Gao Wu insists on cultivating immortality.

Chapter 78 Hunting
The snow-capped mountains are visually magnificent, even dazzlingly bright.

The main problem is that the snow reflects sunlight, making the forest bright enough to cause blindness.

People must wear protective goggles while in the forest, and the low temperatures also necessitate wearing thick, warm clothing.

The mountains and forests of the virtual realm were deserted, devoid of any paths. With each step, one's legs sank deep into the snow.

Apprentice hunters entering the virtual realm must carry huge packs and various weapons and equipment, with a total weight exceeding fifty kilograms.

Traveling through the mountains and forests with heavy loads is a severe test even for advanced martial artists.

The three brothers, Wancangling, Wancangyan, and Wancangsong, slowly moved forward along the raised snow line. This snow line was blown out by strong winds and, combined with long hours of sunshine, was hard enough to support a person's weight.

All three had extensive experience in traversing snow, and were wearing snowshoes, which greatly conserved their energy.

After trekking for two hours, the three of them crossed the mountaintop at midday when the sun was at its strongest and came to a shady slope. With their backs to the sun, the brightness of the surrounding environment dropped significantly.

"Let's stop here. The view is good. There are large areas of poplar and birch trees below, the bark of which is food for herbivores in winter. The snow wolf pack will definitely follow the herbivores... The target is coming in this direction and will eventually arrive here..."

Wan Cangsong was the oldest and had extensive hunting experience. He was also the one leading the group of three.

He looked at the positioning monitor in his hand, where green dots appeared and disappeared.

As a supervisor of the Hunter Association, Wan Cangsong possesses the wireless identification code of every apprentice hunter. He can identify the other party through these green dots.

The wireless identification tags worn by trainee hunters are also for locating each hunter. In case of any unexpected situation, they can be located and rescued.

The source force interference in the virtual realm is very strong, and satellite positioning is not possible. They can only search for specific wireless signals through the low-power individual radar carried on their backs.

To ensure power supply, Wan Cangling carried a 20-kilogram solid-state battery pack in his backpack.

"Brother Song, are we just going to wait here?" Wan Cangling asked with some doubt. "What if that kid doesn't come over?"

They went through all this trouble chasing Gao Wu into the Void Realm, but if Gao Wu finishes his mission and leaves early, all their efforts will have been in vain!
Thinking of Gao Wu's smug look after defeating his brother, Wan Cangling was filled with hatred. This time, he was determined to kill Gao Wu no matter what and vent his anger!
"Unfold the antenna and secure the tripod." Wan Cangsong did not answer Wan Cangling's question.

The dense source energy in the virtual realm can severely interfere with wireless electronic signals. Here, the observation range of drones is limited to no more than 100 meters. Therefore, only powerful radar can be used to search for and locate signals.

The mountainous and forested environment is complex, and the locator signal is more susceptible to interference. The individual soldier's radar must be constantly adjusted to lock onto the target signal.

Wan Cangling received no response, and he dared not vent his anger on Wan Cangsong. This man was a novice warrior, far stronger than his own brother, Wan Cangshan. He could only furiously fiddle with the radar.

Seeing the tense atmosphere, Wan Cangyan chuckled and said to Wan Cangling, "With Brother Song leading the way, dealing with that kid will be a piece of cake."

"I came in to get Gao Wu's body, not to avenge you."

Wan Cangsong's expression was icy. The Wan family had many members, and although Wan Cangling was of the same generation as him, their status and position were far apart.

He, a dignified samurai, came to participate in the apprentice hunter assessment, all to obtain the advanced martial arts body.

During the Xuetao Cup, Gao Wuqiang withstood Wan Cangshan's attacks without sustaining any injuries, which made Gao Wuqiang realize that something was off about the kid.

Combined with information from other sources, it was confirmed that Gao Wu possessed a special physique. Coincidentally, Gao Wu had come to Yunling to participate in the hunter assessment, and since it was convenient to take action in the Void Realm, he came with Wan Cangling and the others.

