Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Great Hunt

Following the highway, the seven members of the Fire Hammer Squad had been walking for about two days before finally entering the territory of City 003.

The sky was shrouded in gray, with abandoned buildings and cars scattered everywhere, and cracks running across the road surface.

“Hey~~”

“Caw caw~~”

Suddenly, hundreds of birds swept across the sky in a dense flock, led by a high-level beast commander. The Fire Hammer Squad members immediately grew cautious.

“This is a monster concentration zone—the largest base camp on the Eurasian continent. Not only are there land beasts, but all sorts of flying monsters as well,” Gao Feng said quietly, his tone grave. “And since we’re near the coast, amphibious monsters may appear, too. Everyone, be extra careful—caution above all!”

The others nodded in agreement.

“Our target is a residential area called ‘Vanke Dream City,’ two miles ahead,” Gao Feng continued softly. “It covers a vast area, once capable of housing nearly a million people. Now, monsters are abundant there, but since it’s on the outskirts of City 003, it’s rare to encounter lord-level monsters. It’s suitable for us to practice and test ourselves.”

“Let’s move out!”

“Roar~~” “Awoo~~” “Die!”

Thunderous roars echoed from dozens of miles away, mingled with angry human shouts.

“That’s the direction of the city center—a true den of chaos, where giant crocodiles roam, lord-level monsters and war god-class warriors abound,” Gao Feng explained quietly. “Without the strength of a war god, going there is suicide! In City 003’s downtown, not only are our own nation’s elites present, but also experts from Russia, India, and other countries!” Gao Feng informed them, recounting what he had learned from others.

Suddenly, a colossal Black-Crowned Golden Eagle dove down from the sky toward the Fire Hammer Squad, its sharp talons gleaming with a metallic sheen.

“It’s a mid-level beast commander Black-Crowned Golden Eagle!” Chen Gu exclaimed.

Standing at the front of the group, Luo Yuan remained calm. He squinted at the eagle, recalling the one that had attacked Yian City—its image still vivid in his mind.

“Swish~”

Luo Yuan casually swung his Blood Shadow Battle Blade at the diving eagle. Instantly, a razor-sharp blade light, dozens of yards long, sliced through the air, carrying annihilating intent. It split the eagle in two, blood and feathers raining down, creating a grim yet strangely beautiful spectacle.

“My god, Luo Yuan, you’re incredible!” Chen Gu’s eyes widened in astonishment.

“Judging by Luo Yuan’s performance, his strength is at least that of an advanced battle general,” Gao Feng sighed in admiration.

The other members of the Fire Hammer Squad were equally amazed. Luo Feng’s eyes were filled with shock as well; though he had never seen Luo Yuan train, his strength had clearly surpassed Luo Feng by a wide margin. Clenching his fists, Luo Feng resolved to work even harder in the future.

“All right, let’s keep moving,” Luo Yuan said, sheathing his blade.

The Fire Hammer Squad proceeded carefully.

The short two-mile stretch could have been covered in less than a minute if they sprinted, but the squad took half an hour to reach the long-deserted Vanke Dream City. During that time, Luo Feng and his companions killed two serpent monsters, over thirty ordinary beast soldiers, and one junior beast commander.

Luo Yuan did not rush ahead, allowing the others time to hone their skills.

“No wonder this is City 003.”

“Let’s get upstairs!” Gao Feng gestured.

They quickly darted into a residential building with eighteen floors, fighting their way from the first to the twelfth floor, encountering more than ten monsters en route.

Inside a roughly 100-square-meter room on the twelfth floor—

“For our stay in City 003, this will be our temporary resting place,” Gao Feng announced.

The group nodded, unpacking their bags and settling in.

Luo Yuan walked to the window and saw, about ten miles away, clusters of buildings looming faintly through the fog. Beyond that, nothing was visible—only tattered road signs could be seen.

“That’s the core area. It used to be a Carrefour supermarket, and a ‘high-level lord’ monster is entrenched there,” Gao Feng said solemnly as he approached.

“Luo Yuan, I know you’re strong, but that place is extremely dangerous—even war gods could fall. Don’t act recklessly!” Gao Feng cautioned.

“Don’t worry, Captain. I’m not so overconfident,” Luo Yuan replied with a smile and a nod.

After a night passed, morning came, cold winter air seeping through, but for warriors, it posed no inconvenience.

The Fire Hammer Squad readied themselves and descended the building. A casual glance revealed several beast commander monsters nearby.

“This City 003 is amazing! Beast commanders everywhere!” Wei Qing and Wei Tie’s eyes shone with excitement.

“Let’s go, brothers—time to make some money,” Chen Gu laughed.

What followed was a frenzy of hunting beast commander monsters. Luo Yuan joined in, though he spent most of the time practicing his blade techniques; the difference between system-transmitted skills and actual combat was significant. During this process, Luo Yuan also integrated Luo Feng’s Thunderblade technique into his own style, leaving Luo Feng astonished. When Luo Yuan explained he had learned it on the spot, Luo Feng called him a genius.

After ten days of relentless hunting, Luo Feng and his team had slain ninety-two junior beast commanders and three mid-level beast commanders, with an estimated total value of around one billion. Luo Yuan alone killed fifty mid-level beast commanders and ten advanced beast commanders. To hunt these monsters, he temporarily left the squad and ventured dozens of miles further into the city. When he returned with his spoils, the Fire Hammer Squad members suddenly felt their own monster materials were lackluster.

“Captain, we’ve just about wiped out all the beast commanders in this area,” Chen Gu said helplessly.

“Well, we were pretty ruthless these past days,” Gao Feng chuckled.

“Still, City 003 is the best place for making money,” Wei Tie sighed.

“Lots of money? Not really,” Gao Feng laughed. “A spiritual master can easily earn tens of billions a year. Our ability to survive here is mainly thanks to Luo Yuan and Luo Feng.”

“Haha,” Chen Gu, Zhang Ke, Wei Qing, and Wei Tie laughed.

Luo Feng quickly made some modest remarks, while Luo Yuan simply smiled, shaking his head and wiping his Blood Shadow Battle Blade.

“Damn, here comes a big one!” Chen Gu, holding a heavy sniper rifle, suddenly whispered as he peered through the optical scope.

“What?” Gao Feng and the others immediately grabbed their binoculars.

Luo Yuan didn’t move but instead released his spiritual force outward.

In a distant residential building, moss and vines covered the corners. At this moment, among the greenery, a massive python—thick as a human waist and over twenty meters long—was slithering. Its body was marked with nearly parallel black stripes, the stripes growing thicker toward the head.

At the front, the giant python’s body split into two triangular serpent heads, both foreheads slightly bulging.

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