Strike the First Blow

by Tai Baiyang

  The mutated wolfdog whimpered back, telling him his painful experience. However, it was interrupted by Zhang Mu, who shook his hand in return.

  “Let me tell you. To date a girl, you need to rely on your strength. All the girls would go to you when you're outstanding. This principle can be used universally for both human and dog.

  How about this? These few days, there would be a task for us. If you followed me and complete it, I will give you a bottle of the second-ranked evolving potion. How does that sound? I don’t believe you won’t be able to handle a first-ranked female dog when you're second-ranked.”

  Hearing this, the eyes of the mutated wolfdog shone brighter instantly. It slowly raised and looked at Zhang Mu, as if he was a big piece of bone.

  At this moment, a sound came from outside the tent suddenly. It was Li Hu.

  “Brother Zhang, the scouting mission and a brief map that the boss arranged for you is here. Please come out for a while.”

  Zhang Mu squinted his eye and took out all the remaining earth-type beast core from his era merchant ring. He threw it in front of the mutated wolfdog and commanded, “Eat these first and don’t be too anxious.” After that, he went out of the tent. He smiled when he saw the thing on Li Hu's hand.

  Never did he expect that Long Qi would be so anxious. With that, he would set out tomorrow.

  Scouting, and the matter of infiltration are so exciting!

  Chapter 169: The Tip Of The Iceberg

  Although he had a little drink with Li Hu last night, Zhang Mu abruptly opened his eye before dawn on the next day. It was as though he did not have a drink last night. He stretched out his hand and woke up Yuan Rui that was still sleeping soundly.

  He merely cleaned the place a little before dragging Yuan Rui, who was in a slumberous state, up onto the back of the mutated wolfdog.

  The Obsidian Beetle complained that the weather was too cold. Thus, it did not come out and abandoned the mutated wolfdog. It climbed comfortably into Yuan Rui’s pocket and leisurely used the mutated wolfdog, who was running at full speed in the direction towards Jin Zhong city.

  Long Qi had told him that the other three evolvers had camped around Jin Zhong city. Yesterday, they had been notified that they would carry out the task together once again when Zhang Mu arrived.

  At this time, at the edge of the wall, Long Qi was standing together with a mysterious person who was wrapped tightly in black. The two of them retracted their gaze once they saw Zhang Mu and Yuan Rui had disappeared from their vision.

  “What do you think?” The high and mighty leader was showing respect to this mysterious black person.

  That person pondered for a moment. Under the black veil, a lovely and enticement voice said, “It’s hard to say. However, I feel that what he has shown was merely a small tip of the iceberg.”

  It was a woman!

  Even though her face was completely covered up with the black veil, but that soft and alluring voice, allow one’s fancy to run wild and associate it with a gorgeous woman unconsciously.

  If Zhang Mu was there, he would be shocked. In this small Shan Xi city, not only there was Long Qi, who was a second-ranked evolver, this black veil woman was even powerful than Long Qi.

  “You said that there would be a newcomer in the camp and had a unique aura in his body, so I rushed over there immediately after my civil servant reported him to me.” At this time, Long Qi’s face showed an incomprehensible color as he touched his bald head and said, “But I know this person. He was a successor from the Thieves Sect. Although their guild was a little famous amongst the folk, it was better to keep it under the table. It was only some rusty tricks wrapped with a little pristine from their ancestor, nothing remarkable.

  Furthermore, I have observed him. Although I didn’t overwhelm him with all of my vigors, I could feel that he was barely supporting himself. When it was about to reach his limit, I would control it to a fixed intensity.”

  “Old Seventh, when did my instinct ever been wrong before? Trust me. This man is not that simple.” That delicate voice came out from her mouth had a touch of charm.

  However, it seems that Long Qi was accustomed to it as he was not affected by it at all, not even a little fluctuation in his emotion.

