Starting as a Mechanical Hunter

Chapter 39: Chapter 33: The Rigged Gamble

Miyamoto Sanzang, a Master Hunter of the Assassination Stream, is also one of the most experienced and powerful Mechanical Hunters in Automobile City. Rumor has it that he was once a top assassin in a mysterious organization, but after a mission failure, he fled to this Radiation Zone to escape their pursuit.

Compared to his assassination of prey, his peers are more concerned about him returning to his old trade.

As for Gao Gong, he is similarly a seasoned Mechanical Hunter in Automobile City and a Lone Wolf type of competitor, possessing rich experience and formidable skills.

Especially his recent hunting performance, which seemed like a transformation and rebirth, the rumors about his severe injuries in the Great Rift Valley were almost debunked by these displays.

In the top ten rankings, these two are the only ones who ranked by assassinating C-level Beast leaders.

And the number they killed—

Miyamoto Sanzang, 13 C-level Beasts, Gao Gong, 9 C-level Beasts.

Monsters!

”Geez, I really want to see these two in action, don’t hold back!”

”Yeah, we strongly urge the Security Corps to make their Assassination Techniques public.”

”How exactly are these two taking down those metal-clad monsters?”

On the outskirts of Petrol Town, Old Sunx and Aunt Xiang are staring at the rankings, or rather, Old Sunx is staring at the rankings while Aunt Xiang watches Old Sunx.

”So, did he pass?”

”Tsk tsk, young people these days are impressive. Look at that Mechanic, actually deploying weapons by air and using algorithms to handle firepower intensity, what a brilliant method; and the bearded guy’s exoskeleton thrust—it’s genuine Mechanical Legion style! Oh, and that three-armed woman, they are actually a close-combat Hunting Squad, rarely seen, so rare, are those high-tech close-combat weapons? Why didn’t we think of that back in the day...”

Aunt Xiang snorted coldly, ”Stop changing the subject. I asked you if that kid met your standards?”

Old Sunx’s eyes flickered, ”How to put it, it’s hard to say, no, he’s far from it. The beasts he’s assassinated, they’ve just formed a Radiation Circle and their power is mostly depleted, is this C-level? At best, I’d say their combat strength is D+. How can this be considered a completed mission? It isn’t, it isn’t, he’s way off; I still need to observe more.”

Aunt Xiang sighed and suddenly scolded, ”And you call me indecisive, I think you’re the indecisive one, you’ve been retired for ten years, how much longer do you plan to retire, until you’re old, until you’re dead!?”

Old Sunx’s shoulder trembled, and he left as if to escape, mumbling to himself as he walked, ”I still need to think, think some more.”

Meanwhile, after the veteran Hunting Squads went into action, the rankings changed almost daily.

These seasoned pros, once involved, doubled the number of Radiation Beasts hunted compared to prior days, and this number continued to multiply. The Gray-Eyed Cultist’s Spiritual Control Stream, Fire Grass’s close-combat Output Stream, Wilson’s small-scale Mechanical Legion, even the devastating weapons of the Symbiotic Squad and the super-mechanized mode of the super rookie Black God, all made them feast their eyes. Who knew Mechanical Hunters could be so powerful!

Meanwhile, the initially strong-charging Plunderer Squad’s ranks steadily declined, from first, to second, then to fourth and fifth, and it took a great effort to stabilize around fifth place.

In the face of such public battle reports, the controversy surrounding Miyamoto Sanzang and Gao Gong grew more intense.

They were the exception, as on this electronic leaderboard, those listed can choose whether to share their battle footage.

Everyone else agreed, as fame in the desert is second only to force, equating to better salaries, better missions, and better team members.

Only these two, like striptease dancers unwilling to strip, leaving everyone itching with curiosity.

On top of that, these two were locking horns, if you assassinate a radiation beast, I’ll kill a stronger radiation beast. Since they ranked, the beasts they assassinated were rarely below C-level.

Though leaving the old Radiation Circle weakens the radiation beasts to some extent, C+ becomes C, C becomes C-, C- becomes D+, only those who’ve truly been on the battlefield as Mechanical Hunters understand how tricky these high-level beasts are.

Since ranking, these two have been consistently refreshing their records.

Miyamoto Sanzang, 15, Gao Gong, 11

Miyamoto Sanzang, 12, Gao Gong, 7

Miyamoto Sanzang, 8, Gao Gong, 7

Miyamoto Sanzang, 8, Gao Gong, 8

...

They still won’t show us!

They still won’t show us!

These two Assassination Masters leave everyone itching while also raising a question.

Who between these two is truly the strongest?

Admittedly, so far, Miyamoto Sanzang’s hunting efficiency still surpasses Gao Gong’s, but as the radiation beasts’ strength gradually returns, his efficiency is steadily declining, whereas Gao Gong shows a strange consistency—steady as a rock.

”It must be Gao Gong, the Lone Wolf is the strongest. The old man will run out of steam eventually, it’s just a matter of time!”

In the Black Market gambling den, an enthusiastic gambler risking his entire fortune shouted red-faced.

”Look at the numbers; it’s obvious that Master Miyamoto excels.” A gleeful guy winning his bet commented.

”Nonsense, nonsense, he will definitely surpass, I’m sure, just in the next few days.”

”Not necessarily,” a Mechanical Hunter just back from the battlefield shook his head.

”Don’t look at me like that,” he quickly waved his hands in a smile as a losing gambler was glaring at him, ”I don’t think there’s a big difference in pure strength between them, but regarding teams, Gao Gong is inferior to Miyamoto.”

