Make money by hiding in the interstellar battlefield!

The next morning, with the mist still clinging to the branches in the forest, the Star Beast Daddy Expedition Team packed their gear and set off on time into the depths of the forest in District 49.

The two Star Horse Beasts loaned from Fortress 49 were behemoths, nearly twice the size of the largest Sharma on Earth. Their bodies were covered in thick, dark gray hide, and their limbs were muscular and powerfully built, giving them incredible carrying capacity. Each Star Horse Beast had three enormous baskets securely strapped to its back, crammed full of prospecting equipment, supplies, mech spare parts, and various weapons and ammunition, yet they seemed to carry them without any sign of strain.

Originally, the fortress was only willing to lend one, but the generous offer of blue crystal coins, coupled with Emma's deliberately alluring demeanor and soft words, eventually made them relent. Seven Rings City is never short of beautiful women, but in this secluded fortress where men are rarely seen, a woman who is open-minded and knows how to charm is far more valuable than blue crystal coins.

After all that, Emma was exhausted, her face pale and her body aching. Elon let her rest in the Star Horse Beast's basket to conserve her energy. The team members wore all the steel equipment, including mechs and heavy firearms, maintaining a constant state of combat readiness as they entered this perilous primeval jungle, not daring to relax even for a moment.

The mother planet has an oxygen content far exceeding that of Earth, abundant rainfall, and rampant vegetation. As soon as the team left the muddy dirt road and entered the dense forest, it felt as if they had fallen into a land of eternal night. Towering gymnosperms reached for the sky, each exceeding thirty meters in height. Their layered canopies intertwined, creating an impenetrable barrier that completely blocked out sunlight. Only scattered slivers of light struggled through the gaps in the leaves, dappling the ground. The ground was covered with dense ferns and shrubs nearly a meter high, their tendrils intertwined, thorns and brambles making it impossible to see what traps lurked beneath one's feet. Every step required extreme caution.

Deep in the jungle, the roars of unknown alien beasts, the screech of claws scraping against tree trunks, and the rustling of branches as they moved through the forest echoed intermittently, creating a tense atmosphere that kept everyone on edge. Fortunately, Old Man Elon and his old dog had already led the way, their mechs' longswords cutting through branches and thorns, carving out a narrow path barely wide enough for the group to pass through. They only needed to follow the trails steadily forward.

The expedition team members were all seasoned veterans who had lived on the edge, and even those who were only D-level mech pilots had extensive experience in field combat. The exoskeleton mechs consumed a great deal of energy to operate continuously, so they took turns keeping the mechs running, each person maintaining combat movement for twenty minutes at a time, with short breaks between shifts, in order to ensure that the team could advance slowly but continuously.

Jian Sheng carried only a lightweight sniper rifle, walking in the middle of the team. As both the spotter and the sniper, he was the least experienced member of the team. The original owner of this body, Xiao, had been trapped in the lower-level area of ​​the sixth ring of the Seventh Ring City since birth. Although he had received three years of free basic education, he had never stepped outside the city gates and was completely unfamiliar with the jungle environment and the habits of the star beasts. This was why he was willing to accept 30% of the salary without complaint.

According to jungle warfare rules, snipers are supposed to patrol and guard the perimeter of the team, checking for any gaps, identifying potential threats in advance, and anticipating dangerous movements. This is also why Jian Sheng insisted on raising a meerkat—these small, intelligent animals have keen senses and perceive danger far better than humans, allowing them to provide early warnings. However, Bai Sheng is still too young to carry out missions, but after entering the jungle, the little guy in his chest pouch became restless from time to time, rubbing against his chest with obvious anxiety.

"Why haven't we seen a single Star Beast after walking for so long?" Peter asked, panting heavily, his face weary and apprehensive. This was his first time leaving the city with the team on a mission, and he was already feeling uneasy from the oppressive atmosphere of the jungle.

Jerry scanned the surrounding dense forest warily while lowering his voice and replying solemnly, "This is the territory of the Star Beasts. We rely on our eyes to observe, but they rely on their hearing, smell, and even the fur on their bodies to perceive the outside world. They're not absent; they're all hiding in the shadows, watching us. Right now, there might be a ferocious beast lurking in the bushes, watching our every move."

His voice trailed off, his eyes darting around, and the atmosphere grew increasingly oppressive. Peter's face paled, and he instinctively shrank behind his teacher, Pete, gripping his weapon tightly.

Jian Sheng observed coldly, knowing that Jerry was only half right. Most of those hiding at this moment were herbivorous star beasts, while the ferocious carnivorous star beasts and high-level intelligent beasts always preferred to hunt at night, only lying in the shadows during the day, waiting for the best opportunity to hunt.