  “True, your senses never went wrong even before the start of this Paradise Era. However, I’m a little curious as this mission would need his mutated animal. Furthermore, my psychic power had sensed that the girl's bug could change its size at will. If they could bring back the core information about Jin Zhong city this time, then it couldn't be any better.” That woman grunted gently and said in a sweet and girlish voice, “Although there were thousands of evolvers, now was not the time to use human life in exchange for the resources. Therefore, we have to play safe.

  Population, is our greatest resource.” When she finished her speech, the black veil woman turned and left straight away. She went down the city wall and walked back to the camp by herself.

  “I know this, but there were too little tamer evolvers. If not, we don’t have to wait for Zhang Mu’s arrival to start our plan.” Long Qi nodded his head in agreement. It seemed like he was talking to himself, and yet, it also appeared that he was speaking to the black veil woman. He took a long glance at the direction where Zhang Mu and Yuan Rui had left. After that, he followed the woman and went down the city wall.

  What Zhang Mu didn’t know was that he was not the only one hiding his real power. Long Qi, as well as the entire Shan Xi city, had a hidden potential that was far beyond his imagination with such a figure hidden away from him. Suddenly, his every movement was being analyzed. Just like the evaluation they make about Zhang Mu, they, themselves were only showing the tip of the iceberg in front of Zhang Mu.

  。。。。。。

  Even with the weight of Zhang Mu and Yuan Rui, the mutated wolfdog dashed with abnormal speed. It seemed to be faster than it carried Zhang Mu the last time. Looks like the earth-type beast core that Zhang Mu fed it yesterday, was highly effective. The load capacity of the mutated wolfdog had increased once again.

  Zhang Mu stroked the thicker mane of the mutated wolfdog in content. Meanwhile, the Obsidian Beetle in Yuan Rui’s pocket also helped out a little. At the very least, it was scaring all the first-ranked mutated animals around them using its vigor.

  Using the whole morning, Zhang Mu and Yuan Rui finally reached the boundary. Looking at the distant city, Zhang Mu was not in a rush to meet all those evolvers with tamer ability, so that he could enter Jin Zhong city and investigate. Instead, he sat leisurely on the ground.

  The thirsty and hungry mutated wolfdog was gnawing and holding a pile of the mutated animal corpse stored in the merchant ring. As the scene was too bloody, it was sent off by Zhang Mu to a place that Zhang Mu and Yuan Rui couldn’t see. It dragged the corpse while looking miserably at Zhang Mu and Yuan Rui using its small eye.

  There was no choice. It was affecting Zhang Mu's and Yuan Rui's appetite while it was gluttony eating and splattering flesh and blood beside them.

  Sitting on the ground, with both legs arched, Zhang Mu was deep in thought as he held out a hand for support on the ground while the other hand was holding the dry food with a sluggish look.

  Suddenly, he sat up straight and took out the brief map that Li Hu gave him yesterday to study it. Even though he had seen it countless time yesterday, even memorized every location in his mind, but Zhang Mu still felt a slight uneasiness in his heart. However, he couldn’t find out the source of this uneasiness. He could only look over again, and again at the map.

  Still nothing!

  Zhang Mu took a deep breath to calm down his emotion. The firm brows gradually spread out.

  What was the reason exactly? Were there any dangers in this Jin Zhong city?

  Stop thinking about it anymore, he thought to himself. It was time to call for people since he and Yuan Rui had finished eating.

  He took out a bamboo whistle from his arm. The crisp sound began to ring through
the entire sky. Zhang Mu was not afraid of attracting any ignorant mutated animals since the Obsidian Beetle had turned on its second-ranked vigor. As for the walking dead and the mutated animals in Jin Zhong city, he was even less worried about them. Long Qi mentioned before that they seem to be protecting something so they would not leave the city so easily.

  Zhang Mu waited quietly. Within five minutes, three black figures arrived at the same time in a different direction.

  Chapter 170: Dividing The Work

  Zhang Mu inspected the evolvers that came from three different directions. A young man wearing glasses was riding on the back of a cat species. Zhang Mu had seen a real tiger before hence, he speculated that this was evolved from a kitten.

