The Barbarian Beast's roar shook the eardrums, and a stench of fishy wind rushed toward them. Chu Ran instinctively pushed Li Ming beside him aside, then rolled sideways to avoid the beast's swinging claws.
"Run!" Zhou Kai shouted, rushing toward the depths of the forest first. The others came to their senses and fled in all directions. Zhao Lei grabbed Chu Ran's arm, running while shouting: "Brother Chu, don't look back! This thing is too powerful!"
Chu Ran glanced back and saw that the Barbarian Beast, missing its target, angrily swung its tail. The thick tail swept across, instantly breaking several small trees as thick as bowls in half. It took heavy steps, chasing closely behind, its eerie green eyes particularly dazzling in the dim forest.
"Running like this isn't a solution!" Chu Ran shouted. "It's faster than us—we'll be caught sooner or later! We have to fight back together!"
However, at this moment, the others were already overwhelmed by fear, only thinking about saving themselves, and no one paid attention to his words. Li Ming ran the fastest, even throwing away his backpack to reduce his load. Although Zhou Kai was the team leader, he only kept his head down and ran, showing no intention of organizing a counterattack.
Chu Ran's heart went cold. Back in college, they had also encountered dangers, but at that time, everyone always united as one to face them together. But now, at this critical juncture of life and death, the so-called friendship seemed to collapse in an instant, leaving only the most primitive instinct to survive.
"Zhao Lei, pick up stones!" Chu Ran pulled Zhao Lei, bent down to pick up a fist-sized stone. "We'll attack its eyes! That's its weak point!"
Although Zhao Lei was scared, he nodded, picked up several stones, and hid behind a big tree with Chu Ran. The Barbarian Beast quickly caught up, targeting Wang Peng, the slowest runner in the group. Wang Peng slipped and fell to the ground. Seeing the approaching Barbarian Beast, he was so scared that he trembled all over and couldn't even find the strength to get up.
"Help me! Someone help me!" Wang Peng shouted desperately.
Zhou Kai and Li Ming were not far away. They heard his cry for help, but only glanced back and ran even faster.
Chu Ran gritted his teeth, suddenly stood up, and threw the stone in his hand toward the Barbarian Beast's eye. The stone whistled through the air and accurately hit the beast's left eye. The Barbarian Beast felt the pain, let out a shrill roar, stopped in its tracks, and kept rubbing its eye with its claws.
"Wang Peng, get up quickly!" Chu Ran shouted.
Wang Peng finally reacted, scrambled to his feet, and ran to Chu Ran's side. Taking the opportunity, Zhao Lei threw several more stones. Although he didn't hit the eye again, he distracted the Barbarian Beast's attention.
"We'll run that way!" Chu Ran pointed to a dense thicket of bushes. "The trees there are dense—it won't be able to move freely!"
The three supported each other and crawled into the bushes. The Barbarian Beast roared angrily, wandered outside the bushes for a long time, and finally left unwillingly.
It wasn't until they could no longer hear the Barbarian Beast's voice that the three collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath. Wang Peng's face was pale, his lips trembling as he repeatedly thanked Chu Ran and Zhao Lei: "Thank you... thank you for saving me. If it weren't for you, I would have died just now."
Chu Ran shook his head, his heart filled with mixed emotions. Looking at the scattered backpacks and footprints not far away, he thought of Zhou Kai and Li Ming's backs as they fled without hesitation, and felt a sense of melancholy.