Dinosaur Hunter

Heming had put off going to the United States for a few days, only feeling at ease once he finally left. He had been afraid those people would take revenge on Rie. It wasn't until he saw a TV report saying that so many people had been killed in a gang conflict that he finally relaxed and headed for the United States. Just before leaving, Heming called Rie.

Heming was a simple man. He gave her a few words of advice, then hung up. Who knew how long it would be before he returned...

Practicing the Pitch Black Heart Method on the plane was undoubtedly the most effective. Heming lost track of time; he only knew that when he finished and got up, they had already arrived.

A car was waiting to pick him up at the airport, so Heming didn't have to worry about getting lost.

The American branch... was simply too extravagant. It was more than twice as tall as the Japanese branch.

Its black exterior and towering, straight floors made it look like a lofty monument challenging anyone who stood at its entrance.

Inside, it wasn't much different; only the layout had changed a little.

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

She took Heming to the elevator reserved for VIPs...

The elevator moved quickly, reaching the tenth floor in seconds. Heming stepped out when the doors opened, and the receptionist said goodbye...

Through one more door lay Kuo Ming's office. He was on the phone with someone.

"Yeah, no problem. All right, I'll be back the day after tomorrow. The Immortal Binding Rope is with Heming, that's right. Yes, he's here with me. Fine, I'll just get it back from him. I'll bring it to you the day after tomorrow. Okay, okay, I'm begging you—quit nagging, all right? Damn it, I'm hanging up!" After ending the call, Kuo Ming sat down and beckoned Heming over.

Kuo Ming took a file from his drawer and said, "Recently, a strange creature was discovered in a famous artificial freshwater lake in the United States. Five people have gone missing so far, and we can be fairly certain this thing is responsible. I could go over there right now and take care of it in a few seconds, but I want to give you the opportunity. You need the experience. The Asian Twin Eagles will be working with you this time. Take a look at the file, then head to the garage and pick a car to go pick them up. They should be at the arcade. Go on, then. I have to head to Antarctica shortly. Once I finish the mission, I'll report to the Japanese branch. I'll be away for quite a while."

Heming nodded, took the file, handed Kuo Ming the Immortal Binding Rope, then went downstairs...

A figure appeared in Kuo Ming's office. "Kuo Ming, what are you going to Antarctica for? Were you lying to him?" From the voice, it was a woman...

Kuo Ming frowned. "My dear Jing Ming, could you stop sneaking in from now on? I'm afraid you'll scare me to death one day. I really am going to Antarctica, and Yaming personally ordered it. It's about Zhen Yajie. She's agreed to join the organization, and her name's been decided: Guangcheng Mingtian. It's a man's name, but there's nothing we can do; she chose it herself. Were you thinking of coming with me? No. You have to stay here until I get back the day after tomorrow."

Jing Ming walked to Kuo Ming's desk and ran her hand over it. "All right, you go ahead. I'll wait here. It's been a while since you cleaned your office, hasn't it? I'll take care of it. And while you're in Antarctica, bring me back a nice chunk of ice. I'm almost out."

Kuo Ming nodded, then turned away, lost in thought.

Heming was reading the file in the car. Damn, what kind of file was this? All it said was that the creature came out at night and bullets had no effect on it!

When he reached the arcade Kuo Ming had mentioned, he spotted the Asian Twin Eagles outside. The two men were waving at him.

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

Heming had no choice but to agree and follow the two inside. They quickly took their seats in the Dinosaur Hunter special-action pods.

At first, not many people watched. But once Deng inserted the T-Rex Capture Card, the crowd began to grow. Every display in the arcade switched to Dinosaur Hunter. No one would doubt the skill of someone who owned a T-Rex Capture Card.

Dinosaur Hunter was a special game made by Pitch Black in the United States. It could only be found in American arcades. Since the game's realistic damage system was set to fifty percent, players usually avoided trying to capture large carnivorous dinosaurs. Capturing one was also extremely difficult: players needed a score of over 5,000 to apply for a Velociraptor, while getting a T-Rex Capture Card was even harder. Each card cost 10,000 to draw, and the odds were only twenty percent. Anyone who managed to get one was no beginner.

The game hadn't even started, but the audience had already grown to several thousand. The arcade was packed, and the enormous television outside had begun broadcasting the game.

The game began. Each of the three chose the weapon he was best at. Deng picked dual pistols, Zeng chose a rifle, and Heming chose a full set of hand and foot guards. Their mismatched choices left everyone watching outside baffled. Two of them were using melee weapons? How were they supposed to make it through the Tiger-Winged Dragons' attack later?

In the game, the three of them would face five challenges. The first was a horde of Velociraptors; the second, six enraged Triceratops; the third, Tiger-Winged Dragons; the fourth, a herd of Ankylosauruses; and the fifth, a mix of all four. They had to kill every dinosaur to pass each round.

There wasn't much to say about the Velociraptors' attack. They were fast and numerous. Since it was Heming's first time fighting dinosaurs, he struggled more than Zeng and Deng. Before he realized how powerful a dinosaur's claws could be, he'd already suffered a minor injury.

Although Heming was hurt, the team was fine overall. They cleared the first round through sheer skill.

