Chapter 28: Tattoo, Rending Fangs!

"Third floor, yet not a single scavenger in sight." The man with the dual pistols asked, puzzled, "Could they have all gone to the supermarket to surround us earlier?"

"Likely so."

The man with the dual blades let out a long breath. "That makes things easier for us. It’s hellish how many scavengers were packed in here."

The man with the cannon asked, "Haven't you noticed? These scavengers are… different."

The dual-pistol wielder frowned. "Indeed. They move like machines, as if they’re being controlled!"

Everyone had noticed the anomaly; it was the first time they had encountered such a thing.

"Watch out, someone’s upstairs!" Chen Ze warned suddenly.

*BOOM!*

An explosion erupted from the floor above. Two hulking scavengers leaped down, shattering the floorboards upon impact!

One had a prosthetic arm modified into a flail, with a thick alloy chain coiled around his limb. The other held a baseball bat studded with sharp alloy spikes. Such blunt weapons could easily puncture protective suits, and even if the weapon grade was low, the sheer kinetic force was enough to cause devastating damage. They had specialized their prosthetic arms for immense strength.

Simultaneously, a tide of scavengers began rushing down from the floor above.

"Leave this to me!"

Against strength-based enemies, speed held the advantage. The man with the dual blades charged forward immediately.

Just then, the situation took a sudden turn. A lean, dark shadow darted out from behind the two hulking scavengers. It moved with blinding speed, passing the dual-blade wielder in an instant.

A cold glint flashed.

The man with the dual blades widened his eyes in disbelief as his body was sliced into four segments. A mantis blade had carved an 'X' through him!

"Damn it, how is this..."

The dual-blade wielder muttered in frustration, but the next second, his head was crushed by a spiked mace.

"Haha, that’s more like it. See ya."

After the successful ambush, the mantis-blade scavenger locked eyes with Su Cheng, then retreated rapidly behind the mace-wielder and vaulted back upstairs.

"What’s wrong?" Remi asked, noticing Su Cheng staring wide-eyed.

"Something important!" Su Cheng replied, dashing forward toward the mace-wielder, blade in hand.

The tattoo! He had seen it! The same tattoo from eight years ago! When that scavenger had turned his head, he had spotted the 'Y' mark hidden behind the hair on his neck. Because he had activated his "Insight," he had seen it with absolute clarity.

*BANG!*

A gunshot rang out from outside. It was Rebecca’s sniper rifle.

The bullet obliterated the head of the scavenger holding the spiked mace. The round ricocheted twice more, punching through the floorboards, followed by a scream from the floor above!

A tech-sniper rifle—given time and space, Rebecca could land terrifying shots from impossible angles, with the added capability of two ricochets on target objects.

Su Cheng vaulted over the scavenger's corpse and rushed upstairs. The flail-wielder roared, reaching out to grab him, but he was far too slow.

"You dare ignore me!"

He swung the alloy chain with all his might, hurling the flail toward the upper floor!

Suddenly, a beam of high-energy laser melted the chain instantly and pierced right through the flail-wielder’s chest.

*BOOM!*

The flail slammed into the floor above, shattering half of it into debris.

"Damn, that firepower is insane!" the dual-pistol wielder stared, shocked by the ruined floor.

"Dammit, that piece of trash ran off again!" Chen Ze cursed loudly as he saw Su Cheng disappear.

The next second, a bullet grazed his scalp and embedded itself in the wall.

Remi said coldly, "Remember, next time, it’ll be your head."

Chen Ze shivered in terror. "The hunters have rules! We... we aren't allowed to attack each other."

Remi smiled with disdain. "Rules? My rules are the only rules!"

As she spoke, the red mantis blades on her legs popped out. "What a troublesome bounty."

She tossed her gun aside, tensed her arms, and *click*—two more red-bladed mantis blades extended from her forearms! A full suit of combat armor rapidly unfolded from her back, merging with her mask to encase her entirely. This was the power of military-grade implants combined with a full prosthetic set!

Protected from head to toe, she charged into the swarm of scavengers to the amazement of everyone.

Military-grade implants!

Wherever her red trench coat passed, every scavenger was neatly sliced into several pieces. The sound of metal being sheared echoed incessantly as her sharp blades left deep gashes in the walls. Bullets struck her, showering sparks, but they were useless. She suppressed the entire group of scavengers single-handedly!

She dashed to the flail-wielder, performed a sliding slash, and cut him open from below.

From the roof of the supermarket, Rebecca watched everything through her sniper scope.

"Military-grade implants, a full combat prosthetic set, four plasma mantis blades! She... she’s from the Inner City. She’s wealthy and powerful!"

No wonder. No wonder she seemed to know something.

Rebecca placed her crosshairs on Remi, her finger tightening on the trigger. *We’re both women; why were you born in Rome? I had to use every possible method, cast aside all my dignity, yet in the eyes of the rich, I’m just a plaything! It’s unfair! No, this world was never fair.*

Rebecca’s eyes were cold. If she pulled the trigger now, she could at least eliminate one silver-spoon-fed rich girl.

But those were high-end implants. If she failed to kill Remi, she would be finished. Thinking of the methods used by the elite, Rebecca trembled, her finger slowly relaxing.

She took a deep breath and re-aimed. This time, she would coordinate her fire to support Remi. With two high-level hunters unleashing their full strength, the ordinary scavengers were harvested like wheat.

...

After jumping to the floor above, Su Cheng realized he had lost sight of the scavenger. Fortunately, Rebecca’s ricocheting bullet had struck the mantis-blade scavenger, leaving a trail of bio-fluid on the floor. Su Cheng followed the trail, moving rapidly.

The traces led up the stairs. Fifth floor, empty. The sixth?

Su Cheng reached the corner of the sixth-floor landing. As he stepped forward, his peripheral vision caught a dark shadow dropping from above. He was prepared this time—*Insight!*

The shadow’s ambush slowed to a crawl. Su Cheng leaped backward, dodging the attack.

"Damn, again? Who the hell are you?" The scavenger, the mantis-blade user, frowned at Su Cheng. He had been clinging to the wall, launching a surprise attack from above, yet the target had blocked it again. He had been so close! He didn't know what had gone wrong.

"The one who’s going to end you!" Su Cheng held his blade in one hand, staring coldly at the scavenger.

"Haha, you? I’m Rending Tooth. Many have tried to take my life, but you aren't worthy. I’m curious how you dodged that, but forget it—die!"

As Rending Tooth spoke, an identical figure suddenly rushed out from the corner. Both of them swung their mantis blades at Su Cheng simultaneously.

His right eye throbbed like it was being pierced by needles, but the hope of finding his enemy was right in front of him! Su Cheng endured the pain, tracking the attacks of both versions of Rending Tooth.

*Clang! Clang!*

Two sounds of metal striking the floor echoed as both blades missed and hit the ground. Rending Tooth stared at Su Cheng in astonishment.

Failed again? Even with an extra person, he still failed? What level was this hunter?!

"Dammit, I don't believe I can't hit you!"

The two Rending Teeth sneered and retreated into the building. After dodging Su Cheng's counter-attack, the two figures stood back-to-back and merged into one.

"Come again!"