Chapter 197: The Silent Dragon's Roar
Chapter 197: The Silent Dragon's Roar
A few minutes later.
A group of people rode out of the mount taming arena on their Velociraptors, split into two rows.
Zhuoligetu's ferocious battle bear led the way at the front, like a tank, with the others following. Ji Xinghuo was in the middle of the group, and Lu Yunhai brought up the rear.
In addition to riding a Velociraptor, Lu Yunhai also led another pack raptor carrying supplies, with a Primordial Hound running alongside.
The team jogged slowly through the city streets, with pedestrians ahead hastily making way.
This was Ji Xinghuo's first time riding a Velociraptor.
Although it only had two legs, it ran with remarkable stability and minimal swaying. Its originally raised head lowered, and its long tail swayed flexibly to maintain balance.
As long as one pulled on the reins to direct it and used their legs to squeeze its belly to give commands, riding it was not too different from riding a horse.
Moreover, the Velociraptors' speed and endurance far surpassed that of ordinary horses.
Ji Xinghuo checked the time.
Then he said, "Let's head out now and arrive at Masindi before nightfall."
Earlier, when they had inquired with Ibara, the owner of the mount taming arena, about the monster in Masindi, he had been unaware of it. However, he had heard some rumors that were similar to what was circulating online and not very useful.
On other matters, Ibara had provided some important information.
In recent days, there had been a sudden increase in the number of people coming to him to purchase mounts, most of them being hunting teams but also including solo hunters from various countries around the world.
Apparently, all these people were heading towards that monster.
This piece of news gave Ji Xinghuo and the others a sense of urgency, and they decided to set off immediately instead of resting in Kampala as they had originally planned.
Masindi was located north of Kampala, about 150 kilometers away.
Ji Xinghuo's team weaved through the streets of Kampala and also spotted other hunting teams along the way, but they did not interact. Half an hour later, they spotted a wall in the distance. In Africa, almost every city was built with walls to prevent wild creatures from entering and attacking the residents.
As they approached the wall, they could make out its features.
The wall was made of cement, about twenty meters high and ten meters wide. Watchtowers were built atop it every few hundred meters, with weaponry mounted on them, stretching as far as the eye could see.
However, there were no guards in sight, and the wall seemed deserted.
Ji Xinghuo shook his head; such a wall could only defend against some beasts and lower-level monsters. It was useless against elite monsters, not to mention that many monsters could fly.
In modern warfare, walls were a joke.
Their greatest use was not to defend against beasts but to serve as a cage, confining the residents within and restricting their living space.
There was a gate at the base of the wall, resembling a cave entrance, guarded by numerous fully armed soldiers. Both pedestrians and vehicles had to undergo inspections and pay a fee to pass through the gate, resulting in long lines and congestion.
The clamor of voices created a chaotic atmosphere, like a bustling marketplace.
When Ji Xinghuo and his companions rode up on their tall Velociraptors, the crowd hastily parted to make way, allowing them to smoothly reach the checkpoint. The surrounding soldiers were drawn to them, and an officer, a black man, stepped forward, his expression stern as he said, "Please show your passes."
Although he appeared stern, his eyes betrayed a hint of unease.
Zhuoligetu, seated atop his battle bear, looked down at the officer, his imposing presence creating a sense of pressure. He reached into his bag and pulled out a stack of cash, which he tossed to the officer.
These bills were currency issued by the Asia-Pacific Community but were widely accepted and used throughout Africa.
The officer caught the money and quickly counted it.
"Let them through," he ordered, waving his hand to signal his soldiers to withdraw from the checkpoint.
Ji Xinghuo and his companions easily exited the city without uttering a word or presenting any identification. Bribes were exchanged in plain sight, and no one in the crowd seemed to find anything amiss.
In Africa, money was the best passport.
Once outside the city, their field of vision suddenly widened. The East African plateau, at the turn of spring and summer, had a pleasant climate, and all things flourished, exuding vitality.
There were several roads leading out of the city, but they were all dilapidated and riddled with potholes due to lack of maintenance.
The Velociraptors ran along the main road northward, their speed increasing to about 50 kilometers per hour. The gentle spring breeze brushed past their ears, creating a refreshing feeling.
Looking back at Kampala, one could see a vast lake—Lake Victoria, the largest lake in Africa and the second-largest freshwater lake in the world, with a water area of nearly 70,000 square kilometers. It was known as the "Reservoir of Africa" and was the primary source of the Nile River.
"Whoa!"
Pond Lin couldn't help but let out a loud exclamation.
Everyone was in high spirits.
Zhuoligetu admired the open scenery along the roadside. "East Africa is truly a wonderful place, abundant in resources and with a cool climate. It's a pity it hasn't been able to develop."
"The place is great, but the people might not be," Pond Lin replied with a smile.
Jing Ji shook his head. "If the locals heard what you just said, you'd be labeled as a racist."
"I'm just speaking the truth," Pond Lin said nonchalantly. "Africa has lagged behind and remained poor for so many years. Apart from international politics and capital factors, their own problems are even greater. This isn't just my opinion; many Africans think the same way."
