As Luo Feng made his way towards the monster’s lair, thousands of miles away, the Jiangnan Base City remained peaceful and serene, a paradise for humanity.
In Yangzhou City, the Mingyue Community was blanketed in snow from last night’s storm. Children joyfully built snowmen and engaged in snowball fights while elderly folks leisurely strolled through the neighborhood. Outside the community, streets were lined with rugged off-road vehicles, sleek sports cars, and occasionally, luxurious flying cars gliding through the air.
Chen Gu and his wife sat on a stone bench cleared of snow, watching their child play in the snow.
“This is the life,” Chen Gu couldn’t help but sigh.
“It’s a good life here in the Base City, but the wilderness is full of monsters. Only warriors can survive there. Hey, Old Chen, when are you planning to retire from your warrior squad?” his wife asked, a hint of sadness in her voice. “You’ve worked hard for so many years. It’s time to rest and enjoy life.”
Chen Gu looked at his wife, then at his son in the distance. “Honey, I can’t keep thinking about retiring. Our Firehammer Squad is in a crucial growth phase. I want to keep fighting with my brothers for a while longer. In a year or two, my abilities might not keep up with the squad’s progress. Then the squad will probably recruit new members, and that’s when I’ll retire.”
Chen Gu understood well that the members of the Firehammer Squad, aside from Luo Feng, were all quite old, and Luo Feng’s progress was astonishing. It was only natural that Chen Gu, Wei Qing, and Wei Tie would fall behind and eventually leave the squad in a year or two.
“I heard from Luo Feng’s parents that he hasn’t returned yet. Is he still in the wilderness?” his wife asked.
“Yeah, that’s right,” Chen Gu nodded.
“He’s pushing himself too hard,” she sighed. “He should balance work and rest. Life in the Base City is so peaceful and comfortable.”
The Base City was indeed comfortable, free from the threat of monsters, offering the comforts of modern technology. In contrast, the wilderness was a dangerous place.
“You don’t understand,” Chen Gu snapped. “If everyone just sought comfort, how could humanity fight against the monsters? It’s because of the tireless efforts of countless scientists, and especially the warriors at the Champion level and even those beyond, the invincible ones, that humanity can live safely in the Base City!”
The Base City and the wilderness were like two different worlds.
One was a peaceful haven of comfort.
The other was a perilous, blood-soaked world, where only the elite of human society, the warriors, could thrive.
“Oh, by the way, honey. If Luo Feng’s parents ask you, just tell them… Luo Feng will be back soon,” Chen Gu reminded her.
“I understand,” his wife nodded.
…
Unlike the peaceful atmosphere of the Base City, the wilderness was a completely different world. In the northern outskirts of City 003, one of the most monster-infested cities across Eurasia, a fierce battle was taking place between two Champions and three Monster Lords.
“I must hurry!”
“Otherwise, if the Monster Lords win and retreat to their lair, I won’t have a chance. And if the human Champions win, they’ll head to the monster lair, and I still won’t have a chance.” Luo Feng’s figure moved swiftly and stealthily. “My only opportunity is to strike while they’re engaged in this brief battle.”
Luo Feng, who was dearly missed by his parents, friends, and loved ones in the Base City, was now racing through a city teeming with monsters.
Luo Feng soon entered a mist-shrouded area.
“Hmm?” With a swift motion, Luo Feng darted into a fifth-floor apartment of a six-story residential building. Peering through the window, he observed the mist-covered area ahead. The streets below were teeming with various types of monsters. Even the shops along the streets, residential buildings, and office towers were filled with large numbers of monsters.
The mist-covered area surrounding the supermarket was completely overrun by monsters!
“What should I do now?” Luo Feng furrowed his brow. “The density of monsters is too high. I can’t sneak in unnoticed.”
Even two Champion-level warriors like Wang Tong and Li Kan couldn’t infiltrate the mist-covered area without being detected by the ever-present monsters. They had no choice but to charge in directly.
“A Champion can charge in directly, but if I do the same, it would be suicide.”
“It seems there’s only one way!” Luo Feng shook his head with a smile. Compared to Champions, his biggest advantage was… he could fly!
Click! Click!
Luo Feng pressed two buckles on his back, and the hexagonal shield strapped to him slid off. Under the control of his mental energy, the shield hovered in front of him.
