I picked up attributes in Swallowing Star.

"The first floor of this underground alliance mall is a reception and rest area. The second floor and above is where the mall sells its goods. The prices of the goods are generally lower than the full price of the items in the 'Extreme Home' online mall. Of course, they are higher than our half-price items."

The biggest advantage of the Underground Alliance Mall is... we can sell them materials from the monsters we hunt at high prices. If we sell these materials to martial arts schools, the price is lower, but the schools will give us contribution points. Selling them to this Underground Alliance Mall yields higher prices, but we don't get any contribution points. The choice is ours, of course.” Chen Gu explained.

“Oh, then it’s more cost-effective to sell it to the Extreme Martial Arts Academy, since contribution points are quite useful.” Luo Yuan took a sip of tea and said slowly.

"Excuse me, everyone, I've run into someone I know and need to say hello," Luo Feng suddenly said.

Luo Yuan looked up and followed Luo Feng's gaze. He saw a young woman in a white shirt and black suit trousers standing behind the bar. Luo Yuan nodded. He had to admit that Luo Feng had good taste. Unfortunately, Luo Yuan preferred a more mature woman.

After a while, Luo Feng returned. Gao Feng, the captain of the Fire Hammer Squad, arrived with a pair of twin warriors. The twins carried shields and curved swords on their backs. Gao Feng, on the other hand, carried two large black hammers that gleamed with silver.

“Luo Yuan and Luo Feng, these two are the famous ‘Twin Crescent Blades’ Wei brothers, Wei Tie and Wei Qing,” Chen Gu said with a smile.

Luo Yuan and Luo Feng greeted each other with smiles.

"This is our Firehammer Squad leader, 'Double Wind Hammer' Gao Feng," Chen Gu said.

"Hey, no need for introductions. I know Brother Luo Yuan, but this is my first time meeting Luo Feng. They're both geniuses," Gao Feng said with a sigh as he sat down.

"Ah~, the captain actually knows Luo Yuan?" Chen Gu was somewhat surprised.

“We met in the training hall for warrior-level soldiers,” Gao Feng said, taking a sip of tea.

"General-level?" Everyone present was shocked, except for Gao Feng and Zhang Ke.

"You guys don't know yet, Luo Yuan is already a junior warrior," Gao Feng said with a hint of envy.

"Junior warrior? Luo Yuan, you're quite something, you've been hiding your abilities well!" Chen Gu said, lightly tapping Luo Yuan's shoulder.

"Haha, my strength is nothing compared to that of a true genius, so let's not even mention it," Luo Yuan said modestly.

"That's good. With Luo Yuan joining, our team's strength has increased considerably," Gao Feng said happily, glancing at the Blood Shadow Battle Blade on Luo Feng's back.

"Luo Feng, you also use a knife. Once we enter the wilderness area, learn from Wei Tie and Wei Qing. You have good talent, and I believe you will quickly become a member of our team. Luo Yuan can also guide you when he has time; his knife skills are also quite good."

"Hmm." Luo Feng nodded, glancing somewhat embarrassedly at Luo Yuan. The two were classmates of the same age, but the gap between them was widening. However, he quickly regained his confidence. He still possessed rare mental power, and catching up with Luo Yuan was only a matter of time.

As the group drank tea and became acquainted, the atmosphere became lively, and they began chatting and joking. Just twenty minutes later, Gao Feng and the others, having finished their tea, stood up and said, "Let's go, let's set off for the wilderness area." The others quickly followed.

The Firehammer Squad, consisting of seven members, boarded a HR Alliance shuttle bus and headed directly to the train station. They then boarded a train to leave the base city and head to the wilderness area.

Several hundred miles north of the Jiangnan base city, there is a military region stationed.

"Rumble~~" The train slowly came to a stop at the military district station.

One by one, fully armed warriors disembarked from the train, numbering more than twenty. These twenty-odd people naturally divided into four small teams.

“Normally, when we martial artists go out to hunt monsters, we go to the military region for supplies.” Chen Gu pointed to a high-speed rail tower, about fifty or sixty meters tall, and explained to Luo Yuan and Luo Feng. “See this tower? Throughout China, and even the world, every military region designates a special area as a supply base for martial artists, specifically for us to rest. These supply bases usually have a lighthouse like this. It symbolizes illuminating our way home.”

Luo Yuan looked at the lighthouse, its light visible for miles around, and nodded. This was the hope in the hearts of the warriors who fought bloody battles in the wilderness.

The martial arts supply base is located within the military region, consisting of quiet little buildings in a very pleasant environment.

The Fire Hammer Squad of seven rested in the three-story building at E6, while Luo Yuan cultivated in a room, absorbing cosmic energy.

Before they knew it, it was evening, and Gao Feng quickly gathered everyone to set off.

"Setting off so late at night?" Luo Yuan asked, somewhat surprised, after coming downstairs.

