Infinite Hunter

Chapter nine

At this height, the wild boar could only smell him, but not necessarily see him. And since they were so close, Cheng Yijiu could even calmly say, "Eat this! F**K!" and pull the trigger. The bullet accurately struck the wild boar between the eyebrows. The high-altitude shooting angle made the impact blunt, eliminating the possibility of a ricochet. Unless the wild boar was a monster, the power of the Magnum bullet would surely be unstoppable.

This thing really does resemble a monster. It's so large and cunning, chasing and driving humans to a concentrated area—yes, otherwise, these women wouldn't have been able to run to this small house, and would have been caught and killed by the wild boar long ago. It's not very smart, but its size is truly a monster, and the closer you get, the more you feel it.

After one shot, the boar seemed fine, continuing to ram the house, even breaking three logs as thick as a human head. However, the wood didn't break off, so the hole wasn't too big. "It didn't penetrate the skull? Impossible! That's a steel-core bullet! What kind of monster's bones are hard enough to stop a steel-core bullet? Is this thing's skull made of armored steel over a centimeter thick?"

Cheng Yijiu, unconvinced, cocked the rifle and fired a single shot at the retreating boar. This time, the range was less than five meters, and blood could be seen spraying out with the naked eye; the shot had definitely gone in. He cocked the rifle again, aiming for the side of the head, just below the ear. Cheng Yijiu refused to believe the creature had an armored steel skull. The third round went in, and the boar remained unharmed.

There were no screams from inside the house; the gunshots must have emboldened them, knowing they were still fighting the monstrous wild boar. Although Cheng Yijiu didn't see them, he could sense that the men had secretly left the area from the other side and were rapidly moving away. The wild boar was indeed attracted to Cheng Yijiu, making high-pitched cries and repeatedly charging at the house from the front, shaking it to the point of collapse.

Cheng Yijiu was pinned to the roof. The wild boar went crazy, spewing white foam from its mouth. Its two front hooves simply rested on the tilted wall. Its big head pointed directly at Cheng Yijiu on the roof and tried to bite him. So Cheng Yijiu calmly shot the pig in the mouth. Then he fell down - the wooden roof finally collapsed under the damage.

Cheng Yijiu now had one round left in his rifle, and the wild boar was now level with him. The boar was already spewing red foam and its movements were sluggish. "It's time to die, its vitality is gone." Cheng Yijiu wasn't afraid. Even though the wild boar's head was only three meters away, he still fired a final shot directly at it. Then he pulled out his pistol and fired at the pig's head.

After using up all the bullets in one breath, the pig-headed creature in front of him also dropped its chin to the ground. Although its legs and feet were still moving, it was no longer able to advance.

Cheng Yijiu kicked over a cabinet, letting it rest against the side of the pig's head. He quickly moved outside to observe the situation from behind. "This mission is neither thrilling nor dangerous. Even two wild boars are relatively easy to deal with. Mutations are mutations, but they're not specialized." A giant wild boar is still a wild boar, not cunning enough to devise traps or tactics. So, they were killed separately.

Cheng Yijiu even suspected that there had been a conflict between the two wild boars. After all, they were two big male wild boars.

The wild boar was clearly incontinent, because it was dead. Cheng Yijiu covered his nose and walked over to the boar's belly, pulling out his hunting knife. "Damn it! This guy's hide is like leather armor! I guess a 9mm Parabellum pistol bullet can't penetrate it at all! So it seems my .45 bullet probably only scratched the skin a little..." The knife in his hand was made of cold iron, originally an excellent knife steel, but now it felt rough when cutting the pig's hide...

This leather armor is actually composite. The wild boar's subcutaneous fat is very thick, thicker than the palm of a hand, providing this creature with excellent resistance to blows. Cheng Yijiu used the knife to cut for a long time before finally cutting through the skin and fat at the abdomen and reaching the muscle layer below. These muscles made Cheng Yijiu sigh, "This pork is inedible with this smell and hardness. It will probably take a long time to apply papaya enzyme..."

After a slight sharpening of the blade, the knife sliced ​​through the muscle and membrane, revealing the internal organs underneath. A foul odor hit him… Cheng Yijiu frowned and decisively gave up on cutting further. "Anyway, if I cut open the stomach, it would just be a pile of human remains… Damn it, I have to cut it. After all, this thing might have some pretty good medicinal effects." Cheng Yijiu finally took action and cut off the extra-large pig stomach, which was as long as a person.

