The great hunt

The seven members of the Fire Hammer Squad followed the highway for roughly two days before finally entering City 003.

The sky was gray and hazy. Abandoned buildings and cars lay everywhere, and cracks ran across the roads.

"Eee~~"

"Caw, caw~~"

Hundreds of birds swept across the sky, blotting it out. Their leader was actually an advanced beast general, putting the Fire Hammer Squad on their guard.

"This is a gathering place for monsters, one of the largest strongholds on the entire Eurasian Continent. There aren't just land beasts here, but all kinds of bird monsters too," Gao Feng said solemnly in a low voice. "And since we're near the sea, amphibious monsters sometimes appear as well. So everyone needs to be careful, careful, and even more careful!"

Everyone nodded.

"Our destination is a residential complex called Vanke Dream City, about a kilometer away," Gao Feng said quietly. "Vanke Dream City covers an enormous area. It could house nearly a million people back in the day, and there are plenty of monsters there now. Since it's on the outer edge of City 003's suburbs, lord-level monsters are rare. It's a good place for us to start."

"Move out!"

"Roar~~" "Awooo~~" "Die!"

Earth-shaking roars rumbled toward them from dozens of kilometers away, mixed with the angry shouts of humans.

"That's coming from the city center. It's a real mixed bag, with major players lurking everywhere. Plenty of lord-level monsters and War God-level warriors are over there," Gao Feng said quietly. "Without War God-level strength, going there is suicide! The city center of City 003 doesn't just attract experts from our Huaxia Country. Experts from Soviet Russia, India, and other countries come here too!" Everything Gao Feng told them was information he had gathered from others.

Suddenly, an enormous Black-Crowned Golden Eagle swooped down from the sky toward the Fire Hammer Squad, its sharp talons gleaming like metal.

"It's an intermediate beast general-level Black-Crowned Golden Eagle!" Chen Gu cried out.

Luo Yuan stood calmly at the front of the squad. He narrowed his eyes at the Black-Crowned Golden Eagle, recalling the one he had seen attacking Yian. The memory was as vivid as if it had happened yesterday.

Whoosh!

Holding the Blood Shadow Battle Blade, Luo Yuan casually slashed at the diving Black-Crowned Golden Eagle. A sharp Blade Arc dozens of meters long instantly appeared, carrying devastating killing intent as it split the eagle straight down the middle. Blood and feathers rained down, creating a strangely haunting beauty.

"My god, Luo Yuan, you're incredible!" Chen Gu stared wide-eyed in astonishment.

"Judging by that, Luo Yuan must be at least advanced general level," Gao Feng said with a sigh of wonder.

The other members of the Fire Hammer Squad marveled as well. Shock shone in Luo Feng's eyes. He had never seen Luo Yuan train, yet Luo Yuan's strength had left him far behind. He clenched his fists, resolving to train even harder from now on.

"All right, let's keep moving," Luo Yuan said, sheathing his blade.

The Fire Hammer Squad cautiously set off again.

At a full sprint, they could have covered the kilometer in less than a minute. Instead, it took the Fire Hammer Squad half an hour to reach Vanke Dream City, which had been abandoned for decades. During that half hour, Luo Feng and the others killed two snake monsters, more than thirty ordinary beast soldier-level monsters, and one junior beast general-level monster.

Luo Yuan was in no hurry to push ahead, since the other members of the Fire Hammer Squad needed to hone their skills too.

"City 003 really lives up to its reputation."

"Come on, let's get upstairs!"

Gao Feng waved a hand.

They swiftly darted into an eighteen-story residential building. Luo Feng and the others fought their way from the first floor to the twelfth, encountering more than a dozen monsters along the way.

They entered an apartment of roughly one hundred square meters on the twelfth floor.

"This apartment will be our temporary resting place while we're in City 003," Gao Feng said.

Everyone nodded, took off their backpacks, and settled down to rest.

Luo Yuan walked to the window. About five kilometers away, clusters of buildings loomed indistinctly through the mist. He could see nothing farther in, only dilapidated road signs.

"At the heart of that area used to be a Carrefour supermarket. An advanced Lord Level monster has made that area its territory," Gao Feng said gravely as he came over.

"Luo Yuan, I know you're strong, but that place is dangerous. Even a War God could die there. Don't do anything reckless!" Gao Feng warned.

"Don't worry, Captain. I'm not that overconfident," Luo Yuan replied with a smile and a nod.

After a night passed, dawn arrived, bringing the bitter chill of a winter morning. It had little effect on warriors, however.

Fully equipped and ready to go, the Fire Hammer Squad headed downstairs. A casual glance revealed several beast general-level monsters.

"City 003 is incredible! Beast general-level monsters are everywhere!" Wei Qing's and Wei Tie's eyes lit up.

"Come on, brothers. Let's make some money," Chen Gu said with a laugh.

The Fire Hammer Squad then embarked on a frenzied hunt for beast general-level monsters. Luo Yuan joined in, though he focused more on practicing his blade technique. After all, having the system transmit it to him was different from practicing it himself. During this process, Luo Yuan even incorporated Luo Feng's Thunderclap Blade Technique into his own technique, leaving Luo Feng stunned. When Luo Yuan explained that he had learned it by watching him on the spot, Luo Feng could only call him a freak of nature.

After ten straight days of hard work, Luo Feng and the others had killed ninety-two junior Beast General Rank monsters and three intermediate Beast General Rank monsters, worth an estimated billion in total. Luo Yuan alone had killed fifty intermediate Beast General Rank monsters and ten advanced Beast General Rank monsters. To hunt these monsters, he had temporarily left the squad and ventured dozens of kilometers toward the city center. When he returned with his spoils, the others in the Fire Hammer Squad suddenly found the monster materials in their own hands far less appealing.

"Captain, we've almost wiped out all the beast general-level monsters around here," Chen Gu said helplessly.

"Can't be helped. We've been hunting pretty ruthlessly lately." Gao Feng chuckled.

"City 003 really is the best place to make money," Wei Tie couldn't help remarking.

"A lot of money? Not really, not really." Gao Feng smiled. "It's perfectly normal for a Psychic Master to earn several billion a year. Luo Yuan and Luo Feng are the main reason we dare operate here."

"Hahaha." Chen Gu, Zhang Ke, Wei Qing, and Wei Tie all laughed.

Luo Feng hurriedly offered a few modest words, while Luo Yuan merely smiled and shook his head, wiping the Blood Shadow Battle Blade in his hands.

"Damn, a big one's coming!" Beside them, Chen Gu held a heavy sniper rifle. As he looked down through its scope, he suddenly spoke in a low voice.

"What?" Gao Feng and the others grabbed the binoculars beside them almost simultaneously and looked over.

Luo Yuan didn't move. Instead, he directly spread his psychic power outward.

The corners of a distant residential building were covered in moss and vines. An enormous python, as thick as a human waist and more than twenty meters long, was crawling over them. Nearly parallel black stripes covered its body, growing thicker the closer they came to its head!

At the front of the enormous python, its body split into two triangular snake heads, each with a slight bulge on its forehead.

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