56: Chapter 56 The Grave of Reinforced Concrete

Lin Ye carried the newly captured crossbow and wove through the forest.

Twenty meters ahead.

On a branch of a giant tree, a grey, fuzzy ball was sprawled out.

Information popped up on his right eye's screen.

[Ghost-Faced Sloth (Small)]

Lin Ye took a closer look, and good grief, its face looked like a skinned rat.

Its four limbs were clinging to the tree bark; it was as disgusting as could be.

He stopped and leaned against a tree.

He had just gotten his hands on a new toy and was looking for a chance to let it draw blood.

He raised the crossbow.

The sight locked onto that ugly face in the tree.

He placed his index finger on the trigger and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Whoosh."

A faint sound of air being pierced rang out.

The arrow pierced through the Ghost-Faced Sloth's head.

The little beast didn't even make a sound; it fell straight down and smashed into the pile of rotting leaves below.

[Killed small exotic beast, points +2]

Lin Ye raised an eyebrow.

The penetrating power and stealth of this crossbow far exceeded his expectations; it was a lethal weapon for ambushes.

However...

He reached behind him and felt the remaining 7 arrows, his brow furrowing.

"Damn it, what a cheapskate."

"Sending a package and being so stingy with the ammo—who is this supposed to be enough for?"

Lin Ye curled his lip.

Looking at the arrow stuck in the corpse's head, a sudden spark of inspiration flashed in his mind.

He raised his right arm.

The Wind-Chasing Claw aimed at the tail of the arrow.

"Bang!"

The grappling claw shot out and bit into the middle of the arrow shaft.

The cable retracted.

With a "squelch," the arrow was pulled out from the corpse's skull.

It zipped back into his hand with a "whoosh."

Lin Ye wiped the blood off the arrowhead on the tree bark and reloaded it into the arrow groove.

He flicked the taut bowstring of the crossbow and muttered smugly:

"I really am a little genius."

...

In the Great Xia Live Stream.

Witnessing this smooth little combo, the netizens' chat exploded.

[Holy crap! What a "little genius"! This move is incredible!]

[Using a grappling hook to retrieve arrows! This crossbow and Brother Eye are a perfect match!]

[666! As long as the arrow shaft doesn't break, this is an infinite ammo build!]

[Wait, weren't they only allowed to send non-military supplies? How did the island nation manage to send this in?]

[Let me educate you: this is a modern competitive crossbow, not military-grade. The draw weight is capped below the 150-pound red line, classifying it as sports equipment. The little Japs are exploiting a bug here!]

[So what if they exploited a bug? In the end, it still just sent warmth to our Brother Eye!]

[Lord Ikan Kinju is truly a considerate friend of the Great Xia people! This delivery was so timely!]

[Brothers! Shouldn't we go to the neighbors' place and present them with a silk banner?]

[Let's go, let's go! Let's beat drums and gongs to deliver the silk banner!]

After figuring out its origin, a large group of netizens quickly teamed up and stormed the island nation's livestream.

[Great Xia: We are here specifically to thank Mr. Ikan for his selfless contribution! Delivering a head from a thousand miles away—the gift is light, but the sentiment is heavy!]

[Great Xia: Thanks to our buddy the Colonel for sending the crossbow! You shouldn't have!]

[Great Xia: Lord Ikan departed peacefully, without pain. He will live forever in Great Xia's equipment inventory!]

[Great Xia: Does your country have any other sports equipment to send? Waiting online, it's quite urgent.]

When it comes to sarcasm, no one is better at it than Great Xia netizens.

The island nation's audience was already frustrated, and seeing the screen full of uniform "thank you notes," they collectively broke down.

[Baka! Despicable Great Xia people, you are robbers!]

[That one-eyed dragon has no martial ethics! Return the Empire's property!]

[Lord Ikan Kinju, that piece of trash! How does he have the face to die!]

[Protest! We solemnly protest! This is an insult to our Great Plaster nation!]

The islanders raged impotently, cursing Lord Ikan Kinju's ancestors for eighteen generations over and over again.

