The next morning, Qi Yuan took the modified Death Reaper from Hong Cang and found that it was almost twice as heavy as before. Fortunately, he had the tier 1 Steel Strength, so it was not too strenuous for him to control a sniper rifle that weighed almost a hundred pounds.
"Are you preparing to leave Blackstone Town?" Hong Cang suddenly asked.
Qi Yuan nodded and did not choose to hide it. A tier 4 evolver standing in front of him gave him a silent sense of oppression.
"Where are you going?"
Qi Yuan hesitated for a moment. He suddenly felt a faint sense of danger, as if this simple question was a question of death.
"I'm going to take a look at the gathering points around the Black Steel Shelter."
After saying that, the sense of danger disappeared instantly. Qi Yuan, who did not know that he had walked on the edge of death, almost thought that it was just an illusion.
"Be careful on the road. If you reach tier 3, you can try to apply to enter the Black Steel Shelter." Hong Cang smiled.
"Thank you!
If there's a chance, I will apply. "
Qi Yuan rode on the Steel Wolf and quickly left under Hong Cang's gaze. When he saw Qi Yuan disappear from his sight, Hong Cang silently turned around and prepared to leave.
"You actually wanted to kill a Tier 1 Wild Hunter just now!"
Su Li appeared at the gate and looked at Hong Cang with a playful expression.
"This is not like you. Could it be that after Qi Yuan met Tanqiu yesterday, something happened between the two of them, so you're jealous?"
Hong Cang's breathing stagnated. He looked at Su Li expressionlessly and said:
"Don't forget, in order to modify that robot, you sold the next ten years to Tanqiu!"
"So what!" Su Li whistled indifferently.
"Tanqiu's looks are not bad. He has a chest and a butt. Selling to him for ten years is not a loss!
My kidneys can take it! "
Hong Cang resisted the urge to punch Su Li and took a deep breath.
"I will pass on your words to Tanqiu without changing them!"
After saying that, Hong Cang turned around and left. If he didn't leave now, he was afraid that he would make a move and destroy Blackstone Town in a huge battle.
Su Li's face stiffened, and he shouted at his back, "Why did you complain?
Do you still have any martial virtues?! "
Master Luo and Situ stood side by side by the window. They narrowed their eyes as they watched Qi Yuan disappear.
"If I told you that Qi Yuan will become a phase-4 evolutionary one day, would you believe me?"
"Rank three is possible, but rank four …" Si Tu paused for a moment before continuing, "It's as difficult as ascending to the heavens!"
Master Luo stroked his sparse beard and said meaningfully, "You've been in Blackstone Town for too long. The sky in your eyes is getting lower and lower!"
Si Tu fell silent and then sighed.
"Yes, my goal was to become the leader of a shelter. I didn't expect that after so many years, I still haven't left Blackstone Town, but a phase-3 has become the sky above my head!"
In the wastelands, Qi Yuan piloted the modified Iron Wolf and sped towards the Black Steel Shelter. Yang Qi was like an earth dragon sprinting through the air.
Occasionally, there would be wandering hunters who were attracted by the roar of the engine. After seeing Qi Yuan's Death Reaper, they all chose to retreat silently.
Whether it was the motorcycle or the Death Reaper, they were both symbols of strength. Weak people could not have these things. It was too risky to attack someone who had both at the same time.
However, the insectoids in the wilderness weren't as smart as the hunters in the wilderness. Of the two Class 2 insectoids that tried to ambush them, one of them had its body pierced by Qi Yuan's blind snipe, while the other had its head blown off by Butcher's shot.
Qi Yuan could easily kill a normal phase-2 insectoid.
The new check-in areas had been refreshed. They were all close to the Black Steel Shelter, but they were further away from each other than the three in Blackstone Town.
Before he reached the rendezvous point, Qi Yuan sensed the location of a check-in point. Compared to the other check-in points near the rendezvous point, this one was the furthest away. It was like a wild one.
Qi Yuan drove the Iron Wolf and stopped at the edge of a swamp full of black thorns.
The dark swamp and black thorns, coupled with a faint rotten smell, made the surrounding environment seem oppressive and dull.
"The check-in point is in the middle of the swamp, and it's even underground. What kind of weird check-in point is this?"
Looking at the bubbling swamp, Qi Yuan could not help but complain. If the map did not indicate that this was a swamp, he would have rushed in with the Iron Wolf.
Although extraordinary abilities were powerful, they were not omnipotent. At the very least, Qi Yuan did not have a good way to deal with this huge swamp.
Qi Yuan casually picked up a rock and threw it with force.
With the buff of Rank 1 Steel Strength, he easily threw a head-sized rock dozens of meters into the swamp.
* Rumble!
Rumble! *
Filthy mud splashed out from the center of the swamp, and the rock sank into the swamp with bubbles.
"I wonder how many insectoids are hiding in here!"
Qi Yuan frowned. The swamp in front of him was not all sticky mud. There were also some hard ground, like small islands dotting the center of the swamp.
