Infinite Hunter

It was impossible to let the girl stay here any longer, so Cheng Yijiu asked her to follow him and followed the bear's tracks. "Not bad," he said, seeing the three teenagers hiding in the tree. They were a little scared but safe. Cheng Yijiu gestured for them to continue hiding in the tree and threw a few chocolate bars to them. "Hide for now!" he said. This time, the tracking was much smoother than before, and Cheng Yijiu soon found the first victim.

That was a seriously injured man, but he was not dead. Cheng Yijiu could only ask Jing to help him stop the bleeding, while he continued to follow the footprints. Soon Jing caught up with him. Cheng Yijiu turned his head and looked at her. "No, there is no hope. He is dead." The girl said with a pale face. Cheng Yijiu nodded - yes, the man's arms and legs were bitten to pieces, and his arteries were ruptured and he had lost too much blood. Cheng Yijiu had only done his best before.

He spotted the brown bear's territory—a clearing where three half-buried bodies lay, all gnawed and utterly ravaged. Claw marks were everywhere, and the gruesome sight made Cheng Yijiu sigh. He'd certainly seen far scarier man-eating beasts, but seeing this still made him feel pathetic. Jing had collapsed to the ground, sobbing and incontinent, and she was truly filthy.

"Don't worry." Cheng Yijiu only said this, and he pulled the girl away. Near the stream, Cheng Yijiu saw the bear. The girl was about to run away, but Cheng Yijiu grabbed her and whispered in the woman's ear, "Don't worry, this is a female bear, not a murderous male bear." Cheng Yijiu watched for a while without taking any action. The male bear was unexpected - because its speed of movement was not like that of a bear.

Wild animals need plenty of rest to reduce caloric expenditure, even males patrolling their territory. But this bear seemed to be exercising all day. It was definitely not normal.

Moreover, this bear attacks quite frequently, even among man-eating brown bears. "Japan specializes in these kinds of things. The last Sanmaobie was also like this. It attacked five people in three days, right?" Cheng Yijiu thought.

The attack came almost suddenly. Cheng Yijiu had a premonition, so he had Jing crouch down on the tree trunk while he took a few steps and raised his rifle. The premonition of this apex predator, the big cat, made his muscles tense and then relax—the next moment, a thunderous blow was about to strike.

A large brown "mushroom" rose directly from the woods. It was none other than an adult male Hokkaido brown bear. Jing's eyes were already wide open, unable to move. However, Cheng Yijiu reacted quickly, almost immediately turning 90 degrees to face the brown bear emerging from his right. "Don't you know how powerful a gun is?" Cheng Yijiu held the gun steadily. The bear pounced at him at an extremely fast speed, but he could still think about this.

Seeing the bear rushing to a distance of three meters, Cheng Yijiu pulled the trigger...

Sato Shizuka had been living in a nightmare for the past few days. She couldn't even tell where she was, and everything seemed unreal. The brown bear had killed the man, and the crunching sound of its jaws biting into his neck kept echoing in her ears. She could see the scene just by closing her eyes... She fled to a cave, groggy until a man pulled her out into the sunlight, and it seemed as if Sato Shizuka had just woken up.

A huge fear gripped her heart, because she saw the blood and claw marks again, and saw the terrifying big bear again. Now Sato Shizuka felt light all over, her brain seemed to be about to fall asleep, and she felt warm down there... But she couldn't fall asleep, because there was a figure in front of her blocking the brown bear's attack route. This man could only let Shizuka see a slightly raised expression on his face.

The thunderous sound sounded like the chirping of birds to Sato Shizuka's ears. She had probably lost the ability to understand it properly...

Cheng Yijiu leaned back slightly, his left hand still, his right hand moving forward to hook the bolt. He twisted it, pulling the golden cartridge case out. He stepped forward again, chambering another round, and returned his right hand to the trigger, pulling it again. In less than a second, Cheng Yijiu fired two shots. The first accurately entered the brown bear's eye socket, the tumbling bullet shredding all tissue in its path before exiting through a hole in its back.

The second bullet entered the mouth, striking the upper jaw almost at the level of the molars, changing trajectory before exploding from the top of the head. Two shots had already delivered the fatal blow. Cheng Yijiu took a step back, calmly pulling the bolt to eject the shell and reload. A third bullet was unnecessary… The brown bear slammed to the ground. “This mission was surprisingly safe.” Cheng Yijiu hadn’t worried about bears; he’d killed quite a few, hadn’t he?

