Volume Two: Embarking on the Journey Chapter 35: Strike First to Gain the Advantage

The nominal leader of the Fierce Tiger Squad was the elderly man surnamed Li, but in reality, the true leader was this young man. Moreover, before arriving, his father had issued strict orders: upon entering the outskirts of the ruined city, they must obey the instructions of the two bodyguards.

At the young man’s command, the members of the Blaze Squad could only cast reluctant glances at Shen Feng and Wang Jue.

Jiang Dawei muttered a curse, “Shen Feng, and that kid—consider yourselves lucky this time!”

His disdain for Shen Feng was blatant and unhidden.

In truth, there was no need to conceal it—the Blaze Squad and the Hurricane Squad had been bitter enemies for a long time.

Wang Jue’s membership in the Hurricane Squad was partly due to the fatal clashes between the Hurricane and Blaze squads, which had resulted in casualties on both sides.

This only deepened the hatred between the two squads.

Before any deaths, they merely disliked each other, but once members started falling, they became outright enemies.

If the opportunity arose, either side would not hesitate to strike ruthlessly.

Perhaps wary of the sniper rifles, the young man led the ten members of the Fierce Tiger Squad away, still within the residential complex.

The Jinxiu Residential Area was vast, so even as the Fierce Tiger Squad departed, they remained within its boundaries.

As they walked, the elderly man surnamed Li suddenly furrowed his brow and spoke, “Dawei.”

“Senior Li,” Captain Jiang Dawei of the Blaze Squad stepped forward, lowering his stance respectfully.

Li’s voice was grave: “Since your Blaze Squad accepted this mission, you should know that the young master’s safety is paramount. The twin-headed black-and-white python may indeed be a treasure, but it is far less important than the young master’s safety. Should anything happen to him, not only will I not escape, but your entire Blaze Squad will perish alongside him!”

Jiang Dawei’s heart trembled as he nodded repeatedly. “Understood!”

He now realized that his attempt to use Senior Li and Mr. Luo’s influence to target the Hurricane Squad had been seen through. This was a warning to put aside his secret schemes.

Public affairs are public affairs, private matters are private; one must keep them distinct.

“Good, as long as you understand,” Li said coldly. “Later, we will stay at an abandoned hotel next to the Jinxiu complex. The young master will hunt second- and third-tier star beasts around the area. If you want to snatch other people’s prey, do it yourselves—don’t implicate the young master.”

“I understand,” Jiang Dawei replied outwardly, but cursed inwardly.

Which martial team venturing into the ruined city’s territory is weak?

Without the support of the elderly Li with the Yellow Star Mirror and the middle-aged Luo Lei with the Orange Star Mirror, the Blaze Squad would be powerless to seize others’ prey.

With that, Jiang Dawei bowed his head and retreated unpleasantly to the side of the other Blaze Squad members.

“Captain, have you noticed? The Hurricane Squad’s strength seems to have increased significantly,” a middle-aged man with a square face in the Blaze Squad whispered.

“Moreover, they even teamed up with the beast tribe to kill the twin-headed black-and-white python. Even if the beast tribe played the major role, their willingness to cooperate indicates the Hurricane Squad’s strength is recognized by them.”

“Indeed,” Jiang Dawei nodded slightly. “If the Hurricane Squad dares to enter the ruined city, their strength has surely grown—but I didn’t expect such a leap.”

“We can’t keep ignoring them,” an eager young man wearing a hat in the squad urged. “Especially that newcomer Wang Jue. He just joined and is already known as the ‘Killing God.’ If we don’t find a chance to eliminate them soon, it won’t be about whether we want to deal with them—it’ll be about whether they allow us to live.”

“I’ve heard this kid’s potential is remarkable,” Jiang Dawei said in a low voice. “If we let our enemies grow unchecked, the threat to us will only increase. Since we encountered them in the ruined city, fine—I’ll find a way to kill them in the next few days. If necessary, I’ll spend money to enlist Senior Li and the other’s help.”

...

On the other side.

The massive twin-headed black-and-white python carcass lay sprawled on the ground, reeking of blood.

Wang Jue, Shen Feng, and three beast tribe members were dissecting the python, extracting venom sacs and the snake’s gallbladder. Naturally, the snake’s skin was also valuable and was carefully peeled away.

“Half!” “Half!” The three beast tribe members and the two humans quickly divided the materials.

Shen Feng ran his hand over the scales and sighed, “These scales are incredible—both in hardness and flexibility. They’re definitely prime materials for making combat armor.”

Today’s most important human invention, the Arc Gold, was primarily crafted from materials harvested from star beasts.

Of course, some metals mined from veins were also involved in developing Arc Gold.

Though the name suggested metal, Arc Gold was actually a semi-metallic new energy source.

It enabled human warriors to wear armor with defense surpassing star beasts and wield extremely sharp weapons. Even some firearms’ power was greatly enhanced.

“Pleasure working with you!” The beast tribe leader, a muscular lion-man, greeted Wang Jue and Shen Feng in broken common language.