In the swamp, apart from the black thorns, there were also some twisted trees, marking a rugged path that could barely be stepped on.
"If I want to go deeper into the swamp, I'll have to find a guide who is familiar with the terrain here," Qi Yuan thought silently.
Suddenly, Qi Yuan noticed that in the swamp not far in front of him, a piece of dead wood covered in mud slowly floated up and approached him.
"Crocodile!"
Qi Yuan narrowed his eyes at the approaching piece of dead wood that was trying to ambush him. It was actually a crocodile that lived in the swamp.
"Just a small part of its body above the water's surface is close to a meter long. The crocodiles here are not small!"
Qi Yuan casually commented, and then took out the Butcher from his waist. Death Harvest's bullets were limited, and could not be wasted. Before leaving, Master Luo had given him quite a number of Butcher's bullets.
The Butcher's ferocious muzzle was pointed at the disguised crocodile. Just as it was about to ambush him, Qi Yuan pulled the trigger.
* Bang! *
The Butcher's unique gunshot resounded through the swamp. A gray bullet shot out from the muzzle and struck the crocodile's head as it surfaced from the water. It penetrated the protection of the leather armor and sank deep into its body.
Although the Swamp Crocodile had rank 2 defense and hard leather armor, it still paid the price for its recklessness in the face of the Butcher and Annihilation Warhead's attack.
The bullet blasted a bowl-sized hole in the crocodile's leather armor, and dark red blood gushed out. Qi Yuan even saw the bullet deeply embedded in the crocodile's hard skull.
Hualala!
The Swamp Crocodile rolled violently in pain. Realizing that the food in front of it was very dangerous, it hurriedly dived into the mud.
The attack from Qi Yuan's Annihilation Warhead heavily injured the Swamp Crocodile in one shot.
"It didn't die in one shot."
Looking at the rolling swamp, Qi Yuan frowned slightly. He was not very satisfied with the result of this shot.
"It's at least rank 2 defense, and the Swamp Crocodile's leather armor is too thick. It's almost equivalent to having an additional defensive ability. It's just that the Butcher's combination with the Annihilation Warhead is indeed a bit lacking. If it's combined with armor-piercing bullets, I should be able to kill it in one shot."
"Well, if I don't use armor-piercing bullets, I should be able to kill it in one shot with Death Harvest!
I just don't know how many more Swamp Crocodiles are hiding in there. Otherwise, I can think of a way to check out the checkpoint in the center of the swamp. "
The surge of injured Swamp Crocodiles hadn't completely subsided when new movements came from the depths of the swamp. More Swamp Crocodiles emerged. Half of their bodies were hidden in the swamp, revealing pairs of brown eyes. They stared at Qi Yuan who was standing on the shore and slowly approached him.
Qi Yuan took a cursory glance and found the traces of nearly ten Swamp Crocodiles.
"There are so many Swamp Crocodiles. This checkpoint is half dead!"
Qi Yuan shook his head. If there were only two or three Swamp Crocodiles, he could still think of a way, but the number now exceeded the limit of what he could deal with. If he rashly entered the swamp, he would only become food for the Swamp Crocodiles.
"I'll go to the other checkpoints and try it out first. When I master a few more abilities, I'll come to this checkpoint to explore!"
Qi Yuan glanced at the dozen or so Swamp Crocodiles that were slowly approaching and retreated a distance.
For Qi Yuan, the most dangerous part of the Swamp Crocodiles wasn't their strong defense and Death Bite, but their home turf. The swamp that could completely swallow people was the reason why he had to stop.
Otherwise, no matter how many Swamp Crocodiles there were, as long as they dared to climb up, Death Harvest would kill them with one shot.
After Qi Yuan retreated a distance, the Swamp Crocodiles in the swamp suddenly rolled, as if a group of Swamp Crocodiles were fighting each other.
Soon, blood gushed out from the depths of the swamp. The heavily injured Swamp Crocodile was dragged out from the depths of the swamp by its companions and then eaten.
An injured companion turned into food in an instant. The ferocity of the Swamp Crocodiles was evident.
Qi Yuan silently glanced at the swamp that was slowly calming down. A light flashed in his eyes as he began to understand one thing.
There was no need to kill these Swamp Crocodiles. As long as they were injured, the other Swamp Crocodiles would follow the smell of blood and come to eat!
If these Swamp Crocodiles were really that ferocious, it would be much easier to deal with them!
Just as Qi Yuan was thinking about how to deal with these Swamp Crocodiles, the roar of engines came from afar, and it was getting closer and closer.
"Someone's coming!
There's more than one! "
Qi Yuan's expression changed slightly, and he quickly held Death Harvest in his hand.
In the wilderness, every Wilderness Hunter was a hunter, but they were also prey!
Four speeding motorcycles soon appeared in his field of vision, quickly approaching the swamp.
Qi Yuan pointed the muzzle of Death Harvest at a forty-five-degree angle to the ground. This was a common greeting gesture used by Wilderness Hunters. It could tell the other party that he had no ill intentions, and if the other party took the initiative to attack, he could immediately raise the muzzle and counterattack.
