Chapter 107: Emerging Edge, Empty Posturing

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The colossal rock beast had four limbs, resembling a giant ape, standing nearly fifty meters tall with an arm span close to eighty meters. Its head was like a rolling boulder, with no eyes but a mouth. The forearms had four fingers, while the hind legs had none, standing upright like stone pillars. Inside its body, no obvious biological organs were visible; it seemed as if the entire creature was made of mineral matter.

Usually, the beasts Ren Zhong encountered had clear earthly counterparts. But this rock beast was entirely different. From a 21st-century scientific perspective, it was a bona fide silicon-based life form.

It lacked any special abilities—just enormous size, massive weight, astonishing absolute strength, incredibly high defense, and an immense “health pool.” To kill it, there were two options: either break open its abdomen to retrieve the crystal chip inside, or chip away its rocky exterior bit by bit, as if quarrying stone, until it lost all mobility.

Even for fourth-tier professionals, achieving either of those was challenging, usually requiring one of two approaches: One, use a high-powered, costly killing method to strike a heavy blow, though this risked damaging the crystal chip and was expensive. The rock beast’s corpse was basically worthless stone, with only the chip having value. Two, use controlled, steady attacks like a stonecutter to slowly break it down, but this was time-consuming and resource-intensive, often demanding considerable effort for a single chip.

If you could defeat it, you wouldn’t be interested—it had no corpse worth scavenging beyond the chip. Those interested in the chip generally couldn’t beat it. Thus, the ironclad giant had roamed the dense forest near Sparkfire Town for a long time without anyone troubling it.

Over the years, the rock beast thrived peacefully, occasionally feasting on a wandering ancient whose identity it preferred not to reveal. But today was clearly its day of suffering.

Because the nightmare creator of Sparkfire Town’s beasts—the enigmatic “ancient” Ren Zhong—had returned in glory.

Ren Zhong charged in with a single, decisive strike, his momentum as fierce as a dragon flying straight at the beast’s face.

The rock beast swallowed him whole.

Though now clad in exoskeleton armor, the scene resembled his first encounter with this hometown creature.

Inside the beast’s esophagus, Ren Zhong felt the surrounding rock pressing in from all directions like grinding millstones, making his armor creak, but he remained calm.

Though reluctant to admit it, he was quite familiar with this situation. Last time, he was quickly crushed into a prime meatball, enough to make the rock beast salivate.

But this time…

Behind a small hill, Zheng Tian and the others watched the battlefield anxiously, each displaying their skills.

Ou Youning whispered in alarm, “It’s over.”

Zheng Tian asked, “Is Mr. Ren alright?”

Wen Lei said, “No, I have to go help.”

Chen Hanyu quickly intervened, “Don’t rush! Mr. Ren told us to watch carefully, so he must be fine! This is a fourth-tier beast; rushing in would only make things worse.”

The others looked at Chen Hanyu in surprise, “How do you know?”

After hesitation, Chen Hanyu said, “He’s too clever not to have anticipated this. It must be part of his plan.”

Zheng Tian pondered, “That makes sense.”

At that moment, the rock beast, having just swallowed a small snack and ready to lie down again, suddenly stiffened its neck.

A dull thud.

It trembled violently, shaking off clouds of dust.

Then came a series of muffled explosions.

The rock beast shook like a sieve.

…

Five minutes later, Ren Zhong used his modified arc-flash slashing blade like an electric pickaxe to punch a large hole in the beast’s abdomen, then leapt out.

As he emerged, white mist rose from his body; frost formed on his armor’s surface.

He waved to Chen Hanyu in the distance, “It’s dead! The connection between the chip and the body is completely severed! Hurry and extract the chip! Only three minutes!”

Then he turned, and the grenade launcher on his shoulder fired twice.

Two level-two gas blast grenades shot through the hole he had made.

The next second, a thick white mist billowed out.

Chen Hanyu hurried out, mounting a nearby electric motorcycle to save time.

Twenty seconds later, she reached the carcass of the rock beast and slammed on the brakes to slow down.

But her poor driving skills caused the tires to skid; the bike toppled violently.

The front wheel hit a rock; the bike flipped again, and Chen Hanyu was thrown into the air.

From afar, the others screamed in alarm.

But Chen Hanyu didn’t hit the ground; Ren Zhong activated his medium engine, soaring through the air to catch her mid-flight and bring her back to the hole.