"We can't blame everything on racial differences..." Yuan Chongzhen added to the conversation.
Just outside Kampala lay the wilderness, with scarcely any villages or tribes.
All the people had been forced to reside within the city walls.
There was no agriculture outside the city, and the people relied on imported food from foreign countries, mostly cheap, industrially synthesized products. Even then, they had to toil for over a dozen hours on assembly lines every day, their labor and sweat exchanged for a day's worth of food.
Living on the same planet, yet the disparity was worlds apart.
The factors contributing to this situation were complex.
As Ji Xinghuo listened to his teammates' argument escalating, he was about to speak up and dissuade them, hoping to quell the dispute before it got out of hand, and their team fell apart even before encountering any real danger.
"You..."
He started to speak but suddenly paused.
His teammates turned to look at him, and Jing Ji asked, "Xinghuo, what's wrong?"
"Someone's here to deliver weapons," Ji Xinghuo replied abruptly, signaling for everyone to slow down their Velociraptors.
From behind, they could hear the rumbling engines of approaching vehicles.
The group turned to see a convoy of five vehicles speeding towards them. Two of them were armored personnel carriers, and the other two were modified military vehicles with mounted machine guns, all filled with soldiers.
Pond Lin's face darkened as he recognized them. "Black King's army."
These soldiers bore the emblem of a black crown on their uniforms and vehicles, identifying them as members of the East African Kingdom's military.
However, in Africa, the government army was often the most dangerous and powerful warlord.
Clearly, their intentions were not friendly.
"You all stay here; I'll handle this."
Ji Xinghuo turned his Velociraptor around and rode towards the approaching convoy alone.
The two parties quickly closed in on each other. The weapons on the military vehicles were aimed at Ji Xinghuo, but their speed slowed, and they stopped about a hundred meters away, forming a fan-shaped formation with overlapping fields of fire, locking down the area where Ji Xinghuo was.
A black officer, seemingly of high rank, stepped out of one of the vehicles and stood before it.
Ji Xinghuo dismounted and walked forward alone, stopping about twenty meters away from the officer.
The two men eyed each other.
The black officer was a super-mutant, with a sturdy build and armor, standing at nearly two meters tall, exuding an aura of strength. He carried a massive battle blade on his back.
"Are you people from the Asia-Pacific Community?" the black officer asked.
Ji Xinghuo remained silent.
"I am Colonel Quintin Sen, in charge of the northern wall defense of Kampala," the officer said sternly. "I just received a report that a hunting team left Kampala without presenting their passes, which is a violation of the law established by His Majesty the Black King..."
Ji Xinghuo gently waved his hand.
Silent Dragon's Roar!
Quintin Sen felt as if the young man before him suddenly became extremely majestic, reminding him of the Black King himself. A silent, powerful wave washed over him, and he heard the sound of his soldiers collapsing behind him.
He turned to see that all his men had fainted, their eyes rolled back.
"You..."
Quintin Sen was terrified.
He was a super-mutant who had fused with the "Firm Will," so he was unaffected by the mental influence. However, most of his men were only primary mutants, and some were even ordinary humans. They had fallen without putting up a fight.
"What were you saying, Colonel?" Ji Xinghuo asked.
Quintin Sen heard the voice and turned back to see Ji Xinghuo standing right before him, just two or three steps away, though he hadn't noticed him approach.
He unconsciously took a few steps back, his eyes filled with fear.
"I am an officer of the Black King..." Quintin Sen straightened his chest and glared at Ji Xinghuo, trying to intimidate him with the authority of the King.
"I know."
Ji Xinghuo smiled gently. "As long as Colonel is kind enough to provide us with some weapons and ammunition, we will be on our way immediately, and we can pretend that nothing happened. How about it?"
Quintin Sen secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Although he had come to demand a toll, he was now being extorted, which would be embarrassing if it got out. However, as long as he could survive, that was all that mattered. He forced a smile and waved his hand generously. "Please, help yourselves."
"Thank you, Colonel." Ji Xinghuo waved to his teammates, signaling for them to come over.
The group happily approached the vehicles and each selected a batch of firearms—electromagnetic rifles and laser guns—stowing them in the bags attached to their Velociraptors' sides.
"And look at this beauty!"
Zhuoligetu laughed and pulled out a rocket launcher from the trunk of one of the modified military vehicles. It was about 1.2 meters long, thick, and straight, with markings indicating it was produced in the American Federation.
This rocket launcher fired plasma shells, each capable of turning an airborne fighter or a tank into smithereens. Its destructive power was terrifying.
"I'll take this!" Zhuoligetu didn't hesitate to claim the rocket launcher and four plasma shells, loading them onto the back of his battle bear, clearly delighted with his find.
Ji Xinghuo also took two electromagnetic rifles and returned to his Velociraptor. "Thank you, Colonel, for your generosity."
"You're welcome. Please, take your time."
Quintin Sen waved as he watched Ji Xinghuo and his team ride away into the distance.
Only when they were out of sight did he sit down on the ground with a look of relief, as if he had just escaped certain doom.
(End of Chapter)
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