Surprise Attack?!

Lin Fan shifted his focus.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The 216 feather blades that had burrowed into the giant ape's body flew back, stained with black blood. They reassembled seamlessly onto the Sky Splitter behind his back, transforming once again into a pair of silver-white wings.

"I have to admit, fighting as a spirit reader is truly effortless."

There was no need for close-quarters combat or getting drenched in sweat. By simply flicking his fingers from a distance, a formidable lord-level monster was reduced to a pile of mush.

It was eerie, efficient, and elegant.

"No wonder they say spirit readers are invincible at the same rank. This is truly... a dimensional strike."

Lin Fan walked over to the giant ape's carcass and swung the Calamity in his hand.

Squelch.

Without any flashy movements, Lin Fan expertly sliced open the ape's skull and chest, extracted the heart blood, peeled off the hide, and dug out the eyeballs.

"A heart from an elementary lord-level monster. It's a pity it's a bit damaged."

Lin Fan looked at the heart in his hand, which now had several large holes in it, a flicker of regret in his eyes.

Those punctures had significantly lowered the heart's market value.

"But there's still the hide and the eyes..."

"If I take these to the black market, this trip will net me at least over a billion."

Lin Fan's mindset was positive. After all, this was the first lord-level monster he had hunted; it was normal to lack experience. He would just be more careful next time to avoid damaging the valuable parts.

"Over a billion... not bad."

With this money, he could buy more metal to feed the Calamity, which would cause his own physical fitness to skyrocket. It was a complete win-win.

"This Wilderness Zone is practically a money-printing machine."

Lin Fan waved his hand, sweeping all the valuable scraps into his space ring.

As for the massive carcass... it took up too much space, so he left it behind.

Ape-type monster meat didn't sell for much; nobody ate it.

He tucked the Calamity and the Sky Splitter into his space ring and was just about to turn away from the blood-scented street to find his next target.

Suddenly.

Lin Fan's footsteps came to an abrupt halt.

In that instant, a chilling sensation, as if he were being watched by a venomous snake, surged up his spine and hit the top of his skull. His scalp prickled.

"Someone's here!"

Lin Fan's pupils constricted slightly as his spiritual force spread out like a tide.

He instantly detected the humanoid creatures hiding around him, and there wasn't just one or two.

Almost the moment he sensed them.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three dull gunshots suddenly tore through the night sky!

This was the distinct roar of a specialized heavy sniper rifle!

The sonic boom created by the bullets slicing through the air was as sharp as a ghost's shriek.

Three expensive, custom-made armor-piercing explosive rounds locked onto Lin Fan's head, heart, and lower body in a triangular formation, cutting off all paths of retreat.

The warheads of these bullets were infused with Kro Alloy, designed specifically to crack open the skulls of commander-level monsters.

Hitting a human?

Even with combat gear on, the immense kinetic energy would instantly turn a person's internal organs into mush.

This was clearly a hit-and-run job; they had no intention of leaving him alive.

Lin Fan's expression turned icy. He didn't move his body, but the Sky Splitter instantly appeared behind him.

At the critical moment, the two massive silver wings folded forward, the layered feather blades interlocking like a silver barrier to block his front.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Three crisp impact sounds rang out almost simultaneously.

As sparks flew, the large-caliber armor-piercing rounds, capable of shattering a commander-level monster's skull, struck the thin-as-cicada-wings blades of the Sky Splitter. They didn't even leave a white mark before being deflected away.

However, the terrifying kinetic energy still sent Lin Fan flying, and as luck would have it, he was knocked back into the ruins.

"Huh?!"

A voice filled with shock and uncertainty echoed in the darkness. It was clear the speaker found this unbelievable.

"What the hell was that?! This brat is a spirit reader?!"

Their group had been drawn by the sounds of the battle and hadn't witnessed the fight between Lin Fan and the giant ape.

By the time they arrived, Lin Fan had already processed the carcass, and they hadn't even seen the Calamity or the Sky Splitter.

They had assumed he was just an ordinary martial artist who had gotten lucky and scavenged a kill. Who could have guessed that they had kicked a titanium alloy plate?

A spirit reader—the very definition of someone invincible at their rank with unfathomable methods.

But...

Since the shots had been fired, there was no turning back.

Either don't do it, or do it thoroughly.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Seven or eight figures darted out from the shadows of the ruins, spreading out in a fan formation to surround Lin Fan.

They were all wearing deep blue combat suits, their boots making no sound on the rubble. The wolf-fang emblem dripping with venom on their chests looked particularly menacing under the moonlight.

The Poison Fang Squad.

A notorious group of scavengers in this area, specializing in murder, robbery, and backstabbing.

The leader was as burly as a bear, his face covered in rolls of fat, with a gruesome scar running across half his face that was nauseating to look at.

He held a heavy Grade 9 alloy saber, the blade still stained with wet blood.

As the squad leader, he was already an elementary War God.

Behind him, four high-level warriors armed with heavy firearms had their muzzles locked onto Lin Fan.

The other two, mid-level war generals, held cold weapons, their eyes fixed greedily on Lin Fan.

To be precise, they were staring at the pool of undried blood at Lin Fan's feet and the pair of silver wings behind his back.

Although they didn't know what that thing was, it clearly looked like it was worth a fortune.

"Kid."

The scarred man's gaze swept over the mess on the ground, and he raised his saber slightly, pointing it at Lin Fan.

"The monster you killed was the prey our Poison Fang Squad has been tracking for three days."

"We put in a lot of effort to wound it severely and chased it all the way here."

"You show up and try to take the whole pot—don't you think you're... looking down on us a bit too much?"

In his eyes, even if Lin Fan was a spirit reader, he was too young, his face still soft enough to pinch.

What could a greenhorn who had just stepped out into the world do against a squad as well-coordinated and ruthless as theirs?

Besides, wealth stirs the heart.

As long as they killed this kid, the backpack full of materials alone, plus those psychic weapons that looked worth a fortune, would be enough for them to live in luxury for the rest of their lives!

As for offending a spirit reader?

Dead men tell no tales.

The wings behind Lin Fan slowly unfurled, and he lifted his head.

There was no panic in his eyes, not even a flicker of emotion. He was as calm as if he were looking at a group of dead men.

He didn't argue, he didn't get angry, and he couldn't be bothered to refute such a lie that treated him like a fool.

In the Wilderness Zone, trying to reason was the fastest way to die.

Lin Fan just looked at the scarred man indifferently, his lips moving to spit out two words:

"Morons."

The word was crisp, clear, and unmistakable.

Silence.

A deathly silence.

The temperature in the surrounding area seemed to drop to freezing in an instant.

"..."

The fat on the scarred man's face twitched violently, and the veins on his forehead bulged.

"You're courting death!!!"

He laughed out of pure rage.

Having run rampant in City 003 for so many years, even other War God-level powerhouses gave him some face.

When had he ever seen such an arrogant brat?

Since he didn't want to play nice, he wouldn't be blamed. He had originally wanted to fish for information, but now it seemed completely unnecessary.

The killing intent in the scarred man's eyes exploded, and he swung his saber down hard.

"Do it!!"

"Slaughter him!"