Wild metal music blared from the SUV's speakers as it sped through the desolate landscape. A map of the Iron Sand Desert revealed numerous "oases," all located beyond the Fifth Ring Road of the old city, commonly referred to as the suburbs.
The names of these oases are closely tied to suburban industries. For example, Auto City Oasis, where Gabe Steele works, was once an automotive industrial park.
The nearest city to Auto City is called Scavenger City.
"Boom!"
The SUV raced across cracked asphalt, speeding past abandoned gas stations. "Radiated beasts rioting?" Gabe wondered aloud, gripping the steering wheel with one hand while scanning the Hunter's Daily with the other.
The Hunter's Daily was owned by Walter King, a former factory manager turned desert tycoon.
The headlines screamed, "Urban Riot, Multiple Oases Under Beast Attack."
Of course, news is often exaggerated, but since the humans and the irradiated beasts switched roles, the oasis has remained unattacked for several years.
However, the clear photos of beasts devouring humans suggested that this attack wasn't fabricated.
"There are two possibilities," Gabe mused, tapping his fingers lightly on the steering wheel. "First, a new Beast King has emerged in a certain city. Once born, a Beast King must expand its genetic territory to sustain its life system."
As a veteran mechanical hunter, Gabe understood that an S-level Beast King wasn't just a radiated monster but also a radiated ecosystem. Without resolving this ecological crisis, an S-level Beast King would be unstoppable.
"Another possibility is that this is a precursor to the Hydra Campaign."
According to past life memories, in the expansion pack [Outpost Warfare: Hydra Destruction], a dozen Beast Kings appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. They decimated the factory ecosystem and captured the city that never sleeps. Although they suffered heavy casualties from the Mother City's space-based weapons during the final siege, they eventually faded into darkness.
But this also sets the stage for the next series of plot events.
"In the Iron Sands Desert right now, all wild Beast Kings are being targeted by the factory. Even if they still exist, they're unlikely to show up. The latter possibility is more likely."
Gabe saw the war-free Iron Sands Desert as the perfect place to level up. He couldn't give it up. The Knights, constantly stirring up trouble, were an enemy standing in his way.
"We can cooperate with the factory, but we need to find an opportunity to do so. Words aren't enough."
"You need to raise your main class to at least level 20, the standard of a high-level Knights combatant, to be able to defend yourself."
"With the path you're taking, if you can successfully reach level 20, you'll have at least the full combat power of the first rank. Even against the Knights' core knights, you'll be able to fight them."
Gabe's eyes flickered slightly, and he swung the steering wheel sharply to the right. Ahead, a pile of dilapidated wooden planks blocked the toll booth, with figures lurking behind them.
"Radiated Zombies, old acquaintances."
Ten years ago, Scavenger City wasn't called Scavenger City, but Hope City. It was home to numerous refugees, protected by countless mechanical hunters.
Then, the beast tide began, transforming the refugees into irradiated creatures called 'Radiated Zombies,' which roamed the city's periphery.
These 'Radiated Zombies' possessed a degree of intelligence and were themselves small radiation sources. The greater their numbers, the greater the radiation's power. When their numbers reached a certain point, the radiation coalesced into a single mass, increasing not only the strength and speed of standard 'Radiated Zombies' but also creating specialized species like 'Fire Zombies, Weapon Zombies, Trackers, and Wild Dancers.
As expected, as the SUV pulled off the road and into the muddy terrain, a swarm of 'Radiated Zombies' blocked the way.
Aside from their reddened complexions and bloodshot eyes, these 'Radiated Zombies' looked indistinguishable from living humans. The radiation allowed them to retain a unique physical vitality, rather than relying on biochemical mechanisms.
Gabe floored the accelerator and, without hesitation, rammed the car forward, the thick steel-plated front bumper acting like a bowling ball, colliding with four or five at a time.
After undergoing the Level 3 [Mechanical Modification], the vehicle's body performance became even more ferocious, making it better suited for desert survival.
Several irradiated zombies attempted to grab the tires, but as soon as they did, the steel-tracked wheels ground them into a pulp.
[You have killed irradiated zombies, experience +1]
[You have killed irradiated zombies, experience +1]
[You have killed irradiated zombies, experience +1]
A series of +1s flashed across the system panel.
