As Luo Feng set off toward the monster lair, the city of Jiangnan Base, nearly a thousand miles away, remained tranquil—a sanctuary for humanity.
Yangzhou City, Mingyue Residential Area.
The heavy snow from the previous night left the complex blanketed in white, sparking joy as children built snowmen and engaged in snowball fights. Elderly residents strolled leisurely along the paths. Outside the complex gates, sleek sports cars and imposing SUVs lined the streets, occasionally punctuated by luxury vehicles gliding through the air, equipped with personal flight capabilities.
Chen Gu and his wife sat on a freshly swept stone bench, watching their child diligently sculpt a snowman nearby.
“Base cities are truly the best,” Chen Gu murmured, unable to suppress his sentiment.
“They are good, of course. The wilderness is overrun with monsters; only Warriors can truly navigate it,” his wife replied, a hint of wistfulness in her voice. “Tell me, Old Chen, when are you planning to retire from your Warrior squad?” You’ve fought hard for so many years; it’s time to rest and enjoy life a bit.”
Chen Gu looked at his wife, then at their son in the distance. “Wife, I can’t always be thinking of retreating! Our Fire Hammer squad is in a critical phase of rapid improvement right now. I need to fight alongside these old brothers a while longer. In a year or perhaps eighteen months, my strength might not keep pace with the squad. By then, the squad will likely need to recruit new members, and that’s when I’ll retire!”
Chen Gu knew the reality very clearly...
The members of the Fire Hammer squad, excluding Luo Feng, were all significantly older. Coupled with Luo Feng’s astonishing rate of progress... in a year or so, Chen Gu, Wei Qing, and Wei Tie would inevitably fall behind. Their departure would be natural.
“I heard from Luo Feng’s parents that he hasn’t returned yet. Is he still out in the wilderness?” Chen Gu’s wife asked.
“Yes,” Chen Gu nodded.
“He pushes himself too hard,” she sighed. “He needs a balance between work and rest. Besides, look how peaceful and comfortable life is in the base city?”
The base city was indeed comfortable, free from the threat of monsters and filled with all the comforts brought by technology.
The wilderness, however, was fraught with peril at every turn.
“What do you know? If everyone only craved pleasure, what would humanity use to fight the monsters?” Chen Gu couldn't help but snap. “It is precisely because of the tireless efforts of countless scientists day and night—and more importantly, the efforts of War God-level Warriors, and even those invincible beings who surpass the War God level!—that all of humanity can live safely within the base city!”
The base city and the wilderness were practically two different worlds.
One was a world of comfort, peace, and tranquility.
The other was a bloody realm bristling with danger, where only the elite of human society—the ‘Warriors’—could hold dominion.
“Right, wife. When Luo Feng’s parents ask you later, just tell them... Luo Feng will be back soon,” Chen Gu instructed.
“I understand,” his wife replied, nodding.
※※
In stark contrast to the atmosphere of the base city, the northern outskirts of City No. 3—one of the most densely populated monster hubs on the entire Eurasian continent—was currently hosting a battle of apex power. Two War Gods were locked in a fierce melee against three Monster Lords!
“I must hurry!”
“Otherwise, if the Monster Lords win and return to their lair, I’ll have no chance whatsoever. And if the human War Gods win and proceed to the lair, I’ll still have no chance.” Luo Feng moved with blurring speed. “My only opportunity is during this brief window while they are engaged externally.”
Luo Feng, whose parents and loved ones in the base city worried about him, was currently navigating the monster-infested urban landscape at full throttle.
Luo Feng soon infiltrated the area shrouded in thick mist.
“Hmm?” Luo Feng zipped into a unit on the fifth floor of a six-story apartment building, peering out the window at the fog-choked area ahead. The street below was swarming with countless monsters of all kinds. Even the storefronts, residential units, and office buildings lining the street were packed tight with them.
With the supermarket as the epicenter, the surrounding area veiled in mist was saturated with monsters!
“What now?” Luo Feng frowned. “The monster density is too high, too massive. There’s no way for me to slip in unnoticed.”
He knew that even Wang Tong and Li Kan, two powerful War God experts, couldn't infiltrate the smoke-filled zone stealthily due to the omnipresent monsters; they would have to force their way through!
“A War God can break in, but if I try, it’s tantamount to suicide.”
“It looks like there’s only one way!” Luo Feng chuckled wryly. His greatest advantage over a War God was... the ability to fly!