With a rifle, a mere brown bear is really just a decoration in the living room. This mission is surprisingly simple. Didn't you see the woman's eyes behind me start to sparkle?

Cheng Yijiu looked at the bloodied brown bear lying on the ground before him. Its front paws were only a step away from him. Cheng Yijiu walked over and kicked the bear's head. Its skull was shattered, so it couldn't possibly be alive. "It's a little smaller than I expected." Cheng Yijiu looked at the bear. It was only about 2.2 meters long, not a large Hokkaido brown bear, and certainly no way it could jump up and hit him. This bear was quite aggressive when it attacked, and its death was also quite simple.

Sato Jing cried and laughed. This girl must have been resurrected and her psychological problems had been solved. Cheng Yijiu squatted on the ground and looked at the bear carefully. He picked up the bear's paw with the barrel of his gun and looked at the size. "Something is wrong..."

chapter eight

"Too small!" Cheng Yijiu said, looking at the bear's paw. It was summer, not winter, so there were no footprints. The snow had deformed the paws, but both the claw marks and the footprints proved that the bear that attacked the humans was very large. Cheng Yijiu remembered the claw marks at another scene, "There are two male bears that attacked people here?"

This is totally too sci-fi. Male bears will fight for territory, they are not lion brothers.

Cheng Yijiu took out bullets and loaded them into the magazine. "There is another big guy. I think it is probably watching somewhere." He thought about this, but there was no need to say it out loud to make the girl lose hope - Sato Shizuka can be said to be reborn now and is overcoming her own mental illness.

After the bear was killed, Cheng Yijiu had no interest in its fur, but now he had to find a way to settle the girl before going after the big bear. "Where did the others go?" Cheng Yijiu returned with the girl, and on the way he asked the three children to get down from the tree. "Let's go down and camp near the stream below. It's safer that way."

The cabin had been breached, so they definitely couldn't stay there. Therefore, the others agreed to Cheng Yijiu's suggestion. He led the children and the girl down the woods, quickly following the sandy and pebbly ground toward the river valley below. Not surprisingly, Cheng Yijiu found bear footprints on the wet ground. "Look at the distance between the claws. It's definitely the big bear."

It was summer, and the weather was nice. Cheng Yijiu gestured to the children and Sato Jing to go in and wash—if the children were just dirty, Sato Jing was probably smelly. The girl must have known this, her face flushed red, and she began to take off her clothes after entering the water. Cheng Yijiu wasn't very interested in looking at the white body; he was on guard.

The view here was quite wide. He only needed to pay attention to the river valley to his left and right. He didn't need to pay attention to the opposite side or behind him—unless the bear was about to drop from the sky and plunge to its death in front of him from a mountain over 30 meters high. The four naked and clean-washed people separated themselves, their clothes spread on the large rocks by the river to dry in the sun. Cheng Yijiu sat on a large rock with his rifle across his body. He threw his jacket to Sato Jing.

The few people who had been frightened at first calmed down when they saw the rifle in Cheng Yijiu's hand. "Let's go pick up some wood and light a fire to dry the clothes. We can also use the smoke to call for help." After Cheng Yijiu finished speaking, he asked the three teenagers, "What happened? Where did the others go?"

The leading teenager began to narrate, and Cheng Yijiu finally understood what had happened. Around the same time he'd found the girl, a bear had attacked the cabin. The bear's thick skin and flesh had smashed through the door. The teenager keenly noticed that the bear had also been injured in the process, but after the bear rushed in, the people inside were in a state of panic.

They threw things at the bear and scrambled to escape through the broken door, trying to get out but ended up getting stuck in each other's way. The bear attacked two people... Anyway, while these two people were being attacked, the others also escaped. As for where to escape, the three teenagers didn't pay attention.

Cheng Yijiu thought for a long time, then jumped off the rock, broke off a dead tree trunk, dragged it to the river, and used dagger and brute force to break it open. After lighting it with a lighter, they began to dry the clothes. Even after rinsing them with water, the smell when they dried was not very pleasant. Cheng Yijiu covered the fire with wet branches with leaves, and thick smoke rose to the sky.

Cheng Yijiu gazed at the woods, lost in thought. Now, with his rifle in hand, he wondered if the bear would reappear. "Extraordinarily cunning?" Cheng Yijiu thought, as he was prepared to take a risk. The leader of the three boys looked composed. Although Cheng Yijiu felt a bit sorry for him, he still handed him the M70 rifle he was carrying.