"This is so fucking disgusting!" He cursed, not wanting to even look at the stuff pouring out of his intestines and stomach, and the overwhelming stench... In the end, Cheng Yijiu failed. He pushed open the shabby door and was directly back in the hut. "This mission was unexpectedly simple. Honestly, I rarely encounter such easy missions - no need to chase after people, no need to cooperate with various NPCs."

The only animals killed were two wild boars that were particularly large.

"I hope the next time, the difficulty will be just as low. Also, please don't let me run into that guy again. I think he's mentally unstable." Cheng Yijiu placed his gun on the table and prepared to burn his clothes—they were stained with the smell of wild boar, so he couldn't keep them. He would wash himself thoroughly before maintaining his weapon.

Soon, Cheng Yijiu, dressed in a bathrobe, stepped onto the thick wool carpet and reached the second-floor trophy hall. Unsurprisingly, he saw a pair of massive wild boars in the expanded hall. The smaller one had bone armor growing on its head, and upon closer inspection, it was mutated hair, like that of a pangolin. On one side was a massive skull, and it was clear that Cheng Yijiu's bullet had pierced it, truly causing fatal damage.

As for the bullets hitting the body, Cheng Yijiu curled his lips at the picture in the introduction. "The heart of this thing is not like that of a normal wild boar. It's fucking deviated."

As for the huge wild boar, Cheng Yijiu's previous shooting was effective. Looking at the bullet hole between the eyebrows and the gap on the side of the wild boar skull, which was as big as a Tyrannosaurus Rex skull, and then looking at the gap in the upper jaw and the partially broken nasal bone, it was proved that each of Cheng Yijiu's shots had successfully penetrated the skin and bones. Each of these shots was actually serious or even fatal, especially the two shots between the eyebrows and below the temporal bone on the side.

As for the shots from the pistol, they were all useless, and not a single bullet left a mark on the skull.

chapter Ten

"Sure enough, I guess only steel core and Magnum bullets can penetrate this guy's head with a pistol. The recoil of the .44 Magnum pistol is too large and too heavy. It is really not very pleasant." Cheng Yijiu sighed. These bullets can penetrate thick skin, but the opponent's bones are hard enough, so there is nothing he can do.

Cheng Yijiu reached out and touched the holes in his skull. The edges, where the high-speed bullet had penetrated, seemed to be slightly melted. "It's truly resilient! Its brain is completely rotten, yet it managed to hold on for so long." It must have been due to sheer brute force; wild boars are such reckless creatures.

Cheng Yijiu looked at the two enormous boar specimens, then at the other specimens around them. The boars didn't stand out among them—the larger lions, the more terrifying brown bears, and the giant pythons. These were the result of his many hunts, and the vivid specimens were a testament to Cheng Yijiu's strength.

After touching the wild boar's tusks for a long time, Cheng Yijiu put on his clothes, pushed the door open and went back to the soft sleeper compartment of the train. This time he really fell asleep in the compartment.

High-speed rail is relatively safe, with strict regulations along the route, so the journey is quite quiet. Cheng Yijiu peered up from the window with binoculars, staring at the dark shadow in the sky. "It's a bit unsettling. This thing is quite large..." It was an eagle, flying at an altitude of over 400 meters. Judging by its proportions, its wingspan was at least 10 meters. It was definitely a mutant creature.

Luckily, this thing was circling in the sky and didn't swoop down to attack the high-speed rail line. "Huh? You can't stand the fucking praise! You swooped down right away." Just as Cheng Yijiu was thinking this, he saw the eagle swooping down quickly, completely ignoring him.

"Isn't it diving towards the railway? What's that thing over there?" Cheng Yijiu tracked it through a telescope, watching the eagle swooping down on a target at least five kilometers away. "No, the curvature of the earth is blocking my view!" He couldn't see the details, and only when the eagle took off again did he confirm it. "Is it actually a bison? This is the European bison, a once extinct animal, a giant bison over two meters tall at the shoulder."

It now appeared that the eagle stood over four meters tall, with a wingspan of twelve meters. A monster capable of snatching up a bison and flying away was certainly stronger than a pterosaur. But that was all; it was nothing compared to other flying mutants. In a real fight, a manticore would undoubtedly outshine the eagle. Cheng Yijiu observed all this, "The ecology has improved. Now is the time for all kinds of animals to roam freely again."

