Along the way, the Purple Fox Squad’s hearts were taut, on edge, constantly attentive to their surroundings.
The rifle in Shinkai Katsuyuki’s hand could easily take out Yan Luo, just as the explosives in Yan Luo’s hand could easily deal with them.
They were all human, without deflection shields, their flesh not as sturdy as Demons’. Even lethal Demons fall under explosions, let alone these weaklings who haven’t even fully developed their first Engraving?
After silently walking for over ten minutes, Qiao Lingzhi finally couldn’t help but complain in a low voice, "Damn it, how did that guy’s mind grow? Just by acting with us once, he completely mastered our way of doing things."
In the previous dozen minutes, they hadn’t encountered a second mine or trap.
Yan Luo had only participated in an Abyss hunt with them once, yet it was as if he had been adversaries with them for decades, precisely grasping their mindset.
If he could kill one of them, he’d profit, and even if discovered, he forced them to stay alert. In any case, Yan Luo wouldn’t lose out.
Shinkai Katsuyuki spoke in a low voice, "We need to rest, we can’t go on."
Even though they weren’t far from the Strong Tree mineral field, it was precisely because of this that they couldn’t act rashly.
All along, they had been on tenterhooks, expending a lot of mental and physical energy. To fight Yan Luo in such a state would be like delivering themselves to his door.
Qiao Lingzhi and Brandon nodded in agreement; in their current state, they were indeed not fit to fight Yan Luo.
Little did they know, their actions were all captured by a camera hanging high from a branch.
Yan Luo was hiding in a distant tree, his visor receiving the camera signal, watching every move of the Purple Fox Squad.
Simply buying new firearms and consumables didn’t cost tens of thousands. Yan Luo spent a lot of money on purchasing cameras.
He set a time differential, placing several cameras around the Strong Tree mineral field early, because the trees here were very tall, and essentially one camera could monitor a large area.
Yan Luo could predict that the Purple Fox Squad would follow his trail here, so he planted a mine on the road, half as a trap, half as intimidation.
The Purple Fox Squad thought their surveillance was very hidden; in reality, since Yan Luo knew they wanted to kill him, he was certainly already prepared.
With a little investigation, he could grasp the movements of the Purple Fox Squad.
Yan Luo had intentionally appeared at the Hunter’s Guild entrance to let the Purple Fox Squad discover him, the goal being to control the time when the Purple Fox Squad entered the Abyss.
Yan Luo had once acted with the three members of the Purple Fox Squad, long knowing their behavioral patterns, able to guess when they would roughly enter the Abyss and when they could be tracked.
This was where he had designated as the burial ground for those three bastards!
The Purple Fox Squad was surprised to see a [communication request] pop up in front of them. They exchanged glances before connecting it.
[From the moment I returned, you were already defeated.]
Yan Luo’s voice sounded, and the hearts of the three in the Purple Fox Squad sank upon hearing it.
Qiao Lingzhi took a deep breath, unable to hold back, asked, "What do you want to say?"
Yan Luo said, [I set a timed email before entering the Abyss, which will be sent out in five hours, giving me enough time to deal with you and dispose of your corpses. Even if I ’accidentally’ get killed by you, there’s no escaping the Guild and United Government’s accountability.]
Upon hearing this, the faces of the three in Shinkai Katsuyuki’s group changed dramatically.
Brandon, in disbelief, asked, "Don’t you have any thought about the Strong Tree at all?!"
Yan Luo, in an indifferent tone, said, [The Yan Family will always exact revenge and repay kindness. The Strong Tree does have allure for me, but it’s not enough for me to forsake revenge against you. Although I can understand why you abandoned me, it doesn’t mean I will accept it, especially since I warned you before encountering the Silent Hunt Lizard, yet you were still indifferent, your minds filled with thoughts that I might harm you.]
Although if not for that battle, Yan Luo wouldn’t have found a way to strengthen himself, it didn’t mean he would forgive Shinkai Katsuyuki and the others.