Ren Zhong didn’t scold her carelessness, only reminded, “Though I dispersed the cold with blast grenades, it’s still below zero inside. Endure it. The chip is only worth 1,000 points, but it’s vital for my next plan.”

Hearing this, Chen Hanyu nodded dumbly and instinctively said, “Okay. Time’s tight; put me down quickly.”

Bang!

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“Aiya~!”

The onlookers continued watching, grinning.

Ou Youning sneered, “Ren really doesn’t spare the fairer sex.”

Zheng Tian said, “Looking at her backside hurts me.”

Wen Lei asked, “Chen Hanyu can succeed, right? Uh, this is a fourth-tier beast.”

Zheng Tian replied, “Should be… maybe… probably… possibly?”

Two minutes later, shivering from the cold, Chen Hanyu crawled out of the hole in the beast’s abdomen.

Ren Zhong bent down, grabbed her trembling hand, and pulled her out, asking, “How was it?”

Chen Hanyu raised the storage box with effort and smiled brightly, frost coating her eyebrows, “No shame on me. Perfect grade!”

Though she already had fourth-tier dismantling skills, this was her first time dismantling a fourth-tier beast’s chip.

Her gloves weren’t high-level, so she worried about messing up Ren Zhong’s plan.

But it ended perfectly, and she was very satisfied with her performance.

Her chest heaved violently with excitement.

Ren Zhong was a bit speechless, wanting to say, “Why are you so excited? I’ve never seen you fail at fourth-tier dismantling; the worst is always ‘good’ quality.”

But then he realized this was truly her first time in this timeline.

Well, to match her excitement, he begrudgingly praised her, “Not bad, well done.”

Chen Hanyu nodded earnestly, “Thank you for your compliment, Mr. Ren.”

“Enough, it’s cold here. Let’s go back.”

…

On the way back, the other four team members felt odd.

In this fourth-tier beast hunt, fighting and dismantling were Ren Zhong and Chen Hanyu’s jobs; the rest did nothing.

They felt like background props, there only to watch and marvel.

Just like in those TV dramas, where when the protagonist faces an impossible challenge, the supporting cast voices doubts and worries.

Then the protagonist casually accomplishes what was deemed impossible.

The supporting cast blushes with shame for their ignorance.

Ou Youning, sitting in the van’s passenger seat, quietly turned to look out the window.

The Thunderbolt vehicle was driving parallel to the van.

Zheng Tian sat behind the wheel of the Thunderbolt, having forcibly taken over driving from Ren Zhong, claiming the latter was too tired after the fight.

Chen Hanyu sat in the Thunderbolt’s passenger seat.

Ren Zhong comfortably occupied the rear seat, treating himself like royalty.

Wen Lei drove the van.

Ou Youning sighed, “We’re all teammates, but why is the gap between people so huge? Ren and Chen must be hiding something from us.”

Wen Lei said, “Don’t overthink it.”

“I’m such a fan of Ren, why doesn’t he trust me and hides things? Wen Lei, why do you think that is? What did I do wrong?”

Wen Lei replied, “You talk too much. Have you considered that Mr. Ren might be hiding things for our own good?”

Ou Youning perked up, “Right! That must be it! Never mind, I’ll just improve my skills when we get back.”

From the back seat, Bai Feng asked, “What skills?”

“Thigh-hugging skills! I feel Ren is still a bit lecherous but has cleanliness issues. I need to plan carefully. I’ll get Night’s Long Sleep’s madam to help find a good-looking young girl! Yes! That’s decided!”

Wen Lei silently turned his face away, unable to bear seeing this fool.

…

At 5:45 PM, during the evening rush at Sparkfire Resource Recycling Plaza, the crowd surged.

Suddenly, a woman’s startled scream rang out.

“Oh my God! This is the rock beast’s chip!? You hunted a fourth-tier beast?”

The female staff stared at Ren Zhong in disbelief, shouting so loudly it immediately attracted the attention of all other staff and scavengers waiting in line.

The noisy plaza instantly fell into an eerie silence.

Ren Zhong smiled and nodded, “Yes, a fourth-tier beast.”

About five seconds later, someone spoke first, followed by a buzz of whispered conversations growing louder, like a locust swarm passing through.

Though all were low voices, the volume was louder than before.

In such a noisy environment, Ren Zhong’s “old acquaintance,” the female staff member, while calculating the price, couldn’t help but ask, “How did you do it?”

