Gabe Steele crouched in a sea of metallic flowers, nearly a meter tall, their vibrant colors reflecting light off their shiny surfaces. Rather than a tranquil field, it resembled a testing ground for electric speakers. Though seemingly silent, low-frequency noise constantly harassed him.
The blooming metal flowers emitted low-frequency noise, while the unopened buds emitted infrasound.
The human body can tolerate sounds between 20 and 20,000 Hz. Anything below 20 Hz is infrasound, which can stimulate the brain and cause tension, anxiety, and panic. If it resonates with internal organs, it can even rupture blood vessels and cause death.
Gabe felt a strong sense of discomfort amidst this, but he endured it silently.
One major reason why classical mechanical hunters avoid implants is that radioactive beasts are adept at detecting sounds and signals. Once detected by them, hunting becomes impossible.
This field of metal flowers masked the sound of Gabe's internal motors.
At this point, Gabe could only rely on the original owner's hunting experience.
The transformation between prey and hunter can sometimes be fleeting.
Soon, Gabe heard footsteps and—the screams of dogs!
The human-headed dogs had a maximum speed set at 23 km/h. It wasn't that they didn't want to go faster, but any faster would cause the scrap parts in the scrap yard to explode.
Therefore, each human-headed dog was accompanied by a dozen robotic ants. Inside, they contained a detonator. The mechanism was simple: two metal plates connected at the top, a circuit connected to an electric detonator, and a small bottle of energy mineral extract at the bottom.
This extract was unstable and would explode upon stimulation. While the explosion was weak, only one-tenth the strength of a hand grenade, it was enough to buy the human-headed dogs time to escape.
As expected, as the footsteps drew closer, explosions rang out in quick succession.
This must be a four-legged beast, as two robotic ants had just exploded simultaneously.
"Awoo, awoo, awoo, awoo..."
As expected, a metal dog with a human head leaped up from the needle-like grass, followed by a massive black shadow. Even from a distance, the temperature could be felt visibly rising.
"It's not a mechanized bio-beast, it's a radioactive beast. So it's—"
The black shadow behind it also leaped up, landing on the ground with a tremendous tremor.
Behind the human-headed dog was a proper dog head, its fist-sized eyes bloodshot as it glared fiercely at the human-headed dog.
It was a giant dog the size of a full-grown bull, its bones barely visible, its flesh throbbing with veins as thick as thumbs. Its teeth were already metalized, and its legs were thicker than a human thigh. With each breath, its abdomen shone with a noticeable glow, and smoke escaped from its mouth.
Name: Giant Radiation Dog
Radiation Level: E+
Health: 280/300
Stamina: 195/200
Bio-Energy: 312
Biological Attributes: Strength 22, Agility 10, Stamina 26, Intelligence 3, Perception 7
Skills: Bite lv6, Steel Claw lv7, High-Temperature Smoke lv4, Rage lv7
Notes: This is a good dog, much more normal than yours.
While its metal head doesn't express any emotion, its trembling mechanical legs reveal its fear.
Although its memory banks have been completely wiped clean after undergoing brainwashing on the operating table, it remains a fundamental unit of the Knights, possessing considerable combat intelligence. Leaping out of the jungle, it barely hesitated, charging straight for the flower fields, even turning back to bark provocatively.
The Radiation Dog froze for a moment, but its intelligence was only 3, and its nervous system's processing speed was quite slow. The shouting sent it into a rage, charging like a bull, charging headlong into the flower fields.
Semi-metallic petals and flowers fell, the low-frequency noise making it even more irritable. The calm hunter watched with aloof eyes, the micro-motors at its four joints straining to their limits.
The next moment, a figure exploded, and the Red Unicorn flashed with a dazzling light. Its heavy blade, like a chainsaw, plunged straight into the opponent's abdomen.
Its target was the glowing area on the abdomen, the radiation dog's radiation organ, its source of energy.
Gabe had previously tested it with scrap metal. The resistance created by the Red Unicorn cutting through metal was like a paring knife cutting an apple. However, when the tip of the blade penetrated the radiation dog's abdomen, it felt like a paring knife cutting pork. This proved that with the strength of the radiation dog's muscles, ordinary bullets would be impossible to penetrate.
But the Red Unicorn was Gabe's creation for this very moment. Few people know now that Aunt Hazel's deceased boyfriend was a classic mecha hunter, and all of his weapons were hand-forged by Aunt Hazel herself.
Gabe tensed his jaws, roared, and plunged the blade's tip in. With a twist of his wrist, he twisted the end of the handle with a forceful movement above the glowing area.
[You dealt 156 points of damage to the giant radioactive dog.]
[You used Brawl, inflicting a 'Vital Strike' on the target, severely wounded.]
It was clear that as the radiated organ fell, the fury in the dog's eyes suddenly faded, and it sank into a state of confusion after the incident.
