Republic of China era: A hundred-year-old still practicing martial arts? Is that right?

The freak was not feeling well; his head slumped to one side on his chest, and his breathing was disordered.

The woman's face showed pain as she raised her hand to her neck, from which black blood continued to seep out.

It stared at Lin Ji with resentment, making a hoarse sound, but did not rush forward again.

It was scared too.

The three faced off for a few seconds, then the freak suddenly let out a shriek and turned to run into the depths of the dense forest.

They're actually trying to escape?

"I'll go after him!" Gu Xuan said.

"Don't chase it!" Lin Ji shook his head: "It's deliberately leading us towards the pile of rotting corpses. If we chase after it, we'll easily fall into a trap. Let's retreat first and rejoin the main force."

Gu Xuan nodded, and the two of them, not daring to linger, quickly withdrew from the battlefield.

By the time the two caught up with the main group, it was already dark.

The group traveled through the night and finally reached the southern part of the dense forest under cover of darkness.

The southern side of the dense forest is deserted, and the few remaining buildings have almost all collapsed, making it difficult to even find a place that can barely provide shelter from the wind and rain.

As soon as Su Wanning saw Lin Ji, she ran over immediately. She glanced behind the two of them to make sure that nothing bad was following them before she carefully examined Lin Ji.

When her gaze fell on Lin Ji's half-scabbed-over tiger's mouth, she sighed softly and asked in a low voice, "Grandpa Lin, are you injured again?"

"It's just a minor injury." Lin Ji nodded. "It'll heal in no time."

Su Wanning didn't say anything. She pulled Lin Ji to sit on a rock at the edge of the newly set up camp, took out a medicine bottle, carefully applied the medicine to Lin Ji's hand, and then bandaged him up.

Su Wanning's small hands were steady and her movements were very gentle. Her eyes were a little red, and it was unclear what she was thinking.

On the other side, Gu Yanzhao and Li Shuwen were gesturing to the simple map he had brought, discussing their next route.

"This place is secluded, but it's not a long-term solution." Gu Yanzhao frowned. "The He Ze and Jiang Yan families will definitely not let this go. The issues in the city need to be resolved."

Li Shuwen nodded, his expression grave.

"It's not just about the Gu family; the Japanese freaks, immigration plans, and Western exoskeletons are all coming together. If we don't do something soon, once they finish their scheme, the entire Guanghua will be finished."

Everyone fell silent.

A storm is brewing, and the pressure is like a mountain weighing on everyone's hearts.

Lin Ji leaned against the wall, closing his eyes to regulate his breathing.

The internal energy circulates slowly, keeping the body in the best condition to enter battle at any time.

"Take a day off first." Lin Ji suddenly spoke up. He opened his eyes, his clear gaze sweeping over everyone: "Tomorrow, I'm going to the provincial capital."

"What?" Gu Yanzhao was taken aback. "Sir, the city is plastered with wanted posters for you, and there are foreign patrols everywhere. It's too dangerous!"

"The more dangerous it is, the more we have to go." Lin Ji tapped the gun barrel lightly with his fingertips: "Some accounts have to be settled, and some situations have to be resolved by someone."

His tone was calm, yet it carried an undeniable power.

Everyone looked at him, and for a moment no one objected.

As night fell again, the temporary camp was quiet.

Lin Ji sat at the entrance of the mine, gazing at the waning moon in the sky, pondering his route after entering the city.

Suddenly, a short scream came from the west side of the camp.

"ah--!"

The sound stopped abruptly.

Everyone in the camp was instantly awakened and grabbed their weapons.

"What's going on?!" Gu Hu roared at the Gu family members.

"One of the two disciples on guard duty is missing," a member of the Gu family replied urgently.

Lin Ji strode to the west wall of the courtyard. On the ground, there was only a pool of dark blood and a string of footprints covered in sticky fluid, extending from outside the wall into the courtyard and then out again.

The footprints were small, like a woman's feet.

Lin Ji's pupils contracted.

Is that it?

It actually chased after us again.

Moreover, it has already infiltrated the camp.

The thought had barely crossed my mind when the night wind, carrying a putrid stench, blew in, chilling me to the bone.

It was as if countless eyes were watching them intently from outside the camp.

The night wind, carrying stench, blew in in gusts, mixed with the dampness of the mountain forest, making one's spine tingle with cold.

No one dared to make a sound in the camp; even their breathing was extremely soft. The only sound was the crackling of the torches, casting flickering light and shadow on everyone's faces.

"Move closer to the firelight, don't venture into the darkness," Lin Ji said in a deep voice, holding his spear horizontally in front of him. He unleashed his full power, using his senses to probe into the surrounding darkness.

He could see it clearly in his senses.

Thirty paces to the west, in the woods, the tall female figure was pressed against a tree, her head peeking out from behind her chest, staring menacingly at the camp.

Not only her, but also three or four half-rotten corpses were lying in the bushes on both sides, with things constantly wriggling on them.

"Has this freak learned his lesson? He's not going to charge head-on this time? Is he planning to set a trap and wait for us to take the bait?"

"Gu Xuan, throw two incendiary bombs on each side. Gu Hu, lead the brothers to guard the front and prevent anything from getting in." Lin Ji spoke very quickly and gave his orders crisply and decisively.

"Okay!" the two replied in unison.

Gu Xuan raised his hand and pulled out two incendiary bombs, then tossed them to the left and right.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

Two muffled thuds followed as the fireball exploded, instantly illuminating the bushes on both sides.

In the firelight, several rotting corpses lying on the ground were engulfed by the flames, sizzling and twisting a few times before freezing still. The smell of burning mixed with the stench of decay wafted over.

"Awooo—!"

A sharp shriek came from the woods to the west. It was the voice of the head in the chest, filled with anger and hatred, so sharp it scraped against one's eardrums.

In the firelight, the woman's tall figure stood up, three arms hanging at her sides, the old wound on her neck still oozing black blood, from the spear Lin Ji had stabbed her with earlier.

The head on the freak's chest shrieked, "Today... I'm going to tear you all to pieces! And feed you to my worms!"

As soon as she finished speaking, she suddenly waved her hand.

The soil at their feet burst open with a "whoosh," and more than a dozen thumb-thick black worms emerged from the ground, covered with fine, sharp teeth, and darted toward the camp.

"Is that all the tricks you have?" Gu Xuan snorted coldly, then took out a few more incendiary bombs and threw them into the swarm of insects.

"Boom boom boom!"

A series of explosions erupted, flames shot into the sky, the maggots were blasted to pieces, and black splattered everywhere.

But in the instant the explosion's flames blinded her, the woman's figure suddenly moved.

She charged forward like an enraged mother bear, head down, her feet kicking up the dirt beneath her feet at an astonishing speed.

"Watch out! She's charging at us!" Gu Hu roared, raising his knife to meet her.

"Don't come any closer!" Lin Ji shouted in a low voice, pushed off with his foot, and darted out to meet the attack.

He knew this freak was incredibly strong, and Gu Hu wouldn't be able to stop him; he would just lose his life.

The two collided instantly.

"clang!"

The gun tip and the woman's fist collided violently, the clang of metal ringing out so loud it hurt one's eardrums.

Lin Ji felt a tremendous force travel along the gun barrel, causing him to slide back two steps, leaving two deep furrows in the soil.

Even though he was injured, he still managed to use so much force!

Lin Ji's eyes darkened, and with a twist of his wrist, the tip of the gun slid along the edge of the other woman's fist, heading straight for the old wound on her neck.

To strike a snake, hit its vital spot – that is, strike its old wound!

Die, you son of a bitch!

"Sister! Watch out!" the head on the chest screamed.