Time rewinds to three minutes ago.
At this moment, the team has been operating at the edge of the Iron Worm Forest for over an hour.
The truck stopped a total of four times during this period.
The first three times were due to encounters, with the team's response being extremely swift. They immediately took action as soon as the sensor indicated a warning, not giving the Ruined Beasts any chance to cause damage near the truck.
Bai Feng and Wen Lei, two melee members, worked in tandem to attack and defend against the Ruined Beasts, while Zheng Tian at the rear swiftly switched to specialized ammunition based on the type of Ruined Beast, waiting for the opportunity to deliver a deadly strike.
The team was well-trained, coordinated seamlessly, and performed excellently, managing to avoid danger altogether.
The fourth battle was Ou Youning's turn to shine.
Two Ruined Beasts gathered together, exhibiting a high energy level reaction, and the sensor gave an early warning.
The team then spent ten minutes, using up nearly half of Ou Youning's reserves, to set up a chain blast trap. Bai Feng lured the two Ruined Beasts to the trap and annihilated them in one fell swoop.
In total, the team had hunted five Ruined Beasts in just over an hour, earning nearly 15 Contribution Points, exceeding their average daily earnings.
Zheng Tian assessed the remaining supplies and found that the remaining ammunition was still sufficient, deciding to expand their gains while their luck held and continue further in.
They soon discovered a First Level Ruined Beast in poor condition, stopped the truck, set up another trap, lured it, and ambushed it.
While the other four were busy, Ren Zhong and Chen Han were waiting in the truck.
At the start, everything was going smoothly, and the trap, capable of easily blowing up the Ruined Beast, was quickly set up.
But three minutes ago, just as Ou Youning's trap was about to be sprung, a red indicator light suddenly lit up inside the truck, and the alarm blared piercingly, almost drowning out the sound of explosions outside.
On the control panel's simple electronic map, a large red dot suddenly appeared near their location, with an estimated energy level index range shown below, measuring between 370 and 650.
This indicated that the suddenly appearing new Ruined Beast was releasing an energy level reaction intensity fluctuating between 370 and 650.
Ren Zhong had already learned through observation that the energy level index of a First Level Ruined Beast ranged between 10 and 50, equivalent to a power of 10 to 50 kilowatts in human mechanical terms.
The index for a Second Level Ruined Beast ranged between 50 and 300.
An index above 300 signified a Third Level Ruined Beast, a vicious creature one must flee from immediately upon encounter.
Chen Han opened the car door and ran away on foot in terror, screaming, "Run! Run fast! It's the Blade Mantis!"
In fact, Chen Han's reminder was unnecessary as the other four had already received the intelligence through their tactical communicators.
They didn't even attempt to run back to the truck, each choosing a different direction to scatter and escape, leaving Ren Zhong alone in the vehicle, tense and confused, not knowing what to do.
Ren Zhong couldn't understand why the others wouldn't get in the truck to escape.
Wouldn't driving be faster?
But in the next instant, he understood.
A green shadow, known as the Blade Mantis, hurriedly charged from a hundred meters away.
Ren Zhong saw almost nothing but a green blur slicing through the air, shooting past, and then heard the farthest-running Wen Lei emit a heartrending scream.
This thing was too fast!
For the performance of a hover truck, it was nothing more than an iron coffin.
No wonder they scattered to flee.
Their calculation was that if even one of them could escape, it was worth it.
But of course, their hope was a fool's errand, leading to a straightforward and complete annihilation.
Ren Zhong sat despondently outside the Frozen Storage for half an hour.
He pondered for "ten days and ten nights" but couldn't make sense of why things happened this way.
Despite being so careful, advancing with caution and care, one slight oversight led to such a dramatically sudden demise again.
It wasn't that he lacked capability; his teammates were simply too ridiculous!
It was his teammates who got him into this mess!
He had always heard Zheng Tian boasting about how strong and sharp his team was, yet when the team was wiped out, it happened without even a blink.
Just how unlucky are they?