"Take this and stand guard here. Remember to keep the smoke rising and wait for rescue. If the bear comes out, shoot—oh, fire two shots first and let me see." Cheng Yijiu said, letting the young man fire two shots and instructing him on the gun-holding posture. "Not bad, don't be nervous. If a bear comes out, aim and fire. If two or three out of five bullets hit it, a normal brown bear will definitely lose its ability to move."

As for him, he could only take his rhino and dagger and walk into the woods to see if the bear would attack him because he had put down his rifle. If the bear did so, Cheng Yijiu would definitely be very happy to send it to its death. The .38 caliber Magnum pistol bullet should have no problem killing the brown bear.

At worst, a 30cm-long Rambo knife is harder and sharper than a bear's claws and teeth...

"Isn't it just using fighting skills to kill a bear?" Cheng Yijiu encouraged himself. Originally, he wasn't very willing to do this in this modern world. But now he didn't want to carry out the punishment mission, so he had to test it himself and see if he could lure the brown bear. If he had enough time, Cheng Yijiu wouldn't mind slowly tracking it down and forcing it to death.

Cheng Yijiu, having removed most of his weapons, climbed up under the puzzled gazes of the men and disappeared into the woods. At this moment, Cheng Yijiu finally regained his hunter's instincts. His breathing slowed, his steps became extremely light and silent, and his right hand, on the revolver at his waist, was ready to draw his gun at any time.

In the woods, vision isn't paramount. Hearing comes first, followed by smell, and finally vision. Cheng Yijiu now leaned forward, half-bent over, moving at a brisk pace. But he had no fixed path; he seemed to be going in circles. The Rhino .38 long-barreled revolver was ready, and Cheng Yijiu's fingers twitched subconsciously.

Cheng Yijiu saw a new victim, a man who had been bitten and torn apart. He couldn't remember his name, but if he looked closely, his flesh was actually quite intact - the bear had probably only eaten a small part of his internal organs. The poor man didn't leave much blood here, so it was probably not the first scene.

The bear appeared, suddenly emerging from behind the bushes. Cheng Yijiu immediately pulled out his Rhino revolver and opened fire. Instantly, all six bullets were fired. Cheng Yijiu felt that he must have hit the bear, but why didn't the bear fall down immediately? At this moment, Cheng Yijiu did not relax at all, pulling back the gun and drawing the knife. The brown bear quickly rushed in front of him, and Cheng Yijiu stabbed it with the knife.

Chapter nine

A thrust of the knife sliced ​​the outer edge of the brown bear's claws, but after deviating from the center, neither side was able to strike the other, giving Cheng Yijiu a slight advantage. He half-turned and grabbed the bear's mane. The hard hairs couldn't hurt Cheng Yijiu, who was wearing tactical gloves, allowing him to leap onto the bear's back—his reaction speed was undoubtedly at the level of a big cat.

Cheng Yijiu grabbed the fur with his left hand and stabbed it horizontally with his right hand, but the bear suddenly moved, and the knife hit the shoulder and almost flew away. A bear's front paws are not as flexible as humans, so it is impossible to grab an enemy on the shoulder. This is the case with all wild animals, and most of them are like this, except for primates such as humans.

Cheng Yijiu's wrist was protected, so he didn't sprain it. He quickly drew his knife, turned the handle over and cut in. With his protected arm, he directly strangled the bear's neck and began to exert force. He didn't have to worry too much about the bear scratching him, because his arm was relatively thin compared to the neck, and the strength of the bear's claws in grabbing back was limited, and he would also risk scratching himself.

The bear immediately rolled over, and Cheng Yijiu quickly untied himself and jumped off. The hunter loosened his grip and twisted his fingers, switching from a straight grip to a reverse grip. With incredible speed, he thrust the knife backwards. The sharp tip of the blade, with immense force, pierced through what might have been the skull, sending the blade piercing the bear's skull.

Pulling out the blade, Cheng Yijiu stepped back, squatted, and used his leg muscles to propel him forward. He lowered his head, hunched his shoulders forward, and rammed into the bear head-on. The bear was standing up, so Cheng Yijiu took advantage of the situation and thrust his blade upwards, piercing from the base of the bear's jaw all the way to the guard. Judging by the length of the blade, it probably went into his head.