He arrived in the capital, got off the train, and took the subway to the hotel. He had just checked in when he received a call. "Administrative Bureau? What do you want to talk to me about? Yes, I did quit my job, but I still remain in the action team. Oh? Do you need me for a mission?" Cheng Yijiu received a call from the Administrative Bureau, hoping that he could join a team to carry out a more urgent mission.

After just a few seconds of thinking, Cheng Yijiu replied, "No problem!" The person on the other end of the phone must have breathed a sigh of relief, "Twenty minutes later? Okay, I'll wait at the hotel entrance." Cheng Yijiu put away his luggage, closed the door, and took the elevator downstairs with his phone.

The car that came over was also a black, powerful-style off-road vehicle, a fully electric one. Cheng Yijiu didn't recognize the person in the car, as they were not members of his previous team. The driver was obviously a soldier and didn't say anything. It was a girl who confirmed Cheng Yijiu's identity. "Hello, is this Mr. Cheng Yijiu?" Cheng Yijiu nodded, "It's me."

"Okay, Deputy Captain. Please take a look at the information." The girl handed a tablet to Cheng Yijiu. Cheng Yijiu got in the car and took the tablet. "Isn't there a team here that can handle this?" Cheng Yijiu was very curious when he looked at the information on it. It was a creature that looked like a cross between a lizard and a tiger. It had tiger stripes and tiger claws, but its tail was like a lizard's. Its head was an elongated tiger head like a lizard's. It looked very strange.

"Could it be invisible? That's a chameleon. All-terrain capability? The feet of this thing can actually stick to the top of the head? Extremely aggressive? This shouldn't be a problem, right? After thermal imaging, machine gun fire will be enough to stop it." Cheng Yijiu was a little confused, "You have tried it, right?" Cheng Yijiu said, he continued to turn the pages but didn't want to get an answer.

"As expected, this monster doesn't eat bullets? It's a rare monster with some kind of 'rule'. You're looking for me for a monster like this?" Cheng Yijiu wondered if this was his chance to be cannon fodder. Sure enough, the battle plan included high-energy particle weapons, laser weapons, and even mechanically launched kinetic tungsten steel spikes. This monster's infrared signature wasn't obvious, and its skin might have thermal insulation properties, so it would require an experienced hunter to handle.

This monster's primary weapons are its claws, fangs, tail, and tongue. The tongue's projectiles, in particular, are as powerful as bullets, with a range of about five or six meters. It also appears to be poisonous, but does it have more attacks? That's for the hunters to see for themselves. This monster has already caused eleven casualties in the suburbs, nine dead and two definitely crippled.

As for how he found me, let's not discuss it. There's no need to discuss it. All he had to do was agree to carry out the mission. Because of his official status with the Administration, Cheng Yijiu was allowed to carry a weapon—though he only had a cold iron hunting knife with a blade about 30 centimeters long. He didn't carry a pistol or rifle. He turned those two weapons in the day he resigned. He had a permit but no gun, so he didn't have any trouble.

The SUV drove toward Yanjiao, turning into a bungalow with a playground. Inside, Cheng Yijiu spotted a variety of accessories. He changed into bulletproof and puncture-resistant outdoor clothing, a tactical vest, and, of course, a reinforced bulletproof one. He also donned combat boots and a protective, full-face helmet—a new piece of equipment that, when connected to the collar of his combat uniform, provided protection from the neck to the entire head.

Because it also features a highly transparent frontal protective mask, and its circulation system can expel moisture to prevent fogging. With the touch of a button, it switches to a circulating filter to prevent exposure to external toxic gases—this is now standard equipment for action teams. "The concept is very interesting—whose concept? Subjective or objective? Is a gunpowder-propelled projectile considered immune, or is it that as long as the target believes it is a gunpowder-propelled projectile, it is immune? These are all questions."

This is Cheng Yijiu's opinion. "In my opinion, it's actually a speed trade-off. It should be considered rule-immune within a certain speed range. Otherwise, it would be too complicated."

Chapter 11

That being said, Cheng Yijiu chose a bow and arrow as his weapon—the muzzle velocity of this thing didn't exceed 100, so it should be effective. Pistol bullets with a muzzle velocity over 200 were useless, so the rules for this thing were likely to have a lower limit of 200 or 150, meaning physical attacks below this speed would be effective. He didn't choose a pulley bow, but a folding hunting bow. Seventy-five pounds of draw weight was about enough.