Gabe's expression remained calm. In his previous life's memories, this was child's play, and in his previous life, it was even less noteworthy.
Upon entering the Fifth Ring Road of Scavenger City, Gabe immediately sought a place to hide his vehicle.
Charging in brazenly like a drone squad would be tantamount to seeking death.
Gabe parked the vehicle in a safe area outside the Fifth Ring Road, not because he feared the smell of blood would attract wild animals, but because of the off-road vehicle itself.
Irradiated beasts are divided into two categories: irradiated beasts and mechanized biochemical beasts. The former feed on energy, while the latter consume metal and electronic components.
After more than ten years of hunting, the beasts that can now occupy a corner of the urban circle are undoubtedly tough guys.
To deal with such formidable opponents, the current mechanical hunter method is to first call in factory bombers to bombard the area, then deploy artillery, tanks, and heavy machine guns, layering the defenses and gradually closing in.
This approach is safe, but it also eliminates the need for "hunting."
Over a decade ago, the classic mechanical hunters used only cold weapons, lacking even implants.
Without electronic signals, they naturally didn't have to worry about being detected by these mechanical monsters; they could lurk in the shadows and kill with a single strike.
This approach was beneficial in every way, except for its high mortality rate, which led to the gradual demise of the classic mechanical hunters.
Gabe's current approach is a variation of the classic hunting method.
He set down the large bag on his back, and without any further manipulation, four human heads emerged from it, looked around, and then barked.
"Silence!"
Gabe gave them a warning look, and the human-headed dogs immediately howled, their faces aggrieved.
"Remember what I told you before?"
"Awoo, awoo!"
Gabe shook the package again, sending the robotic ants flying.
These ants had been pre-programmed into 'tracking mode,' their sensor modules interconnected with the human-headed dogs. Wherever the human-headed dogs went, they followed.
"Then go,"
Gabe commanded, and the four human-headed dogs, like huskies on a whirlwind, plunged into the concrete jungle.
Gabe then pulled out a tablet computer from an older civilization and opened it. On the map, four yellow dots moved erratically in four directions.
"Activate biological mode."
"Biological mode activated," a cold electronic voice rang out.
At the tails of the four human-headed dogs, a cone-like object slowly began to spin, its influence causing the sensors, neural shunts, and chemical catalysts attached to it to connect.
Activating the biological implant in the concrete jungle was like entering a special place of vibrant lights and revelry, where a special group of people greeted you with "Brother, come play," or "Sir, what's your number?"
Generally speaking, this would lead to quite dramatic consequences.
Gabe hit the Enter key again, and the "radiation detectors" on the four human-headed dogs lit up.
A series of numbers rapidly shifted around the yellow dot the human-headed dogs had transformed into.
Radiation beasts are generally classified by their radiation level, which is divided into seven levels: F, E, D, C, B, A, and S. Rumor has it that there are even higher-level beastmasters above S, but they have never appeared.
The baseline for F-level is 10 radiation points, E-level is 100, D-level is 1000, and so on.
The radiated corpse he had previously smashed into a pulp was the lowest level, F-level.
Players categorize monsters as F-level minions, E-level elite monsters, D-level mini-bosses, and C-level bosses for early bosses.
The highest-level monster the original owner had killed was a C-level reaper, resembling a heavily armored, bladed warrior two men tall. Its twin scythes could easily slice through the hull of a heavy tank, swinging at speeds approaching Mach 1.
After the original owner killed it, he stayed in bed for a whole month.
This was also the highest-level mechanical biochemical beast that the original owner had killed after more than ten years as a mechanical hunter.
Gabe's trip was just for upgrading, and he had no intention of fighting against C-level beasts.
If he really encountered a boss of this level, what else could he do—
of course, he would give it a dog's life.
Soon, one of the human-headed dogs began to turn around and rushed back frantically.
The number behind it was fixed at 141.
This is an E-level beast, the species is unknown, but the level is just right.
It is just right to use it to sacrifice the knife.
Gabe turned off the computer and slowly pulled out the red unicorn from the knife box.
The red knife does not see blood, but it is really red when it sees blood.
(End of this chapter)