Cheng Yijiu let go, rolled back to see what the bear would do, and also to see where the hell all six shots had gone. "Those .38 Magnum rounds are quite powerful, and no carbon-based creature can withstand them—unless the brown bear can wear a bulletproof vest." He pulled out his Rhino and quickly loaded it with his speedloader.

The bear's blood-grooved hunting knife had been pulled out slightly, but the majority of it was still lodged in its jaw. Blood was now flowing profusely from both wounds, and its movements were clearly uncoordinated. A brain injury could be fatal. Cheng Yijiu finally saw the effectiveness of the pistol. "I still haven't fully controlled it. The recoil is a bit strong with continuous fire."

Only three of the six bullets likely hit their target, striking the bear in the shoulder, glancing on the chest, and glancing on the back. The other three either struck the mud or flew away. The shoulder shot nearly shattered half of the bear's shoulder blade, slowing it down and giving Cheng Yijiu an opening.

"Next time I'll just use the Competitor single-shot pistol. At least it's much more reliable," Cheng Yijiu muttered. He was now relieved that the bear in front of him was dead. "Well, this one is more or less the same. This one is one-third larger than the previous one. This one is the main attacker."

A fierce gleam shone in its small eyes, but the brown bear was already struggling to move. It lay sprawled on the ground, gasping for breath, blood pooling in a puddle around its head. Cheng Yijiu waited for several minutes, watching the bear's tongue dart out, but he still fired a shot into its skull, piercing through its eye socket and shattering the back of its head.

Cheng Yijiu pulled the knife from the bear's jaws. The bear was completely dead, and his mission was complete. "Within 72 hours, the biggest risk is time." He breathed a sigh of relief. As for the rifle? Forget it, give it to the kid. He could make it himself, no problem.

The door suddenly appeared. Cheng Yijiu turned the doorknob and pushed it open, leaving the mission world behind him. Without the murderous brown bear, most people would definitely be rescued. After all, modern Japan is not that weird.

Maybe......

The first thing Cheng Yijiu did upon returning to the cabin was to remove his heavy cotton shirt. Considering the blood stains on it, he'd probably have to burn it, as washing it would be difficult. This mission hadn't left any loot on the second floor, likely just ordinary brown bears, with two bear skins adorning the walls of one of the exhibition rooms.

After everything was settled, he left for work the next day. He'd heard Cheng Yijiu would have to go on a business trip soon to appease the scorpion lion, Arudimuara. The research report on Arudimuara was currently classified, so Cheng Yijiu wasn't allowed to read it. Cheng Yijiu's business trips were simple; he'd just write a note and take the company bus to the airport, where a business jet would be flying.

It's not just him, it's a whole team. Cheng Yijiu was actually just going to hitchhike - a regular business flight, and this kind of small or medium-sized business jet was just right.

Arudimuara was living a happy life, so happy that Cheng Yijiu worried that his hunting ability would decline drastically. The relevant departments now directly ordered live cattle from the nearby pastures and regularly fed them to the scorpion lion. Some of the explanations were to maintain a good relationship, while others were to prevent the scorpion lion from destroying the entire ecosystem.

If this guy is really allowed to hunt freely, it will probably cause ecological imbalance in the short term.

When Cheng Yijiu saw this guy, he found that Arudimu was obviously fatter and heavier than when he first saw him. "Can he still fly like this? Will his speed become slower?" Cheng Yijiu said so. The mantis lion was not convinced and flew to show him on the spot. It seemed that the weight gain was not enough to make the mantis lion unable to fly.

And the reason why Cheng Yijiu came here was clear - griffins were not a problem, they were relatively smoothly embedded in the food chain, and now a balance had almost been formed - observations had shown that these creatures reproduced very slowly, and it was very likely that they would only reproduce once every three to five years. As for the number of births, according to the scorpion lion, a female griffin would only give birth to one baby at a time, and in very rare cases, she would give birth to twins, but there was a 50% chance that only one would survive.

So this thing is still a protected species that is even rarer than the giant panda, and only slightly better than the unique manticore. As for the reproduction of manticores—Arudimura refused to answer this question...

The mission was to appear in Mongolia. A dangerous creature had appeared within the Mongolian Republic—a winter plague that brought white frosts and killed and decimated livestock and people. Even herders who had taken refuge in the Khanate were attacked. So far, over a hundred people were reported missing, and approximately seventy were confirmed dead.

chapter Ten

"What kind of monster is this? These people are so vague about it. They're so useless, aren't they?" Cheng Yijiu complained as he looked at the information. It was no wonder they were useless. All the damage happened during the White Disaster, so nothing could be seen clearly. All the real witnesses were killed or missing. All that could be found were some bloodstains and a mutilated corpse. From the corpse, it was confirmed that the monster had legs and was probably some kind of canine.

