The Bane

Lin Yun's hands never stopped moving. He first carefully removed the intact venom glands and fangs—the two most valuable and most easily damaged parts. Then he extracted the gallbladder, wrapped it in specially treated wax paper, and tucked it into his backpack. Finally, he sorted and dismantled the intact snakeskin, tendons, and bones, packing them neatly into the innermost layer of his backpack.

The entire process was smooth, precise, and efficient. Clearly, this was far from his first time handling mutant beast materials.

After finishing with the Black-Belly Scaled Snake, the group continued deeper into Huimin Residential Compound.

Along the way, the hunters split up to collect the scattered corpses of Swift Mantises and juvenile Bone-Cracking Centipedes, their movements swift and practiced.

"Come on, let's check Building Three. The three large centipedes and dozen or so mantises we killed earlier are all over there. They're all intact, high-quality materials."

The bearded man eagerly led the way, his steps noticeably lighter.

But the moment they turned into the open space in front of Building Three, everyone stopped at once.

More than a dozen people stood in the clearing, all dressed in gray-black short uniforms with vicious tiger-head insignias embroidered over their chests. They were crouched on the ground, gathering mutant beast remains and swiftly stuffing them into sacks. Judging by the scene, they had nearly stripped the area around Building Three clean.

The bearded man's expression darkened instantly, his brow knotting together. "It's the Black Tiger Gang's scavenging team."

"The Black Tiger Gang?"

Lin Yun narrowed his eyes slightly.

He knew that name well enough.

Back at the martial arts school, Scarface—the martial artist Zhao Ritian had brought in—had been a Black Tiger Gang enforcer.

He hadn't expected to run into these people amid the ruins of District 33.

Assuming Lin Yun did not know the Black Tiger Gang's background, the bearded man quickly explained in a lowered voice.

"Brother Lin, the Black Tiger Gang is Azure City's biggest underground gang. Gambling, prostitution, drugs, underground fight rings, scavenging in fallen zones—they do anything that makes money. They've practically monopolized the scavenging business around here. Whenever we run into them, we usually take a detour. There's no point butting heads with them."

After a pause, he added, "The scavenging team's leader now seems to be Gray Bro. He's Scarface's right-hand man, a ninth-level martial apprentice. He's ruthless and vicious. If things turn ugly, we're the ones who'll suffer. How about... we forget it?"

In the bearded man's eyes, Lin Yun might also be a ninth-level martial apprentice, but he was ultimately alone.

The Black Tiger Gang was powerful, with an entire gang backing them. If they became enemies, life would be troublesome both in Azure City and the fallen zones.

It was not worth offending them over some mutant beast materials.

But Lin Yun merely snorted. "We risked our lives to kill these mutant beasts. Why should we let them swoop in and take what's already been earned? There's no such logic in this world."

His gaze swept over the Black Tiger Gang members busily filling their sacks, and his eyes turned colder.

He could understand ordinary scavengers making a living by picking through leftovers, and he would not drive them away.

But the Black Tiger Gang had organization and strength. Instead of hunting mutant beasts head-on, they waited for others to finish the fight before coming to reap the rewards. At its core, it was outright robbery.

"If you're scared, go back. At worst, I'll take all these mutant beast remains myself."

After tossing out those words, Lin Yun strode toward the clearing.

The bearded man and the others exchanged glances, their faces full of hesitation.

They were afraid, yes, but watching all those materials get swept away by the Black Tiger Gang left them deeply unwilling.

And seeing Lin Yun's calm confidence somehow gave them a little more courage.

"Fuck it, let's do it! Brother Lin isn't afraid, so what the hell are we scared of?" The bearded man gritted his teeth. "Come on, let's go back him up! If it comes to a fight, with this many of us, we might not lose!"

The remaining hunters nodded one after another, tightening their grips on their weapons and following behind Lin Yun.

In the center of the clearing, the Black Tiger Gang's scavenging team was hard at work.

Their leader was a sharp-faced man with a cigarette hanging from his mouth, barking orders at his subordinates while cursing under his breath.

"Move it, move it! Before the City Defense Army comes back, sweep it all up and get out! This haul is a fat one. Everyone gets a reward when we return!"

Before he had even finished speaking, he spotted Lin Yun and the others approaching.

The leader glanced sideways, spat out his cigarette butt, and sauntered over with two men. He looked Lin Yun up and down, and upon seeing how young he was, his face immediately filled with contempt.

