Chapter 33: Chapter 33: Lone Ranger
Ye Yun had given Bena temporary command, so No. 1 and No. 2 naturally wouldn’t disobey his orders. They immediately remained huddled behind the wall.
Bena carefully wiped the dust from his goggles with his finger.
Then, he cautiously peeked out, looking toward a nearby hill.
Two people in grayish-yellow protective suits appeared less than 300 meters away.
’That was a close call,’ Bena thought. Grayish-yellow was excellent camouflage in the wasteland, and they were quite far apart.
If the blades in their hands hadn’t happened to reflect the sunlight into his eyes, he probably wouldn’t have been the first to spot them.
Bena narrowed his eyes and scanned the surroundings.
The two in grayish-yellow suits clearly hadn’t noticed their presence.
He looked farther out. No sand bikes, no off-road vehicles, no mutated pack beasts.
Bena didn’t let his guard down just because there were only two of them.
In the wasteland, both teaming up and going solo were common.
Of course, most of the time, people preferred to stick together.
After all, once people gathered in numbers and divided the labor, their chances of surviving in this wasteland naturally increased.
However, large groups had plenty of downsides, too, such as food and water.
Finding a place that could support many people was difficult enough on its own.
Moreover, larger groups easily attracted the attention of the ever-present raiders.
If a settlement’s military strength couldn’t stand up to the raiders, they would be forever saddled with bloodsuckers draining them dry, just like his former home of Scrap Copper Town.
As for why going solo was common, the reason was also simple.
The wasteland had many powerful individuals, and it wasn’t difficult for such people to get by.
They didn’t rely on the strength of a group, but on their own skills and wits to survive in the wasteland.
They might be espers, Bounty Hunters, or even lone wolves wanted by certain factions.
These people often possessed a wealth of survival experience and combat skills, making them a force to be reckoned with in the wasteland.
By relying on salvage from ruined cities or hunting powerful mutated beasts, they could obtain enough supplies from large organizations to live quite comfortably.
No one in the wasteland wanted to provoke such people, because the weak could never survive alone in the treacherous wastes.
Bena’s expression grew more serious. If these two weren’t scouts for a larger team, then it meant their individual combat strength was certainly impressive.
He turned to look at No. 1 and No. 2.
After spending a short time together, he had gained some understanding of the two.
While their abilities were well-rounded, their overall physical conditioning could only be called average, not even matching up to some of the regular members of his old Scavenger Team.
So, even though his side had the advantage in numbers, Bena didn’t dare to be the least bit careless.
Bena’s gaze returned to the two individuals.
They were squatting by a small pond of unknown origin, seemingly inspecting something.
’Should I set up an ambush, or should I take advantage of the distance and slip away quietly?’ Bena’s mind raced.
The latter option was obviously the safest. They were currently about 300 meters apart. At this distance, as long as they didn’t make too much noise and used the nearby ruins for cover, it was impossible for the others to spot them.
However, the direct distance to the shelter wasn’t that far.
Bena couldn’t rest easy leaving two unknowns so close to the shelter.
This time, they were lucky enough to spot the others first, but what about next time?
What if, on their next scouting trip, the others discovered them first and decided to attack? Would the three of them be able to handle it?
Everyone in the wasteland learned from birth that you couldn’t fully trust anyone but yourself—not even your own parents.
Because in this man-eats-man wasteland, even parents might kill their own children for any number of reasons.
Bena was unwilling to place his own life, and the life of the shelter, in the hands of strangers.
After thinking for just a moment, he made up his mind.
They had to strike first.
He quickly surveyed the environment, considering where to set up an ambush.
But then, the situation in the distance changed.
A huge black lizard burst out from the distant forest, its target the two people in grayish-yellow protective suits.
Seeing the monster charge out, Bena subconsciously muttered:
"My God, a Death Claw?!"
Bena never expected he would actually get the chance to see the monster of legend.
He had heard that the Death Claw was a powerful biological weapon created before the Great Cataclysm, and that almost everyone who saw one ended up dead.
A moment later, however, he realized that thing probably wasn’t a Death Claw.
According to descriptions, a Death Claw’s appearance was very similar to a black, mutated lizard.
But a Death Claw was longer than a car, meaning its body length had to be at least 2.5 meters.
However, while this black lizard that had charged out was large, it was only slightly bigger than a person.
In other words, its body length was less than 2 meters.
This was most likely just a mutated lizard that looked a lot like a Death Claw.
The mutated lizard was incredibly fast. Coupled with the fact that the two people seemed completely focused on their inspection, they failed to react in time. In an instant, one of them was pounced on and tackled to the ground by the lizard.
But they were wasteland loners, after all; their reaction speed was anything but ordinary.
The one who wasn’t attacked immediately drew the pistol at his waist and fired several shots at the mutated lizard’s head.
However, the pistol’s power clearly wasn’t very strong. Of course, it could also be that the mutated lizard’s hide was too thick.
The mutated lizard didn’t seem significantly injured. Instead, provoked by the attack, it swept its black, mace-like tail sideways, sending the man who had shot at it flying three meters away.
Watching the one-sided battle, Bena sucked in a sharp breath.
He had encountered mutated lizards before while scavenging, but they were basically small ones that weren’t difficult to deal with.
However, this was the first time he had ever seen such a large mutated lizard. He never expected its combat power to be so formidable.
The person who had been tackled also showed a powerful survival instinct. Despite being attacked, he immediately counter-attacked.
The machete in his hand, glinting with cold light, hacked wildly at the mutated lizard’s body.
The man’s bladework was not only fast but also precise. Although most of his strikes had no effect, one blow accurately struck the lizard’s softer underbelly.
The sharp blade instantly sliced a long gash into the mutated lizard’s abdomen. The lizard let out a bloodcurdling screech and swatted the man away with one of its claws.