There were several of these things, and they were quite large. Those idiots hadn't figured out exactly how many there were. This time, Cheng Yijiu was going to take the Scorpion Lion with him to deal with this problem. His current "level" was high enough—even if he tried to hide his abilities, the relevant authorities would still notice his "abnormality." Did they really think all state organizations were useless? Cheng Yijiu's extraordinary physical abilities had already been registered with the relevant authorities. That kind of extraordinary strength, stamina, speed, and the accompanying swordsmanship... could Cheng Yijiu, a highly trained agent, really hide it?

His Western sword fighting skills were likely ranked in the top ten among professionals, and if it weren't competition but a life-or-death combat, he'd probably be ranked first among professionals. After all, Western sword fighting techniques are a minority discipline, a hobby enjoyed by some. "Proficient in two-handed sword, greatsword, hand-and-half sword, and shield techniques, and also possesses a knives-and-sword technique." This was the comment on his profile, which he hadn't seen.

As for the hidden shooting skills, they were actually not hidden. Everyone knew that he was a very good shooter.

How to get to Mongolia? It couldn't be simpler. By car, of course. The manticore's lair is a custom-built large all-terrain truck. When it doesn't want to wander around outside, it crawls inside, closes the door, and sleeps comfortably. It's learned how to open and close the door. The others, on the other hand, have to share the burden and ride in the same large all-terrain truck. It's actually quite comfortable, with small suites and showers inside.

Just drive it anyway. It will take two or three days at most to get there. As for how long it will take to complete this matter, I don’t know how long it will take.

The Scorpion Lion was quite peaceful, sleeping soundly in the car all the way to the end of the road. Cheng Yijiu was already feeling miserable, feeling uncomfortable everywhere, and it was difficult to just play games on his phone during the day—he was on a business trip, and civil servants had to avoid suspicion. So he could only constantly polish his gun—yes, for someone of his rank, he actually received a gun license and a service gun upon joining the company.

This sidearm wasn't even a domestically produced Type 92, but a Glock 38, chambered for the ACP 45 rounds. It seemed his superiors were quite familiar with his habits, assigning him this innocuous-looking pistol instead of expensive Pythons. "Given the target we're facing, this thing is practically useless," Cheng Yijiu muttered, adding that having a legal handgun was always a good thing.

He actually didn't want to wear it because it was such a hassle—writing a report every time he fired a shot was a real pain. And against larger or armored opponents, it wasn't very useful. "It might be useful against zombies, but it's useless against a tyrant."

The relevant departments issued guns and licenses but no training—there was some training at first. However, during target practice and simulated combat shooting, Cheng Yijiu demonstrated exceptionally proficient CAR gun-holding techniques, hitting targets quickly and accurately in actual combat. For regular target practice, he used the triangle grip. This guy clearly had a ruthless knack for shooting actual human targets, as he consistently used the Mozambique shooting method, two shots to the torso and one to the head.

Cheng Yijiu arrived at the edge of the field and organized the trucks to form a camp. Then, of course, he reported to his superiors and arranged shifts. As for the scorpion lion, he would ask Arudimu if it had sensed any wild beasts. Any beast that Arudimu could sense was likely the target, and he might even be able to tell them their names.

The scorpion lion had already gotten out of the truck to stretch its body, rolling around on the ground with its massive body. It looked completely foolish, not ferocious at all. After Cheng Yijiu finished his arrangements, all he had to do was wait. The modified truck had thick linings, providing excellent low-temperature insulation—the tire material could withstand temperatures as low as -120 degrees Celsius, and the body panels, with internal heating, could maintain an indoor temperature of 26 degrees Celsius while maintaining an outdoor temperature of -100 degrees Celsius.

According to records, the White Disaster was nothing more than a blizzard with temperatures around -40 degrees Celsius. Meanwhile, satellite cloud images arrived, along with the meteorologist's interpretation: "In sixteen hours, a blizzard will hit here. Those monsters are likely to appear then." Cheng Yijiu watched the on-screen forecast and gave orders to everyone—actually, there were only six of them, including him—to move in three vehicles: one for people, one for supplies, and one for the Scorpion Lion.