Gabe thrust his sword across his shoulder, sinking the blade completely into the dog's waist, sending it crashing to the ground.
He then drew his sword, the tip of the blade piercing the dog's throat once again.
[You dealt 97 points of damage to the giant radioactive dog.]
[You used Brawl, inflicting a 'One Hit Kill' on the target, gaining +350 experience points.]
Gabe drew his sword once more, and the blood that splattered like hot water splashed across Gabe's coat, crackling.
"No wonder the classical mechanical hunter is called a madman. This feeling of being on the line between life and death is really exciting."
Gabe wiped the sweat from his forehead and shook the knife. The blade was red and smoking. The body temperature of the radioactive beast made the whole blade like a red-hot iron.
Capturing a Radonbeast and removing its radioactive organs is even more important than killing it. Once a Radonbeast dies, its vital systems cease functioning, and its radioactive organs, serving as a source of energy, will self-destruct.
While an E-Class Radonbeast's rank isn't high, it's been a while since anyone in Motor City has hunted a complete giant radioactive dog.
Expertly skin and dissect the Radonbeast, scooping out its valuable organs.
[You obtain an E-Class Bio-Energy Source: Radioactive Dog Liver]
[You obtain a whole dog hide]
[You obtain a whole dog tail]
[You obtain forty-two metal fangs]
[You obtain a dog whip]
Radonbeast meat is inedible, but the hide can be specially tanned to create leather clothing with even greater defense than standard body armor. The tail is also a superior biochemical material, and the metal fangs can be braided into ornaments to sell to colleagues. The dog whip is a must-have for the powerful in the City That Never Sleeps.
Gabe looked with some regret at the half-finished giant dog carcass. Actually, the bones of a radiated dog are also a good weapon material, at least stronger than steel. He only took a few long bones, leaving the rest to be dealt with.
"Let's go and see how your other brothers are doing."
The human-headed dog, previously trembling with fear, nearly trembling with fluid, now became cocky again, trotting over and kicking the corpse.
This was the benefit of choosing the 'Husky template.' This human-headed husky always teeters on the edge of death and has a very short memory.
Shortly after Gabe left, a small scavenger discovered the remaining half of the giant dog carcass and was immediately stunned.
This hunting method proved to be quite effective. In just three hours, Gabe had hunted two more radiated giant dogs and a mecha-bio-butterfly.
Perhaps it was because they had broken into the doghouse, or perhaps the human-headed dog had the +100 taunt aura of its kind, but three of the four radiated beasts were radiated dogs.
The remaining mechanical bio-butterfly was pierced through the vitals by Gabe just before it could crack the dog's head.
However, Gabe was unlucky this time, as the large, face-plate-sized "butterfly" exploded, dealing him 30 points of damage instead. Fortunately, after defeating the mechanical butterfly, his "Brawling" skill automatically leveled up.
Brawling Level 9: You are a combat expert, gaining +16% attack damage and 10% increased block damage reduction when using bare hands, blunt instruments, and metal knives.
"Such beautiful dog hide, practically undamaged, impossible!"
Aunt Hazel looked up, sizing him up with the same gaze she'd first acquainted herself with. After a long pause, she said, "Did you really go hunting?"
To her, the word "hunting" held a profound meaning, not something one might use with ordinary hands.
Gabe didn't respond, but instead flipped his pockets over, and a variety of precious organ fragments fell out.
"Radioactive dogs, mechanical butterflies, and, is this a grenade fruit?"
Aunt Hazel held a dark fruit in her hand. It was called a grenade fruit. It looked like a pine cone on the outside, but its skin was covered in metallic fragments. It secreted ammonia gas from within, and if stimulated, it would explode—but after being treated with a special potion, it could be used as a natural grenade.
"I picked it up on the road. I didn't dare pick too many, for fear they would explode."
Before being treated with potions, these grenade fruits were extremely unstable, exploding at the slightest collision. He only picked six, holding two himself and letting the head dogs each carry one of the remaining four.
Aunt Hazel didn't mind the mess, picking through the various scraps, but her tone was much more pleasant.
"I didn't expect that a brat like you still has some backbone."
"Or, you can't live in the city, so you just give up on yourself?"
Gabe smiled and said, "How much can these things be sold for if you sell them here?"
"Let's not talk about anything else. Just this complete E-level dog liver can't be sold for less than 800. The other odds and ends can be sold for about 4,000."
"I'll give you a 20% discount."
"You kid has lost your mind," Aunt Hazel said without raising her head, "Go find your big lover to sell it. This is a weapons shop."
"Don't worry, make a coat out of one of the dog skins, and leave me three grenade fruits. The rest of these materials will be your deposit."
Aunt Hazel took the note, glanced at it, and finally raised her head and said in surprise, "Are you really planning to do something big!?"
(End of this chapter)