Chapter 40 - 33: Heart Core
In the skies above Yang City, amidst the never-ending curtain of bloody rain, the tiny Mosquito Avatar was darting about at an unbelievable speed.
The dense raindrops formed near-solid lines, yet it always managed to nimbly dodge them by the slimmest of margins.
Its objective was clear—
To hunt!
Thanks to the global cataclysm, the bloody rain acted as a breeding ground, spawning a near-infinite number of monsters.
For the Mosquito Avatar, finding prey required no deliberate searching. A few moments of coasting on the air currents was all it took to easily lock onto a target.
However...
Lin Yi had a clear understanding of the situation and a strict strategy.
The Mosquito Avatar would never provoke high-level monsters—those with powerful auras, massive bodies, and terrifying energy fluctuations radiating from them.
They might not be able to detect the Mosquito Avatar’s presence, but the unintentional overflow of their Qi and Blood Energy was enough to create destructive turbulence that could easily tear the avatar to shreds.
His targets were locked firmly on monsters whose strength was roughly equivalent to a human First-Grade Martial Artist.
The risk was manageable, and the reward was consistent.
Soon, a First-Grade monster, shaped like a giant lizard with skin covered in dark red, keratinous scales, appeared in the Mosquito Avatar’s compound eyes.
It was tearing at an abandoned car with its sharp claws.
The Mosquito Avatar, as light as a Ghost, landed silently and swiftly on the monster’s slime-covered back. Its long, hard proboscis instantly pierced the tough hide and plunged deep into a blood vessel.
SUUUCK!!!
The warm, energy-rich monster blood was immediately drawn out by a powerful suction, continuously converted into pure Qi and Blood, and infused back into Lin Yi’s real body across the distance.
Back in the shelter, Lin Yi’s real body began to cultivate in sync.
However, just as the Mosquito Avatar was greedily siphoning and Lin Yi was fully immersed in his Cultivation—
BOOM!
A blinding, incandescent-white beam of energy, accompanied by a high-frequency hum, shot out without warning from the depths of the rain-soaked street!
The beam was chillingly precise, instantly piercing the lizard monster’s skull!
Its hideous head exploded like a watermelon hit by a sledgehammer. Red and white viscera and bone fragments splattered everywhere, only to be washed away by the downpour of blood.
The monster’s massive body stiffened for a moment before crashing into a muddy pool of blood, sending up a splash of foul water.
The Blood Sucking was abruptly cut off!
The Mosquito Avatar reacted with lightning speed. The instant the head exploded, it shot into the air. Although its invisible body broke through some raindrops, possibly revealing its trail, it was still difficult to detect.
Its cold compound eyes focused intently on the direction the energy beam had come from.
A team of well-equipped Martial Artists in dark black uniforms emerged from the curtain of rain, their steps steady and swift.
Cold, gleaming weapons hung at their waists, and in their hands, they gripped powerful Energy Firearms.
’Damn it! It’s the Public Security Bureau!’
Lin Yi’s heart sank as he saw the familiar uniform insignia through the Mosquito Avatar’s eyes.
An official force!
Without hesitation, he immediately had the Mosquito Avatar turn around and vanish into the dense rain and the shadows of the buildings, unwilling to have any contact with them.
At that moment, the Public Security Bureau’s elite enforcement team had already reached the spot where the monster had fallen.
The captain in the lead had a grim expression. His gaze swept the surroundings like a hawk as he gave a cold command, "Recover the Energy Core! Be quick! Remember, when hunting monsters, prioritize attacking the head. The heart region must be kept intact. Do not damage the Heart Core!"
"Yes, sir!" a team member responded, stepping forward and skillfully drawing a short dagger from his tactical belt.
SHIINK! He easily sliced open the monster’s tough chest.
Amidst the gore, he reached in with precision and pulled out a heart roughly the size of a fist.
But this heart wasn’t made of flesh and blood; it was a crystal that glowed with a faint red light.
This was the monster’s Energy Core!
Viscous blood seemed to flow slowly within it, containing an astonishing amount of energy.
The Red Moon cataclysm, the monster scourge—each arrival was like a replay of the apocalypse. Countless civilians who failed to reach the shelters in time were reduced to dried bones amidst their wails of agony.
However, the Energy Cores that grew inside these monsters also became one of humanity’s most precious resources in this cataclysmic era.
The vast energy they contained had long since replaced the fossil fuels of the old era, becoming the new power source that drove society.
The reactor cores of crucial military-industrial, medical, and scientific research facilities were all powered by high-purity monster Heart Cores.
Even the Energy Firearms held by the Public Security Bureau members had these as their core power units.
On the official resource exchange list, a pristine First-Grade monster Energy Core was listed with a staggering value—one hundred thousand Huaxia Coins!
The Heart Core of a high-level monster would be even more expensive!
...
’What a shame... When the Mosquito Avatar was Blood Sucking, it drained nearly all the energy from the monster, including its Heart Core. Otherwise...’
Peering through the Mosquito Avatar’s compound eyes at the red crystal worth a hundred thousand being extracted, Lin Yi felt an indescribable pang of heartache.
Every monster the Mosquito Avatar drained dry, its Heart Core naturally turned into a worthless rock.
’Millions down the drain!’
But this sliver of regret was instantly suppressed by a much stronger sense of urgency.
The priority was Qi and Blood! It was Bone Tempering!
It was seizing every single second of the Red Moon!
The Mosquito Avatar lingered no more. It plunged back into the vast, bloody rain. Relying on its Extraordinary speed and senses, it soon locked onto a First-Grade monster that resembled a giant hedgehog, its back covered in sharp bone spikes, in a relatively secluded alleyway...
...
GASP...
GASP...
ROOOAR!!!
At this moment, Yang City had completely descended into a living Hell.
A crimson light enveloped the sky.
Bursts of chaotic noise erupted from all directions.
The sharp shrieks of monsters, the dying screams of humans, the groaning collapse of overburdened buildings, the piercing whine of Energy Weapons firing, the sharp CLANG of cold weapons clashing...
Countless chaotic and frenzied sounds wove together, forming a bone-chilling symphony of the apocalypse.
Flames struggled and flickered in the rain. Thick smoke billowed toward the sky, only to be beaten back down by the bloody downpour. The air was saturated with the thick, cloying stench of rust, burnt matter, and the sickeningly sweet odor of monster fluids.
Death spread like an invisible plague, creeping into every corner.
Monsters were born in the rain, only to die at the hands of stronger forces or human encirclements.
And humans—be they civilians struggling to survive, Martial Artists hunting for cores, or the official forces maintaining order—were all paying a terrible price.
Lin Yi controlled his Mosquito Avatar, choosing his hunting grounds with increasing caution. He did his best to avoid densely fought areas and main roads, specifically picking spots deep within dilapidated buildings, near the entrances of abandoned sewers, or in hidden corners cut off by collapsed walls.
He would rather fly a greater distance to find a lone monster than clash with those powerful hunters again and lose a precious source of Qi and Blood for nothing.
Just as the Mosquito Avatar drained another monster dry, flew lightly from the scene, and was circling above the street in search of its next target—
an unusual group of people abruptly entered the Mosquito Avatar’s 360-degree, unobstructed field of vision.
They immediately caught Lin Yi’s attention.