If it weren't for autonomous driving, it would have been too difficult for just two people to replace it.

Everyone was required to wear a special, fully enclosed outer shell—a technology developed from space suits, capable of insulating against both extreme temperatures and providing internal oxygen circulation and protection. The limbs and torso were also supported, allowing for unimpeded movement. Of course, the hands weren't exposed through gloves, but rather extended robotic arms that followed the movements of the hands.

Of course, forget about weapons, at least not pistols. Cheng Yijiu didn't have a weapon, while the others were armed with large-caliber bolt-action rifles—but the recoil wouldn't be enough. "Hey, Arudimuula. You're a tropical desert creature. Can you withstand the freezing temperatures of -40 degrees Celsius?" Cheng Yijiu shouted to the scorpion lion. "Don't underestimate me! I can!" Arudimuula was full of courage.

Cheng Yijiu knew this creature had a double coat, both hard and downy, which should provide good protection from the cold and sun. While the desert temperature was indeed 50 degrees Celsius during the day and a few degrees below zero at night, it had never been as low as -40 degrees Celsius, so Cheng Yijiu was very skeptical about whether the manticore could withstand it. Time passed, and the city was not far away. From the roof of the car, they could see the city's low buildings.

Almost everyone had already taken refuge inside the building, preparing to withstand the freezing cold and, of course, the mysterious monster. Cheng Yijiu and the others were also prepared. After a good meal and a good night's sleep, they donned their cold-weather jackets and waited. Daybreak arrived, but the visible distance was still pitch black. This was the terrifying cold snap, the impending whiteout.

Chapter 11

Everyone gathered on the supply trucks—things here were immune to freezing, and the scorpion lion still stood outside, acting like a complete jerk, as if the impending white disaster was a lie. Cheng Yijiu and his team closed the small door, saving some electricity for the cold-weather hulls. They also decided to wait until they figured out what kind of monster had emerged before resolving the problem. Of course, the vehicle-mounted weapons would be used first.

The vehicle had a small turret mounted with a 12.7mm machine gun, and it seemed unlikely that any living creature could withstand it. Seeing the overwhelming whiteness spreading across the sky, the temperature plummeted amidst the blizzard. Cheng Yijiu watched as Arudimuara howled a few times before quickly scrambling back into the truck that had brought it, closing the door... "I knew it was a piece of crap!"

The blizzard arrived quickly, blanketing the entire city in a matter of minutes. Suddenly, it was a blanket of white, making it impossible to see clearly. Cheng Yijiu checked the temperature. It was -40 degrees Celsius outside, and the perceived temperature was around -50 to -60 degrees Celsius. He could freeze to death if he went outside for a short while—a simple cotton coat wouldn't be enough to protect him. "Can you activate the thermal infrared lens? If it's a living thing, there's going to be some temperature difference, right?"

The result was barely visible on the screen. The wind, carrying huge snowflakes, nullified the motion sensor, and the infrared camera couldn't detect anything above the background temperature. Finally, Cheng Yijiu risked opening the door, half-crouching in the windshield, and extending his fully enclosed helmet to see what might be the target through the double-layered glass. It was a creature, faintly bluish, amidst the white blizzard—the cold-proof shell was truly a valuable asset. The lens beneath the semicircular observation window extended and magnified Cheng Yijiu's vision.

There's nothing in the infrared vision. These creatures seem to have excellent insulation. Even their footprints leave no trace of heat. Could it be that they're cold-blooded? But wolf-like creatures over two meters tall at the shoulder don't look cold-blooded at all. They even have hair. Do cold-blooded creatures need to be covered in hair? Even their breath is icy—that's very strange.

"I see them, ready to fire. These creatures are dangerous, better to kill them," Cheng Yijiu said. He wasn't armed himself, but he cautiously made his way towards the truck where Arudimu was staying. He opened the small door and felt a warm sensation as he entered—the scorpion lion had a good heat-generating ability, and the truck's insulation was excellent... The opening of the door must have caused some heat to escape, and the wolf-like creatures seemed to sense something.

"Hey! Didn't you just shout that no one should underestimate you? Why are you hiding in here now?" Cheng Yijiu patted Arudimula's nose. The scorpion lion said in a muffled voice, "You don't understand... I'm too lazy to explain to you." Cheng Yijiu shook his head, but no one outside could see it.

