A bright moon hung high, and the sky was strewn with stars.
Perhaps because autumn had already arrived, the wind in the ruined city tonight was especially clamorous.
Lin Ye’s figure was like a shadow skimming close to the ground, arriving soundlessly at the predetermined ambush point.
Another week had passed since his battle with Lone Wolf.
Over these seven days, he had repeated the same things every day.
Five daily missions, not a single one missed, all completed perfectly.
His sparring time with Chen Meng had gone from one hour to an hour and a half.
The frequency had also changed from five days a week to seven.
Chen Meng admired this student more and more—steady of mind, firm of will, and diligent besides.
The relationship between the two of them had also gradually begun to shift from that of teacher and student.
Only, judging from the results of the training, Lin Ye was still being beaten one-sidedly. The more familiar Chen Meng became with him, the heavier his blows became instead.
But under this kind of high-pressure environment, Lin Ye’s understanding and application of staff techniques and movement arts were also improving at breakneck speed.
Lastly, there was leveling up in the ruined city.
Four days ago, Lin Ye had already reached level 7.
Now, he was only one level behind that mutated black panther.
Today, all preparations were complete.
The time to hunt had arrived.
Lin Ye took a deep breath, adjusting his condition to its peak.
From his backpack, he took out a small, sealed chunk of mutated porcupine meat that gave off a thick stench of blood. It was a trophy he had just hunted down.
He tore a small opening in the sealed bag around the meat, and the rich smell of blood instantly spread through the howling night wind.
He did not throw the meat out. Instead, he tied it to his own calf, then turned and began moving slowly toward the trap zone he had meticulously designed.
Lin Ye was not certain whether that black panther would appear at this place at this exact time.
But he could only gamble.
He had walked less than a hundred meters.
A chilling, ferocious aura, like a tangible ice spike, stabbed violently toward him from behind!
It was here!
Lin Ye’s heartbeat abruptly quickened. The instant he confirmed that the prey had taken the bait, Lin Ye shifted from walking to running.
Only, it was a slow run with his speed controlled.
He did not even look back.
Behind him, a black afterimage flashed through the shadows of the ruins, so fast it was like a ghost!
This mutated black panther, whose size was comparable to a fierce tiger’s, placed its four paws on the broken chunks of concrete without making the slightest sound. A pair of beast eyes glowing幽 green in the night locked firmly onto Lin Ye’s back.
It likewise did not run at full speed. It merely trailed behind Lin Ye, ensuring he could not break out of its sight while maintaining a certain distance.
It was observing. It was judging.
Lin Ye’s heart trembled. He knew that he had still underestimated just how cunning this beast was.
This black panther’s intelligence far surpassed that of any mutated beast he had encountered before!
Lin Ye abruptly accelerated, charging toward the narrow alley he had chosen long ago.
Seeing its prey speed up and flee, the black panther let out a low growl, its hind legs suddenly exerting force!
Boom!
Its entire body turned into an arrow loosed from the bowstring. Its speed was so great that it even pulled a clearly visible wake through the air!
Sensing the fierce wind rushing at him from behind,
Lin Ye also glanced back.
The previous safe distance was shrinking rapidly.
This mutated black panther’s speed was a notch faster than any of the hunts he had observed before!
In the time it took for sparks to fly, Lin Ye had already rushed into the alley.
The reeking gale behind him nearly scraped past the back of his neck!
Now!
Without even looking, Lin Ye swung his hand backward and hurled the short length of steel rebar he had already been gripping with all his strength toward the predetermined direction!
Lin Ye had likewise practiced this action no fewer than fifty times.
“Clang!”
The steel bar struck with precision the fragile support point of the massive concrete slab suspended above the alley!
Accompanied by a grating sound of twisting metal that made one’s teeth ache,
the concrete slab weighing several tons came crashing down!
An enormous shadow instantly enveloped the entire alley!
However, at the instant before the concrete slab was about to smash down, that black panther displayed terrifying reaction speed and agility completely at odds with its massive frame!
Its body twisted forcibly in midair, cutting off its forward momentum by force. At the same time, its front claws slapped hard against the wall to the side, borrowing the force to spring backward!
Rumble—!
The concrete slab smashed heavily into the ground, stirring up clouds of dust. The entire alley trembled from the impact!
Did it work?
Lin Ye asked himself in his heart, but in the next second, his pupils contracted sharply.
From within the dust, a pitch-black figure suddenly shot out, carrying a roar that shook the sky!
The edge of the concrete slab had still struck its tail.
At this moment, the end of its tail was dripping with blood and twisted in a bizarre shape. The rest of its body was also covered in wounds cut open by shattered stones.
It wasn’t dead!
It had not even been seriously injured!
Lin Ye’s gaze focused.
The worst-case scenario had still appeared.
What shocked Lin Ye even more was that from the wounds on the black panther’s body where stones had slashed it open, strands of flesh and tissue were emerging and writhing continuously!
That was the sign of its wounds healing rapidly.
Lin Ye had seen other mutated beasts before.
But he had never seen one like this black panther, capable of recovering from minor injuries so quickly!
A term suddenly appeared in Lin Ye’s mind.
Special mutant!
They were all mutated beasts, but some monsters had mutated to a far greater degree than others.
Most mutated beasts would be judged by the system as grunts or ordinary monsters like him.
But others were elite mobs!
Clearly, this special mutant before him was an elite recognized by the system!
Lin Ye forced himself to remain calm.
Because the possibility that this mutated black panther might be a special mutant
was something he had likewise anticipated.
“Roar—!”
The intense pain completely ignited the black panther’s ferocity. It ignored the injury to its tail and charged madly on all four limbs.
Having lost some of the balancing function of its tail, its speed was also affected somewhat.
But the pressure crashing toward him was more than several times stronger than before!
Lin Ye knew that now, between him and this mutated beast, it was already a relationship where only one side could survive!
Lin Ye turned and ran, charging toward the wall at the end of the alley.
The second contingency plan was brought out by Lin Ye.
He smashed his staff heavily into the wall he had already damaged in advance. Broken stones flew, and a breach just large enough for one person to pass through appeared.
Lin Ye slipped through in a flash.
The black panther followed right after him. With a swing of its thick right claw, it forcibly smashed through the opening, then roared and charged inside.
Within the hole was an abandoned unfinished building.
Lin Ye ran ahead, and the black panther pursued behind.
Man and beast began a life-and-death chase inside this building full of obstacles!
Lin Ye used the complex terrain to constantly maneuver around it, sprinting madly upstairs.
The instant he rushed up to the third-floor stairwell, he suddenly kicked a huge metal barrel beside him.
Clang!
The metal barrel tumbled down the stairs, precisely blocking the black panther’s only path forward.
The black panther swatted the metal barrel away with one claw, but its rhythm of pursuit was also interrupted for a fraction of a second.
It was this fraction of a second!
Lin Ye had already rushed up to the fourth floor.
However, this elite mutated beast’s ability to learn and adapt also exceeded Lin Ye’s imagination.
When Lin Ye tried the same trick again on the fifth floor, the black panther actually predicted it in advance, leaping early, stepping off the wall, and directly vaulting over the iron barrel trap!
A fierce gust from its claws swept toward Lin Ye from the rear side!
He couldn’t dodge it!