“Tsk tsk, flying into the monster lair, exciting.” Luo Feng leaped onto the hexagonal shield, which floated about half a meter above the ground.
“Let’s go!”
Whoosh!
The hexagonal shield shot out of the window at an incredible speed. Luo Feng’s control over his throwing knives was so precise that he could accelerate them beyond the speed of a sniper bullet! Although the hexagonal shield, along with Luo Feng’s weight, was heavier, his strong mental energy still allowed the shield to fly at nearly the speed of sound.
However…
“I can’t fly too fast, or the air resistance will create too much noise and attract the monsters’ attention.” Luo Feng stood on the shield, flying at an altitude of about fifty meters above the ground.
Because of the thick fog, both humans and monsters had limited visibility, so Luo Feng remained undetected.
“The fog is actually helping me a lot.”
…
Although the monsters were densely packed on the ground, in the shops, residential buildings, and office towers, the Ironclad Dragon-controlled monster horde was mainly composed of land-based creatures, with no flying beasts. Unable to fly and with limited visibility, the monsters were completely unaware of Luo Feng’s presence.
“Carrefour Supermarket!”
From the air, Luo Feng vaguely spotted the low-rise building that occupied a large area. The Carrefour Supermarket had a total of five floors. Originally, the first and second floors were designed for the supermarket, while the third, fourth, and fifth floors were for large appliances and other goods. Of course, after decades, these items had been destroyed by the monsters.
Yet the five-story building remained largely unchanged.
“Hmm?”
Luo Feng took out a telescope from his backpack and carefully observed. Although the fog was thick, the telescope provided much clearer vision than the naked eye. Through the broken windows, he could faintly see a few monster shadows on the third, fourth, and fifth floors.
Strangely, the first and second floors were completely devoid of monsters.
Yet, in every direction outside the supermarket, the ground was crowded with monsters.
“The Monster Lord is highly intelligent, comparable to humans!” Luo Feng mused. “If I were the leader, I would certainly want to keep my residence free from disturbances by subordinates. Therefore, the first and second floors are likely the dwelling place of the leader, ‘Ironclad Dragon’!”
“As for the third, fourth, and fifth floors, they should be reserved for its elite subordinates, probably at the Beast Captain level.”
Luo Feng carefully observed from above the five-story supermarket building, circling around its southeast, northwest, and all other directions to examine the monster lair from every angle. Without sufficient confidence, he dared not rashly enter the monster lair.
“This is——”
Luo Feng hovered in the air, peering through the telescope at the scene below. This telescope was specially designed for warriors, expensive, and highly effective. Luo Feng could vaguely make out the figures of the monsters standing in front of the supermarket. These monsters were massive in size, with glossy fur and refined scales.
“Mid-level Beast Captain, this one is also a mid-level Beast Captain, high-level Beast Captain, mid-level Beast Captain, high-level Beast Captain… mid-level Beast Captain… high-level Beast Captain…” Luo Feng kept identifying them.
He identified fifty-two monsters before stopping, with nearly half of them still unexamined.
“Out of these 52 monsters, 32 are mid-level Beast Captains, and 20 are high-level Beast Captains! Not a single low-level Beast Captain.”
“There are nearly a hundred Beast Captains guarding the entrance of the monster lair. I estimate around sixty to seventy mid-level Beast Captains and thirty to forty high-level Beast Captains.” Luo Feng deduced a rough number, his heart pounding with fear.
Goodness!
Besides the densely packed monsters surrounding the lair, there was also a ‘Beast Captain Monster Squad’ here, with thirty to forty high-level Beast Captains!
If a low-level Champion were to face this, he would likely flee without a fight, for engaging them would almost certainly mean death.
A mid-level Champion might stand a chance.
Only a high-level Champion could probably break through the Beast Captain squad.
“What should I do? The third, fourth, and fifth floors are all occupied by monsters! The entire supermarket is surrounded by countless monsters, and there’s even a Beast Captain squad guarding the entrance… How can I get in? How can I steal the Ironclad Dragon’s egg without alerting them?” Hovering in the foggy sky, standing on his hexagonal shield, telescope in hand, Luo Feng’s mind raced with potential strategies.
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