The cold-weather shell is truly excellent. Its smooth white surface doesn't hold much snow, and the semi-rigid shell keeps you warm and dry. It has heating elements and air circulation, and moisture is expelled through a small tube at the lower back. Compressed air sprays are applied regularly to prevent ice from clogging the shell. The full-coverage fixed helmet is also very comfortable and packed with features, truly a true evolution of spacesuit technology.

The air they breathe is definitely filtered and heated, and the exhaled air passes through the filter under the helmet, where it absorbs moisture and cools before being expelled. That's why Cheng Yijiu hadn't been discovered so far, and the Scorpion Lion didn't look like he was willing to run out and fight. "Oh, I should have known not to bring this piece of crap along," Cheng Yijiu complained, getting out of the car and carefully observing these slow-moving, seemingly cautious beasts.

The beasts were still about thirty meters away from the car. Cheng Yijiu zoomed in. "Only when they open their mouths can you occasionally see a little thermal imaging light?" These wolf-like beasts are truly excellent at insulating themselves. It seems these creatures are responsible for killing so many livestock and dragging away the herders. Machine gun fire rang out, and the flame whip first ensnared a wolf-like monster.

In the infrared vision, the luminous line directly impacted, splattering a large amount of luminous liquid. "Sure enough, living things can't stop bullets!" This world hasn't reached the point where modern weapons are ineffective, far from it. The bullet swept past, but the second creature was not hit—once these monsters realize they are being attacked, they move at an incredible speed.

The manually operated machine gun turrets couldn't keep up with their speed, and the monsters immediately discovered the source of the attack. Their movement whipped up a massive blizzard, preventing even the personnel inside the turrets from seeing where the monsters were moving. The car was struck, rocking violently and being pushed sideways. Those inside wouldn't get out to fight; hiding inside was the safest option.

Could these monsters chew through the outer armor? It seemed unlikely. Creatures capable of chewing through composite metal armor probably didn't exist, and the temperature wasn't high enough to embrittle the surface steel. Cheng Yijiu was moving through the snow, using the car as cover. The snowflakes, blown by the strong wind, practically clung to the glass, blinding him for a moment. The force of the wind made it difficult to move. Cheng Yijiu lay crouched under the car, half his body exposed, trying to observe.

"If they really can't see, how can those monsters observe? Even relying on smell wouldn't be enough in these weather conditions, right? Anyone without infrared vision in this environment would be completely blind and deaf," Cheng Yijiu thought. Perhaps these creatures possessed some kind of supersensory perception. Finally, the car housing the manticore was also struck, and Cheng Yijiu used his mechanical arms to hold onto the steel frame of the car's chassis, preventing himself from being thrown out and exposed.

At this moment, the roar drowned out the whistling of the wind and snow. The doors on both sides of the car suddenly opened, and the scorpion lion Aldimurra rushed out. In the infrared vision, he was a brilliant red, like the sun in the sky. The monster roared and rose into the air, opening its mouth and spewing a pillar of flame. The phosphorescent fire did not extinguish when it landed, directly illuminating the battlefield. After breathing fire, the scorpion lion rushed out.

Cheng Yijiu also saw Arudimuola pounce on a wolf and bite it with his jaws wide open. Compared to the elephant-sized Arudimuola, the wolf, two meters tall at the shoulder, was indeed smaller. He pinned it under his claws and bit it, and blood flowed out...

Chapter 12

Arudimurra quickly killed a wolf-like creature. Before the other beasts could surround and attack, Cheng Yijiu watched as it opened its mouth and spit out phosphorescent flames. Even in the blizzard, the flames could still burn, especially when they touched the beasts, burning even more viciously. "It's just a blizzard after all." Cheng Yijiu watched the flames quickly die out.

The burning monsters screamed and rolled in the blizzard. The weather was indeed cold, and the strong wind quickly took away their heat. After inflicting considerable damage, they were extinguished. Now the monsters had all fled, hiding in the wind and snow, making it difficult to find them. The manticore let out a strange cry and once again hid in the truck, this time refusing to come out.

Cheng Yijiu trudged through the snow with difficulty. A distance of less than twenty meters took him twenty minutes. He finally reached the frozen corpse of the monster lying on the ground. "Damn it! When will this blizzard end?" He used voice control in his helmet to call up the program on the computer. "Damn, there's still more than twenty-four hours left. No wonder this damn place is not suitable for human survival."