But Ren Zhong also suspected he might be the problem.
After all, Zheng Tian's team had developed steadily before encountering him.
Well, forget it, just do it.
Anyway, the sun would always rise the next day.
He stood up, skillfully dismantled the Frozen Storage, removed the iron rod, assisted the onboard computer, and set off for the stream.
Drinking water, washing his face, and eating red berries.
Severe pain flared...
The terminal lymphatic cancer had relapsed.
He expertly endured the wave of intense pain.
Ren Zhong was already an elderly combatant fighting cancer with his life.
Recovering, he took out his computer and used voice input to organize and ponder his previous insights.
Though he had only stayed a night in Starfire Town, he got to know some people, gathered some crucial information, and formed a preliminary understanding of the world, so it wasn't completely unproductive.
This time, he aimed to take a step further, at least thinking of becoming some type of combat-capable Professional and also preparing to guard against the Blade Mantis.
Thus, he needed to be more refined and efficient in details such as treating his illness, renting the Wrist watch, and the following day's outing for hunting with Zheng Tian's team.
This time, he decided not to seek out that young man for a chat at night; he'd have chances to meet him later.
"You're Zheng Tian from Starfire Town, right? You're Wen Lei, Chen Han, Bai Feng, and Ou Youning. Hmm, hello, nice to meet you all. I'm Ren Zhong."
With an air of mystique and the demeanor of a high-level expert, Ren Zhong wielded these three "weapons" confidently and warmly smiled as he spoke to the bewildered Zheng Tian and others.
An identical scene, the same people, only slightly refined lines, made the picture feel so familiar.
The air froze for a moment.
The wind seemed to freeze.
The atmosphere fell into an eerie silence.
The Zheng Tian and others, who came to pick up leftovers, were dumbfounded on the spot.
How could he act like an old acquaintance right upon arrival and call everyone's names!
They knew their own situation.
They weren't any big figures from Starfire Town, and they had never met him.
He knew everyone's names, even of someone like Bai Feng, a failed experiment of genetic modification who would never be a registered Citizen.
Could this person be... an official responsible for Pu Cha assessment, coming to Starfire Town incognito, perhaps secretly inspecting?
Gulp, Zheng Tian swallowed a large mouthful of saliva and approached cautiously, asking, "Sir? Who are you?"
Ren Zhong waved his hand, "No need for formalities. I'm a traveler with some business in Starfire Town, but unforeseen events led me to lose my Wrist watch, and now I have no self-defense abilities. Thus, I wish to offer the corpse of this Crystal Winged Dragonfly in exchange for hiring you and your team to accompany me to the town."
Zheng Tian responded with a nod, "Traveler? Uh... Mr. Ren Zhong, you're too kind. Helping those in trouble is only right; how could we accept your payment? Hanyu, quickly dismantle the Crystal Winged Dragonfly, and let's set off."
Ren Zhong clasped his hands, "Thank you."
He could feel that Zheng Tian's attitude was overly respectful, though he couldn't fathom what she was imagining.
This worked to his advantage.
The bluish twilight still descended.
The two moons slowly rose into the sky.
The panel van-hovering truck continued racing across the wilderness.
"Wait another five minutes, and we will encounter Hunter No. 11796. Since I don't have a Wrist watch, I might be mistaken for a wastelander. In that case, Chen Han, I'll need you to negotiate on my behalf and exchange the Crystal Winged Dragonfly's Crystal Chip for a temporary Wrist watch."
Inside the car, Ren Zhong unexpectedly said this to Chen Han beside him.
Chen Han was slightly stunned, her aloof image shattering, and she responded with slight surprise, "Okay."
In the driver's seat ahead, Zheng Tian's mind was already roaring internally.
Hunter patrol routes change periodically and randomly based on several days' cycles.
No one knows the adjustment patterns of the Hunters.
But you not only know the exact route, you even know their number.
Ren Zhong! Are you still claiming not to be a Pu Cha official?
Do you think I'm a three-year-old child!
You are definitely a high-ranking official!