“Luo Yuan, don’t you even look at the weather? It’s the end of August, the hottest time of the year. In this heat, carrying hundreds of kilograms of stuff? No matter how much water you bring, it won’t be enough. You’ll end up drinking river water.” Chen Gu glanced at Luo Yuan with a smile. “It’s cooler at night, isn’t it more comfortable to travel then? And it saves water too.”

Luo Yuan gave an awkward smile, and Luo Feng next to him nodded as well, as he had originally wanted to ask the same question.

"Hmm?" Suddenly, Luo Feng looked through the floor-to-ceiling window and saw a figure in the supply base. He said, "Brother Chen, look, isn't that Zhang Zehu?" Zhang Zehu was wearing bandages and there were traces of blood on the sandbags. It was clear that Zhang Zehu was injured and was recuperating in the supply base.

Chen Gu also turned his head to look: "Yes, it's Zhang Zehu!"

"Hey!" Chen Gu walked to the door and shouted triumphantly, "Mountain Tiger, what happened to you? You were fine last time, how come you're injured like this in the blink of an eye?"

Zhang Zehu, who was walking and chatting with his companions outside, couldn't help but turn his head and saw Chen Gu, Luo Yuan, Luo Feng and others at the entrance of the small building. He was so angry that his teeth itched, but he suppressed his anger and instead laughed loudly: "Chen Dapao, your Fire Hammer Squad is supposed to be an elite squad, how come you brought two newbies? Haha, aren't you afraid that your whole team will be dragged down to death by these two burdens!"

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 28 Wilderness Carnage

After exchanging a few sarcastic remarks and insults, Zhang Zehu and Chen Gu stopped talking and stormed off after Captain Gao Feng, nicknamed "Double Wind Hammer," shouted at them.

"Luo Feng, did that person have a grudge against you?" Luo Yuan asked Luo Feng, though he didn't quite remember some of the specifics.

"Well, his nephew Zhang Haobai and I had a falling out some time ago. I made them pay me 100 million yuan. They should still be holding a grudge," Luo Feng explained calmly.

"Heh, Zhang Haobai, with such a spendthrift son, Zhang Zehu is probably doomed." Luo Yuan nodded, inwardly mocking.

As evening fell, the fully armed Firehammer squad of seven left the supply base and entered the wilderness.

Upon arriving in the wilderness area, the group began to set up their squad formation.

Chen Gu opened a box, revealing a silver-gray machine gun inside, its muzzle gleaming with metallic luster. Besides the machine gun, there were numerous ammunition belts, densely packed and filling the large iron box. One could imagine the sheer quantity of bullets.

"Brother Chen, what kind of gun is this?" Luo Feng asked, puzzled.

"The M81 model has a 12.7mm caliber and can fire between 50 and 300 rounds per minute, with adjustable rate," Chen Gu said with a smug smile. "The entire gun body is even mixed with some grade III crocodile alloy, so even if bullets are fired continuously, the heat generated by the barrel will not affect the accuracy of the bullets."

"No wonder Brother Chen is called Cannon Chen, he's practically an iron torrent, but it just doesn't seem to fit the style of a martial artist," Luo Yuan interjected.

"Haha, as long as we can kill the monster, the means don't matter," Chen Gu laughed.

Chen Gu was strapped with bullet chains and held a machine gun. He, Luo Yuan, and Luo Feng were in the center of the group, protected by the others.

The Twin Crescent Blade Brothers were at the very front of the group.

Captain Gao Feng and Zhang Ke brought up the rear.

“If we follow this highway, it will take about three days to reach our destination – County-level City No. 0201,” said Captain Gao Feng.

The highway beneath our feet was already in a dilapidated state, with several cracks in the road surface.

At first glance, the long highway was littered with dilapidated or shattered cars, trucks, and other vehicles, with even broken tires lying everywhere. Blackened bloodstains could be seen on the ground, and abandoned, dilapidated buildings stood in the distance, creating a scene reminiscent of the apocalypse.

"Let's go!"

The reddish sunlight of the setting sun shone on this highway, which had been silent and dilapidated for decades. The seven members of the Firehammer Squad were advancing along this highway.

"Roar~~"

"Awoo~~"

The roars of monsters echoed from the fields and dilapidated villages along the highway, which were quite frightening.

Suddenly, a one-horned wild boar with strength between G and F levels appeared in front of them.

"Luo Feng, it's up to you. This is your first battle in the wilderness!" Captain Gao Feng's voice rang out.

"Go for it, Luo Feng!" Everyone cheered for Luo Feng, and Luo Yuan also wanted to see Luo Feng's current strength.

The three levels, H, G, and F, correspond to beginner, intermediate, and advanced beast soldiers, respectively. Clearly, this one-horned boar is close to level F in strength.

Luo Feng drew his Blood Shadow Battle Blade, holding a shield in his left hand and the Blood Shadow Battle Blade in his right, and charged towards the One-Horned Boar. They quickly engaged in battle. Luo Yuan watched as Luo Feng unleashed power and speed that was already close to the level of an advanced warrior. Luo Feng had only spent less than a month going from an advanced student to an advanced warrior. He had to admit that Luo Feng was indeed a genius. If he didn't have a cheat code, he simply couldn't catch up with him.

