Chapter 13: Mutant Bird

Black Tortoise's movement is less like walking and more like trampling.

This twenty-meter-long behemoth is like a moving black hill, slowly advancing in this dead silent city ruin.

Vehicles blocking the road are easily crushed into metal plates by its pillar-like legs; broken low walls, as fragile as biscuits before it, are smashed to pieces.

"Thud…… thud…… thud……"

With each step, the ground sinks with a dull thud.

"Lin Xiaozi, go left! That building ahead is unstable; we'll cut through that industrial zone and get much closer!"

On the turtle's back, Wang Gongtou grabbed a temporarily fixed rebar, acting as navigator.

He pushed up his broken glasses, whose temples were taped with adhesive tape, and quickly scanned the surrounding terrain, constructing the optimal route in his mind.

"Alright, I'll follow your lead, old man!"

Lin Yue issued precise commands to Black Tortoise through his thoughts.

"Black Tortoise, left!"

Having a professional familiar with the city layout indeed saved us a lot of trouble figuring things out.

He once again realized how great a treasure it was to have saved Wang Gongtou.

"Roar!"

Just as they turned into a deserted factory area, three mutant wild boars the size of buffalo, covered head to toe in bone spikes, burst out from a half-collapsed workshop beside them.

Their scarlet eyes fixed on Black Tortoise, clearly regarding this huge "fellow creature" as an invader.

"These 'Steel Bristle Pigs' again—thick-skinned and hard to deal with!"

Wang Gongtou immediately recognized the monsters and warned nervously.

Lin Yue didn't even lift his eyelids, only coldly spitting out three words in his mind.

"Crush over them."

"Roar——!"

A flash of brutality crossed Black Tortoise's ancient, simple eyes; without slowing, it lowered its head and met the three roaring Steel Bristle Pigs charging forward.

Savage Collision (Enhanced)!

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Three extremely dull impact sounds almost merged into one.

To the survivors, those three Steel Bristle Pigs, which were like nightmares, posed no threat whatsoever before a level‑2 Black Tortoise.

The proud, hard bone spikes they relied on shattered instantly on impact with Black Tortoise's shell; their massive bodies were flung by an unstoppable force, tumbling through the air to smash into a distant wall, sliding down lifeless.

Throughout the process, Lin Yue felt only a slight jolt on the turtle's back.

【Absorbing scattered energy, gained 3 energy points.】

【Detected dead lifeform (level‑1 mutant Steel Bristle Pig), detected level‑1 Energy Crystal, absorb?】

【Absorbing scattered energy, gained 1 energy point.】

"Absorb!"

Lin Yue glanced at the panel: 【Promotion to level 3 requires: 14/1000】.

"Not bad, a great start."

He nodded satisfactorily.

Wang Gongtou stared agape beside him, his Adam's apple rolling, before finally managing a sentence:

"This…… this is too easy, right? The two sides aren't even on the same level!"

"Old Wang, just get used to it."

Lin Yue laughed and patted the shell beneath him,

"There will be plenty more scenes like this in the future."

The two of them and the turtle continued onward.

Meanwhile, nearly a kilometer behind them, Feng Ge and his group were hiding behind an overturned fuel tanker, gasping heavily.

"Boss…… boss, should we still follow?"

A freckled young man supported his knees, his face pale,

"Those three Steel Bristle Pigs wiped out over a dozen brothers of the Axe Gang last week! In front of that big guy, they were as fragile as… paper!"

"Yeah, Feng Ge,"

another thin man also agreed,

"We really shouldn't provoke them. If we're discovered, we won't even be able to run."

Fear and hesitation permeated the group.

Feng Ge's face was so dark it could drip water.

How could he not know the danger therein?

That scene just now also made him feel a chill from the depths of his soul.

But he truly didn't want to give up the chance to control that black turtle, and he discovered that Lin Yue's combat ability isn't strong; with good luck, they might still have a chance!

"What's there to fear!"

He snarled low, his voice laced with ruthlessness,

"The stronger the thing, the greater its value! Do you want to spend your lives as despised scavengers, fighting daily for a moldy piece of bread?"

He scanned his subordinates, his voice full of enticement:

"Look closely— that kid is alone from head to toe, just bringing along an old man about to kick the bucket! What gives him the right to have such a treasure? Luck! And our luck is to snatch that treasure from his hands!"

"But……"

"No buts!"

Feng Ge cut off his subordinate, his eyes turning as cold as a venomous snake,

"We won't clash head‑on. When he fights other monsters and both sides are badly hurt…… that will be our time to reap!"

He turned his head to look in the direction Black Tortoise had gone, the corner of his mouth curling into a cruel arc:

"This turtle, I've claimed it. Anyone who dares to shrink back, I'll send him on his way right now!"

Under his man‑eating glare, everyone fell silent as a cicada in winter, not daring to say another word.

……

As they kept moving west, the surrounding scenery began to change.

Skyscrapers grew sparse, replaced by vast low‑rise factories and huge warehouse‑style buildings.

The air was filled with a strange smell of metal and chemicals mixed together.

Finally, after passing through a collapsed wall, a vast complex of countless warehouses and steel scaffolding appeared before their eyes.

Binjiang International Building Materials City, we have arrived.

The whole area was deathly silent, forming a stark contrast with the urban district where monster roars could sometimes be heard.

This silence itself is a great terror, for all creatures have territorial instincts; such stillness means this place already has a master.

And this 'master' is immensely powerful; otherwise other mutant beasts would not leave this place undisturbed!

Lin Yue's heart rose involuntarily; it seemed this flock of mutant birds was far stronger than he had imagined!

"It's over there……

Wang Gongtou lowered his voice, pointing not far away, and said solemnly.

"The nest of those beasts is right there.

Lin Yue narrowed his eyes and looked in the direction he pointed.

The distance was too great; he could only see a series of blurry black dots.

But as they gradually approached the edge of Building Materials City, the steadily advancing Black Tortoise suddenly halted its steps.

"Roar——

It let out an extremely low, deep‑throated warning.

Its massive head slowly lifted, its eyes as still as an ancient well locking firmly onto the sky above.

"What's wrong?

Wang Gongtou also sensed something was off.

Lin Yue didn't answer; his heart clenched sharply, and he followed Black Tortoise's gaze upward.

The sky was a dull gray expanse, only a few tatters of lead‑colored clouds drifting slowly in the wind.

At first, there was nothing.

But the next second, a huge shadow swept across the clouds without warning, instantly enveloping them.

That shadow moved at an unimaginable speed, flashing by in an instant.

Lin Yue and Wang Gongtou jerked their heads up.

All they saw was a mutant bird swooping rapidly toward them.

"Ch——!!!

A sharp, piercing cry, like metal scraping at high speed, burst suddenly from that mutant bird's beak.