High Martial Arts: Slay enemies to become stronger, forge invincibility from billions of corpses.

Five people stood beside the armored vehicle. The leader was a middle-aged man in a black combat uniform, with thick eyebrows and sharp eyes. He wore a badge of a second-level martial artist on his chest and carried a large battle sword on his back.

Song Chen walked over: "Captain Lei?"

The middle-aged man turned his head and his gaze fell on him.

"Song Chen?"

"Yes."

Captain Lei's gaze lingered on the bronze badge on his chest for a moment, then looked at his youthful face.

"A newly promoted martial artist?"

"Yes."

How big?

"eighteen."

Captain Lei raised an eyebrow.

"Eighteen years old, and you dare to leave the city right after getting your martial arts badge? You've got some nerve."

A tall, thin young man came over and looked Song Chen up and down.

"Captain Lei, is this the guy we were talking about who was assigned to our team?"

Captain Lei nodded, then looked at Song Chen: "Yeah, you're unlucky to have come at this time. Do you even know what the situation is like outside the city right now?"

"I know a little about the Beast King."

Captain Lei glanced at him and nodded: "Since you knew that, you still dared to come. You've got guts."

He pointed to the people around him: "Let me introduce myself. This is Zhang Lie, a second-tier martial artist, and the vice-captain of our team."

A man in his early thirties nodded to Song Chen. He was not tall, but his body was muscular and his eyes were as sharp as a wolf's.

"This is Zhao Hu, at the peak of the first rank."

A big, honest-looking man grinned.

"This is Wang Hai, mid-stage of the first tier."

A young man wearing glasses waved at Song Chen.

Captain Lei pointed to two other people standing next to him: a young girl and a boy who looked a bit older than Song Chen.

"These two, like you, were also recruited. Li Xiao and Zhou Li are slightly stronger than you."

The girl named Li Xiao nodded to Song Chen, her eyes filled with curiosity, while the boy named Zhou Li seemed nervous, constantly glancing at the distant wilderness.

Captain Lei clapped his hands, gathering everyone together: "Alright, now that we've introduced ourselves, let's get down to business."

His expression turned serious.

"Don't mistake this for an ordinary hunting mission; you're wrong, this is a cleanup mission."

A cleanup operation?

Song Chen's eyebrows twitched slightly.

"The top officials of Anning City predict that if the Beast King really breaks through to the sixth level, it is inevitable that the alien beasts will attack the city. At that time, these low-level alien beasts outside the city will be controlled by the Beast King and surge towards the city wall like a tide."

"So now, the Garrison Command is issuing a lot of hunting missions. Ostensibly, it's to let you earn points, but in reality, it's to clear out low-level alien beasts. Every one you kill is one less, so the pressure will be less when you attack the city."

Wang Hai's face paled slightly: "Captain, is there really going to be a beast tide?"

"It's possible, not certain, but we should be prepared."

He looked at the distant wilderness, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes.

"So during this period, kill as many as you can, not for points, but to survive."

Everyone fell silent.

Captain Lei clapped his hands: "Alright, get in the car. Today we're going to the ruins north of Changqing City. There have been quite a few Tier 1 beasts gathering there recently. Remember, don't be greedy for credit, don't be reckless, and follow orders."

Six people got on the bus.

The armored vehicle started up and drove into the wilderness.

In the car, Captain Lei sat next to the driver and asked without turning his head, "Song Chen, did you kill any alien beasts with the badge you just got?"

"Killed."

"How many?"

"A few hundred, I guess."

The carriage fell silent for a moment.

The group looked at him with surprise in their eyes.

Zhang Lie turned around and looked him up and down: "Hundreds? Killed during the training?"

"Um."

"What school?"

"Third Middle School".

Zhang Lie nodded, a hint of appreciation in his eyes.

"Not bad, not an inexperienced newbie."

Zhou Li whispered, "I've only killed a few..."

Li Xiao also lowered his head, somewhat embarrassed.

The car drove for an hour before stopping at the edge of a pile of ruins.

This is an old town area in the north of Changqing City. The buildings are not tall, but they are densely packed together. Most of the buildings have collapsed, leaving only broken frames. The streets are overgrown with weeds, and there are abandoned vehicles and scattered debris everywhere.

Captain Lei waved his hand: "Get out of the car. There have been a lot of strange beasts active in this area recently, so be careful."

Seven people got off the vehicle, lined up in a battle formation, and slowly walked into the ruins.

As soon as they entered the first street, Song Chen sensed something was amiss. Something was watching them. His gaze swept over the surrounding ruins and finally settled on the second-floor window of a three-story building.

There, a pair of eerie green eyes were staring at them.

"Second floor on the left."

Captain Lei glanced at him and made a hand gesture.

Zhang Lie immediately rushed out, climbed the outer wall in a few steps, and jumped into the second-floor window. A series of roars and fighting sounds came from inside, but soon quieted down.

Zhang Lie poked his head out of the window: "A mutated cat, taken care of."

He jumped down and looked at Song Chen: "Kid, you have good eyesight."

Song Chen didn't speak, he just nodded.

The procession continued forward.

We hadn't walked a hundred meters when there was another commotion.

This time it was at the street corner ahead, where three mutated wild dogs were gnawing on a corpse. They heard footsteps and simultaneously raised their heads, revealing blood-stained fangs.

Captain Lei immediately issued the strategy: "Three mid-grade Tier 1 monsters, no problem. Zhang Lie, Zhao Hu, and Wang Hai, one each. You three newbies watch from the sidelines and learn from the experience."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Song Chen rushed out.

He was incredibly fast, reaching the wild dog in the blink of an eye.

Before the first stray dog ​​could react, he sliced ​​off half of its head with a single stroke, and the other two stray dogs pounced on it at the same time.

[Slayed a Tier 1 mutated wild dog, gaining 5 kill points.]

Song Chen sidestepped the first attack, then swung his knife at the dog's waist, the blade cutting half a foot into the ground. The wild dog howled and fell to the ground.

[Slayed a Tier 1 mutated wild dog, gaining 5 kill points.]

The third stray dog ​​seized the opportunity to pounce on him from behind, opening its blood-red mouth to bite his neck.

Song Chen didn't even turn his head, and grabbed behind him with his left hand.

"Sizzle!"

A bolt of lightning shot out from his palm and slammed directly into the wild dog's open mouth.

The stray dog's body stiffened instantly, and it fell from mid-air, crashing to the ground and convulsing uncontrollably.

Song Chen turned around and finished it off with a single slash.

The three stray dogs, from the start to the end, took no more than ten seconds.

The streets were deathly silent.

Zhang Lie's hand was still on the hilt of his knife, and he stood frozen in place, as were the others.

Captain Lei stared at Song Chen, his gaze complex: "You..."

He admitted that even if he were to do it himself, he couldn't have done it so cleanly and efficiently.

Song Chen wiped the blood off the knife and sheathed it: "Sorry, it's a habit. I'm always the one leading the charge; I don't have the habit of watching from behind."

got used to.

These three words silenced everyone present.

What does it mean to get used to something?

What have you gotten used to?

Are you used to being at the forefront?

Are you used to instantly killing first-tier beasts?

Or are you used to ending the battle before others can even react?

Zhang Lie took a deep breath, walked over, and circled Song Chen once, as if he were looking at some rare animal: "You kid... how many did you kill during the training?"

"Several hundred."

Zhang Lie stared at him: "How many are at level one?"

"A little over a hundred."