Chapter 2

Inside the cave, the one-eyed man carefully observed the unconscious rot wolf through his telescope, seeing the fresh blood gush from its gunshot wound, and only then did he let out a sigh of relief.

In the new era, the insect beasts possess considerable intelligence. The story of a beast feigning death to lure hunters closer and then ruthlessly counter-attack has happened many times. Any hunter who underestimates the intelligence of insect beasts has already become their prey.

"Go drag the rot wolf's body over here, then inject the paralyzing agent into the remaining two baits. If we have good luck, we might be able to hunt another insect beast today."

A man with a scar on his face stood up, glanced around to confirm there was no danger, and then held a gun in one hand while drawing a long, sharp blade from his waist, similar to an elongated dagger.

He walked out of the cave and quickly approached the rot wolf.

The effect of the paralyzing agent on insect beasts is limited. With the rot wolf's robust body, it could wake up in more than five minutes. It must be quickly killed and taken away.

Qi Yuan held his breath, calmly waiting for the hunter to approach.

The silver-gray blade in the scar-faced man's hand was slender, similar to a bayonet, with deep blood grooves etched on both sides. This was a deadly weapon; once it pierced the body, blood would instantly gush out along the grooves, causing massive bleeding.

Pfft!

As the scar-faced man approached, he skillfully stabbed the blade into the gunshot wound on the rot wolf's abdomen, bypassing the strong fur defense and directly piercing the heart.

The stench of fresh blood gushed out like a spring, and the rot wolf's body twitched, slowly ceasing its struggle.

The scar-faced man pulled out the long blade and casually wiped the blood on Qi Yuan's body. The cold touch of the blade made Qi Yuan's spine chill; with just a flick of the wrist, he could be killed just like the rot wolf.

Putting away the long blade, the scar-faced man took out a thick syringe from his pocket, filled with paralyzing agent.

A quick glance through the gap, and Qi Yuan instantly understood the man's intentions, cursing inwardly. Steel Defense could not resist the paralyzing agent!

Just as Qi Yuan was about to activate "Steel Defense" and take the opportunity to attack, a loud gunshot shattered the tranquility of the wilderness.

Bang!

The scar-faced man's body trembled; he was familiar with this gunshot, which belonged to their leader's AK.

The leader's shot meant new enemies had appeared!

The scar-faced man turned his head sharply and saw a strong rot wolf suddenly appear in his field of vision, charging towards him.

The previous shot had not significantly affected the rot wolf; its tough fur had resisted most of the bullet's impact, leaving only a thumb-sized dent.

"Help!"

The scar-faced man's scalp tingled, and he shouted in panic.

He was just a slightly stronger ordinary person; even with a rifle, he had no confidence in fighting a giant rot wolf over a meter tall.

Bang!

Another gunshot rang out, and the charging rot wolf gained another wound, but it did not scare it away or slow its speed.

Seeing the rot wolf getting closer, the desperate scar-faced man raised his rifle and roared, pulling the trigger at the rot wolf.

The rot wolf's speed was extremely fast, and without extraordinary abilities, it was very difficult to hit.

The scar-faced man's last shot in fear missed the rot wolf, only breaking a few gray hairs. Before he could pull the trigger again, the rot wolf pounced, biting through his neck.

Severed!

Roar!

The rot wolf threw the scar-faced man's body aside, let out an angry howl at the rot wolf's corpse on the ground, and then charged towards the hunters hiding in the cave.

The death of a companion and the aggressive charge of the rot wolf filled the remaining wilderness hunters with fear. Two of them could not help but try to escape!

Bang!

The one-eyed man fired his gun, roaring in anger.

"Everyone, start shooting! The rot wolf is the most vengeful. If we don't kill it, it will keep hunting us until we die. At its speed, we have no chance of returning to Blackstone Town!"

The one-eyed man's remaining right eye contracted rapidly, and a crosshair appeared in his pupil.

This was his only extraordinary ability—First-Class Aiming!

It was because of this extraordinary ability that the one-eyed man could hit the charging rot wolf!

This ability, which had allowed him to successfully hunt black-toothed rats multiple times, seemed weak and powerless against the rot wolf's frontal attack.

Even with the AK firing like a sniper, each shot hitting the target, it could only wound the rot wolf, not severely injure it!

"Damn!"

The one-eyed man roared inwardly. First-Class Aiming did not significantly enhance physical strength, but among many first-class abilities, it was not weak. If paired with a powerful new-era firearm, he could easily take on two or even three rot wolves.

Unfortunately!

The entire Blackstone Town had only one new-era firearm, the leader Situ's Skullcrusher, a terrifying revolver capable of blowing a rot wolf's head into pieces with a single shot!

