Chapter 3: The Polluted Zone Comes With Sugar Daddies?!

Summer rolled her eyes and sighed heavily because the only Sentinel she knew was Ryland, along with some of the people from Team 8.

But Summer would rather blow her head off again than go back to them.

[Warning! Warning!]

[The Mutated Bat is getting closer.]

Not long after, Summer saw something huge flying right above her.

The bat was enormous, easily several times larger than an ordinary bat. Its wings stretched nearly six meters from one end to the other, while patches of black fur covered its muscular body.

Several sharp fangs protruded from its mouth as it circled above the abandoned buildings.

Summer immediately pressed herself against the wall of the abandoned house and raised her head.

"So that’s a C-rank?" she murmured to herself.

She had seen much uglier things inside the SSS-rank rifts in her previous life, but the body she currently possessed was nowhere near as strong as her old one.

[Warning! The Mutated Bat has detected you!]

The creature suddenly folded its wings and dove toward her.

[She’s going to die!]

[RIP Summer!]

[I can’t watch this anymore! This stupid F-Rank Guide actually thinks she can go solo!]

[Does she think she’s Archer Reed or something?!]

On the other side, Summer immediately pulled out the plasma gun she had taken earlier and aimed upward.

Bang!

A bright burst of plasma shot from the muzzle and slammed straight into the bat’s chest.

The impact sent the creature flying sideways. Its huge body crashed into the remains of a nearby building, sending broken pieces of concrete everywhere.

However, Summer did not even have time to celebrate because the recoil from the plasma gun traveled straight through both of her arms.

Crack!

A horrible pain tore through her right shoulder, and Summer stumbled backward, nearly dropping the plasma gun.

"Fuck!"

The terminal on her wrist flashed red.

[Injury Detected.]

[Right Shoulder Dislocation.]

[Soft Tissue Damage Detected.]

[Warning: Current physical condition is unsuitable for repeated use of a military-grade plasma weapon.]

Summer stared at the warning for a few seconds. "Oh, shut up."

As if completely ignoring her complaint, another warning appeared.

[Warning!]

[C-Rank Mutated Bat Detected.]

[Distance: 43 meters.]

[Distance: 39 meters.]

[Distance: 35 meters.]

Summer immediately looked toward the ruined building where the bat had crashed. There was now a large, open wound in the middle of its chest, but the damn thing was still alive.

She clicked her tongue, thinking that she should have aimed for its head.

The moment the bat tried to move, Summer quickly moved toward the nearest wall.

She positioned her injured shoulder carefully before using the wall to force the joint back into place.

Summer gritted her teeth until she finally felt the joint slip back into position.

The terminal immediately updated her condition.

[Right Shoulder Joint: Normal Position.]

[Soft Tissue Damage Remains.]

[Recommendation: Avoid Heavy Recoil and Excessive Arm Movement.]

Summer sighed out of frustration because this body felt as fragile as a caterpillar.

Her shoulder still hurt like hell, but at least she could move her arm again.

The problem was not the plasma gun itself, but the fact that her arms were unable to withstand the recoil.

If she fired it normally one more time, she would probably dislocate her shoulder again.

Summer looked around quickly and her gaze soon landed on a thick piece of concrete that was still standing among the ruins.

If her body could not take the recoil, then she simply needed to find something else that could.

Summer immediately crouched behind the broken concrete and rested the plasma gun against it. She carefully positioned the weapon so the thick concrete would take most of the force when she fired.

[C-Rank Mutated Bat Detected.]

[Distance: 21 meters.]

[Distance: 18 meters.]

Summer raised the barrel and pointed it directly at the bat’s head.

"Come here," she whispered to herself.

As the enormous bat rushed toward her, Summer immediately pulled the trigger.

Bang!

The moment the plasma gun released its energy, cracks immediately spread across the concrete supporting it. Summer’s arms shook from the remaining force, but her shoulder stayed firmly in place.

On the other side, the second plasma blast finally struck the bat’s head. Within seconds, it stopped moving and fell to the ground.

For a few seconds, the BeastNet livestream became strangely quiet, then the comments exploded.

[WTF?!]

[SUMMER JUST KILLED A C-RANK MUTANT!]

[She dislocated her shoulder, PUT IT BACK IN PLACE AGAINST A WALL, and then kept fighting?!]