  As for the other two, there was a man who came alone. Zhang Mu who couldn’t see the mutated animal using his naked eye, and had to secretly scan around that person’s body using his psychic power. Finally, he discovered a small scorpion hidden in his sleeve. Zhang Mu was left stunned and speechless with fear. Fortunately, that person was not his enemy now, and he had his psychic barrier to defend himself. If not, he wouldn’t be able to react once he was attacked by him suddenly.

  The size of this scorpion was even smaller than what he had seen before the Cataclysm, and that means that the evolving wave did not affect the body of this small scorpion. So there was only one explanation for this, the poison of this scorpion, had increased vastly.

  The remaining person was a woman dressed in yellow. She was much more flamboyant as she stepped on the top of a giant python and glided over. Her eyes were filled with scorn and disdain as she looked down at Zhang Mu and the others from the height. That giant python slowly flicked out its tongue. It seems like a golden python that was raised as a pet in the past. It was supposed to be a docile species, but after the opening of the Paradise Era, its predatory nature was awakened. It glared at Zhang Mu with an unfriendly look.

  Except for that cat, what the heck were those other animals? Zhang Mu missed Thunder a little. At least it was a warm-blooded animal that seems normal. Too bad it was called back to inspect the refugees as the entrance of Shan Xi city could not do without her.

  On the other hand, they were also watching both Zhang Mu and Yuan Rui, together with the mutated wolfdog at their back.

  “I was wondering who was the one that caused Boss Long Qi to value such a person and make me wait here to start the plan. It turns out to be a big dog, just like Thunder.” The woman standing on top of the giant python did not sense any danger from Zhang Mu’s body. She smiled disdainfully, “Even if it was Thunder, it was hard to say who would win when it was entangled by my small snake. I honestly don’t know why the boss requested us to come here specially to wait for you.”

  So cocky?

  Zhang Mu merely take a glance at that woman before he retracted back his gaze immediately.

  Felt as though she was mocked by him, that women frowned her brows and pointed at Zhang Mu, “What is that look you’re giving? If you are not convinced, then let’s have a battle!”

  As if he did not hear anything, Zhang Mu turned his head and looked at Yuan Rui, who was scared by the giant python and shrank behind him. He regarded that yellow-clothed woman as a pile of air that talked a lot of nonsense.

  Zhang Mu did not know where he had offended her. The only possibility was him receiving the attention from Long Qi. However, he couldn’t figure out what was there to compete.

  The man that raised the scorpion kept his mouth shut as if the outside world had nothing to do with him.

  Meanwhile, that young man wearing glasses frowned as he felt that the words coming from the woman were a little over the top. He raised his head and spoke to the yellow-clothed woman, “Sister Hua, even though we had waited some time for him but stop saying those nonsenses. The boss told us to give him the data as soon as possible. So let’s quickly split up the task and go back straightaway after recording them.”

  After that, he turned around and looked at Zhang Mu, “I guessed you are that Zhang Mu from the notification, right?”

  Zhang Mu nodded his head lightly. That young man in front of his eye seems reasonable. He smiled in return, “That right, I’m Zhang Mu. Not sure how should I address you?”

  “Gu Quan. They are Lin Hua, Sister Hua. And Jiang Shu, Brother Shu respectively. As for this, it is my mutated animal. It was my pet kitten in the past. General, come and meet this guy.” That young man introduced his companion to Zhang Mu. That big mutated kitten called General, was combing its fur lifelessly. When it heard that young man called its name, it slightly raised its head and glanced at Zhang Mu.

  Seeing that his mutated animal did not cooperate with him, Gu Quan stroked the head of General and smiled awkwardly at Zhang Mu.

  The cat was still the same old thing, cold and elegant. Gu Quan, the poop-picker, had spoil it too much. If that was Zhang Mu, no matter if it was the Obsidian Beetle or the mutated wolfdog, if both of them dare to cause trouble for him, either they would be cut off from their food supply, or they would be beaten up. That was a useful method to make them obedient.