At this time, he had to thank the benefits of his cold-proof exoskeleton. He didn't feel the severe cold outside at all. The electric drive also allowed him to move flexibly. The robotic arm was not afraid of the cold and pushed away the snow on the animal. Cheng Yijiu took a preliminary look at the monster's head. "It really is a wolf? At least it's a giant canine." He tried to open the frozen snout but failed. In fact, Cheng Yijiu just wanted to see the teeth of this creature to determine whether it was a canine or a bear, or even a canine or bear...

Finally, he gave up and climbed back to the truck. After pushing the snow away from the door, he knocked on it and activated the identification system to open it. He planned to return to the personnel vehicle for a good rest. There were two bodies at the scene, so they would have to wait for clear weather to clean up. As for destroying those monsters? Cheng Yijiu thought it would be difficult. Perhaps he would have to try to track the monsters, but tracking in a snowstorm was too difficult.

These monsters must have a lair, the question is where?

In the small compartment at the rear of the car, Cheng Yijiu used a device to remove his outer shell and immediately felt a cool breeze. The temperature in the compartment was only about 12 or 13 degrees Celsius, quite cold. He pushed open the small door and entered the corridor. On one side was a closed window, and on the other was a small room. Cheng Yijiu entered his own room. The temperature here, including the corridor, was 25 degrees Celsius, which was considered very comfortable.

"Nice heavy-duty all-terrain vehicle. The specially modified one has excellent insulation." Cheng Yijiu, slumped in a chair in the room, logged various data on his computer while also contacting other team members via wireless network. "I don't think those beasts will come back." As for whether they would attack the livestock in the city buildings? "In a blizzard like this, the livestock in the corral would have been almost wiped out anyway, right?"

Anyway, no one is willing to go out and hunt them now, so it would be good enough to find out what kind of creatures these are.

Cheng Yijiu made himself a cup of hot cocoa, drank it, and then climbed into bed to fall asleep. Before going to sleep, this guy checked the surveillance and computer recording data on Arudimula's big car, "Hey, this guy rushed out before and made the temperature of his nest directly become minus 40 degrees Celsius. After he went back, the temperature rose quickly. Now it's close to 25 degrees Celsius." Looking at the scorpion lion coiled up inside and seemed to be still shaking, Cheng Yijiu said that this guy was really useless.

"Bringing it here is purely a test, right?" Cheng Yijiu thought so before falling asleep.

The snow finally stopped, and the temperature rose rapidly under the sunlight, but it was of no use as the ground remained frozen. The snow had been cleared from the two enormous wolf-like creatures, revealing their sturdy bodies, larger than a scaled-up wolf, but not as large as a scaled-up bear. Their tails, while seemingly large, were actually hair; the inner part was only half the length of a dog's tail.

This was the initial surface examination; a detailed examination would require a thorough autopsy of the two bodies. Arudimurra's diagnosis of the creature was a "wolf," and nothing more—you couldn't expect a wild beast, especially an uneducated one, to reveal more information... Cheng Yijiu straightened up, ready to see his superiors' response. He had previously reported the situation, and he didn't know if the Mongols would retain the two bodies.

Cheng Yijiu felt he wasn't capable of performing a detailed autopsy and could only make some notes. The Mongolians responded even faster than their superiors. Several of them were clearly Russians, and their attitude was relatively good; they simply watched. The higher-ups responded: one body would be taken away, and the rest would be left to the Mongolians. Tracking these monsters would be left to the Mongolians themselves.

Since we knew this was a cold-zone creature that foraged in a snowstorm, and the Mongols had hunters, of course we could track it ourselves. We couldn't just leave it all to the southerners—these Mongols used Cyrillic script...

The body was transferred to a helicopter and taken away. The rest of the process would be handled once they returned to the lab. Cheng Yijiu had to first return Aldimuara—those Russians were very curious to see the Scorpion Lion, after all, it was the first bizarre creature humans had publicly "tamed." It took Cheng Yijiu and his team three days to enter the country, by which time the body had already been transported to a base. The subsequent work didn't require Cheng Yijiu's involvement; they simply had to return Aldimuara to its original location.

Cheng Yijiu returned to the Magic City and entered the cabin once more. He hadn't dared to go in during the previous operation. What if there were surveillance cameras? He rested well, then returned to the second floor to once again survey his past achievements. From the smallest wild boar skull to the gargantuan man-eating beasts... this was the path he had walked. "What a shame! I have to forge another gun."