each stage required killing all the dinosaurs to pass.

The Velociraptor attack was straightforward—they were fast and numerous. Since this was Heming's first time fighting dinosaurs, he had a harder time than Zeng and Deng. He suffered a minor injury before he realized that the dinosaurs' claws could pack such a punch.

Although Heming was injured, he was generally fine. The first round was cleared purely through skill.

The second round featured six Triceratops. According to Zeng, these creatures were immune to blunt force and could only be defeated by making them collide with each other. They each took two to finish the fight quickly.

Heming was the last to charge in. He selected two Triceratops and used stones to lure them to a specific spot. Once they were in position, Heming leaped onto the back of one.

Such a reckless move shocked everyone watching. They didn't know what he was trying to do.

Heming gripped the Triceratops' horns tightly. The other Triceratops prepared to charge at its companion. Clearly, the two dinosaurs had a way to finish Heming off without hurting each other, but Heming had already achieved his goal. He just needed them standing face-to-face. At that exact moment, Heming jumped off, snatched two stones from the ground, and hurled them at the two beasts. The Triceratops went into a frenzy and charged straight at Heming.

Heming leaped aside. Boom! The two Triceratops were finished.

Another round of cheers and applause erupted, though Heming couldn't hear them.

Before long, Zeng and Deng also finished their battles. Their coordination was impeccable; they used their pistols to blind the Triceratops, forcing them to collide.

The third round was the Tiger-Winged Dragon. A dark, dense swarm filled the sky, and Deng began firing into the air without pause.

Heming, still on the ground preparing for combat, noticed the number of Tiger-Winged Dragons in the sky dwindling. So that's it. The experienced Deng already knew how to take them down with a single shot. Each of his bullets took out a dragon, and the black dots in the sky grew fewer and fewer until almost none were left.

Heming hadn't even had to lift a finger for this round. He had initially thought Deng and Zeng were only slightly better than him, but now he had to re-evaluate and reconsider everything.

The audience finally understood: with such a formidable sharpshooter, there was no need to choose long-range weapons.

The fourth round was the Ankylosaurus. The only effective target was the skull beneath the head; one solid strike was usually enough to end the fight.

Ankylosaurus were easy to handle if there were only one or two, but the situation was different now. At least thirty of them were lumbering toward the trio.

The audience outside went wild. Most were seeing this for the first time. To challenge the authority of the T-Rex, the preceding stages were simply too difficult. The battle began.

The Ankylosaurus had massive bodies and slow movement, but their primary weapon was the heavy club on their tails—a single hit was essentially a one-hit kill.

Zeng was at the greatest disadvantage in this round. His weapon couldn't inflict damage on the Ankylosaurus, so his only option was to attack their eyes. However, the game had specifically programmed the dinosaurs' eyes with special armor that wasn't easy to break.

Deng joined the fray, firing at the majority of the Ankylosaurus to draw their attention. Heming used this distraction to charge in. The faster Deng fired, the more the Ankylosaurus focused on him, never suspecting that Heming was already upon them.

Heming performed a sliding kick that took out one of the stragglers. This method was highly effective; as long as Deng could keep the group's attention, it was simple for Heming to pick them off one by one.

Zeng's actions were clearly more impactful than Heming's. He had already blinded one Ankylosaurus, and the sightless beast was thrashing about, striking its own kind several times.

The Ankylosaurus group began to fall into chaos, with the blinded one serving as the primary catalyst for the disorder.

Deng moved rapidly, searching for a better vantage point for his firepower, while Heming continued to pick off the targets one by one just as he had from the start. Zeng stood a little further back, resting; it was only a matter of time before this battle concluded.

The audience was also in a frenzy. With their peculiar combat methods and agile movements, perhaps these three could become the third owners of the Tyrannosaurus Rex.

With one final, full-force thrust from Zeng, the last Ankylosaurus collapsed to the ground. Heming and Deng were already exhausted and in need of a break; fortunately, there would be a period of rest after finishing the fourth battle.

A chaotic dance of dragons—this description was absolutely accurate. Ten Ankylosaurus paved the way, with frenzied Triceratops marching right behind them. Velociraptors were everywhere, while Tiger-Winged Dragons filled the sky above. In the very back, a Brontosaurus was also slowly drawing near.

"Deng, take care of the ones in the sky first. Heming, go provoke the Triceratops and make them go mad so they crash into the others. I'll handle the Velociraptors. Once you finish your task, help the others. Remember, the Brontosaurus must not be killed; if it's killed, there will be no Tyrannosaurus Rex to capture."

Heming and Deng nodded and began to move. Their primary target was, of course, the Tiger-Winged Dragons in the sky. Deng found an excellent position to attack, and it wouldn't be long before he could assist Zeng.

Heming clearly had a more troublesome task. He rushed in front of the Ankylosaurus and pelted the Triceratops with a few stones. The Triceratops, naturally unwilling to take this, shoved aside the other dinosaurs around them and charged forward. Heming prepared to use his old method to deal with them: first, jump onto the head of the lead Triceratops and grab its horns, then...

This time, the other Triceratops didn't stop at all; instead, they slammed directly into the one Heming was holding onto. Heming was startled, but fortunately, he jumped away quickly, rolling twice on the ground before scrambling up and running toward Zeng and Deng.

Zeng and Deng had finished their fight and were waiting for Heming to lure the Triceratops over.

The Triceratops were already being pelted by Deng's gunfire. By now, they had no desire to attack Heming anymore; they turned around and charged toward Deng and Zeng. This was exactly what the two of them wanted, while Heming turned back to deal with the remaining few Ankylosaurus.

The battle ended, leaving only the Brontosaurus...

The three of them stood together, gazing at the Brontosaurus.

"Ah... ah!" A massive roar erupted from the forest behind the Brontosaurus, sending birds and beasts scattering in every direction...

The legendary King of Dinosaurs was about to appear...