Playing the Opportunist!

Hongning Base City.

More than seven hundred kilometers from the base city, a streak of light suddenly descended into the Wilderness Zone.

"Kree~~"

"Kraa, kraa~~"

Hundreds of flying monsters swept across the overcast sky, blotting it out. This ruined city lay near the coast, and land-dwelling monsters were far from the only creatures here.

There were plenty of flying monsters, and even amphibious monsters from the sea occasionally appeared.

"Roar~~"

A low roar rolled in from afar like thunder. The monster was larger than an ordinary truck, its entire body silvery white and faintly reflecting rays of light.

A Lion Mastiff!

Elementary Lord level.

Beneath the enormous Lion Mastiff's fur lay a layer of silver scales. A small bulge protruded from the forehead of its massive head, as though something were about to break through the fur.

Boom!

With a single leap, the Lion Mastiff became a silver streak, hurtling straight toward Yang Zheng at supersonic speed.

"Roar~~"

At the same time, another heart-shaking roar rang out. Another enormous, silvery-white figure leaped down from a high floor of a building, echoing the Lion Mastiff that had already reached Yang Zheng.

"Hmph!"

Yang Zheng snorted. Driven by his Spiritual Force, his throwing knives shot out, flashing past as two icy streaks of light.

Thud! Thud!

Two enormous corpses crashed to the ground and lay motionless.

"Trying to ambush a Spirit Reader?"

Disdain filled Yang Zheng's face. The instant he landed, his Spiritual Force had spread through his surroundings, immediately revealing the Lord-level Lion Mastiff hiding inside the building.

Swish!

Six throwing knives rose into the air. Yang Zheng controlled them with his Spiritual Force, swiftly carving the valuable materials from the corpses.

His purpose in coming to the Wilderness Zone was to hunt Lord-level Monsters, build up a combat record as Hong had requested, earn the title of "War God Level warrior," and then enter the Virtual Space to read Fundamentals of Psychokinesis.

Hong had clearly decided to bring him into the spotlight. Besides, Yang Zheng really had no need to lie low and build up his strength on Earth.

"One, two..."

The King-Level Intelligent Fighter hovered motionless in midair, its detector swiftly identifying nearby target monsters.

About five kilometers ahead of Yang Zheng, clusters of buildings loomed indistinctly through the fog. Even at full power, the intelligent fighter's detection system could not determine exactly what was happening there.

That area was completely shrouded in fog, a sea of murky gray filled with the roars of monsters and cries of flying creatures.

Suddenly.

An angry roar came from the distance. Monsters near the edge of the fog scattered in terror, many of them fleeing toward Yang Zheng.

"Sounds like some monsters are fighting!"

Anything capable of causing such a commotion had to be at least a Lord-level Monster, perhaps even Advanced Lord Level.

"Come on, let's break it up!"

This amusement park was blanketed in dust, without a trace of human activity. Faint patches of dried blood still remained. It had become a paradise for monsters.

"Huff, huff~~"

An enormous creature covered in black scales lay asleep in a clearing inside the amusement park. Two streams of foul-smelling vapor puffed from its nostrils and spread around it.

"Roar~"

Suddenly, the enormous creature slowly rose, its fiery-red eyes enough to make anyone's heart tremble.

It stood over twenty meters tall, its entire body covered in black scales, with a gemlike protrusion in the center of its forehead.

The Black-Scaled Ape ranked second only to the Diamond Ape among ape monsters. It, too, had a tough hide, astonishing defenses, and boundless strength.

The world's ape monsters were now divided into two main types: those with fur and those with armored scales.

Among the furred apes, the Great Strength Demon Ape reigned supreme, while the Diamond Ape stood at the pinnacle of the scaled apes.

Now awake, the Black-Scaled Ape stared into the distance with its scarlet eyes.

"Hiss, hiss~"

The gray fog parted, revealing a giant python whose body shimmered with an eerie purple glow. Its coiled body towered like a small hill, and its length exceeded thirty meters.

It slowly raised its enormous triangular head. Its scarlet forked tongue flickered, then its cavernous jaws suddenly opened-

"Hiss..."

The Purple Giant Python lunged straight at it, its hoarse cry shattering the dusty glass all around. Thick venom dripped from its pale fangs, each drop hissing as it struck and corroded the ground.

"Roar..."

The Black-Scaled Ape angrily uprooted a reinforced concrete pillar and smashed it straight at the Purple Giant Python's head.

"Rooaar!"

But the Purple Giant Python was too fast. Although the Black-Scaled Ape struck its body and sent it flying, it also bit the ape's chest. The flesh beneath the black scales instantly turned a purplish blue.

The splattered venom made the vegetation on the ground blacken and curl at a visible rate. In moments, it had become a puddle of rotting matter that gave off bluish smoke.

What kind of grudge would make them fight this desperately?

Watching through binoculars from a floor of a distant abandoned building, Yang Zheng could not help staring in surprise. The Purple Giant Python was fighting by trading injury for injury. He would never believe there was no mortal feud between them.

Both monsters were Advanced Lord Level, their intelligence already on par with adult humans. For them to fight so viciously in this environment, there had to be a deadly grudge between them.

Had one killed the other's mate? Eaten its young? Were they fighting over some treasure...?

Yang Zheng could not figure it out, but that did not stop him from enjoying the spectacle. Two Advanced Lord Level monsters fighting to the death gave him the perfect chance to reap the rewards and spared him the effort of fighting them himself.

On the battlefield.

After their initial exchange of injuries, the Black-Scaled Ape began to take control of the fight. Its defenses were renowned, after all, and its tough hide allowed it to endure several more doses of the Purple Giant Python's venom.

In the end, beneath the Purple Giant Python's defiant gaze, the Black-Scaled Ape swung a fist down and smashed its entire head to pieces.

"Roar~~~"

The Black-Scaled Ape's roar tore through the sky, as though venting its fury. Dragging the python, which was over thirty meters long, it violently ripped apart the snake whose head it had completely crushed.

Riiip~~

The python was torn into two pieces, blood spraying everywhere.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Six black throwing knives flashed like lightning, heading straight

for the Black-Scaled Ape's head.

"Hah!"

The Black-Scaled Ape's eyes flew wide. It quickly discarded the section of python corpse in its hands, its left palm flashing up before its face as it shifted its body slightly to one side.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Four throwing knives struck its left palm. Their sharp blades sliced through the surface, pierced straight through the hand, and stabbed into its face. Scarlet blood instantly stained its entire palm.

Although the throwing knives struck its face, three only pierced the skin before its tough skull stopped them. The other was deflected by the gemlike protrusion on its brow.

Thud! Thud!

The last two throwing knives skimmed its neck, opening two enormous wounds. Red blood gushed out like spring water, making the Black-Scaled Ape roar in utter fury.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Though furious, the Black-Scaled Ape immediately made the decisive choice to flee.

"Trying to run? Too late!"

Yang Zheng stared at the fleeing Black-Scaled Ape. The six throwing knives once again became six black streaks, shooting toward its neck, where two enormous wounds were still pouring blood.

"Roar~~"

The Black-Scaled Ape roared in fury, but the six throwing knives came like lightning at over ten times the speed of sound. It had no chance to escape and could only barely attempt to dodge.

Squelch! Squelch!

Several sounds rang out in quick succession. Still trying to dodge, the Black-Scaled Ape crashed to the ground, carried forward by its momentum.