Chapter 27: Tracking

The clouds above the city kept gathering, and the sky turned a deep gloom.

Zhou Yang moved like a lithe raccoon, deftly threading through City No. 023.

He stayed close to the buildings, occasionally darting straight through them.

With Spiritual Thought Power he periodically scanned the surroundings, allowing him to clearly judge whether potential danger lay ahead.

When roaming monsters appeared, he avoided them as much as possible, or used a throwing knife to eliminate them outright, preventing a larger commotion.

Every so often he would find a higher spot and use a telescope to scan the area carefully.

"I vaguely recall they headed this way; placing Lei Shu and my dad took about half an hour, so they shouldn't have gone far."

"Second brother, take a break; this rain won't stop any time soon."

He trailed the four Sakura Nation Warriors, deliberately keeping distance to avoid startling anything, and weaving through the dense building clusters.

Soon it was noon the next day, and the drizzle that had lasted through the night finally eased.

After tracking for another half hour, he faintly heard the sounds of battle ahead.

The white‑faced middle‑aged man read the elder brother's message, still looking incredulous, "How could they be so generous to give us resources to break through to the War‑God tier? Elder brother, you're not being fooled, are you?"

About five kilometers away, on an abandoned street, the short‑statured Sakura Nation Warrior was locked in a fierce fight with a massive silver one‑horned rhinoceros.

Zhou Yang quickly slipped into a tall office building nearby, climbed more than twenty floors via the fire Route, then drew his telescope and cautiously looked ahead.

"Don't worry, I'm old friends with Shan Ben. If we truly can't stay in Jiangnan Base City, we could just go with Shan Ben to South Asia."

Another young Warrior clutching a sniper rifle darted into a neighboring building, found a suitable spot, and swiftly set up his rifle.

Finally, during another careful scan with the telescope, his gaze at the far end instantly caught four running figures.

"The odds shouldn't exceed 30%, right? Elder brother, why are you asking that?"

As he neared the ground, Mental Power instantly acted on his alloy combat boots, slowing his descent, and his landing made only a faint sound.

The black‑faced middle‑aged man stepped behind the white‑faced Warrior, glanced at the ink‑dark clouds, and said with a smile:

"South Asia?"

"But..."

The white‑faced Warrior flicked a side glance at the two in the room, tapped his finger, and sent a message to the black‑faced middle‑aged man via his communication wristwatch.

The sky grew increasingly gloomy.

"Second brother, stop only focusing on cultivation; use your brain!"

But the four had stayed together all the way, so he never found a chance to isolate the sniper.

"Finally caught up!"

With rumbling thunder rolling in, silver‑thread rain began to drift down from the sky.

A middle‑aged man appeared at a sixth‑floor window, watching the relentless rain with a worried expression.

The marching Sakura Nation Warriors muttered a complaint, then rushed into an abandoned residential building, apparently to spend the night early.

At this moment, across the broken residential building,

He set his bearing and sprinted forward.

Seeing this, Zhou Yang, who was observing from afar with a telescope, suddenly brightened his eyes.

Not long after following them, the people ahead seemed to have discovered something.

After a moment of on‑site observation and confirmation, they suddenly surged forward in a rapid charge toward a direction.

The black‑faced middle‑aged man retorted, "I ask you, you've always stayed in the clan, training and carrying out missions—when will you break through to the War‑God tier?"

Hearing him, the white‑faced Warrior's worry deepened.

But clan resources are limited and favor the outstanding direct lineages; for peripheral members like us, obtaining clan support is extremely difficult—essentially hopeless.

Hidden in the abandoned office building, Zhou Yang sensed their movement and silently followed.

The white‑faced Warrior startled, "Is… is this side of the clan a rebellion?"

In an instant, he clarified the next plan.

"Elder brother's meaning is…" the white‑faced Warrior couldn't help but glance at his elder brother, his expression slightly grim.

Zhou Yang, lingering far behind, stopped pursuing and turned into a neighboring office building.

With Spiritual Thought Power assisting, his movements were light and almost silent.

Among the four, only his weapon was a long staff; if my guess is correct, the injury to old man Zhou Yong was caused by him!

"You like to play? Then I'll gladly play with you!"