After marching for an unknown amount of time, Elon's calm voice suddenly came through the walkie-talkie: "Everyone, continue advancing for one kilometer. I have marked the campsite location for tonight. Old Dog and I will patrol the surrounding area to check for potential hazards. Once you arrive, you can arrange your own defenses."

Half an hour later, the team arrived at the designated location, and everyone instantly understood Elon's intention. It was an open rocky area with dry, hard ground, far from damp bushes, making it easy to defend; a hundred meters away, a clear mountain stream flowed gently, making it easy to get water, and it was an excellent place to settle in the jungle.

The team immediately divided up the tasks. The non-combat personnel, including Pete and his apprentice Emma, ​​quickly set up tents, boiled water and cooked meals, and organized supplies. The three mech pilots dispersed to set up early warning traps and simple obstacles within a 50-meter radius of the camp, constructing the first line of defense.

As the observer, Jiansheng immediately searched for the most suitable sentry post. His eyes swept around and finally locked onto a thick, straight metasequoia tree next to the camp. He took out dozens of long steel nails from his basket, and with his tools in hand, he hammered one into the smooth trunk every fifty centimeters, all the way up to a height of ten meters. Then he took out expansion bolts and firmly fixed them to the trunk, and tied two load-bearing safety ropes. A concealed and stable high-altitude observation post was thus set up.

Not long after, Elon and Old Dog returned from their patrol. Elon stood in the center of the camp and solemnly assigned tasks: "Old Dog and I have searched the surrounding area and haven't found any trace of the Beast Tribe's activity yet, but there are many variables in the jungle, so we must not let our guard down. No open flames at night to avoid revealing our position. Rhodes, go and sprinkle insect repellent powder around the camp to prevent poisonous insects from attacking. The combat personnel will be divided into two shifts for night watch. Everyone should quickly wash, eat, and take a break as soon as possible."

Jian Sheng, being very conscientious, immediately grabbed his water bottle and rushed to the stream to quickly wash himself, especially his muddy feet, which he thoroughly cleaned. Back at camp, he went straight to his tent to rest without a word. He knew that snipers had a crucial responsibility for nighttime surveillance, usually working the latter half of the night, and needed to be well-rested beforehand. As for his soiled clothes and shoes, Emma would take care of that; it was one of her duties in the team.

"Jiansheng, wake up."

In a daze, a soft voice sounded in his ear. Jian Sheng opened his eyes and saw Emma sitting by the cot, her face showing undisguised weariness, but still with a gentle smile.

"Is it my turn to work the night shift?" Jian Sheng instantly woke up and sat up, propping himself up.

"Yes, I've dried your clothes and shoes, and prepared your water bottle and dry rations. The captain wants you to be in position within ten minutes to keep watch with him at night." Emma gently instructed. She had been busy from dawn till dusk without stopping, and her eyes were bloodshot, showing that she was exhausted. This kind of easy money is never easy to earn.

"Thank you." Jian Sheng nodded his thanks without the slightest hesitation, then got up, dressed, and organized his equipment. In this wilderness where life and death were unpredictable, everyone was a chivalrous person, long since free from worldly constraints. Emma, ​​in particular, was used to all sorts of people and paid no attention to them.

Ten minutes later, Jiansheng, carrying a sniper rifle, skillfully climbed the metasequoia tree, secured himself with a safety rope, and sat steadily in his guard post, officially beginning his night watch.

In the pitch-black jungle at night, it was almost impossible to see with the naked eye; only with the aid of night vision goggles could one discern the surrounding movements. This night vision goggles were extremely valuable, costing as much as a regular exoskeleton suit. However, due to the extreme scarcity of the core materials in Seven Rings City and the difficulty in maintaining a stable supply, the entire team only had this one.

Jian Sheng put on his night vision goggles, and the jungle before him instantly became clear. Red dots, representing living creatures, flickered in and out of the dense forest, some still, some moving, each concealing countless deadly threats. He dared not be careless in the slightest, his eyes fixed on the movements of each red dot, not daring to miss any abnormality.

For two hours, they stood guard with their nerves on edge. Just as Jiansheng was focused on tracking the movement of the red dot in the distance, Baisheng's urgent call suddenly came from the chest bag on his chest. The little guy had finally woken up, poking his head out. His big, round eyes were wide red, his little nose was twitching, and his call was full of intense anxiety and vigilance.

"Little thing, what's wrong?" Jian Sheng soothed in a low voice, but Bai Sheng's cries became more and more urgent, and his little body kept struggling.

