Chapter 4

The dust kicked up by the pickup truck slowly settled, and more and more wild hunters returned from their hunt.

Compared to the wariness of the people in the pickup truck, the town guards were not particularly courteous to the other wild hunters.

Blackstone Town was located at the edge of the Black Steel Shelter and the Quicksand Shelter, originally without its own stance or true enemies. The only real danger to be wary of was the presence of polluters mixed in with the crowd.

Polluters were powerful sources of pollution; once they infiltrated the town, the entire town would face the threat of pollution and mutation.

A guard pointed his gun at a disheveled lone wild hunter and loudly shouted:

"Look up, lift your hair, and show your face!"

Qi Yuan noticed that the wild hunter, who was being pointed at, suddenly tensed up. Although the body under the tattered clothes was thin, it had well-defined muscle lines, like a leopard ready to pounce.

This was a body with explosive power, a sensitive and dangerous wild hunter.

In response to the wild hunter's reaction, the two guards at the gate were not at all concerned. Their fingers had already subtly pressed on the triggers, ready to fire at any moment.

Hunters who dared to hunt in the wild were mostly arrogant and unruly, but in front of Blackstone Town, whether they were superhumans or gene warriors, they had to lower their proud heads.

Not only because the lookout towers on the edge of the town were equipped with heavy weapons—Metal Storms—that could tear beasts apart, but also because the town's leader, Situ, had already reached the second stage and possessed a powerful weapon, the Skullcrusher.

The guards on the lookout tower noticed the commotion at the gate, and the black muzzle of the Metal Storm turned to lock onto the target at the gate.

The surrounding wild hunters quickly moved away, fearing being caught in the terrifying firepower of the Metal Storm.

No one could withstand the terrifying power of the Metal Storm; at least, there was no such powerful existence in Blackstone Town.

The wild hunter locked by the Metal Storm trembled slightly. Before the guard lost the last bit of patience, she finally lifted her head and, with stiff movements, lifted her hair, revealing a surprisingly delicate face!

The guard at the gate was momentarily stunned, then burst into laughter.

"Ha! Hahahaha! It's a woman!"

The guard's laughter drew the attention of the other wild hunters. Due to the differences in body structure, female wild hunters were not common.

One of the guards clearly showed some interest, reaching out to touch her face roughly, leaving a black mark. Just as he was about to touch her chest, another guard pulled him back, whispering something in his ear. He reluctantly retracted his hand and stepped aside to let her pass.

The woman let her disheveled hair fall to cover her face and walked past the two guards into the town. Before she entered the gate, the guard who had tried to take advantage of her shouted at her back:

"Girl, if you need money, come find me. I really like your type of wild cat!"

The woman did not stop and soon disappeared into the town.

The brief commotion quickly subsided, and the wild hunters gathered at the gate again. Qi Yuan noticed that although the guards were arrogant, their attitudes varied depending on the person.

For those wild hunters who returned empty-handed, the guards' arrogance was unrestrained. For those with powerful auras or who returned with beast corpses, the guards were much more restrained, showing basic respect for strength.

Qi Yuan walked to the gate, and the guards, seeing the guns on his back, had a noticeably different look in their eyes.

His combat uniform was stained with large patches of dark blood, emitting a putrid smell. He had a pistol on his waist, a blood-soaked package, and two rifles on his back, one an AK. He did not look like a wild hunter who had been hunting but more like a scavenger on the battlefield.

More importantly, this person was unfamiliar, not matching any of the wild hunters they remembered. He must be a newcomer.

Blackstone Town did not reject newcomers, but it was not friendly to them, especially after the town's only second-stage superhuman, Xu Kui, controlled a powerful second-stage beast. The town became even less friendly to strangers.

Extorting money from newcomers had become one of the main sources of income for the guards.

Two guards surrounded him, their gun barrels slightly raised, aiming at Qi Yuan.

"Where did you get these guns?" one of the guards asked with a half-smile.

"From the bodies," Qi Yuan replied calmly.

One of the guards sniffed slightly, as if trying to identify a smell.

The other guard used the gun barrel to prod the package on Qi Yuan's waist and shouted:

"Open the package, no contraband allowed inside."

The handling of contraband was confiscation.

Qi Yuan remained calm in the face of the guard's provocation. His steel defense could withstand the old rifles in the guards' hands, but it could not withstand the sweeping power of the Metal Storm.

To resist such a powerful weapon, at least a third-stage defense or the combined defense of two second-stage abilities was needed!

Qi Yuan glanced at the guard, moved his hands to his waist, and was about to open the package. The guard who had been sniffing suddenly saw a white, blood-stained fang poking out of the package.

His face changed, and the arrogance quickly disappeared, replaced by a look of uncertainty.

"The items are fine, you can go in!"

The guard lowered his head, pressed down the gun barrel, and stepped aside, pulling his confused companion away to prevent him from continuing to harass.

Qi Yuan glanced at the guard, said nothing, and slowly walked past the two.

After Qi Yuan walked away, the guard who had lowered his head let out a long sigh.

"What happened? Is he also an Evolver like that woman?" the other guard asked in a low voice.

"I don't know," the guard who had lowered his head shook his head, "but this person is definitely more dangerous than most of the wild hunters in the town."

"How do you know? He's just a newcomer, how do you know he's dangerous?"

"If you knew what was in his package, you would know why!" the guard who had lowered his head sighed.

"Corrupt Wolf! His package contains the claws and fangs of a Corrupt Wolf! He is a wild hunter who can hunt a Corrupt Wolf alone!"

"Corrupt Wolf!"

The guard's eyes widened, clearly feeling some fear. A wild hunter who could hunt such a beast was indeed dangerous, not someone they could harass.

"You saved my life this time!"

The guard also recalled the familiar putrid smell, which was the smell of a Corrupt Wolf. He took a cigarette from his pocket and passed it to the other guard, saying in a low voice:

"Brother Hu, your eyesight is better than mine. We need your help to avoid trouble in the future!"

The guard called Brother Hu blew a smoke ring and gestured for the wild hunter to hurry inside, then nodded and said sarcastically:

"Our wages are just enough to fill our bellies. If we don't get some extra money from these newcomers, we would have starved to death. But recently, more and more tough people have been coming, making it harder to get that extra money."

"If I'm not mistaken, the size of the package on that person's waist suggests it contains the claws and fangs of two Corrupt Wolves."

"Hey, in the entire Blackstone Town, there were originally no more than five people who could hunt two Corrupt Wolves alone. Since Xu Kui controlled the Black Scorpion, the number of such tough people has more than doubled."

"Is Blackstone Town about to change?"

"Keep your voice down. Although Xu Kui's Black Scorpion is powerful, Leader Situ is not weak. The Metal Storms on the lookout towers are still firmly controlled by Situ's people. Even if Xu Kui can gather some allies, he might not dare to make a move."