Just as Lin Chen arrived at the entrance to the Qixing Mountains, he noticed many warriors gathered there, frowning and looking tense.
Wanting to understand what was going on, he approached one of the more talkative warriors and asked.
The warrior sighed and explained patiently:
"You haven't been on the Warrior Forum? There's an announcement. A mutated monster showed up in the Level 3 zone, and a lot of people have already died!"
"The Warrior Association even put out a bounty. Anyone who kills it gets 500,000 yuan!"
From that brief exchange, Lin Chen got the full picture — and he also learned, for the first time, that there was something called the Warrior Forum.
He had been too focused on getting stronger and hadn't bothered with things like community forums before.
He immediately pulled out his phone, opened the forum, registered, and created an account with the username "Nuclear Explosion God."
Sure enough, at the top of the forum, pinned in the announcements section, was the warning.
A third-level mutated monster had appeared in the Level 3 zone of the Qixing Mountains.
Because of its mutation, its strength had skyrocketed. It now fought at roughly fourth-level power. Only fourth-rank warriors and above could confidently take it down.
But the Level 3 zone was only open to warriors of third rank and below.
That meant this thing had basically become a slaughter machine.
Many warriors had already been killed.
Now, the warriors who had originally planned to enter the Level 3 zone for training were too scared to go in. Most of them were just pacing around outside the gate, not daring to move forward.
Someone posted on the forum:
"Why don't the guards go in and kill this mutant monster?"
"People are dying. Are the guards just going to sit there and do nothing?"
The replies came fast:
"You're thinking too simply. The guards only protect the entrance. Their job is to stop monsters from escaping and killing civilians in the city. What happens inside the Qixing Mountains isn't their responsibility."
"They say there's a giant beast in the Level 10 zone. The guards don't deal with that, so why would they step in for a Level 3 mutant?"
"And even if they wanted to, what are they going to do — fight a monster tens of meters tall with their bare hands?"
"Yeah. Fighting giant beasts is a mecha pilot's job."
…
After reading all of that, Lin Chen fully understood the situation.
But his attention wasn't on the warning.
It was on the bounty.
Anyone who killed this mutated Level 3 monster would earn 500,000 yuan.
Half a million.
Lin Chen silently calculated.
That was enough to buy a cheap place to live. He could stop renting and finally have somewhere stable.
If he didn't spend it on housing, he could buy a larger-capacity space ring.
Or higher-grade weapons.
Or advanced martial arts manuals.
In short — with money, all kinds of doors opened.
He made up his mind immediately.
He had to hunt that mutated monster.
Yes, the thing supposedly had fourth-level combat strength. But Lin Chen wasn't worried.
He was technically still a Second-Class Warrior right now, but he only needed 180 more points of Qi and Blood to hit Third-Class.
That was just one more decent monster meal.
Once he pushed into Third-Class Warrior, he felt confident he could take on that mutated beast.
Decision made, Lin Chen headed straight toward the portal for the Level 3 zone.
But just then, someone shouted from behind:
"A little third-level mutant monster and you're all scared? What a bunch of useless trash!"
A group of four strode into the crowd.
The one in front was a young man with dyed purple hair and a smug, arrogant expression.
Many of the warriors there recognized him immediately.
That was Wang Shihao — a third-rank warrior, a young member of the Wang family, and Wang Hao's cousin.
Even though he wasn't treated as especially important within his own family, that didn't stop him from throwing his weight around in public and building himself a reputation for being obnoxious.
The warriors gathered at the entrance clearly didn't like being insulted like that, but none of them dared respond.
The Wang family's influence in Jiangcheng was too great.
You get on the wrong side of the Wangs today, and you might be dumped in the sea as monster food tomorrow.
Not to mention, the three warriors standing behind Wang Shihao were all peak third-rank.
Not easy people to provoke.
Wang Shihao lifted his chin and raised his voice so everyone could hear.
"I'll make this clear right now. The mutant monster in the Level 3 zone is mine."
"If any of you dare try to steal my kill, I'll kill you first."
His tone made it obvious he believed every word.
His strength was already at the peak of third rank. He only needed one good opportunity to break through into fourth rank.
In his mind, killing this mutated monster would be that opportunity.
Then, suddenly, his gaze landed on someone in the crowd.
"Well, if it isn't Lin Chen," he said with a mocking laugh. "You've only got about a month left to live. Why aren't you at home waiting to die? What are you doing running around here?"
Wang Hao had stolen Lin Chen's mecha pilot qualification not long ago, and as Wang Hao's cousin, Wang Shihao obviously knew all about it.
Lin Chen frowned.
A month left to live?
What?
Who made that up?
Who's out here spreading nonsense about me dying?
He stared at Wang Shihao for half a second, then decided not to waste his time.
In his mind, getting close to someone that stupid was dangerous. Stupidity spreads.
So, in front of everyone, Lin Chen simply turned and walked straight into the portal to the Level 3 zone.
"Hey! How did he get into the Level 3 area? Is he trying to steal my kill?!"
Wang Shihao's face twisted with annoyance.
He had just publicly claimed the bounty target. He had just said he'd kill anyone else who tried to interfere.
And in front of everyone, Lin Chen had walked right into the Level 3 zone anyway.
All the warriors below third rank had frozen in fear, not daring to go one step past the portal.
But Lin Chen?
He just went in.
Unforgivable.
"Move," Wang Shihao snapped. "We're going."
He waved his hand and entered the portal with his three teammates.
However, teleportation points in each zone were randomized.
Once inside, Wang Shihao couldn't even see Lin Chen anymore.
"Tch. Ignore him for now," he said. "We find the mutant monster first."
The four of them headed deeper into the zone.
Meanwhile, Lin Chen had materialized in another part of the Level 3 area.
He had one goal.
Find a strong monster. Kill it. Eat it. Push his Qi and Blood past 2,000 and break through to Third-Class Warrior.
Only then would he have absolute confidence in taking down the mutated beast.
Before long, he found something in a cave.
A Steel-Haired Bear.
Its entire body was covered in iron-hard fur. Each hair was like a needle made of metal. Ordinary weapons barely scratched it.
Most warriors found Steel-Haired Bears annoying and would just avoid them when possible.
But Lin Chen wasn't "most warriors."
The superalloy gauntlets on his arms were perfect for this.
He stepped in and started punching.
With every blow, his force drove the Steel-Haired Bear's own "steel hair" inward like a field of spikes.
The bear's armor became its own weapon — turned against it.
In just a few hits, its internal organs were shredded. Blood splashed across the cave floor.
"Bear paw tonight," Lin Chen said calmly.
The Steel-Haired Bear collapsed.
Lin Chen cut off one of its front paws, lit a fire, set up his pot, and got ready to cook himself a proper meal.