No matter how high the draw weight was, it was meaningless. Unless a carbon-based creature had a centimeter-thick bulletproof steel plate on its skin, it wouldn't be able to withstand the lethal arrow of a 75-pound bow. And 75 pounds was a very easy and convenient force for Cheng Yijiu's strength. He could easily draw the bow and aim and shoot anytime, anywhere, and shoot many arrows without feeling tired. Of course, this hunting bow was also designed according to Cheng Yijiu's habits, without many accessories installed. There was only an arrow rest, a sight, and a short balance bar. It was also placed on the right side to suit Cheng Yijiu's habit of using a ring.

He also took a split alloy spear, which was enough, and there was no need for anything extra. This monster had great mobility, and carrying too many things would not be conducive to dodging.

His teammates were similar, four in total, all male and of similar age. They were all experienced explorers with a track record of hunting wild beasts in the post-mutation wilderness. Another team was tasked with transporting the laser cutter—but they had to avoid detection by the monster, both to avoid attack and to prevent it from escaping. The computer would then track it and complete the firing-and-cutting operation at the appropriate time.

This thing shouldn't have the ability to deflect high-energy lasers - if it weren't active in border areas, and the high-energy laser transmitter wasn't small in size... Of course, it's mainly because of the heat dissipation components, and the power required is also high, otherwise the problem would have been solved long ago.

The monster's range is vast, so tracking it requires experienced hunters. A simple drone has the problem of severe signal interference, so drone tracking isn't very effective. Fortunately, it can determine the monster's general range, eliminating the need to search its entire area for its latest "crime."

Cheng Yijiu and his teammates arrived at the border station by gyroplane. It felt familiar, like the fortress he'd worked in before. They were assigned to a basement room inside the wall. A giant screen displayed the monster's movements. They were about to depart. Another team would be on standby in an off-road vehicle. Once they spotted the monster, Team Two would depart.

Cheng Yijiu set out with his teammates. The mountains were just outside their doorstep. The Yanshan and Taihang mountain ranges were much larger and steeper than before, not to mention the dense temperate deciduous forests. Wildlife here was already more plentiful than in the suburbs of Magic City before the mutation, but now, the area was filled with large deer and wild boars, native to the north, and a vast number of rabbits. The predatory beasts that preyed on these animals had also increased significantly.

There are signs of a return to the Holocene warm period, when a vast herbivore population gave rise to an extremely diverse range of carnivores. Reports claim that both the Chinese tiger and the North China leopard have experienced divergent species, leading to intense competition for niches. "Large-sized leopards are competing with smaller South China tigers, smaller leopards are competing with lynxes, and larger tigers are competing with extra-large leopards? I've heard there's even saber-toothed evolution—how many times has this been the saber-toothed dynasty?"

This is quite normal, as elephants, especially Asian elephants, are also spreading northward and beginning to diversify, just as the Chinese rhinoceros did. It seems the Proboscidea are about to enter another golden age, with the Asian elephant showing a significant diversification. After all, its relative is the mastodon, which has dozens of different species.

Fusion beasts are a type of monster nowadays. There aren't many types, and their numbers are low, but they're growing. "They destroy the ecosystem, and they're also the most prone to so-called 'rules'—isn't that just super-technology? I think this so-called speed rule is a kinetic shield, blocking kinetic projectiles within a certain initial velocity." This kind of thing seems to be something I've seen in science fiction novels—though of course, the novels are pretty ugly and boring.

This bastard changes color, making tracking quite difficult. Thermal imaging is great, but damn, there are beasts everywhere here. Turning on thermal imaging just leaves red dots everywhere. Better to use traditional tracking methods, like claw marks. First, confirm the monster's claw marks, then search. The four hunters spread out in a fan-shaped formation, providing mutual cover. This place is quite dangerous. While tigers and leopards will avoid humans, black bears and brown bears are a bit more difficult to predict.

This monster, in half of its attacks on humans, actively pursued them. It's incredibly dangerous—primarily because it's not afraid of humans. "This thing's movement is quite laborious," Cheng Yijiu observed, visualizing the claw marks and creating a three-dimensional animation in his mind. Its movements resemble those of a lizard, its four legs clearly capable of vertical movement, but it chooses to stretch them sideways.