He found a way to strengthen himself because his attributes were superior. If his attributes hadn’t been so hard, if his luck wasn’t so good, losing that battle would have meant real death for him.
In fact, he was indeed just one step away from death at that time.
"You madman!" Shinkai Katsuyuki spat out through gritted teeth, involuntarily clenching the rifle in his arms.
Yan Luo could hear the anger and tension in Shinkai Katsuyuki’s unstable voice.
The three members of the Purple Fox Squad had long been blinded by the profit brought by the Strong Tree. Even Shinkai Katsuyuki, the most rational of the three, was in a frenzied state centered around the Strong Tree.
For Yan Luo, this was something he could exploit.
All three members of the Purple Fox Squad had entered a state of agitation, a mix of desire for money, fear of the law, and hatred towards Yan Luo, causing them to momentarily forget the exhaustion they had just experienced.
[You can choose to run away, or come to the Strong Tree mineral field and find me.]
With that, Yan Luo hung up the communication.
Seated on a branch, Yan Luo watched the surveillance image presented on the visor, took out the grappling gun, shot a grappling hook onto a branch in the distance. The winch rotated, pulling the cable, drawing Yan Luo over.
Using this pulling force, Yan Luo leapt down from his standing place, his body weight giving the cable some forward momentum, swinging him forward.
Reaching the highest point, Yan Luo pressed the hook release button, the claw gripping the branch loosened, and the winch quickly retracted the cable, causing Yan Luo to leap through the air, landing precisely on another sturdy branch.
There weren’t many kinds of trees in the Crimson Abyss, only a few species. Although they grew tall, not all species had the same toughness.
The trees Yan Luo chose to land on were ’Strong Trees.’ As the name suggests, these trees were incredibly tough. Unfortunately, they were not suitable for planting on Blue Star—although the seeds of flora and trees from the Abyss could be collected, some even grown on Blue Star.
With the exoskeleton on, Yan Luo’s body weight reached 558 kilograms. Let alone trees, even regular rocks couldn’t withstand his heavy steps.
This was a tactic usable only in the Crimson Abyss. Unfortunately, it couldn’t be used against the Silent Hunt Lizard, or Yan Luo wouldn’t have been beaten so badly back then.
In Yan Luo’s surveillance, the Purple Fox Squad had already started moving; they were heading towards the Strong Tree mineral field.
They were wary that Yan Luo might have planted mines along the way, so they moved extremely cautiously.
But Yan Luo hadn’t planted mines, as the Purple Fox Squad would carefully inspect their surroundings. Planting mines here would certainly be discovered, and doing so would just waste resources.
The Purple Fox Squad was rushing towards the Strong Tree mineral field, not knowing what possessed them to so easily believe Yan Luo’s words.
Yan Luo claimed he was waiting for them at the Strong Tree mineral field, but who knew if what he said was true?
Yet, concern for the Strong Tree mineral field still drove Shinkai Katsuyuki and the others to hurry there.
Needing to stay vigilant for hidden mines on the road while also picking up their pace, by the time the Purple Fox Squad reached the mouth of the mineral field, their energy was depleted.
Even with the exoskeleton sharing the load, all three were panting heavily.
Hidden in the trees, Yan Luo raised his shotgun, aimed below, and silently pulled the trigger.
No greetings—gunfire was the best greeting for enemies.
The slug crashed into Shinkai Katsuyuki’s head, causing his neck to crack under the strain. At the same time, his brain exploded, his mind blanking out.
Brandon shouted in surprise, hurriedly dragging Shinkai Katsuyuki’s arm, activating the [Spirit Cat] Engraving, dodging behind a tree. Qiao Lingzhi followed, hands trembling as he rummaged through the materials bag.
Silent, Yan Luo quietly pulled a shock grenade pin, letting it free fall.
Accompanied by a blinding flash, a brain-filling buzz flooded the trio’s ears under the tree.
This was no battle—it was just a hunt!