“Hahaha,” Shen Feng laughed heartily. “Indeed, a pleasure. Hopefully we can cooperate again.”

After some polite exchanges, the beast tribe members left, satisfied with their share.

Wang Jue and Shen Feng slung their bulging backpacks and headed back to their squad’s base.

Though the scales appeared large, they were surprisingly thin; even half the python’s scales stacked together couldn’t fill a single backpack.

Martial artists’ backpacks were amazingly elastic and could expand incrementally via internal mechanisms, growing as tall as an average adult when fully extended.

But these scales didn’t require such extreme expansion.

...

Soon, Wang Jue and Shen Feng swiftly returned to their twenty-story safehouse.

As they entered, cheers erupted.

“Welcome back,” Jiang Yunxin spoke first.

“Welcome, welcome! A warm welcome!” Su Yu called out playfully.

“Welcome, Captain and little brother Wang Jue, back from battle,” Jiang Yunyan shouted deliberately.

Their joy was evident—Wang Jue and Shen Feng’s successful return meant they’d soon receive a handsome share of the spoils.

Despite the warm greetings, Shen Feng’s face remained serious. “You all saw the Blaze Squad, right?”

“Yes,” Su Yu, Jiang Yunyan, and Jiang Yunxin’s expressions hardened.

Jiang Yunyan gritted her teeth. “I almost shot them on sight—for Old Jin’s revenge!”

Within the squad, Jiang Yunyan’s feelings for Old Jin were the strongest—they had mutual affection, just unspoken.

After years together, everyone knew their relationship.

Unexpectedly, Old Jin had sacrificed himself in the last fight against the Blaze Squad to cover the others’ retreat.

Though he took down two or three Blaze Squad members with him, he did not survive.

Seeing the Blaze Squad had almost made Jiang Yunyan lose control, but she restrained herself.

A single shot could only take down one enemy, firing would reveal their location, and without her deterrence, Captain Shen Feng and Wang Jue would be in grave danger.

If that happened, the elderly man and middle-aged man would act immediately, possibly endangering Su Yu and Jiang Yunxin as well.

Clearly, Jiang Yunyan did not want such chaos.

“By the way, Sister Yan,” Wang Jue asked, “do you know where the Blaze Squad is now?”

“We’ve been keeping an eye on them.”

Before Jiang Yunyan could reply, Su Yu at the east window pointed downward. “That group just exited the Jinxiu complex, heading east along that street.”

“Whoosh!” Wang Jue and the others immediately surged toward the window.

Wang Jue took the binoculars Jiang Yunxin handed him and looked below.

Sure enough, the Fierce Tiger Squad’s ten members were advancing several kilometers down the street.

Fortunately, their safehouse was well-positioned—the easternmost high-rise in the middle area.

Only low villas surrounded their building, granting them an unobstructed view eastward.

“Captain, everyone,” Wang Jue suddenly spoke.

“Hm?” The Hurricane Squad turned to him.

Clenching his fists, Wang Jue growled quietly, “I plan to secretly follow them and find a chance to kill the entire Blaze Squad.”

“Don’t go to your death,” Shen Feng warned sharply.

“Don’t worry, Captain,” Wang Jue waved his hand. “I’m not foolish enough to throw my life away. Remember, we’re in the ruined city. If it weren’t for Sister Yan’s sniper deterrence, neither you nor I would likely have returned alive. Since they want us dead, we must strike first!”

“Though I don’t know exactly what happened between the Blaze Squad and us before, now that I’m part of the Hurricane Squad, I have to eliminate threats to our team.”

“Isn’t it too dangerous to go alone? Let me come with you—revenge for Old Jin,” Jiang Yunyan said, eyes reddened, her gaze deadly.

“No, you can’t go.”

“Why not?”

“If we want to eliminate the Blaze Squad, they want to eliminate us just as much,” Shen Feng’s expression darkened. “We know they tried to ambush us last time. They don’t want us to grow stronger. They hadn’t encountered us in the wilderness until now—now that they have, even if we don’t strike first, they probably will.”

Everyone present was startled by this.

Indeed, the Blaze Squad would never allow their rivals to strengthen unchecked.

“We’ve hunted enough star beasts this trip—our backpacks are nearly full. The rest of the team should return to base for resupply,” Shen Feng decided, then looked at Wang Jue. “Your survival skills are far better than ours, but be careful. Don’t be reckless—act when you can, but don’t force the issue.”

“I understand,” Wang Jue nodded.

As they spoke, the group used binoculars to track the Fierce Tiger Squad’s movements.

“Look, they’ve entered the hotel across the complex,” Su Yu said excitedly. “Looks like they’re setting up a temporary base.”

“No time to waste. Let’s go now,” Shen Feng said decisively. “Everyone pack up all the materials we gathered and then we’ll head out.”

Wang Jue stood and helped the others gather their materials, even redistributing his own supplies among the team before sending them off.