Ren Zhong smiled again, shrugged, “The details don’t matter; the result does. Hmm… it was strong, terrifying. But we won.”

Three minutes later, all the day’s earnings were tallied.

One fourth-tier rock beast chip, worth exactly 1,000 points.

Six sets of third-tier beast chips and corpses, totaling 750 points.

Twelve sets of second-tier beast chips and corpses, totaling 420 points.

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Total income: 2,170 points.

Today, he used special equipment—low-temperature cloud bombs, level-two gas blast grenades—and accounting for miscellaneous energy, ammunition, and minor equipment repairs, the team’s total cost was 170 points, net profit 2,000 points.

Ren Zhong took 50%, earning 1,000 points.

When dividing the spoils, Ren Zhong did not hide anything from the team; instead, he openly distributed shares publicly, even announcing the numbers, causing nearby scavengers to drool with envy.

Especially upon hearing Ren say he wasn’t the leader and that Zheng Tian was, the team’s gaze immediately turned admiringly to Zheng Tian.

Zheng Tian’s team was already well-known among scavengers; many recognized her and knew her team initially had just five members.

In the past, Zheng Tian’s team only scared first-tier beasts and rarely succeeded against second-tier beasts.

But now, they could hunt fourth-tier beasts, undoubtedly due to the decisive influence of the newcomer.

Zheng Tian had some real skill!

No one knew what tricks she used to recruit such a person into her team.

Quite enviable…

I feel I could…

Sigh!

Under such attention, Zheng Tian felt both worried and proud, her head held high.

This must be the feeling she always yearned for—standing out among peers.

Yet, fortune and misfortune are intertwined.

Before the group left the plaza, the female staff member responsible for settling accounts caught up, loudly saying, “Mr. Ren, the boss wants you to come upstairs to his office for a chat. The others, wait here.”

Ren Zhong nodded, got off, and followed upstairs.

After Ren left, Zheng Tian, sitting in the Thunderbolt’s driver seat, recalled the day’s events and vaguely sensed something.

Her proud expression instantly froze.

She suddenly became nervous and uneasy.

She knew every step Ren took was deliberate.

Zheng Tian started to speculate.

What was Mr. Ren’s purpose in unleashing such power today?

Did he want to attract Mr. Yang’s attention and sign with a professional team?

That would be good, meaning they could all rise with him.

Or was he planning to join Lin Wang’s team, giving them a feast before bidding farewell?

This…

Chen Hanyu reached over, grasped Zheng Tian’s hand firmly, and whispered, “No matter what happens next, trust that Mr. Ren has the best plans. Don’t overthink. He once said that among all scavengers in the town, he only trusts us. We must have faith in ourselves.”

Zheng Tian still lowered her head in gloom, replying, “Yeah.”

Despite Chen Hanyu’s comfort, worries about the future still engulfed her with helplessness.

…

In Yang Bingzhong’s office.

Ren Zhong “met for the first time” the true mastermind behind Sparkfire Resources.

Though the times and underlying reasons differed slightly, the scene was almost identical to the “last time.”

Yang Bingzhong leaned back, legs crossed, hands relaxed and spread, expression poker-straight, then gradually softened into a warm smile upon seeing Ren.

Even the subtle finger positions were exactly the same as before.

This was no coincidence.

Ren Zhong understood.

This was Yang’s way of commanding subordinates.

His body language was carefully crafted to appear relaxed yet authoritative.

He exuded confidence while seeming to have no suspicion toward a newcomer.

This was Yang’s technique to assert authority and simultaneously bridge distance with new subordinates—a tried-and-true method, never failing.

But Ren Zhong, having dealt with top-tier entrepreneurs and local government bigwigs in the 21st century, knew that truly charismatic leaders never needed such contrived gestures.

Such people naturally radiated warmth and closeness in casual conversation, effortlessly bridging gaps.

Yang Bingzhong clearly could not achieve this, hence the meticulous design.

The more standard his body language, the more it appeared to Ren as mere bluffing.

So, the real controller behind the lives of twenty thousand wastelanders—Yang Bingzhong—was really just that.

His acting? Ren could only give him a score of 60.

Pathetic.

Yang Bingzhong would never have guessed that at their “first meeting,” Ren had already labeled him a bluff, a mediocre man hiding insecurity.

He was utterly defeated.

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