The wild metal rock blared from the off-road vehicle.
If one had a map of the Iron Sand Desert, they would find that 'oases' are scattered like stars, all located beyond the fifth ring road of the old cities, commonly known as suburbs.
The names of these oases are also closely linked to suburban industries, such as the Automobile City Oasis where Gao Gong resides, which was once an automotive industrial park.
The city nearest to Automobile City is called Scavenger City.
'Boom!'
An off-road vehicle sped wildly over the cracked asphalt road, dashing through one abandoned toll gas station after another.
"Radiation beast uprising?"
Gao Gong multitasked, one hand gripping the steering wheel while the other swiftly skimmed through the 'Hunter Daily.'
'Hunter Daily' is one of the businesses owned by a former factory manager, now desert tycoon, Wang Tian.
The headline today was 'City Riots, Multiple Oases Under Beast Tide Attack.'
Of course, news tends to exaggerate, but ever since humans switched roles with radiation beasts, it indeed had been a few years since an oasis had been attacked.
Yet the clear photos of beasts devouring people—at least this time the beast attacks were not fake news.
"Two possibilities," Gao Gong lightly tapped the steering wheel with his fingers, "First, a new beast king has been born in a city. Once born, a beast king must expand its genetic territory to sustain its life system."
As a veteran mechanical hunter, Gao Gong certainly understood that an S-Level Beast King is not just a radiation monster; it forms a radiation ecology. Without solving this ecological crisis, an S-Level Beast King cannot be killed.
"The other possibility is that this is a precursor to the Hydra Battle."
According to memories from the previous era, in the expansion pack [Outpost War: Hydra Destruction Battle], a dozen or so beast kings emerged, seemingly out of nowhere, then quickly and devastatingly destroyed factory ecology and overran the Nightless City. Although they suffered heavy casualties during the final siege by the Mother City's space-based weapons, they eventually retreated into darkness.
Yet this also triggered a subsequent series of plot events.
"In the current Iron Sand Desert, all wild beast kings are being heavily targeted by factories; even if there are any, they remain hidden. The latter scenario seems more likely."
An Iron Sand Desert without war, in Gao Gong's eyes, is the best leveling ground. He wouldn't give this up, whereas the frequently disruptive Knight Order remains a foe in his path.
"Cooperation with the factory is possible, but a chance to collaborate must be found, as mere words are not credible."
"The main profession level must be at least 20, reaching the level of an advanced combatant in the Knight Order to ensure self-preservation."
"With my chosen path, reaching level 20 smoothly means reaching at least Tier 1 Full Level combat power, and even facing off against the Knight Order's core knights wouldn't be an impossible battle either."
Gao Gong's eyes gleamed as he quickly turned the steering wheel right. Ahead, a barricade made of old wooden planks blocked the road before a toll station, shadowy figures looming behind it.
"Radiation corpses, old acquaintances indeed."
Ten years ago, Scavenger City wasn't called Scavenger City; it was called Hope City, where a large number of refugees lived, protected by countless mechanical hunters.
Then the beast tide began, and the refugees were transformed into radiation creatures known as 'Radiation Corpses' scattered around the city's outskirts.
These radiation corpses possessed a certain level of wisdom, acting as small radiation sources themselves. The more numerous they were, the stronger the radiation became. Reaching a certain number, the radiation would form a field, enhancing the power and speed of ordinary radiation corpses, sometimes even giving birth to special varieties like Flaming Radiation Corpses, Weapon Radiation Corpses, Trackers, and Wild Dancers.
As expected, the moment the off-road vehicle swerved off the highway onto the muddy terrain, a group of radiation corpses rushed over.
Apart from their reddish complexion and bloodshot eyes, these radiation corpses looked no different from the living, with the power of radiation preserving a unique bodily vitality within them.
Instead of adopting biochemical mode.
Gao Gong floored the gas pedal, plowing through without hesitation. The thick steel-plated bumper of the vehicle acted like a bowling ball, hitting four or five at a time.
The car, modified with lv3 [Mechanical Transformation], exhibited wilder performance, better suited for desert survival.
Several radiation corpses tried to grab the tires, only for their hands to be minced into pulp by the pure steel-tracked wheels.
[You've killed a Radiation Zombie, experience +1]
[You've killed a Radiation Zombie, experience +1]
[You've killed a Radiation Zombie, experience +1]
The system panel was spammed with a series of +1 notifications.