[Forget the F-Rank part. What kind of Guide fights like this?!]

The comments continued flooding the BeastNet livestream, but Summer was no longer paying attention to them.

She carefully rolled her right shoulder and stretched her arm, trying to see how badly she had injured herself.

There was still a dull pain around the joint, but at least she could move it without feeling like her entire arm was about to fall off.

Then her terminal suddenly started ringing.

[Ding!]

[Ding! Ding! Ding!]

[Viewer Gift Received!]

[Little Strawberry sent ×10 Energy Drinks: 100 Credits]

[Rich Auntie sent ×5 Plasma Roses: 500 Credits]

[Batman’s Widow sent ×1 Golden Beast: 1,000 Credits]

[BaronB sent x10 Celestial Crown: 1000,000 Credits]

Summer’s eyes widened when she saw the last gift she had received.

Just a short while ago, she had only had 10,000 Credits. Now, her balance had suddenly skyrocketed past one million because of this one particular person.

Whoever BaronB was, Summer hoped he lived a long and healthy life.

The BeastNet comments were even more shocked than she was.

[WHAT THE FUCK?! TEN CELESTIAL CROWNS?!]

[BARONB??? WHO IS THAT?!]

[Rich people are terrifying!]

[Summer, hurry up and thank your sugar daddy!]

Summer completely ignored the last comment. She carefully stretched her right arm while admiring the gift notification that was still floating on her terminal screen.

Maybe this livestreaming thing was not so bad after all.

She killed monsters, people watched her, and then some mysterious rich man threw money at her.

Summer could definitely get used to this.

However, just as she was calculating how many more mutated creatures she would need to kill before she could become rich enough to retire, the comments suddenly changed.

[Wait.]

[Summer.]

[BEHIND YOU!]

[WHY IS THE BAT MOVING?!]

Summer’s smile immediately disappeared, and she finally realized that her terminal had not given any announcement that she had killed the mutant.

She slowly turned her head toward the supposedly dead C-Rank Mutated Bat.

She saw its enormous body twitching, and a strange bulge suddenly appeared on the side of the bat’s neck. The flesh began to move and swell before something tore its way through the burnt skin.

Suddenly, another head emerged from the bulge.

[Warning! Warning!]

[Mutation Detected.]

[C-Rank Mutated Bat has entered its Second Mutation State.]

[Threat Level Increasing.]

Summer stared at the second head for several seconds.

"Of course, there’s a surprise." She sighed. "What a dramatic bat."

The creature suddenly pushed itself back onto its feet.

Summer immediately grabbed the plasma gun again, but before she could find another piece of concrete to support it, the ground beneath the ruins began to shake.

She froze when she saw something enormous moving underneath the broken buildings.

The bat seemed to notice it as well. Its new head snapped toward the sound before it spread its massive wings, clearly intending to fight.

However, before the bat could start the fight, something underneath the ruins suddenly emerged.

Broken concrete immediately exploded into the air, and when the flying dust no longer blocked her view, Summer finally saw an enormous black mamba wrapped around the bat from its legs all the way up to its head.

The bat desperately flapped its wings, but the snake only tightened its coils.

Crack!

Summer heard bones breaking and her terminal immediately began flashing with warning after warning.

[Sentinel Detected.]

[Identity: Archer Reed.]

[Beast Form: Black Mamba.]

[Sentinel Rank: SSS.]

[Pollution Level: 88%]

[Status: Highly Polluted.]

[Warning: Guiding Required.]

Summer frowned. Another Sentinel? So this was what an SSS-rank Sentinel looked like.

But why would an SSS-Rank Sentinel be inside a B-Rank Polluted Zone?

Before she could think of an answer, the BeastNet comments exploded.

[WOAAAH! ARCHER REED?! I DIDN’T EXPECT TO SEE HIM HERE!]

[Didn’t he kill his teammate when he lost control?! T_T]

[ALLEGEDLY! Don’t get BeastNet sued!]

[Wasn’t he punished after that? He got banned from high-rank zones!]

[So that’s why an SSS-Rank Sentinel is hanging around a B-Rank Zone?!]

[Yep. Bro got demoted without actually getting demoted.]

[Going solo with 88% pollution?! He’s insane!]

[Summer, go save your future #2 sugar daddy!]

[Dumbass! She could get killed!]