Kha! Kha!
Luo Feng triggered two clasps, and the hexagonal shield strapped to his back immediately detached, hovering before him under the control of his mental energy.
“Tsk, tsk, flying into a monster lair. How stimulating.” Luo Feng leaped onto the hexagonal shield, which remained suspended about half a meter above the tiled ground.
“Go!”
Swoosh!
The hexagonal shield shot out of the window opening with astonishing velocity. Luo Feng could push his throwing knives to speeds exceeding that of a sniper bullet! The shield, carrying his body weight, was substantial. But with the strength of his mental power, Luo Feng could still propel it to nearly the speed of sound.
However…
“I can’t fly too fast, or the air displacement will create too much noise and risk detection by the monsters.” Luo Feng stood atop the shield, flying about fifty meters above the ground.
Because of the dense fog, the visibility for both humans and monsters was severely reduced. Paradoxically, Luo Feng remained undiscovered!
“The fog has been a huge help,” he thought.
Even though monsters densely populated the ground level, shops, apartments, and offices, the monster horde controlled by Iron-Armored Dragon was primarily comprised of ground-crawlers; there were no flying creatures. Since they couldn't fly—and their vision was limited—the monsters simply couldn’t spot Luo Feng.
“Carrefour Supermarket!”
Luo Feng vaguely spotted the large, low-rise structure in the sky. The entire five-story Carrefour building originally housed the supermarket on the first and second floors. The third, fourth, and fifth floors were mainly dedicated to large appliances and general merchandise, though decades of monster occupation had left these items utterly ruined.
Yet, the five-story structure remained largely intact, much like its original design.
“Hmm?”
Luo Feng pulled out his binoculars from his pack to observe closely. Though the fog was thick, the binoculars provided significantly clearer vision than his naked eye. Through the shattered windows, he could faintly discern the silhouettes of a few monsters on the third, fourth, and fifth floors.
The first and second floors, however, were eerily devoid of any monsters.
But on the ground level, in every direction surrounding the supermarket, massive numbers of monsters were clustered.
“Monster Lords possess intelligence comparable to humans!” Luo Feng mused. “If I were the leader, I would naturally want my living quarters free from interference from my subordinates. Therefore, the first and second floors are likely the residence of the leader, the ‘Iron-Armored Dragon’!”
“As for the third, fourth, and fifth floors, those are probably reserved for its elite subordinates. Likely Beast General level.”
Luo Feng carefully observed from a position diagonally above the five-story building, circling the structure, examining the monster lair from the southeast, southwest, northeast, and northwest. Without absolute certainty, Luo Feng dared not venture carelessly into this nest.
“This…”
Luo Feng hovered mid-air, peering through his high-powered binoculars—equipment designed for Warriors, expensive but highly effective. He could vaguely make out the figures standing guard directly in front of the supermarket entrance. These monsters were enormous, their coats glossy, their scales even more intricate.
“Mid-level Beast General, this one is also Mid-level Beast General, High-level Beast General, Mid-level Beast General... High-level Beast General... Mid-level Beast General... High-level Beast General...” Luo Feng continued to identify them.
After identifying only fifty-two individuals, he stopped cataloging the remaining nearly half of the Beast Generals present.
“Of these 52 monsters, 32 are Mid-level Beast Generals, and 20 are High-level Beast Generals! Not a single Beginner Beast General among them.”
“This group guarding the main entrance of the lair totals nearly a hundred Beast Generals. I estimate about sixty to seventy Mid-level Beast Generals and thirty to forty High-level Beast Generals,” Luo Feng calculated, startled by the rough count.
Heavens!
This monster lair, in addition to the dense swarm surrounding it, housed such a ‘Beast General Monster Squad’! And there were thirty to forty High-level Beast Generals!
A Beginner War God would likely flee without a fight! Battle meant almost certain death!
A Mid-level War God might stand a chance to contend for a while.
Only a High-level War God could potentially breach the blockade formed by this Beast General squad.
“What should I do? The third, fourth, and fifth floors are occupied by monsters! And the entire perimeter of the supermarket is swarming with countless others, plus a guard squad of Beast Generals at the main gate... How can I get inside? How can I retrieve the Iron-Armored Dragon’s egg without alerting a single one of them?” Luo Feng stood on the hexagonal shield in the swirling mist, binoculars in hand, his mind racing through every possible strategy.
P: Tomato’s Swallowed Star goes on sale tonight at 12 AM!