Six flickering red dots appeared, two at the base of the wings of the Flying Flies, two on the abdomen, one on the neck, and the last one directly on the top of the head.

In the valley, guns were rendered useless.

The overly intense noise would alarm the Flying Flies in the valley, and once disturbed, it was foreseeable that tens of thousands of them would absolutely crush any intruder to dust.

Holding the Nepal knife, that familiar feeling from past games surged in his heart.

"I wonder if my control skills have gotten rusty."

The Rogue is a class that emphasizes control skills. In "Firmament Continent," every renowned Rogue is a master of top-tier control. Under their control, Rogues dance a dazzling dance, using their weapons to tear through enemy defenses and bring them to their demise.

Not daring to be overconfident, Zhou Zheng targeted a lone Flying Fly.

In the dim forest, the health bar of the Flying Fly was somewhat glaring.

Perhaps it was the fresh blood of a living creature that caught the attention of this Flying Fly. It quickly adjusted its body mid-flight, buzzing as it charged towards Zhou Zheng recklessly. Its proboscis, as sharp as a steel needle, extended out, ready to pierce a bloody hole if it hit.

Zhou Zheng stepped forward, naturally employing the Rogue's control skills.

His body twisted into an incredible posture, successfully dodging the incoming proboscis. In the darkness, the Nepal knife in his hand traced a mysterious arc, disappearing into the abdomen of the Flying Fly. This was a Rogue's skill, one that required countless nights and days of practice to master.

A spray of blood mixed with viscous liquid splattered out.

The health bar above the Flying Fly's head instantly emptied more than half, leaving a sliver of health as it plunged into the decaying leaves, struggling continuously. Its abdomen, cut open by the sharp Nepal knife, spilled its innards, sticking to the fallen leaves.

The more it struggled, the less health it had left, until finally, its health bar was completely depleted.

"Ding, you have gained 150 experience."

The prompt sound made Zhou Zheng smile. The experience from the Flying Flies was slightly higher than that of the Gray-Shadow Venom Serpent, yet they were not difficult to deal with. Even without skills, they could be easily killed. The key was to be cautious, targeting the isolated ones to avoid alarming a certain number of Flying Flies.

After all, Flying Flies were only first-tier Mutant Beasts, at the lowest end of the food chain, with zero defense capability.

Zhou Zheng flicked the dead Flying Fly towards Zhou An and Lan Xi.

"Extract the spinal meat."

The tender spinal meat was even better than the snake meat of the Gray-Shadow Venom Serpent. It was a pity to waste it, especially in the apocalypse, where waste was shameful. Even if he didn't eat it himself, bringing it back to Siege City to share with others was just a small effort.

Three Flying Flies seemed to sense the presence of a human, buzzing as they descended from a tree crown.

Zhou Zheng tightened his grip on the Nepal knife, silently calculating as he watched the approaching Flying Flies.

No matter how good the control in the game was, it was still a game, with a vast difference from reality. Zhou Zheng's awareness and reflexes were quick, but his physical fitness couldn't keep up. As the three Flying Flies approached, Zhou Zheng twisted his body, dodging the needle-like proboscis.

This time, the Nepal knife didn't follow a mysterious path but chopped straight down.

The accuracy bonus was effective even with cold weapons.

The blade sliced precisely through the head of a Flying Fly, nearly splitting it in half, blood splattering and staining Zhou Zheng's clothes.

The equally sharp proboscis grazed Zhou Zheng's arm, tearing a gash and causing blood to gush out, instantly dyeing his sleeve red. A wave of pain made Zhou Zheng grunt, stepping back a few paces to distance himself from the two remaining Flying Flies.

A gust of wind came, a faint white light flickering in the darkness.

The alloy blade tore through the air, slicing the two Flying Flies in half without warning.

Zhou An, holding the alloy blade, looked at Zhou Zheng nervously, "Young Master, are you alright?" Even Lan Xi followed closely, holding an alloy blade to guard Zhou Zheng. The unique white aura of a Second-Stage Martial Artist appeared on both of them.

Zhou Zheng was amazed at the power of the martial artists, covering a distance of over ten meters in just a few steps.

"I'm fine, just a minor injury."

Visually, Zhou Zheng could see some prompts: "Flying Fly caused 37 points of damage, damage reduction exempted 33 points, you took 4 points of damage." The data made it clear at a glance. A mere 4 points of damage was at most a superficial wound.

Lan Xi took out some hemostatic powder and bandaged Zhou Zheng's arm.

Zhou Zheng moved his arm, finding it unaffected by the injury. The effects of dataization seemed to have some minor differences from ordinary people when it came to injuries.

Zhou Zheng didn't back down. The lack of coordination between body and mind could only be improved through continuous training and practical combat. These couldn't be narrowed by simply leveling up. So, Zhou Zheng swung the Nepal knife, saying calmly, "Continue."

The experience yield from the Flying Flies was indeed considerable, but some limitations made leveling up slow.

Dealing with Flying Flies with a knife was ultimately too slow, and it required waiting for isolated ones to appear. By the end of the day, the number of Flying Flies Zhou Zheng killed barely allowed him to level up once.

...

When they returned to Siege City in the afternoon, Zhou Zheng distributed the spinal meat of the Flying Flies to some people.

Clearly, Zhou Zheng still felt the strange looks others gave him.

"Have you heard? Young Master Zhou actually challenged Instructor Yan for the Sharpshooter title, and the competition is set outside the city."

This news spread like wildfire throughout the city in just half a day, like a gust of wind. In the entertainment-less Siege City, it seemed to bring a different kind of vitality, igniting the gossiping hearts of countless idle people.

It's not their fault; the atmosphere in Siege City was too oppressive, and people needed a way to vent.

The contest between Zhou Zheng and Yan Boxun for the Sharpshooter title naturally became the best outlet, instantly mobilizing everyone's enthusiasm.

Yan Boxun's reputation as a genius was well-established, while Zhou Zheng... honestly, no one had high hopes for Zhou Zheng. Everyone knew how to choose between a genius and a waste. For this reason, some avid gamblers even set up betting pools, offering 1:1.1 odds, accepting bets from residents in goods or money.

Some women who had benefited from Zhou Zheng looked at him with pity.

The competition was to be held outside the city, after all.

Back home, Zhou Hongqiang was rarely in the building, slowly sharpening a long battle blade. The blade was already exceptionally sharp, but Zhou Hongqiang kept honing it, seemingly enjoying the process.

Seeing Zhou Zheng return, Zhou Hongqiang merely glanced at him, speaking calmly, "Do you have any chance of winning?"

"Success depends on effort," Zhou Zheng replied.

Zhou Hongqiang raised an eyebrow, pausing his sharpening for a moment before continuing, saying, "I believe in you. Besides, there have been some disturbances outside the city. You need to be careful when you go out." He looked out the window, gazing into the distance, shaking his head, "The Toxic Corpses are getting restless, which is not a good sign."

"Father, was there any result from the last reconnaissance?"

Find the original at "pawread dot com".

Zhou Zheng hesitated but still asked. Zhou Hongqiang had been out for half a month, losing over a dozen subordinates, and even he was injured. Zhou Zheng had never inquired about what happened. It wasn't that he didn't care, but he knew that if it was something he should know, his father would tell him.

"For now, it doesn't pose a threat to Siege City," Zhou Hongqiang smiled.

(Second update, asking for votes)