It could render all abilities and weapons useless!
After hearing this, Yu and Li, who were sitting at the back, were clearly stunned. They had never heard of such a magical existence in this world.
However, Qi Yuan was deep in thought. Judging from Yu's arrangement, the rumor that Gray Robe spoke of was very likely true.
If the star energy stones didn't have such a miraculous effect, it would have been much easier to steal a few stones from the hands of the polluters who had occupied the old cities than to launch a clean-up operation like this.
Thinking that the old city might have such a magical stone, apart from being shocked, Qi Yuan quickly thought of his Talent Tree.
He wondered if Asterite could fuse with his Talent Tree?
If it could, what kind of ability or Talent would he awaken?
If he could obtain a powerful ability like Silence, Superpower Silence, or Negate, that would be great!
When they were less than a hundred kilometers away from the old city, Qi Yuan discovered a completely deformed jeep. Using area detection, Qi Yuan clearly "saw" the broken glass and twisted steel, as well as the bite marks left behind by teeth.
There was a broken corpse in the driver's seat, the blood had not completely dried up.
Qi Yuan's memory was very good. He immediately recognized that the corpse was a veteran rank 2 hunter. Before they set off, this person had even invited him to team up, but Qi Yuan rejected his invitation.
This jeep was a temporary team. Other than the rank 2 ability user who died in the driver's seat, there were definitely two to three other temporary members.
Where did the temporary members go?
After using area detection to scan the surroundings, he quickly discovered a few traces of battle, as well as dark red blood stains. There were no human or insectoid corpses!
It was very clear that some people had jumped out of the jeep when it was attacked, but they still couldn't escape the insectoid's attack.
To be able to kill a veteran rank 2 before he could even react, and then easily kill the other temporary members who were running away, this was at least a rank 4 insectoid!
An elite-rank insectoid!
After witnessing the remains of the elite-rank insectoid, the atmosphere in the jeep became silent again.
Most of the Hunters who were recruited this time were Tier 3 Hunters. There were only a few Tier 2 Hunters and Qi Yuan was the only Tier 1 Hunter.
In a temporary team, there would be at least two Tier 3 members. However, such a powerful team died halfway before even reaching the old city.
The bloody scene was like a warning to the Hunters who participated in the recruitment mission that this was the Blue Zone. This was no longer the territory ruled by humans. If they were unlucky, they might encounter a Rank 4 Elite Zerg Beast.
"Didn't the Black Steel Shelter's hunting team clean up yesterday?
Why are there still elite insectoids here! "Ruthless said with some lingering fear.
"Where do you think this is?
This is the blue zone! "Gray Robe said coldly.
"Even if the Black Steel Shelter's hunting team cleaned up, they wouldn't be able to kill all the insectoids above rank 3. At most, they wouldn't dare to come close for a short period of time. Otherwise, at least one-third of our group of Hunters would die halfway."
Qi Yuan's expression was serious. He didn't try to get out of the jeep to check or loot the crates. Instead, he turned a corner and went around the jeep, continuing to advance towards the old city.
Along the way, Qi Yuan used area detection to avoid a few waves of attacks from rank 3 insectoids. Fighting insectoids in such a place was definitely not a smart thing to do. Fresh blood, gunshots, and even energy fluctuations could attract elite insectoids.
After a long journey, when skyscrapers that soared into the sky came into view one after another, the four of them finally arrived at the mission's destination without any mishap — the old city!
"We're finally here!" Qi Yuan breathed a sigh of relief.
Since the old city was occupied by the polluters, there wouldn't be any insectoids. This was a tacit agreement between the insectoids and the polluters.
"Such tall buildings, how did the normal people of the old era do it!" Feather looked at the endless rows of magnificent city, his eyes filled with shock.
"It's a miracle!" Ruthless also muttered to himself.
Although they had seen the old city ruins in the wilderness, they had never seen skyscrapers of this scale and height. Compared to the small houses of the Iron Chariots that were buried underground, the skyscrapers here were so magnificent!
Gray Robe squinted and looked at the magnificent old city. Suddenly, he pointed at a building near the edge of the area and said.
"That building is our mission point. It's best if we can finish cleaning and occupying it before nightfall!"
The distance was too far, and the area detection couldn't reach it. Qi Yuan only observed the scale of the city and realized that it was impossible for the hunters recruited by Wolf's Teeth Hunt to occupy and clean the entire city. Even if each of them occupied a building, it would still be impossible.