Bang! Bang!

The two hunters who were about to flee stopped and started firing at the rot wolf, but only one bullet left a wound on its body.

They were just ordinary people; together, they had a slight chance of killing the rot wolf, but if they separated, they would become its prey.

The one-eyed man roared, lowered his gun, and fired again.

Bang!

This shot finally hit the rot wolf's front leg joint before it could pounce.

The rot wolf's right front leg knelt, though it did not fall, its speed inevitably slowed.

"Use the knife!"

The man growled, threw down his AK, and drew a black dagger from his calf, charging towards the rot wolf.

In close combat, a knife is more threatening than a gun.

The other two hunters exchanged glances, gritted their teeth, and also drew their daggers, charging towards the rot wolf.

The three men and the wolf roared and engaged in a fierce battle.

On the other side, the moment the rot wolf turned to charge, Qi Yuan knew his opportunity had come.

"Should I consume one ton of steel and one talent point to activate the talent—Steel Defense?"

"Yes!"

The talent point and the chain merged, and the moment the chain disappeared from his ankle, Qi Yuan felt the ground beneath him slightly sink, as if something underground had been hollowed out!

The chain was not anchored to the ground; at the end where it entered the ground, it was locked to a massive iron block weighing over a ton, which the talent tree had captured.

This trap was not chosen randomly but was carefully set up by the other party.

Qi Yuan, who had originally been worried about not having enough steel to activate the gray sphere, was now relieved.

The gray sphere was activated!

The talent point and steel transformed into energy, surging into his body, instantly giving him a powerful surge of energy throughout his limbs.

"This is Steel Defense! This is the power of steel!"

The powerful strength gave Qi Yuan a slight sense of security.

The two sides were still entangled in the cave, and no one noticed that the bait had escaped.

After breaking free, Qi Yuan quietly stood up, taking the rifle and long blade from the scar-faced man.

Qi Yuan originally planned to sneak away, but after glancing at the battle in the cave, he had a thought and slowly approached the cave.

The rot wolf, with the bloodline of a wolf and the strength of an insect beast, did not retreat even after being shot multiple times when facing three hunters.

However, the rot wolf was ultimately just a first-class insect beast. After biting to death two wilderness hunters, it was severely wounded by their dying counter-attacks.

Two sharp daggers were driven deep into its body through the bullet wounds, causing far more damage than the bullets, injuring its internal organs.

"Beast! In the end, I win!"

Seeing the rot wolf wobbling, the one-eyed man leaned against a rock, spitting out a mouthful of blood with a cruel smile. His left hand had been bitten off, and with his remaining right hand, he raised his AK and fired the remaining bullets at the rot wolf, which was about to fall.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The rot wolf's massive body was riddled with blood, and the last bit of life drained away under the barrage of metal bullets, finally collapsing helplessly.

After a moment of panting, the one-eyed man struggled to stand up. Although the rot wolf was dead, the danger had not passed. The bloody smell in the cave could attract other insect beasts, especially after nightfall, making the wilderness even more dangerous.

The polluters, who slept underground and could awaken at night, were even more terrifying than insect beasts.

He quickly bandaged his wounds, drew his long blade, and began to cut the rot wolf's body. Although insect beasts were dangerous, their bodies were also valuable. Two complete rot wolf corpses, even after deductions, could be exchanged for 2,000 credits.

In Blackstone Town, 2,000 credits could allow him to live luxuriously for a month, enjoying clean water and food, and even having five or more women. If he was lucky, he might even be able to buy an evolution agent to compensate for his missing hand.

In Blackstone Town, the evolution agents that could activate extraordinary abilities were the most valuable, followed by fresh water and food. Women were just insignificant accessories!

The one-eyed man struggled to extract the rot wolf's hard claws from its paws, pry out its fangs, and put them in his pocket. He then dug out its large eyes and placed them in a glass bottle.

Although the rot wolf's fur was also valuable, with only one arm left, it was too difficult to skin the rot wolf, so he had to give up.

After processing one rot wolf's fur, the one-eyed man panted and stood up, preparing to cut the other rot wolf outside.

The moment the one-eyed man stepped out of the cave, a gunshot rang out without warning. His pupils instantly contracted, and his body instinctively retreated, trying to return to the cave!

Bang!

The bullet hit the rock at the cave entrance, leaving a deep hole!

"Damn! I missed!"

Qi Yuan, looking at the bullet hole, cursed.

As a cloud player of firearms, Qi Yuan had been confident in this close-range ambush, but he missed!

The one-eyed man, who had retreated into the cave, quickly recovered from the shock of being ambushed. Seeing the bullet hole, a cruel smile appeared on his lips.