Jian Sheng's heart tightened; he instantly realized something was wrong. He gripped his night-vision goggles tightly again, staring intently into the depths of the jungle. The previously scattered red lights had now become uniform in size, steadily and rapidly approaching the camp in an orderly fashion—far more than the blind movement of ordinary star beasts!

"Call Dad! Call Dad!" Jian Sheng immediately grabbed the walkie-talkie, his voice steady and urgent.

"Received, please speak," Elon's voice came quickly.

"A large number of unidentified targets moving in an orderly manner have been spotted within 200 to 300 meters south of the camp. Requesting instructions!"

"Received. Continue to monitor the target's movements and report its quantity and size!"

Jian Sheng tightened the zipper of his chest bag, steadying Bai Sheng, and simultaneously released the safety on his sniper rifle. His eyes were fixed on the approaching red dot, and he reported in real time: "More than fifty targets, all small star beasts, continuing to approach, distance 200 meters!"

"Number of over eighty, no large targets, approaching 150 meters!"

"Number exceeds one hundred, still small star beasts, one hundred meters away!"

"Fifty meters away, you have entered the camp's warning zone!"

After a moment of silence on the walkie-talkie, Elon's calm command came through: "Roger, no large, high-level intelligent beasts confirmed. No need to fire. Stand by!"

As soon as the command was given, a powerful spotlight instantly illuminated the camp, its blinding light shining directly into the dense forest to the south. The next second, four exoskeletons, their bodies gleaming with a metallic sheen, wielding giant longswords and spiked clubs, charged straight at the pack of beasts like steel monsters!

Through the night vision goggles, Jian Sheng finally saw the true nature of these red dots—the six-legged dogs, the soldier-level intelligent beasts recorded in the textbook!

These intelligent beasts are comparable in size to large, ferocious dogs, standing nearly a meter tall. Their bodies are covered in rough, grayish-black hide, and their fangs protrude outwards. When they leap, two pairs of enormous canines act as extra legs, assisting their landing on all fours, hence the name "six-legged dogs." They possess scythe-like sharp claws, mouths full of sharp teeth, powerful hind limbs, and sharp stabbing spikes on their tails. They are the most common scouts and vanguard fighters in the intelligent beast horde, mutated from springtails infected by the intelligent beast queen's bacterial colony. They are inherently ferocious and gluttonous, knowing only how to tear and kill. Only under the command of higher-ranking intelligent beasts can they form an organized offensive.

In an instant, the dense forest erupted with violent collisions and roars. The crisp sounds of mechs clashing against animal bones, the tearing of flesh and bone, and the frenzied barking of six-legged dogs mingled together, instantly filling the air with the stench of blood. But Jian Sheng didn't focus on the main battlefield. Elon's decision to have him stand by was clearly for another purpose—these six-legged dogs were of low intelligence and incapable of setting up an encirclement tactic; there must be a high-level intelligent beast secretly directing them from behind!

"The command-type intelligent beast must be hiding nearby, not too far, not too close, just about twenty meters behind the herd. Scan each section according to the grid!"

Jian Sheng forced himself to calm his breathing, activated the breathing techniques in his mind, steadied his mind, and started the probability statistics system. He fixed his gaze on the area behind the beast herd, checking inch by inch.

"Thirty meters, forty meters, fifty meters, sixty meters... Found it!"

Through the night vision goggles, a massive red projection suddenly appeared in the field of vision—it was the command AI beast hidden in the shadows!

[Probability Scanning System Activated]

[Target locked: 120 meters away, unknown mid-tier intelligence beast]

Overall hit probability: 100%

[Probability of hitting the brain's central nervous system: 50%]

[Probability of consistently and accurately hitting the brain's central nervous system: ...]

A series of data flashed rapidly in Jian Sheng's mind. He held his breath and continued to adjust his heart rate, using breathing techniques to gradually slow his heartbeat until the data in his mind showed that his heart rate dropped to 70 beats per minute, and his mind was completely calm.

He cleared his mind of all distractions and focused solely on the "continuous brain hits" statistic. All other values ​​vanished instantly, and all his attention was concentrated on the red projection in the scope.

On the front lines, Elon, Jerry, Big Jiba, and King were already surrounded by the crazed six-legged dogs. The four mechs formed a defensive formation back to back, their shells stained with beast blood and covered in claw marks. Their breathing became increasingly rapid, and they were starting to falter, making their offensive increasingly difficult.

Meanwhile, the projection of the commanding beast 120 meters away was getting increasingly bright red in the head area, like scalding hot bloodstone, clearly indicating that it was continuously controlling the beast horde to launch a fierce attack!