Connecting it to the rumors of Asterite, Qi Yuan vaguely realized why Wolf's Teeth Hunt would recruit so many people into the old city. Their goal shouldn't be as simple as cleaning up the polluters.
Muffled gunshots drifted through the wind. Apparently, there were already people fighting with the polluters in the old city.
Although the polluters wouldn't be harmed by the light, part of their strength would be suppressed. Their instincts made them hate and even fear the light, so they rarely came out during the day. Those polluters who couldn't maintain their intelligence had always followed the instincts of beasts. Unless they felt danger approaching, even if they heard gunshots, they wouldn't take the initiative to attack. Nighttime was their home field.
If they couldn't complete the cleaning and occupation of the building during the day, the pressure of the battle would multiply when night fell. Those polluters hidden in every corner of the old city would join in this crazy hunt.
Feather took a deep breath. The mechanical arm in her right hand made a clicking sound. Metal parts were disassembled and reassembled. Soon, a Gatling gun about the size of her body was constructed. Six ferocious rotating barrels exuded a cold killing intent.
Gray Robe looked at Feather's Gatling arm and frowned slightly. Although this kind of gun was very powerful, it was too noisy. If they rashly fired in such a place, it would easily make the polluters outside the battle range feel threatened. It would also be easy to accidentally injure teammates.
Feather noticed Gray Robe's gaze and said indifferently, "If you can handle it, I won't fire at will."
Gray Robe nodded. This kind of temporary team was most afraid of encountering stupid teammates who didn't listen to orders and blindly acted recklessly.
Gray Robe glanced at Qi Yuan. Although it was rumored that Qi Yuan was strong in close combat and had Wolf's Teeth Hunt's endorsement, he still wanted to confirm Qi Yuan's strength before the real battle.
"If there are Stage 1 and Stage 2 polluters, can you handle them?"
"As long as there aren't too many of them, it won't be a problem," Qi Yuan said.
"You and Ruthless will deal with the polluters below Stage 3. Stage 3 polluters —" Gray Robe paused for a moment before continuing.
"If there is only one Stage 3 polluter, leave it to me. If there are two Stage 3 polluters, Feather, you'll have to pin down one of them."
"I'm fine with it, but this is my weapon. I'll definitely fire against Stage 3 polluters!" Feather said.
"Of course," Gray Robe said.
"If the polluters are too strong and exceed our limits, everyone will run for their lives. But I hope that before you run, you'd better warn the others."
After agreeing on the method of cooperation, the four of them found a hidden place on the edge of the city and hid the jeep before walking to their destination.
Walking on the desolate streets, Qi Yuan had a strange feeling in his heart as he looked at the rusty vehicles that had been abandoned on the streets. The original colors of the vehicles could not be seen clearly, and the stubbornly standing street lamps.
It was as if the city was just sleeping, and when it woke up, the lights would light up and humans would return. Everything was just an absurd dream.
"The ground is very clean. The polluters here seem to be very hygienic!" Qi Yuan said casually.
They looked along the street and found that not only was there not much dust in the wilderness, but there were also very few fallen leaves. It was as if someone regularly cleaned the place.
Gray Robe's heart sank.
Those low-level, bestial polluters that completely overwhelmed their rationality would obviously not clean the place. Only intelligent polluters would do that.
In the past, most of the polluters they encountered in the wilderness were unintelligent bestial polluters. These polluters had no vital points and were difficult to kill, but compared to intelligent polluters, they were much easier to deal with.
Although bestial polluters made up the majority of the polluters, intelligent polluters were the rulers of the polluters.
Not only could they control bestial polluters, they could use all kinds of human weapons, traps, and tricks. Their rationality could completely suppress their fear of light and attack during the day.
Since there were people cleaning the streets here, it meant that intelligent polluters were hiding here. They might be hiding in some dark corner, spying on them.
After Gray Robe reminded them, he took out the Bug Beast Detector to check, but he found that he could not detect any information. His expression became even more unsightly.
"The Bug Beast Detector has lost its effect. If it's not the interference of other mysterious forces, then it's the existence of Asterite that's affecting the Bug Beast Detector. Be careful of the polluters' sneak attacks!"
Feather and Li also took out the Bug Beast Detector that they carried with them. They tested it and found that there was no feedback.
Without the Bug Beast Detector, they were practically blind. They did not know if there were any traps or ambushes ahead.
Feather tried to activate the weapon in her hand. The six ferocious gun barrels slowly turned, which made her slightly relieved.
"The weapon can still be used. It's not affected by Asterite."
"Because we're not close enough to Asterite!" Gray Robe said in a low voice.