The same was true of its movement: after crawling for a distance on the ground, it suddenly leaped onto a tree, making it seem like an arboreal creature, which made tracking much more difficult. All four of them were hunters, and Cheng Yijiu's tracking ability was probably the strongest—his senses were extraordinary, and through the combination of multiple senses, he could directly construct a three-dimensional movement path in his mind, even recreating the animal's movements almost exactly.

Otherwise, wouldn't he have wasted all these days?

Gradually, the other three fell behind, and Cheng Yijiu took the lead in the pursuit. "I think we should form a 2-2 formation—if we split up and attack the monster in four different directions, we'll definitely be at a disadvantage." Not wanting to risk it alone, Cheng Yijiu offered this suggestion. "I think it's a good plan. The two of us will use our spears to control its movement, and you two will shoot from behind," said another hunter, Lao Qian.

The choices of these four hunters were similar, all of them were a bow and a crossbow plus a spear, but only one person chose a bow, that was Cheng Yijiu, and the other three chose crossbows. Modern compound crossbows have great lethality.

They had indeed tracked it down, especially Cheng Yijiu, who was the first to smell the unusual odor in the air. "Before, it was the stench of an ordinary carnivore, but now why has it turned into the stench of rotting flesh? Could it be that we have found its nest?"

Chapter 12

The woods ahead had vanished, replaced by a mess of rocks and a vast mass of decaying corpses and bones. It looked like a basin, except at first glance, it was over a hundred meters in diameter. "This isn't normal at all. It's not a nest at all—what animal would leave its nest so disgusting? It's not a hoopoe," Cheng Yijiu frowned.

Something was definitely amiss. They spotted the target crouching in the center, its tail facing them, its front half invisible from their position. Cheng Yijiu and his team cautiously approached the edge of the basin. "Going any further might wake this guy, so we should try our bows and arrows. Oh, and signal the second squad to get ready." The team leader wasn't Cheng Yijiu, but a man in his thirties called Lao Zhang.

Cheng Yijiu said nothing more, simply nodding his sharp, cutting arrow and drawing his bow to full draw. He took aim briefly before releasing his thumb. The bowstring slid free from the groove in the thumb ring, humming. Seventy-five pounds was actually considered a strong bow, and because it was a modern hunting bow, the arrows it fired were powerful enough to rival those of ancient tiger-force bows. And Cheng Yijiu was aiming for the base of the opponent's hind legs.

Similar to the previous wild boar shooting, Cheng Yijiu prioritized limiting the target's mobility when a fatal blow wasn't possible. Furthermore, arrows were more likely to tear and expand wounds than bullets. The other three also pulled out their compound crossbows, loaded their arrows, took brief aim, and pulled the trigger. By the time they loaded their second arrow, Cheng Yijiu had already fired three.

He aimed at the same leg, selecting the base of the leg, just above the knee, and the calf muscle. As he had predicted, the three arrows hit their targets accurately. Just as Cheng Yijiu had estimated, it was probably due to the kinetic shield. This guy really couldn't be immune to the speed of the arrows, so the arrowheads really penetrated the thick skin and pierced into it. "I told you, how could a carbon-based creature possibly withstand weapons made by modern industry?"

The arrowhead was forged from high-carbon steel, incredibly sharp, enough to easily penetrate ordinary iron. After being hit, the monster roared fiercely, but the way it twisted around startled all the hunters. "Damn it! I told you I had a bad feeling!" Cheng Yijiu cursed—because the beast over forty meters away clearly didn't look alive.

The upper half of this creature's head had turned to skeletal remains, with only a few patches of dry fur clinging to the bones. Its lower jaw was ulcerated, but at least it still held its shape. Two pinpricks of red light shone from its eye sockets. This thing had undoubtedly become a zombie, and the fact that it could still move suggested a significant mutation. It was very likely a situation similar to what Cheng Yijiu had witnessed.

"No, not that I might have seen it before, but it's happening again!" Cheng Yijiu cursed, watching the monster completely disregard the arrows hanging from its body. The liquid it exuded was a black, sticky liquid that could no longer be called blood. Cheng Yijiu had seen this happen many times. Even if the arrows shot into this thing and severed many tendons due to its movements, it would be useless. This monster didn't rely on muscles to move.

Of course, if they had muscles, they could exert terrifying and heavy power, but their lack of them wouldn't hinder their movements. "We need to crush their bones and sever their long skeletons to calm these monsters," Cheng Yijiu said. "Everyone, prepare to smash them hard. Hopefully, we won't end up with the worst possible outcome." Laser launchers would also be useful, as high temperatures could also deal with these types of monsters.