After sweeping the roaming monsters in that office building, he quickly reached the 13th floor opposite the residential building where the Sakura Nation Warriors were.

He then drew his telescope and, using the building as cover, carefully observed forward.

The silver rhinoceros measured seven to eight meters in length, its single horn sharp, its body sheathed in a hard keratinous hide.

Zhou Yang's spirit jolted; using the building's shelter, he swiftly followed behind them.

The Sakura Nation Warrior swung with all his might, barely cracking the hide; the wound was negligible on a seven‑to‑eight‑meter creature.

"Second brother, to be honest, I've long been in contact with Shan Ben; over the years I've supplied valuable intel in exchange for cultivation resources—otherwise, how do you think we've progressed so smoothly to the senior General rank?"

"Cool! The weather in Jiangnan Base City is really annoying; it's almost December and still raining!"

"Our two brothers have limited aptitude; after all this, reaching senior General is essentially the peak unless we get external aid; otherwise breakthrough chances are slim."

At his command, the three beside him moved swiftly.

The black‑faced middle‑aged man cut him off quickly, his gaze bearing a bitter, unfulfilled steel‑like resentment.

Meanwhile, Spiritual Thought Power had already been released, sweeping the surroundings and evading the roaming monsters.

It was the white‑faced middle‑aged Warrior among the four.

Zhou Yang had been tracking for a long time.

A cold hue flashed across Zhou Yang's face.

"Brother, that silver‑horned rhino is very cunning; the flesh with the tracker was ripped apart and thrown away, and this rain washed away all the traces it left. Our mission."

"This time we followed Mr. Yamamoto, and all along we've already gained far more than the mission reward. Why are you still tangled up over this? If the mission fails, at worst a few contribution points are deducted—nothing to worry about!"

The dark‑faced middle‑aged man glanced at the data on his wristwatch, his expression unchanged, and his fingers quietly tapped out a reply.

"Yeah, you know it too!" The dark‑faced middle‑aged man's face grew increasingly cold as he replied quickly:

The four of them occasionally stopped while marching to hunt some monsters, yet they never escaped Zhou Yang's tracking.

After confirming the direction those people were heading, he swiftly folded his telescope and leapt down from the broken window.

This time Mr. Yamamoto formally invited me to join their organization; they have just secured control of a base city in South Asia, and they are short of manpower.

Now that we are close to the target, he naturally must be more cautious, avoiding combat as much as possible so as not to alert the enemy.

"Li Sang, you two come help me; Fujiwara, find a good spot and use the God‑slaying Bullet to harass and hold them back!"

"Swindled? Not really," the dark‑faced middle‑aged man said, a hint of helplessness on his face. "Of course they aren't that kind; to obtain this resource, they must sign a life‑selling contract with them."

"But, but..."

He promised that when the time comes he would do everything to help me apply to the organization for a breakthrough War‑God‑level resource; otherwise, why would I have been going crazy with them these past few days? It was all to coax them into securing this chance for me!

"Brother, do you think those two people from Sakura Country are really trustworthy? If what we've done spreads, we won't be able to return to the base city in the future."

Zhou Yang concealed his body behind the wall and began to silently lie in wait.

"Boom—"

Soon, he located the floor where those people were.

When he tried to strike the silver rhino's neck, eyes, and other weak points, the silver rhino easily dodged.

"We must first eliminate that sniper; once this ranged threat is gone, I can rely on Spiritual Thought Power to fly through the air and confidently spar with that War‑God‑level powerhouse!"

The two middle‑aged Warriors of the Li Family Hunting Team rushed forward; they certainly didn't dare to face the lord‑level silver‑horned rhino head‑on, instead brandishing shields to feint and hold at the perimeter, drawing the rhino's attention.

"Hey, second brother, why are you so stubborn!"

Led by a short Warrior from Sakura Country, the group packed their gear and set off again.

The dark‑faced middle‑aged man gave a slight nod and replied directly:

"Great opportunity!"

Seeing everyone's recent comments, this segment turned a bit theatrical and made readers uncomfortable; I'll try to wrap it up as soon as possible.

Thank you all for continuing to supervise the bug‑catching, give feedback on the reading experience; I'll plan carefully and keep improving the upcoming content. Thanks again for your urging and encouragement~~~~bowing~~

(End of chapter)