”Team? Aren’t assassins all Lone Wolves?” someone asked in confusion.

”No, you forget, sometimes when Miyamoto accepts tasks in town, he’s followed by three peculiar individuals in black.”

”They seem to be Miyamoto’s disciples; I’ve heard him mention it,” an acquaintance chimed in.

”How strong can disciples be?”

”Right, capable disciples would’ve already graduated. I’ve heard that in the assassin trade, the strongest disciples use their mentor’s heads as rite-of-passage gifts.”

”No, that’s not it,” the Mechanical Hunter smiled, ”these three disciples are special, they’re special because they aren’t humans, but combat-type AIs embedded in Mechanical Bodies.”

”AI?”

”Taking an AI as a disciple, is there such a strange thing?”

”I just heard people say that Miyamoto Sanzang implanted three AI templates into a mechanical body, making them record their combat modes every day.”

”Loyalty, written into the bottom logic of the AI, will prevent betrayal. When Miyamoto Sanzang teaches, naturally he won’t hold back. The idea of three assassin-type AIs mastering all an experienced killer’s skills is truly terrifying.”

The Mechanical Hunter stood up, collected the scattered chips into his pocket, and said with a smile, ”Everyone, keep playing. I’ve rested enough, time to earn some money.”

After he left, some gamblers looked at each other, their expressions changing simultaneously.

Once the Mechanical Hunter left, he didn’t go to the battlefield as he said.

He circled several times around Petrol Town to ensure no one followed, before entering a small house.

The house was filled with surveillance screens, and before the screens, Little Finger’s eyes were burning, adjusting the market like an old gambler.

”Brother Finger, I’ve released the message.”

Little Finger tossed a wallet without turning his head.

”Wander around outside these days, don’t come back. If we’re exposed, we can’t keep acting.”

”What’s there to expose? I wasn’t lying; Miyamoto the old man indeed has three AI disciples, didn’t you implant them?” The Mechanical Hunter wasn’t concerned.

Little Finger waved him off, ignoring him.

”Right, Brother Finger, though we’re manipulating things secretly, how can you be sure Lone Wolf Gao Gong will lose? The young fear the strong fist.”

”But now the odds are adjusted again, betting on Miyamoto to lose, why is that?”

The Mechanical Hunter chattered on.

”You really want to know?” Little Finger turned around, speaking coldly.

”No, I don’t want to know at all—” The Mechanical Hunter forced a smile and quickly ran off.

Little Finger snorted coldly, snapped his fingers, and the gun barrel protruding from the wall silently retracted.

This black market boss thought for a moment, then dialed a phone, his expression changing, breaking into a smile.

”Brother Gao, how’s everything over there?”

”Relax, I’d never forget your share of the money... Right, let’s take a break these couple of days. Let the old man Miyamoto have the upper hand first; once I have enough Mechanical Coins, I’ll crash the market and harvest those gamblers.”

”Today, let’s set the number you hunt at 3... Okay, okay, don’t worry. I’ll drop your share of the money at the bar later.”

In the ruins of a factory, Gao Gong turned off the communication device, looked up, and said, ”We’ll head back after finishing this one!”

”No more grinding? Alright!”

Iron Hide’s tone of excitement came from the armored car. The next moment, hatches on the sides of the vehicle opened, and two automated guns emerged, shredding the incoming small bio-beasts with powerful firepower.

Gao Gong lifted ’Iron Rain’ again, aimed the DIY rocket launcher forward, and gently pulled the trigger.

The next moment, thirteen heavy javelins tore through the air, with their tails spinning like a high-speed propeller, accelerating further in mid-air, even causing a sound burst.

The ’propellers’ fully bloomed upon impact, turning into scattered hooks that embedded into the ground and walls, causing secondary tearing damage.

The shot Mechanical Leopard screamed repeatedly.

”Fat Xiang, charge and draw the creatures!”

At Gao Gong’s order, Fat Xiang charged forward, wearing a strange ’exoskeleton’ that was not armor but a classic suit made from Mechanical Beast bones.

While running, Fat Xiang took a deep breath, a hint of wildness flashing in his pea-sized, dull eyes, his skin turning crimson, with white vapors shooting out from his mouth and nose.

”Awooooo—”

The next moment, powerful radiation fluctuations emitted, and Fat Xiang’s size rapidly increased, grotesque veins popping out from his skin, layering upon each other and fully supporting the classic exoskeleton.

This chubby fool eventually turned into a two-story-high monster, larger than a large bio-beast.

The original armor conveniently covered key areas.

Mutation: A few mutants can rapidly expand their mutated cells, undergoing mutative reactions, Power +50%, Agility -15%, Additional State, Muscle Wall

Muscle Wall: High-density muscles can block ordinary bullets.

Fat Xiang, wielding a huge Wolf Fang Club, stomped forward step by step, directly blocking the remaining Mechanical Leopards, sweeping horizontally with the club like a spiked giant wall.

With a single simple sweep, three or four Mechanical Leopards were smashed away.

No Mechanical Beast could breach his iron wall.

Meanwhile, Gao Gong leisurely shot, reloaded, and shot again.

This time, the ’Metal Nest’ was evidently stronger than last time, with at least three batches of Guardian Beasts and a crowd of small Mechanical Bio-Beasts that had migrated here.

However, it didn’t make any difference.

It wasn’t just it that grew stronger.

As the last bullet ignited the tree trunk.

[You have killed a C-Level Metal Nest, Experience Value +780]