If he had known this would happen, he should have applied the ointment first—he didn't bring the lion skin, but he always carried the small box of ointment. He should have also replaced his weapon with a greatsword; now he could use a spear. Only his hunting knife was made of cold iron and enchanted. It was enough to deal with such a beast alone. Cheng Yijiu feared another situation, but unfortunately, it seemed to have already happened.

In the center of the stone basin, where the monster had previously resided, a blue "seed" emerged, then rapidly expanded into a ball of blue light, visible even in daylight, shooting straight up into the sky. And all the corpses within the basin now glowed red and stood up again.

"Damn it! Is this considered a domain?" Cheng Yijiu cursed. He even noticed a withered human figure with bat wings emerging from the ball of light. He knew that he had connected to another fucking alien world...

Bows and arrows aren't very lethal against these creatures, and they didn't bring any flaming or explosive arrowheads. Cold iron enchanted arrowheads would be useful, but they didn't have any either—no one expected this to happen. "Just report it and we'll retreat. This isn't something we should be dealing with. Even if we do, it'll have to be handled by regular troops, not the weapons we have. We told Team Two not to come, too, unless their lasers fire fast enough," Cheng Yijiu also said, and Lao Zhang had already made the connection.

This was the most natural choice. The monster had indeed charged, but its movements weren't as agile as they'd imagined while tracking it—it seemed its zombification had slowed its speed and reflexes. This also made it an "invincible beast," rendering ordinary blows completely ineffective. The arrows in their hands were like toothpicks—even if they could penetrate the beast's skull, they wouldn't "kill" it.

If the arrows were enchanted with cold iron, then it might be possible...

Everyone had no choice but to retreat quickly—these undead animals had already passed their initial stiffness and were now moving, attacking them. The first batch were those damn dead birds—these creatures had no feathers or only incomplete feathers, yet they could still fly. This was no longer aerodynamic. And their attacks were definitely poisonous—Cheng Yijiu had a strong suspicion that they would infect him with sepsis.

Fortunately, their attack power wasn't strong enough, so unless their skin was exposed, they'd have a hard time breaking through. "I should have brought a shotgun!" Knowing how miserable the big, hairy birds were being chased and bombed by drones, Cheng Yijiu cursed. He used his hunting knife to shoo away the dead birds, as a spear wouldn't be convenient. If these dead birds were struck by his knife, obvious char marks would appear on the wounds. If he chopped off their heads, they would actually be "dead."

Chapter XIII

With Cheng Yijiu as their rearguard, the four hunters quickly retreated. The next mission wasn't theirs; another team carrying specialized heavy weapons would handle it. This was China, not America. There was no need for meaningless lone heroism. Normally, if it weren't in a movie, the Americans' actions would have escalated the situation out of control.

The current situation is that many countries are in a state of complete disability and are completely unable to deal with abnormal situations occurring on their own territory. They can only watch the situation gradually get worse and rely on the power of nature to heal. The only ones who try hard to save themselves are China and the Russians - other countries are powerless or simply trapped by the damn bureaucracy.

Cheng Yijiu's hunting knife had already killed more than a dozen birds, and some swifter ones had already caught up to the four hunters—the interesting thing was that they were all undead monkeys. These monkeys, either skeletons or rotting bodies, were still extremely agile even in death, swinging from branch to branch at a speed even faster than when they were alive.

No wonder, they are neither afraid of pain nor death now.

Unsurprisingly, these monkeys' minions were also saturated with the toxins of corruption, guaranteeing septicemia if caught. Fortunately, that was all; with the sting suit, they were completely immune to such attacks. "True undead monsters attack with the power of corrosion, and even further, with the power of time decay. Just carrying the bacteria of corruption is too weak," Cheng Yijiu thought.

Fortunately, they were still easily restrained by the hunting knife. Cheng Yijiu's skill with the knife could be said to be first-class swordsman. He could easily stop these naughty monkeys and, of course, send them back to the arms of death. If they retreated wholeheartedly, they would be very fast. Not long after, they received a notice, "Pay attention, they have set up a line of defense. They will open fire if you cross it."

Dealing with this kind of undead creature is relatively simple. Fire is the best weapon. Then we just need to find the core of the area that caused all this and destroy it, and the matter will be over.