In the new era, ordinary people's physical attributes were much stronger than in the old era, but this did not mean every ordinary person was a sharpshooter. A good shooter was trained with bullets, and even with an awakened extraordinary ability in firearms, an ordinary person could not instantly become a sharpshooter.

A close-range miss meant that even with a gun, the threat to him was limited.

If he were not severely injured, he could have forced a breakthrough.

The one-eyed man held his gun with one hand, aiming at the cave entrance. If the person outside dared to show himself, the last bullet could easily blow his head off!

At this distance, even with one hand, the First-Class Aiming ability was as good as an auto-aim hack!

Missing the first shot, Qi Yuan, hiding outside the cave, was instantly embarrassed. It was too late to run now; with the gun skills the one-eyed man had shown in killing the rot wolf, running would make him a moving target.

With his own gun skills, forcing his way into the cave would be suicide.

Calmly, Qi Yuan began to think of a plan.

"I now have Steel Defense. I don't know if I can withstand a bullet, but even if I am hit, I won't be killed instantly. I still have a chance to turn the tide."

The instinctive fear of gun power made it hard for Qi Yuan to decide to face the one-eyed man, even with Steel Defense.

The atmosphere became tense, the smell of blood permeating the air, stimulating both sides' nerves.

After two minutes of silence, the one-eyed man broke the tension.

"Friend outside, we have no grudges. Why push so hard?"

Qi Yuan did not respond rashly, as any response could reveal his position, especially to a wilderness hunter.

"Continuing this standoff is not good for either of us."

The one-eyed man said weakly, "After dark, the bodies here will attract the attention of polluters. I don't want to die at their hands, and I don't think you want to face those deformed monsters."

Polluters!

Hearing this word, Qi Yuan's heart tightened, as if it contained immense fear.

In the original memories of this body, polluters were not more powerful than insect beasts but were more dangerous. They were mobile sources of pollution and were very difficult to kill!

"It's now 2 PM. It will be dark in three hours, and it takes at least two hours to reach the nearest settlement from here."

Qi Yuan, who had been somewhat indifferent, suddenly remembered something.

"I don't know the way! There's no navigation here!"

Qi Yuan was instantly frustrated. If there was anything more dangerous than spending a night in this perilous wilderness, it was getting lost in the wilderness.

"Should I capture the guy inside and make him lead the way?"

Thoughts emerged and were quickly dismissed. As Qi Yuan slowly began to think in the new era, he realized his situation was becoming increasingly dire.

First-Class Steel Defense sounded powerful, but against polluters, it would probably only allow him to admit defeat with tears!

While hesitating, Qi Yuan subconsciously focused his consciousness on the talent tree, trying to find a solution.

The sphere representing Steel Defense was already activated, becoming the only light among countless gray spheres.

The gray spheres seemed to be fewer!

Qi Yuan keenly noticed that the number of gray spheres had decreased. Although it was still difficult to count the gray spheres, by visual estimation, their density had become much sparser than before.

"Where did the missing spheres go? Why did they disappear?"

"The spheres disappeared after I activated 'Steel Defense.' Could it be that extraordinary abilities conflict or cannot be combined? When I chose 'Steel Defense,' the spheres representing abilities that could not match 'Steel Defense' disappeared?"

Qi Yuan stroked his chin, making many speculations about the disappearance of the gray spheres.

The disappearance of some gray spheres, or extraordinary abilities, did not significantly affect him. Successfully signing in once earned him one talent point, and although he did not know the difficulty of subsequent sign-ins, the density of sign-in points suggested that future sign-ins would not be easy.

Subsequent sign-in points!

Qi Yuan suddenly thought of the key!

Under his consciousness, about ten kilometers to the north, he vaguely sensed the existence of sign-in points, and there were more than one.

Although the location of the subsequent sign-in points was only a rough distance, the direction was clear, at least giving Qi Yuan a direction.

Qi Yuan vaguely realized that the direction should be where the settlement was located.

While Qi Yuan subconsciously looked towards the north, he did not realize that danger was approaching. The one-eyed man, who had been hiding in the cave, had quietly moved to the cave entrance.

The moment he approached the entrance, the one-eyed man crouched, his powerful legs suddenly pushing him backward, and his body quickly leaped forward, drawing an arc in the air.

In mid-air, the one-eyed man raised his AK, the green crosshair in his eye emitting a cold killing intent.

Through the sight, he locked onto the target's forehead!

Bang!

The one-eyed man pulled the trigger, the gun's muzzle spitting out a red tongue of fire, and a copper bullet flew out, heading straight for the target's forehead, which was full of shock, and Qi Yuan's unprotected forehead!