"Where'd this brat come from? The Black Tiger Gang is handling business. Get the fuck out of here!"

Lin Yun stopped, his tone calm. "We killed these mutant beasts together with the City Defense Army. The materials rightfully belong to us. Put the things down and leave."

"Belong to you?"

As if he had heard the biggest joke in the world, the leader let out a scornful laugh.

"You've got no proof. Call out to them and see if they answer you. I could just as easily say we killed them! In District 33, whoever finds it owns it. Get lost while I'm still in a good mood. Otherwise, we'll strip the equipment right off you too!"

Several Black Tiger Gang members behind him broke into mocking laughter as well, eyeing Lin Yun's group with hostility.

At that moment, the bearded man stepped forward and said in a low voice, "Friend, leave some room for others. We really did kill these while rescuing civilians. Let's each take a step back. We'll take the larger share and give you twenty percent of the materials, so your trip won't have been for nothing."

"Twenty percent? Are you trying to fob me off like a beggar?"

The leader's expression darkened. He stepped forward and reached out to shove Lin Yun's shoulder.

"You don't know when to quit, huh? Get lost!"

His hand had barely reached halfway when Lin Yun flipped his wrist and precisely seized it.

Then he twisted.

"Ah!"

The leader let out a scream as piercing pain shot through his wrist, as though the bones were about to be crushed.

With a casual flick of Lin Yun's hand, the man staggered back several steps before falling onto the ground on his ass.

"You dare lay hands on us? You've got some nerve!"

"Kill them!"

Seeing this, the surrounding Black Tiger Gang members immediately grabbed iron rods and short blades, surging forward to surround Lin Yun's group. More than a dozen people boxed them in, each wearing a vicious expression.

Lin Yun smiled, but there was a chill in his laughter.

"You people don't dare fight mutant beasts head-on, but you're awfully good at bullying your own kind."

He rolled his wrist. Then let's fight.

Before his words had even faded, the Black Tiger Gang members charged.

Rather than retreat, Lin Yun advanced. He unleashed Wind-Treading Step, weaving effortlessly through the crowd.

With the boost from the Gale Battle Boots, he was far faster than before!

His fists flew, dull impacts ringing out one after another. With every punch, someone screamed and fell.

Seeing this, the bearded man and the other hunters gritted their teeth and rushed in as well.

They had long despised the Black Tiger Gang's conduct. With Lin Yun leading the charge, their confidence soared, and every strike targeted their opponents' weak spots.

In just a few minutes, more than a dozen Black Tiger Gang scavengers were sprawled across the ground in all directions, clutching their stomachs or arms and wailing. None of them could even stand.

The leader sat collapsed on the ground. As he watched Lin Yun approach step by step, his face turned deathly pale, and he kept scooting backward.

"Y-you, don't come any closer! Gray Bro will be here soon! He's a ninth-level martial apprentice! If you touch us, Gray Bro won't let you off!"

"Oh?"

Lin Yun raised an eyebrow.

"Perfect. I'd like to meet him too."

As soon as he spoke, a deep shout came from the entrance of the compound.

"Who's got the nerve to touch my Black Tiger Gang men? Tired of living?"

Everyone turned toward the sound and saw a gaunt, gloomy-faced man walking over. Two broad-shouldered brutes followed behind him, their steps steady and their auras heavy. Both were clearly eighth-level martial apprentices.

It was Gray Bro, leader of the Black Tiger Gang scavenging team.

The leader on the ground looked as if he had seen his savior. He scrambled over, crying and sniveling as he complained.

"Gray Bro! You're finally here! This kid attacked us for no reason at all, and he even said he'd drive the Black Tiger Gang out of District 33! He doesn't respect you or the Black Tiger Gang at all!"

He exaggerated and twisted the facts, hoping only that Gray Bro would stand up for him and teach this ignorant brat a proper lesson.

Gray Bro's face turned livid. His sinister gaze swept across his subordinates lying all over the ground before finally landing on Lin Yun's back.

"Kid, you dare cause trouble on my turf? I think you're—"

He had only gotten halfway through his threat when Lin Yun slowly turned around.

The instant Gray Bro saw Lin Yun's face, his voice stopped abruptly, like a duck being strangled. The rest of his words lodged hard in his throat.

The gloom, fury, and arrogance on his face froze in an instant, replaced by undisguised terror. His pupils shrank sharply, and he instinctively took half a step back.

It was him!

How could it be this bane?