Cheng Yijiu suspected it might not be that simple. The four hunters quickly made their way through the jungle, following a path across the trench. Then they saw the automatically controlled compressed air gun begin to spit fire. The semi-solidified gasoline was ejected and ignited by the high-pressure air, instantly transforming the 120-meter area ahead into a sea of ​​fire. A flood of bones and decaying corpses were consumed by the flames.

Cheng Yijiu and the others stood behind the trench, watching these rotating high-pressure jet guns ignite one undead after another, burning them to ashes in a short period of time, until the half-skeleton monster appeared. Of course, skeleton humans with bat wings also appeared in the sky - if people with bat wings, curved horns on their heads, and sharp teeth in their mouths can be considered human...

After these monsters entered the arena, flames naturally formed spherical gaps around them. "Damn it! Immune to flames?" Cheng Yijiu cursed, "Is the temperature not high enough? Use plasma jets!" Cheng Yijiu wanted to see plasma jets, but there were none.

Looking around, there were no laser launchers, so these monsters easily crossed the flame zone and rushed across the trench - that was it, they also had no ability to destroy the steel jets...

Aside from Cheng Yijiu, the other three had already fled along the traffic trench and into the underground bunker. Cheng Yijiu, on the other hand, was watching the flying "human skeletons" with some curiosity. "Is this a demon?" Cheng Yijiu asserted, rubbing his chin. The horns on these skeletons were all different.

Some have bull horns, others have upward-spinning antelope horns, and of course some have spiraling sheep horns. These must be the embodiment of the devil, after all, isn't anything with horns a demon? Besides being able to fly, these skeletons don't seem to have any special abilities—they can't throw fireballs or ice balls, and besides avoiding fire, they don't seem to have any special abilities.

These guys would also attack people, and now that Cheng Yijiu was the only one, of course they would attack him. Diving down, claws extended, Cheng Yijiu swept his hunting knife across, slicing through the opponent's hand bones. "Hmm, quite strong." The blade actually got stuck in the middle bone of the opponent's hand, and of course half of the palm was definitely severed.

The skeleton was originally black, and there were no signs of charring on the cross-section. Cheng Yijiu took advantage of the situation and kicked the skeleton sideways, sending it flying. The knife then pierced into the skull of another skeleton. "It really worked." As the blade pierced, the skeleton's eyes glowed red. It reached out to grab Cheng Yijiu, but the hunter twisted and lifted the knife with force, shattering the upper half of the skull. The strange skeleton fell to the ground.

It would never get up again. "Besides avoiding fire, it's really that weak. What's the use of this thing?" Actually, this thing is much more useful. It actually has a fear aura. Only the chosen champion warriors like Cheng Yijiu are actually completely immune to it. Otherwise, if it were someone else, would they be afraid? Would it reduce or even eliminate their combat effectiveness?

Cheng Yijiu didn't feel anything, but the three hunters did. They only felt a chill of fear, even without seeing or making direct contact, and even without being more than twenty meters away. Knowing how weak these things were, Cheng Yijiu immediately lost all fear. He ran into the house first—using the door as a barrier, entering and exiting immediately with his greatsword.

With the Cold Iron Greatsword in hand and the Champion Warrior online, Cheng Yijiu leaped and slashed, smashing the skull whose hand he had cut in half to pieces. The greatsword was sharp, but also heavy, so it could be used as a blunt weapon. Cutting it open was the same as smashing it, both could directly kill the core of the skull.

Dealing with the remaining skeletons and the half-tiger, half-lizard monster was easy, thanks to a greatsword. A hunting knife was difficult. Cheng Yijiu had plenty of experience using a greatsword against beasts instead of a warrior, so he could be more direct in dealing with them, without any feints. He just had to find the right moment and hit the target, and that was it.

So when the skeleton swooped down to attack, he didn't dodge or evade the flash of sword light, and chopped the skeleton down with one sword before being caught - he was wearing a full-coverage helmet, so why should he be afraid of being pierced by ordinary bones?

Cheng Yijiu chopped off one of the monster's legs—it was indeed thicker if cut from the thigh, but it was much easier to cut from the knee. Meanwhile, the heavy armored team arrived and began attacking with special weapons—"How rare! A pneumatically launched spherical projectile?" This thing has a short effective range, but is very powerful.

There were six people in the heavy armored team, five of them were holding this type of weapon, and one was holding a boar hunting spear, but the tip of the spear was obviously not made of ordinary steel.