"Little guy, stop messing around, watch me take care of this with one shot." Jian Sheng gently soothed Bai Sheng, who was restless in his chest bag, a cold smile playing on his lips as he slowly pulled the sniper trigger.

The next second, without the slightest hesitation!

boom!boom!boom!boom!boom!

Five deafening sniper shots rang out in quick succession in the silent jungle!

The moment the gunshots fell, the six-legged dogs attacking the mechs froze, their frenzied offensive crumbled instantly, their eyes became unfocused, their attacks became chaotic and disorganized, and they fell into complete disarray!

"Jiansheng, check for any remaining enemies, wipe out the rest, don't let a single one escape!" Elon's voice, tinged with surprise and a sharp shout, came through the walkie-talkie.

"receive!"

Jian Sheng immediately secured the heavy sniper rifle to a tree, quickly switched to the Midnight semi-automatic light sniper rifle, and, from his high vantage point, accurately fired at the scattered six-legged dogs on the perimeter. Without the control of the commanding intelligent beast, these ferocious beasts were nothing more than lambs to the slaughter. Before long, they were completely wiped out by the combined efforts of the mech pilot and Jian Sheng. The battlefield was littered with beast corpses, and the stench of blood grew ever stronger.

Throughout the entire process, Caitlin never participated in the battle, always staying by the side of Pete and his apprentice, firmly protecting the two core researchers—this was her primary task.

"Jiansheng, get down here and take me to see where that big guy is!" Elon wiped the beast blood off his mech and shouted.

Jian Sheng slung two sniper rifles over his shoulder, slid quickly down the tree using a safety rope, walked briskly to Elon's side, and led him toward the direction where the intelligent beasts were hiding.

"Caitlin, assist Rhodes in cleaning up the battlefield traces and completely removing our scent. Set up camp within thirty minutes and prepare for an emergency retreat! Jerry, Big Jiba, KING, clean up the battlefield and dig out the beast cores!" Elon shouted orders as he walked.

The core of clearing out the jungle battlefield is to extract the crystal cores from the brains of the star beasts. This is the most readily available currency in Seven Rings City and a significant source of income for those venturing out of the city.

The two walked sixty meters forward and came to a towering tree. A three-meter-long intelligent beast corpse lay on the ground, with a huge, gaping hole in the center of its head, a result of Jian Sheng's continuous sniping that had hit its vitals.

"What a pity. This is a Hydra. Although it can't be considered a top-tier high-level intelligent beast, a mature body this size would have a brain core worth at least 20,000 to 30,000 blue crystal coins. Now it's completely shattered." Elon squatted down, looked at the beast's corpse, and couldn't help but feel regretful.

At the same time, all the information about Hydra instantly surfaced clearly in Jian Sheng's mind. It was all knowledge that the original owner, Xiao, had learned in class but had been buried in the dust, precisely extracted by the system's "patch":

Intelligence Beast: Hydra

Battlefield role: Mid-range long-range fire support, core of positional suppression, all-rounder against air and ground attacks.

Origin: Derived from a herbivorous sloth insect through genetic modification by the Queen of the Wise Beasts, its original defensive bristles evolved into deadly armor-piercing spines.

Appearance: 2-5 meters in length, covered with dense, thick bony plates, containing nearly 4000 muscles (humans have only 629), sickle-shaped forelimbs for both offense and defense, and hundreds of highly venomous spines hidden in the carapace on its back.

Habits: Bloodthirsty and brutal, obeying highly intelligent star beasts, adept at ranged suppression and positional defense, mature forms can burrow underground to ambush.

Core firepower: The spines can penetrate 2 cm thick new alloys, are launched at supersonic speeds, and are extremely threatening to aerial units, making them top-tier suppressive firepower for positional warfare.

Weakness: Slow movement speed in open terrain

Before Jian Sheng could think it through, the system notification sounded in his mind again:

[Brain energy storage: 80 kcal]

[Brain-to-brain fusion level: +0.1%, currently 1.100000001%]

The dizziness from the massive energy expenditure hit him instantly, and Jian Sheng's face turned slightly pale. He swayed for a moment, but managed to stand up.

"Let's go. This shot must have alerted the high-level intelligent beasts in the vicinity. We're most likely being watched now, we must retreat immediately." Seeing this, Elon's expression grew even more serious. He patted his shoulder and said in a deep voice, "You've done a great job on this mission. As long as you get back alive, you'll get your full reward!"

This version focuses on refining the details of night sniping and the battle between intelligent beasts. The writing is more vivid, and the battle rhythm is more compact. Should I further enhance the psychological game during the sniping to make the battle even more exciting?