"Asterite's interference and suppression will weaken with distance. The Bug Beast Detector's anti-interference ability is the weakest, so it will lose its effect first. When we're close enough to Asterite, the gun will become a pile of scrap metal."
Feather took a deep breath. Although Asterite was extremely precious, in this dangerous old city, once she could not use her weapon, her strength would be reduced by eighty percent.
"Don't be afraid, I'm still here!" Li patted her mechanical left hand lightly.
"Will the polluters use Asterite against us?" Feather asked in a low voice.
"No!" Gray Robe shook his head.
"Asterite's interference and suppression is also effective against the polluters. Therefore, we don't have to worry about them using Asterite against us!"
The two of them were slightly relieved. If the polluters were not affected by Asterite, then it would be a real nightmare.
"Can Asterite suppress high-level ability users?" Qi Yuan suddenly asked.
"Probably not!" Gray Robe glanced at Qi Yuan and said calmly.
"As the level of ability increases, the stronger the ability user, the stronger their resistance to Asterite. In other words, if we're close to Asterite at the same time, your strength will be suppressed by ninety percent, Li will only be suppressed by seventy percent, and Feather and I will be suppressed by fifty percent."
The weaker one is, the more suppressed one is?
Qi Yuan thought silently.
My abilities are all obtained by lighting up the talent tree. Will they be affected by Asterite?
If I can be immune to Asterite's interference and suppression, just like how I'm immune to poison, then that will be interesting!
Li's mind was tense. He had the Perception Domain ability and could sense very slight movements. He walked at the very back of the group with Feather.
Gray Robe walked in the middle, his eyes constantly flashing with grey light, as if he was using some kind of ability.
Qi Yuan held the Beheader in his hand and walked at the very front of the group. Area detection was very useful in this kind of place. No matter if it was walls or other obstacles, nothing could block his vision.
Along the way, Qi Yuan had already discovered quite a few polluters sleeping in the darkness. He also saw pairs of beastly eyes hidden in the darkness, staring at his group.
Although there were no polluters on the desolate streets, there were polluters in almost every building in the surroundings. They were waiting, waiting for the night to fall, or waiting for the intelligent polluters' orders.
Li, who was walking at the very back, also noticed the movement of a polluter. He looked at a dark hole and whispered: "There's a polluter hiding in there!"
Qi Yuan used his [Area Detection] to "look" over. In a dark room, there was a little girl around seven or eight years old curled up. She was wearing a large red t-shirt that clearly didn't fit her body, and she was hugging a tattered Barbie doll. She was curiously peeking through a hole in the wall to see what was going on outside.
Qi Yuan frowned slightly. The little girl's dark pupils had already revealed her identity. She was a polluter, and the curiosity in her eyes proved that she wasn't a beastly polluter, but an intelligent polluter.
An intelligent polluter, and a child at that!
This was the first intelligent polluter that Qi Yuan had discovered. Other than her eyes, she didn't seem to be any different from a normal child.
However, Qi Yuan knew that this was just a facade. When his group stopped, the beastly polluters around them were faintly moving closer. If they really attacked the intelligent polluter inside, they would soon be surrounded by a group of polluters.
Gray Robe vigilantly looked in the direction Li's eyes were locked on and said in a low voice: "Don't complicate things. Let's go to our mission site first. Try not to fight outside."
Li nodded and quickened his pace, hurrying forward. Turning a blind eye to this situation was the right choice. If a fight broke out here, it would very likely attract the attention of all the polluters in the surroundings.
"This is the place!" Gray Robe stopped in front of a 37-story building.
"Wolf's Teeth Hunt assigned us the mission to reach the roof before dark and guard it for the night. After 6 am tomorrow, we can retreat on our own!"
Qi Yuan used Area Detection to look inside. Behind the dark door, pairs of beastly eyes were already looking in their direction.
There were beastly polluters hidden inside, and there were quite a few of them.
However, Qi Yuan's attention wasn't on those polluters. He raised his head and looked at the tall roof. The check-in point happened to be on the top floor of this building!
What a coincidence!
Qi Yuan's lips curled up slightly. As long as he could successfully complete the check-in and advance to Grade 2, he would completely get rid of his identity as a prey and become a real hunter in this old city!
Vaguely, Qi Yuan felt that there seemed to be a pair of eyes spying on him from the roof. When he wanted to take a closer look, the feeling of being spied on disappeared again.
Was it an illusion?
Qi Yuan looked at the roof deeply. No matter what was up there, it couldn't stop him from checking in!