Chapter 401 - 185: Monster Territory

Chapter 401: Chapter 185: Monster Territory

’Should I turn back?’

The thought lingered in Xu Mo’s mind as he seriously considered the possibility.

’If I turn back and take a detour, it’ll be longer, but at least it’ll be safe. I wouldn’t have to face so many monsters, waste ammunition, or worry about running into something even more terrifying.’

’But turning back means I’d have to go through Qinglin Town again. The people there have probably found those three bodies by now. Will they send someone after me? Will they set up a roadblock?’

’Besides, if I go back, the new route to Xin’an City will take even more time. My food and water won’t last that long.’

Xu Mo’s thoughts turned to the burnt paraglider. ’If I still had it, I could just fly over everything, without having to deal with these monsters on the ground at all.’

Unfortunately, that thing was now nothing but ash.

"Press on," Xu Mo decided, gritting his teeth.

Having made his decision, Xu Mo spread out his map and found his next objective: a place called Anping Town, over a hundred kilometers ahead.

According to the map, it was a fairly large town. He could rest there and see if he could find a new paraglider through the door, or at least restock on supplies.

His mind made up, Xu Mo hit the accelerator and drove on.

On the road ahead, Xu Mo’s suspicions were confirmed.

He ran into three or four monsters in a row, every one of them a Level 3. Not a single Level 1 or Level 2 monster appeared.

This meant Xu Mo had entered the core territory of Level 3 monsters—areas they occupied so completely that Level 1 and 2 monsters didn’t dare come near.

For every encounter, Xu Mo had to rely on his Barrett.

But something else put Xu Mo on high alert. After killing five Level 3 monsters in a row, he suddenly realized that there were no monsters at all for the next kilometer or two.

That was abnormal. Based on the pattern so far, there should have been a monster every kilometer or two. But now, he had driven nearly two kilometers and seen nothing.

Xu Mo slowed down and pulled the car over to the side of the road, carefully observing his surroundings.

The area was a stretch of rolling hills, with dry, yellow grass swaying in the wind. Everything looked perfectly normal.

But Xu Mo’s intuition told him it wasn’t.

In a region teeming with monsters, a stretch of complete emptiness could only mean one thing: this was the territory of an even higher-level monster.

That monster was so powerful that all the others didn’t dare approach.

Xu Mo took a deep breath and slowed the car to a crawl.

The SUV advanced at what was barely a jogging pace, Xu Mo’s eyes constantly scanning his surroundings, ready for anything.

After another kilometer or so, Xu Mo stopped the car altogether and climbed onto the roof of the SUV to get a better look at the distance.

The view from the roof was better, allowing him to see much farther.

Xu Mo squinted, carefully observing every patch of grass. The area was eerily quiet; even the sound of the wind rustling the blades seemed unnaturally clear.

He drove on like this for several more kilometers. The next time Xu Mo climbed onto the roof to survey the area, a chill shot up from the depths of his soul, making the hair on his arms stand on end!

It was his body’s instinctive alarm, an intuition honed by countless brushes with death.

’Danger!’

Xu Mo whipped his head around, looking to his left.

It was a relatively gentle slope, but right now the wild grass there was shaking violently. Something was rising from it.

It was a bear!

No! It was more accurate to call it a fearsome, awe-inspiring monster!

Standing, it was nearly five meters tall—a small mountain of flesh. Its waist was so thick it would take at least four people with arms outstretched to encircle it. Its limbs were as stout as pillars, and each paw was the size of a washbasin. The claws tipping its paws were over twenty centimeters long, glinting menacingly in the sunlight.

Its fur was dark brown, but from certain angles, a faint silver sheen was visible. Its eyes were blood-red, and they were locked onto Xu Mo on the roof of the car.

A single term flashed through Xu Mo’s mind: ’Raging Bear’.

This was no ordinary bear. It was a mutated, terrifying creature that had evolved to its absolute peak. Its size, its aura, the sheer pressure in its gaze—it all told Xu Mo one thing: this was a being that far surpassed a Level 3 monster.

The Raging Bear rose to its full height, staring at Xu Mo. After two seconds, it dropped to all fours, opened its gaping maw, and let out an earth-shattering roar.

"ROAR—!"

The sound was like a clap of thunder, making Xu Mo’s eardrums ache.

Then, the Raging Bear moved, charging toward Xu Mo on all fours. Its massive body displayed astonishing speed, each footfall making the ground tremble. Its eyes were locked on Xu Mo; it had clearly marked him as prey.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Xu Mo raised his Barrett, aimed, and fired—all in one fluid motion.

"BANG!"

The massive report of the rifle rang out.

But the next sight made Xu Mo’s eyes go wide.

Just as the bullet was about to strike the Raging Bear, the giant creature’s body suddenly changed. Its dark brown fur turned a grayish-white at a visible rate, as if covered by a layer of Rock Armor. The .50 caliber bullet struck its shoulder but only inflicted a superficial wound!

’Holy shit, a bear with a Superpower?’

Xu Mo was stunned. He had killed countless monsters, but he had never seen one that could use a Superpower. This Raging Bear could actually wrap itself in Rock Armor mid-battle. Against that, even the damage from his Barre was practically nothing.