Chapter Fourteen

Lead bullets struck the monster, instantly tearing its skin and tendons, shattering its bones. Meanwhile, the spear—which Cheng Yijiu considered to be similar to his cold iron sword—pierced through the creature's dead, hardened fur like paper, leaving wounds that curled and widened as if burned by flames. Large swaths of flesh vanished, revealing the bones beneath, which also showed signs of brittleness where pierced.

"As expected, it's the capital. They mobilized specialized equipment in such a short time." These weapons were undoubtedly designed to deal with zombies. Whether they were human or animal corpses, they wouldn't fare well after being hit by the handheld lead ball "cannon," followed by a swift stab with a spear. As for the vast numbers of weaker zombies, they were dealt with in one fell swoop using high-pressure flamethrowers.

Cheng Yijiu also received a subsidy, otherwise why would they say working for the country pays well? However, after he finished this mission, he immediately received a new one. "Has that zombie been dealt with? Oh, and it's a secret, so I shouldn't ask about it." Cheng Yijiu muttered. This time it was an exploratory mission. "The organization hasn't changed its relationship, and they can use people like this."

He didn't say this, but as a former staff member, he was automatically included in the professional hunter database and could accept daily tasks issued by various management bureaus across the country. Of course, he would also accept calls to participate in some emergency tasks - because of his former identity, he was even classified as a highly trusted semi-official hunter among professional hunters.

Cheng Yijiu didn't really care whether to participate in this investigation or not; overall, it was fine. Before the investigation began, Cheng Yijiu was placed in a "guesthouse"—perhaps the only place in Beijing where you could find a guesthouse with no specific name, just a number. It was located within the Third Ring Road of Beijing, in a seemingly ordinary courtyard, in a two-story L-shaped building.

On the first floor, there was a front hallway with a small counter and a small office. On the other side, there was a door and a glass wall, which led to the cafeteria. Further ahead, there was a corridor and stairs. Beyond the corridor were the rooms, and Cheng Yijiu was assigned to room 103, which was on the first floor corridor. It was quite nice once you pushed open the door and walked in, though the style was a bit dated—it was from the 1990s, with carpet on the floor, a single fabric sofa, and a desk. Inside was the bedroom and bathroom.

Cheng Yijiu took a laptop from the desk. After opening it, he found out that it was a special model made by the Investigation Bureau that could access the internal network.

The Investigation Bureau didn't restrict his movements, so Cheng Yijiu continued to explore during the day. The mutation had little impact on the city, meaning that the city's parks would be one-third larger, and the city's water systems would be slightly more complex and deeper. For example, when he went to Beihai Park, the water used to be only two meters deep, but now it was one-third larger and ten meters deep.

In this way, some big fish can grow here. I have already caught a six-barbel catfish over two meters long here...

I spent two days in Beijing. This guesthouse is not open to the public and does not charge admission. The meals served daily are quite delicious—"Quite classic Shandong and Huaiyang cuisine. The dim sum served in the morning is also quite authentic Cantonese cuisine." Even laundry can be placed in the laundry basket, and the maid who comes to clean the room every day will take it away for washing, drying, and then return it. Cheng Yijiu saw on his way out that there is an independent complex building next to the small building, which should be where the laundry room is.

The sheets and towels were changed daily, which was a very nice touch—almost five-star service. Cheng Yijiu received a call that morning, asking him to be ready. Sure enough, at ten o'clock, a black SUV dropped him off at a warehouse. Inside, Cheng Yijiu saw four men and two women. Two of the men were about his age, while the other two men and two women were in their forties or fifties.

The mission was to explore the Yanshan/Taihang Mountains, document the situation, and install equipment. The middle-aged men were all scientific research experts, and besides themselves, they relied primarily on the young Cheng Yijiu and his three companions for armed protection. Their equipment was impressive—at least Cheng Yijiu had never seen a large eight-wheeled all-terrain truck. This one had a very high suspension, resembling a Spider-Dog robot dog...

The three armed personnel were equipped with four-wheeled all-terrain motorcycles with independent quad suspension and extremely high travel. They carried a large amount of supplies. The truck had a load capacity of 25 tons, of which 15 tons were allocated to fixed laboratory equipment, but there was still 10 tons of various supplies. The three four-wheeled all-terrain motorcycles could carry 750 kilograms of cargo.