"Number eight."

Shen Cong panted a little. Having reached Baota Town, he'd wiped out two giant crabs in one swift push — one at 3.114H Talent, the other at 2.927H Talent.

He'd already killed eight of these savage marine jin beasts.

The three giant lobsters blocking the road on the Yan-Huai Expressway, the one sea-roach at Donggou Town, the one giant spanner-crab and one giant sandworm at Yongxing Town, plus these two giant crabs here.

Hunting was simpler than he'd imagined, and in the course of it Shen Cong was growing more and more accustomed to a body whose Talent had only just increased. A full 1H-plus jump in Talent, and countless nutrients had been supplemented into his body, strengthening his physical qualities, raising the quality of his metal-change.

Right now was a burst period for his strength — detonating it, slowly.

The feeling rather intoxicated Shen Cong. Power.

Powerful strength let him harvest at will these super-grade jin beasts that, in the eyes of ordinary people, were terrifying beyond compare. The time it took to hunt them wasn't even longer than a trip to the bathroom. This feeling of dominating everything was precisely the evolution Shen Cong pursued so bitterly.

Evolution had set him at the top of the food chain, made him an apex predator.

Fist clenched, deep breath.

He glanced at the sun, now risen directly overhead, its warmth mellow and comforting. Then Shen Cong shot another look at the drone — this was a freshly swapped-in one; the previous two had run out of power.

Trailing him like a fly — annoying!

Somebody definitely wants to harm me!

There was a mobile radio base station nearby, so Shen Cong went back into the Great Vajra and got straight through to the supply office. "The jin beasts at Baota Town are dead. Bring people over, load up the iron fruit I want, and haul it back to Jianhu County… And remember, do not shortchange me or skim off my goods."

"Rest easy, Commander — full measure, absolutely!"

He hung up the radio.

Shen Cong sent the recharged…