Meanwhile, the Great Xia netizens laughed their heads off amidst the screen full of "Bakas," then left without leaving a trace, retreating gracefully.

...

Lin Ye advanced towards the mountains.

More than half an hour later, he stood at the foot of the mountain.

He looked up, and a sense of oppression rushed towards him.

The blue-grey rock surface was covered in moss, and the higher he looked, the thicker the fog became.

Lin Ye hung the crossbow on the backpack behind him.

He raised his right hand.

"Bang!"

The Wind-Chasing Claw shot towards a protruding rock 50 meters above.

The cable tightened, and a pulling force came through.

Lin Ye stepped on the moss, using the momentum to climb upwards.

When he encountered smooth faults, he used the grappling claw to force his way up.

When he encountered protruding rock walls, he relied on his formidable core strength to climb up forcefully.

Time ticked away, second by second.

A full hour of rock climbing.

After breaking through the blockade of clouds and fog, Lin Ye stood on the mountain peak.

He walked to the edge of the ridge and looked down.

What caught his eyes was not the rolling mountains he had imagined.

But a natural basin.

Its scale was so vast that it seemed as if a meteorite had smashed a giant bowl-shaped crater here.

And in the center of the basin, an urban ruin lay dormant.

Dozens-of-story-high buildings were tilted and collapsed, some even snapped in half.

The elevated bridges were broken into sections, and the wreckage of cars was connected end-to-end, piled up like mountains.

This was a grave made of steel and concrete.

The scale before him was more than ten times larger than the previous ruin!

It was at least a medium-sized "Lost Lands."

In the Great Xia Live Stream.

[Holy crap! This is too spectacular!]

[Is this a reflection of Blue Star after the apocalypse? It makes it hard to breathe just looking at it!]

[Such a huge ruin! How many monsters must be hiding in there!]

[The ground is full of double points! Brother Eye, do something big! Kill your way through them!]

[Brother Eye, charge, charge, charge! Shoot them up with the crossbow! Step on that USA soldier!]

The audience was looking forward to Lin Ye going on a killing spree and heading straight to the top of the leaderboard.

...

At this moment, the sun had reached high noon.

Sunlight shone down through the gaps in the clouds, dispelling the last of the thin mist on the outskirts of the basin.

Facing the temptation of double points, Lin Ye did not act rashly.

Not only did he not rush down, but he also found a sheltered giant rock on the ridge and sat down.

He unzipped his backpack and took out a pack of smoked mutton.

He tore open the outer broad leaves, grabbed a strip of jerky, stuffed it into his mouth, and chewed and swallowed in big mouthfuls.

A high-end hunter never fights an unprepared battle.

The bigger the scene, and the bigger the "pie" in front of him, the more he needed to play it safe.

This is what you call having a big picture perspective.

"I've been traveling all morning; if I go down now, am I tired of living?"

Lin Ye chewed the dry, tough mutton vigorously while calculating in his heart.

Only by maintaining peak condition at all times could one survive to the end.

Chasing the leaderboard is fine, but risking his life?

No way in hell.

He ate most of the pack of smoked mutton.

After forcing it down, he picked up his thermos and gulped down two mouthfuls of water.

The feeling of fullness came from his stomach, and his whole body was filled with strength again.

Lin Ye wiped his mouth and packed up his things.

He lay behind the giant rock, poked his head out, and looked down at the ruins below.

His left eye narrowed slightly.

Eye of Destiny, activate!

In an instant, dense red halos appeared.

Almost occupying every corner of the ruins!

Office buildings, underground garages, inside abandoned cars... everywhere were red lights representing danger.

In the central area, several huge red halos were coiled up.

"This density... tsk tsk tsk, who is whose buffet exactly?"

Lin Ye's brain worked at high speed.

He tried hard to find the relatively dim and sparse gaps amidst the red light.

Three minutes later.

A route cutting in from the fault of the east elevated bridge was outlined in his mind.

"I'll take this path."

Lin Ye closed his left eye and raised his hand to rub his sore eye socket.

He picked up the crossbow with the arrow loaded.

He crept down towards the ruins below along the shadows of the hillside.