Age of Evolution

The car arrived at the north gate, where the soldiers from the army came to check.

Shi Lei showed his documents, and the gate quickly let them through.

Zhao Liang, sitting in the passenger seat, couldn’t stop talking.

“Tsk! Every time I see this city wall, I feel amazed. People from centuries ago were really incredible. They were able to build such a large city while fighting monsters. If it weren’t for this city wall, I don’t think my grandfather would have been born in this world, let alone me.”

Lin Zhen smiled: “This city wall is indeed very important.”

“Of course, it’s important. Look at the bones of the mutated beasts under the city wall. Those white ashes have been left behind from when the monsters attacked the city and were burned. It’s a pity that I’ve never experienced a monster attack on the city since I became a martial artist. When I think about the scene filled with monsters, I can’t help but feel excited!”

Lin Zhen’s gaze swept across, and although the city wall gradually receded, the soil within a hundred meters below the city wall was still white. In fact, those weren’t soil but ashes left behind after the monster corpses were burned. A few scattered large bones could still be seen among them.

A monster attack on the city is a terrifying thing, but in recent years, the defense of Base City has become more and more perfect. In order to survive, humans have tried everything they could think of to strengthen the defense. Although there have been countless monster attacks on the city over the past centuries, none of the large base cities have collapsed.

After leaving Base City, they didn’t immediately enter the Wilderness Area. Due to the long term hunting by martial artists, it’s hard to see monster traces near the base city. Two hundred kilometers to the north is the northern satellite city, Peony City.

Peony City was originally called Mudanjiang, but it is no longer at its original location from the pre-cataclysm times. After the disaster broke out, the people of Mudanjiang massively migrated to this location, where they gradually developed and became the northern satellite city.

Further north from Peony City, there are no large human cities in Hua Xia anymore.

As the car approached the northern Peony City, the surrounding scenery gradually changed.

There was also grey-white dust here, no less than in Ice City, because the satellite cities often faced the first wave of attacks. Every time monsters attacked the city, the battle here was fierce.

And looking at the skyline, you could occasionally see mutated birds flying by.

Zhao Liang saw Lin Zhen looking at the sky and laughed, “Don’t worry about those little mutated birds. There are no big groups of mutated birds around here. Generally, there are only scattered F-level mutated birds like sparrows and swallows. Gao Yan can easily handle them.”

Lin Zhen smiled: “I’m not worried. We are the last car. If there are any mutated beasts, the captain will block them.”

“Haha, that’s right. Now we’re just extra hands.”

After driving about 20 more miles, there was a gunshot ahead.

The huge swallow with a wingspan of nearly two feet fell from the sky.

“Gao Yan fired that shot. You see? One shot, head blown up. Although it’s an F-level mutated beast, it’s still in the high altitude. This kid’s sniper rifle skills are extraordinary. If we were fighting head-on, I would definitely win, but if we’re a few hundred meters apart, he could take down three like me.”

Not getting much of a response from Lin Zhen, Zhao Liang seemed to have realized something and said, “Lin Zhen, this is your first time hunting, right?”

“Yes, it’s my first time.”

“I knew it! You don’t really understand the levels of mutated beasts, do you? Let me tell you, after small creatures like swallows, sparrows, frogs, geckos, mice, rabbits, little fish, chickens, ducks, and geese mutate, they become F-level mutated beasts. These creatures are individually weak, and we can usually handle them easily. However, when they gather in large numbers, it’s terrible. For example, if there are many mice, forming a rat tide, it’s a disaster. We should run away.”

“After animals like sheep, pigs, cats, small snakes, and small pet dogs mutate, they become E-level. These creatures are also not that difficult to deal with.”

“But for example, large dogs, cows, horses, large birds, roe deer, deer, and the like that have mutated are quite difficult to deal with, and they are considered D -level.”

“Wolves, owls, leopards, and wild boars are considered C-level, and they are harder to deal with. Usually, we’d have to team up to take them down.”

“As for the Giant Palm Bear we’re going after this time, it’s a B-level Mutated Beast. Besides the Human Bear, tigers, lions, rhinos, crocodiles, and elephants are also B-level. However, we don’t see rhinos and elephants around here often. If we came across a B-level one, we’d have to hide. We can only try our luck when they’re injured and their strength’s reduced.”

“A-level ones are even rarer to find. They’re Mutated Beasts that have undergone a second mutation within their groups, like the one called ‘The Enemy of Ten Thousand’ in the Lesser Xing’an Range. It’s a big tiger that devoured so much flesh, it has evolved twice. In order to subdue it, you’d need a team led by a War God Martial Artist.”

Lin Zhen asked, ‘What about above A-level?”

“That would be S-level, SS-level, and the highest, SSS-level. However, those creatures are usually not on land but in the ocean. It’s said that the beasts in the ocean were what caused the destruction of Japan back in the AD era. Even War God Martial Artists and nuclear bombs have little effect against those monsters.”

“Hmm, I know about that. Apparently, there are massive octopuses like small mountains and sperm whales comparable to battleships. They can come ashore, but not for too long. Otherwise, humanity would’ve already been completely wiped out.”

“You know all that… Ah! Look at my memory. You’re a high school graduate, so you’ve naturally learned about these things. I guess I’ve been talking too much.”

“You did a good job of reminding me of my textbook knowledge, haha.” As the two chatted, the vehicle finally arrived at Peony City.

Peony City had a population of about 3 million, and although the city walls were not as high as those of Ice City, they were still quite impressive. The Demon Hunter team’s vehicle passed through the city.

Zhao Liang said, “There are very few Mutated Beasts near the city now, but once the number of beasts increases, it may be a sign of an imminent beast attack on the city. At that time, martial law will be enforced, and it’ll be difficult to enter the city.”

They entered through the south gate, passed through the bustling streets of Peony City, and exited through the north gate.

“Once we’re out of Peony City, we can speed up. There are over 200 hundred miles left until we reach Yi Lan County. That place has never been completely conquered by humans, so there are quite a few high-level Mutated Beasts. Tsk, tsk! Big stacks of banknotes! Here I come!”

Zhao Liang laughed, and Lin Zhen also smiled. However, he noticed that after leaving the city, there were still many vehicles on the road, and he had an ominous feeling in his heart.

Gradually, Zhao Liang also noticed the difference: “Why are there so many cars going in the direction of Yi Lan? I see cars belonging to several martial artist teams I recognize. Are they all going to Yi Lan?”

With doubts, the convoy continued on. As they got closer to Yi Lan, the nearby vehicles had almost lined up, and the ones in front had stopped.

“Why have they stopped? There’s still some distance from Yi Lan.”

Lin Zhen and Zhao Liang got out of the car and saw that there were many soldiers setting up checkpoints in the distance. Many cars were already parked there, and there were even long lines of people in the distance, as if they were waiting in line to enter.

“Why are there soldiers here? And why are there so many cars here? What’s going on?” Zhao Liang’s face didn’t look too good; he thought that the news about the Human Bear might have leaked.

Shi Lei, Gao Yan, and Ye Tiancheng also got out of the vehicle, and the group huddled together.

“Captain, what happened up ahead?”

“I don’t know, but let’s go take a look. I have a bad feeling about this,” Shi Lei’s face also didn’t look too good.

Lin Zhen kept silent and followed the group, but inside, he was quite clear that the news about the Giant Palm Bear had definitely been leaked. As someone on par with War Generals like Shi Lei also had access to the information, it’s normal for others to know too.

They walked all the way to the military checkpoint..