Perhaps they had discovered Qi Yuan's trail, as the four motorcycles stopped 200 meters away from Qi Yuan.
The newcomers did not attack rashly. After one of them waved his hand to indicate that he had no ill intentions, the two of them walked towards Qi Yuan on foot.
One of the two people who came over was bare-handed and did not carry any weapons. The other person's arm looked extremely thick from afar. Only when he walked closer did he realize that it was a black metal mechanical arm.
The two of them stopped about three meters away from Qi Yuan, right at the edge of a melee attack.
The bare-handed person maintained a warm smile.
"We're all Hunters from the Iron Chariots. I'm Nie Xiu, and he's Jia Tao. How should I address you, brother?"
"Qi Yuan."
"So it's Brother Qi Yuan. You look a little unfamiliar. You must have come from another gathering point."
Nie Xiu said with a smile, "Brother Qi, don't misunderstand. I don't mean anything by it. As this place is close to the Black Steel Shelter and has a Hunter's Guild stronghold, many Wilderness Hunters rush over from other places every day. It's the same for us, but we came a few years earlier than you."
Hunter's Guild!
This was the second time Qi Yuan had heard the name of this organization from other Wilderness Hunters.
Many large organizations did not have a friendly attitude toward Wilderness Hunters. This was evident from the threshold set by the Black Steel Shelter. The inside and outside of the shelter were two completely different worlds. It seemed like only organizations like the Hunter's Guild would not care about their origins and open their doors to Wilderness Hunters.
Nie Xiu glanced at the backseat of Qi Yuan's motorcycle. Qi Yuan had cut off the entire head of the Class 2 Bug Beast that had been killed by Death Reaper. It was casually tied to the back of the motorcycle with a rope. The fresh blood had yet to dry completely.
With Nie Xiu's eyesight, he could tell at a glance that this was a Class 2 Bug Beast that had just died.
The smile on Nie Xiu's face became even brighter. Wilderness Hunters who dared to cross the wilderness alone and approach the Black Steel Shelter were all pretty strong. Otherwise, they would not have made it here alive.
"The few of us have joined forces to take on a mission to clear the swamp. I wonder if Brother Qi is interested in joining us? The reward for this mission is forty thousand dollars. After we complete it, we can split the remaining reward equally after deducting the cost of the mission."
"No problem!"
Qi Yuan unexpectedly agreed. Beside him, Jia Tao's face suddenly darkened as he rejected Nie Xiu's suggestion directly.
"No, the reward for this mission is only forty thousand dollars. After deducting the cost of purchasing potions and battle losses, each of us will not get more than five thousand dollars even if we complete the mission. I don't agree to adding more people!"
Nie Xiu frowned slightly, seemingly displeased as he tried to persuade him.
"One more person won't make much difference in the reward. Moreover, the terrain of the swamp is complicated. Brother Qi's participation will reduce a lot of the risks!"
"No, I definitely won't agree to strangers joining the team. The four of us are enough to clear the swamp together. An additional stranger will only increase the danger."
Qi Yuan narrowed his eyes as he watched the two quarreling. He did not let his guard down because of this. Death Reaper was already planted on the ground, but his right hand was still near the Butcher.
If it were not for the existence of the checkpoint, he would have rejected this stranger's invitation long ago.
After the four of them arrived, Qi Yuan was keenly aware that there was a strange change in the checkpoint. If he chose to leave and wait for the other party to finish clearing the swamp, the checkpoint might disappear.
This was a kind of warning from the unseen world, a bit like the ability of the Mysterious Realm. Although it was very vague, Qi Yuan sensed the existence of this message.
It was like a warning from the Talent Tree. Every check-in point was a trial. The goal of the trial was either strength or wisdom. If he wanted to avoid difficulties and reap the benefits of others, he would only make the check-in point disappear.
Nie Xiu and Jia Tao argued for a long time before finally persuading Jia Tao. However, Jia Tao's eyes were still full of hostility when he looked at Qi Yuan.
"I'm sorry. This brother of mine has a sensitive personality. He made a fool of himself in front of you," Nie Xiu said apologetically.
"It's okay, I understand!" Qi Yuan smiled, indicating that he did not take it to heart.
Nie Xiu nodded and waved his hand to signal the two people waiting in the distance to come over.
When the two of them came closer, Nie Xiu gave a simple introduction. Qi Yuan then realized that the two of them were both Grade Two Extraordinaires. One of them was called Sun Ye, and his weapon was the same as his, a large-caliber revolver. The other person was nicknamed Snake Demon. There were faint green scales on his face, and his eyes were not like those of an ordinary person. Instead, they were like the vertical pupils of a snake.
The four of them were originally hunters from the Iron Chariots gathering point. Moreover, they had already registered with the Hunter's Guild, but they were not a fixed hunter team. They were only temporarily put together to accept the mission of clearing the swamp.