Gao Gong's expression remained calm; in the original host's memory, this was child's play, and in his past life's memory, it wasn't worth mentioning.
Upon entering the inner five rings of Scavenger City, Gao Gong immediately sought a place to hide the vehicle.
Heading in as boldly as a drone squadron would be suicide.
Gao Gong parked the car at a safe spot outside the five rings, not out of fear of the blood scent attracting beasts, but because it attracted the beasts, the off-road vehicle itself was the lure.
Radiation beasts are divided into two main types: radiation beasts and mechanical bio-beasts. The former feed on energy, while the latter consume metal and electronic components.
After over a decade of hunting, any beast that can occupy a corner of the urban circle is undoubtedly a tough nut to crack.
And to deal with such tough nuts, the current approach of Mechanical Hunters is to first call in the factory's bombers to bomb the area, then deploy artillery, tanks, and heavy machine guns, blocking layer by layer, advancing step by step.
This way, it's safe, but "hunting" is out of the question.
However, the Classical Stream Mechanical Hunters from more than a decade ago only used cold weapons, and even their bodies had no implants.
No electronic signals were emitted, so there was no worry of being discovered by these mechanical monsters, allowing for shadowy ambushes and one-hit kills.
This approach had everything good about it, with only one problem: the mortality rate was too high, so the Classical Stream Mechanical Hunters gradually withdrew from the stage of history.
The current approach of Gao Gong is a variant of the Classical Stream hunting method.
He put down the big bag behind him, and without his operation, four human heads popped out, looking around, then started barking "Woof woof woof."
"Silence!!"
Gao Gong gave them a warning look, and these human-headed dogs immediately whimpered "Awooo," looking aggrieved.
"Do you remember everything I told you before?"
"Awoo awooo!"
Gao Gong gave the bag another shake, dislodging the Machine Ants as well.
These ants had been preset to "tracking mode," with their sensor modules interconnected with the human-headed dogs. Wherever the human-headed dog ran, they followed.
"Then go."
Upon Gao Gong's command, the four human-headed dogs dashed like unleashed huskies into the concrete jungle.
Gao Gong also took out an Old Civilization Era tablet, turned it on, and on the map, four yellow dots were moving erratically in four different directions.
'Activate Biochemical Mode.'
'Biochemical Mode activated.'
An indifferent electronic voice sounded.
At the tails of the four human-headed dogs, a cone-shaped object slowly began to spin. Influenced by this, the sensing components, neural diverter components, and chemical catalyst hung on the cone all entered connection mode.
Opening the bio-implant in the concrete jungle is like arriving at a special place drenched in neon lights, where a group of special people invites you with, "Come play, brother," or asks, "Which number would you like, sir?"
Generally speaking, this would lead to quite stimulating consequences.
Gao Gong tapped the enter key again, causing the "radiation detectors" on the four human-headed dogs to light up.
Around the yellow dots that the human-headed dogs had become, a series of numbers quickly fluctuated.
Radiation Beasts generally have their danger level determined by their Radiation Level, divided into seven levels: F, E, D, C, B, A, S. It's rumored that there's a higher level Beast King above S, but it's never been seen.
Among them, the F-level baseline is 10 radiation points, E-level is 100 points, D-level 1000 points, and so on.
The radiation corpse he previously smashed into a mush was the lowest F-level.
According to player classification, F-level is a small soldier, E-level is an elite monster, D-level a mini-boss, C-level a pioneering boss...
The highest level monster killed by the original owner was a C-level Reaper, which appeared like a heavily armored blade warrior two people tall. Its pair of scythes could easily cut through the shell of a heavy tank, and its slashing speed was close to Mach 1.
After the original owner took it down, he lay in bed for a whole month.
This was also the highest level Mechanical Bio-Beast the original owner killed in his ten years as a Mechanical Hunter.
Gao Gong's current trip is just for leveling up, with no intention of confronting C-level Beasts.
If he really encountered such a level of boss, what else could be done—
Of course, you'd sacrifice a dog's life to it.
Soon, one of the human-headed dogs began to change direction and rushed back furiously.
The numbers behind it froze at 141 points.
This is an E-level Beast, species unknown, but the level is just right.
Perfect to christen the blade.
Gao Gong shut down the computer and slowly drew the Red Unicorn from the sheath.
The red sword is unseen without blood; once it sees blood, it turns true crimson.