Fresh body organs might yield useful genes. Or perhaps medicinal antibodies could be extracted.

If successful, the gains will be enormous. If it fails, there will be no loss.

The Void Realm is fraught with dangers, and it is all too common for martial artists to disappear there.

Gao Wu has no background or identity, so his disappearance won't be widely investigated.

They've done this kind of thing many times; Gao Wu isn't the first unlucky guy, nor will he be the last.

As for Gao Wu defeating Wan Cangshan, it's not worth mentioning at all. He was simply outmatched and defeated on the stage; what's there to say?

With nothing else to do, Wan Cangling scattered two pieces of meat bait.

The bloody smell emanating from fresh flesh spreads with the wind, a potent remedy for the cold, desolate snow-capped mountains.

As a warrior, Wan Cangsong could sense the various restless auras emanating from the scent of blood through his source energy.

There is very little prey in winter, making it an especially difficult time for carnivores.

In less than half an hour, three adult snow wolves came running after them, drawn by the scent.

An adult snow wolf has a shoulder height of 1.2 meters, and with its head, it is 1.4 meters tall. Its body length is nearly 2 meters and its weight is close to 100 kilograms.

The fluffy, grayish-white fur makes the snow wolf appear even larger.

Wan Cangling and Wan Cangyan each carried a recurve bow they had assembled, using alloy bow arms and composite bowstrings, with a draw weight of up to 200 kilograms, and equipped with triangular alloy arrows weighing more than one kilogram.

Firearms are too noisy, and crossbows can malfunction in cold environments, so bows and arrows are the best choice.

The strength of advanced martial artists allows them to fire arrows with initial velocities exceeding 50 meters per second. While the speed cannot compare to bullets, the arrow's immense weight results in a far greater destructive power than firearms.

Both men were mediocre archers, yet they simultaneously drew their bows and struck two snow wolves sixty meters away. The immense kinetic energy of the arrows instantly pierced through the wolves' bodies.

The two adult snow wolves howled pitifully and ran a few steps before collapsing headfirst into the snow, their limbs convulsing.

The other snow wolf turned and ran in fright, but Wan Cangyan and Wan Cangling fired several arrows in quick succession, finally killing the snow wolf from a hundred meters away. As a creature of the Void Realm, the snow wolf's flesh contained source energy particles, but its meat was tough and smelly, making it difficult to eat no matter how it was prepared.

Wan Cangyan and his team simply cut off the wolf's tail and photographed the snow wolf's carcass; that was the end of the assessment.

The task was completed very easily, mainly because Wan Cangsong was familiar with the environment and the snow wolves, and could accurately locate the place.

At this point, the others probably hadn't even seen a glimpse of the snow wolf.

Gao Wu was like that. Although a map had been provided beforehand, he plunged into the mountains without knowing which way to go.

When he was a child, he often went up the mountain to play, but he only played nearby. He might catch a pine tree or a bird, or at most a pheasant. When it came to hunting, he really had no experience.

Fortunately, Song Mingyue had done his homework beforehand, and he knew to try to find birch and pine forests. During the day, they should go to shady slopes, as the sunlight on sunny slopes was too strong and no animals would be active there.

His advantage lies in his physical strength and resistance to the cold. He moves through the snow with great ease, carrying a heavy backpack.

If he hadn't made an agreement with Han Yang and Yang Ru to keep a certain distance, he would have disappeared somewhere by now.

Around 3 PM, the sun was setting and the sky was getting dark. Han Yang's voice came through the walkie-talkie intermittently: "It's getting dark, we need to find a place to camp, do you want to come with us?"

"No, thank you." Gao Wu politely declined. Why would he go over when the two of them were enjoying their time together so sweetly?

Gao Wu wasn't tired, but he still found a huge rock, cleared the snow from the bottom, and set up the tent.

When camping in such a low-temperature environment, the most important thing is to avoid the wind and danger.