Luo Feng quickly killed the one-horned boar and brought back its horn. Luo Yuan and the others had been watching the battle, and seeing Luo Feng's ability to adapt to the situation and his skills, it was hard to believe that he was just a newcomer.

However, in Luo Yuan's mental simulation, if he only used the strength of a high-level warrior, he only needed one move to kill this one-horned boar. The practical experience that Wang Qian taught him was very useful.

Everyone was very welcoming to Luo Feng's return, and it was clear that they had truly accepted him. Wei Tie even demonstrated to him how to kill the tiger-cat monster in one move—the attack was fierce, direct, decisive, and efficient!

three days later.

Early in the morning, the Firehammer Squad of seven was moving forward on a dilapidated ring road.

Suddenly, two large mastiffs appeared in front of them, their sharp teeth stained with blood.

"My God, those are two Beast General-level Mastiffs, comparable to human Warrior General-level martial artists!" Gao Feng suddenly exclaimed, and the team immediately panicked.

"I'll do it; it's time to practice."

Luo Yuan stepped out from the squad, took off the hood of his black robe, cracked his neck, and then pulled out the A9 Blood Shadow Battle Blade from behind his back. Looking at the two lion mastiffs, a bloodthirsty sneer appeared on his lips.

Whoosh!

Their speed suddenly increased, and a whooshing sound filled the air! The fur on the two lion-mastiff monsters stood on end instantly.

Luo Yuan instantly closed in, his four strange steps resembling the movement technique 'Flowing Light' from the 'Ninefold Thunder Blade'. The lion-mastiff lunged with its claws, but Luo Yuan twisted his body, precisely dodging the lion-mastiff's sharp claws. In the instant their bodies parted, the Blood Shadow Battle Blade was stabbed out in a very insidious move!

*Thud!* The weapon pierced the neck of a mastiff, killing it instantly.

"Roar~~" Seeing its companion's neck gushing blood, the other lion-mastiff monster let out a low growl and flew away quickly.

Luo Yuan accelerated and caught up. Before the mastiff could react, he activated "Thunder Blade," cleaving it in two at the waist. The powerful blade continued its trajectory, even blasting down the nearby abandoned buildings.

"So strong!" The people present were shocked. Luo Yuan's strength was probably the best in the Fire Hammer Squad.

"Luo Yuan, I didn't expect your combat skills to be so strong. These two beast general-level lion mastiffs were difficult for me to fight, let alone kill, but they couldn't even last a single move against you." Gao Feng stepped forward and exclaimed in amazement.

"Haha, not bad." Luo Yuan chuckled. These two lion mastiffs were at most at the intermediate beast general level, and he didn't take them seriously.

After collecting the valuable materials from the monster, Luo Yuan and the rest of the Fire Hammer team entered their destination—County-level City No. 0201.

The seven people quietly entered the outskirts of County 0201.

"We've been traveling for the past three days, following the highway, through desolate areas," Chen Gu said in a low voice as they walked. "The vast majority of monsters live in cities, in densely populated areas! County towns and urban areas are the truly dangerous places!"

Luo Yuan nodded. He had seen some of the monsters' habits of gathering in the martial arts forum before. Because of the human army's encirclement and suppression, the monsters would have a great advantage by hiding in densely built areas.

P.S.: Dear readers, please give me a reward, vote for me, and add this to your favorites. Thank you so much!

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 29 Hunting Beast Generals

In county-level city number 0201, the seven members of the Fire Hammer Squad walked cautiously. They could be more carefree in the desolate areas, but not in the urban area, which was a gathering place for monsters.

Because of the terrifying strength Luo Yuan displayed, he stood at the very front of the team. The Wei brothers killed all the beast-soldier level monsters they encountered along the way. There weren't many beast-general level monsters, only some low-level beast generals, which Luo Yuan killed casually.

After much wandering, the group finally arrived at their first destination—a residential complex called "Blue Sky Community" in county-level city number 0201. The reason the Fire Hammer Squad chose Blue Sky Community as their first destination was because the complex had three residential buildings, each twenty-one stories high.

"We need to take the high ground. Let's go to the rooftop."

The seven members of the Firehammer Squad continued to advance up the stairs.

"Roar~~" Suddenly, a two-meter-tall, long-haired lion-mastiff monster, the size of a large military off-road vehicle, appeared upstairs and charged towards the Fire Hammer Squad with a gust of foul wind.

"Go away!"

Luo Yuan directly swung his Blood Shadow Battle Blade, splitting the lion-mastiff in two. Instantly, the lion-mastiff's blood and internal organs stained the corridor red, and the scene looked somewhat bloody. He only frowned slightly, and the Wei brothers quickly stepped forward to collect the monster materials.