The whole nation is trying to survive on the cable car; I'm choosing one of three options at ea

When Su Mu returned to the area where the scarlet vines were, he was completely stunned.

When he left, the ground was covered with withered, grayish-brown vines, like a thick carpet.

But now... those branches are gone. Not that they were cleared away, but that they vanished. The ground is spotless, not even a fragment remains, only a thin layer of grayish-white powder, which dissipates with a gust of wind.

What concerned him even more was the way those withered branches disappeared. Su Mu squatted down, picked up a little powder with his fingers, and smelled it under his nose... There was no burnt smell, no rotten smell, only a faint smell, like wood ash.

It wasn't natural weathering. Something absorbed these dead branches.

Su Mu stood up, his gaze sweeping across the entire area. The walls cracked by the vines, the torn ground, and the shredded car wrecks were still there, but the vines themselves were gone. They hadn't been cleared away; rather, something had "eaten" them.

A thought flashed through Su Mu's mind: that emerald green vine.

However, there is no evidence or information available.

Su Mu didn't think any further. He glanced at the time... 4 PM.

He opened the map and glanced at his location and the distance to the zoo.

The straight-line distance from here to the zoo is about 20 kilometers, but in reality, it takes at least twice that distance to walk. Moreover, it was already getting dark; the sun was setting, and the light had turned a dim, yellowish hue.

It's impossible to get to the zoo before dark.

Su Mu leaned against the wall and remained silent for a moment.

His original plan was to acquire the secret realm of the second intelligence point today, but now it seems that plan will have to be postponed. The city is much larger and more dangerous than he expected.

He spent most of the day dealing with the scarlet vine, and then made a wasted trip to Ash University. There wasn't enough time left to get to the zoo.

Looks like I'll have to spend the night here.

He was just about to find a place to rest when his communicator vibrated. Lin Xiaohe had sent a message.

"Su Mu, the army has received news that the Crimson Vines have disappeared. Did you handle that?"

Su Mu thought for a moment and replied with a single word: "Yes."

There was a moment of silence on the other end, then a longer message appeared: "The army said that the vines are called Crimson Vines, and they're one of the most dangerous things in this area. They originally planned to deal with them using explosives and incendiary bombs, but they didn't dare to act. They didn't expect you to handle it all by yourself... Are you alright?"

"fine."

"That's good. By the way, I've learned some information from the military about the nighttime situation." Lin Xiaohe sent the message quickly, clearly relaying what she said: "They said that monsters' attributes are greatly enhanced at night, so try to avoid going outside buildings and directly encountering monsters."

Choose high-rise buildings as your landing spot... Low-rise buildings are easier for monsters with a keen sense of smell to find, while scents don't spread as easily in higher buildings. But be careful of flying monsters, avoid light as much as possible, and don't use strong light sources at night. This is experience they gained at the cost of their lives, so it should be reliable.

Su Mu looked at these messages and memorized each one.

"Got it," he replied. "Take care of yourself over there."

"The same to you."

Su Mu turned off the communicator and began looking for a place to spend the night.

......—

Su Mu turned off the communicator and began looking for a place to spend the night.

He wrote down the messages Lin Xiaohe sent... These messages should be reliable.

After leaving the area overrun by scarlet vines, Su Mu noticed a significant increase in the density of monsters. It wasn't an overwhelming density, but rather a greater variety of types and a wider range of levels.

More importantly, he saw the marker for a level 10 monster in his area perception.

Su Mu frowned.

Hopefully, it's not one of those particularly outrageous things. He was able to kill the Crimson Vines by exploiting their weakness of being in the process of advancing and their core being unable to move.

If it were a level 10 monster that could move, with his current strength, it would be virtually impossible for him to kill it... at least not at the moment.

Just then, heavy footsteps came from around the corner of the street ahead.

Su Mu sidestepped into the doorway of a building and peeked out.

A giant.

Nearly ten meters tall, its naked upper body was covered with grayish-white skin, without hair or sexual characteristics, like a human model magnified countless times.

His head was small and disproportionate to his enormous body. His face had no nose or ears, only a wide, horizontally split mouth and two deep-set eye sockets, which contained no eyeballs, only pitch black.

His muscles were bulging and his outline was distinct; every step he took made the road surface tremble slightly.

Su Mu's pupils contracted slightly. He recognized this thing... not really recognized it, but had seen a similar image in some anime.

【Faceless Titan (Lv8 Green)】

【Strength: 185】

[Physical Fitness: 220]

[Agility: 22]

【Spirit: 5】

[Skills: Trample, Throw, Bite]

He didn't rush to fire. Within his line of sight were several smaller giants... ranging from three to five meters tall, and level five to seven.

Further away, at the end of the street, there was an even larger figure, at least twenty meters tall. Its exact shape was unclear, but the oppressive feeling could be felt even from hundreds of meters away.

Su Mu cursed under his breath. Why did it feel even more dangerous once he left the area covered by the scarlet vines?

However, this level eight faceless giant in front of me is perfect for practice.

Moreover, where these high-level monsters are present, there are actually very few other low-level monsters... They've all been scared away or eaten. This means he can focus on dealing with one monster without worrying about being harassed by smaller ones.

Su Mu set up the AWM, aiming the scope at the giant.

"Bang......!"

The bullet left the barrel and hit its target squarely. A cloud of blood mist exploded from the back of the giant's neck, his massive body stiffened abruptly, and he let out a muffled roar that seemed to be squeezed from the depths of his throat.

He turned around and took a step toward Su Mu.

Su Mu did not move. The second shot followed immediately, then the third, and the fourth.

The AWM is different now than before.

Each bullet triggers a ricochet combo... Even if there are no other monsters around, the ricochet effect will actively target the same monster. Combined with the afterimage combo and extra attacks, one shot deals the equivalent damage of sixteen shots. Four shots would be sixty-four shots.

The giant took only two steps before his body began to sway.

The wound on the back of his neck was hit repeatedly, his spine was shattered, and his huge body crashed to the ground like a collapsing tower, raising a cloud of dust.

[Defeat the Lv8 Green Faceless Giant, experience points +10.]

Su Mu holstered his gun and glanced at his experience bar. His level six experience bar had increased slightly, not much, but it was stable. He checked the area awareness markers and searched for his next lone target.

......