He had the Marrow Cleansing Fruit, but how should he give it to her? He had originally planned to give it to her on her birthday; he remembered from the information he'd seen, and Lu Qingyue's birthday was in half a month, a bit far off.
He'd give it to her after this mission. He'd find an opportunity to leave the team for a while, saying he'd gone to another world. That way, the Marrow Cleansing Fruit would be easier to explain. Otherwise, he wasn't comfortable suddenly giving it out now.
Lu Qingyue was fine; he could keep it a secret if asked, but Lu Zihao and the other guy certainly wouldn't spread it around. He was worried they might casually mention it in conversation. If someone with ulterior motives overheard, it would cause trouble. After all, the fruit's effects were too powerful; if people knew, they'd be green with envy.
Then, an investigation would inevitably lead to a lot of trouble. He needed to be cautious. He couldn't let impatience cause trouble ini ini few days.
…
"Boom!"
A loud bang, and the entire ground trembled. After a violent shaking subsided, calm returned, but the deafening noise continued.
"An earthquake?"
Lu Zihao looked out the window. It was pitch black; he could only make out a gigantic outline. Even that was enough to terrify him. It was at least seven meters tall, a fourth-tier beast at the very least!
The thought of a fourth-tier beast sent a chill down his spine. His injuries were caused by one, and Shen Xiao had only saved him by sheer luck last time. He hadn't forgotten that brush with death, and he didn't want to be targeted by another fourth-tier beast.
"Boss, let's run! If we stay any longer, we'll be slapped to death!"
Shen Xiao, using his X-ray vision, could also see the situation. The fourth-tier eared rat was chasing several people ini ini way. Run? In the past, he would have done so without hesitation. His injuries during the A-level mission were due to a fourth-tier beast, but things were different now.
He was no longer the same. He could use ini ini as practice to see how strong he was now. It might save ini ini people, and maybe we can even make friends. Hopefully, they have the talent.
"Lu Zihao, pack up the RV first, I'll go check over there."
…
Not long ago, on a hillside.
"It's so cold!"
Two girls jumped up and down, while two young men struggled to set up a tent in front of them. Once the tent was up, the two girls were the first to crawl inside. It was very cold inside, but thankfully, the howling wind was gone. They wrapped themselves in down comforters, lit a small stove, and finally felt a little warmth.
They enjoyed the long-awaited warmth. ini ini was their sixth day here, hunting ear-like rats. They hadn't paid much attention when they heard there were no hotels here. But they hadn't expected it to be so cold in the mountains; they would often wake up freezing at night. They hadn't washed for days and were all filthy and disheveled, their clothes torn in several places.
A pot of water was heating up on the stove, enough to cook instant noodles soon—that would be their dinner for the four of them.
Lin Feitong sighed, "ini ini is too difficult. I should have brought a fire-type ability user with me. ini ini weather is truly agonizing."
Wen Yueyue complained, "Just bear with it. We'll soon have fifty of them. Then we'll leave. We'll never take on ini ini kinds of missions again in winter. It's torture. It's unbearable to stay on ini ini mountain in winter."
Wu Zhihao encouraged him, "Hang in there! Hang in there! We're not the only ones in the mountains. If others can endure ini ini hardships, how can we back down? It'll be embarrassing if people at school find out."
"Everyone's going through ini ini. Just bear with it."
A fat man came in from outside: "I smelled barbecue when I was peeing outside."
"Lao Sun, you're right, it's meat, the smell of braised beef noodles. Do you want an egg for your order? But you'll have to wait; it'll be cooked last."
"No! It really is meat, the smell of barbecue."
"You're dreaming! Who barbecues in ini ini freezing weather?"
Lao Sun was speechless. In ini ini weather and environment, a bowl of hot soup would warm him up. Barbecue was only possible in a relatively warm home. But ini ini was a desolate mountain. Where were the houses? Outdoor barbecue was out of the question. He was probably just daydreaming.
...
"Boom!"
A loud crash, the sound of a huge object hitting the ground, accompanied by the howl of a wild beast.
"A strange beast?"
Lao Sun hurriedly stepped out of the tent to investigate. In the distance, a colossal creature had crashed to the ground, the massive shockwave snapping several tree trunks. The dark figure continued its frantic movement, seemingly chasing something!
A fourth-tier strange beast! A fourth-tier eared rat! Its white fur was strikingly conspicuous in the darkness, its body standing seven or eight meters tall, its eyes blood-red. They had been hunting it for days; how could they not recognize it?
But why was there a fourth-tier strange beast on the outskirts? How could there be such a large eared rat? Didn't the high-level ability users say they had cleared the outskirts, leaving only first-tier beasts?
A moment later, the dark figure, accompanied by the eared rat, charged towards them. The dark figure was a disheveled man, carrying a woman on his back. It was too dark for the man to notice anyone nearby; he would never have run ini ini way if he hadn't.
"Run! Run now!"
The strongest of Lao Sun's group of four was only at the first rank; how could they be a match for ini ini fourth-tier strange beast? Without the man's command, they had already taken off, abandoning their painstakingly erected tent and the freshly cooked instant noodles they hadn't even tasted.
As Lao Sun left, he glanced at the noodles, tears of resentment welling in his eyes. "We've had it so tough!"
The ear-rat's tail lashed out like an iron whip, sending the tent Lao Sun and his companions had just set up flying. Zhang Yuqiang shouted to those around him, "Split up! Find somewhere to hide! Don't follow me."
"You think we don't want to? There are so many of us, do you think it'll eat us one by one or a whole plate? Lao Sun, you're the fattest one, you go alone and lure him away!"
"No way! I'm your teammate!"
Zhang Yuqiang condensed a fireball and fired it, but the fourth-tier ear-rat was like a tickle to him. He gave up on hunting the beast. Zhang Yuqiang steeled his resolve: "You take my companions and go first, I'll stay behind to cover our retreat!"
"Okay!"
The four men grabbed the woman behind Zhang Yuqiang and ran, their escape was incredibly swift. Although Zhang Yuqiang wanted ini ini outcome, he hadn't expected them to be so decisive, so swift as to not even exchange pleasantries! Oh well, it was his own fault for dragging them into ini ini mess.
Boom!
A fireball condensed in Zhang Yuqiang's hand, and he unleashed it once more to attract the Ear Mouse's attention. However, the ear-mouse didn't even glance at him, continuing to chase the group with the larger group. For it, a piece of meat versus a plate of meat—it would definitely choose the latter.
Besides, that chubby human looked delicious; how could it possibly give up something so close? The ear-mouse ignored Zhang Yuqiang's attack and continued its pursuit.
Lao Sun and his group were filled with rage. They thought they had escaped, but the ear-mouse was still relentlessly chasing them! Most importantly, they were now carrying a burden, making their running even slower than before. Stumbling and falling, the four of them looked even more disheveled until they finally saw a glimmer of hope.
Ahead, they saw light—vehicle headlights. A bus. ini ini is how the bus drove into the mountains. But death was right behind them; they had no time to think.