  Zhang Mu took out the brief peripheral map from his backpack that Li Hu had prepared for him. The eyes of the three people slowly gathered around him. He used his hand and pointed at the small labels in the map that were already marked out, “Gu Quan will take point number three, located at the southwest entrance of Jin Zhong city. Lin Hua, right? You will take point number five. For Jiang Shu, you will take point number six.”

  That Lin Hua just seemed to dislike Zhang Mu as she said coldly, “The boss wants us to get accurate information from all these seven points. But now, you only allocated three points. Is the two of you going to complete the remaining four points? Aren’t you overestimating yourself a little too much? Do you know that we only have one chance for this? Are you going to be responsible when there is a problem?”

  Zhang Mu, who was interrupted by Lin Hua, looked at her grimly and pointed out, “That’s right. I was going to say that we would handle all the remaining four points. Also, didn’t your parents teach you not to interrupt when the others are talking? Ms. Lin Hua, huh?”

  Lin Hua's face turned deathly pale in anger. That giant python laid obediently under her body and let her stepped on its head as they both left in anger. However, the direction that they were going was indeed point number five. Looks like she didn’t dare to act on impulse too. If she had angered Long Qi, she knew how unreasonable would that bald head be, who usually looked very kind and friendly.

  “Brother Zhang Mu, please don’t mind her. Sister Hua’s personality is always like this. It will be fine once you’re used to it.” Gu Quan looked helplessly at Zhang Mu, hoping he could understand.

  Zhang Mu waved his hand and replied, “I won’t go so far to fuss over this with a woman. Let us continue. Because the location of point number one, two, four and seven are pretty close, and I have two evolvers and two mutated animals, so we will be handling this together since our chemistry is pretty good.

  Also, the most crucial point, if anyone of us is exposed, remember that under the premise of protecting your life, try to attract the walking dead herd and mutated animals as much as possible, to share the burden of others when they are entering the city’s core.”

  Chapter 171: Planning Secretly

  The area that Zhang Mu had taken almost covered the entire southeast of Jin Zhong city. He chose this section for a reason. Yesterday when he had a drink with Li Hu, Li Hu had mentioned to him once that the west side was much weaker whereas the situation in the southeast area was more complicated.

  During that time, Li Hu wanted to convince Zhang Mu to find a relatively weak opening to break through. However, Zhang Mu did not think this way. Instead, he was more interested in the southeast side that Li Hu mentioned.

  In this Jin Zhong city, the leader of the mutated animals and the intellectual type of walking dead must have a countermeasure at the very least. Therefore, when the area was heavily guarded by
them, there would be a high possibility for the main event to appear there. Furthermore, they did not evolve to the stage where they would allocate a deceptive battle array to mislead the enemy.

  Long Qi wanted to make use of Zhang Mu to investigate the situation, so why shouldn’t Zhang Mu also make use of the available resources in his hands? If something truly happened, there would be another three people to share his burden. Therefore, during that time, wasn’t it easier to take advantage of the situation and entered again? Zhang Mu was curious about the secret within the Jin Zhong city too.

  For the time being, people would not discover any prominent piece of treasure yet. Meanwhile, the mutated animals would not be eager to devour it. Usually, they would guard beside it until it matured fully. Zhang Mu also thought of this point, which was why he ran here without thinking twice.

  Otherwise, did he specially ran over here to be Long Qi's servant instead of doing his era merchant task?

  When they reached the front of the city’s building complex, just as expected, they notice that the walking dead herd were moving in an orderly pattern. They were walking funnily with their legs dragging on the ground, yet Zhang Mu could not smile when he saw the scene.

  These walking dead were patrolling in an orderly manner according to the instruction they received!

  In this case, the only explanation for this was the intellectual type, who was controlling the enormous herd, had reached a high stage in its evolution. Therefore, it was able to control the action of the walking dead in batches.

  Then it was very likely that this intellectual type of walking dead was going to occupy Jin Zhong city as a fortress to complete the last step of its evolution. As a result, these mutated animals and walking dead herd were taking great pains for the sake of it.