Translator: 549690339
Lin Zhen glanced at the post with the rankings and closed it with a snicker. He didn’t give a damn about such trifling matters.
He instinctively looked in the direction of the Blue River Bridge and was taken aback when he noticed that the army stationed there had withdrawn.
It was expected, as it was impossible for the military to stay here indefinitely, as it would inevitably draw the ire of some higher-ups. The withdrawal was simply a matter of time.
However, Lin Zhen was delighted. He could finally return to the base.
Just as he was preparing to leave the rooftop of the shopping mall, he spotted three figures sprinting down the street in the distance.
If they were anyone else, Lin Zhen might not even have spared them a glance.
But he recognized two of them, Shi Lei and Ye Tiancheng, his own teammates.
Aside from the two of them, there was a bearded man brandishing a long blade and leading the way.
Shi Lei and Ye Tiancheng were in a pitiful state, closely following behind the bearded man. Shi Lei’s long sword had even broken, and Ye Tiancheng was left with only one of his twin swords. They were panting heavily as they fled, closelv Dursued bv a crouD of simian monsters.
The group consisted of golden-hair monkeys, which were even more powerful than silverback gorillas from before the mutation. Each one had at least C-level strength, with the leader, the Monkey King, holding the power of a B-level creature.
The monkeys raced along the street, effortlessly leaping over abandoned buses or swinging from electrical wires. They jumped around on the rooftops, boxing the three men in from all sides.
They seemed to have no chance of escape.
“Captain, I can’t run anymore. Let’s take on these monkeys!” Ye Tiancheng had reached his limit.
“No! Keep going. There’s a small lake up ahead connected to the Blue River.
Once we reach it, we can jump into the water. That’s our only chance.”
“Captain, I’m afraid I won’t make it to the lake. You go ahead, but remember to take care of my family.”
Shi Lei didn’t respond. He just pulled Ye Tiancheng along, clearly not willing to abandon his comrade.
The man in front looked back at the two of them and then continued his frenzied run. As a seventh-level War General, nearly at the intermediate peak, his speed surpassed Shi Lei and Ye Tiancheng. The way things were going, he might be the only one who would escape.
Atop the rooftop, Lin Zhen watched with a hint of sorrow. There was no doubt that Shi Lei was a good man, but at this rate, neither of them would escape.
If it was just Ye Tiancheng, Lin Zhen might not have intervened, but he couldn’t just stand by and watch as Shi Lei was devoured by these monkeys.
He picked up the iron chain he’d collected over the past few days, intending to use it to avoid arousing suspicions about how he got to the rooftop of the mall.
“Enough of this, it’s time to leave.”
Lin Zhen grabbed the iron chain and jumped out of the window. In mid-air, he encountered a monkey swinging from an electrical wire.
“Squeals!”
The monkey lashed out at Lin Zhen with its enormous claws.
“Die!”
Lin Zhen twisted his body in mid-air using his spiritual power to dodge the monkey’s swipe. He instantly retaliated, thrusting his spear into the monkey’s skull, killing it instantly.
He twisted his spear, extracting the crystal from its brain, whereupon he flicked his spear, accurately flinging the crystal into his backpack. His flawless maneuver was evidently the result of enormous practice and refinement.
At first, Lin Zhen needed to use his divine power to perform this move. However, after days of training, he now easily harvested crystals with the spear, even without using his spiritual power.
The monkey’s corpse dropped. Shi Lei, Ye Tiancheng, and the bearded man all noticed. Their eyes brightened at the sight.
“Lin Zhen, come quickly and save us!” cried Ye Tiancheng.
As Lin Zhen landed on the ground, he used the spear in his hand to rebound and launched himself back into the air. Two stabs later, two of the attacking monkeys lay dead.
“Swish, swish!”
Despite having acquired two crystals, Lin Zhen threw a chain towards the three of them, saying, “Quick! Climb up to the rooftop using this chain, I’ll hold them off! ”
The bearded man was fastest, dashing over in a few steps, and was the first to grab the chain and climb towards the rooftop.
Lin Zhen said nothing but kept the monkeys at bay with his spear.
At this moment, everyone seemed to be moving at their top speed. Despite appearing exhausted earlier, Ye Tiancheng surprisingly overtook Shi Lei and became the second to climb up.
Shi Lei intentionally slowed down a bit, but once Ye Tiancheng was up, he
quickly followed suit.
While Lin Zhen was busy fighting with his spear, he found himself amidst a large group of monkeys. Normally, he would have to look everywhere for C-level or B-level Mutated Beasts, but here they were, a big group of them, coming straight to him – a chance to make a quick buck.
After landing, Lin Zhen shook his spear as a bunch of monkeys rushed over, crafting a storm of blood and gore within the monkey horde!
Monkey after monkey fell down. Shi Lei, the last one walking, was shocked at the sight before him.
Although these C-level Mutated Beasts were not very strong, they were quite fast. It required outstanding speed and reflexes to battle with them and the few of them had trouble dealing with these creatures. But in front of Lin Zhen, it was like slaughtering chickens, in the blink of an eye, six or seven of them were down.
There were less than twenty monkeys in this group and already a third of them had been eliminated. Monkeys, being intelligent creatures, became even smarter after mutation, as smart as a child. Knowing they were outmatched, they instantly squeaked and retreated, refusing to confront Lin Zhen any further.
Humans were tasty, but the man before them was evidently a tough nut to crack. The monkeys were not stupid enough to risk their lives needlessly.
Seeing that the massive Monkey King was leading the monkeys to retreat, Lin Zhen didn’t pursue them any further.
Even though the massive Monkey King would surely be worth a lot, Lin Zhen was not completely sure he could kill it amongst a horde of monkeys, let alone with Shi Lei and others around. Despite being short on money, Lin Zhen understood the importance of keeping a low profile.
Ignoring the monkeys, Lin Zhen stepped back a few steps, then charged and propelled himself into the air, reaching the third-floor height.
Grabbing the chain in mid-air, Lin Zhen climbed up to the rooftop even faster than the monkeys.
Once Lin Zhen climbed up, he found Shi Lei, Ye Tiancheng, and the bearded man were all spread out on the ground, their chests were heaving heavily.
Upon seeing Lin Zhen, a breathless Ye Tiancheng waved his hand and said, “Lin
Zhen, got any food or water? I’m starving.”
Lin Zhen rummaged through his bag. He had some dried meat and vitamin gummies, though not many were left. He gave away the majority of them to the other three.
He also had some water, albeit melted from snow. They were in the Wilderness Area, having something to drink was already a luxury. As martial artists, they wouldn’t pick at such minor details.
From the bag, Lin Zhen handed out water, dried meat, and the vitamin gummies, all the while the three of them stared intensely at his bag.
The bearded man had a bag, but there was pretty much nothing inside. Shi Lei’s bag had a hole and was likely empty. He didn’t seem to have many spoils of war. The situation was even worse for Ye Tiancheng, he didn’t even possess a bag.
It seemed like their half-month stay in Yi Lan County had not been particularly pleasant.
When they saw Lin Zhen’s bulging bag, the glimpse they had when he opened it just a crack was enough to spot something shining inside.
The bearded man’s eyes lit up. Although he only had a fleeting glance, his long-standing experience outside informed him of what was inside.
Those shiny things were crystals of Mutated Beasts. And there were quite a few
of them!
This kid’s quite rich!