Sheltering from the wind helps maintain body heat, and avoiding danger means choosing a safe and reliable place to camp, away from dangerous areas such as avalanches and rockfalls.

Gao Wu sat in front of the tent and ate ten Menglong energy bars. Mainly because Longteng Company had sent two large boxes of samples, totaling five thousand bars. Why not eat them while they're free?

In his opinion, there is no difference between the Raptors and Tai Chi energy bars; their nutritional components are almost identical, with only slight differences in taste.

By the time he had eaten and drunk his fill, it was almost 5 p.m.

Only a sliver of crimson remained in the western sky, and the mountains and forests were deserted, with only the cold wind whistling through the woods.

Gao Wu, having nothing to do, was thinking of practicing his Zhanbing Fist when he heard footsteps crunching through the snow coming from behind the boulder.

He felt a chill run down his spine. He first activated the monitoring device hanging on his shoulder, then hung the longsword in the belt slot, and with his other hand drew the Thunder Eagle pistol.

After turning around the boulder, Gao Wu saw three people a few dozen steps away.

The leader, Wan Cangsong, wore crimson goggles that resembled a striking crimson mask, completely obscuring his nose and mouth. This made him appear both eerie and dangerous…

"What are you doing?" Gao Wu shouted, drawing his Thunder Eagle pistol.

Wan Cangsong, who was in the lead, said in a deep voice, "I am Wan Cangsong, the supervisor of the association, here for a routine inspection."

As they spoke, the three of them walked quickly toward Gao Wu. Wan Cangsong smiled at Gao Wu, who was gripping his gun with a wary expression: "You're very wary, but there's no need for that."

Wan Cangling couldn't help but sneer from the side: "Little brat, even if you have a gun, it's useless!"

Wan Cangsong frowned slightly. Saying such useless nonsense would only arouse the vigilance of high-level martial artists; it was extremely brainless.

However, years of use of the drug had long since eroded Wan Cangling's mind, so there was no need to make any demands on him.

"Stop! If you take another step, I'll shoot!" Gao Wu shouted a warning.

Regardless of who the other party was, a group of people gathering late at night could not be anything good.

The two were only about twenty meters apart. Wan Cangsong no longer concealed his intentions and concentrated his mental energy to activate the acupoints in his lower dantian.

It was as if a power switch had been turned on; the energy transformed from the source force instantly flowed throughout his body, causing Wan Cangsong's speed and strength to suddenly increase several times over.

Wan Cangsong exerted force with his feet, and the snow on the ground exploded with a roar. Using this force, Wan Cangsong transformed into a black shadow and rushed straight towards Gao Wu.

Before Wan Cangsong even arrived at high speed, the gale he brought with him had already howled in, raising large swaths of snow and shaking the surrounding tree branches.

With each large step he took, the snow on the ground would explode into a cloud of snow mist, creating an astonishing effect.

Gao Wu on the other side was also startled. A warrior who could control source power was really terrifying. His speed should have reached a high speed of thirty meters per second by now.

The phrase "like an arrow released from a bow" is not just an adjective when describing Wan Cangsong; it's a true description!
At this distance, Wan Cangsong could reach him in less than a second.

Gao Wu reacted quickly, firing without hesitation. The flames from the Thunder Eagle gun gushed out with a deafening roar, tearing through the dark and desolate mountains and forests.

All three shots hit Wan Cangsong, who was rushing towards them, but were blocked by the faint halo surrounding his entire body.

The three steel-core armor-piercing warheads lost all kinetic energy and bounced to the side.

Wan Cangsong, shooting forward like an arrow, had already reached Gao Wu and raised his hand to strike Gao Wu's chest with a palm strike.

In an instant, like a sudden clap of thunder and lightning, like a surging tide, Wan Cangsong's casual palm strike possessed the overwhelming force to sweep away everything...

The life-or-death crisis sent Gao Wu's adrenaline soaring, completely suppressing all fear and anxiety, leaving only extraordinary excitement and bravery!
(Third update, fourth update coming later~)

(End of this chapter)