The second challenge was six Triceratops. According to Zeng, those dinosaurs could withstand attacks, so the only way to defeat them was to make them collide with each other. Each player took two, and they had to act quickly.

Heming charged in last. After choosing two Triceratops, he lured them over with stones. Once he'd drawn them to the right spot, he jumped onto one of them.

The reckless move left everyone stunned. They had no idea what Heming was trying to do.

Heming held tightly to the Triceratops' horns. The other one charged toward it, apparently able to take Heming out without injuring its companion. But Heming had already achieved his goal: he wanted the two Triceratops facing one another. At that instant, he jumped down, quickly picked up two stones, and hurled them at the pair. The two Triceratops went into an even greater frenzy and charged at him...

Heming jumped aside. Crash! The two Triceratops were done for.

Cheers and shouts erupted once again, though Heming couldn't hear them.

Before long, Zeng and Deng had finished off their opponents too. Their teamwork was flawless: Deng shot the Triceratops in the eyes, blinding them, then made them collide with each other.

The third challenge was the Tiger-Winged Dragons. A vast, dark mass swarmed across the sky. Deng kept firing upward...

Heming was still preparing to fight on the ground when he noticed that there were fewer and fewer Tiger-Winged Dragons in the sky. So that was it—Deng, who was experienced, already knew how to take one down with a single shot. Almost every shot he fired killed a Tiger-Winged Dragon. The black specks in the sky dwindled until only a few remained.

Heming hadn't even needed to lift a finger. At first, he'd thought Deng and Zeng were only a little better than him. Now he was ready to reassess them—and think twice.

The audience understood now. With a sharpshooter that skilled, there was no need to choose anything but long-range weapons.

The fourth challenge was Ankylosauruses. Their only vulnerable spot was the skull beneath the head. A single powerful strike there was usually enough to finish one off.

Ankylosauruses were easy to deal with if there were only one or a few. But now the three of them were facing a different story: at least thirty were slowly crawling toward them.

The audience outside went wild. Most had never seen this far into the game. They were going to challenge the T-Rex? The earlier rounds were already this difficult? The fight was starting...

The Ankylosauruses were huge, but slow. Their main weapon was the club at the end of the tail; one hit was usually enough to kill.

Zeng was at the greatest disadvantage in this fight. His weapon couldn't hurt the Ankylosauruses. All he could do was attack their eyes, but the game had specially armored all dinosaur eyes, making them difficult to pierce...

Deng sprang into action too, firing at the bulk of the Ankylosauruses to draw their attention. Heming took advantage of that moment to charge in. The faster Deng fired, the more the Ankylosauruses focused on him. They never expected Heming to have already rushed up to them.

Heming knocked down the one at the very back with a sweep of his leg. The method worked extremely well. As long as Deng kept the herd distracted, Heming could take them out one by one with ease.

Zeng's actions were obviously more dramatic than Heming's. He'd already blinded one Ankylosaurus, and it was thrashing about wildly, striking its companions several times.

The herd began to panic. The blind Ankylosaurus was the main source of the chaos.

Deng moved quickly, looking for a better firing position. Heming continued taking down the Ankylosauruses one at a time, while Zeng stood farther away, catching his breath. It was only a matter of time before the battle ended.

The audience was getting worked up too. With their unusual tactics and nimble movements, perhaps the three of them could become the third players to own a Tyrannosaurus Rex.

With Zeng's full-force thrust, the last Ankylosaurus fell to the ground. Heming and Deng were exhausted and needed to rest. Fortunately, after the fourth challenge, there was a short break.

"Dinosaur Dance of Death" was an absolutely perfect description. Ten Ankylosauruses led the way, with the enraged Triceratops following behind. Velociraptors were everywhere, and Tiger-Winged Dragons filled the sky. Far behind them, a Brontosaurus was slowly approaching.

"Deng, take out the ones in the sky first. Heming, go provoke the Triceratops and make them charge into the others. I'll deal with the Velociraptors. Once you've finished your own task, help the others. Remember, we can't kill the Brontosaurus. If we do, we won't be able to capture the T-Rex."

Heming and Deng nodded and sprang into action. Naturally, their first target was the Tiger-Winged Dragons in the sky. Deng found an excellent firing position and would be able to help Zeng before long.

Heming had a harder time. He ran up in front of the Ankylosauruses and threw several stones at the Triceratops. Naturally, they wouldn't take that lying down. They shoved aside the other dinosaurs and charged at him. Heming planned to use his old method: first, he'd jump onto the leading Triceratops and grab its horns, then...

This time, the other Triceratops didn't stop. Instead, they rammed straight into the one Heming was holding. Heming was startled, but fortunately he jumped away in time. He rolled twice on the ground, scrambled to his feet, and immediately ran toward Zeng and Deng.

Zeng and Deng had finished their fight. They waited for Heming to draw the Triceratops over.

The Triceratops were already being hit by Deng's gunfire. By then, they no longer wanted to attack Heming. They turned and charged at Deng and Zeng instead, exactly as the two of them had hoped. Heming turned around to deal with the remaining Ankylosauruses.

The battle ended, and only the Brontosaurus remained...

The three of them stood together, facing the Brontosaurus.

"Raaah... Raaah!" A tremendous roar came from the forest behind the Brontosaurus. Birds and beasts scattered in every direction...

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